Harare Province · Zimbabwe
Harare travel guide
Harare is a city in Harare Province, Zimbabwe, home to about 2,150,000 people.
- Best months
- April to September
- Nearest airport
- HRE12 km · Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport
- Currency
- ZWGZimbabwe ZiG
- Time zone
- Africa/Harare
- Language
- Barwe, Chewa, English
About
About Harare
Harare ( hə-RAR-eh) is the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 982.3 km2 (379.3 sq mi), a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census, and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province.
Harare is home to over two and a half million people, with most in central Harare but some 500,000 in the surrounding districts of Norton, Chintungwiza and Epworth. Though a city of modern buildings, wide thoroughfares, numerous parks and gardens, it suffered from increasing neglect thanks to Zimbabwe's economic crisis, however in the 2010s there has finally been some new investments in infrastructure. Despite this, Harare is still one of Africa's most pleasant cities to visit with plenty of attractions and friendly locals.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Harare
See
There is a strong appreciation for the city's cultural and historical heritage and a number of the older buildings have been preserved. The Mining Pension Fund Building at Central Avenue and Second Street is one example and many more are to be found along Robert Mugabe Road between Second Street and Julius Nyerere Way.
- National Heroes Acre
- Harare City Library
- The Kopje
- National Gallery of Zimbabwe
- Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences
- National Archives
- Chapungu Sculpture Park
- Sacred Heart Cathedral
- Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints
- National Botanic Garden
- Mukuvisi Woodlands
- Harare Gardens
Do
- Harare Sports Club
- Epworth Balancing Rocks
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Harare to stay in
The city boasts a few high end hotels (such as the Meikles Hotel and Rainbow Towers), but also has a significant number of three to four star hotels that offer affordable accommodation without compromising on quality. These include the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa, the Cresta Lodge and the Holiday Inn. Harare also has quite a number of bed and breakfast/guest houses and Airbnbs, mostly set in former residential houses with extensive gardens.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Harare
1 hotel within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles Hyatt Hotels Corporation | 0.2 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Harare
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Harare are April to September. October is the warmest month, with average highs of 30 °C; January is the wettest, with about 223 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Harare: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE), about 12 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
Harare's airport is the major gateway for flights into the country. Air Zimbabwe also operated a small network of domestic flights before ceasing operations. However, an increasing number of foreign airlines are flying into Harare these days. They include South African Airways with direct flights from Johannesburg. Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa, Kenya Airways from Nairobi, TAAG Angola Airlines from Luanda and Egypt Air from Cairo via Dar es Salaam and KLM from Amsterdam. Taxis from the airport to the main hotels cost $25.
Getting around
Harare is very spread out. The best option to get around is by car, which is easier now that dollarization has made fuel shortages a thing of the past. Fuel is readily available at most outlets for cash or through a coupon system. Most operators now import fuel by themselves and prices are independently set. Most service stations close in the evening, while some offer 24-hour service. inDrive is popular in Harare and probably the best app to book a taxi. Hwindi is another option.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
HRE · Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Harare
Eat
Zimbabwe's staple food is sadza: a thick white porridge (a bit like mashed potato), that's made from corn (maize) meal, seen throughout Southeastern Africa. It's eaten for lunch and dinner, accompanied by vegetables or meat in some form.
Drink
Try Chibuku, a popular local beer with the working class. It comes in "scuds", which are large 2 litre brown plastic containers. The beer is lumpy and opaque beige, but is good and very cheap.Shake-shake is prepackaged sorghum beer (brewed in the traditional African style) and is very thick and filling, and comes in milk cartons. The locally brewed Castle, Lion, Zambesi and Bohlingers are definitely worth trying and more popular with suburbanites. Wine consumption tends to be the preserve of the middle class, with most restaurants going for South African and to a lesser extent French and Australian wines.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Harare: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Harare?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Harare are April to September. October is the warmest month, with average highs of 30 °C; January is the wettest, with about 223 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Harare?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE), about 12 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Harare?
Zimbabwe ZiG (ZWG).
Nearby
Destinations near Harare
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.