Flying in
Flying to Matobo: Bulawayo is the airport
Nobody flies into Matobo itself. The airport is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International at Bulawayo, north of the city, and from there it is an hour or so by road to the park, which lies south of the city.
If you only want the answer
Fly into Bulawayo (BUQ), 25 km north of the city, then drive about 55 to 60 km south to the park boundary. Johannesburg has the most flights, with Airlink and Fastjet; Harare and Victoria Falls are served by Fastjet and Air Zimbabwe, and Ethiopian Airlines links Bulawayo with Addis Ababa. Schedules here come from secondary data for July and August 2026, so check with the airline before you book.
Bulawayo (BUQ): the only airport that matters
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport sits 25 km north of Bulawayo, according to the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, with a main runway of 2,588 metres. The park is south of the city, so the drive from the terminal to the park boundary is roughly 55 to 60 km, and more to Maleme. That figure is our sum of two published distances rather than a measured route.
| Route | Airlines | Frequency (secondary data) |
|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg | Airlink; Fastjet | About 21 and about 14 nonstop flights a week, August 2026 |
| Harare | Fastjet; Air Zimbabwe | Not verified |
| Victoria Falls | Fastjet; Air Zimbabwe | Not verified |
| Addis Ababa | Ethiopian Airlines (ET829 operates BUQ to ADD) | Not verified |
Frequencies come from flightconnections.com for July and August 2026, not from the airlines. Airline schedules in Zimbabwe change often; confirm before you book anything that depends on them.
From the airport to the park
You can hire a car in Bulawayo or ask your lodge to collect you. A car hired in Bulawayo is Zimbabwe-registered, which puts it on the lower ZimParks vehicle rate: $5 a day on a day visit and $2 if you sleep inside the park, against $10 and $3 for a foreign-registered car.
There is no public transport into the park. Amalinda includes transfers within 20 km in its inclusive rate; for the others, ask when you book.
Coming from Victoria Falls or Hwange
Matobo is easy to add to a trip that starts at Victoria Falls or Hwange. You can fly from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo on the carriers above, or drive via Hwange and Bulawayo. We have not measured the road distance for that route and do not give one here.
Charters and airstrips
We found no scheduled or regular charter service to an airstrip inside the national park. Camp Dwala, a private camp in the southern hills, lists an airstrip on its estate; anything else should be arranged through your lodge.
Something this page does not answer?
Flight schedules into Bulawayo change often. Tell us your dates and we will say what we know.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.