Bulawayo: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Bulawayo is a city of 665,952 people in Zimbabwe, 1,348 m (4,423 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 104 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Bulawayo runs from about 10 h 57 min a day in late June to 13 h 24 min in late December (computed for -20.15° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Bulawayo is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 8,491 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft.
Flights to Bulawayo: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Bulawayo · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 104 places to stay in Bulawayo. Of the 85 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (50). Across 18 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.3 out of 10. Guests have left 2,761 reviews in total.
Hotels in Bulawayo: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Harare, 366 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Chitungwiza, 354 km — flights · buses · car rental
- Livingstone, 385 km (Zambia) — flights
- Gweru, 151 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Kwekwe, 187 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Kadoma, 246 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Thohoyandou, 368 km (South Africa)
- Francistown, 159 km (Botswana) — flights
Twin towns and sister cities: Durban, Aberdeen.
Common questions
Which airport serves Bulawayo?
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre.
How big is Bulawayo?
About 665,952 people live in Bulawayo, across 1,707 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Bulawayo in?
Africa/Harare, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Bulawayo?
The Zimbabwe Gold (ZWG). Traffic drives on the left.
How many hotels are there in Bulawayo?
Our booking partner lists 104 places to stay in Bulawayo, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Bulawayo?
Harare (366 km), Chitungwiza (354 km), Livingstone (385 km), Gweru (151 km), Kwekwe (187 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.