The 11-day Chobe Waterways excursion by Acacia Africa Tours was, unfortunately, a big disappointment.

We paid $4,750 for two people, averaging $431/day, and expected better accommodations, especially in Botswana.

It seems as if the bulk of the money was spent on transport costs, since we traveled long distances between attractions. Though the transport was comfortable, we think the tour would be vastly improved by starting and ending in Victoria Falls.

I know, I know, the dossier clearly states the driving times each day, and we were certainly aware of this. But, the dossier also stated we were traveling through Elephant Sands in Botswana, not Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, a fact not disclosed until 5:00 AM the day of departure.

The 13-hour drive from Johannesberg to Bulawayo (with 1.5 hours at the border) was not worth the effort. Although we loved the rhino walk with Andy, the 13-hour drive to get there was not a good investment of time.

Moreover, we drove right by Hwange Park on the way to Victoria Falls on the third day, which we thought should have been incorporated into the tour. Why not stop and spend a night in the park?

On a positive note, the two nights in Victoria Falls were wonderful, and we really enjoyed that part of the tour. Our accommodation at Cresta Sprayview was quite nice.

However, things started downhill after leaving Victoria Falls.

We wasted two hours in Kasane before arriving at the Thebe Safari Lodge - you know, the place with the burned down restaurant and bar and no pool (see attached photos). Why am I paying $431/day and being booked into this disaster? At least the excellent evening Chobe River Cruise mitigated this poor choice.

The next day, we went on an early game drive (which was extra, by the way), before driving another 6 or so hours to the Greta Lodge, another forgettable lodge, though the pool and bar were good and much appreciated.

After a lackluster early morning village walk, a short 2.5 hour drive took us to Maun, where we were booked into the Sitatunga Safari Lodge.

The first night there, I became ill, and declined to participate in the Okavango Delta excursion the next morning. That was unfortunate, because it meant we had to spend three nights at this lodge.

I suppose if you were camping, this lodge would appeal to you, but the concrete bunkers lacked ambience, and the mouse droppings along the top of the wall were unsanitary and unappealing. And at $431/day, could have been improved. Fortunately, the bar and pool were not burned down and we were able to laugh over it.

Then, another long day of driving to the South Africa border, where we were booked into the Kwa Nokeng Lodge, notable in that it was an improvement over the prior three places. And that's not saying much.

Finally, another long drive into Johannesberg, where we arrived at the Safari Club early afternoon.

I would not recommend this tour to anyone for two reasons: poor value for the money and too much driving between attractions. We spent, by my estimation, 43 hours in the van - more than twice the amount of time it took to fly from San Francisco to Cape Town (21 hours).

It would have been better to start in Victoria Falls, include Hwange, maybe drive to Bulawayo from the north, then do Chobe (with better accommodations), and maybe some closer-in parks to Victoria Falls.

If people wanted to do the Okavango Delta, fly them there as an option. Since we did not participate, I can't comment on whether or not it was worth it. However, driving three hours in an open vehicle, then another two hours in a 'mokoro', just to get to the campsite seemed excessive. And doing that with an upset stomach after being up all night was not possible.

Basing the trip around Victoria Falls eliminates much of the driving, and, I suspect, much of the cost. Since the best attractions are in the Victoria Falls area - emphasize those, reduce transportation costs, and upgrade the accommodations.

This tour, as it is now constituted, costs too much, and travels too far. Buyers beware when booking this tour with Acacia African Tours.

When booking your excursions, choose short tours out of Victoria Falls led by local companies. Chobe is close by and has wonderful lodges along the river. Save yourself a lot of money and book those yourself. Acacia African Tours will put you in the cheapest, low cost alternative it can find - you can do better, easily.

No more organized tours for this couple. We felt ripped off by the time we got back to Johannesburg. We just don't want this to happen to other travelers seduced by the evocative descriptions of the itinerary on your website.

If you want cheap, go with Intrepid or Nomad. At least they advertise as budget tours and you pay accordingly.

As a side note, both Sam and Simon were great and made the trip fun and entertaining, as well as providing safe transport with their excellent driving. Acacia just dropped the ball on the lodging and itinerary.

I did the Johannesburg to Livingstone tour and it matches the description but the experiences you get are beyond words. There are lots of early starts but worth it to get extra time at campsites and other activities. Overall the campsites all have showers and bathrooms. It is worth upgrading in Zimbabwe first camp as it is not expensive and you get the experience of sleeping in a hut and on a bed. The kruger tour was fantastic and we were able to see the big five and some other uncommon animals. Matopas drive was my favorites you get to experience up close time with white rhinos. The staff was professional and knowledgeable and went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of and having a great experience. Talk to them on the drives and you will learn lots. Tips buy snacks food you like in between meals. The prepared meals are fantastic.

We recently used Acacia for their overland 14 day trip between Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam. In short, it was a great experience which comes highly recommended.

Our favourite things:

The main strength of the Acacia tour was our guide, Sam. He was a wonderful blend of being helpful, friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining, without ever being overbearing or getting flustered by frequent questions or dodgy weather. I would recommend going with Acacia to secure his services alone, as we have encountered a number of poor guides during our round-the-world trip and know what an impact this can have. Our main driver of our large truck, Julius, also had a brilliant attitude and came across well. The various game drives were excellent, and the campsite at the Ngorongoro crater was a real highlight of our trip.

The camping equipment was of a decent quality, and even though we had a lot of rain we were generally snug and dry in our tents. We only had a small group so we could double-up on camping mats which was a bonus. The food was of a good quality throughout, and our favourite meals came from what we cooked at our campsites rather than at the restaurants we visited! The trip ran smoothly and the organisation and implementation was good.

Our least favourite things:
The safari services are subcontracted out to other companies. The driver and our vehicle for the Masai Mara game drive wasn't particularly good. Safari HQ, who run the Tanzania drives generally offered a good level of service. The Boulevard Hotel in Nairobi is realistically the only place you can stay at the start of the trip, due to the pre departure meeting being held after dark, and the departure for the tour being early. While the hotel is a pleasant place to stay it is ludicrously overpriced, and they know that they can get away with charging whatever they want as the companies such as Acacia leave this part of the organisation up to the customer. It would be appreciated if Acacia would do more to negotiate a favourable price for this hotel, and at least do more for their customers in this regard. The spice tour with Mr Saiidi on Zanzibar was terribly run, and a complete waste of money. We have already complained about this, and while our $35 per person charge is long-gone, we understand that steps have been taken to find an alternative supplier of this tour. Perhaps with a better guide this tour will be able to be recommended in the future.

A final gripe is about the "custom" of tipping. Basically, tipping would appear to be a system that benefits the tour companies more than the staff (obviously Acacia is not alone in its promotion). As a consumer, I don't mind paying for Acacia to organise my tour. I don't mind the fact that they will then pay their team of Directors a large salary. This is how capitalism works, and it is not really any of my business. However, it does really irritate that a profitable business such as Acacia then tells me that despite the thousands of dollars I have paid for my tour, I must set aside and pay more in tips to all of the people I encounter on my trip as wages in Africa are low. Why not set an example and pay them a bit more Acacia? Using the money I have already paid you?

I could frankly do without the awkwardness in having to work out a suitable extra payment for employees I encounter on the trip, who I am using while having been told that they aren't being given enough money. By the time you have thought about the three drivers, guide, chef, and supply driver, almost every day is filled with a potentially awkward discussion between the travellers as to what tip should be paid, if any. It put a bit of a downer on an otherwise great experience.