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Well organised and supervised journey

This was a great tour and excellent value for money. Yes the truck does not have air con, yes some... read more

Reviewed 12 November 2024
Ali921
,
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
The gift that was Botswana and the Okavango Delta

I joined this group when it reached Victoria Falls and before it left for Botswana. This review... read more

Reviewed 9 November 2024
bingbcs
,
San Diego, California
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Reviewed 1 May 2016

I had a wonderful time on the trip. It was a lot of driving but the excursions were amazing. Walking rhino tour and a visit to a local village were two big highlights.

Also we had a great crew.

Justin was an amazing cook. Our Driver Gerhard was hilarious and all around great company.

Date of experience: April 2016
1  Thank Natureguy28
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 26 April 2016 via mobile

As a solo woman traveler I would totally recommend booking with this company! You get to meet a lot of people on the truck and the tour guide makes everything so much easier and pleasant. Our tour guide Bella and driver George were absolutely amazing from day one! They were friendly, entertaining and super helpful. The campsites in Tanzania and the hotels in Zanzibar were amazing! The food cooked by Bella and George was really good, as were the tents and all the equipment. Would definitely do this tour again with Acacia.

Date of experience: April 2016
1  Thank andreaperezdeacha
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 6 April 2016 via mobile

I want to give a huge Thankyou to Richard and Colin who took myself and only two others for the whole 58 days from Kenya to cape town via Uganda. Pick a few people here and there but having a smaller group we were lucky enough to have spare space in the truck.
The whole trip was spectacular from the border crossings to the safaris in the truck every bit of it was cultural and enjoyable. The scenery is something from a story book, from lush rainforests to salt lakes and sand dunes it's incredible that you get to see so much in one continent.
This is a perfect trip to get some recon on Africa. See what you like and enjoy and come back later to spend more time there.

The food on the tour is ridiculously amazing. From easy pasta salads to game meat I mean really! Open fire and the Africa way of cooking will widen your tastebuds for sure.

The knowledge of our tour leader and expert skills of the driver was well recognized during the whole tour. I can't thank them enough and and just sad I couldn't give back what they've given me.

You'd won't be disappointed. And if u are, then wake up ur in Africa!

Date of experience: February 2016
1  Thank Alex M
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 3 April 2016

I recently returned from the 19 day trip from Cape Town to Livingstone with Acacia Africa and I could not recommend it more!
Myself and a school friend joined 10 others on the Truck Mara with guide Darlington and driver Sam. What a group! We couldn't have asked for a better bunch of people to travel with. Darlington was incredibly knowledgable about all of the sites that we visited, an AMAZING cook (the food was incredible - healthy, varied, tasty) and always up for a laugh. Sam had some really long driving days during the trip, but was always happy, relaxed and willing to chat when we were on the campsites.
The itinerary was incredible, a trip of highlights. There was one small change from the itinerary I had been sent, but I don't think this impacted our enjoyment at all. I can't pick my favourite moment - Sleeping under the stars at Spitzkoppe, skydive in Swakopmund, swarms of elephants in Chobe, rafting on the Zambezi, bushman walk in the Kalahari, scenic flight over the Okavango Delta.
These incredible experiences will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you Acacia, and thank you Team Douche Canoe!! #PABU

Date of experience: March 2016
1  Thank K M
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 25 March 2016

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.

Date of experience: February 2016
3  Thank pfefmeister
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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