I joined this group when it reached Victoria Falls and before it left for Botswana. This review will pertain only to the last 7 days of this tour. There were 7 of us (plus our driver/guide, Sam), consisting of a young couple from New York City, a group of 4 adults from Brisbane, Australia, and myself (from San Diego, California). From the very first day together, we congealed as a group, very much like a family on a road trip to somewhere bound to have fun.

Our guide, Sam, was the best ever. He opened up his life book and we appreciated his candor. This led us to doing the same as we learned of various cultural practices where we grew up. It cultivated a sense of camaraderie, familiarity, caring and concern for one another. We grew fond of one another, in spite of our inherent individual traits. We had some profound discussions because we accepted that we were all intelligent individuals. And this sentiment remained throughout the next 7 days in Botswana. In short, I would define our small group "perfect," which is unique because very few tour groups can be that due to diverse conflicting personalities. I know because I'm an avid traveler and have a healthy touring experience with groups. Also, prior to the Botswana group, I was with another tour group that started from Cape Town, through the garden route all the way to Greater Kruger. There just wasn't any basis of comparison between the two.

Sam made sure that we knew what we were doing at all times, and that we were not exposing ourselves to danger. He was protective all the way. He was willing to abandon his morning shower, for instance, wrap a towel and run out, just to stop me from exploring the bush around our last lodging. That would have been very embarrassing. Also, he delivered my dinner when I couldn't join the group due to a severe eye allergy, in spite of me telling him that I could fetch the food myself. Since I got lost twice returning to my lodge from dinner, he patiently walked me to my room to make sure I made it there. Because, you see, I'm 78 years old and my faculties, he surmised, were kind of defective due to age. Of course he was wrong on that aspect.

Our wildlife explorations were ample. Chobe National Park, boat ride on Chobe river, bush walks, Khama Rhino Sanctuary, for instance. What took my soul, really was the Okavango Delta. Though we roughed it out there a bit (slept in a tent one night, were told to keep the tent zipped the entire night and that under no circumstances do we get out of the tent at all. Needless to say, I didn't get a good sleep that night because I could hear some odd sounds outside my tent. The first thing I did when I woke up was sweep a flashlight on the floor to see if a snake or scorpion had gotten inside. But it was a notable experience.

The delta gave me a very distinct impression of the waterways and being transported by the polers from one end to the other, the surrounding serenity was etherial, a slice of heaven. I took out my cell and typed up a poem to memorialize the almost sacred sensation. I read the poem to the group after our last dinner together. Two nights prior, I think, I had the honor of reading 2 of my poems as well, and they patiently listened.

Altogether, I believe I came out a better person with my communion with the delta and Botswana, thanks so much for the small family that adopted me and Sam who took really good care of us. They are all my best friends forever, having shared a very special time together.

Profound gratitude to Acacia Africa for a well-tailored tour that showcased the gifts of Botswana to mankind, and for assigning Sam to sentinel our small group. Heartfelt thanks to Sam for announcing that our group was the best among the 12 runs he had had for the year. I told him he would NOT likely have a better group than us, ever.

Cheers to Acacia Africa and Sam.

Maria Snow

Just finished a two week Southern Africa Magic tour and wanted to give a special shout out to our guide, Aaron, who made the trip unforgettable. He went above and beyond to ensure we had the best time. Although we booked a small group tour, Our trip initially started as a private tour with Aaron then we picked up a few others along the way. Each day the wildlife experiences were magical (we saw the Big 5!!) and joked that Aaron would WhatsApp the animals just for us.

(I did the Uganda-only gorillas tour but it wasn't available as an option on here). Acacia is poor value for the money. I paid c.£2k including chimp and gorilla permits. It's important to realise that if you do one of Acacia's shorter trips you will be joining just part of one of their longer trips. They're overland trips so you're in a big bus for the travelling. My main complaint is that beyond a small number of days where you actually do the main activities (eg chimps and gorillas) you are either doing a long day's travelling or have nothing to do. They offer optional activities but you have to pay extra for them and their quality is unclear and not guaranteed. For my 6 day trip, 2.5 days were travelling, two mornings were seeing the gorillas and the chimps and the rest of the time is empty.

Of the places I stayed, the one on Lake Bunyonyi was nice but the Craters Campsite location was absolutely awful. It was unprepared to handle the group, no comfortable seating at all and I had 6 people in my room installing a hot water system (the room initially didn't have one despite the staff claiming it did) for a full day.

Big plus is that the staff are really lovely (shoutout to Pete and Francis!), but it's hard for them to rectify the structural issues with the tour.