Touch Africa Tours

Generally good, but a couple of major misfires undermined my trust in them

We booked a mid-to-premium priced 9-day safari with Touch Africa and they selected and handled all lodging arrangements. The Ilala in Vic Falls was gorgeous (though we did specifically request and pay for that upgrade). Tlou Lodge was modest and comfortable. Planet Baobab had a few issues that disappointed us, but no showstoppers.

But Mochaba Crossing was a DISASTER. There were rodent droppings on the bedsheets and in the room; the shower was barely a trickle; paint was peeling on the shower walls; numerous large spiderwebs were everywhere; the room floor was dirty; lunch and dinner each consisted of a single, non-vegetarian option, despite weeks of advance notice that one of us was vegetarian. Perhaps Touch Africa didn’t do enough due diligence choosing this place? When we notified them, they offered to move us to the Maun Lodge, whose online reviews were positive so we agreed. That should have been the end of the issue - a misstep that was quickly fixed.

But when we returned from the day’s activities, the Mochaba manager, Alec, told us that we’d instead be transferred to Mochaba’s “sister hotel” nearby, the Parkview, rather than the Maun Lodge. This was bait and switch: the same websites that confirmed our negative experience at Mochaba had similarly negative things to say about Parkview.

This was the moment we lost trust and confidence in Touch Africa: they reneged on what they had promised us without notifying us, instead making an arrangement that saved face with their vendor and simplified their accounting.

We held our ground and insisted on the original offer of the Maun Lodge, having to become uncomfortably assertive to do so. When we did arrive there, we had to wait over 30 minutes during check-in while Alec was on the phone (with Touch Africa? we don’t know) before we could get into our room. (The lodge staff felt bad and let us use the pool in the meantime.)

Mr. Mashanga (our guide/handler at Touch Africa) was otherwise very good, all the guides were excellent, and once we did get into the Maun Lodge, it was lovely. But it should not have taken frustration and energy just to get what we had paid for in the first place. When one books a multi-day tour in an unfamiliar place, one places a great deal of trust in the tour operator. Missteps are definitely forgivable, but the disingenuous handling of the Mochaba misstep was not. We hope this information helps Touch Africa do better for future clients.