Reviews

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 131-140 of 173 Reviews
Tina Rasner-Thurman   –  
United States US
Visited: February 2021 Reviewed: Feb 18, 2021

Email Tina Rasner-Thurman  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Apodiformes fulfilled a dream of a lifetime to Africa in all they did!
5/5

We were never once disappointed in our Safari adventure. Apodiformes made all arrangements and communicated them to us. Everything went smoothly during our trip to Africa. Our Covid testing in Africa was planned and was easily completed. The beach stay after our Safari was Heaven and we were treated like royalty during the whole trip!

Bjoern   –  
Spain ES
Visited: December 2020 Reviewed: Feb 12, 2021

Email Bjoern  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Top Service from start to end 9 Day Safari
5/5

We booked remotely with this Company.
What can I say. Travelling during Covid times. It was amazing. They answered all my Questions which were plentiful and helped me organise a Balloon trip to propose to my Girlfriend. Very recommendable. The downpayment vial Paypal is secure too.
We had our own Van with an amazing Guide/Driver.
Once they picked us up from the Airport the offered us free Accommodation for the first nicest and made some Dinner for us. The next Day we set off for our 9 Day private (due to Covid) Safari of the Massai Mara, 2 Lakes and Hells Gate as well as Amboseli Park.
Everything was top organised and planned ahead. No Hick ups whatsoever.
Its a small Company but believe me they do a great Job.
I will recommend them to my Friends no Doubt.
The Price was very reasonable too.
All the Staff in the Hotels were outstanding and super friendly. The Food much better than anticipated.

We wish these Guys a speedy recovery from those challenging times and we will be back with our Kids for sure to see the abundance of Animals again.

Claudia   –  
Spain ES
Visited: November 2020 Reviewed: Feb 1, 2021

Email Claudia  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Highly recommended!!!
5/5

I did a Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli National Park during 6 days. It was one of the most wonderfull things I have experienced in my life, and thanks to Evance and Isaiah, our two guides, it was really amusing, too. Silas also coordinated and organized everything since I was in my home country, was quite kind, funny, and he didn't hesitate helping me with everything that I needed, even after the safari! These people are truly awesome and knowledgeable, skilled and proffessional. Evance's Spanish was really impressive and they all are obviously fluent in English. The camp sites and hotels where we stayed at night were really cozy, and the food provided was good aswell. We saw all the animals you would expect: lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalos, rhynos, hippos, hyenas... all while standing in our jeep, where we could have a close look to the animals while being super safe. We also visited a Maasai village, where they taught us to make fire and told us about their customs. Totally a must-have experience, I am really grateful to have lived it, and if you do it with these guys, it will be even more unforgettable!

Jamie   –  
United Arab Emirates AE
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Jan 28, 2021

Email Jamie  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Don’t wait till the migration, go now. We saw hundreds of animals and had the best experience!
5/5

Felt like Silas and Nelson (our guide) moved heaven and earth to make this an experience of a life time. Covid has put a damper on everything this last year but this trip felt safe, was super well organised and we saw everything we wanted to see. Each night we stayed in different accommodation, each offering a different experience and everyone we met was so friendly and helpful. This felt more than a holiday, it felt like travelling with friends. If you can, don’t wait, these guys will take great care of you. Thank you Silas and Nelson, we will see you again!

Gintare   –  
United Arab Emirates AE
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Jan 26, 2021

Email Gintare  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The tour was a wonderful experience
5/5

The tour guides, drivers were really friendly, welcoming, they shared with us theirs best knowledge. The tour program was organized perfectly. They helped us with visas, choosing and booking flights as well. Highly recommend this tour.

Jerry   –  
United Arab Emirates AE
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Jan 21, 2021

Email Jerry  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Amazing agency, tour and turist guide!
5/5

We planned the tour spontaneously and got a very fast response, with multiple personalized tour options. During the whole tour we always felt safe and well informed about the tour. The tour guide Isaiah was amazing, he taught us a lot of new things, was open to any question and never got tired of sharing his knowledge with us and above all very friendly and professional. Definitely a tour and agency to recommend!

Maya   –  
United Arab Emirates AE
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Jan 21, 2021

Email Maya  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Great experience!
5/5

Guys were very calm, punctual and easy going. So relaxed atmosphere. All the best in the future and hope to see you again

Asha Jain   –  
United Arab Emirates AE
Visited: December 2020 Reviewed: Jan 21, 2021

Email Asha Jain  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Better than we hoped for - people, our veg-food, wildlife were all Awesome!!!!!!
5/5

I just returned from the most amazing 8days trip of my life visiting Kenya. And i have to thank Apodiformes Adventures. Sella’s should be your go to person if anyone is visiting Kenya. He was curious, asked questions about what I wanted to see, what I wanted to experience. Nothing was pushed, nothing was sold. He simply asked questions and took notes. He came back to me several different times with different options, and he made it clear that if the vision didn't match the itinerary to let him know. It was because of this that he zeroed in on the experience that I wanted and he will take care of you without being pushy at all from pick up , covid test to stay to safari n all activities will be handled by him. we enjoyed amazing safari with him and he made sure we were well guided and with the right person. please make sure I personally recommend him for any coordination for safari or any experience that you are looking for. Apodiformes delivered on the experience of a lifetime.

Yuval   –  
Israel IL
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Jan 19, 2021

Email Yuval  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Great Experience
5/5

Very nice experience !
In tow days we get to see the whole 5 !
Masi Mara was great!
Thanks a lot to Silas that help us in any way he could.
The drivers are nice and friendly.
Great for young people !
Thanks again,
Yuval and Yamit.

Andre   –  
United States US
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Jan 13, 2021

Email Andre  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Andre and not that of SafariBookings.
So and so
3/5

I did a slight variation of the 12 day safari that the company offers in January 2021 as a solo traveler. I paid $2820 + 3% credit card fee. The trip included 3 nights in Masai Mara, a day at Lake Nakuru, a day at Mt. Longonot + Hell's Gate, a day in Amboseli, and 3 days in Tsavo (1 in West, and 2 in East). I had previously done a safari in Tanzania in August 2017 for 8 days in Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngororongoro, and therefore I will compare this safari with the previous safari experience. There were both good and less good things about this safari in Kenya.

First, I think that visiting Kenya out of the high season in Masai Mara, which is July to October, may not be a good idea. I knew that the wildebeest will not be in Masai Mara in January, but I was expecting that there would still be many other animals. The wildebeest also had left Central Serengeti when I visited it, but there were still many other animals left there. In Masai Mara in January, though, there were very few animals with the exception of a small area near the gate. You could drive around sometime for an hour without seeing any animals. On the other hand, the animals migrate much less from the other parks, so the experience there was probably as expected.

The second issue to consider is that while the safari was advertised as 12 days, and there was some sort of game drive for all days except the last when we traveled from Tsavo back to Nairobi, the actual number of 24 hour periods for which permits were purchased was in fact 8. This is partially due to the long distances that need to be covered between parks, but also because the company wants to minimize the number of permits it has to purchase, so it includes quite a good amount of downtime in the itinerary, which is not evident when booking a trip. For instance, in the first day starting from Nairobi at 8AM, one could do a half day game drive in Masai Mara starting maybe from around 1-2PM at the latest. Instead, because of several stops along the way, including a half an hour stop a tourist shop right before the 1 hour stop for lunch, and also a stop at the lodge right at the gate of the park, one enters Masai Mara only at 4PM, for a relatively quick game drive. Similarly, on the day when we entered Amboseli coming from Naivasha, we could have entered the park at about 1PM, but instead, we entered at 4.30PM (we got to a lodge right at the park entrance and then stayed there for 1.5 hours). That was so that the next day, which was supposed to be a full game drive in Amboseli, we would not have to exit the park too early, because the company only wanted to pay for one 24 hour permit. These are just some examples - the whole schedule is affected by this. On top of that, the driver further cut the available time in the park. For instance, for the full day Amboseli game drive, he exited the park at 3.15PM, although the permit would have allowed exiting at 4.30PM. And he cut other days short as well. These being said, it is likely that other companies use the same strategy when setting itineraries in Kenya. What I can compare with is the itinerary that I had in Tanzania, where out of the 8 days I paid for, we actually stayed in parks for 7 days because they were very close to each other, and once we entered Serengeti, we stayed there for several days continuously, with the camps being right in the middle of the park.

Third, the accommodations that were offered varied quite a lot in terms of quality. The lodges where I spent 5 nights near Amboseli and Tsavo were very nice, while the rest where I spent the first 6 nights were much less so, with the hotel in Naivasha barely meeting the minimum for a tourist grade hotel. The food at the good lodges was good, but for instance, at the hotel in Naivasha, the breakfast was one fried egg, two pieces of toast and a little bit of fruit. This is very poor for an almost $3000 safari. In general, for the first 6 days, the food was quite poor in terms of quality and quantity, and I had to buy myself more food even though I don't usually eat a lot. The packed lunches during these 6 days were also insufficient. For instance, in Masai Mara, they were consisting of a small chicken leg, a banana, and a small vegetable sandwich the size of a closed fist.

Fourth, the van that was offered, while not a 4x4, as stated in the tour description, was relatively new and reliable. And since there were Land Cruisers to get us out when we got stuck a couple of times in Masai Mara, I would say that it was perfectly fine. In Tanzania all tours are run by Land Cruisers.

Fifth, the experience with the company's manager, Silas, also had good and less good parts. The communication prior to the trip and during the trip was very efficient, most times with almost instant responses. However, there were some things that were not as expected. For instance, he agreed that I would make the payment with the credit card upon arrival in Kenya never mentioning that he would expect me to pay a 3% fee until right when I had to make the payment, even though there were plenty of opportunities to do so during our prior communication. Normally, if the seller expects the buyer to pay that fee, that is clearly stated when agreeing on a price and payment method. Second, while he promised prior to the trip that I would be able to set my own game drive schedule during the trip since I had booked a solo trip, in practice that did not happen. As mentioned above, that was partially to avoid paying too many park fees, but also because the driver, Nelson, did not really care about what Silas had promised even if I mentioned that to him, and exited the park when he wanted to exit it even when I explicitly said that I would want to stay more on that day. The driver basically said that whatever I discussed with Silas has no bearing on him and I should talk with Silas if I have anything to discuss on that topic, that "this is Kenya and promises don't mean anything", and so on. While I can say that I did see enough of each of these parks, maybe except for Amboseli, I would have liked to make the most out of the time in Kenya and spend it in the parks even if sitting around looking at some animal, rather than in lodges. In Tanzania, I had no problem accomplishing this, unlike this safari in Kenya. However, for people who are fine spending more time in lodges, this may not be an issue.

As for the guides/drivers (I had two of them since the first one had a family medical emergency after the first 5 days), they also had good parts and less good. They were both very knowledgeable of the parks and of the behavior of the animals, and while in the parks, did their best to show me the animals and the various landscapes. The first guide, Jackson, was also perfectly fine to interact with. The second guide, Nelson, was quite weird. Much of the time, he was a perfect guide, but when contradicted or disagreed with using some objective facts, he was starting to say some really unpleasant things that I had never heard on any other guided trips I was on. Like if you were to tell someone that 1+1=2 instead of 3, as they claim, and then hear him telling you some unpleasant personal things because you dared to contradict him even if you do it in a casual way. I tried to not be too affected by these and I was mostly able to accomplish that, but it may ruin the trip for people who would be a little bit more affected by such discussions. Also, worth mentioning that both drivers were saying at times things that were clearly not true when it was serving their purpose, as I could tell from other sources of information, like asking other people there. But probably this is not too surprising.

Overall, I obviously enjoyed this trip through Kenya, although it could have been better on several dimensions. However, for people who think that they may do only one safari in their lifetime, I would personally recommend to do that in Tanzania in July-August, with time in Tarangire (which is a really special park even if less known), Serengeti (including a day in the North part at the Sand River to see the wildebeest crossing) and Ngorongoro Crater. You can do that in 8 days for less than the cost of this 12 day Kenya safari. That safari I did in Tanzania was perfect - it couldn't have been better - and was probably 10 times better than the one I did now in Kenya. On the other hand, if you have already been to Tanzania and want to also see another country, then Kenya also has interesting places and somewhat different landscapes and it is also definitely worth visiting if time and money allows you. As for the operator I booked with, it may well be that in that price range, all companies offer similar services, but just prepare yourself to be a little bit disappointed every now and then relative to what you would expect or was promised. However, you should still be able to enjoy the trip eventually if you can get over these issues.

Average User Rating
4.8/5
Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 156
  • 4 star 9
  • 3 star 4
  • 2 star 2
  • 1 star 2
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