ready to serve
Apodiformes Adventures
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Member Of:
- Kenya Tourism Regulatory Authority, AFRICA TOURISM ASSOCIATION & FRIENDS OF NAIROBI NATIONAL WILDILIFE CONSERVATION
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $75 to $250 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
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Email Ian | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I got scammed out of my deposit by this company.
DO NOT BOOK. "Silas" scammed me. I communicated via the email initiated on safaribookings.com . He told me his credit card machine was down and to wire the money (not uncommon for African safaris to wire money). I double checked other people were satisfied with his safaris, everything seemed extremely legit (they also wired money)
When I wired it he said he never received it then said I should have sent it via credit card on his website. When I showed him the email thread, he confirmed that was indeed his email, but said the invoice never came from him. Yet he denied his email has been hacked.
I'm not sure what's going on with this company and I'm hoping my bank can stop the wire. I'm happy to share the screenshots of my conversation back and forth so you can protect yourself.
When I asked what had happened he immediately shut me down and told me he doesn't want my business. It seems odd to me that a legitimate business isn't concerned that their email has been hacked.
I will update this review once I have reached conclusion on this event. But I wanted this warning published ASAP so other people don't get scammed.
Reply from Apodiformes Adventures
Posted on Apr 13, 2023I want to bring to your attention the issue of Mr. IAN SEWELL
Ian sent a direct enquiry regarding a tour he was interested in booking with us. We shared all the information until it reached a point he was to pay.
We receive all our payments through the website where payments are made through the link below:
https://apodiformesadventures.com/pay/
We shared this link with Ian but he purports to have received another email instructing him to pay through some funny bank account . The Bank whose account number he claims to have paid through is in Nigeria while we are based in Nairobi, Kenya.
I have asked Ian several times where he found the invoice but he cannot answer amicably. Ian claims our emails were hacked of which I have requested him to cooperate with our IT SPECIALISTS to find the source of the hack. This has been in vain since IAN doesnt want to cooperate . He nolonger responds to whatsapp messages and emails, a clear indication that he has not taken this issue seriously.
From our own preliminary investigations where we involved highly trained IT personell, It is clear our emails were never hacked.
We value our clients so much and for this reason we take issues raised by IAN seriously. We will continue digging deep into the issue and still urge IAN to cooperate with us in the investigations if it is true he was genuine in his allegations.
SILAS OWITI - DIRECTOR APODIFORMES ADVENTURES LTD
AE
Email Carlos | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Chased by Armed Park Rangers with kids inside the Jeep
Be very careful, Silas’ tour driver, lied to my an my family about the Jeep being broke down. He stole the money I payed to entered the Masai Mara Park & left us stranded at the hotel instead of taking us to the National Reserve. Silas made excuses not to refund the money stolen and never payed back. The day before, this driver Peter didn’t stop at a Ranger security checkpoint, and the rangers chased our Jeep with guns while I had 3 small kids & 1 baby inside the car. After raising a formal complaint to Silas about his driver, He never reimbursed the money stolen and the time we lost. Be very careful with this company, don’t be fooled. Awful experience in a Africa with kids, being robbed and chased with family when we just wanted to have fun at the Masai Mara Park. I will never come back to that place and never would consider using this thieves’ company.
Reply from Apodiformes Adventures
Posted on Feb 24, 2020Halo Carlos,
We are surprised that you have extended your threats to this end!
I want to state as follows;
1. You did not book this safari through safaribookings.
You were referred by a client who had booked a succesful safari with us through Tourist Link. His good experience with us made you book this safari!
2. We organized for you a 2 night safari to Mara Mara of which I personally picked you from the airport and handed you to our driver who was to be your tour guide.
3. You went for safari and came back a happy man with your family and Upon being dropped to the airport to take your flight home, you gave the tour guide some good tip , an indication that you were so much satisfied by our services. You did not express any dissatisfaction
4. Two days later I got a whatsapp message from you complaining that the same tour guide you tipped some good money did not deliver to you . You have come up with so much allegations that the driver did not take you to all the game drives as required .
For this reason, you have kept demanding and threatening the Company to refund you half of the money you paid ( that is half of 1500USD which 750USD).
When we saw this review on safribookings this morning , we realized that indeed you are not genuine and consider you as someone who is out to destroy and bring down our Company as you have severally indicated in your past whatsapp messages . You have repeatedly made it clear to us that you will bring down this Company by all means.
5. You have gone ahead to say in your allegations that you were chased around by game rangers at the park and that you missed game drives . Now brings me back to my question : Before departing to Masai Mara I briefed you about the tour and made it clear that your tour guide who was your driver had all the money for your park fees. I gave the guide all the money in broad day light with you sitted and watching.
Masai Mara Game Reserve has specific entries where all vehicles use. You cannot get into the park with tourists without paying. I find it hard to belive that you entered the park and the rangers kept chasing you around.
6. Finally despite having two nights in Masai Mara, you never bothered to call me informing me about the problems you were facing. Why did you tip the guide after all this bad experience? Why did you wait to reach home and start threatening me while you had my phone number and email during safari ? If indeed you were genuine you could have called or even informed the lodge to call me following all these problems you were experiencing . You have severally threatened and insisted that you will make sure our Company is bankrupt or closed! Is this the right way to solve issues?
We are a professional Tour Company in Kenya which operates on strict ethical guidlines .
kind regards
NL
Email Herman | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Good accommodation, unmotivated guide
We did Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli and Tsavo.
Contact with Silas was good before the trip. Accommodation was good and we had a wonderful Christmas at Lake Naivasha. I would give 4 stars for this, but we went to Kenya for the safaris.
On arrival in Masai Mara we would have a late afternoon safari. However, because of too many and ong stops, a lot of traffic and bad road conditions we arrived too late. We were disappointed we missed our first safari. Our guide/driver Isaiah promised we would get a long game drive the next day in Masai Mara till closing time 6.30pm. However, after a good day game driving we arrived at the gate at 5pm. I said Isaiah this is not what he promised us and then he got mad. He first did not want to go back into the park, but when I asked it again he turned around, clearly demotivated and driving very slowly. He also spoke ill over us against other drivers.
After this, all safaris were very disappointing. Isaiah did not even try to look for wildlife anymore. He kept on driving very slowly, did not communicate wit us at all and followed roads in the park were no other driver went.
In tsavo we really had it and I contacted Silas through Whatsapp. He said sorry to hear and he would talk to Isaiah soon. Our last day was a little better, although we did not see much game.
I did not get any response from Silas after this. We really feel it was a very poor trip thanks to isaiah. I did 22 trips in Africa before, but I never experienced such a terrible guide.
Our trip could have been much better
ES
Email Jaime F | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Can't trust Silas
Sadly I have to agree with some of the reviews about Apodiformes Adventures.
During the hiring process, Silas, the owner of Apodiformes replied to my messages right away, adapting to our needs and promising an exceptional quality of service.
Being our honeymoon, we hired a safari considered luxury (over 4000 EUR for 5 nights), requesting booking at very specific accommodations.
Until we formalized the reservation (transfer of 40% of the total) evething was fine. Once the payment was done the problems started to show up. The most wanted accomodation, Enkewa in Masai Mara, did not accept the reservation for not complying with their conditions (minimum 3 nights stay and take care of safaris in Masai Mara). Silas lied that they knew the accommodation and had previously worked.
The alternative was Olengoti Eco Camp, this accommodation has two types of room, tent and bungalow. The bungalow was requested (and paid for). Upon arrival at the Camp, the staff informed that our booking was at the inferior category and that they had no availability to manage the changeo of room. Silas lied again saying that the fault came from the camp (they showed me the booking made from Apodiformes) and that all rooms had the same price.
The third day of safari we had an incident with the car, we were standing 6h waiting for the repair. The guide asked us to take it easy and ask us to eat/drink in the cafeteria that the agency would cover. This never happened, not only that, Silas knowing the issue never got in touch with us in the whole week to check how things were going. We lost one day of safari and he didn't even care.
In the agreed itinerary, later that day we had a stop at Tompson Falls for lunch. We had to argue with the guide because Silas had not informed him and did not want to stop or pay the tickets.
With all the above being said, the overall experience was very good, thanks to John (our great guide) and the staff of the camps/lodges, but I would never hire them again for the lack of honesty and service provided by Silas.
It may be slightly cheaper than other companies but the price difference does not justify having to be constantly alert, feeling cheated and with the sensation that if there had been any problem the agency would not have helped or solved anything.
Reply from Apodiformes Adventures
Posted on Oct 2, 2023Halo Jaime,
We feel sorry and remorseful about the unfortunate experience . We value all our clients and always do our best to ensure they have Wonderful Holidays with us. Your case regarding the few incidents during the trip is an indication that there was miscommunication from both Parties. We promise to IMPROVE and work on the points noted above.
APODIFORMES TEAM
NL
Email Vimal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and helpful, Tanzanian side not very good!
We had a 11 days private Kenya and Tanzania safari. Silas is very professional and helpful. He was in his car in the carpark when we arrived. The flight arrival was delayed by one hour but after contacting him on the phone he promptly arrived to get us to our hotel.
The Kenyan part of our safari was excellent. The driver/guide Samuel is a very knowledgeble and a nice guy. But the disaster started the moment we crossed over to the Tanzanian side. We were made to pay $50 each to get the yellow fever certificates at the border. The person just took cash in Euros and filled in the yellow booklet. No vaccination was given. Upon asking for a receipt they gave some vague reasons saying that the internet was not working and that we shall get it by email, which, of course never happened. A Tanzanian driver received us and we started our Tanzanian journey to the Serengeti park. Within about one hour the left rear wheel of the rickety Toyota Land Cruiser just came off while we were driving! Luckily no one was hurt. We were in the middle of nowhere on a village road. The driver managed to change the wheel with the help of few villagers and we resumed our journey. After every 15 minutes of driving the driver had to tighten the screws of the wheel. This happened a few time. Then suddenly that newly changed wheel had a flat tyre! The driver just could not change it. He had to arrange an alternative private transport for us from the nearby village, who was kind enought to take us till the Serengeti gate. In the process we lost many hours. Ultimately we could reach our camp site after 8PM, eight hours after the border crossing!
The new Tanzanian driver gave a very unprofessional and unfriendly impression. The game drives in Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater were excellent. On our fourth night in Tanzania we were dumped in an extremely low level hotel near Lake Manyara. A very depressive place indeed. Certainly the lowest level of acommodation we had during our entire trip. The driver did not know that we needed to make a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. There was no time for that any more. The next day we had to leave for Tangerine National park. The only solace on the Tanzanian side was that the national park game drives were really worth the trouble.
We had a sigh of relief after crossing over to Kenya without much trouble. The last two days in Kenya were very good with game drives in Amboseli, and transfer to Nairobi for our return flight home.
I requested Silas to reconsider his contract with his Tanzanian partner "Seven Wonders Safaris" in Arusha, Tanzania, which prompted him to end his contract with them. Thank God.
I hope this small review is helpful.
ES
Email Fabio | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good price and good experience overall in Kenya, but not a professional and kind service
In general, I give Apodiformes a 3/5 because the trip through Kenya as a whole has been a spectacular experience, and all the hotels included in the package and the drivers and guides were very professional, friendly, punctual and helpful.
Also, I found the total price for the package to be very good, beating many competitors' offerings, so if you want to save money, Apodiformes might be worth it.
But I have to reduce the score because all the interactions with Silas -responsible for Apodiformes- during the trip were rather a disaster, showing little professionalism and little kindness at all times. Although he was always very efficient before the trip, answering quickly via WhatsApp and adapting the schedule to our different requests, everything changed as soon as we arrived in Kenya:
Things already started badly with our arrival at Nairobi International Airport at 4:00 am, when there was no one to pick us up at the arrivals gate. Silas did not answer the phone, so after half an hour of waiting in the cold and with a 3 year old we had to take a taxi on our own to the booked hotel. When we arrived at the hotel, where we were very well received, we were finally able to contact him and he arrived minutes later. There were no apologies, just bad excuses that he was waiting “at the wrong terminal” (so why was his phone turned off?).
The next day we were going on safari. We had agreed with Silas to have a guide who spoke Spanish, but when we met the assigned guide he barely knew a few words. In the end it wasn't a problem because we were able to communicate well in English (and the guide -Leroy- was otherwise a fantastic person and a very professional and concerned guide that took very good care of us), but this lack of compliance with what was committed in the case of a client who didn't speak English would have been a big problem.
On the other hand, we had requested a child seat in the car that we would use to travel to Nakuru and Masai Mara and carry out the safari. The child seat was there, but it couldn't be attached to the car seat belts. We solved the ballot by buying a rope in a shopping center and tying the child seat with it. A messy solution that of course made us travel through the dangerous roads in Kenia feeling constantly anxious for the safety of our three-year-old.
In addition, that same day Silas told us he had unilaterally changed our accommodation on the Naivasha stage (from Sopa Naivasha Lodge to Simba) because at the Sopa lodge "there had been complaints of food poisoning". In the end it was not a problem because the Simba turned out to be very good but it seemed unprofessional to inform us of this at the last moment and base the change on a reason that sounded like an invention (no one else mentioned these problems in the hotel's opinions on Internet) .
At the end of the Safari, when we had scheduled a visit to a Maasai village, they wanted to charge us again for the visit even though the agreed program specified that it was included. We had to advance the payment and then claim the refund from Silas.
At the end of the Safari and going to the beach, we arrived at the Baobab Resort hotel, finding a standard room booked, although a superior room was specified in the agreed plan. We had to speak with Silas to demand that he negotiate with the hotel for an upgrade as agreed in plan.
On our return from Diani Beach to Nairobi, despite our flight being late, we had to wait almost an hour in the Wilson airport exit car park for Silas to show up to pick us up. It seems there was "traffic" but no other drivers who came to pick up the dozens of people who arrived on that flight had any trouble getting there on time.
Anyway, despite all these messes the thing could be forgiven if there had been sincere apologies and explanations in each case, but Silas did not consider to apologize for any of these inconveniences even once. He even did not ask us how the safari and other experiences had gone at any time, nor did he write to us to ask how the return home was, being unfriendly and showing total disinterest. A pity that our main contact and organizer of the trip was the least kind and considerate person that we have encountered in our trip to Kenya, otherwise fantastic.
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Email Andre | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
So and so
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.
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Email Traveler T | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A budget tour and you get what you pay for
Definitely a budget option, and you get what you pay for. Accomodations were a little run down, but functional. Food was good East African fare. I had two drivers/guides during my trip. The first was not very social and his van was very rickety. We almost broke down and got stuck multiple times. He got us to the animals, but also tried to talk us out of a morning game drive. The second driver was much more personable and I really enjoyed riding with him.
Overall, I would consider booking with them again, but will probably pay a little more and go for a smoother experience.
NL
Email Robert Ellents | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great organisation, good hotels/locations and a very good driver /guide. Good car e
Good value for money, hotels exceeded our expectations- also they listened to our wishes (quiet rooms). Also good driving by our guide. Always on time, friendly.
AE
Email Leigh | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great driver/guide (Sebastian) office organisation could be better
We booked a 6 night Kenya safari for a family of 5 with three teenagers.
Our guide/driver, Sebastian, was amazing. A kind a gentle man, we were all instantly at ease with him. He made the effort to learn all of our names quickly and conversed with the kids, answered our questions and shared knowledge of his country readily, and with excellent English. Whenever we wanted to stop to take a photo or go to use the bathroom he was more than happy to oblige. When he didn't know something, such as the name of a bird, he didn't pretend and would find out later for us. Most importantly, the roads in Kenya are pretty wild with dodgy drivers and even dodgier roads, Sebastian drove expertly and safely the whole time while negotiating animals, huge trucks and long days behind the wheel. He made sure he took regular breaks to remain alert while behind the wheel. We could not recommend a tour with Sebastian highly enough.
The only disappointments we had were with the organisation from the company. We booked a Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli tour (in that order) so that our family could spend Christmas day on safari and enjoy the amazing animals within the park. When we arrived we found our tour had been flipped with us travelling to Amboseli first and Maasai Mara last. This wouldn't normally be an issue, except that we had especially organised the tour to avoid a day of travel on Christmas. Our flight arrival time had been shared, everything had been agreed and sorted. To find out upon our arrival that we would be spending Chrissy travelling for 7 hours was disappointing to say the least. If we had been informed that this was not possible or our flight had been delayed we would have understood. We then realised that our accommodation had never been booked in the order we requested and this was not communicated prior to our arrival.
Once again, Sebastian is awesome, ask for him to be your driver. Book with Apodiformes for a great safari. We saw all the animals, we had an amazing time, the teenagers and adults loved it.