ready to serve
Apodiformes Adventures
- Located 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)
Reviews
DE
Email Rohit Singh | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible experience with Apodiformes Adventures, can't recommend
We had a very bad experience with Apodiformes Adventures.
The communication and booking process prior to the tour was very smooth, up until it was time to pay the second part of the tour price in cash at pickup. After that, everything changed drastically. First of all, the game drive vehicle they provided was very different from what was promised. It was much much older and extremely uncomfortable. All other game drive jeeps we saw were much more modern & comfortable so we felt that the company tried to save money here, even though their tour is advertised as a luxury tour.
I asked Apodiformes Adventures about this but they ignored my messages!
Our safari guides (which were arranged by Apodiformes Adventures) told us that they only received our booking a day before our arrival, despite us booking several months before with Apodiformes Adventures, which is why they were not prepared for us. Also, our safari guides picked us up in Nairobi & had no idea how to get out of the city, which lead us to drive around for hours within Nairobi, before I had to give them my phone, as their Google Maps did not work properly. I contacted Apodiformes Adventures several times during this & they did not reply.
Also, we were sold a masai village tour through Apodiformes, which felt extremely unethical and like a scam to us. We paid 90 USD for being shown around a village for 10 minutes and later harrased to buy little magnets for 25 USD per piece. Once again, when we contacted our tour operator about this, they did not reply. It again seemed to us that everything goes very smooth up until you've paid the second part of the payment in person at the start of the tour.
The "luxury" lodge they booked for us had no idea we would be 3 people, since apparentely the tour operator failed to communicate this to them, which lead to another problem at room configuration at check-in, which took nearly one hour to resolve in order for us to get the extra bed in an already tiny room, since they had no other rooms available. I've taken 3 safaris in Africa, this one was by far the worst & I can only warn people against wasting your precious vacation with a tour operator that is quite seemingly not taking bookings seriously anymore.
Reply from Apodiformes Adventures
Posted on Sep 8, 2024Dear Rohit,
Many thanks for your detailed feedback. This helps us improve our services at Apodiformes Adventures.
I want to apologize for the challenges faced during your trip with us.
The only 2 clarifications I would want to make and which I believe will help our future customers are as follows;
1.Masai Village is 30$ per person and normally paid on site. This is an extra activity which is paid directly to the Masai Community who have set up a village to educate and inform tourists everything about their unique culture.
2. We always advise our clients to remain steadfast when visiting the Masai Village. Yes you will be met by many local Masai selling their merchandise but only buy when interested. Never be forced or coerced to buy their souvenirs unless you need it.
kind regards
SILAS
ES
Email AlanB | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Good & Bad
I booked a safari with my wife with Apodiformes for our 50th anniversary. I arranged it with Frederick who worked with me to organise a 4 days Masai Mara trip at a cost of about $3600, Frederick was very efficient & booked everything & communicated with me very well. Our driver as arranged collected us from our hotel 7-30am prompt. On our drive to the Masai Mara it became obvious that the land cruiser was very underpowered when it came to large hills & had to climb I second gear. The driver/guide Tom was excellent throughout our trip. We stayed as recommended at Jambo Mara Safari camp & everything was very good however I would not liked to have stayed in the wood cabins in hotter weather as there was no air conditioning only a fan.
As the safari progressed into the second day it became apparent that the vehicle had a number of problems, some windows didn't open properly, the seats behind the driver were so well worn that passengers were constantly sliding forward & having to sit themselves up regularly, the suspension on the vehicle was very hard, some electrics were not working & some seat belts missing. Far from ideal when on a 8 to 10 hour safari.
On our last day the driver said that we would need to set off for Nairobi at 6-30 am so we could make it to Nairobi to catch our flight to Diani Beach. ( As arranged by Frederick). This meant that we did not have the morning safari as was on the itinerary that Frederick had promised & we had paid for. $400 dollars for park fees plus fees for safari. The day after we arrived at Diani I emailed Frederick with my complaints & he said that he would have to talk to the driver, I told him that I expected compensation for the missed safari & the fees for entry to the Masai Mari that we did not get. In total I had to contact him 4 times over a week to be finally told by Frederick that he couldn't refund me until November at the end of there season as they didn't have the money.
I would not recommend dealing with this company as they are not interested in the customer service in fact they are thieves. Don't deal with Frederick or Apodiformes (Nairobbery)
****
In answer to Silas comments regard my earlier review.
Please find time to look at the itinerary supplied by Apodiformes, it clearly says it includes a morning game drive on the last day, there is no mention of complimentary. I don't know any other tour operator that gives complimentary game drives when it costs $200 per person to enter the Masai Mara.
My flight to Diani Beach was at 14-45 & it was arranged by Fredrick as part of the package, not noon as you stayed.
I think you are a professional excuse maker, look at the facts.
Reply from Apodiformes Adventures
Posted on Sep 8, 2024Halo Alan,
Thanks for your detailed review. We dont take it for granted.
Most importantly receive my apologies for the challenges faced.
I am happy our driver Tom took care of you nicely until the end of the trip.
Regarding your concern: For the last day in Masai Mara , we normally have an optional early morning game drive. This is never paid for but a complimentary service to our customers especially to those that normally have late night outbound flights from Nairobi. We prefer to extend this complimentary game drive so that they dont arrive in Nairobi early and stay idle/bored at the airport.
In your case we had to take a pre-caution since your flight from Nairobi to Diani Beach was leaving at noon hence any time wasted would have resulted into you missing the domestic flight . This is why we advised your driver to leave Masai Mara early enough since the roads are normally unpredictable.
Thanks and Have a wonderful time at the Kenyan Beach. We look forward to meeting you in Nairobi before you fly back Home.
SILAS
US
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
SG
Email Boon | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good at first but turning bad at the end
We have our tour at the end of July 2024. We have been in contact with Silas all this while for the arrangement. His response is very fast and even like midnight hour for him, he still can give you a response. At first before we settle and confirm the tour package, he always able to give fast response and show his enthusiasm. We have made good discussion, to settle down with our itinerary based on our flight schedule.
At one point in time, our flight got canceled, Silas also tried to accommodate our requirement, where he awaited us to give him confirmation of our next booking of flight. He also quickly responded and re-arranged our booked accommodation as well after our flight was confirmed. Although our request and questions were too lengthy and troublesome, he was still able to make time to explain. But somehow, when nearer to the date, his responses were getting shorter.
On the day Silas and the driver Ken were already there on time to pick us up from the airport. They also took us to get a sim card and buy packs of water for us on the trip. Ken was our driver and guide for all the game drive. We went to Nakuru then go to Maasai Mara, and last go to Naivasha. Overall, during the drive, from one place to another, and also during the game drive, Ken been on his phone always, only on and off will put it down. Even during the game drive, he was on the phone, and we thought that this might be his way to get information on the game drive. We didn't interfere much on this, as long as he driving safely.
Ken is a good driver, an experienced driver, but not a good guide. The problem is Ken shares only the bare minimum information with us. I am not requesting too much on this, but we felt that we were only briefed on the basic information. Most of the time we needed to prompt him with questions before we can get the answers, if we didn't ask or say anything, most likely we might not have given more information. There is a point where another vehicle broke down, and Ken offered to help fetch them together as we were staying at the same place. During this short trip, Ken was also on and off on his phone, where one of the passengers tried to do a video recording on the animals, he had to tell Ken to quiet down so that he could do his video recording on the animal. At which, we had been tolerating him on this, while we also did video recording, but we didn't so harsh on this point to make him stay silence at all.
When we visited the Maasai Mara village, we were asked to pay for the entrance fee, even though the itinerary plan stated it was included. 2 adults ws 60, and 2 kids were 30, so a total 90, where we only had USD100. At that point in time, we just paid first and without getting any change. It is later after communicating with Silas, and then he returned the 100 back to us. This shows the poor communication between him and the driver Ken.
On the journey, I had to find the topic for our communication with Ken, but every time it just went silence after a while. During the end of the trip, we were told that another freelance driver will pick us up, at which this driver Jidraf was able to talk more and introduced us to more information about Kenya this country, even sharing with us the lifestyle, the language, the towns, all those details that seem to be not important, he was able to share with us and tell us the background of that. This gave us a big comparison and noticed how little we got to know on our first 6 days of the trips. We were basically brought from lodge to lodge, and animals to the next animals only by Ken on our initial 6 days drive.
The problem with Ken also less communication with us, first incident is from Lake Nakuru to Maasai Mara. We were never told that we would be going to a souvenir shop and have lunch there. He just drove there and told us on the spot, he could have told us beforehand, we also understand that visiting a souvenir shop is part of a guided trip like this, but don't give us a surprise since it is all planned out.
2nd incident is about visit a Maasai Mara village, Ken could have briefed us on how it is going to be the routine on visit a village, or introduced some background, but nothing was said. Whether to put it before or after the Maasai Mara game drive, it was also not told until we asked.
3rd incident is when visiting the Hell's gate, where we needed to get a bicycle, we are family with young kids, and the young ones still don't know how to ride a bicycle. As an experienced guide, isn't it your responsibility to pre-alert us on what going to happen in Hell's Gate, and what is the plan for that. As a guide, you could have told us how much the price would be and told us to arrange for a bicycle with a children's seat, or a kid's bike with 4 wheels etc. But none was told, only until we reached the bicycle rental some distance before the entrance to Hell's gate, which is USD30 per bicycle. But what we have googled on the website the rental of bicycle only needs less than USD10. If we had not been careful and done our research before, we would have been scammed by the locals there. When we asked why the price hike, then we were told that it was peak season. But, when we reach the entrance of the Hell's gate, and we confront to Silas, only get to know, it is actually can get less than USD10, then we only offered to get the bike at this rate. At that point of time, we really don't know who to trust, neither Ken nor Silas. For those that are going to Hell's gate, please take note there is a guidance fee as well, if you don't pay for that, you don't have a guide inside, and you going to roam by yourself in which you might not know where to go, nobody gives you direction, and nobody brief to you the background of that.
4th incident was after Hell's gate, we were told Ken could no longer fetch us to airport on the next day, also our last day plan was to go to elephant orphanage and giraffe center. (Ken told us his car was faulty and needed immediate repair, but no one knew the truth). They arranged a freelance driver, who knew nothing about our next-day itinerary. The driver was only responsible for fetching us from Naivasha to the airport. Again, all of these was not well arranged and we were not told in advance. I thought the driver going to pick up the rest of the day up until drop us at airport, but after picked up then only knew he only responsible to bring us go to Nairobi and change another driver and vehicle. The elephant orphanage was supposed to be pre-booked one week in advance, and lucky enough my wife mentioned this, only they amended their mistake and booked it like 3 days before. Else I think it will be screwed up and end up we only left with giraffe center to go for.
5th incident is about the departure time from Naivasha to Elephant orphanage, we are foreigners and know nothing about operating hours. We thought visiting can be any time. But in fact, it is only 11am to 12pm. A day before, Ken suggested picking us up at 8am, but we told Ken to pick us up at 9.30am, since we did not have much plan for the rest on the last day. Ken did not tell us about the operating timing when I suggested 9.30am, but after that only he message and told me it will be close at 11am that's why needed to depart at 8am (also this information provided by him is wrong). Then he was like it's not his responsibility anymore, because he was not going to pick us tomorrow. Only then my wife double confirmed the time with Silas, only mentioned we must depart at 8am. Still the driver due to traffic came at 8.35am.
Luckily enough we managed to reach in time for the elephant orphanage. We do understand some hiccups on the itinerary happen, not everything goes to plan well, we only hoped it could be well communicated with us in advance about all the arrangements made. As a tour and guide expert, you should provide sufficient information about those entrance fees, travel duration needed, etc. I surely can google myself for all this information and do my own arrangements, but I trusted you to bring me the best experience. I do have a few persons who enquired me about this trip, but now I hesitate to give them your contact, as I don't know how trustworthy you are after this experience.
Still, I do recognize the effort from Silas, his fast response to requests, only it turned bad at the end of our trip. For Ken, he really a good driver, where he can drive out of the muddy place in a very bad situation, and he helped a few fellows to get out of those terrible situations where their vehicles were stuck. He is helpful whenever someone needs help.
US
Email bill k | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I Would Not Use This Company Again
I reached out to Apodiformes Adventures to book a private three day tour that included two nights in Amboseli National Park including 4 game drives over three days, transportation from Diani Beach to Mombasa train station, train tickets to Emali station (near Ambolseli), and finally transportation to Nairobi. Peter quickly responded and I started communicating with him to work out the details. After a few days of emails and what's app texts back and forth we agreed upon the details. One of the conditions was that we could pay with a credit card which we did for the initial deposit. Later however, he said he wanted to balance to be paid in cash in USD on arrival. I told him that wasn't possible because we were going to be in Africa for several weeks prior to this tour and didn't want to carry that much cash with us. Eventually he agreed to let us pay in credit card but insisted on an additional fee that wasn't previously agreed upon. This wasn't a deal breaker but in was the first in several instances where things weren't quite as initially stated.
Getting to the Mombasa train station and onto the train was an absolute fiasco. Our driver was supposed to pick us up at our hotel in Diani beach at 5am on Saturday in order to catch the 8am train. At 5am the driver was not there. This is where it gets tricky because at 5am (in the pitch black of night) there was a driver waiting at the hotel apparently arranged by the hotel. We got into his car and started driving. About :30min into the trip I asked him about the train tickets. He was confused because he thought he was taking us to the airport. At this point, I wasn't able to get a strong enough cell signal to call or text Peter, but the driver was able to finally get him on the phone. There was a lot of back and forth (and yelling) in Swahili over several calls that I didn't understand.
Once we did get to the train station, the plan was to wait for the other driver who we were told was an hour late getting to the hotel in Diani and he would come and give us the train tickets. This was not a good solution. First off security at the train station did not want us hanging around the parking lot. They said we had to either go thru the initial security check or leave. The train station was extremely chaotic. There were hundreds of people pushing and yelling and trying to get thru and we couldn't find any workers who spoke English to help us and I still wasn't able to use my phone. Peter and the other driver were trying to call me but none of the calls or texts were coming thru.
Eventually we did find a security guard who spoke enough English and was willing to help us. He took us thru security despite us not having tickets or a confirmation, and got Peter on the phone using his own phone. Peter then sent him copies of the ticket confirmation. He then whisked us into the lobby and told us to wait while he went and printed the tickets. Great! He came back gave us the tickets and pointed us to get in line. We waited in the line but when we got up front we were denied because Peter sent the guard the wrong ticket confirmation! The guard was gone and we were back to square one without tickets.
Keep in mind that the station is complete mayhem. At this point we tried to buy new tickets but the train was sold out. I was able to convince a ticket agent however to look up our names and reprint the tickets. This was much harder then it sounds but eventually they were able to do this but we had to pay an additional re-printing fee.
The original agreement included the transportation to the station and the train tickets, but we ended up having to pay the driver and the ticket re-print fee which was 30% of the price. When I asked Peter to reimburse us for these expenses he refused to do so basically blaming me saying it was my fault even though his drive wasn't on time.
We were met in Emali by David who would be our guide in Amboseli. David was wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed ever minute with him especially the game drives.
We spent 2 nights at the Kibo Safari Camp and were supposed to do 4 game drives. One on the Saturday of arrival, two on Sunday, and one on Monday morning before heading to Nairobi by auto. However on Monday morning we were picked up in a vehicle (with a different driver) not suited for safari, so we headed to Nairobi without doing that fourth game drive. This wasn't a huge deal, but it was part of the agreement and payment. I never heard anything from Peter about this. In fact I never heard from Peter again after we arrived in Emali on the train. No follow up. I even waited three weeks to write this review to see if he or anyone from Apodiformes would contact me. Nothing.
This was not my first trip to Africa so I understand that stuff happens and things can go sideways. You have to be flexible. I get that, but the reason for this negative review is the lack of communication and follow up. The bottom line for me is that they over promised and under delivered which ended up costing us extra money out of pocket. I would not recommend Apodiformes Adventures.
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
IT
Email Giangi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good operator, Terrific guide!
This was my third safari, the first just me and my 12 ys old son for 12 days
I should divide my review, one for for the support on booking/ organisation of the trip and another one the trip itself.
On the one hand, dealing with Apodiformes was always very easy; since the beginning, they has tried to find the best combination to adapt my request to my budget.
During the trip there were some issues regarding booking and organisation, but Apodiformes has been able to fix always them.
On the other hand, the safari guide Francis was a nightmare and made the whole trip quite painful!
Examples?
- the land rover was almost missing shoking absorber .. and this is crucial when you spend 10 hours per day on streets full of bumps and holes; the door opened during the trip
- the guide was very Often on the phone texting with who-knows instead of been focused on the drive
- often the tend of the land cruise didnt' close completely ... and at 6 am it's very cold
- lack understanding of the trip schedule ... it was me to tell where we had to sleep every day
- he skipped almost 1/3 of the game drives ... everytime with a different excuse
In each game, he was always far from the animal (we have always been on the back of all the other land cruise), no single explenation about parks, animals, ...never asked if we were taking good pictures/spots and if he could leave or if he had to stop.
One day he asked me to pay 200 US a ranger because of some problems with park tickets .. of course I called apodiformes and they fixed it
in few words ... 1 star is even too much.
To sum up, read the review about the best guide and ask to have some of them.
IT
Email Alice | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hakuna Matata Roadtrip Safari
This was our first safari and our first time to Kenya.
I am an extremely exigent client as I have worked for a while in tourism and my husband and I (since we are young adult, we have travel a lot around the world).
Since the beginning, Fredrick (our Apodiform’s account) has tried to find the best combination to adapt our request to our budget.
The travel went smoothly and we really enjoyed Kenya.
However, I should divide my commentary, one for for the support on booking/organisation of the trip and another one the trip itself.
On the one hand, dealing with Apodiformes was not always easy, there were many issues regarding booking and organisation, this could be due to a lack of communication or to the fact they were not fully transparent.
Examples?
- our itinerary pdf reported a lot of mistakes and was not corrected even after having highlighted the discrepancies (wrong arrival time/departure day/activities).
- we had to chase them for pick up time from the airport (they did not reached proactively to give us all the information)
- they told us they could take care of our rigid suitcase when only soft ones were allowed onboard local airplane, but when we arrived at the airport they drop us off and we had to deal with the problem ourselves (the driver has disappeared)
- We were supposed to travel by train from Tsavo to Watamu, but the afternoon before we were informed that plans were changed (they did not book the tickets in advance so the day before the 1st class tickets were sold out! While our trip was prebooked in December)
- They did not include our luggages for another Jambojet Flight so when we arrived at the check in desk they asked us to pay (luckily at the end Frederick sort it out with a live online Payment).
Hence, the tour has been done successfully with very competitive budget (1 full week of safari around Kenya), however we kindly suggest to improve communication/organisation set up to prevent unpleasant situation for the guests.
In addition, I would suggest to share with guests a small guide of extra activities they can do during safaris such as bush breakfast/Bush sunset or dinner or even night safaris. We were interested in that but when we discovered these kind of activities it was too late!!!
On the other hand, our safari guide Sebastian made sure our safari was unbelievable, he was always concerned that we were enjoying every day.
In each game, he tried to catch the information around to get the animals close enough. He was always asking if we were taking good pictures/spots.
Thanks to him, our trip was great!
To sum up, they are really good to adapt to your request and limited budget however they should pay more attention to details and to communication with guests.
