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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:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- 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
LU
Email Gerald | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional and experienced safari operation
Very professionally run safari operation. Right from the start we were very impressed by the responsiveness of Silas who somehow managed to respond to any and all of our requests literally within minutes. Nelson was our guide on the safari and he did a great job finding and maneuvering us in the best positions to view all animals up close. We travelled in a well maintained Toyota Landcruiser and Nelson was also very accommodating to last minute changes we requested to our itinerary. Unfortunately he was not able to finish the safari with us as he had to attend to a family emergency and Apodiformes clearly struggled to find a replacement for him on short notice for the last day of our safari (1 day hike in Mt Kenya Nationalpark). We ended up travelling a distance of 3 hours (1 way) in a worn out and unsafe (e.g. Seat belts and lights only partially working) beaten up salon car. Our driver Samuel was very attentive and nice but the last day of our safari unfortunately was not up to our expectations. Generally a 1-day visit to Mt Kenya we found is not worth it especially when travelling all the way from Nairobi. Overall we had a great time though and would like to thank Apodiformes for the nice experience!
US
Email Richard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Almost a great safari
Let me start with the good as most of what we bargained for we did receive.
Silas was quick to respond to requests for information. He was waiting for us personally when we arrived at the airport in Nairobi. We did get to the parks that we requested. We had no changes in price or what was delivered. Our guide, Isaiah, was a good driver and answered most questions that we had with a Hakuna Matata "no problem" attitude.
Things that could have gone better? We were to meet Isaiah at the hotel where we stayed overnight so that we could be an early start to go to Samburu Reserve. We went to the reception area at 5:45 for a 6:00 start. At 6:00 I walked out into the parking lot to see if someone was waiting for us and saw no-one. At 6:20 I spoke with the receptionist at the hotel and mentioned the name Apodiformes and she said she had seen the van further out in the dark parking lot. Eventually we learned that we needed to go to the parking lot to find our van rather than be met inside our lodge at each park.
Not having Kenyan shillings with me I asked if we could stop at an automatic teller on our way to the first lodge. No problem. It was six days and multiple request for tipping money and small cash to buy souvenirs before we finally made that stop.
I made a specific request for a driver experienced in photography and birds, but found Isaiah was familiar, but not proficient in either. In spite of repeated questions about locations, animals, and history we only go brief answers to our requests, and occasionally inaccurate. In the case of the Ernest Hemingway bar at the Amboseli Sopa he replied that here was nothing special about it. It was just the second bar at the lodge and it was up on a rock. A quick Google about the bar reveals that it was actually a home built by the author and the stories told by the bartender about his uncle and the writer are worth stopping for a drink all by themselves.
We scheduled two nights at both Masai Mara and Tsavo East in order to make more that one game drive. At each we only went out one time in spite of the extra time allotted.
A little extra time in planning could have put us either in a lodge that made those game drives possible, or a stop at a smaller place of interest overnight could have shorted our multiple 7-9 hour drives between lodges.
The price was fair. We saw what we had scheduled. I got some wonderful pictures. It could have been planned better and a bit more interest in our safari could have taken this from a "B-" to an "A'" without a major investment in time or money.
