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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
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.
US
Email Presley | Experience level: first safari
Excellent choice, treated us very well and gave us the best tour driver Kevin.
Our safari trip to Kenya was nothing short of extraordinary, and much of its success can be attributed to our exceptional driver, Kevin Odeny. From the moment we met Janette at our hotel to finalize our payments and arrange the pickup time for the following morning, we were excited for the adventure ahead. The anticipation only heightened when Kevin arrived the next day, ready to guide us through Kenya's breathtaking landscapes and wildlife.
Our journey began with a drive overlooking and then driving through the stunning Rift Valley. Although the hot chocolate at the break stop was a bit overpriced, the views were worth every penny. Entering Hells Gate National Park within the Rift Valley which, stretches from Mozambique to the Red Sea is a distance of 9600 km, a residue of past volcanic eruptions offered us our first glimpses of Kenya’s wildlife, including baboons, various bird species, giraffes, and hyenas. Kevin expertly maneuvered the vehicle, ensuring we had the best vantage points for photography while sharing his extensive knowledge about the area. We also visited Hells Gate Gorge, with a guide who grew up there as a child and still lives in the area. Navigating the gorge can be tricky at times. Just be careful looking where you are placing your feet, can be slippery at times. The gorge itself is very beautiful with colorful volcanic rock, hot water close to 100degree, and cold water close by. Our gorge guide said as child this where he and other children would fetch hot water pouring from the rocks to make tea which was quicker than making a fire to boil water.
The day's drive took us to Lake Naivasha, where we embarked on a boat ride that was another highlight of our trip for that day. The lake was teeming with life—hippos emerged from the water, a multitude of bird species flitted about, and monkeys even joined us on the boat, adding a delightful touch to our experience. The hotel we stayed at that night offered a fantastic buffet with a variety of local dishes, further enhancing our immersion into the Kenyan experience.
The next leg of our safari was a journey to the Masai Mara, a drive that, while long, and dusty, was full of anticipation and excitement. Kevin provided a thorough briefing on what to expect until we reached the Masai Mara National Reserve. This vast expanse of 1,500 square kilometers is mostly open for game drives, with only 1,000 square kilometers accessible to tourists. The remaining 500 square kilometers are leased for private game drives, adding to the exclusivity of the experience.
At the Masai Mara, we witnessed the awe-inspiring Great Migration of wildebeests, stretching as far as the eye could see. Our safari also included sightings of warthogs, leopards, cheetahs, lions (both male and
female), hyenas, elephants, giraffes, buffalos, and a myriad of bird species. Cheetahs we understand is very hard to find, however Kevin seems to know where to find these animals. Kevin’s deep understanding of the park’s layout and his driving skills were crucial to these encounters. Taking us right on the border of Tanzania and Kenya. The terrain was bumpy and dusty, but Kevin's expertise ensured a smooth ride whenever possible choosing optimal positioning for photos.
Kevin’s ability to navigate the competitive environment of safari vehicles was impressive. During encounters with elusive animals like leopards, cheetahs, and lions, Kevin consistently secured the best spots for us to capture incredible photographs. He deftly maneuvered through a sea of vehicles, showcasing a level of skill and familiarity that set him apart. His ability to work the angles and timing allowed us to get up close and personal with the wildlife, far surpassing what many other drivers I observed could offer. Our day ended with us visiting the Masai Mara Community. Meeting with this group of people listening to their folklore, cultural way of life, and taking part in their communal festivities only enriched our experience to another level.
Our adventure continued at Lake Nakuru, another remarkable destination on our itinerary. Here, Kevin’s expertise shone once again. Although all vehicles were required to keep a distance from the rhinos, Kevin skillfully took us closer than most other guides, bringing us within 150 meters of these magnificent creatures. His knack for getting us closer to the action, while still adhering to park regulations, was nothing short of impressive. As other vehicles gathered around us to get a similar view, Kevin’s approach ensured we had a unique and memorable experience.
What truly set Kevin apart was not just his driving skill but also his deep knowledge of the parks and the wildlife. He was always ready to answer questions, offer historical insights, and share fascinating facts about the flora and fauna. As I listened in on conversation after conversation I hear about his reputation among other safari drivers, hotel staff, game wardens, and fellow guides was a testament to his professionalism and respect in the field.
In summary, our safari experience was enhanced immensely by Kevin's exceptional guiding. His blend of skill, knowledge, and passion made our trip unforgettable. From navigating the rugged terrains to securing the best photographic opportunities, Kevin’s expertise was invaluable. We saw and learned more than we had hoped for, all thanks to his outstanding guidance. There is so much more to write, however time and space will not allow. This safari has been a dream come true, and Kevin has set a high standard for future adventures. We will cherish these memories and hope to embark on another safari soon, ideally with Kevin at the helm.
US
Email Kelsey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly disappointed in our guide!
My partner and I hired Apodiformes Adventures as our guide group for our 5 day Safari in Kenya during the end of July through beginning of August, 2024. Overall our experience with the company was ok, but there were a number of things that came up during our trip that were less than ideal. I have never written a critical review before but felt obliged to do so after reading the review from a group that hired Apodiformes a week or two prior to us, which mirrored our trip to a near uncanny level. As a point of reference, this is my tenth trip to Africa, second trip to Kenya, and I’ve spent a cumulative 8+ months working around the continent. The challenges of running a tour business are not lost on me, but there are certain items that could be easily remedied, and tour guides should be held to standard.
First, we had outstanding communication with the company during the planning process of the trip and were very pleased with the level of attention to detail provided by Fred who handled our booking. We received notice of the name of our guide the day prior to arrival and arranged a pickup at 7:30 am. Our guide assigned was Ken who picked us up and took us to the parking lot of a nearby shopping center 15 minutes from our hotel to meet up with the representative from Apodiformes and pay the second half of our fees in cash. This is something that could easily have been handled in the hotel lobby from the standpoint of making things feel more “professional” but not a big deal. We then started traveling to our destination of the Masai Mara where we were anticipating a half day game drive to start the trip. When we were first picked up from the hotel I noticed that the back tire of the vehicle was very low, but not fully flat. An hour into the drive, we pulled over into a side street and a guy began to change the tire. During this time, Ken never mentioned that we needed to get the tire fixed or even that we would be stopping. While this only took about 45 min to an hour, this cut into the time of our game drive and is something that easily could have been remedied the day prior to pickup since it was clearly noticed, or at least we could have been notified of when we first started the day and we would have been very understanding. These vehicles take a beating and things often break, it is understandable.
On the way to the Mara and throughout the vast majority of our trip, Ken was continuously on his phone with various calls and texts to the level that if I were to ask a question after he got off the phone, his phone would ring again before I could even get the question out. I’ll not belabor the point, but Ken would answer questions when directly asked (at times with a one word answer) but would very rarely offer information, guidance or discuss plans unless we brought it up first. This was the theme throughout the course of the trip.
Eventually we made it to the Mara and had a great evening drive. To his credit, Ken is an incredible driver. He was always able to get us right in the action, was able to communicate well with the other drivers, and could find us a variety of wildlife. I really appreciate his efforts in making all that happen and led to us overall having a positive experience on the various game drives.
Our first night stay we were told that the lodge we were to be staying at overbooked and that we would be moved to a new lodge – not a big deal however this was not communicated until we were almost at the replacement lodge. Overall the accommodations were good and seemed to be of similar quality to the intended location, but just raised an eyebrow. Either way, the accommodations that night were ok.
The next few days followed this general course with limited communication from Ken minus a few good conversations we were able to engage him in with some prodding. We were never really asked about our preferences, what we wanted to do/see, but when we directly asked he was accommodating and was generally good natured.
On our 4th of 5 days when we arrived at our last lodge we were told that we could have lunch and then go on the intended boat ride. Of note, the boat tour included a 45 minute walking tour through a preserve off-trail which neither Ken nor the staff let us know about. Thank goodness we wore boots rather than the sandals we were considering wearing because it was a “boat tour”. When we met up with Ken for the boat ride he told us something about a “terrible problem” that had happened to the vehicle and that it would need to be in the shop, meaning he could no longer drive us. He arranged a driver the following day to “take us back to Nairobi in the morning,” not mentioning the fact that we were planning to go to Hells Gate for a tour before returning. Because we had assumed we were getting back in the vehicle after lunch we had not fully cleaned/removed our goods from the safari vehicle, I thought that I had left my hat and asked him about it. He said he would give it the the driver for the next day and though I found the hat in my bag the following day, he never messaged or communicated that he did not find it in the vehicle. Given that the previous group on the review boards experienced the same “sudden vehicle trouble”, this is either a habit of Ken or Apodiformes in order to free the vehicle up a day early.
The driver who picked us up the following day was AWESOME. Great guy, very personable, super helpful. Went out of his way to help us have a good experience and even drove us around Nairobi looking for fabrics. A+ overall. Of note: His vehicle was a standard hatchback van and not a safari vehicle, so if we had planned on a driving safari through Hells Gate the following day rather than opting for a bicycle tour, this would have significantly diminished the experience. Finally, we had been told on the first day that the rep from the company would meet with us back at the hotel when we returned to Nairobi to close the loop, but never heard from them again after the first day. I was hoping to provide this feedback to them in person but did not get the opportunity.
My purpose of posting this review is to note that overall, we had a good time because my partner and I enjoyed each other’s company in the beautiful natural wonders that Kenya has to offer, and all of the lodges and parks we visited had outstanding staff that were exceedingly warm and welcoming. It seems that Apodiformis Adventures has a few quality improvement points to work on with their team. While I much prefer to provide feedback directly to companies rather than posting on a public forum, the similarities to the previously posted experience tell me that this is something systemic that needs to be addressed.
Outstanding.
Sebestian our tour guide made our entire trip awesome. He was through professional and took utmost care of our comfort and convenience.
He distinctively planned our tour.
Thanks Silas for crafting our trip.
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.
CN
Email Imigin Shao | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible experience and unforgettable memories
Our recent trip with Apodiformes Adventures was truly unforgettable. Their itinerary was perfectly planned, leading us to our dream hotel and providing just the right mix of adventure and relaxation. They responded quickly to our inquiries and made sure all our needs were met efficiently.
A major highlight was our guide, Sebastian. His sharp eyes could spot distant or hidden wildlife, making every safari thrilling. He was gentle, knowledgeable, and answered all our questions, teaching us a lot about Africa. Even on days with long transfers, Sebastian's planning ensured we always had a safari, making each day exciting.
The trip was filled with many memorable moments. Although we didn't see a cheetah this time, the amazing experiences and knowledge we gained have only fueled our desire to return to Africa.
CN
Email Deki Wong | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Punctual and reliable.
My recent trip to Kenya was absolutely exhilarating, leaving me yearning for more. Our meticulously planned itinerary took us to Tsavo West National Park, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli, and the Maasai Mara. The vast savannahs and the incredible variety of wildlife we encountered were simply breathtaking. We saw majestic lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and many more. It made me wonder how awe-inspiring it would be to witness the Great Migration.
The accommodations were excellent, providing a perfect blend of comfort and luxury. After long days of bumpy game drives, it was a delight to enjoy sumptuous meals and unwind with a hot shower, which truly rejuvenated us for the next day's adventures.
A special mention goes to our guide, Sebastian. His dedication, punctuality, and keen eye for spotting wildlife made our trip even more memorable. His deep knowledge and network of information about animal sightings allowed us to experience numerous unforgettable moments.
Overall, this journey to Kenya was a perfect blend of adventure and relaxation, offering an immersive experience in one of the world's most magnificent natural settings. I can't wait to return and explore more of this beautiful country.
Magical and safe safari
Very good organisation from picking from hôtel to train station and picking until Diani hôtel
Issahia is a very safe and good driver. We could see lions 1 meter from lion.
You can pay account from France without trouble. And the rest on the arrival Day. All the contract would be guaranted.
Thank you Silas and Issahia.
MY
Email Kai | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable and Trustworthy
It was my first safari and I was looking forward to it. As I was travelling solo into foreign territory, Silas’s helpfulness and commitment to customer service helped me navigate the choices in customising an adventure I’ll never forget. I was expecting a guide but got a guardian brother in Michael, who had taken great care of me , attending to my needs and most importantly, managed to deliver the Big 5 sightings in my first safari. Truly remarkable and reliable. Thank you for the adventure of a lifetime. Couldn’t recommend highly enough.
IN
Email Shalini | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best Experience, Fantastic and Smooth Service, Amazing Tour Guide
I was travelling from India with my sister and we were concerned about our safety. They assured us that it is going to be very safe and very reliable. They gave us the best rates and also helped us customize our tour as per our requirements. The communication was crystal clear and Silas was patient as we were asking questions. The service was fantastic. Our tour guide was Sebastian and he took care of us very well. This gentleman made sure that we did everything on our itinerary and also made sure that we got enough time to relax. We got so much local information about the tribes, local customs and the birds/animals in the safari. He took care of our dietary restrictions and made sure that we are always happy. I also noticed other operators as I was there and I believe none of the others got the kind of service that we got. This was truly my best trip and I would totally encourage you to go with them.
