US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beware: worst tour operator
Beware of Mamu Travels - they are truly the worst tour operator I have ever encountered in my decades of traveling! Mariam, the owner of the company, was very responsive in the beginning, sending through a full quote quickly after my initial outreach. She seemed very thorough in her communications and continued to be responsive after I pre-paid for our safari in full (nearly $3000 for two people). Then, the week of our safari, she went completely dark. She didn't send through a final itinerary so we had no idea who was picking us up, when they were picking us up, their name or contact information - NOTHING! We emailed and messaged her before our pick up date and she was completely unresponsive. We got ready for our pick up the morning of our first day and no driver came. The main phone number for the company listed on the website, which was Mariam's number, was completely offline - no one would pick up or see our messages on WhatsApp. The only way we were able to get in touch with someone at Mamu was through the Safari lodge reservation desk, which happened to have another phone number for the company. That new person, Patronilla, picked up but had no records of our safari or our itinerary because she did not have access to Mariam's files. She said she herself could not get in touch with Mariam. After much struggle, she was able to convince the transfer driver to come back and get us (he said he apparently came at 6:00am and waited 30 minutes for us but the hotel front desk said that was a lie). When he picked us up, he couldn't tell us much about where we were going, just that we were going to meet the safari driver. When we got to the original meeting up point, a run down gas station in a very run down part of Nairobi, the safari driver had already left! So now we had to chase the driver around the outskirts of Nairobi, culminating in us speeding down a cliffside road to finally catch up to him on the side of the road. When we finally got to him, he broke the news to us that Mariam had not sent him the nature reserve entrance fees ($800 for two days for two people, which we prepaid) so we would have to pay him cash and get reimbursed by Mamu. For her part, Patronilla sent us a note that the company would honor the refund, but unfortunately, no one from the company had access to the bank accounts except for Mariam, who was still missing, so the refund could only happen when she came back online. Well, we completed our 3 day safari, which was great, especially the lodge Emayian as well as our safari driver, Charles, but Mariam was still missing the entire time. We checked in again a couple of days after, but her team said she was still missing, so we just ended up doing a chargeback through our credit card company. Needless to say, this was the most AWFUL travel experience of my life and I caution everyone before working with this incredibly unprofessional company that will put you in stressful, dangerous situations!
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointed
During my tour, okavanko river is dried up and no wild animals in this region.
I was really disappointed that situation even though tour company informed in advance.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
masai mara lake nakuru
Be careful of this company. They make you believe you’re booking a lodge like Sofa Lodge and Lake Nakuru, but then they come up with excuses and put you in tent camps at different places. They pull tricks like overbooking or sometimes don’t say anything at all. We tried writing to get our money back for the difference, but they go silent after 5 or 6 days, being vague. Don't book with them; they’ll ruin your safari.
(automatic translation from Italian)
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very bad communication
Would not recommend, this company has taken out money and didn’t book the tours.
ES
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.
DE
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.
CN
Full of unhappiness and regret
WARNING⚠️.There is a fake review in the comments section. We really felt that our vacation was ruined by Leroy en we think he is a fraud. He likes to talk on the phone while driving, and his driving habits are very rude and dangerous. You will feel your bones fall apart in the car. During the safari, he didn't work hard at all, just wanted to finish work early and drink beer all night. When driving, he basically went back and forth in the park in the wrong way and circled, wasting everyone's time. Very unprofessional. If he doesn't want to work, he should just quit! There are so many cockroaches in the car that you dare not sleep at all, otherwise the cockroaches will crawl into your eyes, nose and ears! Very bad experience! He will force a five-star review at the end of the project! It's ridiculous! I can only dare to post this review when my flight takes off! They also force Chinese people to tip $10 per person every day, but there is only poor service. It feels like being robbed. I don't want to come to Kenya again! They treat white people with respect like a master, and treat Chinese people like we owe them money，But the fact is that Chinese people pay more than white people. The service attitude is very poor and unfriendly. You can choose any company, but not this one.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Con artist. Scam
We were at Baobab Hotel Mombasa. Joseph did not pay for our hotel stay there. We trusted him with about 400,000. We had to pay for our stay again at Baobab. He refused to pick calls even from the management. He is a wanted man. His case is with the Diani Police Station. Please, please do not get scammed by Joseph.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unreliable services
Quite a disappointment!! It's run by a one-man show called Joseph who will ask you for payment in exchange for "a very good package." From the online reviews and his licensed documentation, you would think he is trustworthy. However, trust him at your own peril. Once you pay him the full amount, he will disappear and never pick up your calls. He will not remit your payment to the hotel; we believe he scammed us. Please avoid this Royal Choice travel agency.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
CON MAN
Joseph is a conman. He only steals clients' monies. Baobab is looking for him to pay a bill of 162,200, clients' monies, that he squandered and did not pay. Joseph is a thief. May God unleash spiritual mob justice on him and heap upon him perpetual shame and disgrace in Jesus' name. Amen. Please ask him to pay Baobab KES 162,200/= now. Do not deal with this Joseph of Royalchoice Travel Limited.