20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible
I am embarrassed for my country. The roads in Etosha are horrific and a utter disaster. What impression do we leave tourists, these roads will make you buy a new car.
UY
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I felt scamed. They did not comply with the agreement
At first Stephen responded quickly and provided me with an itinerary according to my requirements and clearly stating what was included and what was not and the price. I had requested other quotes and made my choice by ranking the number of safaris proposed, a room for myself and accommodations in nature environments. All this in the month of January I also contracted with them for 8 days in Uganda (which they subcontracted to another company) After having sent the signal, I have questions specific to the trip to which Stephen does not answer directly and that is where my distrust begins when I see that there is no transparency and clarity in the communication on his part.
After requesting an invitation letter from both countries for the purposes of applying for the visa, I found out from the Ugandan agency that my room was going to be shared. It wasn't what we had agreed upon. Words come and go, 2 weeks away I am leaving for Nairobi. I don't know what happened between them but in Uganda I was always in a private room. I will go on to detail what was established in the itinerary and I did not have:
- pre and post accommodation. I had pre but no post. I insisted on that, it should have been in Uganda (I paid Pride of Africa, so they had to have arranged it) but I had to pay for the accommodation myself. - They charged me U$30 for the deposit transaction, which should have corresponded to them, (this is stated in our WhatsApp conversation), having already paid the part that corresponded to me here. - the most serious. They took away 4 safaris from me...4!!! One in Masai Mara, another in the morning in Nakuru, another in the afternoon and a night safari in Bothelli (which was the only night safari there was) Instead, on the day we were supposed to have a safari in the afternoon and evening, they take us back to Naivasha and leave us at a lodge at 1:30 p.m. (a place with no park or anything to do), "to rest." ". I'm not going to Kenya from Uruguay for 7 days to rest, needless to say. The day we went to Hells Gate, they gave us 1 hour by bicycle, they did not take us to one of the parts that are allowed to go in the Devil's Throat itself, (they took many people there and it is a spectacular view) and then to drive to Amboselli to get there and do nothing again. When I wrote to Stephen complaining about these things, he always told me about other things and never responded. I told him I felt cheated. The group was 7 people that we had hired from different agencies. The itinerary responded to what they had but my itinerary was different
- The first 2 days they put me to sleep in a room with another person, it was not what was agreed upon either. - It is not my first safari experience. The animals will be notified very early in the morning, 6:30, and in the evening. We always left after 8 am and long before sunset we had returned to the rooms, greatly reducing the safari times. This also greatly reduced the chances of seeing animals. - drivers are drivers, they are not guides. They don't explain anything to you and they don't show anything that doesn't break your eyes either. By the way, they are not at all friendly in their treatment either. - They have a radio in the car to communicate with other cars in case they see animals. One of the safaris left with the radio not working. - on the last day, we were supposed to have a picnic lunch on the way but we rushed it and dropped us directly at the airport - The pack lunch, the times we had it, in my case I am a vegetarian, consisted of 2 loaves that inside had, literally, a very small slice of finely cut tomato and an equal one of cucumber, plus an egg (sometimes) and a banana Although this and eating rice and beans every day is not what worried me. As I said before, I don't go to Kenya for food or to rest.
- the only place we had accommodation in nature was at Amboselly Niati Safari Camp. A very beautiful environment with the stunning view of Kilimanjaro....full of cockroaches that walked inside the bed, through the toothbrush...tremendous I reiterate, everything was very cordial with Stephen until the sign. When I complained to him that it was not what was agreed upon, (especially my insistence was on the safaris) he told me because I was the only one complaining. I was complaining Stephen, I told you at the time and I'll tell you here too, because I was the only one who had another itinerary. It should be in another group, or you should have made it clear to me that there were changes, refunding my money or repairing it in some way. That's why I told you that I felt cheated and I still feel cheated. I am a born traveler and I have been to Africa several times, in conclusion it is the worst company I hired in my life. I have my detailed itinerary and all the WhatsApp messages available to anyone who wants them.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)