Kate & Darren Humphrys with Henry, Olive and Hume
Compass Odyssey
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- Southern Africa Tourism Services Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $1,000 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
MX
Email Daniel Cerda C. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They Understood our wishes and make them reality!
Everything started in 2020 that we had our Trip but obviously were some changes due to COVID, and they rescheduled our trip to 2022.
We were amazed on how they got our ideas into the places and type of travel we wanted.
Now on 2022 we Arrived to South Africa on July and from the beginning we felt welcomed and everything was organized, with the best timing posible. We really recommend Compass Odyssey.
We went to Kruger, Zambezi River (Zambian Side), Victoria Falls and Chobe River.
They organized flights, transportation, accommodation, activities. Everything was perfect from the beginning to the end.
IE
Email John R and family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
First class highly experienced operator focused on customer and creating amazing holidays
From start to finish, Darren, Kate and the team at Compass Odyssey were fantastic.. We wanted to create trip with our teenage boys that would have adventure, fun and the incredible Safari experience and the guys nailed it . We worked through the plans for the holiday with Darren and he came back with ideas and suggestions which were spot on and within budget. We stayed in the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge for the first couple of nights and then on to The Hide in Hwange National Park. Both locations were amazing and were better than we could have imagined, thanks Darren for the recommendations. The ongoing communication was great with detailed information relevant to our trip.
Once we landed in Victoria Falls, Mortimer and Ruth were there to deal with transport and any other activities. Tours of the Falls on both sides, Bungee jumping for the lads and White Water Rafting for the whole family. When we arrived at The Hide we were treated to incredible service in one of the most amazing locations in the world. The team at The Hide were top class, the Game Drives with Theo were fantastic and we all got to see and enjoy the incredible wildlife. Nothing beats the early morning sounds of Lion roaring. Back at the lodge the food and service was excellent.
Thank you Darren, Kate and the team at Compass Odyssey, we will definitely be back
Email Andrew and Diana Pearce | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service and advice to make our initial safari an outstanding success
We used Safari Bookings to get ideas about planning a bucket list safari for June/July. I received ideas and quotations from three holiday companies and selected Compass Odyssey as their standard Zambezi-Chobe-Okavango safari seemed to fit the bill.
We added an extra night in the Okavango Delta as we liked the idea of spending more time in the bush, closer to nature and away from too many fellow travellers. All contact with Darren was through email and we quickly agreed on the safari timetable. The documentation from Darren and Kate on the itinerary, local flights and general travel advice was excellent.
We booked our own flights from UK to Johannesburg and after flying to Victoria Falls were met by Ruth who took us to the excellent Batonka guest lodge. Through Ruth we also arranged two excursions whilst at Victoria Falls - the first a river boat dinner was a peaceful introduction to Zimbabwe after a 12 hour flight; the second was white water rafting which was exciting and sometimes scary. The rafting company we were with were very professional and made sure we kept to the safety procedures. A second raft in our group overturned which added to the excitement - with the river in full flow, the whirlpools and rapids were at their best!!
Seeing the falls on both sides is a must and Ruth as Compass Odyssey's local rep was excellent at sorting out the passport stamping etc. She then drove us to the Chobe River Lodge at Kasane, Botswana. The river and vehicle drives were excellent being spoilt for the variety of animals and birds we saw at close quarters. One pleasant aspect of visiting at this time of year was the lack of congestion seeing only a few fellow vehicles. The lodge was good with excellent food and a resident hippo and her baby plus warthogs visiting the garden.
We then flew to the Delta with Mack Air from Kasane - flight on time, clear skies and a great way to view the land below. Met at Khwai airstrip by the camp guide - drive took over two hours as there was a lot to see in the bush. The staff at the Nokanyana Camp were excellent - our tented suite was spacious, hot water bottles provided at night as quite chilly. Food and drinks were excellent, especially the breakfasts. Great to be able to have a G&T in the afternoon after a drive. We were pleased to have added an extra night to stay at the camp due to its location close to the river with hippos and we could hear elephants, buffalo etc wandering through he camp at night. The highlight of the game drives was seeing so many hippos, elephants, zebras, antelope etc plus two young cheetahs. We also viewed at close quarters an unusual sighting of three female hyenas with young living next to warthogs in peace together. We had a bush walk with Gerry which was fantastic - he was very keen to share with us his huge knowledge of living in the bush in many countries - we learnt a lot about the animals and birds during this walk. Again the area around the camp was not busy and we did not see too many other vehicles which was a big plus unlike some other safari parks.
Far too soon we had to leave the delta and fly to Maun by Mack Air - again on time. We then flew to Cape Town for three nights that we had arranged ourselves. We had a hire car and stayed at Camps Bay. We soon realised that we needed more time to explore the region but we were lucky to have great weather and were able to visit Table Mountain, climb Lion's Head, drive to the Cape of Good Hope, Simon's Town etc and visit the Groot Constantia wine estate. On the final morning we went into Cape Town, the V&A Waterfront before driving to the airport to catch our flight to London.
Compass Odyssey arranged a super safari holiday for us with all accommodation and flights going to plan. Not sure when we might be having a second safari but will certainly call Darren. Living in the UK with a history of travel company failures, we were a little wary about sending the holiday monies to a small South African travel company as we were unsure about the effectiveness of the South African bonding scheme but all arrangements went through as planned. One bucket list holiday well and truly ticked off - thanks to Darren and Kate.
US
Email Ana and Ronald Tuckman | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfectly Seamless Adventure
Our experience with Compass Odyssey with Darren to design a 5 night/6 day private tour of Namibia was very productive and congenial. There was always constant communication and clarity for key itinerary suggestions and decisions. Elvis, our experienced guide, smoothly negotiated the wonderful accommodations and activities. Highlights were the Carnivore Trail, the Caracal walk, trecking through the Namib Desert and enjoying the comfy hotels and delicious meals throughout. We look forward to another visit to Southern Africa using Compass Odyssey.
US
Email Peter Turchin | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very smooth, professional team
Compass did a great job organizing my trip. All transfers went smoothly, the lodges where I stayed ranged from terrific to simply very good. The Compass team was constantly in touch in case anything went wrong (but nothing did). I had a fantastic trip. Highly recommended.
Email Shlomit and Zvi | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great planning an execution of trip with Compass Odyssey
Our experience with Compass Odyssey was excellent. We booked a trip to the Zambezi, Victoria falls and Chobe NP in Botswana. The communication with Darren beforehand was smooth and helpful. The local guides in Zambia and Zimbabawa, Mortimer and his wife Ruth, were very nice and helpful. When I was unwell one afternoon, the activity was resceduled to the next day, with a lot of effort from Mortimer and Ruth. The Guide at Chobe, Tifo, was fantastic and we saw amazing things. The hotels were all at a very good level.
Thanks to Darren and Compass Odyssey we had a great trip.
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Email Greg Z. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Small company with fantastic personalized, timely, and detailed service
I feel fortunate that by luck I found Compass Odyssey on the web and booked with them. They were very personal, a pleasure to talk to, provided timely responses, and produced a detailed itinerary that was executed without issue. They are a small company that takes an interest in your needs. They are good to their word. I highly, highly, recommend Compass Odyssey for their safari bookings.
MX
Email Balbina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond Expectation!!!!
Our friend introduced us to Compass and Darren back in 2019. We have planned originally our anniversary trip to South Africa in 2020. Compass and Darren‘s help was crucial during covid pandemic since there was change of plans and lot of cancelations.
2 years and a newborn later we finally got the chance to go to Africa. It was truly an amazing experience. We felt assisted every step of the way. Local guides and acomodations were first class.
We visited three different countries and Darren’s help allow us to enjoy our travelings without any stress.
We are very thankful with him and his team. He definately made our first trip to Africa a lifetime experience!
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Email Heather | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Meticulous planning and execution
Compass Odyssey did an excellent job with both planning and then implementing a wonderful, individualized trip for us.
In the planning stage, they used their extensive knowledge and experience to offer us an initial draft itinerary. Most importantly, they then listened to us about additional places we wanted to go and changes we wanted to make. They were able to give us feedback about logistics and timing. They also did research on our behalf about going to an area that was newer for them, finding the best guides and lodging possible. All-in-all, both the communication and the resulting itinerary were great.
The trip itself was amazing. The guides Compass Odyssey arranged for us were all helpful, friendly, knowledgeable, and flexible. They seamlessly took care of logistics in a way that made the trip so much easier than it would have been had we tried to do this on our own. We were met and assisted at every airport, driven to and timely collected from our lodging every day, taken to sights, helped with border crossings, and educated about the areas’ environment and history. Because they also listened to our interests and were flexible, the trip was able to be even further tailored specifically for us at the implementation phase.
Compass Odyssey also used their knowledge and experience to select outstanding lodging for us and to take care of all the internal airline bookings. The combination of everything that they did for us made this a trip of a lifetime for us. I would would definitely highly recommend Compass Odyssey and will go to them again for any future travel in Southern Africa.
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Email Jessica DeVore | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Compass Odyssey will exceed all of your expectations!!
I am so glad that I was recommended to Compass Odyssey, operated by Darren and Kate. I had an idea of what type of trip I wanted to go on and an idea of where I wanted to go but didn’t know how to put the pieces together. When I got in touch with Darren and Kate, they gave me multiple itinerary options and recommendations and once I was able to narrow it down, they were able to put the puzzle pieces together perfectly for me! I ended up going on a trip similar to what I had in mind but with so much more!!! I would never have been able to do it on my own. I was able to go to four different countries in two weeks and able to have so many different types of experiences! I met some amazing people and will have these memories for a a lifetime! While on safari, I saw so much more wildlife than I thought I would have! It was the best safari experience I could have had! The boat safari in chobe might have been the highlight for me though! Being in the water and that close to the elephants was an experience I will never forget!! I stayed at four different lodges this hour my trip and they were all spot on! I would go back to any of them in a heartbeat! Darren and Kate were there whenever I needed them and were so responsive! I can’t wait until I can ho back to Africa and have them help me with another trip. If you book with Compass Odyssey, you will not regret it! And you’ll probably get more out of your trip than what you even thought you wanted :)
