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
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Email Sabrina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Attentive, responsive, and super helpful.
Great experience in helping us book a once-in-a-lifetime safari -- recommended!
US
Email Henry and family | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding Tour and Excellent Customer Service
Darren and Kate at Compass Odyssey put together the perfect combination of safari and other activities for my family on a very time constrained vacation. (One daughter is a teacher, so it all had to fit in the 2 weeks she had off from school) The safari's in three different location were all excellent, and all the lodgings were as described or better. I can't say enough positives about their communication and flexibility during the planning, and then their communication in the weeks leading up to our trip, and during the trip itself. All went according to plan. Now is a great time to visit southern Africa, given the strength of the US $, and Compass Odyssey should be your choice to work with to put together the perfect trip.
Email Cassie and Luke Dowd | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, Friendly, Efficient, Professional, Prompt and Responsive.
Highly recommend this company! Extremely organized and professional. Responses were almost immediate to the many questions we had regarding our Safari. Darren and Kate are experts in their field and it showed with how smooth everything ran from start to finish. If you are looking for a unique African Adventure which is safe and extremely well organized then Compass Odyssey is the way to go!
Email Dermot and Lynne Bowes | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service from Compass Odyssey
Well we don't often praise travel agents but Compass Odyssey provided us exceptional service.
We travelled through Sth Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia including two safaris and a trip to Victoria Falls.
The level of detail was everything you might need more with lots of options to make our stay as busy or relaxing as we wanted.
Our trip was originally cancelled through Covid, rebooked in 2021, cancelled again and booked in 2022, each time we emailed Darren & Kate responded promptly, if every travel agent provided this level of service travelling would be so much easier.
CH
Email Gabi | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a wonderful round trip, with many landscape impressions and animal diversity that Namibia has
From the beginning, Compass Odyssey tried very hard to fulfill our wishes. Even though we live far away from Namibia, everything worked wonderfully with the communication.
In Windhoeck we were personally welcomed by the guide and he helped us with all our wishes with words and deeds.
During the trip, the guide gave us a lot of information about his country.
He was a very careful driver.
I can only recommend the Compass Odyssey.
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Email Joy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Another incredible safari with Compass Odyssey!
This is my second safari booked with Darren “Crusty” & Kate Humphries of Compass Odyssey. Crusty has put together a team that brings a level of expertise, attention to detail, & knowledge that are unmatched. They meticulously plan out your personalized safari to ensure it’s exactly what YOU want and take care of all the details (attraction reservations, flights while in Africa, lodges/camps, etc.) so you can relax and enjoy your holiday. Before arrival, you are provided a VERY clear & concise dossier that lays out everything you need to know about your safari.
A bit about my safari. It started with a short stay in Zimbabwe with a day trip to Zambia where I “lived on the edge” at Devil’s Pool in Victoria Falls. If it’s not on your list… it should be. ;) Delicious dinners @ the Boma & The Lookout Cafe (The ostrich is fabulous!). Then it was off to Cape Town, where I had 3 of the most incredible days that included Table Mountain, Robben Island, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Penguins, and so much more. The next stop is the bush of Botswana, both in the Kalahari Desert & Okavango Delta. I was treated to lions, leopards, kudu, eland, zebra, elephants, and giraffes. I was lucky enough to witness the birth of a wildebeest and watch in awe as it took its first steps.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention and thank my primary guides & hosts while on holiday. Alan/guide in Joburg; Mortimer, Ruth, & family/guides in Zimbabwe; Garth/guide, Utah, Ivan, & Sean/hosts - Tintagel Guest House in South Africa; Leana & Cornel/hosts - Thamalakane River Lodge in Botswana; bush guides, Happy, Cindy, Simon, Bonno, & Bathusi. They are some of the most knowledgeable and amazing people I have ever met. They ensured I was well-taken care of from the moment I landed in Joburg until I had to leave for home.
Thank you, Crusty, Kate, & Compass Odyssey for another magical safari!!
CA
Email Linda and Andrew Radomski | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super detailed, friendly and alway in touch with us during our trip
We chose Compass Odyssey’s 14 day, 13 night trip as it was exactly what we were looking for. Dealing with Darren was a joy. He was very personable and tailored his initial package to correspond with the flights we already had booked for travel to South Africa. We did 4 nights in Cape Town, 3 nights in Franschhoek in the winelands region, 2 nights at Senalala Lodge (for game drives) in the Klaserie Private Game Reserve (Kruger), 2 nights in Victoria Falls and 2 nights in Botswana by the Chobe River (for river and game drives).
The tour was private and everything was planned for us down to the smallest detail. Upon landing in Cape Town we were picked up by Keith our guide for the next 6 days. He was super friendly and very knowledgeable about the sights we were visiting and highly recommended.
At Senalala Safari Lodge we did morning and evening game drives and the animals we saw were beyond our expectations. There are only 6 guest rooms and we were treated as a family, eating our meals together (including the managers and guides). It was a wonderful experience.
In Victoria Falls we were picked up at the airport by Mortimer, toured the falls on both the Zambia and Zimbabwe side. We also did a helicopter tour over the Falls and up and down the Zambezi River. Mortimer took us across the borders which we were grateful for as there is a lot activity at the border crossings (trucks, people, etc). We really enjoyed his company as well. We stayed at Batonka Guest Lodge in Victoria Falls.
Chobe River (a 2 hour drive from Victoria Falls) is a special place which is home to hundreds of elephant, impala, hippos, crocodile to name a few animals. It was amazing to watch herds of elephants swim across from the mainland to the islands and back daily. We stayed at Chobe River lodge right on the river. This is a lovely intimate lodge and our guide Tefo was outstanding. We did morning game drives and evening river safaris.
To summarize, all of the accommodations, guides and local flights Darren coordinated were top notch. He totally prepared us for every move we made during our safari and we would highly recommend his company and tours. Well done Darren!
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Email Jean and Kathy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Extraordinary Namibia Experience by a truly fantastic tour company
Elvis was the consummate guide- knowledgeable, companionable, and eager to show us Namibia. Every aspect of our Compass Odyssey tour was impeccably arranged. The level and extent of our pre-tour communication with Darren was remarkable- our regular tour company (OAT) could not hold a candle to the service and flexibility demonstrated by Compass Odyssey, and we would gladly travel with the company again. Our experiences ranged from the haunting, majestic dunes to the glorious seashore to the wildlife rich Etosha National Park- truly the adventure of a lifetime. And we had traveled to Africa 4 times previously! I'm just glad we found out about Compass Odyssey and were able to travel with them. The 4 of us in our little group had a fabulous time, and it was absolutely a terrific value. The only drawback was the time spent transiting from one area to the next on very dusty roads-
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Email Brett and Cindy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip, the attention to detail was outstanding!
This was absolutely an incredible trip. I believe it is the first time I have ever seen best-laid plans actually work. The communication with Darren was very quick and detailed. He was always there for us from the beginning of the planning stages to the end of the trip, including checking on us during the trip. The information in the itinerary he sent us covered every detail and smoothly guided us through four countries. At every new location there was always someone waiting for us to continue our journey. The guides (Brendan, Garth and Mortimer) and the safari guides were all outstanding, they took such good care of us. It truly was the trip of a lifetime, and it was all made possible by Kate and Darren Humphrys. I will always use and recommend Compass Odyssey for any travel to Southern Africa.
NZ
Email Alan and Andie Ramage-Brown | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Superb attention to detail
Right from the start of our contact with Compass Odyssey, Darren and Kate were incredibly helpful, professional and we felt like they adopted us as friends. Their communication was extremely prompt and clear. The thorough information supplied about every aspect of our week in Botswana was on point. They went above and beyond giving detailed info regarding aspects of our African trip that we had booked independently from CO. Botswana was a dream. Loved our time in Chobe, especially time spent on the boats. The Chobe River Lodge was perfect for a two night stay and the meals were superb. Mma Dinare Camp in the Okavango Delta suited our budget and the staff were very attentive. Everything went perfectly according to plan with no hiccups along the way. A massive thank you to Compass Odyssey for helping making our African dreams come true.