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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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 :)
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Email Steven & Janice Levenson | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
OUTSTANDING - Everything exactly as represented, BETTER than expected - Saw all BIG 5 plus more
The communication with Darren was unbelievable. I kept requesting changes and had questions about everything. Every question was answered and every change was discussed. Kate and Darren put a final itinerary together - I believe it was the 6th or 7th and it was amazing. All of the guides and/or drivers were where they were supposed to be, both at the airports for pick up and the lodges or camps for pickup to our next stop or airport.
We started in Cape Town for 4 days - the Parker House, a Bed and Breakfast was nice, clean and the breakfast was really good - the shower in our room was a little small though. Next a flight to Greater Kreuger - we stayed at the Bateleur Safari Camp for three days - saw all of the Big Five animals plus many more on our 5 game drives, the tent was nice, clean and secure - we actually left the key in the door on the outside when we were not there so the monkeys could not open. From there a 3 hour drive to the airport - a midway potty stop in a very clean restroom and it was actually a very nice drive. Off to Zambia where we were picked up at the airport by our driver/guide. Our lodge for the one night was very nice - our cottage was starting to show some ware and tear, but clean and nice, accept for the wasps - lots of wasps. The food was really good and we were on the riverbank where we could hear the Hippos grunting - had an afternoon river cruise - seeing Hippos and Crocs. After breakfast the next morning, we took a walking tour and saw Rhinos and other animals, then for lunch at the Elephant Café where we fed elephants and had a very nice lunch, next a boat ride on the river seeing more Hippos and Crocodiles before heading to the Zambia side of Victoria Falls for a tour - sounds like a lot, but was easy. From there to the Batonka Lodge - again really nice, in Zimbabwe - Dinner was at the Boma dinner show - lots of fun and all kinds of food. Up to a great breakfast then to a tour on the Zimbabwe side of the Falls and a free afternoon at the lodge to swim and rest. They say to bring rain clothes to the Falls - do that, you will get soaked. After breakfast mid-morning on to Botswana. Our guide/driver assisted us at the border - he did also going into Zimbabwe. Then to the Chobe River Lodge where we rested for a bit and took an afternoon river safari where we saw Elephants, Hippos and Buffaloes in the river as well as other animals on the banks. The next couple of days were on driving safaris (4) where we saw many Lions, Elephants, Hippos, Giraffes, Buffaloes and Crocodiles, along with all kinds of other animals and birds. The lodge was amazing and the food was unbelievable. Next, we were picked up for a short ride to the airport and on to Johannesburg. There we stayed at the Peech Hotel, again really nice and a short Uber/Cab ride to a shopping area with a bunch of very nice restaurants and unbelievable car dealerships - the McLaren dealership was my favorite. Unfortunately Johannesburg was not our favorite stop - not alot to for us see.
With all of the places we went and transportation we used - there was never any confusion and someone was always there for us. In addition Darren was always in contact with our drivers or guides making sure all was well. Also, he contacted us a few times to make sure we were enjoying ourselves - complete service.
We highly recommended Compass Odyssey.
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Email Paul and Janet | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding Company!
Being a retired teacher, I was really impressed with the thought and detail that was put into our itinerary by Darren. The length of stay at each location was enough time that we didn’t feel rushed and Darren planned every detail down to the names and pictures of our escorts, drivers and accommodations. Our trip included travel to, and stays in, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Every place we stayed, the accommodations were excellent and the food was outstanding and plentiful. We enjoyed Safaris with local guides, scenic boat rides, as well as visits to both sides of Victoria Falls, and even a visit to a local township and school where our local drivers live. Our drivers, Ruth and Mortimer, made all of our border crossings easy and stress free. Not only did they escort us across each of the border crossings, they took us to our new accommodations and helped us check-in! The lodges chosen for us were all exceptional, and Senalala Lodge and its staff will always hold a special place with us.
We communicated directly with Darren on WhatsApp throughout our trip and he was always very prompt with his responses.
So many great experiences and memories. We will definitely use Compass Odyssey when we return to Africa.
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Email Leslie and Sue | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Compass Odyssey helped guide us through all the obstacles we met planning a trip during a pandemic.
Our safari took us to the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park in Botswana, and Hwange National Park in Zimbabue, with a last day in Victoria Falls. Darren customized our experience to include a wide variety of landscapes, animals and their habitats, and accommodations. We felt that in a relatively short amount of time we saw and participated in much of what southern Africa has to offer. The wildlife was abundant and the guides were friendly, efficient, and extremely knowledgeable. The staffs at our accommodations were happy to serve our every want and need, and the food was outstanding. Mortimer, Compass Odyssey's Victoria Falls guide, gave us an amazing and informative tour there. For such a distant and complicated trip the glitches were few and relatively minor. It seemed like a luxury vacation at a mid-range price.
