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 Edward K. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good People. Great agent. Deep knowledge and insights.
My wife and I have been arranging trips for our family every year since our children were old enough to remember great experiences. In all cases, I planned the adventures because I enjoy researching and reading up ahead of the trip. My family would tell you I would make a phenomenal travel agent. In the case of Africa, I decided to relinquish the duty to a travel professional (Compass Odyssey) as I did not have the same confidence in planning a safari, deal with multiple border crossings, language, exchange, political and cultural uncertainties. We visited Victoria Falls, had a safari in Zambia, and then a safari in the Okavango Delta.
I can tell you I am extremely impressed with the knowledge, level of care, detail, follow-up, follow-through (in planning, during the trip and post trip) we received. Unbelievable trip and life experience! And at a very reasonable price. Darren even suggested I make certain arrangements for a separate part of our trip on my own to save some money. It is clear that Darren and his team have deep relationships throughout the industry and is very well liked. Per the industry standard terms, I was extremely hesitant to wire such a large sum of money well ahead of arriving, especially since the relationship started online without a referral. I was greatly relieved and confident as time marched on and I saw the continued communication, passion and then a wonderful trip that followed. Since my children felt this was the best trip yet, I will have to concede that Darren and team take first place, ahead of myself, in planning the perfect trip. Feel free to reach out via email for additional support and detail, as I am more than willing to share this experience with anyone who may benefit. Darren has my permission to share my address as it suits his client’s needs. P.s. I do not usually believe in websites that show a perfect 5.0 rating. I even thought about rating them a 4.5 just to show some balance. Nah. Its 5.0
MY
Email Kelvin Ng and family | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredibly professional service and outstanding hospitality.
We had a fabulous experience with Compass Odyssey on our trip to Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe) and Okavango Delta (Botswana). From the onset, communication from Darren and Kate was prompt, friendly, and helpful. They were incredibly meticulous in answering all our queries and designing an itinerary that worked for us; we found the meticulous pre-safari dossier to be a great touch too! On the ground, Ruth and Mortimer in Zimbabwe were absolute stars who took care of our every need, and their hospitality was undoubtedly a highlight of our trip to Vic Falls. The accommodation provided throughout our safari was top-notch as well. It was my parents’ first safari and they enjoyed it immensely; I’ve been to safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, but Compass Odyssey nonetheless stands out for their unrivaled service and attention to detail—I can safely say this was one of the best safari experiences I’ve been on. All in all, we would highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone looking for a high-value, reasonably-priced safari in Southern Africa.
Email Peter and Karen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great tour that went like clockwork - highly recommend
We were a couple travelling with friends (another couple) to Chobe National park and Victoria falls starting and returning to Johannesburg. The whole experience with Compass Odyssey was fantastic right from the first contact with Darren to the final hooray! We were able to arrange the trip just the way we wanted it to fit in with all our other arrangements for this holiday. Darren was an absolute please to communicate with, the quality of pre-tour information was great and very helpful, and his local guides exceptional. We stayed at Garden Lodge at Chobe (awesome place on the river, comfortable, friendly and relaxed stay with excellent food) and then Batonka at Victoria Falls (fairly new and a bit upmarket and just fantastic).
We had a great time (2 days) at Chobe on the river with our guide Tefu (hope I got that correct) who ensured we got fantastic photos including 2 amazing sunsets - he knew just where to be at the right time! The river and wildlife particularly the elephants, hippos, crocs and birds was something else. Then we were onto Victoria Falls for 3 days with our guide Mortimer who assisted us across the border for an absolutely awesome time viewing the falls from both sides, did a chopper flight (I recommend it!) and took a dip in Devils pool (not for the faint hearted but was just so cool to hang over the edge of the falls!!) and an evening Zambezi cruise. Mortimer and Ruth (his lovely wife) helped us with our activity arrangements and transfers whilst our Vic falls guide Innocence gave us a very informed tour of the falls (the falls are truly amazing).
Overall this trip was fantastic and was a great compliment for the rest of our time in Africa. I would definitely recommend Darren and his crew from Compass Odyssey to anyone visiting Africa. Just contact him and I'm sure he can arrange something to fit your needs.
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Email Alaina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic and Organized tour operators!
Compass Odyssey was a great and reliable company to work with. They were always timely and provided much needed information in a timely fashion. Our guide was great and timely as well. We were provided with amazing accommodations. They were able to provide us with so many opportunities and sights to see in the short amount of time we had available. Overall, great tour and great tour operations. I will be using Compass Odyssey again.
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Email Maxine Tate | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
FABULOUS TRIP PLANNED EXPERTLY BY A FABULOUS TOUR COMPANY---COMPASS ODYSSEY IS THE BEST!!!!
I have been on many tours around the world and have never experienced working with any like tour company like Compass Odyssey..Darren is so efficient about every detail...from the correspondence in emails that were answered immediately and all the questions answered quickly and I had a bunch!!! It took a while to tweak the trip where it was exactly what I wanted and Darren did such a wonderful job...in the end it was definitely a trip of a lifetime!!! The lodges where Darren booked us was top-notch and only the best!!! Our rooms were beautiful as were the whole camps which had views of animals or water or both!!! The food was fabulous and the presentation wonderful at all the lodges ..the staff was very friendly and accommodating. The safaris were fabulous ....We saw so many animals and it was so much fun trying to spot them...we were so close to the animals you could almost touch them!!!! What a wonderful experience we had and we love Afica...I hope to go back one day and would use no tour company except the wonderful COMPASS ODYSSEY!! Thanks so much Darren and Kate!!!
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Email Victoria Durden | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Perfect Trip!
I can’t thank Darren and the Compass Odyssey team enough for the perfect trip! I knew what I wanted to do, I just didn’t know how to make it happen and that’s where Darren came in. Traveling solo I had a lot of questions and concerns and Darren was very patient and helpful in answering all of my numerous questions during the months long trip planning process. He always responded quickly & cheerfully. The trip itself was amazing. The guides in each location went out of their way to ensure my experience was the best. The accommodations were top notch. Darren checked in on my travels every leg of the trip to ensure that everything was going as planned. It’ obvious that his priority is that his clients have an incredible experience. I highly recommend Compass Odyssey for all of your travel needs. They can't be beat!
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Email Adolfo (J.R.) McGovert | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Compass Odyssey exceeded all my expectations.
I can not say enough good things about Compass Odyssey. I had always wanted to go on a safari but had no clue on how to go about it. After deciding it would be best to use a travel company rather than trying to organize everything myself; I found Compass Odyssey on SafariBookings. All the reviews I read were very positive so I felt comfortable reaching out to them. Darren got back to me immediately and proposed an excellent itinerary based on my budget and interests. He was always quick to reply to my emails and answer any questions I had (there were a lot) with total patience and professionalism. I have never worked with a travel company that was so attentive to my needs and detailed in every regard (info, activity planning, flight arrangements, etc.). They took care of everything and relieved any anxiety I had in advance of the trip. From beginning to end, they made me feel as if I was their only client and that my satisfaction and enjoyment was their only priority and concern. I couldn’t have been happier with my accommodations, activities, and wildlife experiences. The good times I had will last a lifetime. Darren is a class act and raised the bar for what one should expect when working with a tour company. I highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone interested in a top-notch, stress-free, experience in Africa. I look forward to working with them again in the future now that I’ve been bitten by the African bug.
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Email Lynne & Larry | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic local knowledge. Terrific recommendations. Great attention to detail. Easy to work with.
Darren and the team helped us book a vacation of a lifetime. Listened carefully to what we wanted and set up a great itinerary. Fantastic guides on the ground. Wonderful recommendations for where to go, where to stay, how to balance out the trip. Everything worked flawlessly on the ground. It exceeded our expectations.
Thanks Darren and crew!
A spectacular, well-organized, once-in-a-life-time trip that exceeded all our expectations.
From touch down in Cape Town (where we were greeted by Garth, our excellent Cape Guide) to our delivery to the Kasane airport in Chobe, this was a truly effortless trip. Garth was a font of information about the country and the region, and was delightful company. He also adjusted as the weather turned and as he learned more about what we wanted to see. Plus he recommended a great book which I took with me for the rest of the holiday. The safari experience at Mma Danare was truly breath-taking. The sheer amount of wildlife we encountered was amazing (our driver, Chris, was unstoppable). We were lucky enough to be able to follow two male lions (and, separately) a larger pride of lions. Watching two young male cheetahs hunt was another highlight. So too were the giraffes and elephants and impala and and and. The lodge itself was exquisite. Our second lodge near Joa was also picturesque. A slightly different experience (being on wetlands) we were able to take makuro rides (including a very special sunset one) and see the delta from a new perspective. While the wildlife sightings were limited (this would be the only quibble about the whole trip. Because of the lack of rain, while the lodge was pretty and the water was interesting, there wasn't a great chance to see many animals) it was an interesting, unique perspective. Chobe was sensational. The wildlife experience there (more lions, so many elephants, elephants swimming across river at sunset!) was superb. And while the room and food at the Garden Lodge were terrific, here are the only other quibbles I had about our trip. There was very loud music nearby both evenings we were there that continued into the early hours of the morning (3:00 am). There was nothing the lodge could do about it... but... And we often felt like we were being rushed through our dinners. The staff was TOO attentive -- hovering over our shoulders to clear the plates and bring the next ones out. But as I say -- small tiny little "problems" in what was a spectacular two weeks. Thank you so much for organizing such an amazing adventure.
Email Gabe and Charlie Winten | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not just a number, our tour was a unique and personalised experience.
Not a seasoned traveller, I felt relaxed and confident with the tour that had been organised for us. The accomodation was personal and oozed quality. The guides were friendly and bent over backwards to ensure our needs were met. Transfers between destinations went smoothly with staff meeting us every time. Darren and Kate were in contact during our tour to reassure us we were cared for. I would definitely recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone wishing to travel to Africa, you’re in safe hands.