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
Complicated Trip Made Easy!
My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Darren and Compass Odyssey to plan an 18 day trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana. We had an ambitious itinerary that included many different flights, hotels/lodges, excursions, and border crossings. Compass Odyssey made our complicated itinerary a breeze through a combination of excellent communication, customer service, and flexibility. Darren was an absolute pleasure to work with and I’d highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone looking to plan a South African vacation.
We provided Compass Odyssey with a rough outline of our goals for the trip, including the budget, dates, locations, and attractions we wanted to see. With only that minimal information, Darren was able to develop an itinerary that included top notch lodging, all relevant transfers between locations, and access to all of the highlights we wanted to see. He was even able to incorporate a safari package that we purchased from a charity auction into the overall itinerary. Darren’s insight was incredibly helpful in navigating across the various countries, including timing of flights/vans as well as crossing the borders. This would have been a stressful trip to plan on our own, but Compass Odyssey made it seem easy.
There were no surprises once we arrived. All of the lodging was exactly how it was described to us and all of the transfers ran smoothly to/from the airport and between lodges. From the drivers to the tour guides, everyone we met that was affiliated with Compass Odyssey was helpful and pleasant. International travel can be difficult, especially traveling to a new country for the first time. Using Compass Odyssey to plan our vacation was a great idea and helped make the experience a memorable one.
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Email Lo Sickle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
South Africa, Vic Falls, Chobe
My family has dreamed of doing an African safari forever and Compass Odyssey made sure that it was a trip of a lifetime! We started in Capetown at the Tintgel House which was beautiful and the staff so friendly, helpful, and able to recommend what to do when the weather deterred some of our plans. We had Andrew guide us around town, Table Mountain, Boulder's Beach, and Cape Point - he even ensured we got to the best photo spots. We also had some days in town by ourselves and never encountered any problems getting around. Next we went to Tydon Bush Camp at Sabi Sands. The safaris were great, the guide was so informative and knew exactly where and how to find the animals, and the food was amazing! We saw all of the Big 5 (and more!) in 3 days. Next we traveled to Zambia and Zimbabwe. There were issues with the visas being sold out, but Darrin made sure we were aware and knew exactly what to do before we even boarded our planes so we had no problems. Our guides, Mortimer and Emmanuel, helped us across the borders, at the falls, and getting needed items (when we realized we forgot a few things). They were so helpful and great! The Falls were breathtaking and we enjoyed being able to spend an extra day to take in extra walks around the area and get to see some more of the local area and not just the tourist spots. Devil's Pool was scary at first but so worth the experience! Next we drove to the Garden Lodge at Chobe River in Botswana. Our room, the staff, and the views right on the river were awesome! We had our own private guide for boat tours and into the park - John was awesome! He was able to point out so much to us - as a local he knew about the area, animals, and plants - and he kept the snacks and refreshments stocked! He even ensured that we were able to catch some wild dogs (rare to see). Overall, Compass Odyssey answered all of the questions we had before traveling, recommended some extra sites and things to do that was great, accommodated every request we had, and tailored the vacation for us. The people and places that Compass Odyssey put us with were amazing and we could not have better African experience. Definitely using again and would recommend!
Email joy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Interesting and intimate journey through South Africa
On my friend and my recent trip to South Africa we were lucky enough to be recommended to look at Compass Odyssey as our tour organiser. We were two women travelling alone and needed to feel comfortable with our itinerary. Darren and Kate from Compass Odyssey delivered us a very memorable experience....which was tuned to suit us.
The trip went off without a hitch - we were picked up and dropped off at airports and were given informative and interesting guides (Garth in Capetown knew everything about everything.......took us everywhere and was great company). Our trip to Senalala Lodge was perfect - thoroughly enjoyed the game drives where we managed to see the Big 5 - still can't believe how close we got to the animals and they just ignored us! We also did Vic Falls, Chobe (boat safaris) and back in Johannesburg for a tour of Soweto. Our 2 hour drive from Senalala to Nespruitt Airport was a beautiful drive through tribal lands and eucalyptus forest - so nice to see that part of South Africa.
The accommodation was perfect....they have obviously been handpicked by Compass Odyssey for their personalised service ......loved them all, but Delia in Johannesburg made us feel like we were staying with our best friend.
We managed to come across other C. O. clients in our travels and enjoyed a great connection with them all.
The information provided by the Darren and Kate was comprehensive and we were kept up to date and contacted by them along the way - we felt like they were looking after us all the way.
Highly recommend this tour group.
CA
Email Patti | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded our expectations in every way
Prior to booking our travel plans we requested itineraries and quotes from 3 companies for our South African Adventure.
Compass Odyssey did an amazing job in putting together a package that worked with your time frame.
We researched every accommodation that was suggested to discover they were all within the top 5 on Trip Advisor.
Darren & Kate paid attention to all the details and we had some amazing experiences that will last a lifetime.
I would like to give a shout out to all our guides during the trip who took us to some of their local spots that weren't included but added to our overall experience, Keith in Cape Town, Mortimer in Victoria Falls and Chic in Johannesburg.
Our two safari destinations, Senalala in Kruger, (HJ was our guide and took us out in a jeep twice a day) & Camp Xakanaxa, in Okavengo Delta (Conrad enjoyed the exposing us to Oscar, the local hippo) were highlights as we encountered numerous animals, birds, flora & fauna.
All we spoke to on the journey felt the same, so congratulations! Keep up the great work.
We met other Compass travelers on our trip and have exchanged contact info with all so we could stay in touch and share photos.
The personal attention to each of us shown by Compass worked out well.
I can say unreservedly we will recommend Compass to everyone who says they want to go to southern Africa. You and Kate are the best. When we sit down to plan out something more for Morocco some day, you will be the first ones we contact.
Our trip was interesting, enjoyable and memorable throughout.
Everything concerning our experience with Compass Odyssey was positive, beginning with the months long correspondence with Darren and the planning of our Namibian Safari. All added to happy memories: the choice of places we visited, the variety of lodging accomodations and especially, the always professional, knowledgeable and pleasant Elvis, our Namibian guide.
When we were notified of a family emergency during our trip and the need for us to return home immediately, Elvis was both supportive and efficient in getting us back to Windhoek and our flight home, in the the most timely manner.
Thank you, Compass Odyssey-Darren, Kate and Elvis, for all.
Awesome first time Safari Experience
We had a lot of fun on our first Safari all thanks to Compass Odyssey, Darrren Humphrys and his excellent guides . He had a detailed itinerary so we knew exactly what activities we had for each day. He also kept in touch with us during and after the trip to make sure everything went smoothly. The accommodations were excellent. Highly recommend Compass Odyssey.
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Email Kia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible 1st time safari and honeymoon all in one!
From booking to actually arriving in South Africa, Darren was always accessible, helpful and accommodating. All of the tour guides in Cape Town, Kruger Park, and Johannesburg were amazing and knew their stuff! Every hotel/lodge was very welcoming and comfortable. Food was great, and we met a lot of awesome people along the way! We got to see the Big 5 at Kruger Park all in day 1! It was fantastic. This was definitely the best honeymoon ever! The best trip in lifetime, my husband and I will definitely be coming back!
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Email Maribeth | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip!
We returned ten days ago from a terrific safari, with many thanks to Compass Odyssey. My husband and I traveled with a close friend, so we were a small party and we all felt extremely well looked after. Darren was very easy to communicate with and designed a great itinerary for us which included Cape Town, Greater Kruger, Victoria Falls, Chobe, and Johannesburg. It is pretty incredible that with three internal flights and five different locations in 13 days, this all went off without a hitch. The guides were absolutely top notch, particularly Garth in Cape Town, from whom we learned an astonishing amount about the history and current realities of life in South Africa. It was like having a very fun, good natured college professor along with us for our time in Cape Town. All of the guides Darren connected us with were wonderful, and every aspect of our travels went smoothly so that we didn't have to worry about transit details or which sites to prioritize, we just showed up in each new locale and jumped right in. The quality of the game drives was especially high and we have to give a special shout out to Senalala where we stayed in Greater Kruger for the high quality of that experience. This is a very special locale, with just eight rooms and a wonderful level of attention to guests and to the very special natural habitat all around them. We were lucky enough to do a bush walk and to experience wildlife outside of the jeep, but the guided drives were very special as well. Chobe was notable for the incredible quantity of wildlife gathered at the water and it was one of the most special experiences of my life to see one of these noble elephants (or ellies, as they are called here) swim across the river with her trunk held above the waterline.
This was truly an unforgettable journey and it took a lot of care and planning to make sure that we had that outcome. Darren and his wife Kate are personally invested in the experiences of their travelers and it really shows. I recommend Compass Odyssey highly and without reservation. You will be in great hands.
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Email Jennie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent, everything are well organized. We were well taking care of
Excellent services and well planned. We were very relaxing and enjoying the trip. The lodges were excellent and staffs were friendly and helpful.
Awesome Vacation Of A Life Time
As stated an awesome well planned, detailed out vacation for 5 countries visited. Guides very knowledgeable helpful, and fun too. Felt very safe and in good hands. Darren is a wonderful tour guide, full of great stories about Cape Town, along with continually checking on our group while we were in other counties. Highly recommend Compass Odyssey for a great travel experience.