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
CA
Email Brandy Hughes and family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An experience that exceeded our expectations in every way
I feel so fortunate that all my hours of online research into a safari company lead me to Compass Odyssey. From the initial booking, to years of delays due to the pandemic, to re-booking, and finally the safari experience itself, Darren and Kate were always quick to respond to any questions and concerns and did everything they could to make sure my family and I were able to fulfill our safari dream.
It would be wrong for me to say that our safari was exactly as described. In fact, it exceeded our expectations at every step of the way. Multiple times during the trip my husband and I looked at each other in awe and wondered "Is this really happening?!?". Even our moody teenagers were impressed. This was hands down the best family vacation we have ever had.
Our itinerary was perfectly balanced between a variety of activities and downtime; our local contacts and guides were friendly, experienced, and extremely knowledgable; and our accommodations were perfect.
I have already recommended Compass Odyssey to many of my friends and would without hesitation use them for future safari bookings. If you've spent as much time researching a safari company as I did, you can rest now and let Darren, Kate, and Compass Odyssey look after you from here.
QA
Email Nicola Lategan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience, best operator we’ve ever dealt with!
Right from the start Compass Odyssey was the obvious choice. Communication with Darren and Kate was a breeze, they were super responsive & gave the right amount of information to keep us informed but not overwhelmed. They were happy to customize our trip & also gave us different budgeting options to keep us in our range. Their attention to detail is what really gave me confidence, and allowed our group of 4 friends to have an amazing trip!
We spent time in Vic Falls (perfect gateway to Africa - the Zambezi river is a must!) and then went on to Botswana with time in Chobe and the edge of the Okavango Delta. Transit was so smooth, and we were really well taken care of. Food, drinks, game drives and boat cruises were all so special, and every person we met was so welcoming and hospitable.
The Compass Odyssey team have a fantastic network of people that they work with, and their knowledge of this region is priceless. I highly recommend them!
US
Email Nikki and Brian Binns | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
We ended up finding Compass Odyssey after another travel company ended up cancelling our planned trip 3 months before we were supposed to travel. I am SO GLAD that the first company cancelled on us, because it gave us the most amazing travel experience when we booked through Compass Odyssey. The family business is owned and operated by Darren and Kate, and they truly want you to have the best experience possible. Having never travelled off the North America continent we were concerned about going so far away to Africa, but Darren immediately put me at ease and had so much detailed information I could hardly think of any additional questions about travel. They were very communicative and kept us in the loop with every detail. The lodges that Compass Odyssey books with are all top notch, and even the hosts speak very highly of them. Compass Odyssey made all of our safari dreams come true!
US
Email Elaine | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Compass Odyssey is outstanding in every way; great service, awesome guides, and spectacular tours!
Darren, aka Crusty, and Kate provided us great service during the 3 1/2 years it took to get us to Africa. We started planning this trip in 2019 and then, you all know what happened in spring of 2020! Darren was so patient and helpful through two sets of dates over the past 3 years. Their attention to detail is outstanding; they left nothing to chance for our trip. We were elated to finally make this trip in March 2023 and it was better than I ever dreamed it would be.
All of the tour guides and drivers that hired by Compass Odyssey were fantastic; very helpful and attentive to our needs and security. Tifo our safari guide in Botswana, through the Chobe River Lodge was the best safari guide I've ever had. Tifo was driving, missing many of the ruts and holes while looking for animals all around us and checking the ground for tracks and scat. He was amazing. And, Garth, our guide in Cape Town, was the best tour guide I've ever had the pleasure of learning from. Garth gave us a concise history of Cape Town and surroundings. He was also very knowledgeable on the winemaking areas. Garth presented all the information in a well-ordered classroom type format. He made it very easy to listen to and in a very interesting manner.
Again, this trip with Compass Odyssey's help, was one of our favorite trips, ever!
US
Email Bill and Donna B. | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
They are knowledgeable, informative, helpful, collaborative, thorough, arranged excellent guides.
Our tour with Compass Odyssey comprised Chobe National Park in Botswana, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia, and Cape Town. It was three years in the making, due to delays caused by COVID issues. Planning was collaborative and interactive. C.O. worked patiently with our group's leaders to select the best options for tours, lodging, and transfers. At each portion of the journey, C.O. provided efficient airport transfers. Our stay at Chobe River Lodge in Botswana was excellent, and our guide worked with the group to provide the best wildlife viewing experience possible. The experience was more important than the time of day, as far as our group was concerned. Our host at Victoria Falls helped us through multiple border crossings (Botswana to Zimbabwe to Zambia and back to Zimbabwe), arranged knowledgeable local guides for both sides of the falls, and gave a good overview of the town. Our guide in Cape Town gave an excellent history of the area, and worked with our group to ensure we saw everything we wanted to see, including making agenda changes on-the-fly to take advantage of sudden opportunities, specifically, cancelling a shopping trip when we saw that the clouds had moved away from Table Mountain and we had a clear late afternoon to explore it. Overall, we felt that we received excellent value for the money we paid, and we had no complaints about the service received. Guides and drivers were always where we expected them to be, when we expected them to be there. We will recommend Compass Odyssey to others considering a trip to southern Africa, and we would engage them again if and when we may return.
PH
Email Armi and Giuliana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Darren and Kate were very responsive to our needs and meticulous in providing information.
We took a while in finalizing our itinerary because Darren tweaked it a few times to address our preferences. And we loved the end result. Communication was a breeze. They would respond even on weekends. And their dossier? Very comprehensive! They describe what to expect as if the traveler were actually onsite already. Aside from these, they were a call away should we need anything. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.
US
Email Melissa | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Knowledgeable, kind, funny, simply amazing
When using compass odyssey you need to plan and worry about nothing. Darren and Kate pre plan and execute an amazing safari. Timely communication, best value, amazing staff/tour guides. This was a dream trip for me and being able to just go and be present in the moment, knowing that Darren and Kate had my back was priceless. The lodges they use have incredible staff, amazing food, superb trackers. It’s hard to put into words how incredibly life changing this trip was, to be one with nature, surrounded by incredible people is just magical. Compass Odyssey will not disappoint.
Email Steve and Lauren Wilson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Meticulously organised, honeymoon trip of a life time!
We started our enquiry about our trip back in 2019 but due to COVID and our wedding being delayed multiple times we eventually got to go in 2023. From the moment we contacted Darren (Compass Odyssey) we felt as though we were in good, capable hands, and this faith was entirely justified. Always on hand to give speedy and helpful responses to any and all questions, Compass Odyssey took us through many iterations of our itinerary until we settled on our ideal trip. Then, throughout COVID, Compass Odyssey were always in touch, keeping us updated with the latest protocols in each of our selected countries (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe & Botswana) and ensuring that our bookings were seamlessly transferred to our eventual dates.
As for the trip itself, words cannot begin to describe the amazing time and experiences that we had, thanks to Compass Odyssey's meticulous planning. We set off on our trip confident that we knew all the relevant and important details, and this turned out to be correct - all processes and procedures were flawless and took what could have been a huge amount of stress out of the trip. All of the reserved lodges were perfect, the arranged transfers hassle free and the activities sensational. Even when we did have a small hiccup with one of our activities (outside of Compass Odyssey's control), both Darren and Mortimer were available instantly to swiftly resolve the issue.
Our honeymoon trip was absolutely everything that we could have wished for, and more, and for that we cannot thank (and praise) Darren, Kate & the rest of the Compass Odyssey team enough.
US
Email Beverly and Mike | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Darren listened to our wishes and planned a seamless and very personal itinerary.
We communicated with Darren or Compass Odyssey exactly what we wanted and he was very thoughtful and precise with the planning of our trip. We began with 4 nights in Capetown, which was just perfect. Our personal guide, Glen, was fabulous! We saw all of the sights, plus a couple that we requested, as well as a day of wine tasting at some beautiful wineries. Our entire trip was very personal, in that there were only the 5 of us on all of our tours and Safaris, except for 1 camp in Kruger, where another couple joined us, who fit in perfectly. No big crowds or tours! All of our accommodations were very nice, and our safari hosts and guides were extremely knowledgable. All of our accommodations had very comfortable beds, and nice baths with good showers. Queen Victoria in Cape Town was a boutique luxury hotel, as was The Peech Hotel in Johannesburg. Highly recommend both! The Victoria Safari Lodge had the feeling of a real African setting and we enjoyed sitting at the outdoor bar each evening watching the sunset and the animals at the watering hole. After having dinner one night at the famous and historic Victoria Falls Hotel, we were quite happy with our choice of accommodation, feeling the VFHotel was a bit stuffy. LOVED the Chobe River Lodge, and the Pom Pom tent camp in the Okavango Delta. Senalala Lodge was nicer than expected and the hosts were very nice, knowledgable, and accommodating. The trip could not have been better planned by Compass Odyssey, and we thank you for truly memorable experience.
IT
Email The Mazzoldi family | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
nostalgia for Africa
Our annual family trip had Namibia as its destination this year.
Unfortunately, like every year ,before deciding where to go, we arrive a few weeks before departure.
I'm the travel family organizer and when we made the decision for Namibia ,i started calling all the italian tour operators to see the availability, but unfortunately for the month of august ,the month on which all italians are on holidays ,i did not find anything .
I started looking at all Namibian tour operators' websites
. I wrote to 5 of them but none of them convinced me enough ,except Compass Odyssey.
I started writing to Darren all my requests, doubts,fears and i always found a helpful person, attentive to every detail to create an unforgettable holiday
I booked with Compass easily and i trusted in them
The trip was magnificent not a problem, the organization at the top, good standard of hotel and safari tents
Our guide Raymond was a friendly , helpful and discreet man and when he left us a little free we missed him.Every evening for dinner we organized the following day about the departure time and what we wanted to see and Raymond always gave us excellent advice.
Everything was perfect even for my skeptical husband who before leaving said what we are going to do in Namibia and when he returned he spoke of Africa sickness and not of african massage as Raymond said when he was driving on unpaved roads
thank you to Darren ,Kate and Raymond which made us cry before leaving
