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
Email Pascale | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, exceeding expectations
We had a wonderful private Safari to Namibia organised for four people.
Landed in Capetown, spent the day to visit with a guide, flying to Windhoek the following morning.
Also half a day on the way back.
Then our Namibian guide took over in Windhoek and looked after us for the next 12 days.
We had a very comfi 4x4 car, 8 seats, air conditioning.
Drove through the Namib desert. Our guide made the most of it. We were the first ones hiking the orange dunes at sunrise, then running down to the petrified trees.
We were the last persons climbing the Dune 45 at sunset, amazing colours and landscape.
We then drove through Namib desert to Swakop. Wonderful cruise experience watching Flamingoes, Dolphins, Seals....
Then a few days in Damaraland desert, watching wild elephants and learning from desert plants, animals, and engraving stones 4000 years old.
Finally a few days in Etosha park, watching so many wild animals : Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, Spring box, Cheetas, Lions, Rhinos, Oryx, Hyena,Chacal.....
Our guides were fantastic making the most of it, very attentionate, organised and knowledgeable.
We can't thank enough Darren and Kate who have organised our trip and given us excellent advices.
The Hotels and guesthouse were very comfortable.
We came from London and had a stop in Capetown. We then flied with Airlink to Windhoek.
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Email John and Emily K. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Compass Odyssey provided us with a truly memorable experience for our safari with our grandson.
This is our second trip to Africa with Compass Odyssey, to a different part of Africa than the first time. Just as before, the trip was amazing, the accommodations were very comfortable, the guides were knowledgeable and friendly and the safari experiences were top-notch. We have no hesitation in recommending Compass Odyssey to anyone and will absolutely use them again for any future trips to Africa!
HR
Email Renato and Thea Kunstek | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The organization was perfect, nothing was left to chance and everything that was agreed was fulfille
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Darren and his team at Compass Odyssey for organizing our safari, the organization itself was amazing from meeting at the airport to transportation to our accommodation. The proposed accommodation was superb, the people who looked after us were beyond amazing , the itinerary itself that was suggested to us and that we accepted was absolutely amazing starting with the breathtaking Victoria Falls and then the fantastic Chobe National Park and the absolutely amazing Okavango Delta. I have absolutely no complaints about any segment of our trip. We saw absolutely all the animals that we wanted and more than that, we met wonderful people and created a memory for a lifetime. I hope we will have the opportunity to return again.
RS
Email Marijana and Daniel Boskovic | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The journey of life
As we stated in the title. This was the best trip of our lives so far. Darren and all the co-workers were fantastic. Every wish of ours was fulfilled and organized and carried out down to the smallest detail. Darren's every suggestion if we weren't sure what to choose from excursions or other events was a hit. During our trip, we visited many places and countries: Doha, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Mauritius, and in each country we were greeted by a fantastic guide who went through the entire itinerary with us. The accommodation units were excellent, the entire staff and the food. Everything was really perfect. I wholeheartedly recommend cooperation with Daren and his associates and we will definitely continue to travel with their organization.
IE
Email Tom and Rhona Coman and family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Compass Odyssey are the best Safari tour operator we have come across
We were recommended Compass Odyssey by another Irish family so we were already assured of the diamond service we were going to receive. Darren was able to surmount the initial challenges presented by an age diverse family particularly in terms of scheduling as we were set in the dates we could travel to Zimbabwe and Zambia. The itinerary was exiting and sold our family from the outset. We found Compass Odyssey to be very attentive to our needs, flexible in delivery and trustworthy in handling the large outlay.
We arrived in Victoria falls after a long journey from Ireland to be met by the Compass Odyssey man on the ground , Mortimer. He was worth his weight in gold over the next week transporting us here and there, booking activities and restaurants, and was generally a great source of information on the country. We stayed 3 nights in the 'Hide' at the Hwangi National and we loved every moment of it from the morning walking safaris with our expert guide Adam Jones ,to the chats around the fire watching the watering hole sipping a few beers. Our accomadation was suprisingly comfortable with a hot water bottle to combat the African cold nights.
Victoria falls ,the adrenelin capital of Africa was everything we hoped for. Firstly the Falls are so beautiful from both the Zimbabwe and Zambia sides. The kids loved the Gorge plunge .We all did the White Water Rafting which was thrilling until we found that we had a 30-40 minute ascent to the top of the gorge at the end.(Not for the faint hearted)
The Elephant Cafe was special. We fed the elephants and enjoyed a top class meal.
All it remains to do is thank Darren and Kate for really looking after us with our trip.It remains among the best we've been on.
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Email Tony and Tina Ezzat and family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime Indeed!
What else can be said about Compass Odyssey that hasnt been said in all these reviews?
It was our pleasure to work with Darren and Kate to set up our inaugural trip to Africa. We ended up doing a trip which started off with Capetown (3 nights), Victoria Falls (2 nights), and 3 camps in Botswana (8 nights). Throughout, Darren's meticulous communication and planning made the entire trip seamless. I note some highlights below:
* Excellent and prompt email communications in the early stages while plannng the trip
* Superb dossier right before the trip commences, which includes all the details of the trip. It's very helpful to have this printed out with you while on the trip.
* Darren's "feet on the ground" in the various cities are wonderful and knowledgeable. These included Garth in Capetown and Ruth/Mortimer in Vic Falls
* Seamless intra-botswana flight and transport arrangements
...and I can go on and on.
Thank you Darren and team for helping us have a trip of a lifetime, and we look forward to more trips in the future.
Tony Tina Theo Nicholas
Email Steve Ford and family | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Extremely knowledgeable, very professional and always on hand to answer (and solve) all queries.
Darren was introduced to me by a good friend in SA. Compass Odyssey's reputation it seems, was well established.
They lived up to that reputation over and over again!
We wanted a safari experience in Greater Kruger, Zambia and Zimbabwe and, although I had previously worked in Southern Africa for many years, we decided to let CO (Compass Odyssey) put together a trip of a lifetime. They did not disappoint!
Once Darren and I agreed on a budget (in our case, upper mid-scale) he went ahead and developed a wonderful itinerary, the experiences from which, we will talk-about and reflect on for the rest of our lives!
Darren was very patient with our needs. Initially, friends said they would join us on the trip, and Darren spent many hours trying to find lodges that could take a group of nine! In the end, we just travelled as one family which assisted the process immensely. Not once did Darren show any frustration at the number of people, which was changing constantly in the early planning.
CO also has a great advantage in being able to provide ground support teams for airport transfers, safari transfers and support expertise at national borders; Alan in Johannesburg, Mortimer and his family who assisted us in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Wonderful people and so less stressful when one has local expertise to assist with these processes!
If ever we have another opportunity to travel to southern Africa, I would not hesitate to call CO again to put something together. The trip was spectacular, the value excellent, and they are fantastic people to deal with!
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Email Megan Work and family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience, support and communication
We normally travel independently and could not have been happier with our experience with Compass Odyssey. Excellent communication from the start - listened to what we wanted, provided advice, and designed a perfect trip. The itinerary was perfect - hotels, travel logistics and experiences. Darren's communication throughout the process was great - even when there was a small mishap it was dealt with immediately before we even asked. Ruth was an amazing host in Victoria Falls and could not have had the experience we did without her. Truly helped make our amazing experience a reality.
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Email Eric Issa and Kathrin Koppe | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional, responsive with inquiries and helpful in getting activities organized.
Darren at Compass Odyssey was our main contact, we communicated mostly via email but also via WhatsApp which turned out useful before and during our trip. Initially, Odyssey provided us with options for accommodations and safaris for Botswana (Okavango and Chobe). They gave us alternatives that varied in price and we were able to easily compare facilities. They also arranged for the transfer/flights within Botswana. They helped us with flight schedules and airline suggestions for the flights we had to book on our own. They answered all questions in a timely manner. Later in the process, they helped us make an itinerary of activities for Victoria Falls, and arranged for a local guide to shuttle us around the Victoria Falls area. They provided us with a very detailed itinerary once all activities were confirmed. Overall, they made things very easy. I wish they would accept credit cards for payment but that was a minor inconvenience (they require wire transfer). Overall, we had a positive experience and I would recommend Compass Odyssey.
Reply from Compass Odyssey
Posted on Aug 16, 2023Thanks for the review, Eric and Kathrin and what a great photo of a new rhino calf in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.
We do accept payment by credit card, but it is via PayPal. There is no PayPal account required but a 3.7% surcharge is added to cover their somewhat exorbitant costs. Otherwise one can simply make a bank/wire transfer into our bank account, which usually only takes 2-3 days to arrive. Some travellers find it cheaper to pay by PayPal, others find it cheaper to pay through the bank...there doesn't seem to be any common reason.
Thanks again,
Darren
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Email Melissa Mona | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Easy to work with
The very first thing we did was go to a place to book excursions, felt like high pressure sales on the guide's part. We hurriedly pick a few and asked to go to check in at our accomodataions so we could freshen up from traveling. The next day we were a bit surprised to be handed an invoice for transport to and from activitites. We almost missed one activity because our guide told us to be ready at one time and the transport arrived over an hour and a half before that time. Fortunately that driver waited for us to hurry and get ready, we did almost miss the boat for the excursion, they held the boat since there were so many people from different places on the bus. May have made the actual boat ride shorter, I have no idea.
The transfers to and from countries with the guides seemed seamless. We always felt safe. transferred from Zimbabwe to Zambia and back, then to Botswana later.
the host and accomodations in Botswana, and the guides there were beyond amazing. I would do this part of the tour again in a heartbeat.
The food at all accomodations was great.
Reply from Compass Odyssey
Posted on Aug 4, 2023Hello, Melissa and thanks for the review.
We always prefer to pre-arrange our travellers' activities for their time in and around Victoria Falls so that upon your arrival, there is no need to visit the activities office and make your choices on the spot, as happened in your case because you hadn't asked us to arrange anything. We're sorry that the activities consultant made you feel pressured and we've asked our guides, Ruth and Mortimer to ensure this doesn't happen. We're also sorry that it seems that the collection time for your sunset cruise was incorrectly advised to you by the activities consultant. The activities are booked/operated by a third party. Two of the activities that your group of six travellers chose did not include transfers in the cost, so you were transferred by Ruth. We mentioned this scenario in your safari documentation and also mentioned that Mortimer and Ruth are not your full-time guides and that any extra transport or services may require payment, as happened in your case. We're glad you enjoyed the hospitality of Anja and her team at Chobe River Lodge.
Darren and Kate