Kate & Darren Humphrys with Henry, Olive and Hume
Compass Odyssey
- Office 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 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
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Email Irene Fleshner and David Hill | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
We travel all around the world and Compass Odyssey was the best tour operator we've ever worked with
From our first contact with Darren at Compass Odyssey, we knew we had found the ideal tour operator. He is the ultimate professional. Competent, knowledgable, pleasant, responsive and best of all he listens to the customer. The pre-trip communications were highly informative and thorough. Darren created a perfect trip for us to southern Africa.
Our entire trip was stress free because we were in good hands with our guides and Darren was just a text away if we needed anything.
Our accommodations, guides and itinerary were all great and as described in the documents from Darren.
We highly recommend Compas Odyssey to anyone planning a trip to Africa.
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Email Patrick and Ryan Kenny | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing recommendations and customer service for first trip to Africa
We found Compass Odyssey during the pandemic when, like many people, we were dreaming of trips we wanted to take, but couldn’t. We exchanged emails with Darren many times and knew, when the time was right, that we had found the company we wanted to book through for our first safari. His knowledge of the areas we were interested in, experience with booking these trips, and easy going personality were a good fit for us.
2023 rolled around and the timing was right. We originally had hoped the entire family would go, but for a few reasons it turned into a father/son trip. Darren quickly was able to adjust from the prospects of a family of five to just the two of us. My son and I were looking for an adventurous safari, not caring about staying at high end resorts. Darren understood this and, for each of the three locations we were looking at, sent multiple choices of lodging for us to choose from, along with descriptions of each and his recommendations. All along the way, Darren was there to answer any questions we had, and promptly too, despite the 6 hour time change. I knew when I sent questions to him that there would be answers waiting for me when I woke the next day.
The quality, and amount, of pre-safari information supplied by Compass Odyssey was just amazing! Almost every question I would have had was answered in these documents - Covid requirements, mosquito and disease concerns, how much to tip, what type of money to carry, luggage limits on bush flights, what documents would I need because I was traveling alone with my 16 yr old son - everything was answered. Compass Odyssey even supplied a step-by-step set of instructions on navigating through the Johannesburg airport from arrival, to immigration, to luggage claim, to checking for our connecting flight. It was so detailed that I knew what to expect every step of the way (something that turned out to be very valuable).
When we were looking at booking our airfare from the US to Johannesburg, where our trip would really start, Darren’s experience really shined through, strongly recommending two nights in Livingston, Zimbabwe, to start us off - just in case of flight delays and to give us time to adjust to the time change. It turned out to be a great piece of advice as our flight to Johannesburg was delayed enough to cause us to miss out connection in Johannesburg. If we had not booked two nights we would not have seen Victoria Falls (on my son’s must-see list!). As our flight from London to Johannesburg was taxiing for takeoff I was texting Darren saying I was concerned we would miss the connection, but our pilot said we may make up time in the air. I switched my phone into airplane mode not knowing what to expect when I landed in 11 hours. When we did land, I had a text waiting from Darren telling us we would miss our connection (he had talked to the airline), so he had changed our flights to the next day and already arranged a hotel for the night. This was a life-saver - we are experienced travelers, but this was our first time to Africa, and Compass Odyssey looked after us well.
The trip was amazing, more than I could have hoped for. The lodging was perfect for us. We stayed at Pioneers Lodge in Livingston, Chobe River Lodge in Kansane, Botswana (amazing lodge, staff and location), and Nokanyana Lodge in the Okavango Delta (the staff, the food, the guides were great and the hyenas laughing in the camp and elephants rubbing up against the tent as they walked by at night are things I will never forget). The transportation that Compass Odyssey arranged was smooth, giving us peace of mind and helping us get across borders where necessary - thank you Mortimer! Their recommendations were perfect, making this a trip exactly what we were looking for and wanting us to go back for more. (When we do, we will definitely book through Compass Odyssey again!)
SG
Email Atikah & Cyrill | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime !
We had overall a great experience embracing nature at its purest coupled with amazing food and people that further enhanced the experience. Compass took care of everything and made us feel 'at home'. This started already before the trip, where received a lot of info/advice. The guides were warm, passionate and knowledgeable. Compass put together a fantastic itinerary for us which left us with memories that will last a life time !
Was our first trip to the continent, and I am sure it wont be the last. We can highly recommend Compass.
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Email Natalie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Compass Odyssey is fantastic!
Compass Odyssey was highly recommended to me by my cousin. I wanted to take my daughter to Botswana but wasn't sure we could afford it. Darren worked with me over a couple months to find the best safari experiences. His suggestions, and our flexibility with dates, resulted in a trip of a lifetime. The trip went off without a hitch thanks to Darren's attention to detail.
We went to three "Roots & Journeys" camps: Great Tsau Hill, Mopiri and Nokanyana. Each were fantastic with wonderful and knowledgeable staff and great accommodations and food. Because Great Tsau Hill was in the Kalahari Desert, Mopiri was in the flooded area of the Okavango Delta and Nokanyana was near a private game preserve, we saw a variety of wildlife and vegetation. At Great Tsau Hill we spent almost a day and a half with the San (Bushmen) and learned about their culture.
Because of Darren, our guides BT, and Mr X and the Roots & Journeys staff at the camps, we had an incredible, life-changing, educational and fun adventure in Botswana. I highly recommend both Compass Odyssey and Roots & Journeys.
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Email Patrick and Christopher Toalson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional communication at all times
Working with Darren at Compass Odyssey was a great experience, his communication is excellent keeping you informed of all arrangements along the way from inquiry to booking to final itinerary and documents for your trip. They provided us with good information on what to expect about the area we were visiting in the Okavango, the lodging, plane flights into the delta, weather, etc. You won't go wrong choosing to work with Compass Odyssey for your trip arrangements.