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 Cindy T. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experienced, trustworthy, detailed , quality tour operators.
I was a bit nervous to plan an African safari trip for two women, traveling alone. But when I found compass odyssey, all my worries faded. Darren and Kate helped us create a personalized 10 day trip of a lifetime. We began in South Africa and travel to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. They took care of all the logistics from start to finish. Including flights, and quality accommodations with top notch guides, and amazing food and staff. They took care of our dietary restrictions, our transfers and last minute changes were made without issue. They provided a detailed dossier with all the information we needed for our travels and more! You won’t be disappointed with Compass Odyssey and Darren and Kate’s team. We look forward to our next adventure with them!
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Email Eve and David | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I doubt a better tour organizer exists!
From our first contact a year ago to now post trip, Darren has been absolutely the best tour organizer we have ever worked with (and we travel A LOT!) He is incredibly detail oriented and highly knowledgeable about the areas where we traveled (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana). There was not one step of the way that we were not treated like honored guests and everything we might have wanted was already in place at every stop we made. We had not even finished our trip before I was looking where he could send us next. All of our accommodations were lovely and all of our guides were absolutely top notch. (I must make a special mention of our guide Garth in Cape Town. He was so wonderful that we were sad we were not taking him along with us on the rest of our trip. He is incredibly kind, warm, friendly, and has an amazing wealth of knowledge of the area.) It is very apparent that Darren is well respected and liked as everywhere we traveled the hosts at the lodges/guest houses and the guides talked about how wonderful he is and how they wanted to treat his guests as extra special. And indeed we felt extra special the whole way. Can't wait to plan our next trip with him!
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
AM
Email Stuart and Sona | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent service from the booking process right throughout the entire trip in Namibia
Both my wife and I enjoyed an incredible 11-day tour to Namibia in April 2023, fully arranged by Compass Odyssey. The process was so efficient and easy from the original enquiry through to agreeing on the final itinerary. Communication was timely and informative with various options offered both on the places to visit and the accommodation choices. Overall, the whole experience was seamless and the excellent value for money. Once we arrived at Windhoek, we were met by our guide Elvis and everything went smoothly throughout the whole 11 days, not even one hitch. Elvis was incredibly knowledgeable about everything from Namibian history to the geology, geography fauna and flora. With over 20 years' experience as a tour guide, he knew all the good spots to find the various animals, both in the parks and the just generally in the wild. We stayed in medium to high range accommodation for the majority of the tour except in the Etosha National Park, where we stayed in the park itself in one of the previously government owned camps. This was not luxurious accommodation but was still very clean, spacious and comfortable, and if you want to be in the park after sunset and before sunrise it is the only accommodation option and as a result you can do the night safari which was an excellent experience. Overall, this was a fantastic vacation, and I would highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone wanting to do an Africa tour in the countries they operate in. Many thanks to the Odyssey team for making this such a memorable holiday.
NZ
Email Kendall and Mason Robinson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommend, great communication and great service, always there to help if necessary
Our adventure to Namibia was originally scheduled for 2020. We have had the best communication over the past three years to ensure us we still had our credits to use and keep us up todate with the economic happenings to ensure we didn’t miss out on our trip.
The wait was so worth it. From climbing stunning sand dunes, hilarious coastal adventures, to an amazing safari in Etosha National Park, there was never a dull moment. Well organised and our amazing guide Elvis kept us informed and entertained our entire journey.
We meet the most friendly and beautiful people, felt so safe and enjoyed the wonders of Namibia. The contrast from location to location was mind blowing. The history and general knowledge from Elvis made the trip incredibly memorable.
I don’t think I will ever see so many free roaming animals in their natural habitat as in Etosha, certainly did not disappoint on animal sightings!
An amazing country that we highly recommend to visit, the vastness is incredible. We need to come back to see more!
Thank you Darren, Kate and Elvis, impeccable service and communication and the most amazing experience from start to finish, (3 years!). So worth the investment.
NZ
Email Jo and Andrew Nuttall | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable and great with communication
We found Odyssey delivered on all that they said. Accommodation was just as they described guides were all very good and each destination we were always met on time and given great advice.
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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.