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
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.
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Email Tina and Mark Wichmann | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Would definitely recommend Compass Odyssey!
From the start, Compass Odyssey was extremely responsive, knowledgeable and patient. We had a group of 8 travelling to Botswana/Zimbabwe and South Africa for a 3 week period. The trip was postponed twice due to COVID, and this company never skipped a beat.
Having multiple questions, changes, and concerns, they were always there to provide in-depth knowledge of the area/visa information/COVID protocols, etc.
Additionally, the tour guides were fantastic, especially Garth in South Africa. He was knowledgeable, patient, and flexible. The hotels were top notch and the tours were on time.
Having been in the travel industry for many years, I would definitely use this Compass Odyssey again.
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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!
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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!
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Email Peter Haas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant Guide Away From Home
I have now taken 2 safaris with Compass Odyssey. I recommend them without hesitancy to anyone who is thinking of planning their African trip. From the beginning to the end, CO handled all logistics and paired me with excellent local guides so that my trip was seamless. I hope to utilize them again in the future.
Compass Odyssey is responsive, organized and extremely customer oriented.
Traveled to Namibia with Compass Odyssey after my original vendor cancelled the Namibia portion of their trip. I immediately contacted the owner, Darren, when he was recommended by another traveler that had their trip canceled. Darren recreated the trip exactly as I wanted. He was supper responsive, explained everything in detail. When I arrived in Namibia there were no surprises, everything went off without a hitch and was a perfect 8 days. The accommodations were amazing, I would not have changed a thing. We hit all the highlights that you would expect to see. A friend of mine decided to join me and we had our personal guide, Elvis for 8 days. He had a perfect personality for guiding us around his country, he was attentive and always available as his room was always adjacent to ours. I highly recommend Compass Odyssey and wouldn't hesitate to travel with them again. Great value for the service, accommodations, and everything we got to see. This trip was actually the same price for the two of us versus the other vendor which would have had 5+ people. Wonderful forever memories!
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Email Lauren | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The absolute best to work with!
Darren was great to work with! As a first time safari goer, he answered all my questions and made me feel so confident going into my adventure. He made everything so easy to book and the communication was amazing. I booked three nights at the Senalala Lodge and it was the best experience. Seriously, the managers, guides and staff treat you like family. It was the most magical trip I’ve ever taken and cannot wait to come back! The guides James, Johan and Taya are so knowledgeable, Corila is an amazing host and the food and rooms were incredible. Cannot recommend enough! From start to finish, was a dream. Best holiday ever!
Email Neil | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great communicator and the tour ran like clockwork
Excellent choice of accommodation and schedule
Great team of guides on the ground
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Email Carl and Brynn Anderson | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Compass Odyssey provided fantastic customer service and a spectacular customized safari.
Darren and Kate, at Compass Odyssey, put together a safari itinerary that flowed seamlessly. Every single aspect of our trip was perfect, from transportation and guides to accommodations and meals. The safari camp game drives were spectacular. It was the trip of a lifetime for us, thanks to their organizational skills. We highly recommend Compass Odyssey!!
