$2,276 to $2,470 pp (USD)
This tour is offered in ZAR.
Show rate in ZAR
This Tour Is Offered By
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:
-
BWKENAZATZUGZMZW
Compass Odyssey prides itself as being a small and personable travel planner and is owner-managed by Kate and Darren Humphrys, who live in the bush on the edge of South Africa's Greater Kruger region along with their three children Henry, Olive and Hume. Compass Odyssey offers quality travel experiences that provide our fellow travellers with a journey that is both informative and inspiring.
Reviews363
Well designed broad set of experiences with high level of customer service
Compass Odyssey designed and executed a 16 day trip for us that included 4 countries and various experiences including, but also beyond safaris. Communication during the planning phase was easy and smooth despite a 9 hour time zone difference. From an execution perspective, Compass’s communication prepared us for what to pack, what to consider regarding vaccine/malaria meds, how immigration/customs would work, etc. Transit across the countries was smooth as the team was waiting for us at each airport and the instructions of what to expect upon crossing borders was clear ahead of travel, allowing us to handle some aspects ahead of time to expedite. The variety of activities was well thought out and matched our preferred cadence very well. The places that we stayed all exceeded our expectations, each being very customer focused and having unique qualities. More than anything, the local guides and safari guides were exceptional! They got to know us and our preferences quickly and both provided recommendations and experiences that enhanced our trip. If you want an incredibly memorable experience, work with Compass Odyssey!
PH
They took care us really well the minuit we landed in Namibia until our departure
We were treated like visiting family. They took care of everthing so you don’t have to think of the whole trip. Amazing hospitality.
Helpful, knowlegable, and a nice guy!
We had a great experience with Compass Odyssey on our Father-Daughter trip in June 2026. The most important thing to convey about the trip is that everthing Compass Odyssey committed to us happened exactly as they said it would. Every pick-up, every transfer, every accomodation, every flight, and every experience was flawless. Not a single bit of unwanted drama in the whole trip.
We were especially appreciative of the pre-planning help Compass Odyssey provided as we had some non-standard requirements that made our itenerary a bit complicated. However, they listened to our requests and responded with options that made the whole process easier than we had a right to expect.
Highly recommend Compass Odyssey for any African Adventure.
SG
Go with Compass Odyssey, they treat you as if you're their only client
Our safari with Compass Odyssey in Sabi Sand and Namibia has exceeded our expectations beyond our wildest dreams. A few weeks prior to departure I had an injury that affected my mobility, and immediately Darren made arrangements on all our flights so I would be assisted appropriately and ensured my rooms would be situated most conveniently for my injury. The trip was extremely well organised, and we felt assured we were in good hands every step of the way. When I texted Darren to say I needed to be connected at all times with phone signal (a mission in Namibia!) due to an emergency at home, he immediately checked and reassured me that thankfully the lodges upgraded their wifi.
Darren was also infinitely patient in putting together our itinerary (which changed many times!), and providing the best advice so our trip would flow well and we could make the most of our time there. We communicated our priorities in Namibia to photograph Deadvlei at sunrise which led to him proposing we stay within the park instead of outside. Our guide Elvis was an incredible driver and a more incredible person to spend our time with - he could spot animals from literally a mile (he pointed out mountain zebras that we could really only see through his binoculars). He sorted out every detail, and shared so much about Namibia and their culture, during the long drives. Once he dropped us off at the water hole while he took care of procedures, and we saw a black rhino there! In 40 hours (highly recommend anyone else to stay longer) in Etosha we saw lion, cheetah, rhino, elephant and MUCH more, all thanks to Elvis. I also threw Darren a curveball after we 'finalized' the itinerary leaving him to book a horse ride for me out of nowhere - he found the best stable that treated their horses right, and gave us a beautiful Moonscape ride.
In Sabi Sand, Darren had arranged a private game drive vehicle which felt incredibly luxurious (and also the extra space helped my condition). All transfers were also organised smoothly, our safari began immediately with Surprise, our driver, pointing out animals between the drive from the airport to the lodge!
Compass Odyssey were very quick to respond to any and all queries we had (we had alot!!) - we felt like we were their only client. Being traditionally "DIY" travellers that booked our own trips, booking via an agent went against every instinct but I can safely say its paid off beyond what we imagined. We felt like we got great value out of this trip and most importantly felt very well supported. We definitely plan to use Compass Odyssey when we return to Africa.
Poor value and doesn't take responsibility for anything
Our guide to the Victoria falls area was of poor quality in general. She barely provided any guiding and just drove us around. One thing that really stuck out to me was when we pre booked dinner at the Lookout Cafe through the company. Only after we got there we realized they booked us after Sunset when it was pitch black outside with no visible view!
The places is called the Lookout Cafe, the whole point is to eat with a view. The brochure they gave us focused on the view. We were very much looking forward to it. There was not enough time to rebook us at any other point during our trip. The response we got was laughable. They didn't take any responsibility and tried to blame us for not looking up the sunset time ahead!? As a tour organizer it is your basic responsibility to check these things when you make a booking on behalf of a client. Then they just said the local guide booked it and didn't realize. Again, as the organizer it is your sole responsibility to make sure things are booked appropriately. Darren offered absolutely no resolution and got snarky when we brought it up.
Reply from Compass Odyssey
Posted on Jun 17, 2026Hello again, Michael (and Regan).
Oh dear. Even after receiving our detailed, explanatory, lengthy and sympathetic reply, you still feel the need to insert one last jab at us. In turn, we regrettably now feel the need to justify your review by responding, and we apologise in advance to the reader for this somewhat distasteful process.
Specifically related to the instance that you mention in this review, we have previously empathised that it must have been really disappointing for you to find that the sun had already set by the time our lovely guide, Ruth delivered you to The Lookout Cafe in Victoria Falls. We are sorry for the lack of communication between all of us and the subsequent disappointment you experienced. Regan emailed us to request us to make the dinner reservation there. We passed on this request to our local guides, Mortimer and Ruth. They booked the table for dinner time (7:00pm), which happened to be after sunset at that time of the year. We are sorry that at no time did any of us think to specifically ask if you wanted to arrive during the daylight hours to enjoy the view. This is also the message we gave when you sent us a rather aggressive WhatsApp message later that evening...by which time there wasn't really much we could do, to be honest. What you fail to mention is that your (Michael) reaction at the time was to shout at and belittle poor Ruth in front of diners and staff. She was so upset but still managed to apologise and when you demanded that she transport you to an alternative dinner establishment, she did so with dignity and respect for you.
To provide even more context, shall we mention that earlier in the day you (Michael) had shouted at, and shown disrespectful behaviour to, the Immigration officers at the Zimbabwe border despite knowing that the issue was totally due to you acquiring the incorrect visa when arriving in Zimbabwe. We provided you with specific information about what visa to acquire when arriving into Zimbabwe from Namibia and what visa to acquire when arriving into Zimbabwe from Zambia. You didn’t heed this information and proceeded to acquire the incorrect visa. The Immigration official at the Zambia/Zimbabwe border was correctly advising you that you needed to acquire another visa and make extra payment of US$30pp. Michael’s shouting and disrespectful behaviour caused great embarrassment to our other wonderful guide, Mortimer (Ruth's husband) who was assisting you with the border crossing. He has had to mend some bridges with particular officers at that border who were taken aback by Michael's behaviour and advised Mortimer that Michael was very, very lucky not to have been denied entry into Zimbabwe. We were truly shocked that a Compass Odyssey traveller had behaved that way.
Seeing that you have posted this negative review and titled it “Poor value and doesn't take responsibility for anything”, shall we let the reader know about the following:
1. You required in-room air-conditioning at each of your accommodations but neglected to actually advise us of this. That in itself is your prerogative. But you then contacted us after the first night of a 2-night stay in Swakopmund Namibia, greeting us as “you guys” and demanding us to find you an alternative hotel for the second night and pay for it. Shall we let the reader know that even though you failed to let us know your requirements, we took immediate responsibility for the enjoyment of your safari and not only did we quickly find you alternative accommodation for the night that did offer in-room air-conditioning (in a town with an average nighttime temperature of just 15°C/59°F), but for the sake of wanting you and Regan to stay happy, we bore the cost.
2. The overall cost of your safari was mainly due to the actual costs of the accommodations, guides, transport etc of your journey, which included 10 accommodations, 7 ground operators/guides (including a private guide/transport throughout Namibia) and 3 airlines and making 22 bank payments. The cost of your safari was certainly not due to our profit margin, which has come out at less than 10% for your particular trip. Within that cost, we co-ordinated every small detail of your journey, which included notifying every service provider of your details, arrival/departure arrangements, and requesting a special honeymoon welcome at each of your accommodations, which you of course received as complimentary. We wonder if the reader will concur with you that this is poor value?
As we mentioned in our post-safari message to you both, we had hoped that our responses/thoughts would have enabled all of us to move on.
What a shame that out of a 20-day private honeymoon journey through five amazing countries and accompanied by the most welcoming, warm guides, you have been overwhelmed by one instance of arriving at an eatery too late for you to see the view.
We congratulate you both on the wonderful news that you will soon be parents and we wish you both the very best on that journey...as parents to Henry, Olive and Hume, we speak from experience that you might soon face greater challenges than missing a sunset dinner :-).
Darren and Kate
We again apologise to the reader for having to make public this unfortunate record of events.
