Reviews

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 131-140 of 298 Reviews
Peter and Karen   –  
Australia AU
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 28, 2019

Email Peter and Karen  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Great tour that went like clockwork - highly recommend
5/5

We were a couple travelling with friends (another couple) to Chobe National park and Victoria falls starting and returning to Johannesburg. The whole experience with Compass Odyssey was fantastic right from the first contact with Darren to the final hooray! We were able to arrange the trip just the way we wanted it to fit in with all our other arrangements for this holiday. Darren was an absolute please to communicate with, the quality of pre-tour information was great and very helpful, and his local guides exceptional. We stayed at Garden Lodge at Chobe (awesome place on the river, comfortable, friendly and relaxed stay with excellent food) and then Batonka at Victoria Falls (fairly new and a bit upmarket and just fantastic).

We had a great time (2 days) at Chobe on the river with our guide Tefu (hope I got that correct) who ensured we got fantastic photos including 2 amazing sunsets - he knew just where to be at the right time! The river and wildlife particularly the elephants, hippos, crocs and birds was something else. Then we were onto Victoria Falls for 3 days with our guide Mortimer who assisted us across the border for an absolutely awesome time viewing the falls from both sides, did a chopper flight (I recommend it!) and took a dip in Devils pool (not for the faint hearted but was just so cool to hang over the edge of the falls!!) and an evening Zambezi cruise. Mortimer and Ruth (his lovely wife) helped us with our activity arrangements and transfers whilst our Vic falls guide Innocence gave us a very informed tour of the falls (the falls are truly amazing).

Overall this trip was fantastic and was a great compliment for the rest of our time in Africa. I would definitely recommend Darren and his crew from Compass Odyssey to anyone visiting Africa. Just contact him and I'm sure he can arrange something to fit your needs.

Alaina   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 23, 2019

Email Alaina  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Fantastic and Organized tour operators!
5/5

Compass Odyssey was a great and reliable company to work with. They were always timely and provided much needed information in a timely fashion. Our guide was great and timely as well. We were provided with amazing accommodations. They were able to provide us with so many opportunities and sights to see in the short amount of time we had available. Overall, great tour and great tour operations. I will be using Compass Odyssey again.

Maxine Tate   –  
United States US
Visited: July 2019 Reviewed: Jul 22, 2019

Email Maxine Tate  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

FABULOUS TRIP PLANNED EXPERTLY BY A FABULOUS TOUR COMPANY---COMPASS ODYSSEY IS THE BEST!!!!
5/5

I have been on many tours around the world and have never experienced working with any like tour company like Compass Odyssey..Darren is so efficient about every detail...from the correspondence in emails that were answered immediately and all the questions answered quickly and I had a bunch!!! It took a while to tweak the trip where it was exactly what I wanted and Darren did such a wonderful job...in the end it was definitely a trip of a lifetime!!! The lodges where Darren booked us was top-notch and only the best!!! Our rooms were beautiful as were the whole camps which had views of animals or water or both!!! The food was fabulous and the presentation wonderful at all the lodges ..the staff was very friendly and accommodating. The safaris were fabulous ....We saw so many animals and it was so much fun trying to spot them...we were so close to the animals you could almost touch them!!!! What a wonderful experience we had and we love Afica...I hope to go back one day and would use no tour company except the wonderful COMPASS ODYSSEY!! Thanks so much Darren and Kate!!!

Victoria Durden   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 18, 2019

Email Victoria Durden  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The Perfect Trip!
5/5

I can’t thank Darren and the Compass Odyssey team enough for the perfect trip! I knew what I wanted to do, I just didn’t know how to make it happen and that’s where Darren came in. Traveling solo I had a lot of questions and concerns and Darren was very patient and helpful in answering all of my numerous questions during the months long trip planning process. He always responded quickly & cheerfully. The trip itself was amazing. The guides in each location went out of their way to ensure my experience was the best. The accommodations were top notch. Darren checked in on my travels every leg of the trip to ensure that everything was going as planned. It’ obvious that his priority is that his clients have an incredible experience. I highly recommend Compass Odyssey for all of your travel needs. They can't be beat!

Adolfo (J.R.) McGovert   –  
United States US
Visited: July 2018 Reviewed: Jul 17, 2019

Email Adolfo (J.R.) McGovert  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Compass Odyssey exceeded all my expectations.
5/5

I can not say enough good things about Compass Odyssey. I had always wanted to go on a safari but had no clue on how to go about it. After deciding it would be best to use a travel company rather than trying to organize everything myself; I found Compass Odyssey on SafariBookings. All the reviews I read were very positive so I felt comfortable reaching out to them. Darren got back to me immediately and proposed an excellent itinerary based on my budget and interests. He was always quick to reply to my emails and answer any questions I had (there were a lot) with total patience and professionalism. I have never worked with a travel company that was so attentive to my needs and detailed in every regard (info, activity planning, flight arrangements, etc.). They took care of everything and relieved any anxiety I had in advance of the trip. From beginning to end, they made me feel as if I was their only client and that my satisfaction and enjoyment was their only priority and concern. I couldn’t have been happier with my accommodations, activities, and wildlife experiences. The good times I had will last a lifetime. Darren is a class act and raised the bar for what one should expect when working with a tour company. I highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone interested in a top-notch, stress-free, experience in Africa. I look forward to working with them again in the future now that I’ve been bitten by the African bug.

Lynne & Larry   –  
Canada CA
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 6, 2019

Email Lynne & Larry  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Fantastic local knowledge. Terrific recommendations. Great attention to detail. Easy to work with.
5/5

Darren and the team helped us book a vacation of a lifetime. Listened carefully to what we wanted and set up a great itinerary. Fantastic guides on the ground. Wonderful recommendations for where to go, where to stay, how to balance out the trip. Everything worked flawlessly on the ground. It exceeded our expectations.

Thanks Darren and crew!

Larry Bambrick   –  
Canada CA
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 5, 2019

Email Larry Bambrick

A spectacular, well-organized, once-in-a-life-time trip that exceeded all our expectations.
5/5

From touch down in Cape Town (where we were greeted by Garth, our excellent Cape Guide) to our delivery to the Kasane airport in Chobe, this was a truly effortless trip. Garth was a font of information about the country and the region, and was delightful company. He also adjusted as the weather turned and as he learned more about what we wanted to see. Plus he recommended a great book which I took with me for the rest of the holiday. The safari experience at Mma Danare was truly breath-taking. The sheer amount of wildlife we encountered was amazing (our driver, Chris, was unstoppable). We were lucky enough to be able to follow two male lions (and, separately) a larger pride of lions. Watching two young male cheetahs hunt was another highlight. So too were the giraffes and elephants and impala and and and. The lodge itself was exquisite. Our second lodge near Joa was also picturesque. A slightly different experience (being on wetlands) we were able to take makuro rides (including a very special sunset one) and see the delta from a new perspective. While the wildlife sightings were limited (this would be the only quibble about the whole trip. Because of the lack of rain, while the lodge was pretty and the water was interesting, there wasn't a great chance to see many animals) it was an interesting, unique perspective. Chobe was sensational. The wildlife experience there (more lions, so many elephants, elephants swimming across river at sunset!) was superb. And while the room and food at the Garden Lodge were terrific, here are the only other quibbles I had about our trip. There was very loud music nearby both evenings we were there that continued into the early hours of the morning (3:00 am). There was nothing the lodge could do about it... but... And we often felt like we were being rushed through our dinners. The staff was TOO attentive -- hovering over our shoulders to clear the plates and bring the next ones out. But as I say -- small tiny little "problems" in what was a spectacular two weeks. Thank you so much for organizing such an amazing adventure.

Gabe and Charlie Winten   –  
Australia AU
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 5, 2019

Email Gabe and Charlie Winten  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Not just a number, our tour was a unique and personalised experience.
5/5

Not a seasoned traveller, I felt relaxed and confident with the tour that had been organised for us. The accomodation was personal and oozed quality. The guides were friendly and bent over backwards to ensure our needs were met. Transfers between destinations went smoothly with staff meeting us every time. Darren and Kate were in contact during our tour to reassure us we were cared for. I would definitely recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone wishing to travel to Africa, you’re in safe hands.

Fortunato& Stéphanie   –  
Italy IT
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 5, 2019

Email Fortunato& Stéphanie  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Excellent planning for a real immersion into Africa’s wild nature
5/5

We had a wonderful experience for our safari in Victoria Falls and Botswana. Everything was very well organized by Darren and Kate! All the lodges and guides were very good and we managed to see a lot of animals.

Christine and Don   –  
Canada CA
Visited: June 2019 Reviewed: Jul 3, 2019

Email Christine and Don  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Once in a lifetime experience without any worries
5/5

Darren and his team were fantastic to work with. From the first email exchange where we described what we were looking for through the final day on the ground, working with Compass Odyssey made the whole experience exceptional. Darren's pre-trip communication is fantastic - he responded to all of our inquiries within 2-3 days (usually faster) and was very thorough and knowledgeable. His on the ground team knew the areas we were visiting, had great recommendations and were able to add both commentary and color to the various locations we visited. They made sure we didn't have to worry about a thing - we just relaxed and enjoyed our holiday. We would (and already have!) highly recommend working with Darren for any Southern African adventure.

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