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
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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.
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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.