Come As Guests, Leave As Family.
Odyssey Safaris
- Located In:
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United States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- APTA, ATA & KPSGA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $400 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Richard Todd | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good for the money but our itinerery had way too much travel built into it,
Exceeded expectations. The game drives were plentiful. We only had 4 (others had 8) in our Land Cruiser so everyone had an view. I've gone before with Abercrombie & Kent, so the bar was high. But I paid half if not less what I paid A&K so I was really worried what Odyssey would cost on service.
So at half the price of Abercrombie & Kent, what did they deliver that Odyssey did not? 1. Better communication between team drivers. (our wireless CB was down for the trip and our driver did not use his cellphone much) when other vehicles found things - like leopards.
2. The driver could be quicker at shutting down the engine. The subtle vibrations blur shots. Seems A&K drivers were more aware of the vehicles and angles of shooting for the photographers.
3. Less time getting to destinations (road time). And once at a destination it seemed (because of #1 above - driver sharing "finds" - they put us on animals quicker.
4. Less Nairobi traffic - this may be unfair because traffic jams are unscheduled and unavoidable. But we had a horrible traffic jam from Airport to hotel with Odyssey that really delayed getting to the hotel. In fact we had zero time to do any of the planned or offerred side trips and went right to sleep, leaving us to feel we missed out on some of the purpose of being in Nairobi. Abercrombie and Kent minimized any time in Nairobi and I have to say now that that is smart.
Where Odyssey excelled - We really lucked out! Our Landcruiser vehicle had only four customers. Others in our group had 6 to 8 so we were the exception, not thhe rule. But where this worked out in our favor, was Odyssey assigns one driver to the group of 4, 6, or 8 and it stays that way - whether you're on a game drive in Ambosei, the Mara, or roads in Nairobi. At A&K our drivers changed throughout the trip - in Kenya we used one set of drivers; in Tanzania another.
Also the Lake Naivashu was an excellent location which A&K did not include.
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Email Barbara Moore | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Vacay Ever
I am so glad that I went. I asked many people their favorite travel location. Almost unanimously, I was told Africa. I am now among those people. I have done some wonderful travel internationally as well as domestically. I describe my experience as the feeling I had standing in Notre Dame cathedral for the first time. What was better, was feeling that way every day.
I had great service from Odyssey both before and after. I wish we could have stayed longer in the resorts, 2 or 3 days. Some of the drives were very long. Our guide was great.
We saw the big 5 as well as a lion honeymoon. That sure cracked me up.
Seeing the wildlife has deepened my reverence for life itself. Thank you for such a wonderful opportunity.
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Email Maura | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip of a lifetime!
Booked a groupon for the Kenya Safari. The booking process and communication process went smoothly thanks to Beatrice and Mark and I felt comfortable with all arrangements prior to the trip. Francis was a very good guide and driver throughout the whole trip. I recommend adding a day and seeing the elephant orphanage and giraffe center. The temperature and weather in April was very nice with rain usually in the evenings (I think we lucked out with good weather though) and everything was so green and the animals were all fat and happy! All four lodges were very nice at Safari Park hotel, Amboseli, the lake, and Masai Mara- can’t pick a favorite because each had their own charm. I do recommend trying to request a river view room at the Masai Mara camp- if I did this trip again that’s the one thing I would try and do (everyone in our group got bush views). Don’t skip the boat ride at the lake! I also recommend the horse riding at the lake lodge if you like horses. The safari trucks were comfy and roomy with plenty of water bottles available. I added an extra day at Masai with a bush flight from the park back to Nairobi which was a nice ending. One thing to keep in mind is that the driving time between parks is long and may not be comfortable for small children, especially during rainy season in April when delays and detours can make the driving time around 7-8 hrs. Overall this trip greatly exceeded my expectations!
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Email Bané | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply amazing
I and my 16 yr old daughter have taken the trip in April 2017 and there really are no words to express our satisfaction with the complete experience. From the moment we have arrived in Nairobi and transport to the hotel, to the last minute and the drop-off at the airport.
Our guide for the week was Erastus and he was in good part responsible for the whole positive experience. He is extremely knowledgable (by the end of the trip we were joking that there is no question he can't answer), curteous and pleasant to be around.
Hotels we were accommodated in were all really nice, clean, all had free wi-fi. The food was very good and there was always plenty of choices (buffet style for all meals). If you are expecting to have filet mignon you will be disappointed but otherwise plenty of variety. All in all, highly recommend it to anyone looking for safari experience!
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Email Naomi | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent guide, very lovely accomodations, I recommend them to the adventurous person.
Our experience was more than we expected. We had an excellent and knowledgeable guide. Our vehicle was comfortable and even had an outlet for battery charging. Two people can move around freely for picture taking.
The accomodations were very nice, some were rustic and some more luxurious. Breakfast and dinner were full course; lunch was brown bag and somewhat repetitious in it's menu but certainly enough to satiate. Ample bottled water was available and our guide even made hot tea for our lunches. We went off season and were glad we did as we had no crowds fighting for spots to take photos. Wifi, even when claimed was hardly functioning. Texting probably works best.
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Email Liz | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simon was the best! Incredible experience!
Odyssey safaris completely delivered on an incredible, once in a lifetime trip. The accommodations were wonderful, food was great, free wifi at most hotels - and most of all, we saw almost every animal there (even during off season). Our driver Simon was so great. He went above and beyond to make it a great experience. We requested to see specific animals - and he delivered every time! He genuinely cared about our well-being and made sure we had the best experience. I highly recommend doing a safari through Odyssey Safaris!
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Email Aleks | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ecxellent Trip
the trip was just excellent, we loved how personalized it was. We saw tons of wildlife (including a leopard), great scenery, and the accommodations and food were good too (exceeded our expectations). The only negative was the amount of driving, especially on bumpy and unpaved roads, that needed to be made between the desired destinations. I guess we all didn't realize how long the distances were between all, until we actually got there. However, James, our driver truly made up for it. He was the best driver/guide we could only imagine to have on such trip - very experienced (certainly not easy to drive in these conditions for such long amount of time), knowleable, flexible, delivered everything we asked him for, and most importantly - funny as he kept everyone in great mood from the start of the trip till the end. I would appreciate if you could give him some big Kudos from us as he truly desrves it.
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Email Eliza | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari in Kenya, A trip of a lifetime!
Our safari trip to Kenya with Odyssey Safaris was an one amazing experience, a trip of a lifetime!! Unreal and nothing like any trip I took before, and I do travel quite a bit.
Our driver and a guide James is an extraordinary person, a great guide and an awesome driver, very knowledgeable about the wild life and cared very much about our well-being and safety. Our trip would not be the same without him. He literally made our every single request and every wish come true. We joked with him which animals we would like to see next and we had seen them right after. He said that we are a lucky group to see all the animals we wanted, as other groups did not. But all that "luck" was truly his hard work. He knew where to take us to see the particular animals and he spot most of them for us. He is a definitely a great asset to Odyssey Safaris, hardworking, loves what he does, and does an outstanding job. Thank you very much for this experience and for assigning James to our group (small private group of 4 people). We had so much fun and came back with great memories and tons of awesome pictures.
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Email Heidi mitchell | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond amazing !!!!!!!!
The trip could not have been easier... We were slackers in planning ..and odyssey picked up our mess and created the trip of a lifetime for us!!!!! this trip was beyond anything we could have imagined.... We thought we would be roughing it ...we packed granola bars...hahah everything even the food was five star !!!!! Accomidations were fantastic ...above all our guide James made the trip !!!! We are planning our next adventure !!!
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Email Stephanie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Had the most amazing time of my life with Odyssey!!!!
I bought a Groupon to go on the Kenya Safari with Odyssey and it did not disappoint, in fact, exceeded my expectations! The tour guides were wonderful- accommodating and very knowledgeable. The hotels were all wonderful- in great locations, great staff, great food, clean. We saw every animal we could possibly want to see. The guides would coordinate with each other to find as many different animals to show us. We even saw a leopard hunt and kill a gazelle right in front of our eyes! They seemed to know all the good places to find the different animals, even the ones that are elusive (like leopards and cheetahs). We saw everything way up close, some only 5-10 feet away from our car. It was unbelievable!!! This was a once in a lifetime experience, and I would have no hesitations in recommending Odyssey. They just went above and beyond!