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Complicated Trip Made Easy!
My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Darren and Compass Odyssey to plan an 18 day trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana. We had an ambitious itinerary that included many different flights, hotels/lodges, excursions, and border crossings. Compass Odyssey made our complicated itinerary a breeze through a combination of excellent communication, customer service, and flexibility. Darren was an absolute pleasure to work with and I’d highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone looking to plan a South African vacation.
We provided Compass Odyssey with a rough outline of our goals for the trip, including the budget, dates, locations, and attractions we wanted to see. With only that minimal information, Darren was able to develop an itinerary that included top notch lodging, all relevant transfers between locations, and access to all of the highlights we wanted to see. He was even able to incorporate a safari package that we purchased from a charity auction into the overall itinerary. Darren’s insight was incredibly helpful in navigating across the various countries, including timing of flights/vans as well as crossing the borders. This would have been a stressful trip to plan on our own, but Compass Odyssey made it seem easy.
There were no surprises once we arrived. All of the lodging was exactly how it was described to us and all of the transfers ran smoothly to/from the airport and between lodges. From the drivers to the tour guides, everyone we met that was affiliated with Compass Odyssey was helpful and pleasant. International travel can be difficult, especially traveling to a new country for the first time. Using Compass Odyssey to plan our vacation was a great idea and helped make the experience a memorable one.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome!
It was a awesome trip! Joshua came to pickup us ontime and gave us 3 boxes of water for 4 days trip:) Our tour guy name "James" were super well organized and nice, always answer all the questions that we had and try very hard to drive us around to find the big 5! Overall, everything is great and definitely recommend! Thank you:)
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awe inspiring, amazing and wonderful memories to last forever
Email correspondence was fast and accurate whilst booking a tailor made safari for clients with a fairly specific criteria (and travelling and meeting up from UK / Australia) - massive thanks to Nick and his team.
We were really fortunate to have Kit as our guide - he was so knowledgable about the wildlife and knew exactly where to find them, very organised and checking us into lodges, and even took us to his local once we were all back in Windhoek! Friendship and memories made from the most amazing two weeks! Can't wait for my next trip to Namibia - a geologically rugged and stunningly varied country.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honest, fulfilling, courteous and very client friendly.....
Everything was top notch and upto expectations.....
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a life time experience!!!!
Where do I start?!?! Soul of Tanzania team was extremely patient and resourceful in helping us plan our route, they booked all our stays, provided all transportation, booked our balloon safari, and even our domestic flights to/from Zanzibar! The only thing we had to do was book our international flight, that was it! Once we stepped foot in Kilimanjaro everything was handled and we never had to worry about a thing. We initially began planning our safari with Soul ~ 1yr before arrival and interacted with about every staff member and experienced the same high standard of customer service across the board.
Our guide Ben was simply outstanding to say the least! He was very knowledgeable and extremely passionate about the wildlife. It was 5 of us friends traveling together and because Ben had such a great sense of humor and personality, that as days progressed he became a friend and not just our tour guide, it felt like 6 friends on vacation now not 5. Our only regret is not spending more time on safari. Oh, and if you’re a coffee lover Ben makes the BEST coffee in Tanzania! Thank you, Ben and the team, at Soul of Tanzania for all the wonderful memories!!!
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A very well, wonderful, advised, organized and skillfully executed safari trip in all its senses.
This trip exceeded all our our previous experiences, and these where already quite unique. It was a wonderful safari trip, in all aspects, organization, accommodations, setup and schedule of the safari from start to end Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti Central and Serengeti North. Including the various Camps, Lodges and under canvas accommodations, not one word of comments or complains should be justified.
Even the animals did there utmost best to make this trip one not to forget, of course in that aspect no one can do without a lot of luck or certain circumstances. However even with luck you need a very experienced and skillful guide with a lot of animal behavior knowledge and patience to make it a good combination.
Of course there is a difference in the parks and animal life, however the combination advised and chosen was for us a lifetime experience. Every day there a surprise or a moment of astonishment in one or another way created by nature and animals from small to big ones or groups.
Makasa Management and their Staff made their promises and our expectations to become a daily reality for us during our two weeks Safari. Animal Planets in reality .
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect planning and options fully responsive to our price range and the experience we wanted
Every aspect was superbly planned and executed. Matthew was incredibly responsive throughout the whole process. He proposed lodges that would provide exactly the experience we wanted. He answered questions almost before I even asked them. Our pickups and transportation were excellent, right on time and really pleasant. We stayed at Cheetah Plains Lodge and Camp Shawu. Both places were excellent. The guides were knowledgeable, personable and delightful to get to know. The staff at both locations were gracious and very responsive to our needs and preferences . It was an amazing experience, from start to finish. I can’t recommend African Safari Guru highly enough! Fantastic all around
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Knowledgable, professional and personable service resulted in a wonderful experience.
Thank you Tifiny and Off2Africa for once again making exactly the right recommendations and arrangements for our wondeful Zim visit. The trip went perfectly - quite an achievement on your part as we left everything to the last minute.
We loved Ilala at Vic Falls and so glad we stayed there. We met Martin (the manager) and Deidre Brown (the owner) which made it even more personal. The quality of the service, the decor, the food, the cleanliness and the overall feeling of the hotel are top notch and I think may be due to the fact that it has been a family owned hotel for many years.
We also appreciated the proximity to the Falls. We could hear them and walked there 3 times
As a frequent traveller, I am easily irritated when there are small things that don't work but there was absolutely nothing about Ilala that I could fault. Honestly, the hotel amazed and delighted me at every level. The only thing that bothered me was the noise from the helicopters - no chance of an afternoon nap with that noise.
The delux rooms turned out to be a gorgeous suite but we did not need that much room. If I had known it was a suite, I would have booked a standard room in the new wing as they are lovely enough. Still, we made the most of the suite and enjoyed the space and the big bath. The decor in the rooms is very tasteful and thoughtful.
The pick up and drop off went smoothly too despite the fact that our flight was about 90 minutes late to Vic Falls.
The sundowner cruise on the Zambezi was beautiful and our boat driver very knowledgeable. I am glad we booked the more luxury cruise as the boat was small and quiet and we had wonderful snacks along with our limitless drinks! Dinner at Vic Falls Saf Lodge great - even though it could be described as touristy, it is delivered with authenticity and energy and I would recommend it even to people living in Zim.
I can't wait until we can visit Southern Africa again and will of course book with Off2Africa. As you know, I have recommended you to other friends keen (but nervous) to visit Africa. I know they will be well looked after.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Service
Encounter Safaris helped us to organise and complete a filming trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Communication was quick, efficient and very clear throughout, which made setting up the shoot completely stress-free.
The service throughout the shoot was excellent. Tolbert, our guide and driver, was a great professional - both friendly and organised. He is also a very safe driver. Everything went very soothly indeed, thanks to his great work.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My Chilo Experience With Off2Africa
I came across a special on Chilo Gorge on the Off2Africa Facebook page. I contacted Tifiny and expressed interest in the special. Her response to my inquiry was fast and thorough. The trip itself was incredible. Not only is Chilo absolutely gorgeous but the manner in which Off2Africa planned our flight, transfer and accommodation was exceptional! Everything was on time and as described. There were no nasty surprises! I absolutely enjoyed myself so much so that after my experience my sister also booked a trip with Off2Africa. Amazing work and please keep it up!