50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A memorable experience.
All was well taken care of. Felt genuine concern for my whole life - safety, comfort, etc. Truly commendable care.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Vacation by Kruger Park for reasonable price
Pros:
Very reasonable prices for location and accommodations.
On time pick up at JNB hotel.
Lodge Rooms was clean and comfortable but a bit small for our family of 3.
Program/tours - variety of tours and places to go, really enjoyed the conservation visit!
Breakfast was very good, as well as other meals.
Lodge staff friendly.
Most of the guides, despite of young, looked passioned about their job and were very friendly.
Cons:
Location - day to go to Kruger was cold and had to ride 30-40 mins on open vehicle (with tarp on one side).
Lodge bar only accepts cash - this was an issue for us, since we did not take much cash on our trip, so we could not drink as much we wanted on our vacation!
Liability Waiver - this created a big commotion on the van to the Lodge. None of us know about that when we booked the trip. The explanations were confusing. Some told us was for the van ride only and others that it was for the Safari tours. I have done Safaris before and don't recall signing nothing like that. This was an unpleasant and unnecessary stress during our Vacation.
Internet - only works on the lobby area.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good company with a lot of experienced personnel.
Together with Migration Venture Africa we climbed the Kilimanjaro (Machame route) and went on a 3 day Safari (2 days Tarangire NP and 1 day Ngorongoro NP). We had a great holiday, everything was well organized and the personnel (guides, drivers, cooks, porters, ...) had a lot of experience and were very helpful.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing variety of animals, birds and backdrop
Great wildlife and scenery.
Weather was great
Accomodations for the 3rd night was awesome, the first and second night was great, especially the hidden tunnel that went to the watering hole.
Guide was very good, Nimrod.
Only thing I would do differently is take the train to and from Nairobi to Tsavo East. Driving back into Nairobi (just before we got to the airport area) was very long and painfully slow. We stayed downtown and it must have take at least 2 hours from the airport to our hotel.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
can’t in one sentence
Service: my tour guide, Karim, was terrific.. he absolutely became my friend.. and took terrific care of me to be sure everything was perfect as far as he was concerned! Above and beyond!
Home to Africa: disappointed in the stupid and ridiculous flight they booked me on to come home.. I had basically NOTHING to do in Entebbe for 30 plus hours /. I should have been on a one day earlier flight
And to tell me, the travel department thought I needed a day to rest.. that should have been my call especially since there is NOTHING to do in Entebbe.. the owner said he would check on why that happened.. still awaiting that response , even though that is 30 hours totally wasted and lost
It’s things like that that aren’t properly executed to leave a bad feeling
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari
- We were on a 6-day safari last month to Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Haji our tour guide was wonderful. Everything went according to the plan. Simon was very helpful in planning our trip and responded back efficiently to all our needs during the trip.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
very good
trustfull management, excelllent guide/driver. all the family was very happy by this 4days in Selous park
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari at a great price
The gane drives on the Maasai Mara in Kenya were amazing. Accomodations were basic thiugh sufficient. It was a budget safari after all.
Joseph was a great guide and expert2 at finding wildlife.
All in all had a lot of fun.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting, Safe, and Professional
The winter weather was ideal with pleasant temperatures. Our guides made every effort to enable us to see the animals that we wanted to see. It was not crowded in the vehicle. The lodge was friendly and comfortable and the food was delicious.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well-planned & great communication
We had an amazing time in Chobe & the Okavango on one of Darren's trips. Our time in Pom Pom Camp was unforgettable thanks to a fantastic guide named Patros. Darren was thorough and quick to respond as we planned our trip -- which is very important when you're trying to become comfortable with logistics of a trip into the bush. The camp had a potentially significant luggage SNAFU on our way out the door, but the camp operator took care of us while we were delayed in Maun -- and Darren did what he could to assist.
Our time at Garden Lodge in Chobe was nice. The owners are fantastic, but one of the staff members left a bit of a bitter taste. I understand that person is being cycled out soon enough, so should not count against the lodging.
Overall, my feeling is that we live in an age where its become increasingly feasible to design your own worldly adventures. We picked Compass Odyssey because it lined up with our trip budget, however, after the fact, I do believe the trip was slightly over-priced. I say that even though Compass Odyssey gave us a great deal of peace of mind headed into our adventure and guided us to some great venues.