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:
- $13,009 to $43,363 per person per day (MXN, 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
CA
Email Jill and Don Stuart | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Superb Safari experience!
We had nothing but 10 star.....yes we double it!....service from Compass Odyssey. Darren Humphrys was amazing to deal with as from the outset of ensuring that we had a trip exactly suited to our needs. He kept in constant communication with us, through the deciding stage, right through to while on safari and after we got home. There were no questions left unanswered--competent and thorough he was. He arranged for a wonderful first-time experience in superb accommodations and with reliable, personable guides. We felt we could have had no better experience in Chobe, Victoria Falls and Sabi Sands/Kruger. Initially we were a bit reluctant to have private drives as we wanted to meet other travellers, which we did at the lodges at meal times. After seeing jeeps crammed with other travellers, we were definitely pleased we had game drives on our own. Compass Odyssey's representative, Mortimer was a definite help to get us easily and smoothly through the border crossings into Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and later to the airport in Livingston for our flight to Kruger area. We were thrilled with the Tyndon Safari Camp and even more pleased that we were at Sabi Sands rather than Kruger. We did spend a day in Kruger, but we preferred the quiet splendour of Sabi Sands to the more 'crowded' Kruger. Thank you Darren for organizing such a fantastic, memorable trip!!! We heartily recommend Compass Odyssey. We will be coming back.....and hopefully soon!!
Email Ed B | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolute Organized and Dependable Safari Tour Company
We are sexagenarians and 2 married couples from New York City that traveled to South Africa and thanks to Darren Humphrys, the owner of Compass Odyssey, who made all the arrangements of our 10-day safari tour. His arrangements were so well organized that no time was wasted for us in totally enjoying this vacation trip. His network of service providers from intercity air and ground transportation to and from the airport, B&Bs we stayed in, the luxury safari camp @ the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, tour guides in Capetown and Joburg and the tours within the cities were all friendly, knowledgeable, courteous, prompt and professional that really made our totally interesting and enjoyable, so much so that we decided to return to South Africa or its neighboring countries in the future and see the other places and adventures that we were not able to experience during this trip. And without a shadow of the doubt, we will ask Darren to assist and organize that trip again! I unequivocally and highly recommend Compass Odyssey to arrange your trip to South Africa.
Email Philip and Delia | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome,Wonderful,Unforgettable Place
My husband and I have travelled to many corners of the world including Europe,the Meditteranean,Southeast Asia,Carribean,Canada and of course the different states of USA which we've been living in the past more than 40 years,but recently our first travel to South Africa is considered awesome,wonderful and unforgettable.Cape Town offers a unique beauty of landscapes and beautiful mountains,wine country has breathtaking views in the hillside and well kept vineyards.Trip to Cape Point is a delight offering a breathtaking view of the seaside landscapes.Mandela's place of prison in Robben Island regards the place historical for it represents the hardships and struggles of citizens who is against the government and strives to achieve equality of treatments to their people. Penguin Island is truly a lovely place to see.The Safari trip to Klaserie Nature Reserve where various kinds of wild animals live is a wonderful experience for us because we love,love,love animals and see their habitats.
Johannesburg with the full bloomed jacaranda flowers is stunning.The apertheid museum sums up the history and struggles of equality of people living in the country.We have gone to Soweto to witness ourselves the kind of living in the neighborhood.Sidetrip to Pretoria is enriching.Seeing the modern buildings of Union Square is exhilarating.Our thanks to you all, for letting us see your beautiful country and hope that our friends and relatives will also come and visit you in the near future.It is a definite place for us to see again.
Our special thanks to these exceptional people we met:
1)Darren Humphrys-extremely efficient in organizing trips,highly recommended to tourists.
2)Keith Sinclair-our tour guide to Cape Town is outstanding.
3)The Senalala extraordinary staff namely:James,Corlia,HJ,Darryn,Lisa and all of their staff are all superb and wonderful people who we highly recommend to tourists.
4)Rutland House B&B -Delia Ferguson good host.
5)Peter Mashaba-nice and trustworthy guy who picked us up in the airport
6)Les Masaka-admirable,impressive tour guide we highly recommend to tourists.
See you all again,
Philip and Delia Pajela
Email Carol C | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our Safari Experience was All We Hoped for and More
Working with Darren and Kate, the operators of Compass Odyssey was a joy. They were quick to respond to any questions we had regarding our trip and were able to put together an outstanding itinerary, which made for a most memorable trip. I was impressed with the detailed itinerary of our days in Africa sent to us, which was followed by an easy to follow abridged itinerary as our departure date drew near.
From the moment we were met by Darren at the airport on arrival, until we left Africa thirteen days later, out trip went smoothly. The lodgings for the safaris were more than adequate, and we were impressed with both the facilities and the excellent staff. Our safari guides were exceptional, and we were able to see wide life that took our breaths away.
I have already passed on to my friends, who have expressed a desire to visit Africa, Compass Odyssey's name. If I were to book another trip to this wonderful continent, I would choose Compass Odyssey again!
Email Leonard and Belinda Kaiser | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely first-class, an outstanding experience!
From the very first correspondence, we knew we were with the right company! We were so pleasantly surprised at the consistent, professional and friendly communications prior to our arrival, and from the moment we were greeted at the airport, our expectations were all exceeded. For the next several days we were treated to a local's view of all the best places to see, dine and experience, and it was like we were spending time with an old friend! We could have never found all the quaint, interesting and delightful places on our own. Darren went above and beyond everyday to make sure our time in South Africa was truly exceptional! Highly, highly recommend Compass Odyssey!
PE
Email Caterina Butera and Juan Boria | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Trip!
We are Juan and Caterina from Perú. We have been planning this trip to South Africa since April. And we made all the coordinations with Darren by e-mail. When we arrived in Cape Town, everything was perfect, all the coordinations, the timing, the hotels, the tours, everything! We had a lovely time there and we are dreaming about coming back with our daughters! We loved the Safari in NKaya Lodge, it was great! The service and guiding was excellent! We also went to Johannesburg and we find that city very interesting! Also Durban, that was our last destination was really nice! We are very grateful for the days we enjoyed in SA and for the excelent work of Darren as a coordinator and also as a host!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful time
I was apprehensive about travelling to South Africa but I was confident that my husband would not get us into danger and Compass Odyssey advertised that safety was a priority. We had a fantastic trip and saw so many animals it was stunning, and at no time did I feel unsafe. Kate and Darren's care of us as travellers was impressive even when we had our "own time" they recommended ideas specifically suited to our individual needs. I have so many wonderful memories and photos of our time in South Africa and hope to return soon to see more of Africa...only with Compass Odyssey.
SG
Email Nicole and family | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Go with Compass Odyssey, they treat you as if you're their only client
Our safari with Compass Odyssey in Sabi Sand and Namibia has exceeded our expectations beyond our wildest dreams. A few weeks prior to departure I had an injury that affected my mobility, and immediately Darren made arrangements on all our flights so I would be assisted appropriately and ensured my rooms would be situated most conveniently for my injury. The trip was extremely well organised, and we felt assured we were in good hands every step of the way. When I texted Darren to say I needed to be connected at all times with phone signal (a mission in Namibia!) due to an emergency at home, he immediately checked and reassured me that thankfully the lodges upgraded their wifi.
Darren was also infinitely patient in putting together our itinerary (which changed many times!), and providing the best advice so our trip would flow well and we could make the most of our time there. We communicated our priorities in Namibia to photograph Deadvlei at sunrise which led to him proposing we stay within the park instead of outside. Our guide Elvis was an incredible driver and a more incredible person to spend our time with - he could spot animals from literally a mile (he pointed out mountain zebras that we could really only see through his binoculars). He sorted out every detail, and shared so much about Namibia and their culture, during the long drives. Once he dropped us off at the water hole while he took care of procedures, and we saw a black rhino there! In 40 hours (highly recommend anyone else to stay longer) in Etosha we saw lion, cheetah, rhino, elephant and MUCH more, all thanks to Elvis. I also threw Darren a curveball after we 'finalized' the itinerary leaving him to book a horse ride for me out of nowhere - he found the best stable that treated their horses right, and gave us a beautiful Moonscape ride.
In Sabi Sand, Darren had arranged a private game drive vehicle which felt incredibly luxurious (and also the extra space helped my condition). All transfers were also organised smoothly, our safari began immediately with Surprise, our driver, pointing out animals between the drive from the airport to the lodge!
Compass Odyssey were very quick to respond to any and all queries we had (we had alot!!) - we felt like we were their only client. Being traditionally "DIY" travellers that booked our own trips, booking via an agent went against every instinct but I can safely say its paid off beyond what we imagined. We felt like we got great value out of this trip and most importantly felt very well supported. We definitely plan to use Compass Odyssey when we return to Africa.
Email Mike | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor value and doesn't take responsibility for anything
Our guide to the Victoria falls area was of poor quality in general. She barely provided any guiding and just drove us around. One thing that really stuck out to me was when we pre booked dinner at the Lookout Cafe through the company. Only after we got there we realized they booked us after Sunset when it was pitch black outside with no visible view!
The places is called the Lookout Cafe, the whole point is to eat with a view. The brochure they gave us focused on the view. We were very much looking forward to it. There was not enough time to rebook us at any other point during our trip. The response we got was laughable. They didn't take any responsibility and tried to blame us for not looking up the sunset time ahead!? As a tour organizer it is your basic responsibility to check these things when you make a booking on behalf of a client. Then they just said the local guide booked it and didn't realize. Again, as the organizer it is your sole responsibility to make sure things are booked appropriately. Darren offered absolutely no resolution and got snarky when we brought it up.
Reply from Compass Odyssey
Posted on Jun 17, 2026Hello again, Michael (and Regan).
Oh dear. Even after receiving our detailed, explanatory, lengthy and sympathetic reply, you still feel the need to insert one last jab at us. In turn, we regrettably now feel the need to justify your review by responding, and we apologise in advance to the reader for this somewhat distasteful process.
Specifically related to the instance that you mention in this review, we have previously empathised that it must have been really disappointing for you to find that the sun had already set by the time our lovely guide, Ruth delivered you to The Lookout Cafe in Victoria Falls. We are sorry for the lack of communication between all of us and the subsequent disappointment you experienced. Regan emailed us to request us to make the dinner reservation there. We passed on this request to our local guides, Mortimer and Ruth. They booked the table for dinner time (7:00pm), which happened to be after sunset at that time of the year. We are sorry that at no time did any of us think to specifically ask if you wanted to arrive during the daylight hours to enjoy the view. This is also the message we gave when you sent us a rather aggressive WhatsApp message later that evening...by which time there wasn't really much we could do, to be honest. What you fail to mention is that your (Michael) reaction at the time was to shout at and belittle poor Ruth in front of diners and staff. She was so upset but still managed to apologise and when you demanded that she transport you to an alternative dinner establishment, she did so with dignity and respect for you.
To provide even more context, shall we mention that earlier in the day you (Michael) had shouted at, and shown disrespectful behaviour to, the Immigration officers at the Zimbabwe border despite knowing that the issue was totally due to you acquiring the incorrect visa when arriving in Zimbabwe. We provided you with specific information about what visa to acquire when arriving into Zimbabwe from Namibia and what visa to acquire when arriving into Zimbabwe from Zambia. You didn’t heed this information and proceeded to acquire the incorrect visa. The Immigration official at the Zambia/Zimbabwe border was correctly advising you that you needed to acquire another visa and make extra payment of US$30pp. Michael’s shouting and disrespectful behaviour caused great embarrassment to our other wonderful guide, Mortimer (Ruth's husband) who was assisting you with the border crossing. He has had to mend some bridges with particular officers at that border who were taken aback by Michael's behaviour and advised Mortimer that Michael was very, very lucky not to have been denied entry into Zimbabwe. We were truly shocked that a Compass Odyssey traveller had behaved that way.
Seeing that you have posted this negative review and titled it “Poor value and doesn't take responsibility for anything”, shall we let the reader know about the following:
1. You required in-room air-conditioning at each of your accommodations but neglected to actually advise us of this. That in itself is your prerogative. But you then contacted us after the first night of a 2-night stay in Swakopmund Namibia, greeting us as “you guys” and demanding us to find you an alternative hotel for the second night and pay for it. Shall we let the reader know that even though you failed to let us know your requirements, we took immediate responsibility for the enjoyment of your safari and not only did we quickly find you alternative accommodation for the night that did offer in-room air-conditioning (in a town with an average nighttime temperature of just 15°C/59°F), but for the sake of wanting you and Regan to stay happy, we bore the cost.
2. The overall cost of your safari was mainly due to the actual costs of the accommodations, guides, transport etc of your journey, which included 10 accommodations, 7 ground operators/guides (including a private guide/transport throughout Namibia) and 3 airlines and making 22 bank payments. The cost of your safari was certainly not due to our profit margin, which has come out at less than 10% for your particular trip. Within that cost, we co-ordinated every small detail of your journey, which included notifying every service provider of your details, arrival/departure arrangements, and requesting a special honeymoon welcome at each of your accommodations, which you of course received as complimentary. We wonder if the reader will concur with you that this is poor value?
As we mentioned in our post-safari message to you both, we had hoped that our responses/thoughts would have enabled all of us to move on.
What a shame that out of a 20-day private honeymoon journey through five amazing countries and accompanied by the most welcoming, warm guides, you have been overwhelmed by one instance of arriving at an eatery too late for you to see the view.
We congratulate you both on the wonderful news that you will soon be parents and we wish you both the very best on that journey...as parents to Henry, Olive and Hume, we speak from experience that you might soon face greater challenges than missing a sunset dinner :-).
Darren and Kate
We again apologise to the reader for having to make public this unfortunate record of events.
Email Louise and Owen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Another fantastic experience with Compass Odyssey
This was our third trip to Africa organised through Compass Odyssey and we had another exceptional experience. We were travelling to Kruger with a large group and Darren and Kate made everything seamless for us. Their communication is fantastic and they take the stress out of organising a big overseas trip. We could not recommend them enough.