Africa Odyssey Reviews 

My sister and I went on safari together. We were effortlessly guided and booked through Africa Odyssey. Not one issue regarding flights and transfers and the camps selected for us were perfection. Selinda Explorers, Duba Explorers and Sindebezi...All camp staff and guides were so lovely and kind, food was amazing and the animals and all wildlife did not disappoint. Thanks Sam for a never forget experience. Cant wait to do it again! Jan

Africa Odyssey surpassed our expectations in helping us develop our South African safari of a lifetime! We contacted and spoke with several safari travel agencies at the beginning of our planning and quickly determined that AO by far offered the best service. Based on our desire to see and photograph as much wildlife as possible we were teamed with Sam Hankss who has been a safari guide in the area and is a talented photographer. Sam was able to help was identify individual private reserves that would allow us to see different habitats/wildlife and provide excellent photo opportunities with minimal distractions (other jeeps). We worked together to identify lodges that offered a variety of experiences (tents, fenced/unfenced, and a little luxury) while staying within our budget. Our itinerary was so fantastic that my brother decided to join us for part of it, and Sam was able to make that happen on very short notice! Sam helped us through the entire process and made sure we were well informed and taken care of - everything was handled by AO including arrival in Johannesburg, the internal flights, and all the transfers between lodges and airports…we just relaxed and enjoyed our trip. There was one discrepancy on our itinerary that the lodges had changed after our booking and Sam/AO was quick to step in and take care of it immediately by contacting each lodge in advance of our arrival and ensuring that there was no change in what we had booked.

The trip itself was fantastic. We spent four nights at three different private reserves outside of Kruger – Timbavati, Manyeleti, and Sabi Sands – and were able to see and experience more than we had expected. Each location offered something a little different and our species list grew with each area. The guides were awesome and so knowledgeable and excited to talk about the wildlife. We saw all the big five plus so many more including cheetah, monkeys, hippos, crocs, hyenas, zebras, giraffes, lots of antelope (impala, waterbucks, kudu, nyala, etc), and a variety of birds! Plus, we were able to see a large lion pride with several cubs. Although, the Africa Wild Dog was able to elude us this trip, it will be on the top of our list on our next AO African safari 😊 Needless to say it will take weeks to review all the wonderful photographs we took and compile a photobook worthy of our trip.

I highly recommend Africa Odyssey – you won’t be disappointed! We have already reached out to them for assistance with planning a trip to the Amazon rainforest.

Fantastic customer service. All the team know Africa and the individual lodges really well and can give great advice. They also went above and beyond when dealing with very difficult airline changes at the last minute (on the phone on Boxing Day!). I wouldn't use anyone else (and I travel a lot!)!

Fantastic service from start to finish, cannot recommend Africa Odyssey enough

We had fantastic holidays in Uganda. Everything went smoothly and in particular my dietary restrictions were all well noted by different lodges. Dave, our safari consultant was professional and helpful. He listened to our preference and always quickly responded to our questions/concerns. When we wanted to do a gorilla trek in Mgahinga National Park, Dave suggested to add another golden monkey trek into the itinerary because he knew well that our trip this time was primate-focused and this species only could be seen in Mgahinga. Thanks to his advice the golden monkey turned out a highlight of the entire trip！
This is the second time we travelled with Africa Odyssey, their expertise and passion bring our safari experience quite unique and unforgettable. We highly recommend them!

Tailor made suggestions with imagination but accurate info! Amazing adventure away from busy places. Very helpful support in all paper work. It is the second time I travel with them and I will do it again

This is the 6th time we have travelled with Africa Odyssey and they have always given excellent and honest advice. They have great experience in these countries and are excellent at organising transfers etc. Would highly recommend.

As the title of the review suggests, we felt that Africa Odyssey was always there for us during our trip this past festive season to Kenya & Zanzibar. This started from the get-go during the research phase of our trip, where in hindsight, I probably contacted too many travel agencies. When it became clear that there wasn’t that much difference in price in the luxury safari world, the differentiating factor was service, and that’s how Africa Odyssey won our business. Our travel consultant, Sam, was always prompt and efficient with his replies. And when he was out of the office on travel, his colleagues were always quick to step in and respond in his place. Sam’s vast travel experience on the ground in Africa was incredibly useful. We described what we wanted and Sam did the required research to provide several worthwhile options. What was particularly impressive were the photo books which Sam provided — his skills as a photographer shined through in this regard as the photo books really helped to visualise the various options. This was something that was very unique and helped Africa Odyssey differentiate itself vs the competition. After we booked the holiday, Sam also provided very useful information when it came to visas, vaccinations, tipping and other practical manners. Per usual, his responses were always prompt and insightful, reflecting his extensive experience on the ground.

In the end we were extremely happy with the safari lodge that we chose, Hemingway’s Ol Seki in the Naboisho Conservancy, from the various options which Sam proposed. It ticked several boxes for us — namely a smaller, intimate lodge, luxurious accommodation for our family of 4 and a private dipping pool (not that common in Kenya as we found out!). And when we actually arrived, it did not disappoint, as service was brilliant as we really felt pampered by Ol Seki’s incredibly amicable manager, Debbie, and her “extended family” of extremely friendly staff. It was a real joy spending the festive season with the Ol Seki staff, who really made us feel at home. The highlight for my kids — aside from the game drives w/our extremely affable & knowledgeable tracker, Rapha — was our private chef, Masha, cooking 3 meals a day in our villa which our usually picky kids devoured (it’s been tough for the kids to adjust back to the reality of meals prepared by us at home!). Perhaps most importantly, the game-viewing was spectacular in the Naboisho conservancy, with an abundance of animals, in contrast to what we witnessed during our brief visit to the Maasai Mara, where there seemed to be more vehicles than wildlife. Sam’s recommendation of a hot air balloon ride also ended up being a stroke of genius. We were able to overcome my wife’s trepidation of heights to partake in this unforgettable experience — not to mention that it “clears the way” for us to do this in the future in other destinations, now that my wife’s fear of hot air balloon rides has been alleviated. Sam’s recommendation to append Zanzibar to our safari trip as the beach component of our holiday also reflected his vast travel experience in the region. While our time in Zanzibar wasn’t quite on par with the unique experience at Ol Seki, it was indeed a solid recommendation.

During the trip we did experience a couple of hiccups, as will happen on any holiday. However, Sam was there to provide timely assistance in resolving the issues, despite the fact that it was the festive season. For that we were very grateful as his intercession ameliorated what could’ve been a couple of very stressful moments.

For all of this I cannot recommend Sam and Africa Odyssey highly enough. When you choose Africa Odyssey you are tapping into the staff’s in-depth knowledge that comes from their extensive travel experience the region. I’m sure my kids will be pestering us to go on safari again soon, and we’ll no doubt turn to Africa Odyssey again when that time comes.

Edwin
London

We have just come back from an amazing safari & beach trip to Kenya which was our second booked with Africa Odyssey. Sam Hankss is just brilliant to work with, he really made sure to understand what we were looking for & was happy to have multiple calls when we were undecided between different camp options.

The holiday itself met & exceeded all our expectations, 4 different accommodation stays were all fantastic and the transfers were seamless. We never had to worry about anything except enjoying ourselves and looking for the next sighting.

I highly recommend Africa Odyssey - they are experts and take all the worry out of planning a big trip like this.

I used the same team for my Honeymoon and I didn't have a second though about using them again.
Sam took us through the whole journey and give us a breakdown of what would work for us, instinctively knowing the area and the type of holiday we were after which made life so much easier.

Our 2nd trip with Africa Odyssey - again it was fantastic. We were looked after from the moment we arrived in South Africa to the moment we left. The 2 safari lodges we stayed in were ideal, comfortable with friendly but professional staff. As for the safaris - we cannot believe our luck in seeing leopards every day but one. We also experienced a wild dog hunt - so exciting! Everything we hoped for and more, so a huge thank you to Sam at Africa Odyssey -

We’ll be forever grateful to Africa Odyssey and in particular to Sam Hankss for helping plan and then deliver what was probably the best holiday experience we’ve ever had.  This was our first safari experience and it seemed especially important to get it right.  The gamble we took in working with a smaller ‘boutique’ operation with a very hands-on approach paid off spectacularly well: the holiday, spanning safari camps in Botswana and an amazing small hotel on an island upriver from the Victoria Falls, was perfectly calibrated to what we, as a family of six, were all hoping to see and experience. 
 
We don’t often write reviews, but wanted to do so on this occasion to note that Africa Odyssey and Sam often went above and beyond what we expected, for example organising a helicopter transfer from one camp to another, and frequently checking in with us along the way.  We sensed that they had been quietly pulling strings behind the scenes to make sure that everything ran smoothly.  We’d also like to say a big thank you to the fantastic teams at Rra Dinare, Splash and Zindabezi – hopefully we’ll meet again!

This was our third trip with Africa Odyssey and I can't recommend them enough - Sam in particular is amazing to work with! Great recommendations, makes sure every detail is thought through and taken care of, excellent communication... I can't wait to plan our next African Adventure with AO/Sam!

We highly recommend Africa odyssey. As we spend an unforgettable stay in Kenya and Tanzania for an amazing safari thanks to Sam for his reactivity his availability and to always reach our expectations. Every thing was perfect ..

Seamlessly planned our 10 day honeymoon! We had transfers, 3 different hotels, multiple full day tours and everything ran so smooth and we felt safe the entire time for our first visit to South Africa.

Excellent service from initial enquiry to the holiday. Thoughtful collation of places to stay and safari location satisfying all of our party. Have already recommended Africa Odyssey far and wide.

Excellent communication all the way through. Transfers and drivers to and from airports. Charter bush flights. All handled efficiently.

Extremely competent, trustworthy company. Every detail for my trip was planned to perfection. The support was exceptional. I hope to work with them again and highly recommend them.

The last holiday on my bucket list and travelling solo for the first time. From the beginning of my contact with Sam Hankss he was nothing but helpful and attentive. He is a real expert, he listened to my requirements and as a result created an itinerary that was perfect for me. I have had an amazing time. All the hotels, tented camp, flights, drivers etc were excellent, everything worked like clockwork and I had quite a difficult itinerary travelling to Tanzania and then to Uganda.
He kept in regular contact from the time of booking to the beginning of my holiday making sure I had completed all the necessary visas etc at the relevant times.
Thank you Sam. Africa Oddyessy is outstanding.

Dave helped us to make our dream trip come true. From his hotel/camp suggestions, logistics organization (planes and transfers) planning, and precious advices, everything went smooth and we didn’t have to worry about anything. His expertise was the best thing we could ask for, all the details were planned perfectly and a difficult organization became easy. We are grateful for making us living this dream in the best way possible. Would recommend Dave and Africa Odyssey to everyone planning a safari trip!