Africa Odyssey Review 2026: Is It Worth It, What It Costs, and Who Owns It

Africa Odyssey, the London and Dorset safari specialist Marc Harris set up in the late 1990s as Tanzania Odyssey, scores 74/100 on our six-criterion operator review: full marks for destination breadth, 20 of 25 for first-hand African expertise and 14 of 20 for reviews. Trustpilot rates it 5.0 from 372 reviews, it covers 18 African countries and islands, and it names ATOL 5397 behind flight-inclusive trips. What holds it back is the detail a buyer compares: prices with no readable inclusions, season or year, no office hours, and a site that says "Owner run" while the register has recorded a trustee company in control since 2022.

Verified 24 September 2026 · Africa Odyssey's own pages and terms · Companies House record 03858540 · Endole · Trustpilot and SafariBookings · ATTA directory · The Safari Awards · CardRates, City AM, National Geographic Traveller and Robb Report

Africa Odyssey at a glance: the company record

Africa Odyssey is a trading name of Tanzania Odyssey Limited, company 03858540, incorporated in October 1999, with offices in Semley, Dorset, and Putney, London. Every row below links to its source and was checked on the date shown.

Is Africa Odyssey worth it?

Africa Odyssey scores 74/100: it is a small, long-running Africa specialist with a near-perfect review record and wide range, and it publishes less about prices, hours and ownership than the operators above it. Founder Marc Harris, CardRates reported, "left his accounting job in the 1990s after a year-long Land Rover journey across eastern and southern Africa"; he judges The Safari Awards and is a former director of the African Travel and Tourism Association. Its team includes Sam Hankss, who became a safari guide in the Greater Kruger, and Dave Fuller, who travelled through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia; the company describes its staff as "ex-guides, lodge managers, camp hosts and explorers". Its site also claims "We were the first ever online UK tour operator".

Where Africa Odyssey stands on Uncompromised Travel

At 74/100, Africa Odyssey is eleventh of the 13 safari operators reviewed on these six criteria, one point below Scott Dunn, Natural Habitat Adventures and Roar Africa and ten above Ker & Downey Africa. This record is its first appearance on Uncompromised Travel, under either the Africa Odyssey or the Tanzania Odyssey name: it has not been assessed on our safari planner index or payment terms index.

How much does an Africa Odyssey safari cost?

Africa Odyssey prices 16 itineraries on its Kenya and Botswana pages per person in US dollars, from $3,717 for six nights in Nairobi and the Maasai Mara to $21,981 for its top Botswana trip, and says top camps cost from roughly $2,500 per person per night. The Kenya prices are marked "inc. internal flights"; the individual itinerary pages, which would carry the full inclusions and dates, did not open for automated checks, so neither could be read, and the Botswana prices give no nights. Its luxury safari page puts mid-range camps at around $750 per person per night and simple beach stays from around $180. Our Kenya safari cost guide and Botswana safari cost guide set these prices against the market.

Prices as shown on 24 September 2026; the Kenya prices include internal flights. In December 2019 City AM quoted an eight-night Africa Odyssey gorilla package in Uganda from £6,990 per person sharing.

Who plans Africa Odyssey trips?

Africa Odyssey's about page names six people: founder Marc Harris, managing director Ted Archdale, two senior consultants, a consultant and an operations and accounts lead. It says "all the Africa experts in our team have visited their specialist countries extensively" and that it is "Not driven by high targets or commission based sales", but it does not promise one consultant from enquiry to return. It is not recruiting.

What do Africa Odyssey reviews say?

Africa Odyssey is rated 5.0 on Trustpilot from 372 reviews, 99% of them five-star, the newest from 5 September 2026. Reviewers say it "fully understood what our family were looking for" and praise its logistics. Its SafariBookings listing shows 5.0 from 16 reviews, the newest from April 2016, and its own blog keeps client reviews back to 2003, with 65 on its 2025 page. Our safari operator review index explains how we weigh platforms.

Africa Odyssey's awards and press

Africa Odyssey lists British Travel Awards for Best Holiday Company to Sub-Saharan Africa and Best Wildlife Safari and Nature Holiday Company in 2014, 2015 and 2016; they could not be found on the awards' own site, and no award since 2016 is listed. Four press mentions were confirmed: National Geographic Traveller in April 2020, on tourism and poaching in Zambia and Zimbabwe; City AM in December 2019, on gorillas in Uganda; Robb Report on Chikwenya in Zimbabwe; and CardRates in September 2021, profiling the company. Its press page lists many more, including The Telegraph, The Independent, the New York Times and Condé Nast Traveller, without dates, and says a consultant co-authored the Cadogan Guide to Tanzania in 2002.

Where Africa Odyssey goes, and its safari styles

Africa Odyssey has pages for 18 African countries and islands, with Tanzania on its sister site Tanzania Odyssey, and also sells the Maldives and Oman, with South America and Asia under the Odyssey name. Its safari pages cover private guided game drives, walking, gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda, mokoro and boat safaris, hot-air balloons, horseback and night drives, birding and fly camping in Ruaha, with dedicated honeymoon, family and beach sections. Its site describes itself as "100% tailor-made".

Who owns Africa Odyssey?

Africa Odyssey's site says it is "Owner run & 100% independent" and names Marc Harris as founder; since 4 April 2022, Companies House has recorded Tanzania Odyssey Trustees Limited, company 13900681, as holding 75% or more of Tanzania Odyssey Limited, with Marc Harris ceasing that day as a holder of 25% to 50%. The register does not say whom the trustee company holds the shares for. Marc Harris has been a director since August 2000 and Ted Archdale since December 2016; earlier directors include Annabel Charlotte Harris, from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2010 to 2021, and Mark Rolfe, from 2004 to 2010. The company's four registered charges were satisfied in March 2021.

Africa Odyssey's booking terms and financial protection

Africa Odyssey's deposit is usually 25%, due within seven days of the quote, and the balance 120 days before departure; cancelling more than 120 days ahead costs the deposit, 91 to 120 days 50%, 61 to 90 days 70%, and 60 days or fewer the full price. Its terms name Tanzania Odyssey Limited, company number 3858540, charge "a reasonable amendment fee" for each change, and require insurance "which covers All Risks including abandonment". Its homepage says "We are fully bonded with ATOL (5397)", while the terms add that "Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL scheme"; no scheme for holidays without flights is named. The terms carry no version date. Our guide to safari deposits and payment terms compares these with the market.

What the public record does not show

Seven things a buyer might look for could not be found or did not match on 24 September 2026. Each is listed so it can be answered; if Africa Odyssey publishes or corrects any of them, this record will change with a dated note.

• Who stands behind Tanzania Odyssey Trustees Limited, which the register has recorded in control since 2022, next to the site's "Owner run".
• What its itinerary prices include, and the season or year they apply to.
• Office hours and a response time.
• One named consultant from enquiry to return, stated as a promise.
• How holidays without flights are protected, given that "Not all" services fall under ATOL 5397.
• A version date on its terms, and an amount for its amendment fee.
• Confirmation of its 2014 to 2016 British Travel Awards on the awards' own site, and any award since.

Africa Odyssey vs Expert Africa, Yellow Zebra Safaris and Scott Dunn

Against three UK safari specialists we have reviewed, Africa Odyssey, like all three, holds an ATOL licence, and it trails all three on pricing detail.

How to price a comparable safari

The fair test of any quote from Africa Odyssey is a like-for-like quote for the same camps, nights and season from a second specialist and a comparison platform. Ask each for the same lodges by name, the same room category and the same inclusions, then compare the per-person total with international flights excluded.

Get a second specialist quote from Go2Africa →

Compare safari operators' prices on BookAllSafaris →

Browse priced safaris on Safari.com →

What changed

Four dated changes shape Africa Odyssey's public record today.

January to March 2021. Annabel Charlotte Harris left the board, and the company's four charges were satisfied.

4 April 2022. Tanzania Odyssey Trustees Limited was recorded as holding 75% or more, replacing Marc Harris as the person with significant control.

2024. Amelia Binns joined its consultants.

24 September 2026. This record opened with a score of 74/100.