Throughout our 30-year history, the Odyssey team’s ethos has stayed much the same. We will always be a small, boutique gang of professional travel-lovers, committed to creating memories for our clients. We will never be a glossy corporate giant, and nor do we want to be. Our itineraries are all expertly hand crafted off the back of our own travel experiences, and tailored to your tastes.
Our Story
1988
In 1988 founder Marc Harris left Cambridge University with a degree in economics and set off to begin his finance career in the city. It was during these years he earned the nickname Holiday Harris – a testament to his devotion to both industries. Having visited most corners of the globe by his late 20s, Marc became a de facto travel agent amongst his family and friends.
1998
In 1998 Marc kicked off his shiny shoes, hung up his shirt and tie, and with a friend, the only guide book to Africa he could find, and a glimmer of an idea to set up a travel company, he boarded a flight to Cape Town.
The two of them, along with a Land Rover they bought for £5,000 upon landing, set off on a fact (and fun) finding mission which would end in Uganda a year later. The journey took them through Africa’s wildest places, and they camped in the early versions of safari camps along the way. Marc had visited Tanzania several times before, but it was on this trip, as he admired the endless plains of the Serengeti National Park from a rickety camping chair, that he caught the safari bug.
1999
When he arrived back home in 1999, Marc did two things: he made the Tanzania Tourist Board’s first website and then created Tanzania Odyssey, which would become one of the UK’s very first online safari tour operators.
For a few years, Marc enjoyed sending clients to – and exploring – Tanzania and Zanzibar. When he wasn’t watching cheetahs in The Serengeti or reclining on Nungwi beach with a Pina Colada, he was working from home in London.
2002
In 2002, Africa Odyssey moved over the Thames from Marc’s house in Putney to an office in Fulham. From then, the company grew steadily for eight years.
2008
In 2008, Marc was appointed director of The African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA).
2010
In 2010, fresh from a motorbiking trip in the Himalayas, armed with an anthropology degree and a few years working at an adventure travel company, M.D Ted Archdale joined Africa Odyssey. Over the next decade, the pair expanded into a small team.
2015
In 2015, Africa Odyssey grew two more legs: Asia Odyssey and South America Odyssey. But while our knowledge expanded, our team stayed small (as it always will). Then came Odyssey Travels: the umbrella company for all our favourite adventures. Although we remain Africa experts at our heart, Odyssey Travels showcases our personal favourite worldwide spots beyond the continent where it all started.
2022
In 2022, Ted took over as Managing Director of Odyssey Travels. Marc sold the company to his small team of employees, making it an EOT.
Want to know more?
As you can tell, we are the original Africa experts, but we now share our favourite worldwide destinations with our clients too. Give us a call, and we’d be happy to talk you through them.
