Serengeti Smile Team
Serengeti Smile
- Office In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2020)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board & AMREY Flying Doctors Insurance
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $90 to $300 per person per day (USD, 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
ES
Email Sergio González López | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari businesses of Tanzania
The safari organised by Serengetti Smiles has exceeded my expectations. Communication with Erick via WhatsApp from the beginning has been fluid, looking for the best route for the requested dates. They adapted to the changes we had to make due to changes in the airline's flights. The price has been super competitive, one of the best I found, but with the same park and hotel services as other companies, even more. I paid for a reservation a month in advance by transfer and the rest was allowed to be paid upon arrival. That gives you great peace of mind when spending so much money with a company that is not even from your country. They wait for you at the airport at any time, ours was at dawn, and from there they accompany you and manage everything until they take you to the airport on the day and time of your flight. They are very reliable and the value for money is amazing. Special mention and eternal gratitude to our guide Champion, who has made this trip the best possible trip and has made a dream come true. Champion is kind, pleasant, fun, decisive and knows the parks in an incredible way. He drives carefully and skillfully, both on the highway and on the difficult roads in the parks. He is attentive to everything you need and does not stop until you see as many animals and landscapes as possible. I cannot thank him enough for how safe and happy he has made us feel, in a wonderful country, but in a new environment for most travelers. With Champion you will have the best trip of your life. I will recommend this company to all my family and friends and to have Champion as a guide.
SE
Email Ava | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exquisite
Our guide Pius was great, he showed us so many animals, including the lions and rhinos (which are nearly extinct). He provided us information about about each park, the history behind them and interesting facts about the animals.
US
Email Stephanie Jackson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
My trip with Serengeti Smiles was more than I ever could have expected. They were very easy to work with and answered all my questions. Our guide Pius was fantastic. He is very knowledgeable about where the animals were and their behaviors. He worked hard to make sure that we saw every animal possible. He did everything to make sure that we got the best photos possible. I will recommend them to everybody.
ES
Email Vallivana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip of our life with Serengeti Smile and Champion
Our adventure with Serengeti Smile has been INCREDIBLE, especially because of the guide who was with us for 5 days, CHAMPION, he is the best guide we could have had, he is a determined boy, expert in his work, friendly, fun, strive for your adventure to exceed your expectations and achieve it, it has been truly WONDERFUL to be with him throughout the trip, I definitely recommend that everyone request this guide, they will be super delighted, thank you very much for everything CHAMPION!!, you are the best !!
US
Email Maria Zepeda | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They are communicative, reliable, affordable, and friendly operator that made my experience perfect!
Real review from a young Midwest couple - BEST TIME EVER WITH THE AMAZING SAFARI GUIDE PUIS!!! If you are lucky enough to have a chance to travel to Tanzania, use Serengeti Smile! Hopefully you are lucky enough to plan the trip with Albert and have Puis as your guide, seriously we can’t get over what an outstanding man Puis is! This 10 day package is perfect for young couples, a group of friends, family trip, or work or school event! If you wanted to make your stay more romantic or adventurous, Albert was very communicative and easy to work with. He upgraded a few of our stays to make the trip work for us! Asked about food allergies/ preferences, was on top of updates and sending them out, and so kind and understanding.
Trip planning:
So my husband and I researched safaris in Tanzania for a bit, we wanted something with safari and beach in Zanzibar! We sent interest to a few companies on safaribooking that made sense for us and Albert, our direct contact, was persistent in a very HELPFUL way. He was a pleasure to work with and to be honest, he made our trip happen in a VERY short notice since we were so back and forth on where we wanted to go. He was able to find alternative stays with short notice since everything was booked and was very communicative through email. We had a driver waiting for us no problem at 3 AM, in Kilimanjaro ready to take us to our first stay and we booked the trip two days prior. I know it’s what we paid for, but we CANNOT get over how kind, calm, and understanding everyone was. I felt so safe and trust this company, Albert, and Puis tremendously.
Lodging/ Food:
For lodging we stayed at Arusha Animal Planet Lodge, Marera Valley Lodge, and Safari View Camp (our favorite), for the safari portion. The first two stays were so nice in their own right for obvious reasons, amazing views and great food, but the tented camp was easily the best… we were in the middle of Serengeti, you could hear everything, see nothing, you were really just out there with the animals. The staff was so kind, welcoming, and seriously best food of the trip. No joke, the chef here is legit. The camp was so peaceful and relaxing, we had the best time.
When comparing to other groups especially during lunch and cruisers we’d say it was pretty comparable. At the end of the day, you spend most of the safari in your cruiser with your guide (puis is the best)… They were very comparable. The cruiser had plenty of room, charging, cold bottled water, open windows, and roof that opens. A Toyota Land Cruiser to be extract, pretty standard, everyone had them. Every morning, I was impressed to see Puis had a clean fresh car for us to start everyday, it gets very dusty after a long day of driving. He also always had a boxed lunch for us/ made sure we were fed. The main difference was some groups brought their lunch in proper picnic boxes and had proper silverware… for us, personally we thought that was a bit much. We were very happy with our delicious boxed lunch, we’re in the jungle with wild animals, having a proper meal feels like a bit much but to each their own. To emphasize, that was the biggest difference between us and some other groups. I’m sure if you really wanted that, you could get it but I find that a bit unnecessary. Puis joined us for all of our delicious meals, he’s great company!
Safari Guide: we’re making a whole section for Puis because we don’t deserve him. Talk about an outstanding gentleman! Our first night was rough, we came in early in the morning exhausted, our plan was to meet for breakfast at 8:30 and go on safari… well we accidentally slept until 10, we ran out of the room feeling terrible hoping our guide was still there… Puis was patiently waiting for us, asked if we were ok and completely understood our situation and insisted we go eat something before going on the road. Not once did he make us feel bad, instead wanted to make sure we were okay. The next day I was feeling sick, as I always do when I travel, he kept checking in, making sure I didn’t need the doctor or medicine. We felt so safe the whole time we were with him. Not that you shouldn’t feel safe here, but more because we felt taken care of because he cared about us and because he knows where to go and who to ask for support. Moreover, we noticed Puis is friends with just about everyone everywhere. I swear, anywhere we stopped he had a friend there, it was awesome because he is clearly a local, and we thought that enhanced the experience. Most importantly, Puis knows what he’s talking about. He was very informative of sharing his knowledge of the animals, landscape, and the people. We learned so much from him and had fun in the process. We managed to see all of the Big 5 and plenty of other big and small animals! We are going to miss him and we’re so lucky to have gotten a guide as cool as him! A huge part of positive experience is because of him and we’re so thankful!
Last thing, I know in the states everyone is scared of getting scammed, Serengeti Smile was absolutely not, quite the opposite.
I hope this review was helpful, highly recommend booking if you have not already!
BE
Email Zsazsa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good organization with good guides
We had an incredible safari experience with Serengeti Smile! Everything was perfectly organized, and our guide, Champion, made the trip unforgettable. From start to finish, we felt well taken care of and were able to fully enjoy the beauty of the Serengeti.
NL
Email Romée | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very friendly & respectful!
The organisation has contacted us very good before. Also during the safari, they kept contacting. The hotels were amazing, kindly people and the food was good.
Thank you Jeremiah & Champion! You guys were amazing. :) see you in a couple of years 😄
CH
Email Lukas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top communications and organisation.
We had such a good time in Tansania. Organisation before, while and after trip was 10/10.
Very special thanks to our guide Libe. He was nothing but excellent. Calm, patient, very skilled about nature and animals, experienced, good english and eyes like a eagle. If u ever book a safari ask for him!
CH
Email Anja | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari with Seregeti Smilie. We had a smile on our faces at all times :)
Serengeti Smilie organized a memorable safari for us. Baraka did a great job, responded to all our requests and answered within minutes. The safari with our guide Libe was fantastic. He was able to answer all our questions and it was nice to see how much he loves and respects the animals (he kept his distance and always turned off the engine). He also had a very good sense of what we liked (elephants) and the trip was super fun. Thank you so much! Anytime again.
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Email Lester | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Justin was extremely accommodating, friendly, she's knowledgeable!
I am so glad we picked Serengeti Smile for our safari vacation! We stayed in four different lodges and all were very comfortable and accommodating. Our guide, Justin, indulged us every time we wanted to stop and look at the animals we encountered and helped us figure out what we were looking at. He also made sure we saw things we might've missed. Each day was truly incredible, but the highlight for me was our two night stay in the Serengeti. Both the lodge and the game drives were my favorites of the trip. I also should mention that every meal here in Tanzania has been delicious! I didn't know that to expect but the food here would have surpassed any expectations anyway.
