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
DK
Email Helle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent 6-day safari trip (The Great Migration Tour)
We had an absolutely amazing trip with John our driver and guide from Serengeti Smile. We saw so many different habitats and countless animals. John was always very patient with us taking pictures. Accommodations were all good and the food lovely throughout the trip. We can highly recommend Serengeti Smile!
Serengeti Smile is courteous, responsive, and affordable, providing an excellent and friendly guide
We (two couples) had a fantastic time with Serengeti Smile in our 7-day Tanzania safari (Tarangirie, Serengeti/Mara and Ngorongoro) and 5-day Zanzibar beachside holiday. We chose Serengeti Smile as a mid-range provider (even though they are a relatively new company) based initially on the TripAdvisor review score of 5, and then on how reassuring and responsive Frank (the company owner) was in our planning meetings in What’s App and Zoom. He helped us design a customised itinerary that fully covered our various interests, was friendly, courteous and professional right through the organisation process and then during the actual safari, right down to arranging a sunset sail on a dhow in Zanzibar with just a few hours’ notice on our last day.
Our guide Ayubu was also excellent – courteous, friendly, and professional, with excellent driving skills, incredible animal-spotting skills, and a great sense of humour. He clearly knew his way around the parks and had a great rapport with other guides and so was able to get information from them on where they were seeing animals. We must admit that it did take a day or so to gain confidence in his driving skills at what initially seemed to be high-ish speeds over some rough roads. However, after a couple of days we realised he knew what he was doing, as he clearly knew every inch of the many kilometres we travelled. Ayubu was very skilled at placing the vehicle in the best possible place for viewing and photographing animals when there was lots of competition from (sometimes) 10 or more other safari vehicle looking at a lion pride, for example.
Our safari vehicle was a few years old but was comfortable enough with just four of us. Six people and luggage would be a squeeze. Our lodges were also very good, without being 5-star, and the tent camps in Serengeti were impressive in providing roomy spaces with comfortable beds, functional bathrooms, electric lights and even in-tent Wi-Fi facilities, as well as a dining room & bar tent.
And the animals were fantastic – not just the ‘big-ticket’ items like the Big 5, and the wildebeest crossings of the Mara (we saw two!), but the myriad and often ridiculously colourful birds and lizards, the amazing diversity of antelopes and more. Plus, of course, some insight into the lives of the local people – the Maasai with their herds, and the locals in the towns and villages.
Asante Sana
Email Clive | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Made it all about us.
We had an incredible experience with Serengeti Smile.The price was very competitive and accommodations were very good. It's great to have had an excellent guide in Ayubu who was such a fantastic guide that made our trip unforgettable. He was very knowledgeable, real gent, humorous and professional, and his fluency in English was definitely a plus. The fact that Ayubu provided lunch, reference books for different animals including birds plus binoculars in the vehicle also shows that he really took every detail into consideration to insure that my 16yrs Son and I had the best experience possible.
The hotels were of a very good standard, and Frank whom organised our trip was friendly, very communicative, flexible and did his best to accommodate our needs throughout the whole process. We done 6days safari and 4 days in Zanzibar which was also a quality experience from the guided tours to swimming with the dolphins.
Overall, we had an amazing time with Serengeti Smile and Ayubu as our guide. It's clear that they really know how to provide their clients with an unforgettable experience.
Thank you Frank and Ayubu.
Email Kayla & Jaspa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical experience - great guides, good service and so many animals
My partner and I embarked on our first Safari together. Our expectations were matched by Serengeti smile as a result of their welcoming, informative and chilled service.
They picked us up at our hotel promptly at 8am the first morning, we were greeted with cold bottles of water in the car which I'm sure you can imagine, in the hot weather was very needed! They continued to provide snacks like peanuts and other little bits throughout the day.
As we progressed to the different areas, they provided facts and information about the land, animals and tribes which was good as it adds that educational layer.
The tour guides always seemed like they had our best interest at heart, getting the good spots to see the animals and pointing out little things that we may have missed, for example a Dung beetle pushing a pile of poop with his little friend on it (you can imagine, this is fairly hard to spot in the Serengeti while driving)
I think the experience was good value for money (it was the most cost effective in comparison to the rest of the options), ways in which this trip could be improved is by providing better quality and more thoughtful packed lunch and upgrading the accommodation provided (the first accommodation was a tented camp, which was a great experience but not particularly luxury) however the 2nd lodge was lovely, it had better food options and better facilities. I think my partner and I largely share this opinion due to being foodies and having quite high expectations, so given that I would say the accommodation and food were sufficient but just not up to our standards. I also think that organising the permits well ahead of time would reduce any wait times and delays which in turn would improve the overall experience and make it more seamless.
Nonetheless, we had the most amazing experience - we saw all of the animals except for the Leopard, it was truly magical and we would 100% recommend this to anyone!
US
Email Angela | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Serengeti Smile may this trip unforgettable.
Serengeti Smile is a very professional tour operator. From the minute I book the tour, the communication was excellent. Frank kept us informed at all times and help us to find the best accommodations for our family of 5.
We decided on a private tour since our family is large. Ayub was our driver/ guide. He was excellent!! Professional and knowledgeable. A very friendly traveling companion that makes sure we get informed at all times. His knowledge of the area and eagle-eyed spotting game made our experience unique. We cant' wait to return to Tanzania with Serengeti Smiles.
BE
Email Irem | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Road trip of a lifetime
We just came back from our 4 day safari tour. Everything was great and it was an unforgettable experience. Our guide, Justin, was very professional and experienced. He and his assitant Ombeni made us feel safe and comfortable. We were lucky to see the big 5 and observe most of the animals up close. We are very happy that we chose serengeti smile and we recommend it to everyone. Tanzania, the people and animals will always remain in our hearts.
DE
Email Büsra | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable, professional, and knowledgeable. Serengeti Smile offers an unforgettable safari experience
We had the pleasure of booking a 4-day safari with Serengeti Smile, which took us through breathtaking locations like Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti, Karatu, and the Ngorongoro Crater. From the very first moment we were picked up at the airport, we knew we were in good hands.
Our main guide, Justin Kimambo, and his assistant, Ombeni Alfred, made the journey an unforgettable experience. Justin is a young but incredibly experienced and professional guide, who impressed us with his calm and composed demeanor and vast knowledge. No matter how long we were on the road or what challenges arose, he always stayed calm and knew exactly where to spot animals in their natural habitat.
His ability to spot wildlife was astounding—he often noticed animals we would have never seen as amateurs. In addition to his professionalism, his sense of humor made the drives even more enjoyable. We always felt safe and the entire safari went smoothly, perfectly according to plan.
A small incident on the last day of our trip showed how committed and reliable the Serengeti Smile team is. Unfortunately, we had a technical issue with our vehicle, which can happen on safaris. Justin did everything he could to fix the problem, and when that wasn’t possible, he quickly arranged for a solution. Another guide took us to the entrance of the national park, from where we were gradually transferred back to our hotel. Although the transfer was time-consuming and a bit tiring, especially since we had long-haul flights the next morning, Justin did everything he could to ensure the transition was as smooth as possible.
We wholeheartedly recommend Serengeti Smile and especially Justin Kimambo. His professionalism, knowledge, and calm attitude made our safari a unique experience. For future trips, perhaps the transfer could be organized a bit more efficiently in unexpected situations. However, overall, the safari was an incredible adventure that we will never forget.
Thank you, Justin, for these wonderful days!
Email Katy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic organisation form Serengeti Smile. 100% recommend!
Thank you to Serengeti Smile for organising a fantastic trip. Special thanks to Benjamini who helped plan what we wanted to do and was so responsive via WhatsApp, we had instant responses making the planning and booking of the trip super easy. The accommodations/ lodges were all welcoming and comfortable with great food. Our guide was local to the Ngorongoro area so was able to offer us insights into the local people as well as the wildlife we saw. And we saw lots of wildlife, some amazing sights we will never forget (wildebeests crossing the river!). Our guide was always respectful of the animals and did not linger too long if there were many other jeeps - something we appreciated. I definitely recommend adding a trip to Zanzibar to relax after Safari (again the accommodation - Villa Kiva - here has been spectacular!). Thank you for an amazing trip Serengeti Smile! Would 100% use SS again and recommend!
CN
Email Jianxin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He is the best tour guide.
I did not expect that I would meet a tour guide like Joseph, who has an excellent eyesight and can satisfy your special demands on animals. Thanks to Joseph, we can spot a group of lions and leopards many times. We even have plenty of time to see behaviours of animals and to some extent understand animals. He is definitely an expert in animals and we are so lucky to have him there.
I would also like to give my sincere appreciation to Flora. She really knows what we need and help us arrange everything!
CN
Email 袁霞 | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
So wonderful
The tour guide provided very good service, thoughtful and considerate, communicated with us along the way, communicated patiently, and had good driving skills. Because of this, we saw a lot of animals and birds during the trip. Everyone loved the environment very much, it was clean, and we were in a good mood!
(automatic translation from Chinese)