Serengeti Smile Team
Serengeti Smile
- Office In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2020)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board & AMREF FLYING DOCTORS INSURANCE
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $2,754 to $20,659 per person per day (MXN, 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
Email Philip | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional
Our group of five had an absolutely incredible experience from start to finish with Serengeti Smiles. From the moment we met our guide, Champion, we knew we were in great hands. He kept the energy high, welcomed every question, and even when he didn’t immediately know an answer, he took the time to research it and follow up with us later. That level of care and professionalism set the tone for the entire safari.
After meeting the Serengeti Smiles team, we headed out on our adventure. Our Land Cruiser may have been an older model, but it was built like a tank, reliable, comfortable, and perfect for the terrain. We had zero vehicle issues the entire trip.
Over four unforgettable days, we saw every animal we had hoped to see. We even joked that Champion must be good luck! One of my most memorable moments was our first evening in the Serengeti, exploring the landscape and taking stunning sunset photos. It was pure magic.
Thanks to Champion’s sharp eye and deep knowledge, we saw the Big Five and so much more. He truly has eyes like a hawk and wisdom like an elephant. What stood out most was his patience and character, he was always the first to stop and help other safari vehicles if they were having trouble. His level of service extended far beyond just our group, and that says a lot about who he is.
I can’t recommend Serengeti Smiles highly enough to anyone considering a safari. And if you can, ask for Champion, you won’t find a better guide.
Email Sherri Peck | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Use SERENGETI SMILES & Domi for best Safari!
My husband and I booked a 7-day Tanzania safari with SERENGETI SMILES and have been incredibly happy with the booking process and Safari price with Pinel, for making the arrangements and a few modifications, as well as our tour guide, Domi!
In fact, Domi’s guide services have been beyond our expectations! He asked about our interests the first day, and has been very persistent and assertive in getting just the right spot in the Land Cruiser for us to get amazing close-up photos of the Big 5 animas as well as many more animals and birds. He ensures the Land Cruiser and windows are clean every morning and there are cold drinks and box lunches. He is extremely knowledgeable about animals and birds and has great experience to know where to find these amazing animals as well as to communicate with other guides for the absolute best photographer point of view. He also has proven his elite driving skills by not getting stuck in a lot of mud (like some other guides) in the parks or getting caught in flooding from a torrential rain downpour. We HIGHLY recommend SERENGETI SMILES and DOMI for the best North Tanzania safari experience.
DK
Email Christa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional
The accommodation has been perfect, and we think we got a very high value for money. We saw a lot of animals, and our Guide was kind and welcoming.
SG
Email Su Shan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a journey this has been — our very first trip to Central Africa as a family of four. We discovered the tour through SafariBookings and reached out by email. Francisca responded promptly with three package options, and we chose the mid-luxury experience. Everything was organised seamlessly and our deposit was processed smoothly — we were incredibly excited for the adventure.
Unfortunately, our flight to Kilimanjaro was cancelled and rebooked before the trip while we were en route to Johannesburg, which meant we had to forfeit the first day of our 5-
day safari. Despite this setback, Francisca was exceptionally helpful right up to the last minute. She assisted with all the changes and kindly provided the necessary documentation for our travel insurance claim for the park fees at Tarangire National Park.
Our guide, Abia, truly made the trip unforgettable. With over 10 years of experience, his wildlife spotting skills and driving were outstanding. To make up for the lost day, he planned our game drives so well that we saw the Big Five across Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater in just three days — an incredible achievement. Beyond his expertise, his character stood out too. At one point he stopped to help a fellow guide (his own brother) fix a flat tyre, showing genuine kindness and professionalism in the field.
From witnessing a magnificent pride of lions, herds of elephant to the black rhino during calving season — the experience was beyond anything we imagined.
Despite the travel disruption, this safari exceeded our expectations. The organisation, communication, guiding expertise, and overall experience were exceptional. We would highly recommend this team to anyone planning a safari — they truly care about their guests and go above and beyond to make the journey special.
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.
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!
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.
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
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!
