Reviews

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 141-150 of 209 Reviews
Tish and Randy   –  
United States US
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Aug 1, 2023

Email Tish and Randy  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Exceeded my expectations for our safari experience
5/5

The accommodations were wonderful during our week-long adventure. Ayubu was an outstanding driver with a knack for squeezing into tight places and lining us up perfectly to view and photograph wildlife. The roads were rough but he navigated them with ease and somehow managed to pick out the animals while simultaneously watching out for the many road hazards. The box lunches were arranged by the places where we stayed and were very basic but had enough variety to make a meal even for a picky eater like myself. (It would have been nice to be able to assemble your own lunches to avoid waste as the Mara Heritage Camp let us do.) Dinners and breakfasts were always buffet style. Plenty of bottled water was available at both the lodging and in the vehicle. We saw over 70 different animal species throughout the week and were fortunate to witness a river crossing of wildebeest during the Great Migration. We also got to see some lionesses hunt a herd of gazelle and vultures picking apart an animal carcass. I saw several folks staying at the Planet Lodge in Arusha and taking day safaris. This is not the way to do it as you spend more time getting back and forth and less time in the parks. A 7 day trip let us see everything we wanted to and not be rushed and we usually got to our lodging an hour or more before dinner to allow us time to get the dirt off. (This is a very dusty experience so be ready for it!) Mara Heritage Camp in the Northern Serengeti had the best food and even had a nightly show of cultural performances.

Kimberly   –  
United States US
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 31, 2023

Email Kimberly  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Serengeti Smile provided a fun, relaxing, educational, once-in-a-lifetime experience!
5/5

Our trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar was better than anything we could have expected! We found Serengeti Smile on SafariBookings.com and chose to book with them due to the price, customizable itinerary, and responsiveness to our questions. Everything was taken care of in terms of accommodation, booking, and transportation - we didn’t have to worry about a thing.

Our guide for the Safari - Kisali - was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and personable all throughout our trip through Tarangire, Ngorogoro Crater, and the Serengeti. He made sure to point out all animals, especially the ones we mentioned we were excited to see, and he often had fun facts to share about them and the plants unique to Africa. He also had answers to all our questions about the local culture and taught us key Swahili words. We felt very safe and comfortable with Kisali and have definitely walked away with a new friend!

The staff at all the accommodations Serengeti Smile selected for us were very welcoming, especially at the Tanzania Bush Camp in Serengeti. We loved talking to all of the employees there and learning even more Swahili words.

We ended our trip in Zanzibar with a beach vacation and it was the perfect relaxing, final stop. Very happy with our choice to book via Serengeti Smile, who provided a fun, relaxing, educational, once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Olivia   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 26, 2023

Email Olivia  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Awesome Serengeti Safari.
5/5

I found Serengeti Smile on SafariBookings.com and I was impressed with their response, pricing and ability to tailor my Safari to our needs. I am a single parent travelling with 2 teenage children and they booked us comfortable and interesting accommodation with 3 beds which was perfect.

Our guide ,Zack, met us at the airport with a great smile and a huge, robust and comfortable Land Cruiser Safari vehicle. I am a vegetarian, and they had organised vegetarian meals and packed lunches for me throughout our trip.

Our first day was in Tangarire where we saw elephant, Giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck and lots of lions. We also saw a leopard in a tree at great distance! We arrived at our accommodation, Marea lodge, quite late but it was comfortable and the food was great.

Our second day we skimmed the rim of the Ngorogoro crater and headed into the Serengeti which was spectacular. Zack knew good remote places to see game, and again, lots of lions and even a cheetah! We spent the night in the brand new Happy Valley tented camp and were treated like kings. We fell asleep to the sound of lions roaring in the distance and were serenaded awake by the Howells of hyena! Very wild but absolutely perfect. After a morning in the Serengeti, we headed to Ngorogoto whee we stayed on the rim of the crater in another tented camp. My son had a great game of football with the Masai security guards and hot water bottles in the beds were a bonus!

Our final day we headed into the crater to meet mating lions, a black rhino in the distance and a bold hyena chasing a zebra as well as hippo and flamingo. Then it was time to head back to the airport.

The Safari was well organised by Albert and Zacks knowledge and amazing driving made it an amazing experience.

Sandis   –  
Luxembourg LU
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 25, 2023

Email Sandis  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Top tour operator, excellent service.
5/5

We had an excellent 8 days of safari with Serengeti Smile. The guys are skilled and knowledgeable. The program was just right. The communication went very smoothly. Very good value for money. I strongly recommend this tour guide. Look no further, you will not be disappointed.

Bhupendra   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 23, 2023

Email Bhupendra  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Awesome Company
5/5

Fantastic what’s app communication from the UK with the service provided beyond our expectations for 12 people with various dietary requirements. The tour was truly unforgettable in terms of value for money, reliability and the organisation skills in caring for the varied age group from 11 years to the mid seventies was truly remarkable. My birthday celebration in Serengeti was out of this world!!!

Tess & Scott Baxter   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 18, 2023

Email Tess & Scott Baxter

Wow!
5/5

We read the reviews written about Serengeti Smile, and thought they were too good to be true - how wrong could we be!
From our first contact with Albert, he kept us updated regularly and always answered any queries we had quickly and efficiently.
We went on safari, followed by a stay in Zanzibar. The accommodation and transfers throughout was excellent.
We would like to give a special mention to Godwin, our guide/driver on safari, who went above and beyond to make our holiday everything we could have wished, and more.
We felt thoroughly looked after at all times.
We would certainly use Serengeti Smile again … and again … and again!

Steven   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2022 Reviewed: Jul 16, 2023

Email Steven  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Better than ever
5/5

*The best tour operator ever; I'll use them again*

John, our tour guide, was fantastic! With the help of Serengeti Smile, our family went on a 10-day safari in Northern Tanzania. The trip's highlight, besides viewing animals, was our guide John. He was the ideal fit for our family and was really patient with all of our wants and inquiries. In addition to teaching us about Tanzania's people, culture, and language, John also educated us about the region's animals, flora, and wildlife management. A finer guide could not have been provided for us.
Additionally, everyone else from Serengeti Smile was really helpful, which made our trip fantastic. Even though we were 100 of kilometers away at the time, we are extremely appreciative that they delivered us the luggage that was misplaced at the airport.

Sylvia   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 15, 2023

Email Sylvia  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Serengeti Smile is quick, trustworthy and delightful to communicate with
5/5

We booked our safari adventure with Serengeti Smile and were extremely pleased with their service. From start to finish, they were quick to respond to any questions we had during the booking process and ahead of travelling. When we arrived at Arusha airport in the morning, we were greeted by our driver and guide Benson, who helped with our luggage and then drove us to our first destination, the Lake Manyara National Park. While we drove there, he told us all sorts of interesting facts about Tanzania, which we really appreciated. We arrived at Lake Manyara for lunch time, and did see elephants and baboons on our way to the lunch spot. We ate a super delicious boxed lunch at a view point, which had benches and tables and overlooked the lake. After, we continued our game drive and ended our day at the Serena Lodge Lake Manyara, where we spent the night (very nice hotel!). The next day, onward to the Serengeti, with a boxed lunch again and a game drive in the afternoon, a night at the Safari View Luxury Camp (an out of this world tented accommodation, very unique, highly recommend!), and another game drive in the morning. The game drives where truly fantastic and we were in constant awe at all the animals we saw! Benson was in touch with his fellow guides via radio and managed to show us also the more elusive animals there (cheetah and leopard). In the afternoon of the second day, we left the Serengeti and headed towards Ngorongoro Crater. We made a stop at the Olduvai Gorge (which Serengeti Smile kindly organized for us upon our request on short notice), which we found rather disappointing. The museum is small (you'e done in 30 mins to max. 1h) but very nice and informative and there is a view point to see the gorge which is a great photo opportunity - but the prices were ridiculously high for what was on offer (50 dollar per person, which is more expensive than the Louvre in Paris!). After the museum visit, we ended up in the Serena Lodge Ngorongoro, where we spent the night. It was really cold (at 2300m altitude) and the hotel staff thoughtfully brought us warm water bottles to take to bed which made the night very cosy. The next and last day, we visited Ngorongoro Crater. Again, hundreds of animals everywhere, it was stunning! Benson tried to show us some of the approx. 30 rhinos living there and we managed to see three of them from a distance, which completed our 'big 5 sightings'. After the crater, Benson drove us back to Arusha airport (with a boxed lunch stop on the way), from where we continued our holiday. All in all, we had an amazing experience provided by the guys at Serengeti Smile - thank you!

Clive   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 10, 2023

Email Clive  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Made it all about us.
5/5

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.

hyo   –  
South Korea KR
Visited: July 2023 Reviewed: Jul 9, 2023

Email hyo  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

super guide Reo, the best guide, our honeymoon was fantastic
5/5

very good!
Their work is accurate and respose was quick.
Nice price and good service.
They gave us the best expereienced guide!!!!★★★★ ★

Average User Rating
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