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 budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $500 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
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Email Niraj | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
excellent
we had a great experience with Serengeti Smile.
Booking agent - Jonyo - We highly recommend him. He booked all our stays and planned out the entire trip. Everything went great.
Guide/driver - Lucas - He was excellent. Saw all big fives. Had 4x4 land cruiser with two rows(not the one with three rows) which was way more comfortable and roomy than the regular land cruisers that has three rows. Lucas is very knowledgeable and patient. We were a family of four and kids of 9 and 13 years of age. Lucas took appropriate time to stop, describe animals and take pictures.
We witness the migration and were staying at different hotels every night. I think it was worth spending night at different places since central, western and northern Serengeti have different ecosystem. We had enough time for shopping and also visit Hindu temple(BAPS) in Arusha.
Overall we were very happy and satisfied with our trip.
Hotels that we stayed at - Maliaka camp, Kirawira Serena camp, Serena lodge in central Serengeti, Mt Meru hotel and Farm of dreams.
All are good hotels.
Thanks.
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Email Jens | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience with trip and guide!!
We had a great experience with Serengeti Smile. Our first interactions were via email where we had quick and clear responses on our questions. The most important part of the trip, next to the itinerary, is the guide and we locked in with our guide Champion. He was very easy going (hakuna matata couldn’t be a better fit for him) and also knowledgeable when guiding us through the safari. We loved him! We saw tons of animals and nature which was the main purpose of the trip but also extra experiences I didn’t expect such as the birthplace of the human race (cradle of birth) and visited a Masai village. Really cool. I couldn’t asked for more in terms of experiences.
The only thing I would advise future travelers is to do your homework on the itinerary. I didn’t fully understand it until we were out in the safari. I have no regrets but didn’t expect the days to be so long which can be hard for kids if you are traveling as a family. I would ask about the time in the car to make sure it meets your needs or if you want to customize certain parts of the itinerary.
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Email Gabriela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Serengeti Smile provided an unforgettable safari experience with excellent planning
I had an amazing experience with Serengeti Smile! From the start, the team was incredibly responsive, and Godian did a great job walking me through the itinerary and helping us plan every detail of our safari. Once we arrived, our guide Simon truly made the trip unforgettable—he was kind, knowledgeable, and an extremely safe driver. He executed everything perfectly and made sure we saw and did everything we hoped for. I highly recommend Serengeti Smile for anyone looking for a well-organized, professional, and memorable safari experience!
Email Michael Ilori | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant, collaborative and experienced
Serengeti smile worked closely and patiently with me to create the most enjoyable holiday itinerary for mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. Our safari tour guide lovely man called Walter was incredible. He had in depth knowledge of the wildlife and safari in general and he was instrumental in making the safari run so smoothly. He went out of his way to make sure that we got the best photos and he gave us incredible lessons about the wildlife. He was spectacular!!! A real gentleman. This was my second Tanzanian trip booked with Serengeti Smile. I visited before in 2023 with my son, I had a lovely time with another equally brilliant safari guide called Deo. It was so good that i knew that I just had to get my wife and daughter to have the same experience. So I brought them to Tanzania in 2025. They both said that it was their best holiday ever!!! Thanks Serengeti Smile!!! Africa is a special continent that gives the world so much joy!!! Hopefully this will be reciprocated and Africa respected in the future.
Email Brian & Nicole | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional safari tour operator offering a first class service for a once in a lifetime experience.
The safari itself was beyond our expectations. Hussein was a great driver, guide and good company for the full 5 days of the safari. His knowledge on everything from the parks, the wildlife and the local community was great and made our safari very interesting and knowledgeable as well as exciting seeing all the animals. Our safari covered 4 national parks, Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti and Lake Manyara. We loved each of the parks individually as they are so different in terms of landscape, however our personal favourite was the Serengeti. We managed to see a lot of the wildlife and all but the leopard in terms of the Big 5. This wasn’t for the want of trying from Hussein, however. We expected to see various animals with the highlight being the lions. We must have seen between 20-30 lions which was incredible. Overall we could not recommend Serengeti Smile more as a company to provide a once in a lifetime safari. Big thanks in particular to Hussein for making our trip so special!
CN
Email Harry | under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
It's a very good company. I'm very satisfied with everything from the guide to the condition of the car.
CN
Email Molly | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice Safari
Pius is very professional and dedicated. Especially, he could identify animals from a long distance. For us, the rhinoceros was just a dot, but he recognized it. The 7-day trip was wonderful. We saw all big five, and it was a particularly happy safari.
CA
Email Fred | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Exceptional Safari Experience!
We’ve had an exceptional Safari experience with Serengeti Smile! Special thanks to our guide Champion!! Champion is kind, caring, funny and goes out of his way to make sure you are having a great time (not to mention his eagle eye for finding all of The Big Five and every other Safari animal!)!!
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Email Justin Kopta | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Champion Delivers an Outstanding Performance!
First, this experience was absolutely phenomenal. This is a premier guide service. In keeping with the quality of the service, the guide's name was Champion.
The trip started off at Tarangire. According to the guide, who used a food analogy to describe the sequence and build-up of destinations included in the trip, Tarangire is the appetizer. Many giraffes, elephants, zebras, and myriad animals at this park. Driving around in a modified Toyota Land Cruiser, it is very easy to see the animals and maintain a panoramic view (360 degrees) with the pop-top. The vehicle has windows throughout, easily accommodates 6 pax in individual seats, contains a cooler with waters and refreshments, and is quite comfortable during the 12 hour game drives. Overall, the vehicle was exceptional!
Next on the menu was the entree, or main course...Serengeti National Park. Driving through Ngorongoro (to get to Serengeti), there were giraffes, zebras, hyenas, gazelle, impalas, leopards, and many other animals. The vehicle traverses the bumpy roads with relative ease and comfort. Many opportunities for photos, pitstops, and washroom breaks. Additionally, the Maasai villages are accessible to travelers. Highly recommend visiting the Maasai as they have a complicated but intimate history with the Ngorongoro crater and surrounding lands.
Arriving at the Serengeti, 4 of the Big 5 sere seen within a few hours (Lion, leopard, Elephant, Buffalo). The Serengeti is a massive area and the game drives offer stunning opportunities for photos and natural animal encounters. Because of its size, there were only a few animal encounters that attracted multiple vehicles. The cheetah photo attached attracted 5 other vehicles for viewing, however the guide positioned the vehicle in an excellent spot in order to capture many outstanding photos. He consistently navigated to spots that would offer the best positioning for photo opportunities. Regardless of the animal and regardless of the number of vehicles present, Champion consistently found the best spots to park the vehicle and demonstrated an uncanny ability to find or wait for the special moments. Lions sleeping in the trees, pride of lions with 9 cubs, leopard sleeping in the grass, wildebeest crossing a river, family of elephants on a morning walk, rhinos grazing, and many other once-in-a-lifetime moments.
Next was back to the Ngorongoro crater for dessert. All of the Big 5 were seen within an hour (Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo). The crater offers indescribably beautiful photo opportunities and animal encounters. The landscape photo attached was taken in the central part of the crater. The scenery, the number of animals, and the diversity of animals is undeniably breathtaking. All of this made possible by Champion.
Overall, I strongly recommend Serengeti Smile and offer highest marks and support for Champion. He truly made the trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sincerely grateful for his knowledge, driving prowess, hospitality, kindness, and safety-conscious mentality.
Here is a brief list of the animals seen:
- Leopard
- Rhino
- Lion
- Elephant
- Buffalo (cape and water)
- Cheetah
- Hyena
- Giraffe
- Grant Gazelle
- Thomson Gazelle
- Topi
- Waterbuck
- Zebra (common)
- Wildebeest
- Impala
- Hippo
- Crocodile
- Baboon
- Vulture
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Email Angela K. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Champion for the win!
We had an incredible time with Champion as our guide for 5 days. He was punctual, knowledgeable and ensured we got to see ALL the animals. We were never rushed, and he always made sure we were satisfied at the end of every day. Serengeti Smiles was a great company to book with and we had a wonderful time exploring Tanzania!
