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:
- $160 to $1,200 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
CN
Email Chloe | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Champion is everything you'd want in a guide: experienced, passionate, funny and friendly
After reading the reviews on SafariBookings, I was fully expecting Champion to be some seasoned older guy. Turns out the person waiting for us at the airport was a young man!
Champion may be young, but he is seriously experienced. He'd just casually go "uhh, animal there... animal here," and sure enough, we'd look over and there it was. So we ticked off 4 of the Big 5 on day one, and had all five by day two ;)
Once we got up north, he seemed a little worried and told us he wasn't an expert on the wildebeest river crossing. And then, just as casually, we saw it over and over again. The first time, he got a tip from other guides and we raced all the way there. The second time, Champion just had a hunch, picked a spot and waited, and before long wildebeest and zebras were crossing together right in front of us. Front-row seats, all to ourselves ✅. After that we also caught elephants crossing and a herd of wildebeest pulling a U-turn.
P.S. He even knows the Chinese names of the animals! Thanks to the Chinese guests before us who left him an animal guidebook. If each of us teaches Champion just a little, he'll be a Chinese expert in no time!
He truly loves this job. Since I'm a corporate drone with barely any time off, our itinerary was tight and included two long-haul days of around 11-12 hours each. And Champion, with his endless energy, still found time to wash and clean the car at night, then showed up at 6:30am sharp to take us out on safari from early morning until sunset. Only on the last day did he mention that he actually prefers leaving at 6am: "There are very few jeeps then, and more animals are out hunting or eating." Too bad every hotel only started serving breakfast at 6am...
He never runs out of stories. Every animal we came across came with a handful of fun facts, and whenever the long drives got a bit dull, chatting with Champion was always the answer.
Best of all, by the afternoon game drive I was usually wiped out, and Champion, who can apparently do everything, would offer to take the animal shots for me with my telephoto lens. He says he'll buy one of his own once he's saved up enough... he's seriously learning photography at the moment...
Champion is the most helpful guide I've ever met (not that I've met any others, lol). He knows pretty much every guide we ran into, and a lot of our sightings were thanks to them all sharing tips with each other. I asked how he knows everyone. According to him, if you don't know someone the first time, by the second time you've all been listening to music and singing together in the drivers' room, so of course you do!
When we came across people whose car had broken down, Champion stopped to help fix it. He said if we just drive past today, someone will drive past us next time. And then, casually as ever, he got their car running again 🤯!
Also, whatever you do, don't miss Champion's dad jokes hahaha! They were my favorite part.
Our time together was far too short, but he was everything you'd want in a guide: experienced, passionate, funny and friendly. I hope he gets that telephoto lens, and a new jeep, very soon!
CN
Email Jenny | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari, very unforgettable
Our driver Sanare is exceptional. His driving made us feel completely safe, and his incredible ability to spot hidden animals took our experience to the next level. He was also super flexible and took great care of us when we adjusted our schedule for an early start.
Also Francisca support us a lot before and during our safari! She was warm, super responsive on messaging apps, and answered all our questions instantly, keeping us completely at ease.
Highly recommend them for a worry-free safari!
CN
Email Jing | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
they responded really fast and helped us sort out any issues immediately.
We had an absolutely amazing safari trip! A huge shout-out to Francisca—she was super professional, responded really fast, and helped us sort out any issues immediately. Our guide was also incredibly knowledgeable. He worked so hard and made sure we saw so many animals. Overall, an unforgettable experience. Highly recommend! Thank you!
CN
Email Bob | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, thoughtful, and well-organized—making our Tanzania safari truly unforgettable.
We had a wonderful safari experience with Serengeti Smile in Tanzania. Everything was very well organized from start to finish, and the whole trip was smooth, comfortable, and stress-free.
A special thanks to our guide, Sam. He was very experienced, professional, friendly, and patient. He had an excellent eye for spotting animals and always seemed to know where to look. Thanks to his knowledge and experience, we were able to see a wide variety of wildlife and enjoy many unforgettable moments during the safari. He also shared lots of interesting information about the animals and the national parks, which made the journey even more enjoyable.
CN
Email MJ23 | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Serengeti Smile offers reliable, thoughtful safari service with a very knowledgeable guide who helpe
We were a group of four and had an absolutely wonderful safari experience with Serengeti Smile. The pre-trip communication was clear and prompt, and everything was well-organized as promised. Our driver-guide was extremely professional, experienced and passionate about wildlife. He knew exactly where to find animals, and we successfully saw the Big Five during our trip. The vehicle was comfortable and well maintained. Great value for money, we highly recommend this tour operator for your Tanzania safari!
NO
Email Julianne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing safari with Serengeti Smile
We wanted a luxurious safari for our honey moon and was contacted by Serengeti Smile through Safaribookings. Frederick was very helpful with helping us book our dream safari.
We had an amazing safari with a great tour guide called Samuel! He was very knowledgeable and found all the animals we wanted to see. He was also a very kind and considerate person, and we felt very safe the whole time.
The accommodations that were booked were also great!
Would totally recommend!
CN
Email Philip | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great experience
It has been a great experience, the trip is well arranged, and most importantly, we have a perfect guide who is familiar with all animals and knows where to find them.
CN
Email Michelle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator is quite efficient and friendly
Before booking the trip, we compared several companies including local Tanzanian ones and Chinese agent, Smile Serengeti is the most efficient and quick respond to our request, the whole process of planning and booking is smooth. After we start the trip, the communication and operates is good by timely solving the unpected problem and also booking new event. Overall, it's an unforgettable experience.
CN
Email rainy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable Safari Experience in Tanzania!
We had a wonderful experience with Serengeti Smile! Francisca was incredibly patient and responsive during the planning process, adjusting the itinerary many times to meet our needs. The lunch box on the first day was delicious. Our guide Zakaria was fantastic — despite a few unexpected issues on the road, he solved them all and helped us find almost every animal we hoped to see within our limited time. The vehicle was a bit old, but it was cleaned thoroughly every day. Overall, a very pleasant and memorable trip. Highly recommended!
FR
Email Adam | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All was just perfect
Everything was incredibly well organized with the Serengeti agency. And I can assure you that Elias is the best safari guide in Tanzania! If you can, ask for him to be your guide. He is an exceptional driver with truly amazing knowledge of every park. I came with my grandmother to make our dream come true; we managed to spot the famous "Big Five" in a single trip, saw around fifty lions, six or seven leopards (which are really rare), about ten cheetahs, and everything else you could imagine. This was largely thanks to Elias, who drove for 9–10 hours a day to make sure we saw them. A huge thank you for this magical experience—it will stay in our memories forever.
(automatic translation from French)
