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Tim   –  
United States US
Visited: April 2023 Reviewed: Apr 27, 2023

Email Tim  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Responsive, professional, and flexible tour company that showed us the best of Tanzania's parks!
5/5

My girlfriend and I did a 10-day Tanzania safari plus Zanzibar beach vacation with Serengeti Smile, and we have nothing but great things to say about the company and the experience. Frank was extremely responsive and patient with our many requests and questions during the planning phase. He also helped to customize the itinerary so that we could fit in everything we wanted. (If you have a specific hotel that you want to stay at or a park that you want to visit, just ask!).

During our safari, we visited Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Serengeti National Park. Each one was unique, and we still can't decide which was our favorite. (Rainy season is probably not the best time of year for Lake Manyara, as the animals move elsewhere, but we had our most intimate encounter with a herd of elephants there!)

All of the logistics during the trip were very well organized and took all of the stress out of the travel during our visit. Our guide Champion was phenomenal - he was knowledgeable, entertaining, prompt, reliable, and flexible. When we decided we needed to take a half day off from game drives to relax, he retooled our plan to meet our needs. He was always on time to pick us up, and he provided just the right amount of information - enough to feel like we were really learning about the wildlife, landscape, and country, but not so much that we felt overwhelmed.

Each of the hotels we stayed at was incredible - great rooms, beautiful views, nice restaurants, and very friendly, helpful staff. The game drives were the best part - we traveled in late mid to late April, which is supposedly the height of rainy season. It rained heavily most nights, but during the day the weather was perfect - cool enough to keep us comfortable, and just the right amount of clouds to make for stunning photos. Our guide felt bad that we didn't see as many animals in the Serengeti as he would have liked due to the high grasses of rainy season, but we saw way more than we were expecting. Dozens of elephants, giraffes, buffalo, and lions, plus hundreds of thousands of zebras, wildebeest, impalas, and gazelles. And the birds were incredible! Maybe we got lucky during rainy season, but we highly recommend April for the low crowds and enjoyable weather. (Zanzibar was a bit of a different story, as it rained pretty steadily about half of the time, but the other half was sunny and beautiful).

We have just two pieces of advice for travelers, and neither one is meant to reflect negatively on Serengeti Smile. First, beware of the gift shops you may stop at during the safari. At least during the low season, the prices they initial cite for you are outrageous, and many the items that they swear are locally made are the same souvenirs you can buy in countries throughout the region and continent. (I found the same coasters that I had bought in Uganda 10 years ago for $10, and the shop in Tanzania initially asked for $60 for them!). You can negotiate the prices down significantly, but it can be an anxiety-producing experience for those who are not used to bargaining.

Second, we 100% loved the parks we visited near Arusha and would happily go back some day, but we probably don't need to go back to Zanzibar. It is a beautiful place and there are plenty of activities to do, but the economy is based on tourism, so you are constantly hassled by people selling goods and services as soon as you set foot outside your hotel (and sometimes inside of it, when outsiders pass on the beach and try to discretely offer you things until security shoos them away). And after five days of feeling pleasantly isolated in the national parks, the stop and go traffic jams of Stonetown were a bit jarring. That said, the Stonetown tour itself was very interesting and informative, and if you've always wanted to visit Zanzibar, by all means do it, as it is a fascinating place with a unique history. But if you are debating between Zanzibar and a safari, we recommend the safari!

This is the first tour package I've done, so I can't speak to how the value compares to other trips, but we certainly felt like the trip was well worth the expense. Thank you to Serengeti Smile for an enjoyable and unforgettable experience!

Jaime Martínez de Velasco   –  
Spain ES
Visited: May 2023 Reviewed: Jun 4, 2023

Email Jaime Martínez de Velasco  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The best operator in every sense
5/5

My wife and I are very excited to recommend Serengeti Smile. I contacted several companies and Smile were the BEST to interact with, fast to answer emails and WhatsApp, always available for doubts, they adapted to our very specific itinerary while giving the best recommendations and with the best price/value equilibrium. When we arrived in Kilimanjaro Airport, we met John, our guide for the next 6 days, the best we could've asked for: he adapted to all our requests, gave us the best information and had the best conversation. We learnt a lot with him, not only about the Safari itself but also about Tanzania its culture, traditions and society. Game drives were great, we saw thousands of amazing animals, giraffes, zebras, leopards, elephants, hienas,... but it seemed like John had a radar to find SIMBAS (lions). But most of all, we could feel at all times Serengeti Smile were very professional, entirely focused on giving us the best experience... but most of all joyful, kind and great persons.

Macy   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2023 Reviewed: Jun 11, 2023

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

The best guide in Tanzania.
5/5

Look no further. I cannot recommend Serengeti Smile, specifically our guide, Ayubu, enough! We went into the experience pretty blind, and we got so so lucky.

I truly believe Ayubu is the best guide in Tanzania. Everywhere we went - from Tarangire to the Serengeti to Ngorongoro - he was head and shoulders above any other guide we interacted with. At one point we had 5 guides following us because they knew Ayubu knew his way around the park and how to best track many of the animals.

From the moment Ayubu picked us up in our Arusha until he dropped us off at the airport, he was incredibly professional, fun, knowledgeable. He made sure we had an incredible experience, understood what we were looking for in the experience and was incredible amenable.

Sandra   –  
Germany DE
Visited: June 2023 Reviewed: Jun 15, 2023

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

It was a very great Safari and the organization was very good.
5/5

The Safari was very good and we saw so many animals. Both guides was very friendly and know everything about the animals. The Lodges were very nice and the view of the lodges was great.

Anaëlle and Nicolas   –  
France FR
Visited: June 2023 Reviewed: Jun 15, 2023

Email Anaëlle and Nicolas  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Amazing, thank you Zack for everything !
5/5

We had Zack as driver, and we spent an amazing 4 safari days ! Every prestations was absolutely perfect (lodge, meal, driving, parc…). Thank you Zack your kindness, your smile every days and your stories about animals and the culture of the country. We loved spend time with you, and we loved our holidays in Tanzania and we will come back !

Nicolas   –  
France FR
Visited: June 2023 Reviewed: Jun 15, 2023

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

Amazon !!!!
5/5

We had Zack as driver, and we spent an amazing 4 safari days ! Every prestations was absolutely perfect (lodge, meal, driving, parc…). Thank you Zack your kindness, your smile every days and your stories about animals and the culture of the country. We loved spend time with you, and we loved our holidays in Tanzania and we will come back !

Johan   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: June 2023 Reviewed: Jun 20, 2023

Email Johan  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Professional and Courteous - an absolute pleasure
5/5

My partner and I had an incredible three days exploring Tanzania with Godwin. He took great care of us and was open to suggestions from our side as to what we would like to do. Safety was a key priority for me as driving in Tanzania is arduous at best and happy to say that Godwin was able to navigate through quite tricky driving conditions. He is punctual and always communicated what the itinerary looked like for the day.

I would definitely utilise them again for travelling in Tanzania!

Fernando Caballero   –  
Spain ES
Visited: June 2023 Reviewed: Jun 26, 2023

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

Hakuna Matata ! Asante Sana
5/5

Daniel and Gody , driver and Spanish guide are really kind and professional, we had a tight schedule and they’ve delivered perfectly. We arrived at KRO and departed from KRO , 4 day safari including Serengeti , Ngorongoro, Tanganire & Lake Manyara.

Lake Manyara is a new park which they are trying to explote , this visit can be very quick if you have a tight schedule. Serengeti is a must & the best.

Gody will take care of you and will drive you around to feel safe.

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

Email Taewoo Ha  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Very friendly and kind, Super guide. Drive safely and He shows many animals.
5/5

The reply was fast and introduce the tour course briefly.

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
5.0/5
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