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Serengeti Silence
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2023)
- Member Of:
- TTB & AMREF
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
-
TZ
- Price Range:
- $130 to $600 ppper 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
SG
Email Yann | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Do not book the Luxury Package, it falls well below other agencies standards
I will stick to the facts so this review is not biased. We booked the Luxury Package on SafariBookings.com, but Serengeti Silence (linked to the sister companies Serengeti Smile and Stars, same boss) did not deliver the luxury standard offered by other agencies.
The positives:
- Amazing wildlife.
- Knowledgeable guide.
- Nice hotels.
What went wrong:
- Lunch quality: Our first lunch was a barely edible sandwich box, while many other groups received hotel-prepared meals with hampers, cutlery and tablecloths. After I complained, they reluctantly upgraded us but responded defensively and made us feel guilty for expecting the standard that other agencies offered.
- Vehicle condition: The windshield was already cracked on pickup day (see photo), a safety concern on rocky roads. The phone charger was also broken.
- Unnecessary detour: We lost nearly 1h stopping at their office over an alleged unpaid balance. Everything was already settled, and they later said the stop was only to collect lunch boxes, which could have been collected before picking us up.
- Poor preparation: They forgot to provide binoculars on the first day.
- Last-minute surcharge: A few weeks before departure, they charged an extra $80 per person (including children) due to fuel prices, despite our signed quote and deposit. We had no real option but to pay or cancel.
For these reasons, I cannot recommend this agency. Their unprofessionalism irretrievably marred what should have been a dream safari.
Reply from Serengeti Silence
Posted on Aug 9, 2026Dear Yann,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your safari. We are sorry that some aspects of your experience did not meet your expectations. We take guest feedback seriously, and we would like to clarify several points and explain the steps we took to address your concerns.
Lunch Boxes,
We sincerely apologize that the lunch boxes did not meet your expectations, particularly regarding their quality and presentation. However, we would like to clarify that, at the time of booking, the lunch arrangement included in your safari quotation was packed lunch boxes, not hotel-prepared lunch with hampers. Hotel-prepared luch meals with hampers are a different service and are normally arranged at an additional cost when specifically requested. Nevertheless, when you raised your concern, we took it seriously and wanted to improve your experience. We arranged hotel-prepared lunch hampers for the remaining safari days at no additional cost because our priority was for you to enjoy your safari as much as possible. We understand that guests may have different expectations regarding meals during a safari, and we have taken your feedback on board. We are reviewing the quality and presentation of our packed lunches to ensure we continue improving our service.
Vehicle Condition,
We are sorry that the condition of the vehicle caused concern, particularly windshield. We acknowledge that the vehicle should have been properly checked and prepared before your safari, and we take responsibility for this oversight. A vehicle used for safari should always give our guests confidence and peace of mind. We have therefore reinforced our instructions to all our guides that any form of vehicle damage, even if it appears to be very minor, must be reported immediately to our operations and garage teams and checked before the vehicle is assigned to another guest. We also understand the inconvenience caused by the phone charger not functioning. We are taking steps to ensure that spare chargers are available in our safari vehicles whenever possible.
Time spent at our office,
We regret that the stop at our office caused frustration and inconvenience. After reviewing the matter with our operations team, we understand that there was a misunderstanding within the team regarding the arrangements for collecting the lunch boxes. We have discussed this with our operations team and are taking steps to improve communication and coordination between the office, guides, and logistics teams, with the aim of preventing similar misunderstandings in the future. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
Binoculars,
Our safari vehicles are equipped with binoculars for our guests’ use. Unfortunately, on the first day, the binoculars had been misplaced and were therefore not available when you expected them. After you brought this to our attention, we contacted the guide, and the binoculars were provided the following day. We sincerely apologize that they were not available from the beginning of your safari. We have also reminded our guides that all safari equipment must be checked before every departure and that binoculars should remain available in the vehicle throughout the safari.
Fuel Surcharge,
Your safari was originally priced and confirmed before the significant global increase in fuel prices. Since the outbreak of the U.S, Israeli conflict with Iran on February 28, 2026, the ongoing conflict has had a significant impact on global energy markets. The conflict disrupted oil supplies and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil transportation, creating significant uncertainty and putting substantial upward pressure on crude oil and fuel prices
To ensure that our operations continue to run smoothly while maintaining the quality and reliability of the experience we provide, a fuel surcharge was introduced in response to these exceptional and unforeseen increases in operating costs. This was not an arbitrary price increase, but a necessary adjustment driven by circumstances beyond our control.
The surcharge was communicated to you prior to your arrival and has been applied consistently across all safari groups to fairly manage the impact of these global fuel cost increases. We understand that any additional charge after a booking can be disappointing, and we appreciate your understanding that this measure was necessary to ensure seamless and well managed safari operations while continuing to deliver the high standard of service you expect.
Finally, we are grateful for your positive comments, as well as for the feedback on the areas where we fell short. We do not expect every guest to have smilar experiences or preferences, but we do want every guest to feel that their concerns are listened to, taken seriously, and handled professionally. We have already used your feedback to reinforce several areas internally, including clearer communication regarding lunch options, vehicle inspection and reporting procedures, better coordination between our office and guides, and more thorough checking of safari equipment before departure.
We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back to Tanzania for another adventure in the future. Should you choose to travel with us again, we will do our very best to ensure a well-organized, enjoyable, and memorable safari experience.
Best Regards,
Alex.
Disclaimer
- All corporate and/or tour info is provided by Serengeti Silence, not SafariBookings