US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Prompt, reliable, responsive, and great value for money
My family recently (July 2024) completed a 14 day safari in Tanzania (plus a couple of pre & post days in Arusha and Dar Es Salaam). Of these, 7 days were in the North (covering Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro), and the remaining 7 days were in the South (covering Nyerere, Mikumi and Ruaha). It also included a couple of flights within Tanzania. The entire trip was arranged with the help of ‘Smile With Us Tours In Africa’, and I have nothing but nice things to say about them. All planning, booking, payments, etc. were centrally coordinated by Jacob, who has been absolutely wonderful!
I started by requesting an itinerary from Jacob. He was prompt, and the itinerary he shared covered all the parks I wanted to visit. I worked with him closely to fine-tune the number of nights in each park, change specific camps / lodges, and add extra activities like walking safaris and night safaris. This took several iterations, and Jacob was always very prompt in sharing the revised itinerary. I was working with a couple of other providers as well, and Smile’s quote was the best for the itinerary I wanted. Once everything was to my satisfaction, I finally booked the safari with him in July 2023 by paying 30% of the cost in advance (with the remaining due a few days before the start date).
Considering the amount involved ran into 1000s of dollars, I was apprehensive about the advance as well as the final payment. After all, I would be paying the whole amount before the safari had even started! What if Smile couldn’t deliver, or if things went wrong? Fortunately, my apprehensions proved to be completely unfounded!
From booking till the beginning of the safari, Jacob kept me informed periodically about the progress regarding hotel bookings, flight bookings, etc. He was also very responsive whenever I had any question – he typically responded within a few hours of my email, which was amazing considering the time difference of 7 hours between the US and Tanzania! A few days before the start of the safari, he also shared his local contact numbers as well as the contact number of the guide assigned to me.
Once my trip started, the execution by Smile / Jacob was flawless. All airport pickups and drop-offs were on time, and the guides / drivers assigned to me were pleasant, welcoming and knowledgeable. The camps / lodges were excellent, and the 4x4 Land Cruisers assigned to us both in the North & South circuit were in excellent condition with comfortable seating, a built-in fridge and outlets for charging.
I firmly believe that the true test of any organizer is when things go wrong, and Smile / Jacob shined there as well.
We had 2 nights booked in a lodge in Nyerere (Nyerere Tented Camp). When we reached there, it had a lot of things that ticked us off: the atmosphere was not at all welcoming, it had hygiene issues, and it had geckos – lots of them! Having geckos on the walls is one thing - this place had so many crawling on the floor of the restaurant!! I brought this up with Jacob, and he immediately found an alternate accommodation for the second night – and this was during the high season!
Another instance of making things right was when our Land Cruiser broke down on the last day (which is not a reflection on the condition of the vehicle – the best of vehicles break down in the tough conditions of these parks!). Jacob worked with our lodge, and arranged a game drive through them to make sure that our experience didn’t suffer and we ended our trip on a happy note!
All in all, I had a very positive experience with Smile / Jacob from the beginning of the planning to the end of the trip. I would not hesitate to utilize their services again, and whole-heartedly recommend them!
A special shout-out to our guide Salum Msese (aka Salim) – he was absolutely wonderful, and went above and beyond several times in the 7 days we spent with him on the Southern circuit. Just to give an example: We had a day full of driving (Nyerere to Mikumi that took 9 hours), followed by a night game drive (3.5 hours) - and he did it with a smile, without any hint of tiredness. The next day, he did an early game drive and then another long drive (Mikumi to Ruaha that took 7 hours) - and this was after only 4 hours of sleep! Salum was always eager to show us as many animals as possible, and took every effort to ensure this – he followed lion footprints, spoke with other guides, and made sure we had the best possible experience.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All great
We were family of 5, 3 teenage boys (13,15,16). I planned everything a month before the trip with Simon. Lots of questions, changes...as everything was new for me and i didn't know what to expect. Simon was very patient and explained everything, answered all me questions quickly. The trip was great, everything ended up well. We got exactly what we paid for, accommodation, trips...Big thank you to our guard/driver Appolo, he was excellent. Very experienced, kind and helpful. We saw everything on this trip, whole big 5, thanks to Applo. This trip definitely fulfilled our expectations and i would recommend the agency to everyone!!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Yasir was an excellent tour guide. He was very calm, funny, and kind
The safari was exceptional! Our tour guide was incredibly accommodating and worked hard to make sure we saw as many animals as possible. He was very knowledgeable about the park and wildlife. Everything was smooth and taken care of from pickup to drop off. 100% would recommend!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding.
We had an amazing time, Alex and Carlos were our guides, obviously they knew their stuff, but they went above and beyond, and were most helpful. Robert was always quick to respond with any questions, I cannot recommend them enough 👍
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Joyfull Experience
It was my second trip with Viva Safari's. It was a recommendation from a South African friend. The staff was easy going, efficient and accomodating. Mama T at the tree house made great meals. I would recommend to any friend. Paul
Savannah, GA USA
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Francis was amazing! He always knew where to find the best animals
Our tour was amazing! absolutely incredible value for money. This was by far the cheapest tour I could find (after lots of comparison), but it was quite luxurious. We had hot showers and hot food in the camp, and we saw all the major animals - tons of lions, cheetahs, a leopard, so many hippos and wildebeest, etc. Francis was awesome. He seemed to have connections to get tips about the best animals where there weren’t tons of other cars around, and always positioned our car so we had the best view for photos. Would definitely recommend!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Engaging
The tour was awesome! Breaks and lunch were provided. The tour started and ended on time. The driver was knowledgeable and a comic at the same time.
We saw many animals, the cats all seemed to be hiding.
MX
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thanks, was an amazing experience!
Excellent service, everything was very good in general, we had a couple of observations that we made directly to the company but nothing that affected the trip or activities and we were able to see the migration
MX
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience!
Everything was incredible, we had a great time, would definitely recommend and probably come back again in the future!
MX
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply incredible
It is a very eventful journey, but all expectations have been met.
(automatic translation from Spanish)