smarTours Reviews

Name: smarTours
Address: 500 7TH AVE, 8TH FL, NEW YORK, New York
Rating: 4.42

4.4 Rating 1,661 Reviews

86 %

of reviewers recommend smarTours

4.4

Based on 1,661 reviews

Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	3.8 out of 5

About smarTours:

smarTours is a leading provider of direct-to-consumer, affordable travel experiences to exotic global destinations. The Company offers travelers curated, pre-packaged itineraries to over 50 destinations across the globe. By offering tours directly to consumers, the Company provides premium-quality experiences at value prices, and as a result, has cultivated a highly passionate and loyal community of repeat travelers. More than 200,000 travelers have taken a smarTours trip since the founding of the Company in 1996. smarTours is… the smarter way to see the world.

Phone:

800-337-7773

Email:

info@smartours.com

Location:

500 7TH AVE, 8TH FL,
NEW YORK
New York
10018

Write Your review

Tell us how smarTours made you happy

Help future customers by talking about customer service, price, delivery, returns & refunds.

Minimum 10 characters

Would you like to add a photos or videos?

Strengthen your review by uploading photos & videos.

Drag files here or browse

(Supported files: jpg, png, mpeg, ogg, mp4 & webm)

What's your name?

Leave this blank if you'd like to publish your review anonymously.

(Optional)

What's your email?

We need your email address to verify that your review is genuine

Please note that we may share your email with the company to verify your order.

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Enjoyed our trip to Alaska. Had a most unique, fun and well versed tour guide. Made our experience all the better.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Happy to hear! Thank you Margaret!

Posted 2 years ago

“I already submitted my "experience" a few days ago.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Santo-We're sorry to hear this. If you would like to speak to someone regarding your experience, we would be happy to have a member of our customer care team reach out.

Posted 2 years ago

“Excellent tour director”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your review!

Posted 2 years ago

“Customer service once again screwed us over when we tried to upgrade our seating due to medical reasons. Took 2 weeks to get final response and by that time upgrade was unavailable. All that was needed was a simple email to the group desk at Swiss Air. WE would arrive at some tour destinations and everything was closed. No Covid protocols put in place after someone in our group tested positive on our cruise ship.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Barbara! Thank you for taking the time to provide us with this feedback. We’d like to acknowledge that you had a frustrating experience, and we could have done better. I spoke with our customer care team to confirm some of the issues you mentioned. As we are a group travel provider, we are not generally able to provide upgraded seating. However, when you made the request our team made an exception and worked tirelessly to rectify the issue by working with our third-party vendor who then in turn works with the airline. We could not achieve this upgrade by emailing the airline group desk as you stated. As we were within a few weeks of your departure, we were unable to resolve your request in time and we apologize for that. Please know that our team made a valiant effort to accommodate you. In the future, if specific seating is needed for a flight we would encourage you to book our land-only tours and book your flight individually so that you have the flexibility to upgrade and accommodate your needs. Thank you for traveling with smarTours.

Posted 2 years ago

“We had a great trip to Peru with smartours. Our tour guide was wonderful with his knowledge, personality, organization and attention to details. Could not have asked for a better experience.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

So happy to hear! Thank you James!

Posted 2 years ago

“Although free time is a great thing. I found this trip had way too much free time. Our guide was wonderful and knowledgeable. She went out of her way to ensure all our needs were met and even arranged the side trips we requested. Hotels were great comfortable and very clean.”

smarTours 4 star review on 27th June 2022

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your feedback! We will pass your comments along to our tour team.

Posted 2 years ago

“The tour itself was very good. The number of flights and layovers (especially the return trip) was unacceptable.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hi Karen! Thanks so much for your feedback! We are happy to hear you enjoyed the tour. We apologize that you felt the flight schedule was excessive and will forward your comments to our tour department to assess future tours.

Posted 2 years ago

“This was my first trip with SmarTours, but fourth for my parents, whom I went with. I had a great time in Peru and felt like I got to see everything I wanted to with this tour. Our guide, Enrique, was excellent in showing us the sites, giving us the history, and explaining how it all shapes Peruvian culture today. There were some bumps on the road with train issues and flight cancellations, but Enrique and SmarTours took care of us and found alternate passage at no expense to us. In the case of the flight cancellation, the airport was shut down, so SmartTours arranged an alternate flight out of a different city, chartered a bus to get us there, and booked hotel rooms in that city. They even arranged a box dinner for the trip. Other than the sudden long bus ride, the itinerary was barely affected. I don't know what we would have done if we were on our own, so I'm grateful that Smartours took care of us. My main complaint, is that Lima and the Nazca extension had other people guiding us, and they were not as good as Enrique. Our Lima guide was fine, but I feel we were practically left on our own for Nazca. Transport was arranged, and things went smoothly, but it felt like we were just told be ready at a certain time and someone would pick us up. For most of the trip, our guide helped us with check-in and made sure there were no problems, but for the Nazca extension, we didn't have anyone. Nothing went wrong, but it was a contrast to the rest of the trip. However, otherwise the trip was great and I'll be considering Smartours for future trips.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Wow! Thank you for your thorough review! We are so happy to hear you were able to enjoy time with your parents in Peru! We will pass your feedback along regarding the guides to our tour department. We're so happy to hear that even when things didn't go according to plan, we were able to quickly resolve any issues. We hope to host you and your parents again soon!

Posted 2 years ago

“Smartours is the way to go! Everything is taken care of for you as you visit any country Smartours has to offer. My guide was great, she had abundant information for every spot we encounter!. Thanks Smartours for a great and most of all safe trip😁”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your feedback, Teresa! We're so glad you enjoyed the trip and hope to see you again soon!

Posted 2 years ago

“After three years of planning, cancellations and repositioning funds, SmarTours exceeded all of our expectations - especially with our tour guide, Renata. The Great Cities of Eastern Europe tour from May 21 - June 4, 2022 included stops in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland, Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary and Prague, Czech Republic. The accommodations were phenomenal as were the daily, morning breakfasts. We also enjoyed six group dinners. We enjoyed the history, the main attractions and beautiful cities and we had ample free time to explore on our own. We are already looking forward to planning our next tour with SmarTours.”

smarTours 4 star review on 13th June 2022

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your feedback, Alan! We're glad to hear you had a great experience! We do hope to see you on another tour soon!

Posted 2 years ago

“Excellent service and exceptional customer experience”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your review!

Posted 2 years ago

“This was my 5th SmarTours trip and by far, the most disappointing. The land portion of the trip was fine; the hotels were great and the tour directors very knowledgeable. But, the ship left lots to be desired!!! I understand and sympathize with the strains put on the travel industry due to covid. I also understand that the ship recently underwent a renovation. Someone clearly overlooked the cabins and the quality of the food in the dining room.. Both left much to be desired. First the rooms; I have been on a number of cruises but this one ranks the worst. There was ONE outlet in the cabin and it lacked anywhere to put clothing except that which needed to be hung. Our hair dryer had the fits: it started and stopped repeatedly. My cabin mate and I paid extra for a window which because of heavy condensation and DIRT was nearly impossible to see out of. I honestly think this extra charge should be refunded to those who paid it as having a window view was utterly useless!! Before I go further, I do want to commend the cabin and dining room staff. They were professional and always willing to help. By the way, their service is the reason I rated the trip with 3 stairs and not none! Dining Room: The food, though plentiful, was always lukewarm if not cold. I NEVER had hot coffee, instead I was asked if I wanted and accepted hot milk! I respectfully recommend that officers from Smartours take a trip on the ship to see what I am talking about. I understand that this tip has a monopoly of inter-island travel; in fact ,there was a number of tour groups on it and that this was only its second trip out since the restrictions due to covid were lifted. Certainly, more time/attention should have been given to ensuring its comfortably overall and its attention to detail in particular before it sailed. One last comment: I wish to commend Marina for her attention give to me personally as I was hurt on the trip. She accompanied me to two hospitals and made sure I was well taken care of! Thank you Marina!! I was seriously considering taking the Portugal tour in 2023; now I am not so sure....”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your honest feedback, Judy. We are so sorry to hear you had a disappointing experience and that we failed to live up to what you've come to expect from smarTours. You are right that there have definitely been some bumps in the restart of travel, for us, and the many partners we work with. Still, many of the points you raise are things we should have been out in front of. We are reviewing these issues with the quality of the food and the rooms with our partners to determine what we can change and where we can make improvements, and we thank you for raising them. We are glad to hear that your tour directors and the staff on the ship were strong, and we hope that you were still able to enjoy the beauty, history and culture of the region on your travels. We do hope that you will give us another chance again. Our Portugal tour is wonderful!

Posted 2 years ago

“We did the Baltic States tour. The tour itself and the director were fine. Our unhappiness is with the booking process, customer support, and overall fairness. We had also booked a back-to-back trip to Russia, which was canceled. Can you believe that because it was "suspended" we did not get our money back. And, because I made the whole payment for me and my son, only I can get a credit for future travel unless I pay a $199 transfer fee. I wrote the one check but he paid me for his share. Avoid these people.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Dear Cynthia, thank you for sharing your feedback and we are sorry you had such a frustrating experience. The war involving Ukraine and Russia was unforeseen, so we hope you understand the need for us to suspend any travel to Russia at this time. Please reach out to our customer service team and we will be happy to split your credit between you and your son, or transfer it to your son entirely, if that is your desire. There will be no fee for this transfer. We hope that you were able to enjoy the beauty, history and culture of the Baltic States on your tour, and hope that you will use your credit to give us another chance in exploring a bucketlist destination around the world. Safe travels! The smarTours team

Posted 2 years ago

“We had 33 in our group and it was really too large for everything we had to do. Several of us tested positive the day before we were to leave and our guide Marina got annoyed. She left us at the testing sight and continued on with her scheduled tour. Leaving us to fend for ourselves. It was like running a race. Not enough time to take in all of what you were seeing and doing. The tours were beautiful, but crowded and no masks. The food on the ship was the same buffet everyday for lunch and breakfast. Some Greek food would have been nice. The food was just fair. This was my first tour with SmarTours and probably my last. It’s better to pay a bit more and have time to enjoy the culture and your surroundings.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing this candid feedback. We're so sorry to hear that you got covid - we hope you are recovered and back to good health. We're following up with our team in Greece about the handling of covid positive passengers and quarantine assistance, and also taking your feedback on the food and pacing into account as we look to make improvements to this itinerary. We appreciate you taking the time to share.

Posted 2 years ago

“37 people on the tour - far too many to be safe or to have a satisfactory experience. 3 tested positive for Covid before flight home. 2 of the 6 of us traveling together were positive upon arrival. Mask encouragement and enforcement was non-existent (except by museum staff) and tour leaders were amongst those choosing not to wear/wear their mask properly. Activity level and distances were underestimated. Despite early wake up times, tours were crowded and the outside of Athens experiences were scheduled for the hottest part of the day. This was my first and likely last experience with SmarTours.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your candid feedback, Lori. We are sorry to hear that the tour did not live up to your expectations. We are following up with our tour leaders and partners to revisit our masking policies, especially given how contagious these latest strains of Covid-19 have been. We hope that everyone in your party has fully recovered and is back to good health. We are also revisiting the pacing and activity level descriptions for this tour. Although the tour itinerary is largely unchanged since pre-covid times, we've received much more feedback from our recent departures about the pace, so we are looking at what we can adjust here to make it more comfortable. We do hope that you were able to enjoy the history, culture and beauty of Greece during your tour.

Posted 2 years ago

“Extremely planned, full days, lots of exposure to culture. Great way to travel internationally and get a sampling of Culture and history.”

smarTours 5 star review on 5th June 2022

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing these gorgeous images with us from your trip! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your trip!

Posted 2 years ago

“Our tour guide in Croatia “Danko” was fun!”

smarTours 4 star review on 2nd June 2022

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos! It was a pleasure to host you!

Posted 2 years ago

“The tour was very unsatisfactory. There were 38 people on our tour and that is way too many. It was unfair to the customers and the tour leaders. Beyond that, we are still in the midst of the Covid pandemic so this large a tour was irresponsible. Five people on the tour caught Covid, including me. Finally, about 1/3 of the people were unable to handle the rigors of this tour. They could barely go up and down the stairs of the bus let alone climb all the acropolises. It was painful to watch them struggle. My conclusion is that SmatTours is more interested in profits than in the health and well being of its clients. This is very likely our last tour with your company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for providing this feedback, David. We value your opinion and rely on feedback (both positive and constructive) to enhance and improve our tours. We are reviewing the pacing and activity level of this tour, as we have now heard from a few people about this point. We ran this tour with the same itinerary prior to the pandemic and always received positive feedback, but the world is in a different place now and people are responding differently, so we need to adapt. We are so sorry to hear you caught Covid on the trip, and hope that you are fully recovered now, and back safe at home.

Posted 2 years ago

“Very enjoyable well done by tour guide all went very well.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Happy to hear Fred! Thank you!

Posted 2 years ago

“It was well organized not too many people. Everyone was very nice mostly on time. The guide was excellent his name Mohhamed I recommend him greatly he was nice gave us lots of information very pleasant.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

We love to hear this! Thanks for joining us!

Posted 2 years ago

smarTours is rated 4.4 based on 1,661 reviews