smarTours Reviews

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

4.4 Rating 1,663 Reviews

86 %

of reviewers recommend smarTours

4.4

Based on 1,663 reviews

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

Visit Website

Phone:

800-337-7773

Email:

info@smartours.com

Location:

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

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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

“This was our first experience using smarTours and it did not disappoint! Everything was planned perfectly and our guide was so knowledgeable of the country and the sites that we visited which made it very enjoyable.”

smarTours 4 star review on 3rd December 2022

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Posted 2 years ago

Thanks for traveling with smarTours!

Posted 2 years ago

“eGYPT WAS A WONDROUS TOUR. tHE SIGHTS WERE UNBELIEVABLE .THE TOUR GUIDE WAS INCREDIBLE WITH HIS KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION AND CARE FOR AL OF US SMART TOURS HIT A HOME RUN WITH THIS TOUR. IT COULD HAVE BEEN MY BEST TRIP.HOWARD GROSS”

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Posted 2 years ago

Thank you so much Howard!

Posted 2 years ago

“smartours are the best. this is my third time taking the africa with Victoria falls tour the guides are great, the safaris are outstanding..I have a zillion pictures of so many animals. the accommodations are first class. I especially love the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge...you must experience the Boma show and dinner..what fun. you will not be disappointed. maybe I'll see you in may.?.”

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Posted 2 years ago

“I loved our Treasures of Portugal tour. I found our guide, Romina Novio, exceptional! Our hotels all were wonderful except for one in Coimbra. All optional tours were good value. Our group was great.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your feedback Norma!

Posted 2 years ago

“The tour was well organized overall except the following need to be improved. 1. Our vegetarian meals for long flights from LA to Hochiminh City were not ordered even though we had indicated that right during registration. Even after filling out the mid trip survey and requesting the tour director to get it done for the return trip, it did not happen. 2. The Mekong Delta optional trip should have included couple of open public markets but the tour director promised inclusion at the outset but did not really deliver on that. 3. Tour Director collected $25 from each couple for tipping hotel and restaurant staff. Is this something that the management of the company approves of? Tips for driver and local tour guide in Cambodia were not included in this. How do we know where these tips are really going? 4. The Company needs to change its tipping policy of it being $6 per day per traveler anywhere in the World. Depending on the country and US dollar to local currency exchange rate, this amount may be too generous. For 24 of us on the trip, $6 per day per traveler for 11 days of the tour amounts ot $1,584 total tip amount for the Director. This is about 5 to 6 times the average monthly income in Vietnam for 11 days of work. Is the company not being too generous at our expense? Do Smart Tours pay them any salary or tips are their only source of income? the management needs to look into this and change its tipping policies. 5. The travel from Hanoi to Siem Reap was handled poorly. We spent the whole day for this trip with two airport changes for a distance of 750 miles and I think this is a mis-management by the company in handling the logistics of this last part of the travel out of Vietnam. Bipin and Rekha Shah”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hello! Thank you so much for your valued feedback! We are always looking at ways to improve our tours and comments like this help so much with altering our itineraries and creating a wonderful experience! Thank you for traveling with us!

Posted 2 years ago

“From start to finish, the tour went smoothly, with good communication between the tour leader and the travelers, events occurred on time, meals were good and activities were exactly as described.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Thank you John!

Posted 2 years ago

“We experienced the worst guide in my extensive travels on our trip to Greece. SmarTours should change their contract travel agency in Athens. Our first guide, Gina, was disorganized and droned on forever repeating unimportant information, making most of the travelers tune out. Then she was quite upset when someone missed important information. She lost 3 guests, on the way back to the bus, at the initial dinner in Athens and the entire group was delayed an hour while she tried to find them. After returning from the cruise portion we replaced Gina with a second very good guide, Stratos. However, at the final dinner, the agency sent a third guide with whom we had had no previous contact. The cruise and hotels were an excellent value as was the Emerates flight from Newark to Athens. Excellent itinerary, except a listed stop at Epidaurus, one of the sites on the mainland on the way back to Athens was not made. This had the best preserved Greek amphitheater in Europe!”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hi Glenn. Thank you for your feedback. We strive to provide wonderful experiences and it sounds as if this tour did not live up to expectations. We will be investigating further regarding the issues reported with the tour guide. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the cruise and hotels. We will also look into the stop you mentioned. Thank you for joining us!

Posted 2 years ago

“Poorly planned, with an island cruise on a past its prime ship, with island stops lasting only a few hours. Trip needs to be longer to allow for less exhausting days. Some situations were inexcusable, such as having us haul our luggage from the ship to the port, a quarter mile, in a cold, howling wind. To top it off, many in our group, including my husband and I, came home with covid. That was my last trip with Smartours”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hi Lee. We are disappointed to hear your feedback. We strive to provide wonderful experiences and it sounds as if this tour did not live up to expectations. We will be investigating further regarding the condition of the trip, and we are currently working on updating our pacing.

Posted 2 years ago

“While the weather and places were awesome, the smartours organization was often confusing. Gina was great, Stratos okay but impersonal.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hi Pamela- thanks for your feedback! We're happy to hear that you enjoyed Gina. We will further investigate the issues you mentioned. Thank you for joining us!

Posted 2 years ago

“The tour to Costa Rica was very well planned out and executed. Our guide, Vinicio was knowledgeable, humorous and kept everything running smoothly and our driver, Wilmer, got us places some smaller vehicles would have had trouble going. Vinicio shared information regarding the country which provided us greater insight to the people and customs that we experienced. We met some delightful individuals and made some new friends we will keep in touch with. We are looking forward to our next smarTour trip.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that Vinicio and Wilmer were exceptional!

Posted 2 years ago

“Amelia Custodio, Tour guide Trip to Portugal, Oct 3-13, 2022 We want to extend our deep appreciation for our marvelous tour guide, Amelia Custodio, who led our recent trip to Portugal on Oct 3-13, 2022. Our tour to Portugal exceeded our expectations, thanks to Amelia who made this trip an unforgettable experience. She demonstrated leadership skills. Within the short time of our arrival, Amelia established the rules which created a positive atmosphere and made everyone of the the group feel very welcome. To every site which was mentioned in the Smartours daily excursion, Amelia provided a thorough historical and cultural background of the site which enriched our knowledge and experience. She also emphasized the importance of being on time and requested that all members of the tour be punctual. She was extremely sensitive to the needs of each individual. For example, if someone didn’t feel well, she offered to help. If someone had special dietary needs, Amelia made arrangements with the restaurant to satisfy the traveler’s dietary needs. Although, the group was heterogeneous in terms of age and ability, Amelia made everyone feel comfortable and motivated.”

smarTours 5 star review on 24th October 2022

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Posted 2 years ago

“I recently returned from the Best of Spain tour, 10/1 -10/12. I have travelled with Smartours for many years, as well as made several referrals. I was very disappointed with the quality of care and service given on this last trip. This is the first time water was not available on the bus, and when asked about it only then was water made available for sale. As much as the trip costs why should the customers have to pay for water. In addition, 2 of the hotels were experiencing renovations Why would this fact not be known ahead of time so that alternative arrangements could have been made. My roommate is a pescatarian and no provisions were made for her although she filled out the form before the trip indicating her food requirements. I am very disappointed with Smartours. As far as I am concerned this will be my last trip with them.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for your feedback Maritza. We do apologize that this trip was not up to standard and did not reflect the quality you have came to expect from our tours. Our team is investigating the issues mentioned regarding the hotels. We were alerted of your roommate's dietary preferences upon arrival in destination and had our team on ground ensure that all meals following had options for them. Again, we are sorry to hear that your experience was sub par. We are always looking for ways to improve and thank you for your comments provided.

Posted 2 years ago

“Generally the hotels are first class and well located. In my 10-12 tours only once the hotel was not centrally located and that was in Santiago, Chile, as part of the Patagonia tour.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hi Diego! Thank you for your feedback.

Posted 2 years ago

“Dependable, well-planned, PETER and VINCENT!”

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Posted 2 years ago

Thank you Kathleen!

Posted 2 years ago

“Outstanding tour. Stunning country, incredible guide, and very well planned. We experienced so much in such a short time. Big cities, small towns and villages. I used Facebook daily for the first time while traveling because I had to share the the exquisite sites. A trip to be remembered.”

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Posted 2 years ago

We love to hear this Rosalind! Thank you so much for traveling with us!

Posted 2 years ago

“Jewels of the Adriatic tour was splendid, tour director Mirna made each day delightful for us. First snd last hotels were the best but all had their charm snd I enjoyed each one. The local guides are well chosen and informative. I have enjoyed each of the several SmarTours I have taken and refer friends too.”

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Posted 2 years ago

We are delighted to hear that you had such a wonderful trip Jo! Thank you for traveling with smarTours!

Posted 2 years ago

“"Turkey trip was excellent! We always felt very safe and were extremely impressed with everyday life in Turkey! It was enhanced by the professionalism of our tour guide. The historical sites were amazing and the city of Troy truly exists! Hot air ballooning was not to be missed! Cappadocia was my favorite with the cave tunnels that have existed since about 2000 BC. From swimming in the Mediterranean in Antalya to the bazaars in Istanbul, trip was amazing!"”

smarTours 5 star review on 26th September 2022

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Posted 2 years ago

We are absolutely delighted to hear this Kathy! Thank you for sharing your feedback from your time in Turkey!

Posted 2 years ago

“The Canadian Rockies tour was exceptional. What made it a success was our leader Glen, driver Kris and most importantly the tourist of the group. The tour was exceptional. You got to enjoy the exceptional spots we visited. Glen was exceptional with the history of the Rockies and of other area in Canada. Would recommend this tour to everyone.”

smarTours 5 star review on 23rd September 2022

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Posted 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your review and photos with us Charles! It was such a pleasure to host you on our Canadian Rockies Adventure!

Posted 2 years ago

“I’ve already sent a review but you asked for another. Although the trip was beautiful, your ability to replace a tour guide was lacking. Thank goodness we’re we’re a group of 12 vs. 40. Once Andrew got Covid things went down hill. Our bus driver Olaf was great.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hi Jill. We are disheartened to receive your review regarding your trip. Our team worked tirelessly to try and mitigate them including finding new guides for each phase of the tour. However, we know that there are some details that should have been addressed in order to create a less stressful experience for our guests. We have opened an investigation into how our team on the ground could have handled the situation better. Unfortunately, COVID has caused an enormous impact on our industry and we are still dealing with its ramifications. We are truly sorry for your experience.

Posted 2 years ago

“Our tour director got Covid and I know you had to scramble to find subs. However, you could not do the simple thing of assigning spouses to the same cabin on the Copenhagen ferry and our tour guide had no idea where to get boarding passes for the Stockholm ferry. He had a meltdown and got into a verbal altercation with a bystander. We felt we didn't have the information we needed for that trip e.g. not knowing our dinner reservations times etc.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Hi Arvid. We are disheartened to receive your review regarding your trip. As noted per our emails, there were some issues that occurred outside of our control and we readily acknowledge those. Our team worked tirelessly to try and mitigate them including finding new guides for each phase of the tour. However, we know that there are some details that should have been addressed in order to create a less stressful experience for our guests. We have opened an investigation into how our team on the ground could have handled the situation better. Unfortunately, COVID has caused an enormous impact on our industry and we are still dealing with its ramifications. We are truly sorry for your experience.

Posted 2 years ago

smarTours is rated 4.4 based on 1,663 reviews