Australia & New Zealand Adventure Reviews

4.5 Rating 32 Reviews

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.

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Phone:

800-337-7773

Email:

info@smartours.com

Location:

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

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“First I want to say I loved this trip it was 21 days of amazement. I loved our tour guide Elizabeth Moran who was one of the reasons why I loved this trip. This guide was not only knowledgeable but also took care of every single detail on this trip to taking us to the locations and taking us on walking tours to understand the dynamics of the area. One of the highlights that normally you don't get is having the tour guide with you even on the plane and that was such a blessing especially with the confusion some airports have when transferring over to another plane from one layover to another country. Elizabeth stayed with us until every person was accounted for and that again is not something you experience most of the time once the tour is over the guides leave you at the airport and you have to figure it out yourself, not her she was there guiding, telling us and making sure we were all accounted for the whole time. I would recommend if making this trip to request her as your guide you won't regret it. This trip you will be busy and will find yourself with so much to do and every minute loving it. The hotels are in great locations and you will be eating pretty much all the time. This trip is what I would call a life time trip, I experienced New Zealand and Australia in manners that I will always hold dear. My highs on this trip were The canyon runs in New Zealand, the mountains surrounded by the pristine clear waters, Milford Cruise, Fairlie farm stay and the gardens at Christchurch. As for Australia, Starting with the Twelve Apostles, Apollo Bay, Cairns and getting to swim the Great Barrier, to Climbing the Sydney Bridge and getting up close to the Sydney Opera House just made this trip go to the top best trips I have done in my life.”

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Posted 7 years ago

“What a fabulous trip this was to Australia and New Zealand. Everything was perfect from the flights, the tours, bus drivers and our tour guide Alex. We never felt rushed and had plenty of time to explore on our own if we wished. I would recommend this trip and will look forward to another Smartours trip in my future!”

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Posted 8 years ago

“We left LA on March 1, 2016. The only negative thing about the entire 3 weeks was the flight on Qantas from LA was 3 hours late leaving. We still made our flight from Sydney to Auckland, so it was not a big deal. We just waited 3 hours in LA instead of Sydney. Stevyn Polk was an awesome Tour Escort. He was friendly, efficient, organized, helpful and fun to be around. All of our hotels were excellent, our tours were wonderful, including the optional tours that we did. The Skyline dinner in Auckland was delicious and the views of the city and the Gondola Ride was great. The cruise on the TSSEnslow was fun, especially since we could see the working engine. The meal at Walter Peak Farm was excellent and the sheep dog and sheep shearing was fun. The Skipper's Canyon drive was beautiful and breathtaking at times. The Larnach Castle was interesting although the tour was a little rushed. The wildlife tour was great. We saw 4 different types of albatross on that afternoon cruise. The tour to see the Fairy Penguins was so much fun. We had special seats which gave us great viewing. The drive on the Great Ocean Road was wonderful. At our morning stop our bus driver set up a table, fixed us tea and set out treats. We saw two koalas on the way and lots of wallabies. The walks along the trails near the ocean were wonderful. Our day on the Great Barrier Reef was fantastic. We took the Michaelmas Cay upgrade and the trip out and back were wonderful. The ship was not crowded, they had all the details worked out for all the needs of the passengers. The trip to Kuranda was very informative. The aboriginal demonstrations were fun, the duck ride was great even in the rain. We would have liked even more time in Kuranda so we could walk the trail and have time to shop. The Skyrail ride was amazing. In Sydney we did the Harbour Story Cruise and the Sunset Dinner Cruise. The dinner cruise was great. Unfortunately it rained for our story cruise so we could not see much. We climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and I would encourage anyone to do it. It was a fabulous view and an exciting adventure. Of course, I also did the Bungee Jump over the Karawau River near Queenstown, NZ, and that was also an exciting adventure with some pure terror thrown in, but I am very glad I did it. Featherdale Wildlife Park was great but I wish we had more time there. There were so many animals to see and photograph that we felt a bit rushed. The Rocks Walking Tour was very informative and we enjoyed our guide's descriptions and stories. This was our 5th trip with smarTours and every time we have had an excellent experience. The choice of hotels is always good and in most cases way above what we would ever book on our own. Every guide that we have had has been absolutely awesome. We look forward to our next adventure with the company. (We don't have it booked yet but we know you will send us an e-mail about a trip to somewhere that we want to visit, with a price and itinerary that we just can not refuse.”

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Posted 8 years ago

“If you are considering a tour to Australia and New Zealand Smartours can't be beat. I just returned from a trip of a lifetime and highly recommend this tour. Alex, our tour director, was outstanding! He knew the perfect mix of what we needed and when we wanted to explore on our own. From the beautiful lakes, mountains and waterfalls in New Zealand to the magnificent cities of Melbourne and Sydney each day was filled with wonders!! I also couldn't have had better tourmates on this trip!!”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Betty Levin, our tour guide, was outstanding. The accommodations, excursions,& food was great. Could not have ask for a better trip.”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Gail and I had a great trip thru New Zealand and Australia. The director was very good, the coach drivers were informative and very good. Loved the farm stay in New Zealand, Milford Sound and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns. Only downside was lack of free time and a chance to sleep-in more often. We took advantage of most side tours which were well done.”

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Posted 9 years ago

“Fantastic tour, hitting all the 'must do' areas of Down Under! Highlights in New Zealand include the Queenstown cable car,the boat tour Walter Peak farm, and Milford Sound and the safari ride through Skippers canyon. The farm tour was good, but did not help with the care of animals on the farm as some others had a chance to do. Also loved the history of Dunedin, and the wildlife cruise. In Australia, the penguins were a delight coming out of the sea on Phillip Island and the ocean ride was spectacular. Enjoyed the Great barrier reef snorkelling and the Kuranda village tour and the magical ride across the rainforest. Sydney had lots to offer, including the harbour and bus tours, the market,and the wildlife park was an enjoyable experience getting up close with native animals. Our tour guide was excellent as well as all the local guides from each country!”

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Posted 9 years ago

“The New Zealand portion of the trip was very good with the varied scenery from the coasts to the Southern Alps. The farm stay was a very nice touch and greatly enjoyed. In Australia, the best part of the trip was to Cairns with the Great Barrier Reef and the rain forest expedition. We would have like to gone to the Outback rather than spend as much time in big cities. Our guide, Ms. Lally, was very congenial and helpful. She took care of getting lost luggage to some people, helped another couple get home early due to an accident and dealt with a couple of people that had mobility problems. I thought there were too many optional tours. Many of the optional tours were quite expensive for the product received.”

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Posted 9 years ago