Jewels of the Adriatic Reviews

4.8 Rating 99 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.

Visit Product Page

Phone:

800-337-7773

Email:

info@smartours.com

Location:

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

Visit Product Page

“Terrific tour, it covered some beautiful country. Our guide, Elvis, was wonderful. He shared insight, stories, and history of the region very nicely, had good wine recommendations(!), and was a pleasure to be with each day. Hotels were very good and well located, the bus was new and very comfortable. We were about the only first-time smarTours travelers on the bus, most others had traveled with them for years. I think we will join them! Thank you for a relaxing holiday, smarTours.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Carolyn and I recently returned from our May/June Croatian tour (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro) with two other couples. This was our fourth SMARTOURS experience. We have previously been to China, Thailand, Turkey, Israel and Jordan. As on everyone of our tours we experienced all we had expected and more. As always the tour guides are exceptional. Our guide, Elvis, from Slovenia met all our expectations. Elvis was very knowledgeable about the local geography, history, architecture, religion, and culture. He was a master at introducing us to each locale and advising us about possibilities for us to explore, either with the group or on our own. Elvis was exceptional in every way: hints on customs, where to get cash changed, where to eat, what to see and the itinerary allowed plenty of opportunities for free time and tour time. All our hotels were very nice, always in a great location with amenities in close proximity. Our bus was brand new and very comfortable and our driver, who was with us the entire trip, was equally affable, pleasant and helpful. All in all we have enjoyed this and all our SMARTOURS. When our friends ask us about our trip they are amazed at how much of the country we have experienced, how much we enjoyed our accommodations and the exceptional value we received for our money. When we consider the entire cost of the trip includes flight to and from the USA, all local flights, ground and water transportation, excellent hotels, most of our meals, admission to attractions (often not having to wait in lines to purchase tickets or wait in a queue), expert tour guide and expert local guides, we get exceptional value for our money. No one we know has expressed similar satisfaction with their tour results and overall value with any other tour company. We will stick with SMARTOURS. Thank you for another great experience. See you soon. Mike and Carolyn”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I purchased the Jewels of the Adriatic Tour as a college graduation present for my daughter and I. We had the BEST time! The tour was well organized , on time, entertaining, informative, beautiful scenery, historical etc... Our Tour Guide RoK (Rock) was amazing. He made sure we were always on time, He was well prepared, entertaining, knowledgeable about the history and culture. He thoroughly answered all of our questions and concerns. He gave clear directions. We absolutely loved this trip! Other positive notes: Mario our bus driver was excellent, and we enjoyed meeting all the other fun people on this tour. Thank you SmarTours we will be back!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“What a beautiful part of the world! I travel a great deal and thought I knew the history of this area. Our guide, Elvis, was so well versed that I learned a great deal. Smartours is my favorite travel company. Rather than spending lots of money on wine and advertising, they keep their prices low. This is why I choose them. The hotels are still nice, the guides are super, and the food is good. This tour and all that I have taken with Smartours had a nice balance between scheduled time and optional tours. The optional tours are reasonably priced and interesting so I usually take all of them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Leaving from jfk May 11 to 24th. Excellent guide and wonderful trip. Much more than I expected!! The only thing was early wake -up calls! although I understand why.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“This was our first experience with smarTours and we were very pleased with everything. Travel arrangements to and from Croatia worked out well with limited layover time. The hotels we stayed in were very nice. Our tour director, Rok, was OUTSTANDING. The bus was only 6 months old and was very nice and the bus driver was excellent. We will definitely consider using smarTours again for another adventure.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Our trip to Slovenia and Croatia exceeded our expectations. Each stop was amazing such as the caves, waterfalls, historic cities, and the view from the bus of the Adriatic coast. The city or site with historical significance smarTours provided a local guide to give us the history and information. The main tour guide was Rok who was very professional, organized, and knowledgeable about the past and present Yugoslavia. He would often would get us to a location before the crowds. After seeing my pictures that I have posted on FaceBook, many of my friends have put Croatia and Slovenia on their list of places to visit. The only suggestion I had to Rok that if possible could the bus driver slow down for some of the sites therefore making picture taking easier. Also, if he could give us a heads up when a particular site of importance was coming up so we would be ready to take our picture from the bus. I highly recommend this tour and will use smarTours in the future. This was our #4 trip with smarTours.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Tour started in Zagreb on April 28, 2016, in Zagreb. 1. Outstanding tour director Rok. Absolutely wonderful 2. Driver Draggie (sp?) was great and coach was a really fine ride. 3. Hotels and hotel food was good. Some better than others, but none were unacceptable. We spend a lot of time comparing various tour companies before booking, and we think that we got the very best value for our money 4. Optional tour: Kumrovec (Tito's birthplace) was not that great but ok. Dinner that came with the tour was ok. Would not particularly recommend this option. Stay in Zagreb 5. Optional tour: Boat ride on Lake Bled. First class time. Michael was our boat dude, and he was really interesting. Island is pretty. Take this option! 6. Optional tour: Slovenians Village Dinner at Radovlijica. Food was good, wine was great, entertainment was good. This one was well worth it. Surprised at the value on this one. Don't miss it! 7. Optional Tour: Full Day Istrian Peninsula: I could imagine spending more time on the Istrian Peninsula. Pula's Roman ruins are amazing and the local guide was very good! Rovinj is just breath taking. Don't miss 8. Optional tour: Dubrovnik Cruise and Dinner. This was absolutely spectacular. Wonderful ride at late afternoon and dinner in view of the old town, the water, the sunset. WOW! However, the dinner was pretty bad (cold) and the bathrooms were flooded. However, it is a beautiful idea, and I recommend it highly if dinner problems are fixed. 9. Optional tour: Excursion to Mostar. Do not miss this one! Extremely good value and a whole country and culture that you would miss!!! Local guide was really good. The bridge that everyone goes to see is worth the time, but the nice lunch over looking the bridge and river is the best. Nice marketplace that is different from the typical. take it! 10. Lake Bled.... Mighty nice walk around the lake, I recommend. Visit to the Bled Castle is good. Could have stayed longer! Be sure to take the optional boat ride. Spectacular natural beauty 11. Postojna Caves: This is included. Nothing quite like it. Tour is well done, and you get to see quite a bit of the cave. 12. Pliitvice Lakes. This has to be one of the prettiest places in the world. The Walk around the various lakes with the local guide is strenuous but beautiful. Unfortunately, the local guide was more interested in getting done quickly instead of showing us the beauty. Everyone had difficulty in keeping up with her, and she simply abandoned us along the way. I would have been hurt had not a member of our group and another group rescued me. I hope smarTours makes different arrangements for a local guide. I reported this to Rok our tour director. 13. Split: MORE TIME IN SPLIT! This is beautiful place. The local guide who did Diocletian's palace and the local town was outstanding. The dinner at the Epetium dinner the arrival night was good and the special entertainment was good. 14. Zadar and Trogir were good. The ruins in Zadar are good! 15. Well, the highlight of the trip is Dubrovnik. The old town is just amazing. Be sure to walk the wall.... although, one does need to be in good shape; One can walk part of the wall as we did. Lots of steps. Good local tour guide. 16, Farewell dinner was just great!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago