Page 5 of 69 for smarTours Reviews

Merchant Metrics


Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	3.92 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 40 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:

545 Eighth Ave. Suite 2250
New York, NY 10018

Write Your review

smarTours 5 star review on 28th January 2020

191

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

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“Loved our tour of Colombia. Excellent tour director and local guides. Accommodations were all 4 or 5 star. Colombian people were very welcoming.
Daily itineraries were well thought out and very informative.
I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone interested in learning the history of Colombia.”

Posted 7 months ago

“Trip was well paced and great knowledgeable tour guides. Only issue we had is our returning flight was cancelled on the last day causing us to miss our connecting flight so we had to buy an expensive last minute flight and were not reimbursed.”

Posted 8 months ago

“I was on the tour of Thailand and Ankor Wat from January 13-30,2020. Our guide, Nok, shared her wonderful country with us and made sure we saw and experienced everything. She took care of every detail. We sampled snacks she brought on the bus and besides sharing interesting facts with us, she had a wonderful sense of humor. All hotels and breakfast buffets were were very good to excellent. Some highlights were the Elephant reserve and cooking school.
Our three days with Sochearn in Cambodia were also filled with interesting sights and information. The hotel and staff there are excellent as is the buffet breakfast and other meals at the Rice Kitchen.
I also want to thank SmarTours for rerouting us for the trip home on the 30th. Our group had contacted the travel department because of the Coronovirus. We didn't want to have a seven hour layover in Shanghai, so we were rerouted through Qatar just before we checked in at the airport. Nok and Kesara stayed with us to help with the last minute change until all of us went to the gate.
They both, along with SmarTours went above and beyond to make sure we got home safely! Thank you for a wonderful trip and experience.!!!”

Posted 8 months ago

“An outstanding experience! Had the tour finished after the New Zealand leg, we still would have felt as though we had gotten our money's worth. Adrian in NZ and Mark in Australia were wonderful. Very knowledgeable and helpful in organizing optional tours, transportation and in some instances tours not even offered by SmarTours. We were with a great group and we really felt like a team! One suggestion might be to offer a round of golf (Queenstown in NZ and/or Cairns in Australia) as a possible option. Very reasonably priced and relatively easy access. We were fortunate enough to do this on our own but a lot of folks said they would have enjoyed the opportunity as well. So, great job SmarTours! This was our second tour with you and we'll be back!”

Posted 8 months ago

“The Customer Service was not very responsive to our questions, particularly as we had taken a Land Tour only.
In Cambodia, we had multiple visits to different temples the first day & was very tiring. Some visits could have been done on the second day.
The tour director in Thailand was very good.”

Posted 8 months ago

“Extremely enjoyable and very well run. We have been on trips that were much more expensive but not run as well as this trip. Special thanks to our guide Fernando who was exceptional. He was organized, informative and delightful to be with. He was also extremely attentive to the needs of the individuals on the trip. Alice Bock”

Posted 8 months ago

“It would be nicer to have other attractions included in the iternery rather than just mostly buddhist temples in Bangkok. Should include more attractions in Bali.”

Posted 8 months ago

“Although our tour guide in Iceland was extraordinarily good, we will never use SmarTours again. We are telling all of our family and friends about this. SmarTours used to be a good travel company, but something has happened since we used them five years ago. They have devolved into nothing more than an unprofessional, clueless call center. SmarTours lures you in with a $100/per person discount if you pay your deposit by e-check. Six months later, when the balance is due, if you pay with a credit card, you will get an unpleasant surprise: your invoice will have a line that says "Forfeiture of eCheck Discount" and $100/person is added to the balance. You CANNOT pay by phone. The online system DOES NOT ALERT YOU of this "forfeiture." When I saw the invoice, the payment was still Pending on my credit card. THREE SmarTours call center representatives, including a supervisor, said it was no problem to fix this. I just needed to notify my credit card company and call them back, which I did. When I called back, the call center representative said there was nothing she could do. I asked to speak to a manager. She would not connect me but said she would have someone call me back. They never did. I have been BETRAYED, RIPPED OFF, and will NEVER use SmarTours again. You have been warned about this cheapskate, underhanded, chintzy company. BEWARE.”

Posted 8 months ago

“This was my first trip with Smartours. I felt it was a good value for the money. Our tour guide, Jeremy Poole, was excellent. Very knowledgeable, very patient and kind. I highly recommend him. My mom got sick and we ended up off the tour for a few days. That was scary but I was able to keep in touch with Jeremy's colleague Ron McGregor (Jeremy was in an area with minimal cell coverage) and that was very comforting. Ron was a huge help. One thing I would recommend changing about this tour, leaving Capetown and flying to Durban, we had a very early morning flight that required a 3:30am wakeup to get to the airport in time. I understand schedules need to be set but that one was unacceptable. It was a very long day with less than adequate sleep and with most travelers between 65-85 years old, it was very difficult. it adds to the exhaustion that already comes with this kind of trip (long plane travel, jet lag, on and off buses, on a very fixed schedule). I recommend you adjust this and find a more appropriate flight schedule from Capetown to Durban.”

Posted 8 months ago

“The trip to South Africa proved to be even more than I expected. The country is amazing and our guide, Jeremy Poole, was excellent. Can't praise him enough. Unfortunately I became ill and had to spend one night in a hospital. I am now hoping that your insurance company does the right thing. One suggestion.....do tell all future travelers to this country that they read a book called KAFFIR BOY....AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY MARK MATHABANE.”

Posted 8 months ago

“My wife and I had a very good time in Thailand and Cambodia. We were there January 13-30, 2020. Both tour guides in each country were excellent! A nd very accommodating. MANY THANKS to Smartours and much gratitude for getting our group re-routed home to avoid getting near the corona virus outbreak in China! I will recommend Smartours to all our friends and will also plan another trip with you in the future!! Yay SMARTOURS!!!”

Posted 8 months ago

“Carlos was the best guide!!! Itinerary was excellent..hotels ok except Cartagena hotel...very unsatisfactory..staff did not speak English...location terrible.. breakfast unappealing...day bus trip to Medellin very long and uncomfortable...
We did enjoy the trip despite the above...PS we booked boat trip to Rosario islands through concierge at Cartagena hotel...Trip was terrible...Boat broke down twice...once going to islands and then again on return...very frightening as we had to transfer to new boat both times on water...we asked hotel to request refund and have emailed three times for a response...no answer...
Thank you for asking for our opinion.”

Posted 8 months ago

“The actual tour was fine. The two guides were excellent - very knowledgeable and accommodating. The hotels were lovely and well located. The problem was the trip was misrepresented. The trip was advertised as January 10 -19. In reality we left January 11 and left on Jan. 18 to arrive back on Jan 19. The flights were awful and showed very little regard for the traveler. We left Miami at 1:00am arriving in Lima 6:00am then had a six hour lay over before finally arriving in Quito about 5:30pm. The trip back was equally cumbersome. Clearly these were the cheapest flights available. No thought was given to how it would effect the travel experience. I have taken several trips with Smartours from 2003-2010 and was generally very satisfied. I can only think that there was a change in management. Recently, I have been traveling with OAT and Road Scholar and was very satisfied. I will never travel with Smartours again and will warn anyone who indicates they are interested in Smartours to review the travel arrangements before booking the trip.”

Posted 8 months ago

“I have traveled to all continents and I found China Eastern Air to be a terrible air line because of narrow isles and little space in the rear of the plane, and the airline's food was terrible.
The hotels were good and breakfast was the best meal of the day.
Most of the tours were too long for my wife and me who are 77 and 79 years old
Some days began at 7:30 and ended at 5:00
We did not go tours the last two days.
A more concise itinerary would be appreciated”

Posted 8 months ago

“Except for the return flight on a 767 Latam flight, this was a wonderful trip in all ways.”

Posted 8 months ago

“Our guides, Chaiyan Saisin (Thailand) and Sokly (Cambodia) made our trip with SmarTours amazingly informative and personal. They introduced us to their cultures with pride. We were taken care of every moment as we traveled in their countries. The hotels were excellent, the buses clean and cool, and the breakfast buffets were a delight to the eyes and stomach. The daily tours were very interesting. We feel we learned a lot on this trip with SmarTours.”

Posted 8 months ago

“Tour to Egypt was excellent”

Posted 8 months ago

“Ron was very knowledgeable. Hotels and food was great. Animals were amazing!! We are hoping to take another smartours very soon.”

Posted 8 months ago

“The best trip I have ever taken. Tour guide was the best, proving information on history, economic , and social issues. Kept us informed about each day's excursion. Safari was fantastic, able to see all big 5 animals and more. Fortunate to have a small group, so able to take side trips easily. Highly recommended!”

Posted 8 months ago

“I have been on a few smarTours and I truly enjoy each one. Fernando in South America was absolutely incredible. He went above and beyond for everyone on the trip.

Wonderful pace for this trip, perfect amount of free time, time to shop, time to have a coffee, and overall, just a fantastic tour. Highly recommend it to anyone considering South America and seeing Patagonia, Iguassu Falls, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janiero.”

Posted 8 months ago

smarTours is rated 4.41 based on 1,366 reviews