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smarTours Reviews

4.4 Rating 1,658 Reviews

86 %

of reviewers recommend smarTours

Company Reviews

Product Reviews

4.4

Based on 1,658 reviews


Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	3.7 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

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smarTours 5 star review on 29th April 2024

smarTours 5 star review on 29th April 2024

smarTours 5 star review on 29th April 2024

smarTours 5 star review on 29th April 2024

smarTours 5 star review on 29th April 2024

smarTours 4 star review on 23rd April 2024

smarTours 5 star review on 21st April 2024

721

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

“We just received a phone call advising us that for the 3rd time the tour we books was cancelled. we insured each trip and we want our money back. Smartours does not want to give us our money back. Each time it has cost us money to book these trips. Apparently their insurance is a scam also.”

Posted 2 years ago

Hello, We thank you for your feedback and are sorry for the frustration you experienced. As it became clear that COVID-19 would have a lasting impact on our ability to travel, we were forced to make very difficult and unprecedented decisions as a business. One of those decisions was to update our cancellation policy and offer affected customers a future tour credit in place of a monetary refund. We know that you have tried to reschedule to alternate tours in 2021 and that those tours were also cancelled. While variants continue to make travel difficult, we know that our need to cancel these tours has been frustrating and hope you understand we didn't come to this decision lightly. We hope to accommodate you on an upcoming 2022 tour and hope you'll continue to share feedback with us as we work to restore the levels of service you expect so that we can continue to offer the once-in-a-lifetime tours. Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“Called multiple times to no avail.their email does not work for me.Trying to advise I may not be able to attend Cruise of the czars,still no info if still cancelled First experience with this company.Not surprised they had to file for bankruptcy”

Posted 3 years ago

Hello, We apologize that you were unable to get a hold of one of our representatives about your upcoming cruise. A member of our customer service team will be reaching out shortly to assist you. Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 3 years ago

“smarTours would not refund our deposit after they cancelled our September 2020 trip to Spain because of Covid-19. We will never recommend this travel agency to anyone, and travelers should be aware they do not refund anything because of Covid-19. Do they refund money for any other situation, it is not known. We will never use this travel agency, and we will never recommend smarTours to anyone.”

Posted 3 years ago

Hello, Thank you for your comments, and we are sorry for the frustration you experienced. Traditionally, our deposits are non-refundable and require a change fee to be transferred to a new reservation, but due to the extraordinary circumstances that COVID-19 brought upon the travel industry, we were able to offer affected customers a future tour credit for monies paid including the deposit and have waived the associated change fees. Our restructuring after filing for Chapter 11 has allowed us to honor these credits, which have no expiration date. As we work hard to rebuild our business and restore the levels of service you expect, we hope you'll consider using your future tour credit and traveling with us in the future. Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“I had gone on 2 SmarTours to South America and China and they were middle of the road tours that covered most of the sites in good accommodations.However, I had a credit with the company and booked Iceland as it was 1 week and close to NY. But I was not strong enough to do the tour and cancelled 3 weeks before and the policy was to subtract $1500 and refund the rest. They did not honor their policy-they cancelled the tour afterwards. They ignored my requests to honor their policy-they refused to respond.They said I had to have a credit but I am unable to take another tour.I filed a Trip Mate insurance claim which was denied with documentation,medical statement which I submitted. It took 3 months to deny my claim. This company is a nightmare of non communication and ignoring their own policies. Buyer beware.”

Posted 3 years ago

Hello Lois, We're sorry for the frustration you experienced and would like to thank you for your feedback. Due to the extraordinary circumstances that COVID-19 brought upon the travel industry, we were forced to make very difficult and unprecedented decisions as a business. One of those decisions was to update our cancellation policy and offer customers a future tour credit in place of a monetary refund. We understand the frustration caused by this outcome but are happy that you were able to use your credits on another tour. We'd like to thank you for sharing your thoughts both on this experience and on your most recent tour and we look forward to using our customers' feedback to restore the levels of service you expect and enhance future tour experiences. Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“Despicable company and despicable company policy. Obviously they canceled my May 2020 trip to Greece and have forced me to accept rebooking next May. Woe to anyone in my group because I will be very unhappy to have to travel with this company next year or ever. I called, I emailed, I wrote the president a letter asking for a refund. How dare they continue to have the use of my money – full payment – when they fail to provide the services I contracted for?I also requested information regarding travel insurance for the 2021 trip and, no surprise, no response at all! Horrible company, horrible customer service. You are warned. I suspect they are keeping my money because they are close to going bankrupt - Why else would they be so afraid to return what is rightly mine and hope that I will reschedule all on my own?”

Posted 3 years ago

Hello, As mentioned in our responses to your other posts, we'd like to thank you for sharing your feedback and we're sorry for the frustration you experienced. Like many businesses, we lost much of our staff during the early and toughest days of the pandemic, and struggled to keep up with our customers' needs. Due to the extraordinary circumstances that the pandemic brought upon the travel industry, we were forced to make very difficult and unprecedented decisions as a business. One of those decisions was to update our cancelation policy and offer affected customers a future tour credit in place of a monetary refund. After our Chapter 11 restructuring, our court-approved plan allows us to offer 100% credit for any payments made on tours that were impacted by COVID with no expiration date. We hope you'll consider using your credit on a future trip. We understand the frustrations caused to our travelers by this outcome, and as we work hard to rebuild our business, we are also working to restore the levels of service you expect so that we can continue to offer the once-in-a-lifetime tours we have offered for the last 25 years well into the future. Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“I couldn’t have imagined a trip as enjoyable as this one was! Our guides, Eiman and Farid, did an outstanding job of of showing us the many artifacts and sights of Egypt. Without their expertise and skill we could not have seen so many sights and learned so much about this amazing country. They were prepared for everything and even handled the occasional and unexpected glitches before they turned into catastrophes. Eiman and Farid went above and beyond to secure a safe, comfortable and utterly enjoyable trip!”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Diane, Thank you for your kind words and we're happy to hear you had a lovely trip with Eiman and Farid, and felt safe and comfortable throughout! We hope you'll join us on another bucket-list journey in the future! The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“Our guide, Noc, was the best! Our driver, Aod the same. They made the tour a great experience! I would do another with them without hesitation. Karl”

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Karl, Thank you for your kind words about Noc and Aod! We're thrilled you had a great experience in Thailand and hope to see you again soon! The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“We felt our trip should have been postponed. We made it home without contracting the Coronavirus by the skin of our teeth.”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Nancy, Thank you for your feedback and we're sorry for the frustration you experienced. As COVID-19 emerged, we tried to make the best decisions we could with the information available at the time. We certainly understand your frustration, and as we learned more about the novel coronavirus, we did change our approach. We hope you were still able to enjoy your trip and are happy that you and your group returned to the U.S. safely. We hope you'll consider traveling with us again in the future and that you'll continue to share your feedback with us so we can continue to improve our services based on traveler feedback likes yours. Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“The tour to South Africa was outstanding! Jeremy Poole is a superior guide who was very knowledgeable, efficient, kind, fun, and a great person to know. The Victoria Falls extension was also fabulous, including the day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Altogether, and wonderful experience. I recommend this trip!”

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Shirley, Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us! We're happy to hear you had a great trip with Jeremy and that you enjoyed both your extension to Victoria Falls as well as the Chobe National Park optional tour! We hope you'll travel with us again soon! The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“We took the Amazing Thailand a couple of weeks ago with Nok as our guide. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Learned so much about the culture and the country. Nok was great and just a lot of fun which helped make this to the top of my travel tour experience.”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Charles, We're delighted you had such a lovely experience in Thailand with Nok as your tour director. We hope you're able to join us on another once-in-a-lifetime trip in the future! The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“We went on your So.Africa & Safari w/Victoria Falls extension tour in Feb.2020. The overall tour was excellent. It covered all the top sightseeing sites plus. Our tour director Jeremy Poole was exceptional. Very knowledgeable, detail oriented on everything, with a great sense of humor! Saw the big 5 on the safaris. Our trip to the Falls it was raining w/flooded pathways. Getting to the falls and back was an experience in itself. The mist from the falls along with the rain, made it a beautiful site. The surrounding mountains of So.Africa, driving along the coastlines are just breathtaking! The Robbins island tour was humbling. This is our 3rd trip w/SmarTours. Next Israel. Just one complaint: there was NO bottled water on the bus as in previous tours. Not good->4 stars!”

smarTours 4 star review on 29th March 2020

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Coleen, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We're sorry that there wasn't bottled water on the bus as you'd come to expect based on previous experiences, but we're happy to hear that otherwise, you had a great tour experience! We look forward to having you join us again! The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“We really enjoyed our Cuba Highlights Trip March 4-11th! Our guide was great with logistics. We could have had a few lighter meals mostly at lunch time. Our american guide although very informative of what "could happen" sometimes made situations more anxious than I felt necessary. She shared a lot of personal experiences about being Cuban. It was mix between super informative but at times not really necessary to what was going on and seemed to make it more about oneself than the tour... If this makes any sense. Our Cuban Guide was great, informative and extremely approachable. You could pick up on tension with our American guide at times with the bus driver and Cuban guide.”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello, Thank you for your candid feedback about your trip to Cuba. We're sorry that your experience with the American guide wasn't what you expected, but we're happy to hear you had a great experience with your Cuban guide! We'll be sure to keep your comments in mind as we look at our future tours, and we hope to see you again soon! The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“Iceland was cold, but breathtaking. It would have been a very enjoyable trip if it had not been for the indifference and lack of caring of our guide, Helga She did only the essentials and never offered even the slightest information or interests to our safety and comfort. I was in a walker and when I asked her for the handicap facilities of the different locations she never gave me any type of information..in fact, she told me, "You can't expect us to worry about your problems" We received more information from the hotel staff then she ever bothered to give to us. The beauty of Iceland is the only positive part of this trip Ann”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Ann, Thank you for sharing your experience in Iceland with us. Helga normally receives positive reviews from our travelers, and we're sorry to hear you didn't have a positive experience. Additionally, we'll be sure to follow up with our partners regarding accessibility on our trips and making sure we take care of travelers with mobility challenges. Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“I traveled with Smartours twice in the last year, once to VietNam & Cambodia, then to South Africa, & Victoria Falls. Both trips offered great value for the money, the opportunity to rest or take an optional tour on some days, and the best tour guides. Accomodations were beautiful and the groups were under 24. We all had a great time. I plan to travel with Smartours again.”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Louise, We're thrilled you enjoyed both your tour to Vietnam & Cambodia and your tour to South Africa & Zimbabwe! Thank you for sharing your comments and we hope you'll join us on another adventure soon! Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“Helga, our tour guide, was just terrific! Iceland was truly an amazing country, geologically and culturally. I will go back for a few days the next time I head to Europe, perhaps do ground tour with flight from my regional international airport versus connecting JFK.”

smarTours 5 star review on 19th March 2020

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Joan, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We're happy you had a terrific experience with Helga and that you enjoyed Iceland so much you plan to return! We hope you'll join us on another tour in the future! Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“Overall experience was very good. Guide was excellent. Some of the days were a bit long and getting up early wasn't fun, but I would still recommend it.”

smarTours 5 star review on 19th March 2020

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Michael, Thank you for your feedback! We're glad that you had an excellent guide and will keep your comments in mind about the length of some of our tour days as we plan future departures. We hope you'll join us on another tour in the future! Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“The trip to Costa Rica was wonderful, the country is beautiful, the in country activities provided by SmarTour beat my expectations, the optional extra were worth the extra money and it was a totally delightful trip. Our tour director, Cesar Florez, was very knowledgeable and did a great job of getting the whole tour group on board for the activities. We could not have had been a better tour director. The bus driver, Jesu, was also very helpful and pleasant. He always had a smile and a helping hand for us when needed.”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Ann, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We're glad that the activities exceeded your expectations and that you had a wonderful tour director and bus driver! We hope you'll travel with us again in the future! The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“informative and interesting with many excellent cultural experiences”

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Virginia, Thank you for sharing feedback about your tour experience! We're happy you found the tour informative and interesting! We hope you'll join us on another tour soon! Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“This was my first time on a organized group tour and I was a bit apprehensive. This tour turned out to be one of my favorite travel experiences. Our guide, Iyad, was a wealth of knowledge, the accommodations were good, the other travelers were wonderful to be around, and the touring was fabulous!”

smarTours 5 star review on 18th March 2020

Posted 4 years ago

Hello Rachel, Thank you for your kind comments. We're happy this was one of your favorite travel experiences and that you had such a lovely time with your tour director and fellow travelers! We hope to see you again soon! Thank you, The smarTours Team

Posted 2 years ago

“We enjoyed the itinerary and the guide very much. We found the number and cost for add on activities excessive. Many, we thought, could have been included in the basic cost. We chose smarTours because it had a good itinerary and the price was reasonable. We chose to do a group tour so that we knew what the cost to travel was going to be and with added activities the final cost to us was more than expected. Speaking to others who have used smarTours in the past the number of add ons seemed more than they had experienced.”

Posted 4 years ago

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smarTours is rated 4.4 based on 1,658 reviews