smarTours Reviews

Name: smarTours
Address: 500 7TH AVE, 8TH FL, NEW YORK, New York
Rating: 4.41

4.4 Rating 1,665 Reviews

86 %

of reviewers recommend smarTours

4.4

Based on 1,665 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

Write Your review

Tell us how smarTours made you happy

Minimum 10 characters

Would you like to add a photos or videos?

Strengthen your review by uploading photos & videos.

Drag files here or browse

(Supported files: jpg, png, mpeg, ogg, mp4 & webm)

What's your name?

Leave this blank if you'd like to publish your review anonymously.

(Optional)

What's your email?

We need your email address to verify that your review is genuine

Please note that we may share your email with the company to verify your order.

smarTours 1 star review on 27th May 2025

Dominion

smarTours 5 star review on 14th December 2024

Diana Potts

smarTours 5 star review on 20th November 2024

Michael And

smarTours 5 star review on 12th October 2024

Michael And Bedelia Sachelari

766

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Rated 4 None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Tour and guides were great -- saw some beautiful sights-- learned a lot of history. The cruise portion as sub par-- the old ship was that-- unattractive--inside room was the smallest I have ever been in--food was ok, but not outstanding--- We have been on 8 cruises,including 3 on the mediterranean, and this was our worst cruise experience. it was nice to have all the prepaid stuff (hotel,tips, cruise tours).”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Generally, I have been very pleased with the tours I have taken. However, the last tour to Portugal, left me with some concerns. For one thing, I have never been on a tour that did not include, at least, a few lunches and dinners (Over & above the welcome and farewell dinner) Also, because we were on our own for dinner, we could have used more assistance in finding restaurants and getting around, as most of our hotels were not located in the downtown area.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Tour director was excellent, Itinerary was excellent. Hotels were fair. Dinners provided at hotels were extremely poor. Overall, I enjoyed the tour.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Our tour itinerary was excellent and our guide Sun Harry... was FABULOUS. The accommodations were very good (Shanghai too far from city center) , food a bit boring. We are both wine drinkers and it was not available in most places in China. But think it was just how the food is there. Harry listened and took us to some different places with better food. The disappointment and reason for good and not very good rating, was in our guide in Hong Kong.. not good. We were all tired and he had an early morning quick tour our first day which was totally unnecessary to go so early, but he had someplace to go so dumped us with little or no information at the hotel at about noon. He did not give us enough time in the few places we went like Stanley market because he was in a hurry. So after 2 weeks with these people we just kind of scattered, no group good bye or anything organized by him. It would be better to have had Harry in charge and then just a local guide like in the other cities. Harry knew everyone by then. There was no itinerary in Hong Kong, or info on places to see, restaurants nothing. I never saw the guy again after the first day.. and refused to tip him.. for what?”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“The tour of Portugal was wonderful, as was our guide, Mina. I normally don’t do group tours, opting to go on my own, but thought that this would be a good way to see Portugal’s highlights. I wasn’t disappointed. There was a lot of free time to go exploring on your own. The only drawback to this tour was that I was under the impression that this was to be a “small” group tour and was surprised when it turned out to be 44 people... many of who complained about everything from seating on the bus to the size of the hotel room. It might be a few years before I book another tour because of the group dynamic, and I would only do it if the group was smaller and, hopefully, not so entitled. But I understand that Smartours has no control over this.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Our tour guide was excellent and so knowledgeable. The tour itself was comprehensive. However, the hotel accommodations were awful. Many things simply did not work at both Dan Panorama hotels, including the air conditioning. I liked the kibbutz but I fell in my room while one of the staff members was present. I really hurt my wrist and wanted a doctor to look at it. I was advised that there was no medical person on site and would have to travel over an hour back to Tiberius. Later I found out there actually is a medical clinic on the kibbutz and that there are both doctors and other medically trained personnel who work in outside hospitals who live on the kibbutz and are members of the kibbutz. So they lied to me and the guide and i left with very bad feelings about the place.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“very rushed. food was just edible.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“The tour was hectic! It was very informative and very well organized. Here are a few comments for your consideration. The Abu Simbel tour on Monday felt like a “drive by.” That morning we had to wake up at 3:30 am to fly to Aswan and take the connecting flight to Abu Simbel. We took three flights by 3:00 pm that day. Goodness! I have flown for business all my life and never had a crazy schedule like that. It is just too much packed into one day. You should add a day so that Abu Simbel and Aswan can be enjoyed at a more leisurely pace. Next comment: the pricing on some optional tours seemed odd. $36.00 to go to the Luxor Museum when the entrance fee is about $5.00? The charge of $160.00 for the balloon ride seemed high when several folks on TripAdvisor report that the cost is $95.00. Finally, while Smartours advises us on tipping guidelines we were unprepared for the multiple “opportunities” for tipping that we encountered. Tips for security, tips for bathroom attendants, tips for any and everyone who looked at us...or so it felt. We enjoyed our trip but Egypt is such a history lesson that we felt that we would have enjoyed it better had we done the trip at a more leisurely pace. The last day in Cairo was rushed. We did not have enough time at the market or at the Cairo Museum. On a positive note, the hotels and the ship were great! The Cairo Marriott is an architectural marvel. The food was wonderful everywhere and copious and the Egyptian people were welcoming and friendly. Our tour director Khaled was wonderful: a font of information on his country’s history. If I had to design this trip, I would do it at a more leisurely pace so that I could truly enjoy this rich country.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“The sites were wonderful! The tour guide, however, was evasive even when asked a direct question. Some days the itinerary was different from the one initially provided. I would appreciate a complete itinerary for the upcoming day at least the night before.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Great value. I found the lodgings were not 5 star hotels as advertised. A lot of down time. Guide would ask for our attention and then proceed to talking with someone or looking at a news article. I found this to be disrespectful. After awhile I just stopped giving my attention when asked because I knew it would be a good 5 - 10 minutes before he needed my attention. Saw a lot in a short period of time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Tour guide in Athens was exceptional. Key sites hit for an good view of the wonderful country oh Greece. I would have you note the fast pace and steep hills that are to be climbed if you want to see/do it all. I would re-consider the ship. Old, no place to sit out side to enjoy the scenery except noisy pool deck. Food good. Would have to think twice before taking such a large tour, 2 previous trips with others companies we 12 people.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Very good except for the hygiene issues on the cruise ship.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“WONDERFUL. NO COMPLAINTS ACCOMENDATIONS WERE GREAT. OUR TOUR DIRECTOR SHAWN BARTNICK WAS THE BEST EVER. MEALS WERE DELICIOUS. I ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF THIS ACTION PACK TOUR”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Guides, location”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“The tour was wonderful and the guides were as well. Our guide Tia saw us through from our landing to departure even staying with us while we processed through Frankfurt to come home. The crew aboard the ship was great and the food was lovely. The boat however left a lot to be desired. You had to pay for Wi Fi and even with paying the service was sporadic. The shower was horrible flooding the floor of the bathroom with each use. Initially they passed out wash cloths upon request but into the second day refused any further requests. In short the Belle Jour needs some upgrades to rate five stars. Mary Turner”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Cruise Director (Galia) and guides were excellent. Tour was very interesting. However, people should be warned that this "river cruise" involves crossing the two largest lakes in Europe and rough water is a definite possibility. We have never taken a cruise because my wife has trouble with motion sickness. There was a serious storm when we crossed the second lake and despite medication, my wife spent 12 miserable hours. We also had an attack of what was probably norovirus which affected about 2/3 of the passengers. That also dropped the enjoyment factor. However the crew made every effort to help us. Unfortunately, Russian cuisine is not the best for queasy stomachs. Still, the parts that weren't miserable were interesting and enjoyable. I would recommend the trip to anyone who did not suffer from motions sickness, but doubt we will ever try another river cruise.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“We loved the free time to explore cities on our tour. The tour guides in every city were very knowledgeable and engaging. Our favorites are Marco in Florence and Elena in Rome. The tour director expressed frustration with some members of our tour group. We think it would have been better if he had written the tour itinerary daily with the scheduled departures and end times, It would have make it better for all the tour members. We found him to be approachable and he assisted us with our request. The hotels were great and so where they were located. The dinners provided on the tour were average. We ate better when we went out on our own. We would consider booking another tour with Smartours.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“I joined the Spirit of Sicily tour (September 3-15). Overall it was good and I would like to thank you for letting us have the optional tour despite the fact that some people had cancelled and only a small number participated. Regarding the Tour Directors: the first one (Oliviero Olivieri) was very good and helpful. The one at the Aeolian Islands was also quite good, but I don't like it when TDs take travelers to restaurants where they get free food for bringing travelers. The local specialists varied a lot. The one in Palermo was excellent, though I would have preferred to have more time in the churches to view the beautiful mosaics (NOT her fault). The same goes to the other archaeological sites: we should have had more time. The local specialist in Catania was really bad and lost most of the travelers over time. The hotels were quite good, but I was very unhappy during the first stay at the Olimpo Antares: I received a very small room facing a walkway, so one couldn't have the shades up, it was extremely noisy, and there wasn't even a place to put the suitcase. I paid the single supplement and should have received a room of the same quality as other participants. I could see on my 2nd stay there (on the way back from the islands) what I missed the first time. I really felt cheated the way I was treated. They said they were fully booked, but since I made the reservation months ahead of the trip it wasn't a last minute reservation and I should have received the high quality room as the other tour participants. The included dinners were not that impressive: in the first two, the main dish was really like an appetizer, and in the Olimpo we had the general buffet in the main dining room with another few hundred guests, similar to what we got when we went there individually.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“For the most part the Africa Safari trip was great, it was just a little disorganizationwhen we arrive at one of the lodges and at the hotel where we were assigned a day room on our last day before going to the airport for our trip back home. The accommodations were good but when we arrived there was some confusion with collecting and returning our passports. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the African experience very much.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“1) "Tour of City" by tour bus is nothing but a quick ride through the city! By the time the guide points out a landmark, we can be well past it. 2) Some hotels are below standard and far from areas of interest. This limits visits to points of attraction. 3) Local tour guides vary: some are hard to understand, some bore you with details, some are excellent. 4) When "a day on your own" is offered, a list of possible places of interest to visit should be provided. Not just "shopping." 5) The tour guides often "recommend" places for eating. Not always the best. 6) There should be more flexibility in flights to destinations. I know booking in groups provides greater prices, but it often adds to the traveler's total price of the trip when the flights only fly out of NYC. If connecting flights are askew, it may involve a night's stay in a hotel. The above list is just for ways to improve SmarTours, in my estimation. Generally, I always consider SmarTours before any others.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

smarTours is rated 4.4 based on 1,665 reviews