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

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

“This was my first trip with SmarTours, but fourth for my parents, whom I went with. I had a great time in Peru and felt like I got to see everything I wanted to with this tour. Our guide, Enrique, was excellent in showing us the sites, giving us the history, and explaining how it all shapes Peruvian culture today. There were some bumps on the road with train issues and flight cancellations, but Enrique and SmarTours took care of us and found alternate passage at no expense to us. In the case of the flight cancellation, the airport was shut down, so SmartTours arranged an alternate flight out of a different city, chartered a bus to get us there, and booked hotel rooms in that city. They even arranged a box dinner for the trip. Other than the sudden long bus ride, the itinerary was barely affected. I don't know what we would have done if we were on our own, so I'm grateful that Smartours took care of us. My main complaint, is that Lima and the Nazca extension had other people guiding us, and they were not as good as Enrique. Our Lima guide was fine, but I feel we were practically left on our own for Nazca. Transport was arranged, and things went smoothly, but it felt like we were just told be ready at a certain time and someone would pick us up. For most of the trip, our guide helped us with check-in and made sure there were no problems, but for the Nazca extension, we didn't have anyone. Nothing went wrong, but it was a contrast to the rest of the trip. However, otherwise the trip was great and I'll be considering Smartours for future trips.”

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Posted 3 years ago

Wow! Thank you for your thorough review! We are so happy to hear you were able to enjoy time with your parents in Peru! We will pass your feedback along regarding the guides to our tour department. We're so happy to hear that even when things didn't go according to plan, we were able to quickly resolve any issues. We hope to host you and your parents again soon!

Posted 3 years ago

“After three years of planning, cancellations and repositioning funds, SmarTours exceeded all of our expectations - especially with our tour guide, Renata. The Great Cities of Eastern Europe tour from May 21 - June 4, 2022 included stops in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland, Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary and Prague, Czech Republic. The accommodations were phenomenal as were the daily, morning breakfasts. We also enjoyed six group dinners. We enjoyed the history, the main attractions and beautiful cities and we had ample free time to explore on our own. We are already looking forward to planning our next tour with SmarTours.”

smarTours 4 star review on 13th June 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing your feedback, Alan! We're glad to hear you had a great experience! We do hope to see you on another tour soon!

Posted 3 years ago

“MAJESTIC MOROCCO REVIEW: This was my first time booking a tour package and my first-ever vacation. I work really hard and had been looking forward to this for months. It was highly disappointing, primarily due to the lack of clear information about the extensive time spent on a warm bus, which should have been included in the itinerary. The few activities offered felt rushed. Most of the included dining experiences were subpar, with inconsistent pricing and poor food quality—Day 8's lunch was particularly problematic. I sent back my dry chicken dish, and the staff was upset when I refused to eat any replacement meal. There were also issues with hygiene and meal preparation. While our tour guide, Mr. Aziz, was excellent, the itinerary’s structure was poorly planned. He did his best. Not his fault at all.”

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Posted 8 months ago

Thank you for sharing your feedback about your first tour experience with us. We're truly sorry to hear that your trip to Morocco fell short of expectations, especially given how much you were looking forward to it. We understand your frustration regarding the bus travel times, however this is inevitable in that we cover a lot of ground during a very short time span. We are actively reviewing the itinerary for the upcoming season to explore ways to minimize travel time and provide a more balanced experience, and inform travelers what to expect on those long travel days. We appreciate your feedback on the included meals and will address your concerns with our local partners. We also apologize for any inconvenience caused by the incident at the restaurant. We're pleased to hear that Mr. Aziz provided excellent service and support throughout your trip. We will be sure to share your compliments with him. We value your feedback and are committed to improving our tours based on traveler experiences.

Posted 7 months ago

“I just returned from the Splendors of Egypt tour. It was amazing. Our tour director and guide, Inas Hussein, was wonderful. A brilliant Egyptologist, she was so informative about Egyptian history and culture and an absolute pleasure to travel with. The accommodations were excellent. Before I left friends asked "Egypt now??", there was not one moment where I felt unsafe, and the Egyptian people are lovely. The local Smart Tours contacts at each location could not have been more helpful. I have traveled extensively, it was one of the best travel experiences in my life. This was my first organized tour, it will not be my last on smarTours.”

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Posted 8 months ago

Wow! Thank you Gerard! It was a pleasure to have you join us in Egypt!

Posted 7 months ago

“Costa Rica Nightmare I'll be surprised if they post this but here it goes. Don't book Smartours Costa Rica tour. They don't use regular buses. Large mini vans. The bus has no bathroom, packed in like sardines, no electrical outlets, no water ever offered, no wifi and luggage piled up the back on the seats so people have to use the fold out ones going up and down the middle of the mini bus. Luggage in the back actually came crashing down on the people in the back. Huge heavy bags. I've done two other tours in Costa Rica with other companies and none of this happened. Hotels with no air, hot water, or tv's. Yes we were in lodges in the jungle but other hotels in these areas had all of the above. Even had bare wires in one of the bathrooms on top of the shower head to heat the water. One hotel had no bar or restaurant. Had to take a taxi to get food. They advertise first class hotels and lodges. This must be a joke. There were 18 of us on this tour. 5 people were injured in one way or another from horrible travel conditions. Three needed immediate medical attention when they got home. Will never use Smartours again. We have in the past but I wouldn't take the chance of being tortured while on vacation ever again. We were so glad to get home.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Enjoyed our trip to Alaska. Had a most unique, fun and well versed tour guide. Made our experience all the better.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Happy to hear! Thank you Margaret!

Posted 2 years ago

“Customer service once again screwed us over when we tried to upgrade our seating due to medical reasons. Took 2 weeks to get final response and by that time upgrade was unavailable. All that was needed was a simple email to the group desk at Swiss Air. WE would arrive at some tour destinations and everything was closed. No Covid protocols put in place after someone in our group tested positive on our cruise ship.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Hi Barbara! Thank you for taking the time to provide us with this feedback. We’d like to acknowledge that you had a frustrating experience, and we could have done better. I spoke with our customer care team to confirm some of the issues you mentioned. As we are a group travel provider, we are not generally able to provide upgraded seating. However, when you made the request our team made an exception and worked tirelessly to rectify the issue by working with our third-party vendor who then in turn works with the airline. We could not achieve this upgrade by emailing the airline group desk as you stated. As we were within a few weeks of your departure, we were unable to resolve your request in time and we apologize for that. Please know that our team made a valiant effort to accommodate you. In the future, if specific seating is needed for a flight we would encourage you to book our land-only tours and book your flight individually so that you have the flexibility to upgrade and accommodate your needs. Thank you for traveling with smarTours.

Posted 3 years ago

“We had a great trip to Peru with smartours. Our tour guide was wonderful with his knowledge, personality, organization and attention to details. Could not have asked for a better experience.”

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Posted 3 years ago

So happy to hear! Thank you James!

Posted 3 years ago

“Smartours is the way to go! Everything is taken care of for you as you visit any country Smartours has to offer. My guide was great, she had abundant information for every spot we encounter!. Thanks Smartours for a great and most of all safe trip😁”

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Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for your feedback, Teresa! We're so glad you enjoyed the trip and hope to see you again soon!

Posted 3 years ago

“This was my 5th SmarTours trip and by far, the most disappointing. The land portion of the trip was fine; the hotels were great and the tour directors very knowledgeable. But, the ship left lots to be desired!!! I understand and sympathize with the strains put on the travel industry due to covid. I also understand that the ship recently underwent a renovation. Someone clearly overlooked the cabins and the quality of the food in the dining room.. Both left much to be desired. First the rooms; I have been on a number of cruises but this one ranks the worst. There was ONE outlet in the cabin and it lacked anywhere to put clothing except that which needed to be hung. Our hair dryer had the fits: it started and stopped repeatedly. My cabin mate and I paid extra for a window which because of heavy condensation and DIRT was nearly impossible to see out of. I honestly think this extra charge should be refunded to those who paid it as having a window view was utterly useless!! Before I go further, I do want to commend the cabin and dining room staff. They were professional and always willing to help. By the way, their service is the reason I rated the trip with 3 stairs and not none! Dining Room: The food, though plentiful, was always lukewarm if not cold. I NEVER had hot coffee, instead I was asked if I wanted and accepted hot milk! I respectfully recommend that officers from Smartours take a trip on the ship to see what I am talking about. I understand that this tip has a monopoly of inter-island travel; in fact ,there was a number of tour groups on it and that this was only its second trip out since the restrictions due to covid were lifted. Certainly, more time/attention should have been given to ensuring its comfortably overall and its attention to detail in particular before it sailed. One last comment: I wish to commend Marina for her attention give to me personally as I was hurt on the trip. She accompanied me to two hospitals and made sure I was well taken care of! Thank you Marina!! I was seriously considering taking the Portugal tour in 2023; now I am not so sure....”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for your honest feedback, Judy. We are so sorry to hear you had a disappointing experience and that we failed to live up to what you've come to expect from smarTours. You are right that there have definitely been some bumps in the restart of travel, for us, and the many partners we work with. Still, many of the points you raise are things we should have been out in front of. We are reviewing these issues with the quality of the food and the rooms with our partners to determine what we can change and where we can make improvements, and we thank you for raising them. We are glad to hear that your tour directors and the staff on the ship were strong, and we hope that you were still able to enjoy the beauty, history and culture of the region on your travels. We do hope that you will give us another chance again. Our Portugal tour is wonderful!

Posted 3 years ago

“We had 33 in our group and it was really too large for everything we had to do. Several of us tested positive the day before we were to leave and our guide Marina got annoyed. She left us at the testing sight and continued on with her scheduled tour. Leaving us to fend for ourselves. It was like running a race. Not enough time to take in all of what you were seeing and doing. The tours were beautiful, but crowded and no masks. The food on the ship was the same buffet everyday for lunch and breakfast. Some Greek food would have been nice. The food was just fair. This was my first tour with SmarTours and probably my last. It’s better to pay a bit more and have time to enjoy the culture and your surroundings.”

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Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing this candid feedback. We're so sorry to hear that you got covid - we hope you are recovered and back to good health. We're following up with our team in Greece about the handling of covid positive passengers and quarantine assistance, and also taking your feedback on the food and pacing into account as we look to make improvements to this itinerary. We appreciate you taking the time to share.

Posted 3 years ago

“37 people on the tour - far too many to be safe or to have a satisfactory experience. 3 tested positive for Covid before flight home. 2 of the 6 of us traveling together were positive upon arrival. Mask encouragement and enforcement was non-existent (except by museum staff) and tour leaders were amongst those choosing not to wear/wear their mask properly. Activity level and distances were underestimated. Despite early wake up times, tours were crowded and the outside of Athens experiences were scheduled for the hottest part of the day. This was my first and likely last experience with SmarTours.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing your candid feedback, Lori. We are sorry to hear that the tour did not live up to your expectations. We are following up with our tour leaders and partners to revisit our masking policies, especially given how contagious these latest strains of Covid-19 have been. We hope that everyone in your party has fully recovered and is back to good health. We are also revisiting the pacing and activity level descriptions for this tour. Although the tour itinerary is largely unchanged since pre-covid times, we've received much more feedback from our recent departures about the pace, so we are looking at what we can adjust here to make it more comfortable. We do hope that you were able to enjoy the history, culture and beauty of Greece during your tour.

Posted 3 years ago

“Our tour guide in Croatia “Danko” was fun!”

smarTours 4 star review on 2nd June 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos! It was a pleasure to host you!

Posted 3 years ago

“The tour was very unsatisfactory. There were 38 people on our tour and that is way too many. It was unfair to the customers and the tour leaders. Beyond that, we are still in the midst of the Covid pandemic so this large a tour was irresponsible. Five people on the tour caught Covid, including me. Finally, about 1/3 of the people were unable to handle the rigors of this tour. They could barely go up and down the stairs of the bus let alone climb all the acropolises. It was painful to watch them struggle. My conclusion is that SmatTours is more interested in profits than in the health and well being of its clients. This is very likely our last tour with your company.”

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Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for providing this feedback, David. We value your opinion and rely on feedback (both positive and constructive) to enhance and improve our tours. We are reviewing the pacing and activity level of this tour, as we have now heard from a few people about this point. We ran this tour with the same itinerary prior to the pandemic and always received positive feedback, but the world is in a different place now and people are responding differently, so we need to adapt. We are so sorry to hear you caught Covid on the trip, and hope that you are fully recovered now, and back safe at home.

Posted 3 years ago

“Incredible tour of Egypt. Our guide was so kind and knowledgeable and really made the experience unforgettable. I proposed to my girlfriend on day two of the tour in front of the pyramids and our guide helped make it a really special moment complete with photographer.”

smarTours 5 star review on 1st April 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

Dylan! Thanks SO much for sharing this incredible moment with smarTours! We wish you all the best on your new adventure!

Posted 3 years ago

“Dagmar was an excellent Tour Director. She was very knowledgeable, compassionate and attentive. I can't say enough about her and how she made our trip a complete success. Machu Picchu was amazing. Touring the country of Peru and learning about the culture was inspiring. I would recommend this trip for anyone who is adventurous and wanting to learn more about the Incas and Andean civilizations. Before going, consider the travel time along with the fact that touring starts immediately upon arrival. Everyone was exhausted the first day. I would have preferred to make my own flight arrangements allowing time to sleep and freshen up before starting the tour itinerary.”

smarTours 5 star review on 21st November 2021

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Posted 3 years ago

“Ana was AMAZING! Her wealth of knowledge added so much to our experience. Portugal is wonderful thanks to her”

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Posted 3 years ago

We're so thrilled you had such a great experience in Portugal with Ana! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us, Caren, and we hope you'll join us on another adventure soon! 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.”

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Posted 4 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 3 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.”

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Posted 5 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 3 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?”

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Posted 5 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 3 years ago

smarTours is rated 4.4 based on 1,665 reviews