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HAS ANYONE TRAVELED WITH SMARTOURS AND IF SO HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS GROUP???

sandy_b

I am a do-it-myself traveler but have taken 2 trips w/Smartours. The first time, I went to Viet Nam and Cambodia . . . I intended to use the tour just for transportation and hotels. The people were so fun and interesting, that I stayed w/the tour. Our guides were very good, all our hotels were deluxe and you can't beat the price. Everyone on the trip was a repeater and most had taken several trips with ST.

Because that trip was so good, I booked a trip to India/Nepal . . . it was every bit as good and the group on that tour was all repeaters also.

It's a little hard to get info from them on the front end . . . I had read that was the case and that I would need to just book on faith. I did and never regretted it . . . everything went right on schedule and as advertised.

Good luck,
Sandy (in Denton)

jr_texas40

We have been on 4 Smartours trips - the first 3 were excellent: all were in Asia. Great guides, hotels, etc. Our last trip was in June - a river cruise in Ukraine from the Black Sea to Kiev. The conditions on the boat (smell of urine constantly, a shower that was a hose connected to the sink, very rigid rules - you even had to sit with your table mates at breakfast and on picnics!) were very poor but Smartours response to our comments were even more disappointing - they were very argumentative about every point we raised. We are not complainers but we think we were poorly prepared for what we encountered. Their response was to send us the pre-trip instructions (which you get a few days ahead after you have paid the total) and mark things in yellow, etc. Very rude treatment for repeat customers who have referred many friends to them. If you have ever talked to them on the phone, you will find them very abrupt so I guess it is just the tone of the agency. Otherwise, they have been a great value and we have had a great time - esp. great guides.

happytrailstoyou

An NYC friend has recommended Smartours to me--she and her husband have had very good experiences with their tours.

It is interesting, though, that when I called their 800 number to inquire about tours in May, 2008, I was given a dismissive brush-off of the kind mentioned in another post.

NormaGold

We just returned from ST Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam. I agree that the phone people sound abrupt but the trip was a great value with good hotels, safe airlines, big bus for 27 people, OK restaurants and lots of tours. The food at some of the restaurants could have been better but the value is certainly there in the trip. We saw so many things which were all included and we were given sufficient time to explore on our own. Nee was our national guide and she's great. Most of the others on our trip were repeat ST customers. This was our first experience with them and we would book again if they have a trip we want to take.

pat

I: have been to Croatia and china with Smart tours. No problems with either trip. You might try Friendly Planet. About the same tours, but a little better customer service.

RosemaryNJ

We took a smartours trip in July 2008 to the Adriatic and it was very well run and hotels were very nice and good guide. We are now booked to take their Eastern Europe Tour for 15 days this July 2009. Has anyone taken this tour?

braidsL

I have been on five Smartours trips and two with Friendly Planet. I have two other Smartours trips planned. I agree with the previous posters regarding the fact that the Smartours staff could use some customer relations training. In spite of that, I have enjoyed all of the tours and I still believe you cannot beat these two companies in the value and quality they provide. With Smartours I have been to Japan, the Adriatic, South Africa, South America and India and Nepal. I have gone to Thailand and Dubai and Cairo with Friendly Planet. I am Doing Smartours' China Sampler tour next month and their Turkey tour in October. If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].

scarlettudor

What is it with that SmarTours NYC staff? There is one old lady in that office who is downright RUDE! Her attitude is like 'How dare you ask me questions about a tour for which you are about to plunk down several thousand dollars?! Just GO and SEE FOR YOURSELF!!!' LOL

I went to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand with them and was very pleased. I have pictures at http://community.webshots.com/user/scarlettudor100
The hotels in Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, and Saigon (yes, the locals mainly still call it that rather than Ho Chi Minh City) were wonderful. The local guides were very good.

However, I don't like the practice of one 'national guide' or general honcho guide, whom you have to tip, plus local guides in each city. That's double dipping, to me. Our national guide misled me in Hoi An. There was a wonderful opportunity there to buy custom made silk dresses, jackets, etc. and he advised us to wait for Bangkok (he was Thai, himself, naturally). When we visited the place he recommended there, the prices were too high. A doctor on our trip had 6-9 suits made, but the rest of our group bought in Hoi An. Except me, who dumbly believed the guide..

I have since read on the internet complaints that SmarTours does not give refunds or reschedules if you have a valid reason for missing a trip. It's just your bad luck and out-of-pocket expense. That rude lady in the NYC office must have made the policy..

One other story about the Vietnam trip. I went because my ex-husband served in Vietnam back in '68 and he expressed a desire to go back when the country was at peace. He said there were temples off in the jungle that he would have loved to explore, but didn't dare.

John never went and has no interest in it now, but I never forgot that statement, so I went.

There was a Vietnam veteran on our trip, Charles. He had a good friend who was a South Vietnamese officer and lived near the American barracks. Charles often had dinner with him at his house.

So, when we reached Saigon, Charles went to the old address, hardly daring to hope that he'd find his friend after all these years. But he was there! And doing well and happy. He was not rich or even well-to-do. He was a Buddhist monk and spent his days helping others.

I wrote an article in our local paper about this trip and if anyone would be interested, I'd be glad to send it. I'll tell you about the sneaky snake on the streets of Bangkok that cost me 360 Bahts!

scarlettudor

Oh, forgot to add my email, like Braids did. It's [email protected]. I have stories about Malta, Peru, Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand, Copper Canyon in Mexico, Belgium and rivercruising in the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and Slovenia-Croatia-Bosnia-Herzegovia. The majority of the trips were with Grand Circle or Overseas Adventure Travel.

slotravelor

Are there any comments from people who booked tours with ST recently and completed their travels? Were you satisfied with your trip? I am looking at a very attractively priced 18 day China trip that includes airfare from LAX. What can I expect?

Silarem

I traveled with Smartours to China on November 2009. It was a 9 day tour, Beijing & Shanghai and the price included flights, internal transportation and hotels, no tours at all which was exactly what I needed ($999 + single fee supplement). I ended up doing exactly what I wanted on my own schedule which was great. In Shanghai I joined one of their tours since it was something “hard” for me to arrange but the rest of the time I used my book guides. I’m not saying that everything was easy and I got lost several times and since I was traveling on my own sometimes I was pointed out and followed by beggars or vendors but that wasn’t all the time. The most important thing for me in China was to visit a remote portion of the Great Wall and I did that using the services of a backpacker hostel in Beijing; they simply took the group to one side of the wall (Jin Sha Ling) and pick you us up 4-5 hours later in the other side (Si Ma Tai). Without a doubt that was the best part of my trip, walking on my own on the desolated wall during winter.

notinirvineanymore

In February, 2010, my husband and I traveled to Egypt with Smartours and had a wonderful time. Our Egyptologist was very knowledgeable, professional, good-natured and did a great job looking out for us in a country where fleecing tourists is a common and acceptable practice. We felt safe everywhere we went. The hotel accomodations on the Red Sea and in Cairo were absolutely lovely and the food was good. The boat for the cruise down the Nile was well-worn, but impeccably clean. Every effort was made to engage and entertain us including a Egyptian dress-up night. The antiquities (temples, tombs, pyramids, etc.) exceeded our expectations. (My only complaint is about the steep steps on the buses.) Our first experience in an Islamic country was fascinating. I'll never forget strolling along the Nile in Cairo on Valentine's night and seeing the moon reflected on its rippled surface. Smartours did a very nice job.

We also traveled to Peru with Smartours in 2008 and were very well pleased by that experience as well. The folks on the ground were really terrific there too and the accommodations were wonderful. They even coped with a nation-wide general strike which put our Machu Picchu visit at peril by rearranging the order of our trip. An amazing trip and a wonderful value.

All of our Smartours groups were interesting, polite, and considerate. And most are multiple Smartour repeaters with nothing but the best to say about the tours.

We're leaving in 2 days for our 3rd Smartours trip - Italy.

ruwithme

Thanks for bringing this post to light slotravelor and thanks for the recent responses. I have never heard of Smartours and probably would not have if not being a member of Fodor's.

Smartours sounds interesting...another topic to explore

travelexplorer

This is a great topic. I am interested in traveling with Smartours to China. Silarem (or anyone else who has been to China in November), how is the weather during this time? Is this a good time to go? Smartours sounds like a good deal, especially since it includes all transportation, accommodations, and flights. For those of you who have traveled with Smartours, what has been your average group size? I will be a solo traveler. Thanks in advance for your help. I'm just trying to gather as much information as possible.

Travel_Dreamer

I, too, am looking at the China tour in November with Smartours. I usually use OAT or Go Ahead Tours but the price is very tempting. My concern is the damage that the heavy storms and floods have left behind and the road conditions/accessibility. I think I may go with Plan B, the Vietnam & Angkor Wat Discovery tour, another great deal with Smartours.

Anyone else share my concerns regarding traveling to China?

Viatrick

Slotravelor, I can recommend SmarTours. They keep costs down by not advertising - people find them by word of mouth or like we did, in the travel forums. We travelled with SmarTours to Thailand/Angkor Wat last year and just came back from So. Africa/Vic Falls with them. We were very pleased with both trips. Our guide in Thailand was an absolute gem. Personally, I didn't care for the guide in So. Africa but some people liked him - the group was split on that. But both tours went very smoothly, very well organized, and we had great tour-mates, many who were repeat travellers with SmarTours. They also offer reasonably priced trip insurance - another plus.

travelingtheworld

Smartours customer service is absolutely terrible. Several agents are extremely rude. Try asking questions about the trip and you will see - they are short and abrupt with answers, and many may interrupt you to the point where you cannot ask a question. I am also interested in the Beijing/Shanghai trip but after speaking with their customer service - I am having second doubts.

Word of warning - they require a non-refundable deposit of $300 per person, so make sure you are 100% positive you want to go. There are no exceptions - even if a family member passes away. They also coincidentally lose any paperwork for a trip cancellation. Smartours initially required a hand-written cancellation letter, but apparently you can email them as well. Use email (then you will have the sent email record).

All I have seen is a sketchy company that offers a great deal. In retrospect I would have payed more for a more respectable company. I am disappointed in my interaction with Smartours customer service because I have heard good things about the trip itself.

travelinggrammy

I purchase travel insurance for all trips small and large. A lot of different travel tour companies require a non-refundable deposit. Even cruise companies if you book within 30 days of sailing you lose the whole amount of the depoist hense the reason you buy travel insurance pennies on the dollars... .... We are using smartours in Nov. will post back our experience. Just talked with their C.S. today, have talked several time with them and got all the info that i needed and they were very pleasant... happy traveling Judy....

scarlettudor

Grammy, I'm so glad your experience with SmarTours home office was good. Mine has been most unpleasant, especially with one rude, cranky lady there. She's made me decide to go back to being loyal to Grand Circle/OAT.

SmarTours is very reasonably priced and their people on the ground in different countries are very good. I went with them to Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand in '06 and the trip was so good (hotels, guides, what was included) that I booked again with them for Turkey last year. Again, a great trip.

I'm going on their South American Odyssey 3/1/10. There have been more roadblocks and unpleasant details getting to this trip in all the many trips I've taken in the last 10 years. Just a nightmare.

It wasn't ST's fault that the original trip, scheduled for 3/1/10 had to be postponed, due to an earthquake. It wasn't their fault that a blizzard shut down DC for a week in early Feb and I had great difficulty getting my Brazilian visa.

HOWEVER, the letter from their office re the visa had said not to apply sooner than 3 months before the date of one's trip because it was only good for 3 months. (Since untrue, it's good for 5 years, but their form letter still gives that info, never been updated) It did NOT tell me not to wait longer than 28 days before a trip. That's the least time you can be sure of getting your visa in time. And even that wasn't sufficient, due to the snowstorm in DC.

I had to pay $500 for a 1-day trip to get my visa out-of-district in person in NYC in time for the scheduled 3/1 trip. I had begun trying to get my visa 28 days before the trip. ST offered no guidance or help. Their form letter was lacking in information and has since given inaccurate information.

That trip was rescheduled for 11/1/10, due to the earthquake in Chile. I couldn't get my money back, had not bought trip insurance. And I did want to go to S.A. They subsequently charged me an add'l $100 for the Nov departure, even though it was not my choice to reschedule. It was theirs.

At the time of the original trip, I had 10 months left on my passport. When I got the final documents for my 3/1 trip, it stated my passport had to be good for 6 months after the date of the trip. Mine is due for renewal in Jan 2011. I panicked and called the home office in NYC. The lady there seems to relish winding you up. She had a minor fit and said, 'It's there in all the paperwork!' Well, yeah. I goofed. But she proceeded to regale me with dreadful consequences. 'They may not even let you on the plane! You'd better call the airlnes and the Brazilian Embassy.'

I called the airlines and they said "Let me get this straight. You have a valid passport going and coming. What is the problem?" I didn't call the Embassy because they are impossible to get on the phone and I did have my visa, so once again, what's the problem?

I told her my passport WAS good for 6 weeks after the end of the trip, so what was the problem. She said, 'well, Heaven forbid, your passport could get lost.' Let me ask you, if my passport were lost, what would it matter if it had 6 months to expiration date or 6 weeks? I would still have to get a copy from the US Embassy in Brazil and, of course, I will take photocopies of it in case of this disaster.

My advice if you are going with ST is to avoid talking to their home office in NYC at all. Just book it and go. Maybe that's their policy ~ be rude enough that no one will call them.