In reply to texas 40.... This is the first and last trip I'm doing with smartours... we leave nov. 10, 2010. For Egypt with them. I have a dr. note stating that for medical condition that an aisle seat would be most useful for me. Their reps. especially Rita & Eli (who inform me he's across the board from egypt) where so RUDE.... to the point I ask Eli if he own the company, he said no just an employee, I told him he was quit harsh with me. I had request that my seat me change from a middle to the aisle across from my husband so I could get up and down every 1-2 hours for the faclities(bathrooms)( this is a 12 hour flight oh what fun) My husband is 6'3", he needs the room, what makes this so annoying to me is that I called EgyptAir today, and the plane is almost full but the aisle seat acoss from my husband is still open,( S.T. said I have to change it at the airport, I called them 2 weeks ago) group tour reservation can only be change by the Tour Company ( that works this way with all tour companies), it includes someone turning on their computer, logging into the airlines point and click and move the seat. Can't understand why they are so diffcult. FOOTNOTE: You get What You Pay for. Yea their cheap but is it worth it. Have a middle seat assign on return trip, our group of 3 couples Still don't have our tickets 10/30/2010 we fly out to N.Y. on 11/10/2010 Just hope our tickets get here... Judy

wish I would have found this site before we booked:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/trave...tours.html-41k check it out....

for the above post... it should be www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/smartours.html sorry I just type in what was in the address bar...

I had the opportunity to do the South Africa Express tour with SmarTours a couple weeks ago. It was the best trip I’ve taken to date (traveled independently to Spain, Japan, Greece, almost every country in the Caribbean, etc). The value is the best thing I can say about this group. The price was $1799 plus $150 for about 9 days. I was VERY hesitant to book since I read a few complaints and never heard of this agency. I am so glad I took the risk and gave it a shot. I did a hotel search on Trip Advisor and was skeptical based on reviews. The President Hotel was impressive and nice breakfast and great pool area.. Definitely better than a lot of 4 star hotels in the States/Europe – The intra-country transfers were definitely a surprise and make the price greatly undervalued. The flight from Cape Town to Jo’Burg is about 2 hours and that roundtrip is included. The trip from Jo’Burg to the Kruger Park is a 4hrs driving – again – all included in the price. There are a number of optional tours but I did my own thing when in Cape Town. I went on one wine vineyard tour and it was well worth the price. I definitely recommend SmarTours – it wasn’t cheesy or second rate. I was very impressed with the entire experience. It is great for a self navigator that wants to take advantage of a group if in the mood. It isn’t an aggressive tour group where you can’t venture off on your own. The price is well worth all the amenities, hotel quality, overall trip. If I had any complaints – it would be flying in coach for a 15 hour flight.. the return flight to NY had a 1 hour stop for refueling in Dakar (not advertised or communicated), not enough time in Cape Town – the city is remarkable and the travel time cut our stay short.. overall great experienced – I’m booking again.

Now reading the customer service posts -
My review was strictly on the trip itself. I was very skeptical when the flight details didn't arrive until 2wks prior. The customer service team did not do a good job communicating the details. BUT the tour was amazing ! If you can get pass the booking, you will have a great experience.

I went on the Australia/New Zealand trip last year and was very disappointed. Apart from the unresponsive customer service before the trip, there were several trip details that were changed at the last minute and several canceled tours. The hotels were definitely not 4/5 star hotels and things were chaotic and unorganized. I was expecting a lot more for my money and would have had a better experience if I had just booked the trip on my own. Smartours had a great deal though, but I guess you only get what you pay for unfortunately. I told customer service how disappointed I was after the trip but they did not care.

We went to China on their 17day tour and Yangze river cruise. It was wonderful. Great tour guide, very complete tour of China cities and countryside including cross country air, bus, and two river cruises. The riverboats were a little old, but very nice. The cost was very reasonable, with airfare and most meals included. Did not have to deal with the NY office so no experience there, but the trip was a great value and a very complete tour.

We went on the Beijing/China trip and have one word to describe our trip - SCAM! We didn't care too much about how disrespectful Smartours customer service was, or the fact that we paid an extra $300 to move our trip back one week when we had scheduled 8 months in advance (Yes, they charge you for changing the date you leave immediately after they receive your non-refundable deposit). Don't even think about giving your spot to a friend or family member, this is not allowed - why is this not allowed you ask? It is because they make money $$$ if you sign up for a trip, pay the deposit, and then change your mind - you are stuck and they have your money.

Anyways, the actual trip was a scam. The hotels were all trashy and very small. I've lived in China for a year in the past and know what is a good/bad hotel. The restaurants we went to were extremely touristy and we routinely paid over 100 kuai ($12 dollars) for a meal. Good food in China doesn't cost more than 30 kuai. Some tours were canceled and the itinerary was very disorganized.

When I called Smartours customer service after the trip to let them know how disappointed my wife and I were, they just repeated over and over "We do not give refunds", which is interesting because I didn't even mention that I wanted a refund.

If you read this please don't sign up for a Smartours trip - it is a scam. Their TOS are ridiculous (read the TOS on their website) and their prices aren't even that good. The airfare is not expensive because they fly you out on a Monday, which is the cheapest option for flying, and return in the middle of the week (another cheap airfare).

In 2010 I traveled to Thailand with Smartours and to South west China with China Focus. Re SmartTours: For the most part, the office staff is crappy. Luckily I found Neil who was very patient and knowledgeable. Their ground operators in Thailand was Asian Trails.Our guide did her best to upsell us on tours, even charging us $20 for a trip to a "craft village." This turned out to be 3 factory tours.They did their best to attempt to convince us that silk was so expensive because it was still made on wooden looms! I told her I'd been to China and I knew that wasn't so. After that, most of us declined the opportunity to take her tours. The food was mediocre, so most of us sneaked goodies from the breakfast buffet for lunch. Re hotels. An experienced Smartours travelers said that the first hotel is usually above average, the next couple are so-so to poor and the final one is fabulous. That was our experience also. If you go, don't miss the $7 massages in Chiang Mai!
Re China Focus..A fabulous trip. I took the one called Shangri-la. Only criticisms The food was wonderful but so much and so good that I gained 7 pounds.Hotel rooms were great. We had a couple of experienced China travelers in our group. They suggested alteration/additions to our itinerary and the guides were willing to accomodate. Also, we only had 8 participants in our group. If we had had 10, we would have had a national guide as well as a local guide. However, we were required to tip the (phantom) national guide. We were actually asked for the money. Somehow that doesn't seem right!

I've learned to go with the flow on travel tours. I've been on many, with many different companies. I leave for Spain/Portugal in two weeks with Insight Tours, and Africa in November with SmarTours. I've used Trafalgar and Gate1 and have been happy with both. Did things go exactly as planned? Rarely, but my guides were good and I thought they were honest. I aways felt safe and that is most important considering the world be live in now. Things happen and I never let them ruin the time I am away from home. SmarTours was suggested to me by someone who has traveled extensively and only had good things to say about them. My phone conversations with them have been on the "cold" side, but my emails have been answered within 15 minutes and always with answers to my questions, of which there are many.

I am presently doing travel photography and I have nothing to complain about that spoiled my trips. Check my photos at www.flickr.com/photos/TravelDocHC

I see most of these are older comments ranging back to 07. Most are in regards to China. They do offer great prices and the hotels they are stating are also in good areas. I am looking serioulsy into the East Europe tour for 2014 including Poland Vienna Warsaw, and prague. 15 days. It would be my husband and myself. Has anyone done that tour with them? 15 days is a long time--the price is great. I need to make decide by Sept. 18th. Thanks.

TravelDocHC - We will be taking SmarTours trip to Africa in March, and would love to hear how your November trip goes (which at this point, is VERY close!!). Are you taking the Kenya trip or South Africa? We are doing the Kenya with Tanzania extension. There aren't a lot of reviews, but most of the ones I have seen have been positive.

In April we went on their China Tour with the Bangkok extension. We really enjoyed it and chose to travel with them again. A good percentage of our China group had done multiple trips with them and were happy with them all.

Have a great trip!

cb,
we also did the china tour in april wondering if you where with our group... We had Owen as our guide. I believe we went April 25th, 2013 .... We also had several couples that did South Africa with the Victoria Fall's extension they claim it is not to be missed.. It's on our bucket list

Judy

I have travled with Smart tours twice and found the trip on both occasions were incredible. They have great hotels and the tours that are in included are enough to keep you busy and feel like you you have really experienced the country. I did the South Africa and Thailand and fell in love with both countries and it was due to the excellent tour guides and hotels that we were placed in during our travel. I would recommend when booking to get the travel insurance since you never know what can happen before arriving or any delays on your flight on coming back home.