Smartours

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Message Submitted by cgburke on Sun, 02/05/2012 - 09:08
Hello, We are considering a trip to China with Smartours. We would appreciate any information regarding the hotels, meals, guides, tipping policy, shopping trips, optional tours etc. Smartours uses. Thanks Charles

Reply Submitted by EzyEd on Tue, 02/14/2012 - 14:53

I did NOT take the China trip with ,Smartours, BUT have taken 6 other trips with them. I all cases their hotels were well located, clean and excellent ,albeit not=5 star. Their guides were always excellent to outstanding, and their tipping policy is strictly up to you. --but at least 4-6 dollars a day per person if the services warranted it .We usually tipped local guides one or two dollars per day. On several trips I was able to arrange the optional tours on my own as the price was much less that way. On these message boards you will find many comments about Smartours- both Pro and Con. I for one am a fan of Smartours especially if the tour you wish to make is your first to the specific area. You will find that their itineraries are very complete, their accommodations are above average. and their price cannot be beaten.

Reply Submitted by Stan on Tue, 02/14/2012 - 16:33

SmarTours has been the subject of a lot of heat and some light on this message board though, thankfully, not so much recently.

When you first posted your inquiry, I noticed that the ability to search the message board had disappeared when the website was updated not so long ago. Fortunately, Arthur at ITN now has restored it. I suggest you enter "smarTours" in the dialogue box, click Search, and then settle back for as much reading as you like.

Thank you, Arthur!