Florence To Croatia

Traveler Reviews

• S

  Sarah

  May 18th, 2025
  1.0
  A Smart Trips staff member was sick on the bus to Croatia with Norovirus and spread it to many of the students on the...
  A Smart Trips staff member was sick on the bus to Croatia with Norovirus and spread it to many of the students on the bus, including myself. I was in the hospital in Croatia the entire weekend. Ended up with a $400 medical bill. I asked for assistance getting to the hospital because I was so sick and not one staff member was available. All they said was get well soon and didn’t check in on me all weekend. The owner of the hostel we stayed at ended up helping me. He said that this happens often and that they hate having Smart Trips there. I had booked a $100 tour that I had to miss and wasn’t reimbursed for and Sunday because so many kids got sick they cancelled all of the events that day and took us straight back to Florence. They forced all the students who were or had been sick to sit in the back of the bus wearing a mask for the 12 hour drive home. There were kids puking on the bus and they’d only stop every 4-5 hours. It was a miserable weekend. When we returned to Florence I attempted calling and emailing Smart Trips with my experience as I felt I was owed some kind of refund and they never responded. I will say that students I talked to who took other Smart Trips didn’t enjoy them either. The bus rides are long and uncomfortable, the hostels are always far from the main attractions of the cities you visit so you spend a lot of extra money on transportation, and the extra tours they offer aren’t worth the price.Show more
  Traveled in May 2025
  

  Reply from: Smart Trip

  Hi Sarah. Thank you for your review. We are very sorry to hear that this trip did not meet your expectations. One staff member did fall ill after the trip departed; something completely out of our control.  Throughout the weekend, our team remained on-call 24/7 to assist affected guests, and Smart trip office stayed in contact with our staff on the trip all the time. Our staff escorted several guests to the nearest hospital for urgent care and distributed Imodium, Powerade, crackers, and vomit bags to all who were unwell.  We have been working with this hostel for over 7 years, and we have an incredible relationship with the owner, so we find it hard to believe that he would share this opinion with you.  After discovering an outbreak of an intestinal virus among a minority of participants—circumstances entirely beyond our control—we immediately prioritized the health and comfort of everyone on board, and our staff conducted a poll regarding the optional excursion to Krka. We deeply regret that this situation impacted your travel plans, and we want to assure you that we did our utmost to manage the crisis with respect and care for all participants. On the bus ride back to Florence, the bus stopped every 2 hours, and the on-board bathroom was also open.  Per our records, you never reached out regarding your dissatisfaction with this trip. Had you contacted us, we would have been happy to discuss this further and try to find an adequate solution. Customer service is one of our top priorities, which is clear judging by our 4.8 rating on TripAdvisor and 4.7 rating on Google. Should you wish to discuss this further, please reach out to us at info@smarttrip.it. 

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