We re a large group that planned a trip with them and they canceled the trip after we spent over 5200.00! Stating they went out of business. Their site stopped working, but they kept taking our payments!!! Run from this place!!!!! read more

Sure, you could rent a kayak in Jenner and go out on your own, but then you'd miss out on a super fun day with Erik! Erik picked us up from our rental in Forestville for a private kayak and hiking tour. It was wonderful not having to worry about getting lost, parking, etc. Erik took care of everything for us and picked out a beautiful picnic spot. All we had to do was bring our lunch since due to Covid rules he wasn't allowed to provide us with food or drinks. Erik was warm, personable and a wonderful tour guide! You can tell he truly loves what he does and more importantly, cares that you have a memorable and wonderful day!! We highly recommend Erik and will definitely go out with him again. Hopefully next time the river won't be blocked and we'll see lots and lots of seals! :) read more

Smart Tours - Smoky skies from Grass fires in Calistoga, water was totally flat and looked like glass! - Tours Near Me

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Cannot say enough good things about the tour. We had a private tour for my family, which was eight paddlers including an eight year old and a four year old. We had 4 kayaks, three doubles and a single. The four year old was in the middle of a double and using a modified paddle that he loved! All of the equipment was in great shape. Eric was fabulous - a knowledgeable guide who made it a point to spend time with each participant. He also took and provided pictures, which were wonderful. We saw lots of wildlife with the highlights being white and grey pelicans (who buzzed us!) and seals. Lunch was fabulous with Tim providing land support. The food was local, plentiful and very tasty. I highly recommend Smart Tours read more

Erick is a great guide! He's engaging and knowledgeable about the area and history. He's super friendly has a good sense of humor and is very patient and accommodating (for a couple slow paced, outta shape semi-old ladies). Great guy, awesome guide!! Thanks Erick!! read more

The tour was perfect. Erick was accommodating when we realized that we had made a scheduling mistake. He was very patient with our 5 year old son. He is very knowledgeable about the area. I highly recommend this tour. read more

So, I've lived in Sonoma County my whole life, and I haven't really done anything outdoors here. I decided to call Smart Tours to sign up for a kayaking trip in Jenner. This trip ended up being more meaningful and beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Erik (my guide) knew a lot about the area and the wildlife that I had no idea existed. We saw seals and their pups ( right next to our boats!), groups of pelicans, and something called an "Osprey" dove right in front of me and picked a fish out of the water. I had no idea this was in my own backyard, and I'm so thankful to Smart Tours for showing it all to me. **One thing I would like to note is that I'm not very physical, and the tour was the perfect length. I didn't feel exhausted to the point it was uncomfortable, and I walked away feeling very accomplished. read more

Eric was a great guide, full of energy and very knowledgeable about the environment. I will see him shortly doing foreign tours in exotic locations around the world! read more

We had a great time touring the redwoods and shoreline with Erik! He perfectly planned our hikes and picnic dinner to allow us to view an amazing sunset over the water. We highly recommend Smart Tours! Thanks Erik! read more

I had the pleasure of taking a Smart Tours adventure last week to the Redwoods and then kayaking in the Russian River at the mouth of the Pacific. The whole day was amazing. Erik was an excellent guide and so knowledgeable about the area, the topography, and the history of the many pockets of Sonoma we visited. The Redwoods were breathtaking - and I got to kayak with more than a dozen seals! It was exactly the perfect outdoor escape I needed. I highly recommend to anyone seeking a day of adventure in Sonoma to look no further than Smart Tours. Additionally, the rates are very reasonable for what you receive (plus lunch!) and it starts earlier than other tours around so you have the rest of the afternoon and evening to do other things in Sonoma. Smart Tours is an A+. read more

Wonderful tour. Be sure and ask for Eric, he is so knowledgeable about the history of the area and the Redwoods. The hike is easy going and my 80 year old mother loved it! read more

The experience with Smart Tours was exceptional. We had a group of 9 ladies to do the Kayak tour and Eric and Tim took amazing care. We had an over and above experience on the tour and then the lunch they prepared and served was more beyond great. I would use them again and again. Thank you, Eric and Tim! The Dallas Ladies in CRE read more

I should have written this sooner as I booked a tour last Fall with Smart Tours and I had such a great experience. Erik was our guide for the day. He is friendly, knowledgeable and knew exactly the day we wanted to have. We started with a kayak tour in Jenner which was so fun with seals, birds and even river otters! We drove to Bodega Bay where Erik made a gourmet lunch feast for us at the beach. Plenty of fresh, organic food. We then proceeded to Freestone for a stop at Wild Flour Bakery, a must do. He brought us to Sebastopol to ride some amazing back roads that were so beautiful but quiet and no traffic. I would highly recommend this tour company! read more

My son and I booked a tour with Smart Tours and made a quick overnight trip up from the City. I booked the Dry Creek Valley bike tour because my son is an avid biker and it seemed like an out of the way area with hopefully less traffic since I haven't ridden a bike much lately. Our guide Eric was patient and very helpful with me. Seemed happy that I even wanted to explore the area by bike. Ended up having a wonderful time. It was probably a slower pace than my son really wanted but it was perfect for me. Sore legs the next day!! Eric was very knowledgeable about the area's history and the winemaking process. Lunch was incredible and so much more than I was expecting for a bike ride! When my sister comes into town this summer I think we will join Smart Tours again for kayaking at the coast. Seems like a great experience. Thanks Smart Tours! read more

Took my parents on the Russian River bike tour for their anniversary. The tour was great but the weather wasn't. I guess it's kind of my fault for booking a tour in March but 2 days before it was beautiful!! AGGHHH!!! Our guides Tim and Erik handled the misty rain wonderfully by being cheerful and encouraging. We could have rescheduled at no cost but my parents were only available this one day so we decided to go for it. We joined the other couple who booked and headed north towards Healdsburg with Erik leading the way and Tim following in a van in case one of us wanted to turn the tour into a nice dry van tour (which one of the other riders did) Nice rolling hills, a little hilly for mom sometimes but we had fun coasting down after working to get to the tops. Finished our 15 mile or so ride in the Dry Creek Valley and we all agreed if anything the rain made the day even more memorable. It never was too bad and it was even sunny and warm enough at the end to take the ponchos they gave us off. Our guides were great! We were driven back to my parents hotel in Healdsburg afterwards which was a nice touch even though we did not pay extra for it. read more

So happy to have found this wonderful little tour company! I was travelling solo in wine country looking for a unique experience and ended up on Smart Tours website. A quick email later I was all booked for a morning tidepool tour at the coast, something I never even considered as an option until I saw the tour offered on their website. You have to find the right morning because I guess the tides change times on a daily basis but I got lucky and was able to head out the very next day. I met my guide Tim at the charming town of Jenner and we drove a short ways down the road to the beach. Tim was kind and warmhearted and by the end of the day I felt like we were old friends. Boots, water , and snacks were provided and the boots were especially appreciated as my shoes would have been soaked otherwise. I had an incredible experience looking in the small pools of water at all the life bursting everywhere I looked. Tim was very informative and pointed out things I would have overlooked again and again. We spent about an hour looking around the rocks, took a small beach walk, and back to Jenner we went. Tim recommended other thing to do in the area and we hugged goodbye!! Thank you Smart Tours for giving me my very own tour when many other companies would not take just me. Nice to find a company that realizes that us singles want to do fun things too!!! read more