travel agency fort smith ar

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(479) 785-1800

[email protected], 4300 rogers avenue, suite 8 fort smith, arkansas 72903, get in touch.

Send us a message and we will take the time to get to know you so we can help you find your amazing adventure. You can also contact universal travel by stopping by our office, sending an email, or calling us today!

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Before You Go

Passport and visa information.

The Department of Homeland Security and TSA require your passport be valid for 6 months beyond your return date andhas at least two blank pages.

Some countries require additional blank passport pages.

Many countries require a visa in addition to a passport to enter and exit immigration.

To check country specific entry and exit requirements, please visit  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages.html

Universal Travel recommends  CIBT  for passport and visa processing

Trip Insurance

No matter how carefully planned, unforeseen events can cause you to cancel or leave your trip early.  We recommend our clients purchase trip insurance whenever they travel out of the country.  To learn more about the benefits or how to purchase travel insurance contact one of our luxury travel advisors.

Travel Insurance Waiver

If you decide not to purchase travel insurance, click below to submit a waiver.

INSURANCE WAIVER

MedJet is the premier global air medical transport and travel security membership program for travelers. Contact your Universal Travel advisor for more information.

Immunizations

We recommend that you visit your personal physician or a travel medicine specialist at least one month before international travel to get vaccines and medicines.

For the Center for Disease Control’s required and recommended immunizations by country, please visit  Center for Disease Control .

UNIVERSAL TRAVEL and the Ney family, can trace its origin back more than 140 years, to the family’s establishment of the Boston Store Dry Goods Company, in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1879. From its founding, the company grew to be one of the largest and most prestigious family-owned department store groups in the Southwest, with stores in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, and Louisiana, until selling its stores in the 80s and 90s and converting its resources to the luxury travel business.

Randy Ney, the current owner and president, opened the first Universal Travel as a small “department” in the Fort Smith Boston store in 1969 and the second two years later in the White House in Beaumont, Texas.

Our success is due in part to utilizing the skills in customer service Mr. Ney learned in the retail business to develop and expand our five-star luxury travel business. Universal Travel has now grown to achieve national recognition as one of the finest purveyors of bespoke, or luxury, travel in the country and has clients nationwide.

Our travel advisors have a passion for travel, ingenuity, and an uncompromising commitment to service. Over the fifty years in the travel industry, we have developed relationships all over the world that gives you confidence in working with us. And our dedication to excellence combined with our expertise and industry contacts ensures a superior travel experience time and again.

Expedition Cruising

January 2, 2019

River Cruising

February 25, 2019

Ocean Cruising

Private Jet Experiences

December 31, 2018

Train Journeys

Cultural Experiences

Hotels & Villas

Family / Multigenerational

OUR PARTNERS

World-wide buying power and supplier networks back Universal Travel’s world-class service. Our travel provider relationships give you the access, values and extra benefits you deserve.

Sample Back Title

OUR SPECIALISTS

As founder, owner and president of Universal Travel, Randolph Ney entered the travel industry in 1969 when his family’s store opened a travel agency department in their retail store. At a young age, Mr. Ney collected stamps from all over the world, and that combined with his interest in geography, generated an interest of seeing the world. Today, Randy enjoys traveling the world discovering new and exotic destinations, outstanding hotels, unforgettable guides, and favorite neighborhood restaurants and shops.

His most memorable travel experiences include traveling on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, visits to Amritsar and Varanasi in India, and spending the night in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Randy has extensive knowledge of most areas of the world including train journeys, East and Southern African safaris, India, Turkey, New Zealand, Antarctica, Morocco, Europe, and particularly educational, group and family experiences.

Kristie England

Kristie serves as Universal Travel’s general manager of the Beaumont and Houston, Texas offices. Kristie is a Certified Travel Consultant, Accredited Cruise Counselor, and she is honored to be an IC Bellagio Silver Ambassador.

Whether you’re seeking a private yacht, an expert guide in a faraway land, a wonderful family trip or that perfect weekend getaway, Kristie can seamlessly plan the perfect trip. Kristie’s extensive knowledge of the travel industry combined with her attention to detail and relationship with her clients ensures every trip is full of memories to last a lifetime.

While Kristie has been fortunate to experience many memorable trips, her unforgettable experiences include a hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara in Kenya, visiting the Vatican with a private guide, holding a koala bear in Australia, and an entrance to the Taj Mahal before the general public.

Jill Goldstein

Jill Goldstein serves as the manager of the Houston office. From her experience in luxury retail and the knowledge she gained from her educational background, Jill has outstanding attention to detail and commitment to customer service. Jill excelsin planning African safaris, trips to New Zealand, ocean cruising, multi-generational travel, group travel, and custom designed trips. And she was honored to be selected as a Virtuoso 2018 Rising Star Cruise Finalist.

Some highlights of her travels include Gorilla trekking in Uganda, wildlife safaris to East and South Africa, and enjoying the culture, food and wine Australia has to offer.

Lisa Daumann

With years of experience, Lisa is a professional advisor who can help you no matter wherever you wish to travel.  From multi-generational family vacations, to luxury cruises, each trip is approached from a new perspective. Furthermore, Lisa has traveled extensively, and can leverage her destination knowledge and strong industry relationships to design detailed itineraries full of rich experiences.

Some highlights of her travels include hot air ballooning in Cappadocia, bungee jumping in New Zealand, biking through Brittany France, touring Myanmar, and wildlife safaris to East and Southern Africa.

Margaret Larkin

Margaret began her travel adventures early in life, as she took many family trips growing up. After college, Margaret began her career in luxury travel at Neiman Marcus. Since starting her own family, Margaret has enjoyed family trips to Hawaii, Tanzania and South Africa being the most memorable.

Having visited many corners of the world either professionally or personally, Margaret is very familiar with the ins and outs of many destinations. Whether you are looking for an active adventure, escape to Europe, a trip of a lifetime to Africa or a beach getaway, Margaret can plan your unforgettable vacation.

Laurie Bourque

With over 30 years of experience, Laurie is an experienced advisor with extensive product and destination knowledge to help you plan your perfect getaway. Laurie is an Accredited Cruise Counselor, Certified Travel Associate, and a graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge.

Laurie enjoys planning ocean and river cruises, trips to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, and Italy, and memorable vacations for Honeymooners. One of her favorite trips was seeing the dramatic coastal scenery of the Cinque Terre and eating the delicious food Italy has to offer.

Lisa Anne Chapman

I engage with clients in a uniquely personal way. Learning of your personal interests, style and taste and wrapping this knowledge into curating unique travel experiences. Drawing from a lifetime of personal travel experiences, two decades of service as a luxury travel advisor, and a dedication to delivering evocative memories worthy of your coveted leisure time.

Texas born and Midwest raised my passion for travel started at a young age. Mapping out many road trips across the United States, researching interesting food and culture to explore when sailing the Caribbean, and figuring out the best route to walk around Disney World opposite the crowd. At twelve years old I spent a summer travelling through Europe with my mother. This introduction to the tantalizing variety of food, language, scenery, and hostory solidified my answer to the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question.

My most recent travels included stargazing in the Atacama Desert, Chile; exploring the Galapagos Archepeligo through the eyes of my 10-year-old son; meandering slowly along the coastal Scottish Highlands; delving into the ancient traditions and culinary mastery of the Basque Culture in Northern Spain; and excelling my golf game on the challenging courses of New Zealand.

I have enjoyed exploring this big and beautiful globe under the care and guidance of travel legends. It is a privilege to use this wisdom in assuring every client enjoys a seamless experience with complete trust and peace of mind.

Stefanie H. McIntosh

Stefanie's early career background was in Corporate Human Resources, which fed her love of working with people. After a 16 year hiatus from working in the corporate world to raise her family, she landed in the travel industry in 2016, and has since fallen in love with this as a full time career.

Stefanie loves the challenge of researching a destination to perfectly match her clients' travel wish lists. Her astute attention to detail and customer service shines with repeat, satisfied clients. The travel industry feeds Stefanie's passion to learn about our big, beautiful world, while allowing her to enjoy her love of working with and getting to know people.

Stefanie specializes in group travel, multi-generational family travel, and romantic vacations for couples. She is also a Certified Accessible Travel AdvoAdvocate, which helps her to plan smooth and enjoyable vacations for people with any type of special travel needs.

Sheila Berggren

Sheila took an eighteen-year break from her career in the energy industry to raise her family. Two years ago, she decided to get back into the working world and joined Universal Travel. Sheila has really enjoyed learning about the amazing and incredible world of luxury travel.

Brandie Hensley

“Better late than never.”

That saying can pertain to so many aspects of our life, whether it be a new career, new relationship, or a new travel destination.  After years of working as an Outside Sales Representative, I believe I have finally discovered my calling. I may be new to Universal Travel, but I am far from new to travel.  For me, a vacation is never merely just a vacation.  It is an ADVENTURE.  Travel has always been a vital part of my life. I have been blessed to have been able to create many travel adventures with my children as they were growing up.  Now that they are all grown and I have a new granddaughter, the fun is just beginning.

With the knowledge and skills that I have learned throughout my years of traveling, I am confident that I can assist you with your next travel adventure.

“It’s the not the Destination, It's the journey.”

Sarah Katherine Hoopes

Sarah Katherine has a B.S. in Marketing from LSU and spent her younger years working for companies such as Gatorade, Merck, Inc. and Coldwell Banker. As a young girl, she loved to travel, and that love turned into a passion as she grew older. After experiencing many trips across the world, and dealing with the new "Covid way of travel", Sarah Katherine realized that it was time to turn her passion into a career.

“I have very high expectations when it comes to luxury travel and I expect nothing less for my clients. I use personal connections and firsthand expertise to craft luxury trips, including unique experiences, special values, complimentary perks, VIP treatment and rare access.”

Favorite vacation moments include: Swimming with manta rays in Hanifaru Bay, in the Maldives, riding a camel on the beach in Oman, shopping in the souks of Dubai, seeing the great pyramids in Egypt, and sailing through the BVI on a catamaran.

Jordan Bumstead

Jordan has accumulated extensive experience abroad, thanks to regular family vacations and studying abroad in foreign countries. Having explored more than 35 countries across five continents enables her to create amazing journeys and share first-hand knowledge of distant lands with her clients.

Her most memorable travel experiences include snorkeling the shores of Mozambique, seeing the Pyramids and temples in Egypt, viewing the Great Barrier Reef from a seaplane, and petting lion cubs in Zambia.

Carole McFarland

At 18, Carole took a trip to Australia which awakened her love of travel, from flying, to seeing new and different places, and meeting people. With over 40 years in the industry, Carole still appreciates the diversity of travel - exploring new places, historical finds, wild animals or just relaxing.

Her most memorable experiences include taking a helicopter flight over the Kakadu National park in northern Australia, the first glimpse of Machu Picchu and the golden glow of Cuzco at night as the train descended the mountain; but truly every journey has left her with a memory to treasure.

Laura Madden

From childhood travels with family, to working with Delta Airlines as a flight attendant, Laura’s favorite places are where you get off the beaten path and get active. She has extensive knowledge of luxury hotels and airlines and is particularly adept at booking air.

BEFORE YOU GO

PASSPORT and visa information

The Department of Homeland Security and TSA require your passport be valid for 6 months beyond your return date andhas at least two blank pages.

Some countries require additional blank passport pages.

Many countries require a visa in addition to a passport to enter and exit immigration.

To check country specific entry and exit requirements, please visit  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages.html

Universal Travel recommends CIBT for passport and visa processing

TRIP INSURANCE

No matter how carefully planned, unforeseen events can cause you to cancel or leave your trip early.  We recommend our clients purchase trip insurance whenever they travel out of the country.  To learn more about the benefits or how to purchase travel insurance contact one of our luxury travel advisors.

TRAVEL INSURANCE WAIVER

If you decide not to purchase travel insurance, click below to submit a waiver.

INSURANCE WAIVER

MedJet is the premier global air medical transport and travel security membership program for travelers. Contact your Universal Travel advisor for more information.

IMMUNIZATIONS

We recommend that you visit your personal physician or a travel medicine specialist at least one month before international travel to get vaccines and medicines.

For the Center for Disease Control’s required and recommended immunizations by country, please visit  Center for Disease Control .

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Featured Tours

Featured cruises, certification.

In order to provide you with the best possible travel recommendation we have completed advanced training and are certified as:

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Fort Smith, AR Location

Charter bus service.

Village Travel transports customers in Fort Smith all over the country. While many of our motorcoaches are based in Fort Smith, we happily serve nearby communities including Fayetteville, Clarksville, Conway, Booneville, Sallisaw,  and more. Traveling across the state or across the country, we have you covered. Village Travel can go anywhere to accommodate your group travel needs.

Office: 479-478-9780

7517 S Zero Street Fort Smith, AR 72903

Monday-Friday 8am-5pm

The 24 things everybody should do at least once in Fort Smith, according to Tripadvisor ratings

Posted: April 28, 2024 | Last updated: April 28, 2024

Highest-rated things to do in Fort Smith, according to Tripadvisor

Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated things to do in Fort Smith on Tripadvisor . Tripadvisor rankings factor in the average rating and number of reviews.

#24. Fort Smith National Historic Site

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (623) - Type of activity: Historic Sites - Address: 301 Parker Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901-1938 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#23. Miss Laura's Visitor Center

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (183) - Type of activity: Visitor Centers - Address: 2 N B St, Fort Smith, AR 72901-1126 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#22. Fort Smith National Cemetery

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (165) - Type of activity: Cemeteries - Address: 522 Garland Avenue and South 6th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#21. Parrot Island Waterpark

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (69) - Type of activity: Water Parks - Address: 7300 S Zero St, Fort Smith, AR 72903 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#20. Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (64) - Type of activity: Visitor Centers - Address: 8300 Wells Lake Rd, Fort Smith, AR 72916-8849 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#19. Fort Smith Museum of History

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (135) - Type of activity: History Museums - Address: 320 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901-1937 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#18. Fort Smith Brewing Company

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (13) - Type of activity: Breweries - Address: 7500 Fort Chaffee Blvd, Fort Smith, AR 72916-6086 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#17. St Scholastica Monastery

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (17) - Type of activity: Points of Interest & Landmarks - Address: 1315 S Albert Pike Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72903-2411 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#16. Fort Smith Regional Art Museum

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (12) - Type of activity: Art Museums - Address: 1601 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901-3826 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#15. Fort Smith Trolley Museum

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (116) - Type of activity: Speciality Museums - Address: 100 S 4th St, Fort Smith, AR 72901-1947 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#14. Creekmore Park

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (17) - Type of activity: Parks • Playgrounds - Address: not available - Read more on Tripadvisor

#13. Fort Smith Farmer's Market

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (12) - Type of activity: Farmers Markets - Address: not available - Read more on Tripadvisor

#12. Michael's Mansion Art Gallery

- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (5) - Type of activity: Art Galleries - Address: 2900 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901-4230 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#11. The Clayton House

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (30) - Type of activity: Points of Interest & Landmarks • History Museums - Address: 514 N 6th St, Fort Smith, AR 72901-2006 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#10. The Park at West End

- Rating: 3.5 / 5 (22) - Type of activity: Parks - Address: not available - Read more on Tripadvisor

#9. Chaffee Barbershop Museum

- Rating: 3.5 / 5 (32) - Type of activity: Speciality Museums - Address: 7313 Terry St, Fort Smith, AR 72916-6090 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#8. Fort Smith Convention Center

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (5) - Type of activity: Convention Centers - Address: 55 S 7th St, Fort Smith, AR 72901-2406 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#7. Central Mall

- Rating: 3.5 / 5 (10) - Type of activity: Shopping Malls - Address: 5111 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72903-2047 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#6. Riverfront Park Events Building

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2) - Type of activity: Convention Centers - Address: 121 Riverfront Drive, Fort Smith, AR 72901 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#5. The Shops at BrickCity

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2) - Type of activity: Shopping Malls - Address: 3215 S 74th St, Fort Smith, AR 72903-5021 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#4. Cisterna Park

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (3) - Type of activity: Parks - Address: 1001 Garrison Ave North 10th Street & Garrison Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901-2612 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#3. The Sound Room

- Rating: 4.0 / 5 (2) - Type of activity: Theaters - Address: 817 Garrison Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901-2608 - Read more on Tripadvisor

#2. Massard Prairie Battlefield Park

- Rating: 3.0 / 5 (14) - Type of activity: Battlefields - Address: not available - Read more on Tripadvisor

#1. Temple Live

- Rating: 3.5 / 5 (4) - Type of activity: Theaters - Address: 200 N 11th St, Fort Smith, AR 72901-2711 - Read more on Tripadvisor

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