What's Next? - Page 2

judy0330 · ‎01-03-2011

@World Traveler I'm sorry -- I thought you had used Tauck. As I have said to friends who have the same questions -- it really depends on what is important to you. For example -- some people regard the hotels as just a place to sleep. I love great hotels -- and with Tauck you will stay in some of the best in the world. The view from our hotel room in Paris was the Eiffel Tower -- in Moscow St. Basil's Cathedral -- we stayed right in the park when we went to Iguazu Falls and had a view of the falls -- etc. -- etc. That is one major difference between Tauck and many other tour companies. Another is the food. Unlike many companies -- with Tauck you rarely -- other than some lunches -- eat as a group. When a dinner is included -- it is at a restaurant and you can choose the time and the people you would like to eat with -- and order off the menu. In terms of touring -- yes there are things Tauck does that other companies do not. For example -- to avoid the crowds -- we went to The Hermitage before it opened and to the Sistine Chapel after it closed. A much better use of time. We went to Stalin's Bunker near Moscow -- and Tauck was the only tour company who was given access. (I don't know why -- but that is no longer included in their tours.) Similar to what you said about your experience with Micato -- a friend went to Africa with Tauck and when she returned to her room after dinner -- her name was spelled out on her bed in rose petals. (It was a Four Seasons.) When we checked into our room at a beautiful hotel in Buenos Aires -- there was a bottle of wine and lovely chocolates -- courtesy of Tauck. Little things like that can't help but enhance the enjoyment of a trip.

Yes -- Tauck is expensive -- especially given that their prices do not include airfare. Several times I have thought about doing one of their trips on our own and when I calculated the price I couldn't touch it for what they charge. Obviously they get great rates at the hotels that individuals cannot. Their insurance is expensive -- BUT allows you to cancel at any time and for any reason. No questions asked. I have friends who have compared Tauck's cruises -- which at first glance appear to be much more expensive -- but when they got into the details they found that all gratuities are included -- as are all tours -- as well as other extras. So there are no surprises and you are not nickled and dimed once you get on the ship.

Sometimes I feel like Tauck has become almost a cult (in a good way) and they have many clients who have taken an incredible number of trips with them. (My aunt and uncle took 30 before becoming too old to travel.) While my husband and I think that they are a wonderful company -- we do not believe that they are infallible -- as many of their clients seem to The prices of some of their trips are getting ridiculous -- keep going up every year -- and still often fill up more than a year in advance. As I said -- we used a different company for our Croatia trip. It was recommended by several friends and just did not live up to what we have gotten used to. (My favorite was at one of the hotels I had to pay 5 Euros for an extra bath towel. That has never happened to us -- or to anybody on our tour -- anywhere in the world.)

Again -- I think it is all about what matters to each individual traveler. I will say that Tauck has an incredible amount of clout in the industry. All of our tour guides have been excellent -- as have all of the local guides. (I can actually say the same thing about our Croatia tour guides but I think it is more likely that we lucked out. Their tour directors are contracted -- whereas Tauck's are employees.)

I hope this answers your questions. If there is anything else you would like to know -- feel free to ask! Do you have a favorite company you travel with?

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

No, when my husband was alive we did a lot of traveling all over Europe for a month at a time. We'd often go to Canada, California and Florida and so on.

If I go anywhere it will be to visit my daughters. One in Florida and the other in Denver. I spent a week at Thanksgiving in Denver with the youngest daughter.

proudlyfromNJ · ‎05-01-2010

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:
No, when my husband was alive we did a lot of traveling all over Europe for a month at a time. We'd often go to Canada, California and Florida and so on.

If I go anywhere it will be to visit my daughters. One in Florida and the other in Denver. I spent a week at Thanksgiving in Denver with the youngest daughter.

@Annabellethecat66. That's what we want to do, stay in one European area for a month at a time until we really get to know it. Italy for a month then France, Spain, Norway,Sweden,Denmark etc. At the moment we can't leave our cats so it will have to wait. I have already traveled extensively, but husband has not and wants to keep jumping on planes.
I think it best to go for an extended period of time. Glad you were able to keep traveling for months at a time while you were young. That's the time to do it.

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

All the places on my "to-do" list are now war zones

♥Surface of the Sun♥

qualitygal · ‎10-04-2010

@World Traveler, What a great dad you had, sorry he's gone, but what wonderful memories he's left you with.

World Traveler · ‎02-02-2015

@judy0330 Oh, WOW! Yes, I can see why Tauck is highly thought of. Those kind of extra things they do for you can really make a difference when going down memory lane with the various trips one has taken. Like the gift on my pillow each night, those type of things just stay in the mind and bring a smile to the face. So I do get your love of Tauck.

You asked who I use. The last 13 trips I have taken have been with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) or their parent company, Grand Circle Tours (GCT). My sister and I came across them quite by accident when we were researching a trip to Costa Rica in 2008. We got a lot of brochures and printed out a lot of stuff from the Internet.

Up until that point in time, we had been using a travel agent who our father used for years and years. When he died, we just kept using her out of habit. When we saw the Costa Rica trip by OAT, we liked the itinerary so much and felt we got more for the money than other companies were giving us.

So we called our travel agent and told her we wanted to book the OAT trip. She kept hemming and hawing, trying to switch us to a different company; we couldn't understand why. After all, the price was better (would she make less commission?) and the included activities were more than other companies. What gives? Had she heard bad things about them?

She finally broke down and told us that OAT and GCT do NOT work thru travel agencies; they work directly with the client, thus the lower price. Oh, well now we got it. She would not make any money off us if we used OAT. We persevered and went with OAT and have never looked back. We have not used her since, just these two companies.

Every once in a while she sends us a brochure with a little note indicating that it would "help keep the doors open" if we took a trip with her once in a while. Business must be bad for travel agents now days. There are so many options on the Internet. Feel badly for them, because they did once provide a great service.

Quite frankly, both OAT/GCT make it so, so easy to travel with them. They do everything, including the airfare, and one only needs to pay the money, show up at the airport, and the rest is all on auto pilot! ha! We joke about how once they take us back to the airport, we have to start thinking for ourselves, figuring out what to do without someone having already planned everything out for us. LOL!

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

I have a bucket list of places that I want to visit.

In the past, I looked on line to see what kind of a deal I could find when we were ready to travel. When I found a good price to a place on our bucket list, I booked it.

Since I was a child there were two places I said I needed to visit before I died ...Greece and China. I was fortunate to have been able to visit both countries.

Now that we are retired, we have two little dogs. I do not have anyone to keep them while we travel, so we can only go to places where they can come along, so foreign travel is on hold.

I have been to most of the places listed on this forum on other people’s bucket list. I love to travel and always have. Home is where as happen to be at the time. My father used to call me a gypsy because I was always going somewhere.

judy0330 · ‎01-03-2011

@World Traveler I know a couple who use GCT and have also been very happy with them. You are so right about travel agents. For so many trips now it is just as easy to do the reservation yourself. I totally understand what you said about the end of a trip when you are back to fending for yourself. Not to meniton the first breakfast at home. Somehow my little bowl of oatmeal doesn't quite measure up to the breakfasts I had quickly become accustomed to!!!!!!

SANNA · ‎04-23-2010

We were planning to visit Madrid and the south of Spain, but now since in August is my cousins big birthday in Germany we probably will switch to Prague and Budapest after 3 days in Germany.