Best Of
The Best Of Ireland - Small Group
9/6 – Arrived at the College Green Hotel in Dublin around 10 AM and to my surprise they had my room ready, beautiful room overlooking the Atrium.
I unpacked for the few days stay, had a cup of tea and walked to Christchurch for which I had bought a ticket; it has the Magna Carta written in 1215, among many other interesting items like a mummified cat and rat found inside an organ when it was refurbished.
After afternoon tea I walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a Bon Jovi music concert for which I had purchased tickets.
9/7 – After breakfast which was excellent, I walked to Trinity University to see the Book of Kells and the library, both amazing (Tauck did not include) I was very lucky as I was the only one in the room with the book, suggest going early.
Walked to the Epic Immigration Museum, very well done and very interesting, walked back to the hotel and attended the Welcome dinner, the food was ok.
9/8 – First day of the tour, we visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Dublin Castle after which I stayed in town to visit the Chester Beatty Museum, all worth visiting. With a free night, I joined another traveler and we went to a dinner and Irish music show at the Irish House Party, surprisingly the food was good and the music and dancing excellent.
9/9 – Drove to Belfast and visited The Titanic Museum (very touching), then we took a bus tour of Belfast, arrived at The Merchant Hotel which was very nice, I have to say that for the first time in all my tours all the hotel rooms I had were excellent including the Bridal Suite at the Old Grounds Hotel.😁
We had a 5 course dinner at the hotel fashioned after the meals served to 1st class passengers in the Titanic, food was excellent.
9/10 – Drove to the countryside, with stops along the way for photo ops. Had lunch at Bushmill Inn with sticky toffee pudding for dessert and continued to Giant’s Causeway, spectacular views. Dinner on our own went to the Cloth Ear Pub, good Irish food.
9/11 – Drove to Derry with many murals depicting “the troubles”, we visited the Ulster American Folk Park which depicts life in the 1800’s, very interesting and the boat who carried 40% of immigrants to the US. Arrived at Lough Eske Castle, dinner at the hotel.
9/12 – There were 2 options drive to Donegal to visit the Bellek factory or stay at the hotel, I opted to visit the factory, beautiful porcelain after which we visited Donegal Castle.
9/13 – Long day on the bus but the scenery made up for it.
Visited Drumcliffe Monastery site with the High Cross from 547 AD and where W. B. Yeats is buried, had a scone and tea at the Yates Country Inn and continued to Connemara to visit Kylemore Abbey and gorgeous walled garden. Arrived at Ashford Castle welcomed by a gentleman playing the pipe.
Had dinner at Cullin’s at the Cottage located in the castle grounds. Have to say I never had a bad dinner, lunch or breaksfast on this tour.
9/14 – Slow day, I went to a wine tasting and a boat ride which was disappointing as it was supposed to dock at an island where it is said that St, Patrick is buried but because of bad weather all we did was go around the lake.
I went for a walk to town (Cong) where the film The Quiet Man was filmed, very small quaint town Dinner at George V tonight.
9/15 – Drove to Galway where there is a memorial to President Kennedy, visited Lynd’s Castle, walked around town and as a group we went to Fitzgerald’s Bar where we made Irish coffee.
We continued on the bus to the Cliffs of Moher, spectacular views 60 miles per hour wind, rain on and off but it worth it. Arrived at the Old Ground Hotel, had dinner with Irish music entertainment.
9/16 – Drove to Molanna to visit a dairy farm where we also had lunch, turkey, homemade potato salad and coleslaw, from there we drove to Killarney and went on a horse and buggy ride through Killarney National Park. Dinner at Rozzer’s in the Chateau Potelle as a group. Staying at Aghadoe Heights Hotel.
9/17- Drove around the Ring of Kerry a very scenic drive, stopped for Irish coffee and a demonstration of how a collie (beautiful dog) manages the sheep.
We stopped for another awesome view of the Ocean and a statute of the virgin Mary, had lunch at Adam’s Kitchen and views of the 3 lakes of Killarney, did not go to dinner as the bus ride upset my stomach.
9/18 – Driving to Kilkenny today, stopped in Middleton for a tour of Jameson’s factory and a whiskey tasting.
Had lunch at The Park Hotel and visited Jerpoint Abbey a medieval Cistercian Abbey with Romanesque to Gothic Architecture founded in the 12th Century, it’s been declared a National Monument, with the tombs of many past Bishops. Arrived at Lyrath State Hotel and Spa.
9/19 – We toured Kilkenny and visited Candice Church, free time to walk around town and after we visited Kilkenny Castle. We returned to the hotel and had a lesson on falconry for me one of the best if not the best highlight of the tour. Got ready for our farewell dinner.
Our tour director was Noelle Kierse, born in Ireland, one the best tour directors I’ve had, she was sensitive, informative, communicated by email prior to the tour and was always available to help. Quite a few people were sick on the trip with a stomach flu and she hired a van which took them directly to the hotel one day.
Not counting the GOT day all dinners were included except for 2.
Romantic Capitals: Paris to Prague (Extra)
My other two posts about this trip were general information. For those who are interested, here's my account of my personal highlight:
One of our earliest stops was in Koblenz. I had taken some photos of the big monument at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine Rivers. It started to rain, so I pulled my umbrella out of my pocket. A few minutes later, I attempted to take another photo, but did not have my phone. I realized that it must have dropped out of my pocket when I was busy raising my umbrella. I walked back to where I had last taken a photo and looked all around, but the phone was not there. I was resigned to the fact that I had lost the phone, but determined that I was not going to let it ruin my trip. (Really!!)
Back on the riverboat, I approached Katalin, one of the TDs, and asked for her assistance in putting the connection to the daily schedule on my iPad mini, since I no longer had my phone. She sprang into action! She was able to see where my phone was located by using an app on my iPad, and noticed that it was moving. By that time, Sofie and Kristyna had joined us. Katalin called my phone on her phone, and a man answered. Sophie got on the phone and asked whether he preferred to speak in German or English, and when he said "English," she gave the phone back to Katalin, who told him that one of the TD, Elwira, was still on land, and near him. One of the TDs called Elwira, who then called my phone, spoke to the man, and arranged to meet him. She did meet him, and retrieved my phone. I still cannot believe how fortunate I was that it all worked out so well, thanks to the dedication of the Tauck team. Katalin later gave me a lanyard for my phone -- obviously, she didn't want to have to have through that experience again!
Re: Tauck - it's time to bring back the SPAM flag!
...and delete the ones that get posted.
Re: Our Last Tauck Trip....
BKMD - Counting visits and posts is not relevant or fair. This is a public forum, people have different personalities and interests. Your sarcasm is mean.
Re: Our Last Tauck Trip....
I understand why someone would post about a negative experience, especially if they felt that their complaints were not addressed by the regular chain of management.
Re: what gifts have you received from Tauck this year?
I would like a 5% - 10% off these trips as a seasoned Tauck traveler, instead of the gifts that get stored, re-gifted or never used. Again, I am not unappreciative; just very practical.
Aegean Voyage, Athens to Istanbul, October, 2025
Just back from this splendid trip. For details refer to a very fine comprehensive review by LotusGirl, May 2025. She traveled in the opposite direction but her experiences, for the most part mirrored ours.
As per her experiences a WhatsApp group was set up by the TD’s (there were two) a few weeks before the trip. Tauck solicited our choice of itineraries where there were choices but our TD’s allowed us to change them in real time.
Athens: The Hotel Grand Bretagne was over the top. Our room was large by European standards, perhaps because we requested a bathtub through our TA. Breakfast overlooking the Acropolis was terrific. The only snafu was our visit to the Archeological Museum. This involved an hour wait in line. I don’t think Tauck could have done much about this and a few folks opted out. We visited, again, the Bernaki museum in our free time. A great museum if you love antiquities.
Windstar, Star Legend: we booked a deluxe suite and we were glad to have the extra room. We loved this ship, our first small ship and Windstar experience. The staff knew our name by day two. We enjoyed the main dining and Cuadro 44 where we dined twice (that is being replaced by an Asian themed restaurant). We dined once at Candles and they served a knockout veal chop. But our other choices were just so-so. Unlike LotusGirl we were able to transit the Corinth Canal. Even though that was our singular rainy day it was a great adventure!
Istanbul: the Hotel Intercontinental is fine. Our room was very large, had a great view of the Bosphorous, but was severely lacking in electrical receptacles and water pressure. The breakfast buffet is legendary. We dined one night in their rooftop restaurant and had a fresh fish which was off menu. One of the best meals of the trip.
Overall this was a trip we will long remember. It is very heavy in visits to archeological sites, so if that is not your thing, skip this one. You need shoes with good traction (we wore Hokas) and a walking stick helps. Marble and stone are slippery even when dry and there are many, many steps some of which are steep without adequate handrails. I would strongly discourage anyone who is mobility challenged to book this tour. We had several folks tumble, one serious fall requiring sutures.
This is a decidedly non-detailed review. Feel free to message me with any specific questions.
Edited to add: we flew Turkish Airlines, SFO to Istanbul connecting to Athens. I was concerned about a 90 minute connection. Even though the gate was quite a distance, we made it without a problem. The business class seats were very nice and the food was excellent. The business lounge at Istanbul is worth some extra time and bring an appetite.
A review 2025–Highly recommend
The last reviews I found of the Grand Alaska tour were old so I’d like to give you an updated one. First off, I heard that Tauck may be leaving its Princess partnership which I believe is an upgrade, not a negative. But if they don’t this review will work for you also. I am still on the Grand Alaska tour, returning and ending in Vancouver tomorrow August 23, 2025.
Do not hesitate to join Tauck on an Alaska or any other tour. Yes, the dollars seem higher but the value is actually there. Why? No horrible lines of people, better/faster transportation, healthier travel in a smaller group, personalized travel (almost like an individual tour), mostly all inclusive except Tour Director and Driver tips which they totally deserve!! For example, Tauck took us on a ferry from our lodge location to the cruise port. We were there by 4 pm. The masses arrived by train and bus about 5 pm. Our luggage was in our room when we got through Security and we were unpacked and having our first cocktail as we watched the others arrive. This happened in several locations.
On the cruise I’ve spent about $100 of the $150 credited to me by Tauck. Again…why? Because Tauck has two happy hours where drinks and appetizers are provided AND includes two of the specialty restaurants. If you are a huge drinker or specialty coffee or soda drinker, consider a beverage package using your $150 credit. You can even gamble in the casino with the credit.
In all, I’ve pulled my credit card or cash out only a few times. On shore for souvenirs and to tip really really good tour guides.
Ali M. is our guide and works nonstop to make our travel stress-free. Hard to do with 39 discerning, diverse travelers. Ali is one of the reasons our group has travelers who have been on 5 to 14 Tauck trips. I have another planned already.
Lastly, my point of this review is to ask you NOT to look at just the dollar difference on a trip. Closely consider the comfort, included activities and expertise behind the company with whom you are traveling.
Thanks for listening…I’m off to enjoy another Tauck happy hour along with my great fellow Tauck travelers! Until my next trip….
Video Compilation of our TAUCK Italy Tour - May 2025!
I wanted to share our TAUCK Tour of Italy that we did this past May 2025! Please click on the link to view a compilation video of our journey. We toured Venice, Florence, Tuscany, and Rome for our 20th Anniversary. It was an unforgettable experience that we will never forget!



https://youtu.be/LGpLbUTqJQ8