Best Of
Re: Hidden Greece. Spring 2026
Fellow Tauckers. From the OP. My intention about wash cloths was simple with no hidden agenda. If you want a wash cloth then pack it.
Re: Package from Tauck
On our Dec 2023 holiday tour, one of the directors approached me saying she had overheard my husband telling another guest that he would no longer be traveling long distances (too difficult now). I thought nothing of it and had a lovely chat with her. About two months after returning home, my husband received a beautiful card signed by multiple Tauck employees thanking him for his years of travel and wishing him well in his "retirement." Along with the card, he received a beautiful ceramic container with lid made by Tiffany--blue box and all. It has the Tauck logo and a map of the world. It's just another example of the incredible graciousness and class of Tauck.
kfnknfzk
Re: cigars
British,
I only asked the question because I have never been on a Tauck river cruise and I thought it might have been possible that Tauck had figured out a way to accommodate one who might wish to enjoy a cigar without negatively impacting others on the ship. (Perhaps while underway at the rear of the ship??) I would never wish to impose on other passengers who choose not to be around cigar smoke.
I would find that nearly as rude and unappealing as leaving a snide comment to a legitimate question on a travel forum.
Re: Is this trip worth the price that Tauck demands?
I’ll offer some insight into hotels in Scandinavia (I have dual citizenship and have a family cottage in Denmark.)
The best advice I can offer is to have an open mind. If you go there with the notion of what “should be” based on American standards, you might be disappointed.
Most hotels in the large cities were not built as hotels. They typically are municipal buildings retrofitted into hotels. As such, rooms are small and lighting is not always modern. Whether a home, apartment, inn or hotel, Scandinavians take a minimalist approach to design with clean, simple lines. Efficiency is more important than luxury. The rooms are clean, however.
Sadly, many people think Scandinavians are unfriendly. Making an attempt to understand their culture will give you a more accurate understanding of their personalities. They are reserved and really do not take well to idle “chit chat” with strangers. It is considered rude to ask personal questions of someone you do not know. They are typically very direct and succinct in their conversations. This is especially true in the service industry. Their job is to provide a service, not to befriend you. The Danes especially like their personal space and some are not very tolerant of people encroaching upon their space. They will tolerate it but you might be glared at if you don’t back off.
I admit to being biased but Scandinavia is a fabulous region to visit. All three countries are very different insofar as topography but share many norms and cultural aspects.
Finally. for those who have visited Karen Blixen’s plantation in Africa, her childhood home and museum is just a short train ride north of København. She—birth name Karen Christenze Dinesen—returned home after leaving Africa and is buried in a beautiful garden setting in the adjacent park.
kfnknfzk
South Africa: An Elegant Adventure
I'm happy to share our experience traveling with Tauck for the first time. The itinerary was outstanding, and we had a really wonderful time overall. A big part of that was our tour director, Mitchel Bloem, who was simply excellent — easy to get along with and great at keeping the whole group going.
The hotels were great as well. The one in Cape Town was very nice and well located, and the meals throughout were good. The motor coach we took on our tours was comfortable, and both the driver and our tour guide were wonderful. She did a terrific job adapting and overcoming when the rain forced us to change the itinerary a couple of times. Both of them deserve real credit for how smoothly they handled those changes.
From there, we headed to Kruger National Park and stayed at Lion Sands lodge. Our accommodations were very nice and spotlessly clean, and the food was good. We went out on safari tours with our driver, Briggs, who did a great job tracking down the wildlife — we ended up seeing four of the Big Five.
Then we moved on to Sabi Sabi lodge, where the accommodations were again excellent. We had a wonderful time, the food was great, and our driver there (whose name I unfortunately don't recall) was very good and personable. That's where we spotted the fifth animal to complete the Big Five — but it wasn't just the Big Five we saw. We came across many, many wild animals, and it was incredible. We captured lots of video and photos, most of which we shared with our group, and they were impressed — and I'm not even much of a photographer!
From there, we went to Johannesburg and stayed at the Fairlawns Boutique Hotel and Spa. I'll be honest — out of all our accommodations, this one fell short. In my opinion it wasn't a five-star or even a four-star property; it really wasn't that nice. That said, we still had a good time there. We visited the Nelson Mandela museum and took a tour around the city, which was very nice, and the food was good. Our city tour guide was excellent. The guide who led us through the museum was knowledgeable, though a bit talkative for my taste — we ended up stepping away, not because of her, but because my back stiffens up when I stand in one place for too long.
From there, we journeyed up to the Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe. Wow — I hardly know what to say. It was fantastic. We had a great time, the tours were excellent, and that helicopter flight was a 10-out-of-10-plus.
That was about it for the trip itself, and the journey home was an experience too — but mostly I want to talk about what our tour director did for us.
The Friday before our Tuesday departure, we were notified that our flight from Victoria Falls back to Johannesburg would likely make us miss our connecting flight on Turkish Airlines. We panicked — we were stressed about it here in the US even before we left. I ended up paying for a service to meet us at the airport, and they did exactly that: someone met us right as we got off the plane, walked us through everything, used their own back channels to move us through quickly, and took us straight to our gate.
But as soon as we arrived, we explained to Mitchel that we didn't understand why we couldn't get on an earlier flight back to Johannesburg to avoid all this stress. He said, "No problem — let me call my person at the airline. Don't you worry about it; I'll see if I can get you on an earlier flight, and I'm confident I can." Then, around the third day, he told us, "I got you on an earlier flight." What a relief! We still had that meet-and-greet service, so I let them know about the change, and that gentleman was super — he took us right through. But it was all because of Mitchel. If it weren't for him and what he did for us, we might have been in a lot of trouble.
I'll be taking another Tauck tour very soon — I've already booked a river cruise from Prague to Paris in late April/early May, and I'm very much looking forward to touring with Tauck again.
If I had one piece of advice for Tauck, it would be this: do not let Mitchel get away from your company!
Great trip!
We just returned from our Toronto to Chicago cruise and had a great time. Here are a few tips. First, if you can manage the upgrade to the Four Seasons in Toronto, do it, because the Toronto Fairmont is not up to the hotel's usual high standards. The rooms are very small, the breakfast offerings were mediocre, and the coffee was really bad. Second, opt for the Dune Buggy excursion at Muskegon. The highlight of that excursion is not actually the dune buggy ride (nice, but tame) but instead the visit to Pleasant Valley winery nearby for wine tasting and lunch. What a beautiful little place! Third, opt for the Art Institute tour in Chicago (where the Fairmont was much more up to expectations). The Millennium Park walking tour is superfluous since your hotel is literally across the street from the park. Fourth, if you were excited about the prospect of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, temper your expectations. I am a huge rock fan, but I was frankly disappointed in what the museum had to offer--mostly just collections of guitars and clothing worn by famous artists. Finally, be prepared for Detroit to surprise you in a good way! A beautiful downtown area awaits, and the excursion to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village was superb. Oh, and the Ponant ship that you sail on? It is absolutely fantastic all around--cabins, public spaces, food, bar, and service all top-notch. We would sail again on Le Champlain in a heartbeat. It never felt crowded with just 180 guests aboard. The five tour directors did excellent work overall. High marks to Tauck for this trip!
Re: Trip Review - Canadian Maritimes
We just returned from the Canadian Maritimes and since there are reviews posted already, I will just add some comments. I agree with what has been said about the hotels - they were Ok, but nothing special. I think they were probably chosen for their location which is definitely an important consideration. We enjoyed walking the grounds at the Keltic Lodge and watching the lobster boats set their traps (sorry the one picture isn't oriented correctly).
There are lots of opportunities to eat fish, and lobster two days in a row was probably not the best planning (lobster boat excursion and a lobster supper the next day). There are many other fish choices as well as entrees for people who would like something other than fish. Our best meal was at the Windjammer in Moncton. In addition to our entrees, we had Caesar salad prepared table-side and a flambé strawberry dessert.
The excursions were generally good. We enjoyed Pier 21 in Halifax. It is presented in a sequence that the immigrants of the time would have experienced. Our sons (adopted from Korea) went through an immigration and naturalization process in the US so perhaps we could more easily relate to some of the experiences the local guide described. We also enjoyed the Halifax Public Gardens - we had gone there on our own but also stopped near them on the tour.
The Hopewell Rocks was a highlight for me. Before we walked on the sea floor at low tide, our local guide showed us time-lapse video of the change in tides.
Probably the biggest excursion disappointment was the walking tour of Lunenburg and it was due entirely to the weather. It absolutely poured about 10 minutes into the hour-long walking tour. My husband and I shared an umbrella but we each needed our own. Even with my jacket, I ended up soaked. There was supposed to be a second option according to the "green book" which was a fisheries museum (an inside experience that would have been much better given the weather) but it was not offered by the TD. After the walking tour, we had lunch and then went to the museum on our own and wandered around until it was time to return to the bus.
There are some early mornings and a couple of long bus rides - but we had frequent breaks, and our TD had lots of information she shared as well as some videos. On Day 7, the ferry we were supposed to take had mechanical problems so it was not an option for us which made the bus ride longer.
I think Ken from Vegas described the overall trip well when he said It was a pleasant tour but not spectacular. I am sure the weather colored some of my impressions. We had never been to this part of Canada before and much of the scenery was beautiful. And we travelled with a great group - so yes, we enjoyed the tour and are glad we went.
cvc
Re: July 8, 2026
JAKBLK - To further whet your appetite, here's a highlights version of some of the animals that you'll see on this tour (photos taken during our recently completed - April tour):
Re: The Best of Ireland
PatW, you may find that you love to have free to explore and linger at your own pace. I find that some built in free time even on river cruises make the adventure more memorable. Some times I wish that I had more time to really appreciate the local rather than being herded in one direction or the other. We have taken several small group tours we always find a couple or two who want to join us for non scheduled activities. The great thing about land tours is you have the opportunity to stay in town after the day trippers and cruise lines have left. Enjoy your trip. May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and the road downhill all the way to your door.
Ben
Re: Great Migration Trip Report
Sealord, you nailed it. On my first trip to Africa in 2014, I spent a few days in Amsterdam en route. Leaving the hotel for our flight to Nairobi the young bellman loaded our luggage into the cab and wished us a safe flight home. When I told him we weren’t going home but to Africa instead, he replied without skipping a beat, ”but isn’t Africa home to all of us?”. My inner cynic thinks that he must say that to everyone as the Ambassade in Amsterdam is a favorite stop before going on safari, but at the time I was charmed and remain so. You have probably visited the Olduvai Gorge in your travels. Looking forward to my fifth trip to my favorite continent this spring. As Hemingway said, “there was not a day in Africa that I didn’t wake up happy”. Happy and safe travels to you and your wife.
