Best Of

We just returned from this tour. This was our second Tauck tour and our first US tour with anyone. We have lived on the left coast for decades but NM was our least explored state. We thought this would be a good and relatively easy way to see the highlights, and we were right. A fellow once told me at this age (mid 70’s) there are three types of people: the go-go’s, the slow go’s and the no go’s. We like to think we are among the first group and there were mostly kindred spirits in our group. But, there were a few of the slows and at least one gentleman transitioning into the last group. He kept up mostly, but held up the bus on at least one occasion when he missed the boarding time.

We enjoyed this tour. But, I don’t see any tours posted for 2025 and 2024 dates are mostly available. One artist we met told us this tour was being eliminated. So, all this may be moot. But here goes:

We flew into Albuquerque a day early. From where we live it’s a short hop on Southwest. We had requested rooms with a tub and our TA verified this with Tauck twice. When we arrived the Hotel Albuquerque had no record of that and no such availability. Our room was shower only and very dark. The hotels on this tour are owned by one company, Heritage, and the lack of lighting in the room was a constant. The toiletries were good quality and were the same in each hotel. Hotel Albuquerque put an $850 charged on my card. When I went back to the desk they admitted it was a mistake but nobody had the authority to remove it. Each trip resulted in similar answers ands I needed to see a specific supervisor who was either 1) in a meeting, 2) on a meal break, 3) out for the remainder of the day. Took my TA calling Tauck and then it was solved. Since we were on our own we explored Old Town and had dinner at Campo at Los Poblanos. This was a 15 minute Uber from the hotel. It’s a lavender farm with a really nice outdoor seating area. There was a peacock in full bloom for entertainment. The meal was one of our favorites. The meals on our own, overall, were much better than the group meals.

We visited the Albuquerque Museum the next day, worthwhile and not on the tour. My wife had a spa treatment at The Hotel Chaco. We met our terrific TD, Gideon that evening and he said he’d be sure and take care of the bathtub request going forward and he did. There were 26 on the tour and this was supposedly a small group. The Hotel Chaco next door is owned by the same company, appeared much nicer and I recall reading the small groups stayed there. Guess not. We met our fellow tourists and had a mediocre meal. (Same for breakfast at this hotel)

The next day we took a coach tour of Albuquerque. Our TD is a native so he had many insights. We visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science. This was a very good museum and we had an excellent docent. Later we visited a Native American cultural center. Another great docent. I bought a copper bracelet from a craftsmen. Still waiting for my arthritis to go away. Dinner was at the Sawmill a food courts next door. We had vouchers and enjoyed it although it’s overrun with teens. We delayed returning to teh hotel as our TD told us there would be a noisy wedding. Man, was he right! The band was about 30 feet from our balcony. Earplugs helped some and fortunately they quit earlier that we expected.

Day 3 we left Albuquerque en route to Taos. We made stops at several sites including the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi at Bandelier Nat’l Monument. We lunched at Rancho de Chamayo. This place draws quite a crowd. Our menu had no prices and looking around, our plates were much smaller than other patrons. Many of us thought the hyped up food was just fair. My wife and I had margaritas which helped. The Hotel El Monte Sagrada in Taos was a moderate walk from the city center. We enjoyed it but it’s a bit rustic. Dinner that night was in the restaurant. Service was scattered but the food was good.

Day 4 we visited the Taos Pueblo after a morning spent with a lovely Native American couple. The tour was breathtakingly brief and we walked around taking pictures and visiting the omnipresent vendors. Our lunch was at a hole in the wall place La Cuervo and had the best guacamole and fish tacos ever. That night we had our best meal of the trip at Lamberts which we (luckily) had booked ahead.

Day 5 was supposed to be a float trip on the Rio Grand. The winds were blowing and it was deemed not safe. So, a coach ride along the river with a guy who told great stories. Then to a visitors center where we had several rambling Native American speakers and a mediocre home cooked meal. This was not a great day up until then. But the hotel in Santa Fe (Eldorado) was very nice. And the Tauck dinner was at The Coyote Cafe and was excellent.

Day 6 we had a great guided walking tour of Santa Fe. We had a cooking demonstration at the Santa Fe School of cooking and lunch there. The teacher was excellent and the food very good. We learned several recipes we will try at home and bought some goodies at their gift shop. We had dinner on our own at The Shed which was touted but just fair.

Day 7 we visited a sculptor in his home and studio. This was terrific. His apprentice makes much more affordable pieces and we ordered one. Our final dinner was at the hotel in a large room with dreadful acoustics. The kitchen could not keep up and some tables had not gotten their mains (ours) while others were finishing dessert. Our mains were lukewarm with congealed gravy. Not a great ending dinner.🥘

Flaws and all we enjoyed this tour. We got to see places we had never visited, met some nice folks and had a few good meals (on our own). We have two Tauck tours booked, N. Italy this fall and the new Aegean tour fall of 2025. Greatly looking forward to those.