Best Of
Re: ETA Questions
I agree with MCD. Getting the ETA is good (cheap) insurance. Especially in the beginning of the program they may make exceptions but it's better not to have to depend on that.
Re: ETA Questions
For the minimal cost of an ETA, it might be worth it to get it. What if your connecting flight is cancelled, and you have to spend the night in the UK? Most, if not all, hotels will be past UK immigration. Do you want to spend the night on a chair or the floor at LHR (if that's even allowed)?
MCD
Re: Northern Lights
My husband and I are just back from a Northern Lights trip to the Yukon where we saw the Aurora Borealis 4 nights out of our one week stay. The March 2026 Tauck cruises are sure to be spectacular but there are indeed lots of other options. I am far from being an expert but wanted to share a few of our experiences and tips:
1) In case you didn’t already know, the bright aurora colors you see in photos are rarely seen with the “naked” eye. You need a very intense aurora to experience that, such as a KP index of 7 or higher, from what I have read. The vast majority of time, you will see white hazy shapes or possibly light green/pink.
2) The Aurora app as mentioned by OurTravels34 is not considered to be accurate by experts, however I thought it was accurate within 48 hours of the date of interest. It also gives information on expected cloud cover and a link to the NOAA prediction map mentioned by BKMD.
3) Another fun link, especially for archival information, is spaceweatherlive.com https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/auroral-activity/top-50-geomagnetic-storms/year/2024.html
I thought it was interesting that the top 4 strongest auroras in 2024 were in May and October.
4) Like MotherOfPoodles, we thought about all the places we could go to see the Aurora. We thought about distance from home, financial investment and effort involved in case we did not see the Aurora, and types of accommodations, including nightly “aurora chasing” vs a wilderness lodge or cruise. We thought about what other kinds of activities we would like to do there during the day. Most importantly, being from California, we thought about the cold!
5) I wish I had learned more about my iphone 16 Pro before I went on this trip. I did figure out the night mode for photos but could never get any decent night videos. I wanted to remember how the lights flowed and changed.
6) We were provided with a winter clothing package which included a very warm coat and boots, and also gloves, but it is not easy to take photos with an iphone wearing even the gloves that are tech -enabled. I should have searched for a better solution. Hand warmers helped and I kept extras in my pockets.
7) On our first night, the KP was 5 but the cloud cover was too thick to see anything. Around 3 am, I could see stars and knew the clouds had thinned. I spotted some faint green on the horizon which grew to a great show despite about a 50% cloud cover.
8) On another night we had perfectly clear skies and a KP of 4, which gave us spectacular photos. What we saw with our eyes was a sky filled with light green swirls and my husband says he saw pinks, but the photos showed vivid greens, pinks and purples.
Wan
Re: US passports can now be renewed online!
Unlike the early (beta?) versions of online renewal which evidently required completing a passport renewal application form (DS-82), now you just enter the data on the webpage. I don't remember seeing any option for a large book- choices shown were "Passport Book, Passport Card, or Both Documents". There are 19 blank visa pages in the standard passport book
Don't forget to update the TSA Trusted Traveler Program (Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check), your airline, and Tauck with your new passport data.
AlanS
Re: ETA Questions
^^
That's different. You go through EU immigration in the first EU country you land in, if your destination is another EU country. It's just like when you come back to the US and have a connection to another US city, you go thru US immigration in the first US city you land in.
The UK is the UK, not the EU or US. You follow the purple Transfer signs. You don't go through UK immigration if you have another flight to outside the UK.
(edited for typo)
BKMD
Re: Luggage Requirement for Jordan and Egypt tour
British I certainly do, going to the airport was exciting and in those times I also dressed better than I do now, lol.
I've never had a suitcase weigh more than 37 pounds going, coming back it may weigh a little more. 
Re: Kempinski Ishtar restaurants
Tauck is not too keen on risking the lives of their customers or they won’t be able to book another trip.
British
Re: US passports can now be renewed online!
Passport renewal online- UPDATE
I applied for our new passports online on Feb 24, a little over a week and a half ago and requested "Standard Processing" ("4–6 weeks, but it can take up to 10 weeks"). I submitted mine in the morning and my wife's that afternoon. My wife got her new one on Monday, 3 March- it only took one week! For some reason (according to the USPS tracking it could be weather in the south east and central US?) mine won't be here until today - 13 days. Still, that's not too bad and much faster than the 4 - 6 weeks stated on the website! 
Suggestion, if you are impatient like me and want to stay updated, make sure you check the box on the application page to receive processing updates and tracking, including the USPS tracking number! I checked the box on my application but not on my wife's. I got regular email updates when my application was received, approved, payment was approved, passport shipped, etc., etc. I didn't check the box on my wife's application so we didn't get any updates about its status. It totally surprised us when her new passport arrived in a week!! (FYI our new passports were evidently prepared in and/or shipped from Texas or Arkansas (?), there are several locations.
AlanS
Re: Feb 2025 tour comments
We did the plans for Iguazu ourselves. We took aero argentina RT from AED. We had the Melia do the transfers($35 for a car for 4). The hotel is in the park. You buy tkts on the way to the hotel and then you have them. There are 3 walking paths around the falls. The walking paths originate right off of the hotel grounds. In addition, as a hotel guest , you are allowed into the park an hour earler than the general public. This is very important if you want to take the train ride that goes up to the Devil’s Throat look out, because the train gets very crowded and you have to wait in a crowded line ( sort of a line - more of a mob). We did two of the 3 paths. We could have done all 3 but we enjoyed lazing at the hotel . You can ask for a late check out. The food at the hotel is good and reasonably priced. The hotel is beautiful and the falls are spectacular. We did not do the boat ride or helicopter ride. You can actually see the Belmond ( where Tauck stays for Essence of South America) from the rooms in the Melia. Brazil is on the other side of the falls. Bring mosquito repellant, Malaria was not a problem when we went so we did not need to use malaria prophylaxis.
