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Re: London
We don’t live in NY, we live in NC
I’d love to stay longer, but we both still work and my husband only has a certain amt of time off each year- and it’s hard for him to be gone more than two weeks at a time - so until we retire (in 12 yrs), we have to keep our trips at two weeks. We are going to Italy in Oct for 2.5 weeks and that was tough for him to get that approved. Hopefully we get to London again - but if not, I want to hit the highlights in the 3 days we are there. We won’t be able to extend in Paris at all and I hate that- but there are many River cruises we want to do in France - esp the new one Prague to Paris - so I’m sure we will be back to Paris
Re: London
MCD...I live just outside of Boston. Do you take advantage of the touring Broadway shows? I do love NYC theatre and have only seen one show in London on the Week in London/Paris tour, but I'm happy to have shows to see in Boston, too. Moulin Rouge is Sunday!
Re: London
Terrilyn. If you could possibly do an entire trip just staying in London, even if you stayed two weeks. You would not see everything that there is to see. I know you have no problem with staying in cheaper hotels, also many of the museums are entirely free, so many sites are outdoors like the gardens and parks, which helps keep the cost of the trip down. If you travel out of the summer season that also helps, cheaper air fares too, and essential as you live in NY, the competing for air fares is to your advantage. You can also eat very cheaply, go to West End shows for way way cheaper prices than NY. and so on, I just think you will regret not staying longer in London. We are possibly heading there this August with a huge group of friends, it will be on a budget, so if I pick up any more good tips, I’ll let you know. Last time our group did this, we stayed in a cheap hotel just opposite the Savoy, very small rooms but we were out all day, had a blast.
Re: London
Terrylynn I went on this tour last year and stayed at the Savoy, it was lovely. We did go to St. Paul's, I went 2 days early did a private tour to Bath one day and Stonehenge the next.
Re: London
I had to respond to British's comment about seeing West End theatre cheaper than in New York. In years past, I could fly (from Boston) to London (economy class), stay in a hotel for a long weekend, and see several West End shows cheaper than I could by going to New York for the same weekend, staying in a hotel, and going to the theater. Sadly, those days have passed. But, fortunately, my daughter now lives in Manhattan and I can stay with her. When I do go to London now, I stay close to the West End for the access to the theatres (and the Picadilly line from Heathrow).
Current tour insights during Israel Gaza conflict
We are booked on the Jordan/Egypt tour starting Feb 5th 2024 and wondered if anyone currently or just returned from the same tour can share any details of their experiences traveling so close to this nearby conflict. We fly into Amman on British Airways arriving at 11.30pm and hope that the immigration and customs will be smooth for late night arrivals. Also wondered if there have been any changes to the tour itinerary north and west of Amman due to the conflict. Appreciate any comments and input from fellow travelers.
Re: Australia
MichaelA1811, be sure to sign up for the balloon ride while staying at Silky Oaks, you do that ahead of time with Tauck. It’s worth getting up for at 3 am! And the spa treatments are wonderful too.
Re: London
The Savoy is a Fairmont hotel--our favorite brand of luxury hotels, especially in Canada and Eastern USA.
We took this tour Apr 2023. Tauck took us on a driving tour of the major sights, then free time, then an after-hours tour of Churchill's War Rooms/Bunker--fabulous! The next morning we were off to Paris on the high speed train.
We added several pre-and-post tour days since we had never been to London (I regret never traveling there before) and we always add extra days when in Paris. Dining at Guy Savoy's was possibly one of the best dining experiences we have had in a very long time.
Re: London
That's a bummer about not having the Savoy. That was a really special hotel - we stayed in it when we did the England tour.
Tauck got the Savoy because it came with the deal they made with the larger organization (chain of hotels). Don't remember who owns the Savoy. Tauck may have done a deal with a different hotel chain.
Re: Binoculars for B. Z and SA
No, they don't but you might want to contact the camp via email- they might rent them. Some camps rent photographic equipment, maybe binoculars too.
From my experience, you don't need them... you're always pretty close to animals as British Mentioned. In Chobe the biggest attraction from the river are the elephants and the boats do get pretty close to them.
a word of advice... take the least amount of equipment, take essentials if you are a photographer, phone and a camera, no tripods etc.. the jeeps are moving constantly, and Terraine is uneven, so you do shake a lot. The driver will stop for you to take a picture.
Amazing Safari.
Enjoy.