Best Of

Ok. I am going to try to make this my final entry on the subject. My searches indicate Tauck TDs basic salary is 57K to a max of 93K. The estiimated tip amount is around 32K. So the highest paid TDs are probably making around 125K, which is considerably more than the average for people working in Milton, CT.

To address terrilyns post: we took the Rick Steves tour Best of Greece a number of years ago bringing along our then 20 year old daughter. Any tour’s success is the sum of many parts: the destination, the group, the guide, the food, the weather etc. I say that only to point out that this tour was our favorite of the many we have taken-it hit all cylinders. It starts and ends in Athens . It is not a Greek island tour, but does overnight in Hydra. Hydra is the closest island to Athens, a short hydrofoil ride away, and can be swamped with day tripper. At night, we owned it, and it was a delight. We also visited Delphi, Napflion, Olympia, Kalamata and several small seaside and inland villages. A special time was in the mountains where one afternoon we dined on trout which had just been swimming in the waters below our feet (the restaurant was on stilts). Athens was amazing- we were there the week the Acropolis Museum opened and toured it on our own. We also visited several smaller museums as well as the Acropolis and other ruins. This September we are taking the Tauck Aegean: Athens to Istanbul. The new Greece Tauck tour (this original post) is intriguing as it covers the north, especially Meteora which is a bucket list destination. I would bet at some point the sequence will be changed to end in Athens but I could be wrong. So, how best to see Greece? Well, here is the worst, IMHO: a large cruise ship. Now we love to cruise but spend most time aboard. I see pictures of Santorini when several ships are in port and shudder (hope we avoid that, but who knows). And you’ll miss most of the flavor of Greece by not doing a land tour. I failed to mention the people-they are delightful. English is widely spoken (after all, who else speaks Greek) and we were warmly welcomed everywhere. I can’t tell you how many times someone would say this or similar: “You’re from America!! I have a cousin in America! He lives in Chicago his name is Dimitri, do you know him!!?” Good luck deciding!

Franlovestravel - thank you so much for pointing out the Turkish Air flight from DFW to Thessaloniki. Our airport of choice is also DFW so I'll have to look into this. BTW - I fell in love with Athens. Yes, it is a bit ragged around the edges but stunning nonetheless. History absolutely everywhere. Tons of rooftop bars with amazing views and I absolutely loved my walk up to Mount Lycabettus. You can also take a cable car up to reach the top. Several cafes/restaurants (yes, overpriced and touristy but still great views).

terrilynn - I need to disclose upfront that I don't really do cruises and prefer land tours so I am a bit biased. I took the A&K Greece land tour as a solo traveller in October 2024 and really thought it had a lot of pros. Unfortunately, that same tour has increased quite a lot in price and A&K doesn't do triples so I'm excited about the Tauck tour and the possibility of traveling with the entire family. The biggest pro I can see with a Greek land tour vs. cruise/sail is that you're not a 'daytripper.' This is a particular advantage in crowded places such as Santorini. Too many cruises during central hours means too many people - a huge issue in Santorini and other popular spots! You almost can't walk along the walkways in Santorini when the cruises arrive. Once the passengers get back on the boat, a much calmer vibe falls over the small island. On a land tour you also have the advantage of an authentic dinner with a view ---- and it seems everywhere in Greece has amazing views (and food). We stayed at some amazing hotels all over Greece and I can't imagine having missed that opportunity. So many rooftop bars with great views! You also get the advantage of getting to see the sunrises and sunsets while staying at a lovely hotel along the coast. Hope this is helpful.

A recent tour director told me that tour directors are payed a good wage, he never expects tips and says if you don’t like missing out on tips, find another job.

** If you include the tips as part of the salary and part of the cost of the trip the incentive for an over the top performance and experience has been removed**

I respectfully disagree. There are many ways to incentivize performance that have nothing to do with tips. As long as expectations are set, metrics established, recognition rewarded, employees will perform well. My only tour guide experience other than Tauck is with Rick Steves. Tipping is not allowed. He pays his guides well, rewards performance. His guides are uniformly excellent. He has a very high employee retention rate, customer satisfaction, and thousands of repeat tour members.