Best Of
Re: Part 2 of my report…much delayed
A few more from Tarangire
Our daughter’s favorite was seeing those baby elephants playing with each other, we watched them for ages.
British
Re: South Africa packing panic
If you are on the Elegant South Africa tour, you don’t need to worry about the duffle. There is a duffle for the classic safari Kenya and Tanzania tour that you have to use for a couple of the flights while your main luggage is taken by vehicle to meet you at the following stop. I think the other Africa tours have specific duffles that are intended to be your only luggage, but I have been on both the first two tours.
The internal flights on Elegant Adventure are commercial flights with an airline called Airlink. You can look at their website for specifics, but if you live in the middle of nowhere like we do (Wyoming,) these planes are bigger than the ones we fly to Denver.
When you leave Johannesburg to travel to Victoria Falls, you will have the opportunity to leave some of your luggage in Johannesburg to be securely stored rather than taking everything with you for the two nights in Victoria Falls. If you leave something there, it will be returned to you when you return a couple of days later for your flights home. I hope that helps.
Re: Canadien Capitals and Niagara Falls 2024
Sandi, I hope you have a better experience than my recent tour in mid-June. First, if you are not happy with your room, report it to your Tour Director. My room at the Le Chateau Frontenac was a total disappointment; certainly nothing special. As a solo traveler, I am very content eating alone; a good thing as most of the couples on my tour chose to dine alone, unless we were all dining as a group. The day we took the boat cruise, we did not sit down for lunch until 1:50pm so be prepared. You mentioned gift of time so obviously this is not your first tour with Tauck. It was my 15th and certainly did not meet my expectations. Hopefully, you will have a better experience.
GM
Re: South Africa packing panic
I am still confused about the luggage for this tour. Mil mentioned packing your duffle inside your checked bag for use on the smaller airplane flights. What do you do with your "checked bag" when you embark on the small planes? Also, read about leaving heavier bags in Johannesburg when you travel to and from Victoria Falls. I am not sure what happens on tour, and I, too, just got the final docs for our September trip and found these issues unclear. Can anyone please give me some guidance specific to this Elegant South Africa tour? Thanks.
Sandman
Re: Schengen visa needed for AMS airport?
There are two parts to Schiphol. The Schengen and none Schengen. If neither the country you're flying from or to is Schengen then you stay in the none Schengen section and I don't think you even go through passport control. That's how our Scotland trip went. But if you're flying from or to a Schengen country you'll have to go through passport control. Should the EU ever get this new visa program going that's when you'd need it.
Re: Suggestions for Barcelona/Madrid
Barcelona was great and the highlight was seeing La Sagrada Familia. Highly recommend getting tickets ahead of time and preferred this over Parc Guell. We stayed at the Barcelona Edition which was fantastic and ate on the property for all meals. They have a fantastic roof top lounge/bar with great views that serve small plates/bites and wonderful Asian influenced food among other things. Dinner in the 1st floor restaurant was great, cocktails fabulous, and delish Pan con Tomate. We were able to see Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, and Montserrat (by train) in 1 day. It was long but so worth it.
Madrid was another wonderful city and we stayed at the JW Marriott. It was brand new when we stayed and the service was phenomenal. Did day trips to Segovia and Toledo as we lost a day for Madrid sights due to flight from US being delayed.
The Alfonso in Seville was nice, old, very authentic, but less my style. Rooms were a good size, beds comfortable, and the food was great as well. Seville was actually our least favorite city of the 3 and may be due to the fact it was 110 the couple days we spent there.
Granada was a fabulous city if you ever get the chance and seeing the Alhambra was amazing! A highlight of our trip.
If your cruise includes Majorca, I would skip Palma and head to Valdemossa. There is an Olive grove (Son Moragues) that goes back to the Roman times and is simply stunning. We did a tour of the olive grove with a tasting in the shepherds cottage at the end with an olive oil sommelier. Walking into the cottage was like stepping into a magazine. The whole experience was a highlight of our 3 weeks in Spain. Highly recommend. We have friends who rented sunbeds in Palma and toured the area which they said was a mistake.
Safe and Happy Travels!
Maresc
Re: Kingdom and Dragons…first trip in 2023
mil - Do you happen to remember the company you used for the rafting excursion? Would you recommend them? Thanks.
maximgr
Re: Recent K&T Classic travelers: please advise re duffel
They are not wheeled. They are basically a large gym bag. Call Tauck for details.
Sealord
Re: Suggestions for Barcelona/Madrid
British must be Very Tired as the Mona Lisa is in the Louvre in Paris.
But do try and see the Guernica at the
Reina Sofia in Madrid.
jowell
Re: Capetown Restaurants
I know a waitress who is from Cape Town and has been our server twice at a Del Frisco's here in TN. She highly recommends Willoughby's which is at the Waterfront for great seafood. For those who love formal high tea, the Mount Nelson hotel has the best one in Cape Town.
