Best Of
Re: Switzerland: Europe's Crown Jewel - September 2024
AZCreeker
7:42PM
Unfortunately, it is easy to get on the wrong tour page or look at the wrong tour category on the Tauck website. You must look at the tour pages very carefully to make sure you are looking at the correct year AND the correct tour size, e.g. Classic (full size) vs Small Group tour, AND, for some tours the correct direction, e.g. northbound and southbound, etc.. Sometimes, as in the Crown Jewel tour discussed above, both Small Group and Classic tour departures are both in the same listing on the "Pricing & Availability" page, sometimes not. And sometimes Classic and Small Group tours are listed as totally different tours. e.g. "Best of Ireland" and "Best of Ireland, Small Groups" In the case of Best of Ireland- the Small Group tours stay at Ashford Castle, but the Classic tours do not.
All that being said, it appears there is no 25 Oct tour of either type, at least not yet. Also other dates don't fit the pattern- according to the departure dates listed, Small Group tours start on Thursdays in Oct 2025- 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 Oct while Classic tours start on Mondays- 6, 13, 20, 27 Oct 2025. Also, other dates in the Notes don't follow. They don't fit 2024 or 2023 either! So, Tauck will need to fix this
AlanS
Re: Grand Family Safari
You will notice in my photo above, that part of the basket bottom and one side have metal straps. They are skids for landing- it is not unusual for the basket to land upright but then get pulled over on its side and even dragged a little before the balloon fully deflates if there is any wind. During the flight the pilot will rotate the basket so both front and back have an opportunity to face in the direction of flight. He will rotate it again before landing so the metal skids are on the side facing the direction of travel.
With respect to my earlier question, I believe each cubicle has a bench, so you launch in what would a seated position of a chair on its back, so your upper body doesn't stick up too far. See CASueK's photo.
AlanS
Re: Grand Family Safari
If you are taking roller bags to check in, then I would say you are not just taking carry on.
I thought we could manage with just one medium suitcase between us but my husband doesn’t want it totally full, so we are taking a small hard side what I would describe as carry on sized bag and checking that. I am using my Tauck duffel as carry on because our bags have not arrived twice now on our way to Africa.
British
Re: Grand Family Safari
This was I believe Christmas Eve 2019 hence the Santa hat in the background. Oh, and our goofy hats. I have a bright orange hat for our upcoming balloon ride We finally splurged on Tilley hats last year, so those will be for the safari.
The guy with the Santa hat, his wife passed away not long after the tour, early sixties. Everyone, don’t delay dream travel. They were wonderful people.
British
Re: Grand Family Safari
dogdoctor - I'm 6'6". I stood at the end like Portolan described. The burner heat wasn't an issue.
Re: Romantic Germany
We were on this tour in 2010. Because of the Passion Play, it was slightly different. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and did not think that we had too much free time. I think it's good to give you free time because what I want to do is not what others may want. We walk a lot and explore using public transportation. We go into neighborhoods to see how the people in various countries live. As an example, in Munich we went to the Englisher Garten to see the people surfboarding on the river in the park. We had an ice cream cone and walked around. In Dresden we walked along the river. We prefer this to being totally scripted.
Meals are similar. If the tour provides lunch, there is no need to have an included dinner (and vice versa). In Germany you can stop at a stand and have a bratwurst for lunch without taking much time out of your explorations.
This tour includes some top notch highlights. The museums in Berlin are phenomenal. Choose the Pergamon museum. In Munich do not pass up the excursion to Dachau. It's included in the price but is listed as optional because some people do not want to go to a concentration camp. On another tour some people opted out of the visit to Auschwitz.
Any time you have three meals included you are likely traveling a distance and this is the most time effective way to set up the day. If you have a day like that followed by two nights in a specific hotel with dinner in the hotel and only breakfast the next day, you may be given the option of which night you want to have the dinner in the hotel.
I'd suggest that you get out some library books and look at what you'd like to see in the places with significant free time. You can easily craft options that are specific to you.
Take the trip an have fun!
Kathy M
Re: Certified Tauck travel agent
You basically have only two arrangements to make- book the tour and book air. Tauck takes care of EVERYTHING from airport transfers to on-tour lodging, most meals, and all activities, so unless you are planning something exotic before or after the tour there is no need for a TA. Tauck also does air, though many of us book our own air for more flexibility. Some folks like to use TA's though I don't know why (some TA's violate their agreement with Tauck and give discounts or share a portion of their commission(?). Booking a tour with Tauck is not like booking a vacation at Disney!! It is a very simple process. In nearly 20 Tauck tours we have never used a TA.
AlanS