Best Of
Re: Tour of Delhi or Old Delhi
I decided to go with the Leela Palace hotel arrangements. They have several nice vehicles and will provide one with a driver for a decent price. They will also arrange for a tour guide to accompany us.
I asked about payment, and they said to pay the tour guide at the end of the tour, and the charge for the car would be added to our hotel bill.
Thank you all for your suggestions and help.
Sandwich Harbour Namib Naukluft Park
Fabulous trip! Just got back!
This is for MIL
Mil, several of us wanted to experience Sandwich Harbour (Where the sand dunes meet the sea) so our great TD Johanna Patrick arranged for the company that provided the delish barbecue on the beach (DON'T MISS) to provide the tour for those of us that wanted it, after Walvis Bay kayaking/ and or scenic boat ride where we saw WHALES,DOLPHINS,FLAMINGOES,AFRICAN GREAT WHITE PELICANS and SEALS and then had barbecue. THE COMPANY NAME IS MOLA MOLA www.mola-namibia.com Amazing and exciting (slightly scary) roller-coaster ride over the dunes. Simply beautiful. The Cost was very reasonable. Can't quote it at the moment. Still jet lagged. Anyway wanted to give you this info. You will LOVE this trip!
Cheers!
Stellie
Re: Pre-tour activities in Venice 2024
Sally, very recently we took a secret itinerary tour of the Doge Palace. We booked in advance for this small group English tour. They took us to private areas not open to public for about 11/2 hours and then we viewed public areas that are overwhelming and magnificent. Reservations have to be done far enough in advance. Very reasonable cost.
Destination London
Well, here I am in the dreaded Heathrow airport for a longer than anticipated stay since our original fight was canceled.
We have been on a group trip that began in the north of England to perform a show. We have been in London for four nights. I hadn’t been to London since 2016. August is of course the busiest month to visit London, but our agenda means we had to be here at this time. I have only been to London in August once before, so I would try to come in the off seasons otherwise. It is wall to wall people everywhere …just compare it to to Times Square area when the theaters empty out.
So here are some updates…..the most convenient way to pay for anything is to put your credit cards in an Apple wallet. Almost everyone we observed paid this way and we did too. Many places do not accept cash.
Theatre tickets are much much cheaper than on Broadway. We prebooked tickets see Abba Voyage-and it was fantastic.
We had already seen many of the shows on Broadway, so not repeating was a challenge. So we booked Back to the Future one night anyway since we were tired and it was just a few doors down from the hotel. You can book online on the day or visit the theatre to buy tickets.
On recommendation from one of our fellow travelers, we saw Mnemonic at the National, our first time there, wonderful modern theater. The play was one of those thought provoking shows and featured the actor who played Dodi Fayed in the Crown. He was totally nude for about half the show.
A group of fifteen of us prebooked a guided tour of Highclere Castle…Downton Abbey. The bus collected us from the hotel with a guide who had worked on the Downton set, so he gave us lots of entertaining stories about the actors and show. Another movie is being made right now. We stopped off in the Cotswolds at Bampton village where many scenes were shot. It takes 90 mins to two hours to get there.
One day, we went to Hampton Court Palace. A long time since our last visit. It’s incredible to think you are walking right where Henry VIII once trod. The gardens there are stunning and if you love tennis, there is the original ‘ Real Tennis ‘. Court. At least three hours to do this site justice..
Another day, we went to Borough market for the atmosphere and lunch and looking at all the incredible fresh foods. I like the spices store there.
Always find time to just stroll around London, you can find hidden gems everywhere. There are restaurants everywhere and dress is tourist casual.
For any train/underground travel, we recommend buying an Oyster card which is so convenient when changing trains. Ubers and taxis are plentiful.
Meanwhile, here I am at Heathrow 😀
British
Re: Leisure dinner
The TD will provide you with a list of included restaurants and book the time you want to eat.
British
Re: Leisure dinner
I took this fabulous tour quite some time ago. The Fairmont properties are destinations in their own right! Yes, you can pick your own restaurant (unless that has changed) and depending on what time you wish to dine, you may not need a reservation. Your tour director will let you know and will sometimes ask for your meal preference in advance should there be a limited choice of entrees. Hopefully someone with more recent and direct experience will offer input.
Enjoy.
kfnknfzk
Re: River Cruise Laundry Service
My two cents on the subject of laundry. Pamper yourself, we deserve it. Who wants to do laundry on vacation. We are not young kids pinching pennies. Tauck trips are expensive so why quibble over a relatively small sum of money to have a few items laundered on the ship. Is it expensive? Yes. However, even if you spend $100 on laundry, it is a tiny amount of money compared to the overall cost of the trip. My husband and I only take carry on luggage when traveling so I have had laundry done on two cruises. On both trips, the only things I had laundered were perhaps jeans and a few tops/shirts. I think the most I ever spent was perhaps $40-50. Totally worth it. Plus, if you are adding on extra days or a week to your river cruise, have the items laundered on the ship and you will not have to worry about finding a laundry in the area or launder items in the sink at a Hotel.
Re: Packing for September trip
I typically travel to Scandinavia in the fall months. Weather is variable depending on how far north you are traveling. I presume you are taking the 'Scandinavia' tour since Russia is no longer an option for obvious reasons.
For me, a mix and match attire works best. Both my husband and I like merino wool in various thicknesses for its warmth and comfort. It is incredibly soft like cashmere—which we also take—and can be dressed up by adding some colorful scarves.
We typically wear quilted vests over the wool/cashmere and/or blends and always take rain jackets with a hood and lightweight removable lining. You might bring along gloves for the time you will spend on the fjords and at higher elevations. Heavy outer garments are not necessary. Sturdy shoes with hard rubber soles are the best in my opinion. I always wear leather ankle boots for the added protection and they are also appropriate for evening meals.
Hope this helps. Have a wonderful journey.
Edited to correct typographical error.
kfnknfzk
Re: Packing for September trip
We went 2 years ago in mid September. I live in Southern California and am not as hail and hardy as most of you regarding cold weather. I took a puffer jacket (not down), rain shell, scarf and long sleeve T shirts. I was comfortable. We were stuck in Oslo extra days at the end of September, and the evenings got cool. Despite being at the Grand Oslo Hotel they had no heat in September and I was glad that I had a sweatshirt for the room. (they did bring us a space heater.)
Wan
Re: SEPT 15-22, 2024 VENICE, FLORENCE, ROME GROUP!!! ANYONE INTERESTED IN PRIVATE VATICAN VISIT???
Appreciate that. We went to Italy with Tauck on our first tour with them twenty years ago and the Vatican was included but there was no such thing as a private tour back then. Our tour group could skip the line and I think it was early in the day. It was busy but ‘shushers’ were employed by the Vatican there to keep it quiet. It looks as if you are just there for the door openings as the time is too short to go round. I think you could find much cheaper options so I hope someone else will chip in here.
British