Best Of
Re: 40 days until we leave for our POI tour :) Woohoo :)
Sally North - You are going to LOVE the Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand trip! It was my first Tauck trip to go on solo (my hubby retire about 1.5 years ago so before that i did some of the trips with Tauck by myself). I loved Cambodia so much that i took my boys back there about 6 months later to celebrate my oldest son's college graduation. I loved the trip because not only does it have a ton of history, but the scenery is just amazing to photograph!!!!
Re: 40 days until we leave for our POI tour :) Woohoo :)
It is the same Annie! There are not two. She must be about 80 now.
British
Re: Women's dress code
tdelliott71 - Our Tour Director was Siddhartha Sharma. He was excellent.
Re: 40 days until we leave for our POI tour :) Woohoo :)
Sally North We think alike! POI is definitely in my Top 3 Tauck tours. I took the Northern India-Nepal tour 5 years after the POI and I am anxiously awaiting a new Tauck India itinerary. The TD (Sid) hinted they were developing a tour to possibly include Bhutan. I'm ready and still have a few years left on my 10-year visa. I'm taking the Vietnam tour next December. I hope you get a chance to post a few reviews. I'm also taking MikeHenderson recommendation adding the Ha Long Bay tour on the front end and will add a few days at the back end to visit Laos. Safe Travels.
Re: 40 days until we leave for our POI tour :) Woohoo :)
tdelliott72 You will LOVE LOVE LOVE India...I think it will always be in my Top 3 Tauck tours.
I do not recall any aggressiveness from the Indian men. For my India tours, I arrived a day early and arranged guides and driver through the concierges at the Leela and Imperial hotels. I do not recall much down-time. it's a fast moving tour. If there were more downtime, I would have welcomed the opportunity to enjoy more of the beautiful hotel properties.
In reference to tour guides - I think there are two Annie's. For my first POI tour, I had Annie - middle age; platinum bob. She was good. and we had a few difficult people on that tour. A friend of a friend took the POI tour last year. I think her guide name was Annie ( a different, younger Annie). She said she was not that great - at times, downright awful). I hope you are lucky enough to get my TD Annie (2018 tour) or if Lady Luck is really on your side, you will get the incredible Sid who was my TD for the 2023 Northern India-Nepal tour. He does both tours.
Enjoy! I'm looking forward to Tauck developing another India Itinerary
Re: Ideas for S Africa visit at front end of Tanzania - Kenya Safari?
We just came back from The Classic Safari in Oct which was fantastic but I don’t see the point of many extra days on the front end in Arusha or back end in Nairobi. So you would want to check out other locations if you decide to extend your trip in my opinion. Best trip we have ever taken.
Jiron
Re: Ideas for S Africa visit at front end of Tanzania - Kenya Safari?
I really liked CapeTown. There's lots to see and do in the city and you can take a side trip to Cape of Good Hope. A visit to the top of Table Mountain is also interesting.
We stayed at the Cape Grace Hotel and it was very nice. It's located within walking distance of quite a few things. We were on a tour with a company other than Tauck and it was the tour hotel. There are a couple of other hotels in the area but I don't know anything about them.
Re: Ideas for S Africa visit at front end of Tanzania - Kenya Safari?
Agree about Cape Town. If it is going to be your only time in the southern part of Africa, then I would stay in Cape Town for longer, say a week. There is plenty to see. I’ve stayed at the Cape Grace, love it. Also stayed at the One and Only which seemed like just a fancy chain hotel compared to the independent Cape Grace…where all the celebrities preferred and where the service is wonderful.
British
Re: Vietnam Visa
A bit late I know, but I just noticed this appcon my iPad about filling out the Vietnam visa
https://uploads.mwp.mprod.getusinfo.com/uploads/sites/124/2022/07/E-Visa-Application-Steps.pdf
British
Re: Tauck raises suggested tip amounts
Sealord - In any case the cash requirements for a Tauck trip are less than the daily tour charge for one person.
It's not that the amount is too much to give in a tip, it is that it is too much for some people to feel comfortable carrying around.
You apparently are comfortable carrying $600 - $700 in cash. Lots of people aren't.
The thread is just discussing if there is a way to provide an optional (that wouldn't preclude you tipping in cash) web-based system for the people that don't feel comfortable carrying the amounts of cash that you feel comfortable carrying but still want to provide a generous tip.
This optional system would not impact your preferred method at all.