May 17, 2019 trip
Very much looking forward to this trip. Have been on a few Tauck tours and this this will be our 4th river cruise. Staying a few extra nights in Amsterdam. Have booked a small group (8 max) Viator tour to the countryside on May 28. Thought it might be nice if others from the Tauck group would care to join us. From what I understand it is a very nice trip. Cost is about $82pp and you can book directly thru the link below.
Here is a link to the specific trip: https://www.viator.com/t...-Waterland/d525-15614P2
If you decide to do this, I’ll get you my booking number to be sure we are with the same small van.
We are also arriving Milan a day early and have booked a private tour (toursbylocals.com) in the morning of 5/17 of both the Duomo & LaScala. We can expand that to an extra 2 people if interested. Cost is under $200 for 2 but don’t have the exact amount. This does include all tickets. Can explain further if any interest.
Bryan & Laura
Wyckoff, NJ
Here is a link to the specific trip: https://www.viator.com/t...-Waterland/d525-15614P2
If you decide to do this, I’ll get you my booking number to be sure we are with the same small van.
We are also arriving Milan a day early and have booked a private tour (toursbylocals.com) in the morning of 5/17 of both the Duomo & LaScala. We can expand that to an extra 2 people if interested. Cost is under $200 for 2 but don’t have the exact amount. This does include all tickets. Can explain further if any interest.
Bryan & Laura
Wyckoff, NJ
0
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Also on 5 hour Viator tour on May 28th from Amsterdam. Limited to 8 people and don’t know if space is still available. Here is a link.
https://www.viator.com/tours/Amsterdam/Amsterdam-Half-Day-Tour-Volendam-Marken-Windmills-And-Old-Dutch-Villages-in-Waterland/d525-15614P2
Previously posted this but hoping since we are now closer we can hear from fellow travelers.
Bryan & Laura
New Jersey
Kurt & Gaye
California
Kurt & Gaye,
I am pretty much sure that Tauck does not go inside the Duomo or LaScala. I believe I have read that in some of the posts. However, check directly with Tauck to be sure. If you decide to join us, just let me know and I’ll have the tour guide get the extra tickets needed for both places. Hope you can make it.
Bryan & Laura
2/2 - I’ve checked past reviews and forums. Tauck goes outside the Doumo. My private tour includes tickets to go inside and to the roof. Tauck tour does not go to LaScala. Private tour has tickets to go inside.
Bryan
We saw the prior posts as well and called Tauck, who confirmed that the tour provided by them does not go inside the Duomo. We would definitely like to join you on your private tour of the Duomo and LaScala. We are also arriving into Milan on May 16 and will be staying at the Tauck hotel, the Principe di Savoia. Since we're new to these Forums, we're not sure how best to coordinate details with you. We look forward to meeting you both!
Kurt & Gaye
Glad to hear you will join us. I will contact the tour company and advise them to get 2 additional tickets for the Duomo and for the opera house. I think by the time of the Tauck trip we will have your full names and we will leave our info at the front desk of the hotel for you, I’m assuming we will get in earlier on the 16th since we are coming from the east coast.
Let us know if you have and questions.
I went on this tour this pass August. Tauck did not take us inside either the Duomo or La Scala. Their tour stopped and we walked around the outside. The guide discussed the architecture and history of the building.
My friends and I did tour both. At the Duomo there are a number of "tours" inside. We only paid to walk around within the main part of the church. You can also get admission to climb to the top reaches of it.
Be sure to also walk through the Galleria which is near the Duomo. It is a shopping mall like none that I had even seen below. La Scala is just on the other side of it.
Will your tour in Milan be able to accommodate one more person? If so, I would be interested in joining you.
Thanks.
Max
Unfortunately 4 is the maximum for this private tour. I received an email yesterday confirming she had bought tickets for the other couple and advising me that 4 is all she could take. Sorry. Looking forward to meeting you on the tour.
Bryan & Laura
British
Hope it’s not too late for you to react to this but, as you know, there were no forums for over 2 months. The Tours by Locals we took in Milan on May 17th was well worth the (approx) $350. Duomo roof tour was amazing, even in the rain. Beware there is some seriously steep climbing up and down. The interior tour portion also amazing.
The tour of the opera house was very informative. The company was Tours by Locals. The guide was Laura Serrano. If you contact them and tell them it was the May 17 tour for Bryan & Laura with Laura Serrano they should be able to check the records.
The Viator tour from Amsterdam on May 28th was very generic. It was fun but nothing overly special.
Hope this helps
Thanks so much for your info, I’ve only just noticed the forum is back in action. We just this past week booked a tour of the Duomo including the roof tour but including an elevator, not the stairs. We can climb stairs, but hey it was offered. We have also booked several of the museums in Amsterdam not the Ann Frank house because we were there years ago, it’s very moving.
I was concerned to notice just now that there was a poor review of someone on this tour about the train into Switzerland and how poor the W was in Amsterdam. I see there is no way of telling if this post is from someone who regularly posts on the forum like us, whether they are used to quirky European hotels and so on. I have asked for them to expand on this. Mr B had made comment to me how expensive the W is and we are staying two or three nights extra, can’t remember. But I know hotels are expensive in Amsterdam at this time of year and we don’t want the hassle of changing hotels.
There was a news article this past week saying Amsterdam is so crowded nowadays that the Netherlands government is actively discouraging people from going to Amsterdam and trying to persuade tourists to stay elsewhere in the Netherlands.
The roof tour begins with an elevator but there is a long climb from there. But it’s worth it. The comments about the W were spot on. The comments about the train ride are open to personal opinion. There was a suicide on the tracks resulting in the tour directors having to scramble to get us to Basel. I feel they did the best they could under the circumstances. Probably less than a 1% chance you will encounter the same and your ride to Basel will go wonderfully as planned. Have a great trip.
Just noticed the forum is back! We just returned from our June 14th Rhine Enchantment tour starting in Milan. We had an extra night there. Hotel is beautiful with only a 20 minute walk to the Duomo. Nice little restaurants in the area. As BSP51 said getting to the roof has a couple of flights of stairs after the elevator but well worth it. We did the roof first it starts outside. To get to the inside of the church your ticket is scanned with a long walk down the stairway as there is no elevator to descend. Didn't mind it, took our time, as it was worth seeing the inside of the cathedral.
However, BSP51 we also had an incident on our train ride to Basel. Somewhere just before the Swiss border there was an electrical failure in a tunnel. We had to leave the train in a small Italian town. The tour directors were wonderful communicating with the Cruise Director and Connecticut office - what to do with us. After a half hour or so we walked to a restaurant where they provided the cost for drinks. Fortunately after two hours the electric problem was repaired and another train was available. With a sigh of relief we climbed aboard and on to Basel but the air conditioning failed and it was a very long hot ride. But we made it to Basel and our lovely riverboat the Inspire. The rest of the tour was wonderful. Beautiful sites. Wonderful crew, cruise director and tour directors. Met some very nice fellow travelers from all over the US. Overall a great time. This was our 5th river cruise with Tauck. Hope to do another but September we are doing our first land tour with them of England, Wales and Scotland.
As my husband said to one of the tour directors and on the survey - maybe Tauck should reconsider the train from Milan to Basel.
BSP51, we are taking the Rhine Enchantment tour beginning on May 11, 2020 (the week prior to yours). I'm interested in the private tour you have found for inside (and rooftop) of Duomo and LaScala at toursbylocals.com. I've looked at their website and it's not clear to me which tour you're referring to. Can you please provide the tour name or hpyerlink? Thank you. And bon voyage.
Jim, this is an old thread. BSP51 took this tour last year in May 2019. His profile says his last activity was at 3:10 pm, (today?) but I haven't seen him around here since December and don't know if he still visits regularly. Many, folks don't return and post here after their trips so you should check trip and post dates. You could send a PM but the forum software doesn't send email notifications of PMs (nor new posts) so that is not likely to work if he doesn't visit. If BSP51 doesn't weigh in, maybe someone else will be able to answer your questions.
Jim,
I designed our own custom tour. Not a problem. Just enter into the website exactly what you want and they get back to you quickly. I’m our case we did Duomo roof tour followed by inside tour of the church. Then we all walked over to the opera house, LaScala, and did that tour. Tours by Locals took care of everything and the tour guide was wonderful. Enjoy. Rhine Enchantment was a wonderful Tauck tour. Bryan
We took this tour last year. We did the Viator tour of the Duomo roof top. Check my reviews. La Scala, we just walked in to take a tour. You can’t actually go in the theatre but there is a museum attached and you can peak into the theatre via a glass screen, we watched rehearsals for a Japanese opera through it.
BSP51- thanks for weighing in!
AlanS, BSP51, and British: Thank you very much for the additional information and advice. — Jim