Considering the Tauck Israel/Jordan tour — any guidance?
Hi. We’re considering the Tauck Israel/Jordan tour for next year. Any feedback, thoughts, comments? We are experienced travelers in our late 60s. We generally do trips on our own and hire private guides. Considering a small group trip for this adventure. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
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Jay, we're booked on this tour in September, so no tour specific comments. Based on your input you may not have traveled with Tauck before. If that's the case, then being a veteran of 7 previous Tauck tours and also being in our late 60s we've found Tauck to be a great fit. They take care of all the details and seem to locate you in the best places in each area visited. They provide knowledgeable local guides in each of the areas, usually breaking up the Tauck 'small group' into two or three smaller groups, each with its own local guide. Come October, I might be able to address any tour specific questions.
We did the trip earlier this year and really liked it. Outstanding mix of very significant history with current culture. Highlights for us were Petra, and the multiple days in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem hotel is a short walk away from the Jaffa Gate, and while guides will take you to all the primary sites, there is also ample time to head out and explore on your own. We had zero personal safety concerns while on the trip. The food is good, but lacks the variation of some regions. Many people will also wish for more leg room on the coaches used on this trip.
We are also experienced travelers in our 60's, and while we still like to go to all domestic and many international places on our own, we appreciate the extra support/safety-net that Tauck provides in "trickier" places like China, India, and the Middle East. We get tired of eating so often, and sometimes find that the group moves slower than we'd prefer, but the logistics on the trips we've taken with Tauck have all been very good, and we have met very nice co-travelers on each trip. Especially if you find an itinerary that you like, we also think that the trips we've taken with Tauck reflect good value.
We did the Tauck Israel/Jordan Trip 3 months ago. It was a wonderful trip with terrific guides and an excellent tour director. It was the most active of all our previous Tauck tours (5), but the experiences that the Tauck Director and guides provided were priceless. I am also in my late 60's and my husband is in his mid 70's. I was a little concerned about how strenuous this trip would be, but we were able to do it all, even the camel ride in Petra! The meals were excellent and almost too much food. Our favorites were Jerusalem and Petra and the finale bedouin dinner. We also went to Ammon instead of the Movenpick Resort at the Dead Sea and we enjoyed Ammon too. Without the guides and the Tour Director, we wouldn't have been able to experience all that this itinerary offered. We felt perfectly safe throughout our trip. If you have any other questions, please feel free to post them here.
Thanks for these very helpful responses.
Maybe we were on the same tour with some of these folks - 2/9/19? We really really loved this trip. Jerusalem, Haifa, Caesaria were outstanding. The religion, politics, art, traditions all fascinating. OK, we love history!
Petra is so unique, do go now before Jordan begins all the upgrades, aka more hotels, parking lots and people that come with being named a new wonder of the world, world heritage status and all. I think ours was the first tour date of the 'season' and we had good traveling weather; I was glad I brought my light puffer jacket. Accommodations everywhere were great. Our TD fantastic. Happy to answer any questions...
We did this trip in October 2018 and it was outstanding! As you can imagine it is a lot of history and it was so enjoyable. Be prepared for a lot of walking. Our TD estimated the tour required 39 miles of walking. We estimate that with the walking we did on our own we probably did 50. But that's a good thing with all the great food on the trip. Best highlights? For us there were many. Going to and touching the Western Wall, seeing where Jesus was born and receiving communion during Mass in the church (our tour came at the right time), the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, Petra, and Haifa! The second night in Haifa we sat at the small Wine Bar across the street from the hotel, had a lite meal, drank wine and talked to the owner about Israel for hours. It was fantastic! We felt safer on this trip then anywhere we've been. It was an incredible journey so much so that we took over 2,000 photos and did a 110 page Shutterfly album. The memories will last forever. ENJOY !!!
Thanks everyone for the great feedback. We are booked for next April 23 small group tour and really looking forward to the adventure
What is the difference between "Classic" and "Small Group". I see SG is @ 24 but can't seem to find the number for "Classic". Is there much of a difference as far as the enjoyment of the experiences/activities/personal touch between the group sizes? Thank you.
This question comes up often, in general and with respect to specific tours. You'll find fans of both. Do a search on 'small groups' to see what others have said. We prefer small groups, for a number of reasons and always take them when available.
Terpfan - our Israel trip had 40 travelers and it was most outstanding and we never had any issues because of the size of the group. SG or LG (Classic) it's really a trade-off.
SG, which we will be doing in Ireland next week, has 24 travelers. SG is more expensive but has smaller groups for tours and dinners etc. As part of our SG tour, we are staying at Ashford Castle for 2 nights and doing "Hawking". The LG is not staying at the Castle. Ashford Castle was one of the reasons we booked the SG. Going LG is certainly cheaper but because it has more guests it does take a bit longer for events but nothing that would concern you. LG allows you to simply meet a lot more people and helps if there is a group within the tour (e.g. 16 people all from the same church etc.) that stay to themselves.
Bottom line: Best to check out the differences in cost, itinerary, and hotels between SG and LG groups and see what you like best. Don't hesitate on going on this trip because of the number of guests. It is a once in a lifetime trip, and for us, only ranks below the Kenya and Tanzanian Safari. We booked the Australian, Kangaroo Island and Tasmania trip for 2021 and that only has 20 guests so that will be another experience for us. For that trip we booked it simply because of the itinerary, an opportunity to return to Australia (we've taken the Spotlight on Australia tour), and places to stay rather then the number of guests. Good luck !
p.s. our daughter is a Wahoo!
Thank you AlanS and Virginia_Travelers. Good information.