England, Scotland, Wales July 2020
Is anyonyone else joining me on this tour in July?? I didn't see another thread, so thought I would start one.
Has anyone else been on this trip? Insights and tips are welcome. It will be my first Tauck trip (#2 will be Egypt and Jordan in December :)
It will also be my first time to this part of Europe (I spent a month in Italy a few years back). I am flying in to Edinburgh a day early, and then spending time afterward in London and France (Happy Birthday to me!!!!)
I am really excited about this trip, and have read some of the older threads (lots of good info/comments) but am hoping to get some new thoughts.
Thanks, Katie
0
Comments
Would help if you could narrow down what you're interested in - sights, shopping, logistics, etc. This is a very popular tour and lots of people on the forum have taken it. ESW was our first Tauck land tour and we had a great time.
Thank you, Claudia - sorry about that!!! I am interested in the history of the area/region, as well as nature. I am not really interested in shopping (but wouldn't say no if there were fabulous, unique shops to browse). I love castles and old buildings with historical significance and stories to tell. I am a high school English teacher, so writers and playwrights (yay Shakespeare, Austen, Wordsworth and more!!) are of high interest.
Hope that helps a bit!!
Like Claudia this was our first Tauck trip several years ago.
There are plenty of suggestions by former travelers, me being one- In fact there was a recent thread where I provided some links and discussed some of the things we did on our pre-tour day in Edinburgh and post-tour day in London.
Check the ESW archives. You can search on topics and/or Author (put your cursor in the search block in the upper right of this page, then hit return for a more flexible search criteria (see below). You don't need a topic if you want to search an entire category. Though it looks like you can only search back a year, if you select 1 year it will show much older threads also. The below search yielded many pages of results. Oh, when you click on one of the display responses you will be presented by the entire thread. Good searching.
I too love history and am a big Jane Austen fan. Did a lot of history reading prior to the trip. Watched all the Morse/Lewis/Endeavor series for Oxford. The hotel in Bath is on a square where Jane's family actually rented a house for a short time and the museum is a short walk away. The Bath Asembly rooms are also an easy walk and worth visiting. I didn't get to see much of the main part of the building as a private graduation event was going on, but in the lower level there is an excellent fashion museum and gift shop. I ditched the spouse and indulged myself there.
Here's a link to the review I wrote after our tour: https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/10920/a-review-by-a-river-cruiser#latest
I note a few changes to the itinerary - pretty much all an improvement. Dinner at Oxford University - used to be the Randolph hotel which was soso. Hampton vs Windsor - long line to get into Windsor but was glad to see especially when watching Harry's wedding. Much more free time in London with no boring dinner with a politician. Lots to do in London and the concierge at the Savoy can help. We bought London Eye fast track tickets from them. The Savoy is in the theater district and next to the river, but not super close to most of the other London attractions so study up on London public transport before going.
Note the UK uses different plug adapters than Europe so bring the right one. Also hotel dryers are fine but the plugs aren't inside the bathroom and often not near a mirror. A small Travel mirror is recommended.
Hope you have a great time.
The Savoy concierge is a gem, they will give you lots of ideas for quirky little well known things to see within walking distance.
I walked everywhere from this area, Buck house, Charles Dickens Museum, Churchill War rooms, Globe theatre etc etc.
You can walk into the nearby theatres and buy tickets for as little as 20 pounds.
And when I was visiting Bath, who should drive by ...Inspector Morse himself, aka John Thaw who sadly passed away some time ago. He lived in Bath. His wife Sheila Hancock can be seen in many PBS shows
Here's some generic advice for any Tauck newbie: Read the materials that came with your confirmation e-mail (or letter), if you haven't already. Also read the "Before you go" information on the tour webpage (scroll down to the section about travel documents, etc. and click "learn more"). Shortly after making your final payment, you will receive a green book with very good information about your trip (your luggage tags will be in the back of the book). Be sure to read the green book. It has important information like emergency contacts, meeting your driver, suggested gratuities for the Tour Director and bus driver, and much more. If you don't get it within 2-3 weeks after your payment, be sure to call Tauck (they occasionally fail to mail these).
Oh my gosh!!! Thank you one and all for your generous sharing!!!!! If the forum users are representative of Tauck Tours, I know I will have an amazing time. Seriously, thank you for sharing your ideas and experiences - I can hardly wait to check everything out.
Many thanks, Katie