Traveling with Children
I have a question regarding taking children on tours. To preface, I remember reading in long-ago brochures that the recommended minimum age was eight (8) and that the tour had to be a Bridges Tour. I did not view the Bridges webinar a few months ago and I couldn't find it in the archives.
It seems that I have read recent reviews of children younger than eight (8) on both Bridges and regular tours. Can someone with direct experience provide me with Tauck's rules regarding this? We are thinking of a family tour which would include a twelve (12) and sixteen (16) year old. The older girl is very mature, studious and has no problem interacting with adults. The younger one is more outgoing but still reserved. I personally do not think my husband and I, nor the parents of the girls, could handle a Bridges tour. I am not belittling them just being truthful. So, the question (finally) is whether or not these girls would be allowed on an "adult" tour. I know I can/should call Tauck but don't wish to bother them at this time.
Thanks for your help!
Comments
You need to get to the Tauck FAQ page on their website. It's tricky to find. Easiest is to Google "Tauck faq" or use this link
https://www.tauck.com/FAQ
When you find it scroll down to Traveling with Children.
Tauck give suggested ages for different tours, but will accept children as young as three for regular tours, yes crazy. We have experience a few young teenagers on regular tours, But on our $30,000 each tour of The Gorilla trek trip, there were a family of five with three children under ten, I’ve already said I did not care for that.
A twelve and sixteen year old will be fine on a regular tour, everyone will spoil them and it’s great to chat to the younger people.
I suppose it would be an important decision to decide where you would like to go for the vacation to be interesting for the 12 and 16 year old. I gather you’re the grandparents, right? There are advantages and disadvantages for pre-teens and teenagers on an adult tour and on a Bridges tour. On an adult tour, there might not be other children or teens at all. On Bridges, your grandchildren will make friends immediately, and start to socialize within a couple of days. That is wonderful to witness. The tour directors are wonderful with children on Bridges. The tours are wonderful for adults as well because you take notice of children and teenagers in your family having a memorable vacation as well as enjoying your time too. The other option is a private tour, and I am not aware that Tauck offers custom tours. Other companies offer private tours. When my daughter was young (she’s 30 now and still talks about her trips). I enjoyed seeing her engage with others her age., older and younger. We witnessed her make homemade pizza in Italy, walking with the Masai in Africa, a pastry making class in France, and the list goes on, etc. These child oriented activities would not occur in adult tours. Adult tours might be boring for them but I can’t say that for sure. At that time, our international trips were meant for all of us beginning when my daughter was 7. There are wonderful reviews on Bridges tours even among parents and grandparents, and I’m puzzled why they may not be for you or even the parents of the children. The other perspective and observation I can share is that children of all ages enjoy these trips, and if I may say, children tend to behave better among other children of similar ages who are around each other instead of just with their parents. That’s a given. I’m not saying there are moments when a child or teenager might have a moment, but that happens to me too. These trips are 10 days longer and that’s a long time for children for an adult tour.
I think a call to Tauck would answer all your questions. I don’t mean to offend at all. This is just my personal experience with Tauck.
Thank you for the replies thus far. I, as well, do not mean to offend, but I did ask for feedback from those with direct experience with the rules regarding children. I was not asking for opinions or basic directions on how to use the website. Thanks, again.
Thank you, British! I was hoping you would help and you certainly did. I am also glad you think some of the other travelers would be delighted to engage with these girls. An adult tour it will be! Actually, I think the best part will be the looks on their faces when they learn they will be flying business class to Europe!
Post Script - I now consider my thread closed and will probably delete it tomorrow.
I wasn't trying to offend. The Tauck FAQ page isn't easy to find.
You asked whether they would be allowed and the FAQ clearly says "Please note that Tauck Land Journeys and Cruises are designed primarily for adults, although children are certainly welcome. ". You asked to be provided with Taucks rules.
Go ahead and delete this. You always do delete your offensive posts.
Straight from FAQ
Are there age restrictions?
Children age 3 and older at the time of travel are welcome on Tauck Bridges itineraries. Based upon our experience with family travelers, for each itinerary we have a minimum recommended age to encourage comfort and enjoyment for all of our guests. In some cases there may be age restrictions on activities; all children must be accompanied on activities by a parent or guardian. At least one guest in the traveling party must be 21 or older to make a reservation. Note: Minimum age for our Tauck Bridges river cruises is 4 years; minimum age for our Tauck Bridges African safaris is 5 years; and minimum age for our Tauck Bridges Galápagos cruise is 6 years.
We ask that you use good judgment if considering bringing a young child or children on a Tauck journey. Many of our itineraries do not cater to young children's interest, patience or stamina, and therefore aren't really suited to children of too young an age. Young children's behavior can be unpredictable, and with consideration for all fellow travelers wanting to enjoy their vacation to its fullest, it is important to know and understand that Tauck has the right to ask any tour member who is disruptive to a group to leave the tour whether they are 6 or 96 years of age.
Family travel is important to us. The bond between children and adults as they experience the world together makes for special memories that last lifetimes. It is for that reason we created 'Tauck Bridges' – journeys for the whole family to enjoy together. Each of these kid-friendly family oriented journeys has a minimum recommended age rating to encourage comfort and enjoyment for all our guests.
I did not say you were offensive. I did not ask for directions on how to navigate the website. I asked for direct experience with the rules. I thanked you. Why such anger? My offensive post? Saying thank you? Sad, truly sad. I am offensive for saying thank you? I delete my offensive posts? How truly sad.
Claudia, I agree with you. I only had good intentions with what I assumed children would like and how they would be more enriched and have a blast. That’s all. We didn’t take our child on adult tours until 18 years of age.
kfnknfzk, you don't seem to be communicating well. What is the difference between "direct experience with the rules" and what the Tauck website clearly spells out? What would constitute direct experience that is somehow different? No one here seems to understand what you are asking.
All had good intentions and I thanked you. All of you. I merely asked for feedback from those with direct experience with the rules. British answered based on her direct experience with the rules. That's all.
You could have ended all this with a simple thank you to British. You didn't need to add the comments about what you didn't want. At that point you were being offensive. Don't worry, I won't ever bother responding to a thread of yours again for fear I might not answer correctly.
Enough, please. "Someone with direct experience." Someone. A person.
I did thank British. I thanked you, as well. Several times. How sad. That's all I can say. The more I thank you, the more upset you become. I will not partake in any more nonsense. Move on, please.
I about choked on my vodka and coke!
Thanks for the age information in this thread. Mine are older now (15/12), but I even hesitated to take them to Disney until they could really appreciate it.
dogdoctor - Thanks for the levity. It is much needed.
Moving on with this discussion. children can vary so much, if people truly think about how their children usually are with lots of adults, they can cope either sitting in a bus for a long time, getting up early etc, that really determines a decision. The children on our Gorilla trek tour were extremely disappointed when they realized their were no other kids on the tour. You could tell it was the father who wanted to be there, only he went on the gorilla trek. He complained about a walking tour and a couple of things that were clearly for adults. I was so shocked to see young kids on what I think is the most expensive of all Tauck tours. On another Africa tour, we had two youngish teenage brothers and they were an absolute delight, you should have seen one boy’s face when he was chosen to sit next to the pilot on one of the flights! Yet on another US tour, we had a very sulky teenage boy who clearly was hating every minute of it.
For me, I would never take the older teenage kids I have known on a Bridges tour, I’d take them on an adult tour. I know they would handle it well. Just no need to do the Bridges tour. However, we have often thought about the two of us going on the Bridges Africa tour because we love Tanzania and don’t need to go back to Zanzibar. A TD did tell me one time that they get adults without kids on that tour.
kfnknfzk - I think both Claudia and OurTravels were only trying to help with your question. When you wrote about not wanting to call Tauck one could assume their website would be able to provide some answers for you. Claudia posted the link to help even noting it was tricky to find. OurTravels posted their experience. None of their posts were negative. While you did post a thank you for their replies the part "I was not asking for opinions or basic directions on how to use the website" comes off as a bit rude, in my opinion. I think it was very nice of both to answer your post and both answers were positive.
Maybe to avoid any reason to delete posts in the future, you could direct message the person you thought would have the best response before putting it out to the forum? You seemed to believe British would be the one who could provide help, and she did, so I'm sure a private message between the two of you would have satisified your question.
It sounds like a great trip for your family and what lucky girls to fly business class to Europe!!
I look forward to your review after you have taken your trip. Have a great 4th! :-)
If I was drinking vodka & Coke I would choke too 🥴
Kathy0529, thank you very much. You phrased that eloquently and so did British in the subsequent message. I still stand behind my initial message for children of that age. It doesn’t matter how mature a child is and It’s not worth the expense of these trips for children or young teenagers to have a negative experience on an adult tour. I can’t quantify that.
I think this is all because a statement about not being able to handle a Bridges tour might be explained a little more. We did see the Zoom meeting on Bridges tours that Tauck made months ago and it should still be online to view.
I’m going to report back on our First Bridges tour next July, hoping that it will be wonderful positive memories for the rest of our lives. No bickering or moaning 😀If it isn’t then I’ll be canceling the Bridges tour I booked for 2024 and spending the money on the best ever fabulous tour for the two of us and the rest of the family will have to wait until we kick the bucket to see if there is any money left for them😂😂😂😂
British, yes you are absolutely correct about your first sentence. I pondered about that too. There wasn’t one logical reason that was shared. I ask myself, why wouldn’t adults not be able to handle a Bridges tour! You will have a grand time on your tour with your family. I’m not psychic but I can almost guarantee it.
Hey now! Play nice!
I'm sure you are going to have a wonderful time! My in-laws are so excited for next week with the grandkids!
I'm sure they can. But do they wish to subject themselves to a tour with less people of an equivalent age to get to know and relate to, risk being annoyed at the noise level small kids can produce (especially late at night when they are tired and homesick and all you want to do is sleep), be on excursions which are focused for a bit younger demographic, and be around children for longer than one would typically like to be for an extended period of time? I certainly wouldn't want to on a vacation of myself. But I won't judge others that do.
Dog doctor, as far as I can remember, it was not as you described for us on a Tauck Bridges tour with other children. I have also seen adults not handle a situation as an adult ought to on a adult tour. I also can’t picture kids on those long bus rides or going yet into another church or museum on an adult tour. Even I get into sensory overload with so much history on these tours. I wish sometimes the local tour directors would speak about current events more, the government, the education system, taxes, etc in all the places we visit. Those everyday life events are barely emphasized. The ancient ancient ancient history as valuable as it is, is often too much for me to absorb all the time.
It's always luck of the draw with any tour of any kind. But it's about probabilities right? You are probably going to have less kids issues on adult tours and less adult issues on Bridges tours. Just simple statistics. Given the youngest age on our upcoming tour was 11 and the oldest was 16 (IIRC), I suspect the only issues we'll be having will be the brooding/bored teens.
I did a dolphin swim in Mexico with the family/kids last year and there was a mother/son combo in our group and I'm not sure which was worse. I was disappointed in the behavior of the child, but I was more disgusted at the parent and their inability to, well, parent. It really dragged the experience for all parties involved.
I would not choose to go on a tour that included families with young children.
Yet another thank you for the feedback.
We all have different traveling styles and certainly very strong opinions. How one expresses those opinions is the crux of the issue here, in my opinion. Moreover, what is right for your family does not mean it is right for all other families.
When someone indicates they have searched a website, It should be understood that one does not need assistance. Nonetheless, I offered a sincere thank you. When one requests specific feedback from someone/anyone with direct experience, the expectation should be to receive a specific answer to the question. Nonetheless, I offered a sincere thank you. The onus is not on me if my thank you seems to bother someone more.
I do not find an onslaught of emotionally charged, verbal attacks as being conducive to a forum about travel. Nonetheless, I offered another thank you, but to no avail. Perceiving a wrong was done does not mean a wrong was done. The perception is not reality.
Enjoy your holiday weekend. And, yes, thank you.
I’ve been on tours in the past where things like governments and education etc are mentioned, rather than dicussed and we have always found it very interesting. Even our first K and T tour a long time ago, we had a fascinating talk on the history. Nothing like that on our second visit. I honestly think things like this are no longer popular, people just don’t want to hear it or are not interested. We find we have to ask more if we want more information on things like this. When the tour directors do include these topics, quite often on the bus, you almost always get people talking over them and it’s hard to hear. Personally, we think that’s a shame for those of us who go on tours for history and geography.
Dog doctor, and Ourtravels, it’s great to hear a different perspective. Certainly, on our Gorilla trek tour, we were just gobsmacked to see kids. We did not enjoy two aspects of that, having to eat dinner with the family if we could not get on the other table with the remaining adults…we were a smallish group so the tables were a full one and one for seven, so one couple would always end up with the family. Only the man would talk, so it was kind of difficult. Silly really, but the TD did a great quiz every day where prizes were up for grabs and she kept defering to the kids, I so wanted to win one of the lovely batik prints of animals or one of the other things! Eventually, my hubby and I won one each, as I admit, most people did. We came home with two crumpled waxed batik animal prints which I dared to iron and get framed and they look fantastic.
I’m not sure Tauck dumbs down too much on the Bridges tours from what I read and saw on the zoom presentation. Let’s face it, I’m a lot more childlike when I’m with my grandchildren anyway! There are quizzes and movies on the bus, both of which my grandchildren will love. My two grandsons can provide you more information about the lifestyle of many animals already and one grandson was fascinating for hours at his first visit to a big museum, Children vary so very much.
You’ll be sure to get my feedback and personal experiences next year.
Yes, British, children do vary. I believe it is how they are raised and what they have been exposed to.
Regarding teaching history, a few weeks ago we were at breakfast and overheard a teenage boy complaining to his father about his history class..."I am so sick of reading about World War Eleven." My husband bit his tongue. The dumbing down of America.
Keep listening. WW 11 might not be far off.