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Anyone going April 26th, 2023 Classic Italy Trip? How many days to arrive early for jet lag?
We have never taken a Tauck tour (or any guided trip) so really excited.
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We have never taken a Tauck tour (or any guided trip) so really excited.
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Jet lag can depend on many factors...class of service, length of flight, number of transfers, alcohol consumption, on and on. I recommend arriving at least one day early, preferably two.
Have a wonderful tour. You will be in good hands!
Every one is different wrt jet lag. I average about 2 days to feel normal but can function enough to go sightseeing sooner. One thing that helps us is to get outside in the sunshine and walk around at least for awhile the day we arrive even if it's just to find an ATM, scout out the neighborhood, find dinner. Try to stay awake until your normal bedtime. If you do take a nap get back outside again. I've also found a swim in the hotel pool works out the links from a long day of travel.
Jet lag doesn't hit me until Day 3!
Arrive two days early if you can. It takes me three nights for my sleep to get in sink with the new time in European countries. Claudia’s information is the way to go.
I heard that people should acclimate themselves to a new time zone before stepping foot on the plane. In theory, I can see how that can help adjusting, but I find that next to impossible to do. I have to take a sleeping pill on the plane otherwise I will not and cannot sleep and I'm not even a type A personality (more like a B-). I am just not a sleeper, except at home. I had trouble sleeping on our Canada Maritimes trip because I could not tolerate any of the bed pillows. My husband calls me the Princess and the Pea. I notice people nod off as soon as they hit the seat. Not me.
StephFairlie you will love Tauck!
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Jet lag? what's that? .... Just kidding, but seriously.... I never get it. All I do get is very hungry.
Best advise, do a pre-night, drink lots of water while on the plane and once you get to your Hotel: DO NOT GO TO SLEEP!!! .- go out and walk around the hotel, get some fresh air and go to bed at same time locals do in the evening... not at 1:00 pm on arrival.
Also a Spa treatment is an excellent option, it helps with the circulation, the soreness of the travel day and it makes the oxigen flow much intense... Do IT! reserve you Spa treatemnt at your hotel via email- before you get there with the coincerge.
Good luck and welcome to the Tauck family... US!
OurTravels34 3 Johnny Walker Black , will help you with the sleeping problem
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Mil, I had a 90 minute deep tissue massage today. One hour for me is not enough.
A massage is great for relaxation and any leg swelling…..by the way, we always wear compression socks for plane journeys of more than a couple of hours to reduce the risk of deep vent thrombosis. It won’t boost oxygen and alcohol is a very bad idea for anyone with sleep problems…I’ve had sleep therapy, same with sleeping pills, not good. Getting out in the sunshine, forcing yourself to stay awake until the local bedtime and eating at the correct time for their time zone are really helpful as Claudia says.
Pillows…even in the best of hotels, we have had old beat up pillows full of bed mite poo….how can you tell? If you place a pillow on the palms of your hands out in front of you, a good pillow should stay flat….if it is old, it will really sag. If you don’t like the pillows you get, ask for new ones. Mr B often does that, he likes a firm pillow. The quality of hotels that Tauck generally uses often has a pillow menu, you can sometimes order your pillow preference before you arrive.
Only one negative with Tauck….many days begin very early, especially when moving hotels, so you often find yourself getting out of bed at 5am to get your suitcase ready for collection….and more and more these days, they want them out 90 minutes before leaving not just an hour. Then, you can guarantee if you are like us, that your room is a long long walk to get to breakfast. We do generally have our bags ready the night before and put last minute pack items in our carry on. We also always go back to our room for final ablutions, so that adds time. When you return home from a Tauck tour, you do need another vacation to recover. I admire those of you who can take back to back trips. We did once return from Africa and then four days later go to Galapagos, thank goodness we just laundered the clothing and put them back in the bag for the second adventure.
I went on this fabulous trip in May of this year. You’ve picked a great time to go as the weather is very mild. Not sure where you’re flying from, but I originated in DFW to London to Naples and didn’t arrive Sorrento until 9:30 pm. Even so, I did walk into town and took myself on a walking tour of the hotel and the beautiful grounds. It did help me sleep that first night. I arrived 2 nights before the tour started as I had a driver and private guide to Herculaneum. I spent the first morning relaxing, have a peaceful breakfast and walked back into town. Driver didn’t pick me up until 2:00. By then I was ready to explore and was on local time. The next day I really enjoyed the pre-tour of Capri. So, part of my advise is look at airline schedules and approximate times of arrival. If you get in late in the evening or night consider paying for an additional night.
We stayed at The Grand Hotel Excelsior and it is a fabulous property. Enjoy!
We arrived 3 days early and stayed in Positano then took a car to Sorrento
Wow, you guys are full of great ideas!! Thank you ! Now I just need to find anyone else going on this tour with us!!
Check back on that closer to the tour. If you go to Capri, you’ll meet most of your group that day. Otherwise you’ll meet everyone at the Welcome dinner. In the meantime, you’ve got lots of time to plan what you want to do during your free time. Tauck has a great reading list too. I travel solo, so I like to meet another couple or other solo travelers so I have someone to have dinner with the second night of the tour. You'll see how friendly everyone is.
Hi everyone. I just found this forum, and am thrilled I did. My husband and I are taking the Classic Italy Tour beginning April 26, 2023. Looking forward to chatting with others and learning as much as I can. We have never taken a land tour before.
Arriving at least a day early helps not only with jet lag, but is a good idea given possible flight snafus. I find the less food and alcohol on board the better, not that I always follow that. I agree it does mess with your appetite; in Asia I wake up hungry in the middle of the night. And fresh air upon arrival is good in many ways. I've never been a fan of the welcome dinner after a long flight; when on my own, I just snack and go to sleep, which may be why I wake up hungry.
We went a month later in 2016 and the weather was great. In view of Global Warming it should be great for you as well. If you haven't done so, read the archives for both this tour and Classic Italy, Small Groups- see the "Italy," link at the right side of the page. Classic Italy is at the top of the Italy page, Small Groups is at the bottom. There is a lot of good info there. Reading those will also help you with follow-up questions.
A question. I am taking Classic Italy in September. I note that in Rome they do not mention the Colosseum as one of the tours, do you have to make reservations for that yourself. If so, any suggestions on best options to do this?
Look again. Unless your "My Account" Itinerary is different, it should be the same as the online itinerary for Classic Italy 2023 which for Day 5 says, "A sightseeing excursion begins the day in Rome, once the virtual capital of the ancient world, and now Italy's capital city. Witness the grandeur of the 2,000-year-old Colosseum; see Circus Maximus, the 4th-century BC stadium where chariot races were held, and the ruins of the Imperial Palace. This afternoon and evening, enjoy some free time to explore what interests you most in Rome."
When we went years ago, we had a guided visit of the Colosseum, followed by a short guided walk into the adjacent Forum, but only did a drive-by of the Circus Maximus (not much to look at), Monument to Victor Emmanuel II and a few other locations.
"Witness" is a new Tauck term for me. In the past Tauck used similar terms but with definitely different meanings like, "See" which may be just a drive-by or photo stop, "visit" which meant you will see, enter, but explore and tour on your own, or "guided visit" which meant see, enter and have a tour lead by an excellent local guide.
In all EU countries when you have a "guided visit" it is done by a local guide because few, if any, Tauck tour directors have the necessary EU licenses.
Alan, the itineraries for the regular sized and small group tours aren't the same. See my post in the other thread.
That is why I quoted the current website itinerary for the Classic Tour which is what Florrie said she is taking and where she posted. She will need to clarify what tour she is taking.
For the standard Classic Italy it is clearly listed, but for the Small Group it's not mentioned - that's per the website. The latest brochure doesn't actually detail the itinerary for the larger group except the hotel list and the Journey at a Glance which actually aren't the same. That's why I asked her which tour she was going on.
I took the Classic Italy tour a year ago and we had a fabulous tour of the Colosseum. Terrific trip.
We did Classic Italy Small Groups in May 2022. It did the Colosseum and we had one of the local tour guides.