Would you prefer a tour full of great sights and locales, yet the fellow travelers on the tour were somewhat unfriendly duds, or would you prefer a lesser tour with a great group of people?
Great sites and locales which is what I go for. I can just avoid people you don’t gel with especially on a standard size tour, not so easy on a small group one.
I haven't experienced very many other travelers who were really that bad. My pet peeves are people who only talk about themselves and show no interest in others, and those who bring up politics all the time.
Even if we don't stay in touch with travelers we met, it's enjoyable to meet and spend time with some of them. Some are quite accomplished and have very interesting stories. Tauck seems to attact people like that.
There are a few that we have stayed in touch with for years.
I enjoy meeting my fellow travelers, but they are definitely not the draw for me. I have met people both interesting and delightful and a few that I am glad to know I will likely never see again. I've seen the sloppy every day drunk, the folks who were unkind and rude to a lady who clearly had dementia and her husband who were retracing their long ago honeymoon on a tour of the Canadian Rockies and one lady who complained about someone else's politeness (they were too polite!). It takes all kinds of folks to make up the world and you'll likely meet them all on tour at some point. So enjoy the best and forget the rest!
'Karen’s
How true, how true. I just booked my first Tauck trip, I’m going solo. As much as I’m looking forward to meeting, and hopefully making new friends. But as you pointed out, it’s a basket of experiences. I am carefully planning my excursions. Always hoping for the best!
Irdvo116: That is exactly the way I like to travel...hoping for the best! We have had some of the most wonderful experiences with Tauck in Europe even though it was raining cats and dogs and we were soaked almost to the skin. And as others have said, those who wish to complain will do it no matter what I say so I prefer simply to pass them by and enjoy the company of others. Life is much too short!
Irdov116, I concur with PureLuxury. I’m a solo traveler and always meet a few people that I enjoy palling around with. I always call Tauck well before the trip and review the day to day itinerary so I have a good idea of how much free time I really have. That way I can make a list of what I’d like to see on any given day. On the tours I’ve taken, dinner on the second night is on your own, so I’ll pick out a place to go and enjoy by myself. So far I’ve always had company….But I’d be okay with dining alone too. You’ll love traveling solo. You’ll have as many invitations to join others as you want.
Sometimes when my husband and I go on separate excursions because I’ll be very much interested in one, and he in another, I am very surprised and delighted how many people approach me and befriend me to strike up conversation compared to when we’re joined at the hip. There is something to be said about traveling solo.
I go for the Itinerary and the sights! If the group is a good one that's an extra ++++
I have done 9 trips with Tauck- (7 solo) and only this past group was problematic, and it was not the entire group, it was one individual.
But I still have a great time.
The vast majority of Tauck guests we have thought were fine people. But, the smaller the group the harder it is to stay away from those few exceptions. We once had a ‘couple’ from Malibu who were horrendous. He got a fight in the omelet line at one of the hotels, because he thought someone cut in line in front of him. He slammed my wife’s window in the safari vehicle with no warning almost taking her fingers off … and on, and on. I know the TD was just trying to make it through the trip. It reminds me of some friends of ours who decided to do a ‘barge’ river trip with one other couple … no other guests. When it was over they never spoke to that couple again.
I too have found nearly all of the people on our two Tauck trips to be very interesting and likable. The only (memorable) rough experience we had was on our American Canyonlands trip we were paired with another couple on the second night. It was the 4 of us at a table, and the service was admittedly slow...we had to ask for water and bread. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrific lol. But the other man with us wasn't taking it well. He was in a mood and had an attitude with the server, which was uncomfortable. We each had cocktails, and when the checks came for our drinks, he started digging into his pocket for nickels and pennies to leave as a tip (to show his disapproval). I tried to urge me to do the same, and I politely refused and gave a decent tip (that partially made up for his).
We barely interacted with them the rest of the tour, and noticed others seemed to have the same impression.
Sort of a moot point. You get the companions you get. I think you can argue the value of a small group either way: fewer people to have a problematic person or two (extremely rare in our 13 Tauck Tours), but then you can't ignore them as you might with a larger group. No correlation that I've noticed between destinations and friendliness of the other travelers. So, we pick the tour we want and roll the dice which are loaded in favor of a great group. Unless, of course, Tauck adds a "Friendly Group" option to the "Classic" and "Small Group" options.
Comments
Great sites and locales which is what I go for. I can just avoid people you don’t gel with especially on a standard size tour, not so easy on a small group one.
rssherms- The former rather than the later.
Sights and locales. Out of 8 tours I can only think of about 4 people I'd avoid socializing with. Have met many wonderful travelers.
I'd prefer to have both
I haven't experienced very many other travelers who were really that bad. My pet peeves are people who only talk about themselves and show no interest in others, and those who bring up politics all the time.
Even if we don't stay in touch with travelers we met, it's enjoyable to meet and spend time with some of them. Some are quite accomplished and have very interesting stories. Tauck seems to attact people like that.
There are a few that we have stayed in touch with for years.
I enjoy meeting my fellow travelers, but they are definitely not the draw for me. I have met people both interesting and delightful and a few that I am glad to know I will likely never see again. I've seen the sloppy every day drunk, the folks who were unkind and rude to a lady who clearly had dementia and her husband who were retracing their long ago honeymoon on a tour of the Canadian Rockies and one lady who complained about someone else's politeness (they were too polite!). It takes all kinds of folks to make up the world and you'll likely meet them all on tour at some point. So enjoy the best and forget the rest!
'Karen’s
How true, how true. I just booked my first Tauck trip, I’m going solo. As much as I’m looking forward to meeting, and hopefully making new friends. But as you pointed out, it’s a basket of experiences. I am carefully planning my excursions. Always hoping for the best!
Irdvo116: That is exactly the way I like to travel...hoping for the best! We have had some of the most wonderful experiences with Tauck in Europe even though it was raining cats and dogs and we were soaked almost to the skin. And as others have said, those who wish to complain will do it no matter what I say so I prefer simply to pass them by and enjoy the company of others. Life is much too short!
irdvo116,,,you will love it! I've been traveling solo since 2010. No regrets...you will meet wonderful people with similar interests.
Irdov116, I concur with PureLuxury. I’m a solo traveler and always meet a few people that I enjoy palling around with. I always call Tauck well before the trip and review the day to day itinerary so I have a good idea of how much free time I really have. That way I can make a list of what I’d like to see on any given day. On the tours I’ve taken, dinner on the second night is on your own, so I’ll pick out a place to go and enjoy by myself. So far I’ve always had company….But I’d be okay with dining alone too. You’ll love traveling solo. You’ll have as many invitations to join others as you want.
I agree franlovestravel, I also travel solo and have always found people to pall around with, not only other solos but couples.
Sometimes when my husband and I go on separate excursions because I’ll be very much interested in one, and he in another, I am very surprised and delighted how many people approach me and befriend me to strike up conversation compared to when we’re joined at the hip. There is something to be said about traveling solo.
I only do river or ocean cruises if the itinerary is interesting to me. The other travelers do not factor in unless I find some are to be avoided.
I go for the Itinerary and the sights! If the group is a good one that's an extra ++++
I have done 9 trips with Tauck- (7 solo) and only this past group was problematic, and it was not the entire group, it was one individual.
But I still have a great time.
The vast majority of Tauck guests we have thought were fine people. But, the smaller the group the harder it is to stay away from those few exceptions. We once had a ‘couple’ from Malibu who were horrendous. He got a fight in the omelet line at one of the hotels, because he thought someone cut in line in front of him. He slammed my wife’s window in the safari vehicle with no warning almost taking her fingers off … and on, and on. I know the TD was just trying to make it through the trip. It reminds me of some friends of ours who decided to do a ‘barge’ river trip with one other couple … no other guests. When it was over they never spoke to that couple again.
I too have found nearly all of the people on our two Tauck trips to be very interesting and likable. The only (memorable) rough experience we had was on our American Canyonlands trip we were paired with another couple on the second night. It was the 4 of us at a table, and the service was admittedly slow...we had to ask for water and bread. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrific lol. But the other man with us wasn't taking it well. He was in a mood and had an attitude with the server, which was uncomfortable. We each had cocktails, and when the checks came for our drinks, he started digging into his pocket for nickels and pennies to leave as a tip (to show his disapproval). I tried to urge me to do the same, and I politely refused and gave a decent tip (that partially made up for his).
We barely interacted with them the rest of the tour, and noticed others seemed to have the same impression.
Sort of a moot point. You get the companions you get. I think you can argue the value of a small group either way: fewer people to have a problematic person or two (extremely rare in our 13 Tauck Tours), but then you can't ignore them as you might with a larger group. No correlation that I've noticed between destinations and friendliness of the other travelers. So, we pick the tour we want and roll the dice which are loaded in favor of a great group. Unless, of course, Tauck adds a "Friendly Group" option to the "Classic" and "Small Group" options.