Options
Ideas for before tour starts
in Switzerland
Thinking about adding some days on to our trip before we start the Switzerland Crown Jewels Tauck tour. I've thought about adding Prague or Budapest, but may make that a trip on its own. Any suggestions...looking at up to 5 extra days.
0
Comments
We did a tour of the Lavaux Vineyards with Swiss Riviera Wine Tours the day before the Tauck tour began. They will pick you up at Lausanne Palace. Highly recommend.
Heading to Prague in 24 days and can't wait. We have tacked on 4 or 5 days early on our last three Tauck trips but have always used trains to connect the dots. Other than handling your own luggage, it's just more fun. Brugge/Brussels and Savoring France, Florence with the Naples/Capri and Bern/Interlaken with Rendezvous on the Scene through Basel. A couple of rail choices would be: Renting a car out of Basel or Strasbourg and doing the Alsace wine route. Ditch the car in Basel and it is a typically Swiss efficient train trip to Lausanne via Bern. Or head south out of Geneva to the French Alps/Chamonix and Annecy.
Your possibilities are almost endless. You can google "direct flights to Geneva" and get ideas there, depending on your interests. If you don't mind trains and can handle your luggage, we went from Montreux to Milano, to take the Northern Italy trip. It was beautiful and only took 3 hours. If you haven't been to this part of Italy, there would be a lot to explore from Milano. There is an additional one hour on the train for Milano to Lausanne, it appears. Lake Geneva is gorgeous and I would have no problem parking myself there for 3 days, looking at the French Alps across the lake. The wine region on the north shore as mentioned above is really beautiful. We had the most simple yet delicious lunch of lake perch in a little cafe in one of the towns on the shore. The local Swiss trains are fun to ride between the towns. I would go back to this area in a second.
I agree there's lots to do in the Lausanne area and I loved the hotel Tauck uses with lake view rooms. There are several museums there, lake cruises, vineyards, Montreux, Glacier 3000, chocolate and cheese tours, etc. However if you really want to go somewhere else, Budapest is interesting but not sure I could find enough to keep busy for 5 days. Haven't been to Prague but have heard lots of good reviews.
As others suggested, I'd look at train routes and see what makes sense. I did a quick check on Trainline for trains and times to Lausanne: Milan 3.5 hrs, Paris 3.75 hrs, Lyon 2.5 hrs and Zurich 2.5 hrs. Anything else outside of Switzerland is going to be 5 hours or more. Or of course you can always fly.
Good luck. Switzerland is lovely.
AnneC - This is merely my opinion but I recommend visiting both Budapest and Prague separately either before or after a Tauck tour, or independently for a more immersive experience. I found Prague to be easier to navigate around since it is smaller and the major sites are relatively concentrated. Budapest has less museums but they do not lack in quality. I found the food in both cities to be on the heavy side but delicious nonetheless. Both cities have remarkable Jewish districts if that is of interest to you. Five days in each would offer a very comprehensive visit and you would really only skim the surface.
Enjoy Switzerland!
This will likely not apply to anyone going on the Tauck Switzerland tour, but for anyone who is planning train travel within Switzerland, their rail system has a baggage transport service which is very reasonably priced. We did this while going from Lucerne to Montreux by train in the same day. We wanted to stop in Interlochen and spend time there along the way. Our bags were picked up before we departed, and were in our hotel room before we arrived in Montreux. Not sure I would trust anyone but the Swiss to manage this!
I am booked on a Crown Jewels tour next month followed by Bellissima Northern Italy. I will be in Paris for 6 days prior to the start of these back to back Tauck trips. I booked the train from Paris to Lausanne and Tauck is adamant that they will not provide transport from the Lausanne train station to the Lausanne Palace. I am on my own but they will reimburse me for a cab or an Uber if I give them a receipt.
The same holds true for my departure from Lucerne to Milan. Tauck is adamant that they won't provide me with transport from the hotel to the Lucerne train station but only to Zurich. Both hotels are about 10 minutes away from the local train station but the transports to the airport and/or the train station at the airport are 45 minutes to an hour away.
Tauck claims that is not covered by their contract with transport company.
I'm a big girl and can manage this on my own but I find Tauck's position disappointing and certainly not in accordance with Tauck's motto of "Deliver more than what's expected." I'm sure this will be an issue for me next year as well when I have back to back trips with Tauck in South America and one tour ends in Santiago and the second tour begins the same day in Santiago but at different hotels.
Just be aware of what Tauck will and will not do for you when making any train arrangements in Europe that might be more convenient and direct for you than what Tauck deems acceptable within their transfer provisions.
voikk32 this is good information to know. We have gotten reimbursements for a cab ride instead of a Tauck pick-up when we needed a "creative solution". I'm sure that you could figure out a way to get Tauck to reimburse you for the cab ride to the Lucerne train station, but may not be worth the trouble for what is probably a 10 minute cab ride. We did arrive in Milano by train for the Northern Italy tour 5 years ago and Tauck picked us up, so hopefully you are good there.
Thanks, Wan. I just found it very disappointing and certainly not in keeping with the standards one expects from Tauck.
voikk32 - One of the major reasons for doing back-to-back tours is to save on the big expense - airfare. If you have to spend a few dollars out of those big savings for non-standard transportation, it's a small price to pay.
I give Tauck some benefit of the doubt. They have to draw the line somewhere. It appears that line is the published transportation. If they don't, there would be an infinite number of possibilities that people could come up with. I think reimbursing you for your cab or Uber is a nice touch.
We can agree to disagree on this one, Smiling Sam. It's not the money; it's the arrival experience where a Tauck rep takes your luggage, puts you in a comfortable vehicle, gives you a bottle of water and starts your journey on a positive note.
I do agree about drawing the line somewhere but 10 minutes from the hotel is not that line.
Voikk, I’m not sure how long you have been traveling with Tauck, but way back when, they were very strict about what transport arrangements were covered. It’s only in recent years that they have appeared to be more lenient. It may be the rep you spoke to,or is more likely that post pandemic, Tauck just does not have the luxury of being so generous or accommodating anymore. It could be the transport company they use in the location, it could be that it is difficult to park at stations, who knows.
I’ve been thinking this week about Tauck and the continued extra work they have every time a major disaster or war or something happens to a place where clients may be or are going, like Maui, it’s more and more common, they just don’t have the extra money any more for post pandemic added generosity.
British, my feeling is that I paid for transfer service and I'm not getting it nor did they offer to credit me back for unused services given it is their refusal to provide them. They did offer to reimburse for the cab which will be much less than the airport transfer and they pocket the difference. I use a transport company to get back and forth from the airport when I travel; they ask you where/when you want to go and say okay we'll be there. Not rocket science.
I knew when I posted my comment there would be Tauck defenders as there are always so many comments on the forum about Tauck going over and above. This is not one of those situations.
voikk did you speak to Guest Relations? I wonder if there are local city rules or taxi unions.
One of our "creative solutions" is that we were starting a tour out of Florence, in the countryside. The Umbria and Tuscany trip. We were staying in an AirBNB in the city of Florence. It was a 16 mile ride to the starting hotel. Tauck actually did offer to send their pick up to the AirBNB. I told them we preferred a cab, because we did not want to be tied down to a specific pick up time. They agreed and the TD reimbursed us. So at least as of last year I know they COULD be flexible, but maybe they are sometimes constrained by local laws?
Voik, I don’t always defend Tauck, not at all, but just stating what appears to be facts these days. As I and Wan mentioned, it does appear who you talk to when you call. You do have a point about maybe being reimbursed if you don’t use the car service, but Tauck does mention when transfers include transport from a rail station on some tours, Your’s is obviously not a standard option for that tour. I guessed you asked about being reimbursed for not using the service, but it could be said that if you miss a meal or another tour component, could anyone ask for the money back for that. That’s why I object to alcohol being inclusive on some tours, it does not seem fair to those who don’t drink.
Have a fantastic trip, wow, lucky you, two tours and Paris!
Wan and British--yes, it has been escalated by both my travel agent and myself. There is no explanation other than that's not what our contractual arrangements are. I contacted the Lausanne Palace to see if they had a shuttle to/from the train station and they directed me back to Tauck. I was also told it is a short walk but up a steep hill so challenging with luggage.
This is clearly a sore point for me and I just needed to get it off my chest and forewarn anyone making train arrangements what my experience has been.
I am definitely looking forward to my trip--the first 6 days of which will be in Paris with my adult granddaughter. We have lots of activities and fabulous restaurants lined up. And then I am off to my back to back tours.
Voikk32 when we ended our Week in Scotland in June we were heading to the train station for touring on our own. The TD tried to have the transport company handled it but it was too short a distance for them (2 blocks away) so the TD gave us 10 pounds and the hotel prearranged a taxi. The 10 pounds more than covered trip and tip. It's likely not Tauck but the transfer service. The train station in Lausanne is very close to the hotel. The itinerary specifies transfer from Geneva airport so technically Tauck isn't doing anything wrong especially if they will reimburse you.
Voikk32 - If Tauck not covering your non-standard transportation request is such a big deal, then forgo your back-to-back tours, then you’ll always be in a designated transportation location and will never have to arrange for your own.
Your suggestion of thinking you should get a refund for unused services isn’t practical. If they did that then people if they didn’t like a days activities could choose to skip them and ask for a refund of unused services. If the reason for not using a service is because it isn’t available or Tauck is at fault then a refund or compensation of some nature would be expected, but if a client chooses not to use a service then no refund should be expected.
Just my opinion.
The logistics involve more than a ten minute ride to the train station … point A to point B. The contract driver has to get from his base, to the hotel, to the train station, and back to his base or the next pick up point …. A, to B to C to D. The transport company might be based at that airport that is forty-five minutes away. In any case Tauck is quite specific about where the transportation will be provided, and where it will not. In most cases for example, if you are not staying at the Tauck hotel you must get to the starting point on your own.
Tauck is very transparent in their policies and what they will and will not cover. To some degree the tour directors have a discretionary fund to cover incidentals. In my opinion, in those cases where the director has given a guest some money for a cab, they are doing it out of kindness not because they have to.
I absolutely agree with Sealord about logistics. The tour director is there to orchestrate the tour, not to make special transport arrangements for guests. Do it once then others will expect the same.
I mean no disrespect voikk32, but Tauck is operating a business not a chauffeur service, and they are very straightforward with their policies. Perhaps you should voice your angst directly with them.
This discussion reminds me of issues my parents had when they traveled. They lived in Queens and would fly into JFK when returning from Europe. If they told the driver where they wanted to go, the drivers would sometimes turn them down. The drivers wanted to go into Manhattan where there would be a return fare available. If they drove my parents home, they would have any empty cab until they returned to the airport! And then they'd need to wait in line again.
On our recent trip to Ireland, the driver lived outside of Dublin and came down to Thomastown to pick us up. The way the service got drivers was to post what they wanted and the drivers who are independent contractors would sign up for the route. They may not have any who would sign up for a 10 minute drive unless they could bundle it with another longer one.
I think the idea of reimbursing for a cab ride makes a lot of sense.
This was a very enlightening discussion. Well said everyone. Iblesrned a lot. I am also taking a train from Nice to Marseille where our Tauck tour will start. I’ve noted on my account of my train arrival. Let’s see what happens and if there will be a transfer. I haven’t heard otherwise.
I have already put all the pertinent phone numbers in my iPhone. That is, the Tauck emergency number, the transfer company, the hotels. I put everything under the letter “A” in my contacts so I can see everything together, one right after the other. That has helped me in the past.
What the Tauck rep on the phone will tell you or do for you may not be the end of the story. It is quite possible that you may get an introductory email from your TD a week or two before the tour starts. It may work to your advantage to just tell him/ her that you need a change to your transfers, and tell him or her what you need. We had a situation like this last year in Scandanavia. My son had to leave to tour early for his job and left the tour in Alesund, Norway instead of going to Oslo. The rep told me they would not cover the transfer to the airport. The transfer was actually volunteered by the TD while we were on the tour and he set it up. They do have discretion to take care of things like this . Alternatively, you can call Tauck and get the name and email of the TD for that tour and contact them yourself. It is close enough to the date they they are assigned already. It is certainly annoying to have to go through back channels, but it may be worth a try. Sticking to the script on the phone by the reps can be incredibly annoying. My personal pet peeve is the way they handle wait lists…..
I have never had a TD contact me in 20 years.
I’ve never heard of Tauck telling you in advance who your TD will be however near the start of the tour it is!
At least twice, we have literally had a last minute change in TD. I have asked on a couple of occasions who the TD might be if I had an occasion to call Tauck because I know certain TD’s will tell you where else they often work, so if you are going on a tour they might be also leading, it would be nice to know.
I’m sure that while on a tour, a TD may indeed help you with an odd request, but not before.
Tauck picks up at the location of the start of a tour and takes back at the location at the end of the tour. Why expect more? They are very specific in their listing of the tours.
We don’t ask the tour directors we’ve had to go beyond their responsibilities or call of duty. However, I can attest to the instances where there has been an emergency involved.
We have had emails from our TDS for the last 2 tours we did - Switzerland and Morocco. both emails were at least 10 days before the tour started. What can I tell you? Also - we have called and been given the names of the TDS before the tour started. There may be last minute changes, obviously, but , if it is close enough they can tell you the name.
I guess that’s why most TD’s don’t want you to know before the tour, they don’t want 40 people contacting them. These people are saints, I couldn’t do their job. The only time I’ve known a TD say she was going to contact the next group was on a K and T tour when several people had inadequate shoes and she was so concerned about the next group being the same, she was going to contact them to explain what they needed to bring.
Every TD is different. The emails they sent saved them time and questions from travelers regarding money exchange ( and where to do it and get the best rates), and pre- tour activities they had planned for people that arrived early. We, personally, have never contacted a TD ahead of time - just called to check if any of our favorites were the TDS. And…. We have only rarely had the same TD more than once.
We have twice had a pre Tour email from the TD - our 2021 Normandy Brittany tour and this past Jun for Week in Scotland.
And yes, part of a TD ( and CDs on cruises) job is to arrange transfers. HQ may make the initial arrangements but the on the ground staff followup, make sure the hotel staff knows what's going, etc. That's why one of the first forms you get from them is one confirming your post tour plans. How far they can or will go to make arrangements outside the norm is another matter.