We have taken one Tauck eight-day tour (Savannah/Hilton Head/Charleston) and based on that experience would not recommend the trip for the following reasons:
- It was expensive. We paid $5,589 PP. If you booked this yourself, it’s only ~$3,165 PP. This means you are paying almost twice as much for the same experience (of course you don’t’ get a tour guide, but everything else would be the same).
- The experiences were “nothing special”. We could have booked any of them on the internet.
- The food was mostly “OK” with one meal being superb (45 Bistro) and one meal being inedible (Westin Hilton Head).
- Tauck also charges a lot for some extras – we booked an extra day at the hotel and were charged $298.50 (the single person rate) times 2 (since there were two of us) for a total of $597. The published rate for our room was $383.
Some minor things went wrong – we didn’t get our “welcome package” until the second day. The Westin Hotel in Hilton Head was a disaster – no water pressure, clogged toilets, no service, bad views, expensive drinks and inedible meals, thankfully only one night. This seems like a really strange overnight to sandwich in between Savannah and Charleston, but overall the transfers worked well and the other hotels were acceptable.
If you’re considering tours in general, I’d urge you to think about the logistics: You are being “programmed” and in order to get the most out of the tour, you need to be up in the morning and stick with the group. This is not a criticism of Tauck – this is simply the style of travel they provide. If you’ve never watched the movie, “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium”, please do so prior to booking. Sure, its satire, but there’s a lot of truth there. You may also miss some things that are important to you. I skipped the plantation tour because I wanted to see the Patriots Point museum in Charleston which was not on the Tauk tour. If you do decide you’re a “tour person”, check out the competition. A similar tour from them would have been $3,099 PP.
Both Savannah and Charleston are fantastic destinations! We had great weather – people kept telling us we had come at the best time (April) and that it would be 100 degrees and 100% humidity in a week or two. Overall, the trip was “nice” and the few gaffs forgivable, but for the price we were expecting a more premium feel and a more “special” experience.
Net-net, do your homework and make sure this type of travel is really “for you” and read the fine print if you decide to book extras through Tauck.
