Two Bridges tours under our belts - compare and contrast
Hi-
We are new to the Tauck family. My travel partners are my husband and 11 yr old daughter. Last year we did the Bridges River tour from Paris to Normandy. This year we tried land-based - Costa Rica. I frequent this site looking for advice on Bridges tours and always come up empty. so I am offering a quick compare/contrast of these two options from our perspective. In short, we found Tauck to be the perfect way for a busy family to see the world and allow someone else to do all the work. I could not have done some of these excursions (not without having a huge fight as we navigated roads, tour guides, languages, and other travel hassles). That comes at a cost. You do not have control of what your day looks like. If you want to stay longer (or shorter) at any site - too bad. Both tours were expertly run and we never worried about anything. Giving you the freedom to relax on an international trip while watching your children see the world. We learned that the mix of families fluctuate. Having a family along that you jive with can make a trip that much better. On one trip, my daughter made a ton of friends and we never saw her. On the other, she was more limited. Both tour guides were polished, polite, and professional. For us, we preferred the energy and fun the one gave, but these are personal preferences. Finally, I was upset at what I thought was a lack of communication leading up to our trips. I learned that is because there is nothing for you to do or worry about. As a Type A person, that is hard to let go of. But trust me - you can! Here is how I would compare/contrast a river versus land tour for families.
River- (1) You unpack once; (2) After a long day of touring you come back to a known location with bartenders who have a drink ready; (3) The service was always impeccable; (4) I felt more comfortable letting my daughter run free on the ship versus unknown resorts; (5) We got to know each other more since we did everything together; (6) There seemed to be more planned activities at night since we were all together; (7) We loved the peace and quite having a drink on the deck and watching towns go by.
Land - (1) More time overall on the bus; (2) Service was sometimes amazing, sometimes good, and even not good; (3) We feel you do get more of a 'real' feel for the country since you spend more time interacting with the people who live there; (4) You get to try a range of menus, hotel rooms, resorts, and drinks; (5) they make it easy for you as you don't handle your luggage, but unpacking/organizing can be a pain. (6) at night, we felt on our own with no planned group activities (that could be good or bad I guess).
Next year we are taking a break from Tauck and doing several of our own US-based trips. As much as I have loved the ease of these trips, I miss trip planning. Our Tauck wish list includes the river journey from Amsterdam to Switzerland and the Japan one. I will monitor the forum for a day or so if anyone has bridges questions or ones related to the trips we have gone on! Happy Traveling!
Hope T.
Comments
Yes Hope, for some reason Bridges tours have the least input from returning guests. Some will.come on with a question about the number and ages of kids ahead of time. We've been seen g more in the last year or 2 so its getting better. Thanx for doing this.
For the most part your experience of the difference btwn river and land tour is the same for all tours. Both have pros and cons.
I too enjoy the planning but since we normally add time pre and post tour I do that then.
Great reviews. We did the Blue Danube: Family Riverboat Adventure in 2022 and are just about to embark on the Tanzania: A Grand Family Safari!
We LOVED the river cruise for all the reason you stated! I very much look forward though to seeing Africa!
I am also getting ready to start the Bridges Africa tour in a couple days. We are on the July 14th one with our kids and 2 grandkids. My husband and I have been on the Tauck Kenya and Tanzania Safari and now want to share our experience with our family. I called Tauck to find the ages of kids that were signed up on tour dates that we were interested in to find similar aged kids and have been communicating with British who is on the same tour. We actually meet tomorrow and will be sure to give feedback after our tour.
Post Photos - I'm hoping our 17th tour will cross paths at the on-tour flight airport so that we can meet!
I will post info about our Tanzania Bridges trip once I return. Traveling with children aged 12, 10 and 7.
I highly recommend the Wonders of the Canadian Rockies as well. For all who are in the United States, it is a bit closer to home, eliminating long travel days. There also aren't any language barriers. If you have any questions about this Bridges Trip, or comments about any others, let me know. I am always interested in learning more about these family travel opportunities.