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Roam by Tauck

vivian

A friend of mine just read two articles announcing that Tauck is launching a new brand called "Roam by Tauck" starting in August 2026. It is geared to people in their 40's and 50's and will only be for small groups of about 16. Each tour will have at least one active excursion such as kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, etc. There will also be optional excursions and lots of free time to explore on your own. The tours will be geared to foodies and wine enthusiasts. The mornings will be relaxed and there will be extended evening activities. In 2027 the new brand will have tours in 6 continents which will include land, river, and small ship cruises.

Comments

British

We got a survey from Tauck about these types of tours fairly recently and first of all, I was insulted because it gave the impression that older people were not fit enough to do such things and we meet many who are in their eighties and totally fit…. Long hikes, white water rafting etc.
Our children are in their forties and would book these kind of tours themselves, they can’t afford these prices with Tauck right now. And many have young children. This is surly going to be a niche market.

Folsomdoc

I would not count out the popularity of an offering such as this. I have relatives in that demographic who seek out very physically active tours-tours based on high level activity. They currently book with GAdventures, formerly Gap Tours. That company specifies ages 18-39 (I don’t know what happens when you age out). I’ve looked at the tours and as a very fit couple in our mid 70’s I can tell you, we’d never make it. It’s not just an occasional challenging activity; it’s all day every day. And while I agree on meeting fit folks in their 80’s (a neighbor just completed the Camino at age 82) what I have found on Tauck tours and others older individuals who ignore the tour companies admonitions about the level of activity, or seriously over estimate their ability. As a result, the groups often pays with their time as the tour guide tries to keep the group together. Rick Steves goes to great lengths advertising that his tours are physically challenging and gives real life examples of what you need to be able to do-manage your bags for several blocks over cobblestones, climb 3-4 flights of stairs with your luggage. Nonetheless, we had a woman show up in a wheelchair for the Best of Rome tour. This was a mother son vacation and she had had a hip replacement 2 months prior with complications. They came nonetheless. It was a mess. As far as the cost-lets see. Perhaps Tauck has done some marketing homework and knows that these target individuals may not need the Four Seasons but would be satisfied with something a bit downmarket. And, I’m in California where a fair number of folks in that age group could spend me under the table!

MikeHenderson

That's not a type of tour that I'd be interested in. Maybe back when I was much younger and in good physical condition, but at my age now, I want an interesting tour but not excessively demanding physically.

I've been on tours where there were guests who just couldn't meet the physical demands of the excursions - and the demands were not that much. But there's no fitness test before you show up so the TD just has to roll with it. It does slow the group down.

British

I traveled with another company just once. One of the reasons I will never travel with them again is the following. When we booked the tour, the company explained the fitness requirements. We confirmed we could do all the activities. On the first day , a woman appeared in a wheelchair, she looked ill and was about 90 …she said she had been to Africa on her honeymoon in the fifties . The local tour director took everyone to one side and said the woman would be sent home as not fit for the tour. But it turned out that did not happen. She was traveling with an elderly friend. On our first evening when we were all asked what we wanted to get out of the tour, she said she just wanted to survive. In the next few days, she and her friend were late every time for the excursions. Eventually the TD said if they were not there, we would leave without them. Things got worse but with what I can’t say here because it got too disgusting.
The company had other general issues, we had been recommended them but clearly not for us.
There have been a couple of types of Tauck tours that have not been successful and are no longer done. I will be interested to see how these tours are. We were supposed to receive a catalog in the mail yesterday according to our mail email but it hasn’t arrived yet.

Kathy M

Ditto for us regarding the catalogue. We'll wait and see if it shows up in the next week. I'm attributing this to the post office.

maximgr

I have experienced the same delay with the catalog. It was supposed to arrive two days ago, but I still have not received it. I thought it may have been delivered to someone else, but if others are having similar outcomes then it may be a systemic issue.

I look forward to learning more about the new Roam offerings. I prefer more active excursions while touring, particularly given the volume of food that is served to us on a daily basis. I do hope, however, that they do not compromise on the quality of the hotels, as I appreciate the elevated amenities offered by the luxury brands.

Wan

I had not heard about the trips geared to younger people but did notice that Tauck is expanding its offerings.
I sure wish they would strengthen their IT department, beef up their website and keep it updated, and revive and upgrade their app before they did all that. The website is very dinosaurish compared to other travel companies.
I cannot imagine a much younger audience putting up with the current phone menu.

vivian

Check out Tauck Media Center

Update: Press Releases

Recent:

Tauck Introduces "Roam by Tauck," a New Brand For Travelers in Their 40s and 50s (8/14/25)
Tauck to Host "Cruise Control" Retreat for Women in Travel (7/15/25)
Tauck Announces Four New European Land Journeys for 2026 (6/30/25)
Tauck's 2026 North America Tours Include New Ways to See the Old West (5/27/25)
New Japan and Korea Itinerary, Arctic Circle Cruise Highlight Tauck's 2026 Ocean Cruising Plans (4/14/25)
Tauck Restores and Beautifies "Birthplace of the American Revolution" (4/2/25)
Tauck Reveals Names, First Renderings of New Riverboats (3/3/25)
Tauck Celebrates 100 Years with Gratitude, Volunteerism and Commitment to Innovation (2/10/25)
Tauck Announces 2025 Savings for Solo Travelers (1/13/25)

Lotusgirl

To a certain extent, the Tauck Culturious tours were similar to this new offering. Small groups, more active and while they did not explicitly specify, meant for younger travelers. My husband and I took two of the tours.

The first was Costa Rica, which included kayaking, horseback riding, zip lining and mild white water rafting. It was an excellent tour.

The second was in Provence. There were several hiking opportunities and the pace was not easy. Unfortunately, there were two men on the tour who had significant mobility challenges. This really impacted the tour for the other guests, and of course, the tour director. I think that this was a good example of how people ignore or disregard the tour details when they choose their trips. I asked one of the guys why he had chosen the tour, and he said he wanted to see that area of France.

British

Yes, I remembered the Culturious, it was axed in lieu of the Small group tours I was told.

kfnknfzk

I took several of the Culturious tours but don’t remember them being overly active. Perhaps it was the tours I chose; they were all culturally enriching as the name implied.

bucketlist

I agree that the new tours sound like the Culturious tours. We did one and were looking to do more. They were dropped and the substitute offerings were not the same.

I enjoyed the Cinque Terra Culturious tour. Quite a bit of free time. The most taxing part was walking the Cinque Terra - Altho not that taxing but I recently had foot operation and still manged well. Free time in Capri to hike on our own - one family of hikers managed to find a fairly challenging area to hike on their own. We found another route that suited us well. A too mild, too short bike ride iin Lucca - slowed down by people who did not know or could not ride a bike. We enjoyed a fast and bumpy ride in a jeep in Carerra. The behind the scene tours in Florence were particularly interesting. I am in my mid 70s now and could handle CT tours today if a similar tour was presented.

JaneP

I was interviewed about this a while back and was not sure if it would be a big seller or not. Most people in their 40's-50's that I know are immersed in careers and families and wouldn't spend the money for a trip like this or would plan it themselves. As British says above - clearly a niche market. I did not like that it felt exclusionary. I don't need someone telling me I'm getting older and not welcome - which is how this felt. Altho, I do feel like the ratings of trips could use some updating (for ex. the Peru/Hidden Galapagos trip was rated a 3/2 and it was by far the most physically active trip I've ever had with early, early morning departures, etc...and the England/West Country trip is rated a 4/4, which is hard to fathom after Peru...). My biggest concern is that they are making the rest of us pay to launch a program we aren't invited to. Prices for singles have really gone up - a safari I was looking at went up nearly $5000 year-over-year, which is pretty extraordinary. I hope it works, for Tauck's sake, but have misgivings despite their assurances that it will affect their core clientele.

British

Regarding the catalogue, our email from the post office said it was arriving yesterday, it did not come. It’s really weird, we almost always 99% of the time get everything they say is coming in the mail the same day and now this has been going on for several days.

BKMD

British - Every time USPS raises rates, service gets worse. They used to have a check box on each item (if you view INformed Delivery on usps.com) to mark something as not arrived, then they would investigate. They were overwhelmed by that, so what did they do? No, not fix delivery issues, but eliminate the check box. Similar with Priority Mail. They used to guarantee delivery in 2 or 3 days, depending on location, but they frequently failed to meet that, so what did they do? No, not fix delivery issues, but eliminate the 2-3 day delivery guarantee.

The recent Tauck catalog (North America) was listed on Informed Delivery 3 separate days in the past week, starting on Wednesday, as due to be delivered that day. It finally arrived on Saturday.

Wan

I am personally not offended about not being "invited" to trips for 40-50 year olds. I prefer to travel with my fellow boomers.

It will be interesting to see how well ROAM is accepted.

Regarding variations in physical tolerances, my favorite trips are the ones where options are offered for activities.
An upgraded website would certainly be helpful in this regard. For example, the website for at least one other travel company offers a day-by-day activity level for their tours, and a level for each activity. (Tauck agents sometimes have this info available if you call. How about getting it on the website?)
They could post videos of various activities. Or at least give a video example of a "level 3 hike", for instance.

There is also a fairly large disconnect between Connecticut and what happens on the ground on tour. The agent/website will describe activities that fail to materialize once you are at your destination. The tour directors do assess each group and seem to adjust the activities offered based on the group, but this is not clear when you sign up.

Yes, there are people who overestimate their abilities. This is human nature. Shaming them will only make the issue worse.

Tauck's challenge is to do more careful screening for challenging tours, have better communication about activity levels, and make less challenging activities seem just as attractive as harder ones.

British

Wan, I’m surprised that you say activities have never materialized, I can’t recall that happening. The only thing I notice, if you get people with extra bags above and beyond the Tauck one checked bag. the TD adjusts the time the bags need to be pulled from rooms and that can be very very early!
Apparently Tauck is not allowed to ask about your fitness. Some kind of law because of the Peoples with Disability act.
We travel with another company based in another country and you have to tell them your health and the meds you take. And if you are over 80 have to have a doctor’s letter.

JaneP

Back to the original topic - I was a little surprised they decided to name the new venture Roam since there is already a Roam Travel out there.

OurTravels34

I am waiting for a Tauck app! Pre here are mentioning other companies they travel with and I will chime in. When we traveled with that company, the app was continually updated for the tour we were on while we were that tour. I feel Tauck is a little behind in that area. We didn’t have to take a picture with our phones of the daily activities as the Tauck tour directors suggest.

Wan

British (with apologies to JaneP for going off topic again): On the Sicily trip, I had been reassured by the Tauck agent that a stop in Modica was planned, but we drove right by it. I am guessing it was too steep a city for about a third of the group. In Patagonia, there was a whole array of activities that had been mentioned prior to departure but the list was trimmed when we got there. Tauck always says to expect changes, and we didn't really feel like we missed much, but I just wanted people to be aware that while you are on tour, the TD is sizing you up.
(A different issue is what to do if you're very active now but by the time your trip comes around, some surprise has happened. That is fairly common and I don't have a solution. Most likely this is less of a problem in the ROAM age group. Will leave that for another thread.)

kfnknfzk

I have never felt “sized up” by a tour director. There have been numerous times in which a tour director has broken up the group and offered a more leisurely walk for those who wished a slower pace. The local guides also seem to have a knack for taking alternative routes and avoiding steps for those, like my husband, who have some mobility issues. To put things in perspective, he was 98 and 99 when he took his last two Tauck tours, both in 2023. He usually was at the front of the group, albeit the slower paced one.

MikeHenderson

I can understand why Tauck wants to appeal to a younger group. If Tauck can get them to travel with Tauck at the age of 40 to 50, they will likely stay with Tauck when they're 60 to 70.

The problem I see is that the 40 to 50 age group is a tough group to market to. Uniworld had two older river boats that they renovated to try to attract younger people (they said 18 to 40). It was called "U by Uniworld" but it was a failure. They re-branded it to "U River Cruises" and said it was targeted to the 21 to 45 age group, but it seems to have also failed. https://allaboutrivercruises.com/river-cruise/u-by-uniworld/

Here's a video analyzing why they failed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJkzawBCuM

[Here's more - https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/germany/the-first-cruise-for-millennials-u-by-uniworld-review-h62x6tv82 ]

[Incidentally, Uniworld was purchased in 2024 by Apollo Group, one of those investment companies. I don’t know if that was caused by the failure of Uniworld’s youth cruises.]

British

Thanks Mike, very interesting

OurTravels34

I remember starting to travel with Tauck when I was in my 50’s and now, lo and behold, I’m in my 70’s so maybe their ROAM marketing approach is the-imagined to that age group.

AlanS

The marketeers obviously forgot that a significant number of the 21 - 45 age group have children who either wouldn't be allowed on the cruise or would rather go to Disney. They are also working and don't have as much flexibility in their work schedule or haven't started earning the big bucks required to travel like that.

Ben

Many of our friends take Backroads trips yearly. They are in their 50 and 60s and are looking for active tours with some free time. We started traveling with Tauck in our early 50s(yes we were employed) and were fortunate on each tour to find active individuals ranging from 50 to 80.

British

We started with Tauck in our early fifth but back then it was not so easy to arrange things on your own. The younger generation are different.

Claudia Sails

In the email I got from Tauck it mentions "elevated stays" which I assume means high end hotels $$$$$. I'm not sure how that will work. I don't know many in their 40s-50s who have that kind of money. I know some 50-something professionals who do have money but it's spent on their kids college education.

Jaz

I think this is a great idea by Tauck and they are targeting a growing demographic that has been lost in the market for luxury group tours - 40s/50s with disposable income to spend and may not have a traditional family unit to worry about and save for (i.e. kids). I remembering having a conversation with another guest on a Tauck tour I was on a few years ago, who was in her 50s, and we both noticed the lack of group tours that target the clientele that now Tauck is targeting with the Roam program.

Again this is a pretty niche audience, but it is an audience that really doesn't have options for luxury active group travel. And those of us with the disposable income to spend on Tauck tours that are in this age group are likely very busy working and don't have the time to arrange our own trips. I look forward to seeing what Tauck offers with the Roam program. It may not succeed, but I appreciate them being open minded and trying something new.

gladysorlando984

I started traveling with Tauck in my early 60's I didn't retired until 75 but I worked for myself so I could take as much time when I wanted.
I traveled before then but with other companies