A Week In Switzerland - Solo
Hello Fellow Travelers,
I took nine Tauck land tours. I've done almost all the U.S. ones except Hawaii, Alaska. and The Mackinac trips.
I took the Israel/Jordon and the Florence, Venice, and Rome years ago with a friend I met on a previous tour
I visited many places in Canada. I went to Madrid, Paris, and London many, many years ago with a friend.
I'm tired of staying in six hotels or even four. The packing and unpacking and seeing very little of one place is not for me anymore.
So...
I booked A week In Switzerland in June to get The Gift of Time. There's three beautiful accommodations and I heard Switzerland is beautiful..
Now, I'm getting a little nervous about traveling solo overseas even though I'm with a very competent company. I really don't know where else to go except maybe the Mackinac tour.
I guess I'm asking for a rope to pull me in from jitters.
**AND
Do you use the Smart Traveler site?
How about the Global Entry or Mobile Passport Control?
I fly Delta and I'm a Skymiles Member so I don't have to wait on the line very long, but a friend thinks I should pay the $120.00 and get Global Entry. I'm not leaning towards it.
I have the cancellation insurance but do you purchase additional insurance like Allianz?
Sorry for all the questions but you've come through in the past so I'm hoping you can advise/support this anxious lady who will probably have more questions
Comments
Get the Global Entry. Many credit cards cover the payment. It's worth every penny and is good for 6 years.
Switzerland is gorgeous. I was there with Tauck last summer. I've done 14 solo tours with Tauck and all but 2 were overseas (they were in Canada). I had no issues at all.
Try a river cruise. Unpack once!
You are only alone if you want to be when traveling with Tauck!
Oops forgot your last question - I just get the Tauck insurance.
You need travel medical insurance in case you get sick or injured on a tour. It's cheap. If you take the Tauck insurance I think medical is included.
Thanks Godddess and Mike. I always get the Tauck Guest Protection Insurance which covers cancellation and Medical but a friend said she always gets additional insurance. I need to ask her why.
Goddess did you do the Switzerland:: Europe's Crown Jewel which I see most travelers do?
Last year I thought about taking a cruise with a friend but she backed out. Last April I did **The Music of America Tour, **I always wanted to go to New Orleans. In fact, was booked for it but Covid came along. It's is a new tour and it's a lot of fun.
I'll look into the Global Entry.
Thank you
Prini - yes, I did the Switzerland: Europe's Crown Jewel tour last July and LOVED it. As a matter of fact, in summer 2027 I'm planning to do the Ultimate Alps and Dolomites to see more of the country. I tacked on a Week in Scotland before heading to Switzerland. I live in the Western US, so going to Europe for just a week is not something I would ever do. It takes too long to get there and back from where I live to only spend a week on a tour/cruise. I try to go for at least 2 weeks and sometimes 3, when I can combine Tauck itineraries. So far, I've been able to to that 3 times and I'm working on a 4th.
Prini: It's always a good idea to enroll in the Smart Traveler program. Regarding global entry, it hugely speeds up your re-entry getting back home. Might not be worth it if you really think you have only one more international trip in you, but we have had situations where we saw the other lines and would have paid the money on the spot just to get through quickly if we hadn't had the global entry.
Regarding insurance, the Tauck trip protection does pay medical, but if you use it for that you must provide documentation by a physician. Also, if you are extending your trip beyond the actual Tauck tour (either before or after), you should go over with Tauck exactly what their policy does and does not cover for those non-Tauck days. (Airfare usually, medical usually not, is my understanding.) Also clarify the "cancel for any reason" part of it. My husband and I also purchased a separate medical evacuation policy which would allow us to be transferred to the hospital of our choice, as long as the physicians consent to transfer. If you are only traveling for the Tauck tour itself, including gift-of-time days, most people don't buy extra insurance unless they want more coverage. You should also ask your home medical insurance if you are covered for emergencies away from home, including pre-existing conditions.
An experienced travel agent would also be a good resource.
Your Switzerland trip sounds fabulous! Have a great time!
We pay for a separate annual medical evacuation too which is very cheap. It covers as long as you are over 100 miles from home. Thankfully never had to use it.
We also have the Tauck insurance. It’s not until you start looking around for insurance when you are not on a Tauck tour that you realize how good the price is. Most insurances do not include cancel for any reason. If you make that addition it really bumps up the price. And they don’t give the full price of the tour back.
WAN, I’m still not sure exactly how it works if you extend your stay. At one time it was an extra three days, it who knows. No one seemed to know and when people inquired I don’t think Tauck did.
Edited for crazy autocorrect
Once in Amsterdam on a post-tour day, my husband fell ill at the Conservatorium Hotel. The front desk suggested having a physician with whom they contracted with come to our room. I submitted a claim once home and included the physician’s hand written report, his bill, two prescriptions and proof of credit card payment. The claim was paid. This was quite some time ago.
The hotel even had their car drive me to a pharmacy even though I could have easily walked there. The physician returned the next day to check on my husband.
One of the many reasons why I love Tauck.
First of all, I am not an insurance expert. However, we have successfully filed 3 travel claims in the last 2 years, so I have learned a few things. Also, we build a lot of independent travel around our Tauck trips, so I needed to ask lots of questions. I spoke to AON directly as recently as a few weeks ago at 1-866-808-7356. The following is information as I understand it for LAND tours. Please verify all info for yourself.
1) If you buy your air through Tauck, then you are covered for any reason if you cancel.
2) If you buy your air on your own, you will only be covered for the usual things like you or a family member getting sick.
3) For AIR you have 14 days of flexibility for your air coverage. In other words, your air will be covered for 7 days before and after the actual Tauck trip, or 3 days before and 11 after, etc. You have a total of 14 covered days to be used on either end of your Tauck trip for your air to be covered. Your Gift of Time is counted in the Tauck part of the tour. Note: If you leave home and get to your destination, then 2 days later get bad news and have to return, your RETURN flight will be covered but not generally the ticket you already used to get there, even though you barely got to enjoy your trip.
4) On my last call to AON, I specifically asked if we were covered for medical during days in which we were not directly on a Tauck trip and the answer was NO. (Different than the experience of kfnknfzk above!) This begs the question of, what if I sprain my ankle doing an independent tour during free time on a Tauck trip, will my medical be covered? I did not ask this question. The issue of medical coverage for non-Tauck days has always been clear as mud to me, and I do buy extra insurance to cover those days.
5) Keep receipts of everything like independent tours you missed and airport transfers. I have noticed that hotels (the ones you might have booked on your own) are generally nice enough to cancel a reservation without penalty for a death in the family.
6) As I mentioned, you will need medical proof if you or a family member are sick. When we had Covid in Europe a few years ago, we called our health plan back home and got a telephone appointment, and that seemed to work, along with a local doctor-signed document proving we were Covid positive. For a death, they will want a death certificate or in our case, we were able to use a letter from the Hospice team.
7) I agree with British that Aon has been a very reasonable company to work with and has a fairly generous policy compared to other plans I’ve looked at which include Travel Guard, Travelex, Allianz and Seven Corners. It is indeed reasonably priced. Some people might want additional insurance. For example, if your bag is delayed, your Aon allotment is $500 to get necessities. If your trip is delayed you get up to $10,000 which sounds like a lot but in some of these hotels Tauck uses, that might be 5 days.
8) It’s worth it, as I mentioned, to see if your primary insurance will cover you for emergency medical internationally. If not, and you just want medical travel insurance, there are some companies that offer medical only trip insurance (I believe Seven Corners was one. This is a Berkshire-Hathaway company.)
9) Squaremouth.com is a decent website to compare insurance policies.
10) The biggest expense in case something happens to you will be medical evacuation. This could cost hundreds of thousands. But most policies, like Tauck’s trip protection through Aon, will not let you choose which hospital you go to, and may not get you back home. This is why my husband and I also purchased a separate medical evacuation policy. As long as the physicians on both the sending and receiving end agree to a transfer, you will be covered to get to your home hospital. I know that there are a lot of people who never buy regular travel insurance, but do have medical evacuation insurance. This could also be a reasonable strategy, depending on your comfort level.
It's all very murky and this is why I say it is not a bad idea to have an experienced travel agent who can also help guide you.
Lastly, I know some of these travel credit cards (which I do not use) also have some coverage but I have heard it is not much and I have no idea how easy it is to file a claim.
I realize this is all WAY off topic for a Switzerland thread! But if anyone else can offer additional helpful insights, I would appreciate it.
My situation was a very long time ago and the charges were nominal. Perhaps that had something to do with it. Perhaps it is a case-by-case basis.
Wan, we have just had a flight canceled last minute on our way home from NZ. The plane was broken. The new flight offered would not arrive in Auckland until our flight from there had left. We then booked a flight from Queenstown to Christchurch then Auckland. That flight was delayed so we would again miss our flight to the US. Even though they canceled they would not offer a refund as we were told the prices were non refundable which we had not noticed…..so we were then able to book a flight to get us to Auckland in time which was $1000 for the two of us. We got the last of three seats. That was not offered as an alternative originally. We were told to dispute all this to New Zealand Air. Our remaining flights were on American with air miles. So we could not have gotten these through Tauck as we had so many air miles we really wanted to use them. I was always under the impression that even if you book your own flights, Tauck insurance will cover you. Anyway, if we get nowhere with the first option, we will talk to AON and see what happens.
Sorry, not Switzerland related. Not been on that tour, been to a few places in Switzerland so unlikely to do it.
Don't forget that if you are using a premium credit card, and booked your trip and air with it, you have $10K per person travel insurance. If you have traditional Medicare (parts A and
, your secondary insurance (plans C, D, F, G< and N) will cover 80% of international medical expenses up to 50K lifetime. If you have a Medicare (dis)Advantage plan, your mileage may vary. Check your plan.
My daughter and SIL had an independent trip planned over Xmas. Due to one having an injury, they had to cancel. They have a CSR card and said getting reimbursed was quick and painless, after providing the documentation.
Personally, I've never purchased trip insurance. With what I saved, I've paid for probably two additional trips.
I am sure you already know this, British, but it is imperative to keep all paperwork relative to your flights, including boarding passes, and submit them with your claim.
I retain all boarding passes until I verify the miles have been applied to my ‘frequent flyer’ accounts.
British: Inexcusable that Air New Zealand could not help you, after canceling your flight! But if your air was purchased for the direct purpose of doing the Tauck tour and you have their trip protection, then I would think you would be covered. This sounds like a covered reason to me.
BKMD: I'm sure lots of people will be glad to hear that your daughter had an easy experience filing a claim with her travel credit card. I personally prefer higher levels of coverage since I am always in fear of breaking my hip.
I distinctly remember that my air was certainly covered when I had a dire family emergency in 2023. Not only that but my travel agent put me on the next flight home, and I also had unused air credit from cancelling the original flight to use within a year. I don't understand all of this but I do think that travel agents have an advantage with this kind of situation. My air was definitely covered and I did not use Tauck air.