Australia/New Zealand Feb. 16, 2015

My husband and I will be arriving in Melbourne on Friday, Feb. 13 and staying at the Langham. Would be interested in hearing about what sights others are planning to see that are arriving early in Melbourne. We haven't received our final itinerary yet from Tauck, does anyone know if the first official Tauck gathering is at 5:30pm on Monday, Feb. 16? Just trying to plan out how much free time we have before the tour begins. Looking forward to meeting everyone on this tour next month!

Comments

  • Hi CFun,

    Yes, the first official Tauck gathering is at 5:30 PM at the welcome reception in the hotel. As for your final itinerary, you should have received from your agent a spiral bound notebook with the Tauck compass logo on it that says Personal Documents; did you not receive that? If not, please let me know, and we can have another copy sent to your agent if necessary.

    I hope you have a great time on your trip!

    -Tim
  • CFun wrote:
    My husband and I will be arriving in Melbourne on Friday, Feb. 13 and staying at the Langham. Would be interested in hearing about what sights others are planning to see that are arriving early in Melbourne. We haven't received our final itinerary yet from Tauck, does anyone know if the first official Tauck gathering is at 5:30pm on Monday, Feb. 16? Just trying to plan out how much free time we have before the tour begins. Looking forward to meeting everyone on this tour next month!


    We took the Australia part of the trip last spring and also arrived in Melbourne 2 days early (actually late at night) for two and a half days on our own prior to the welcome dinner.

    We slept in (but only til 9) the first day, had breakfast at the Langham (its an incredible buffet experience) and then just meandered around the central business district which is a short walk from your hotel across the pedestrian bridge. Our intention was to wander around until we got tired and could return to our hotel. We walked as far as the Victoria Market (which you will also see on your tour) and meandered back stopping for a meal at one of the ubiquitous Asian noodle houses. In the afternoon we took a boatride up the Yarra River (OK if you have nothing more pressing to do.) Dinner was at one of the restaurants along the river to the right of the Langham.

    Day 2 we were booked on the Grey Line 1/2 day tour to PHilip Island and the fairy penguins. Pickup time depends on the season, so that you will arrive at dusk to see the penguin parade. Included is a stop at a demonstration farm and a koala preserve (up close viewing, but no holding opportunites) Our pickup was at 1:30 PM so we had time for a walk to the Immigration museum and a quick lunch. Our penguin tour included a stop for a snack before the koala preserve and coldcuts and wine just prior to the penguin parade (Its the small group VIP tour...well worth the price difference. We were back at the Langham by 9:30, just in time for a wonderful gelato in the shopping mall adjacent to the Langham.

    Next morning we took the tram to St. Kilda and walked around a bit before returning to the Langham in time to rest and dress for the welcome dinner. (We must have gotten off the tram at the wrong stop in St. Kidla because we did not find it to be worthwhile, however, the tram experience was fun and the coffee and pastry we had in St. Kilda was pretty good.

    Others on our trip used their first day to travel the ocean road. Whatever you do you will have a great trip.
  • Hi Tim, no, we have not received the information booklet from our travel agent yet.
  • I would call Tauck to tell them. It usually comes very shortly after the final payment, that's 60 days. The extra information in the books can help you plan pre-tour things to do, or any free time during the tour. You also need to check it carefully in case your documents are incorrect, like wrong day of departure, wrong flights, wrong names.
  • CFun wrote:
    Hi Tim, no, we have not received the information booklet from our travel agent yet.

    I would call your travel agent first before Tauck. I have learned that if one has an agent, anything that you might want to do must go through them. I have traveled with friends who use an agent and are connected to me. For example, since we are listed together if I called to make a payment, I have been told that only my agent can do that. I would explain and they would check that I do not have an agent but my friends did. I could then do it directly. My friends would have to contact their agents and have them call Tauck.

    Also years ago when I did have an agent, the agent would contact me when they got the information Sometimes there was a delay because the agent was receiving information from many sources and it took time to get through everything.

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