Travel times and Average age?

BMiklavic

I have been on a Tauck safari and it was great! I am considering the Empire of the Incas trip and am wondering how much time is actually spent traveling between locations. I read somewhere about a 10 hour train ride. How about bus rides, etc? Can anyone enlighten me here? Also, I am wondering what the average age was on various trips - seems like people thought the activity level was a little daunting. Anyone have thoughts on that? Many thanks!

KathrynH

We took this tour in April 2013. The "long" train ride that you are probably describing is the one along Lake Titicaca where we are up in the Andes Mountains. (I cannot imagine another way to see such sights.) The trip went very fast because it was a very elegant train. There was a meal served (and a fashion show). The train stopped at a half-way point for a "shopping opportunity" and chance to breathe the mountain air. We chatted with other travelers while some in our group used their laptop computers to browse the Internet.

You ask about ages. I am not yet old enough to collect Social Security payments. There were younger military personnel (on vacation) who scaled the companion mountain at Machu Picchu. A fellow traveler in his mid-seventies raced to the summit of Machu Picchu ahead of the younger travelers. (My father is 88 years old and he hiked everywhere with us too. I was shocked when I turned out to be the one who needed a shot of oxygen!) Thus, the ages of the travelers ranged from the thirties to late eighties. Everybody on this tour was physically fit with a great attitude about climbing and exploring. It was a remarkable adventure.

TauckTim

Hi BMiklavic,

I just came in to second what KathrynH said about the ages on our various itineraries. Thirties to eighties (and sometimes nineties), and generally skewing a bit older. Empire of the Incas is a bit more active, and as such tends to be a bit younger on average than many of our itineraries, but like Kathryn said, age does not necessarily mean much, when it comes to your ability to acclimatize to altitude and enjoy sights like you'll see on this trip. As for the train ride, you are scheduled to board at 8 AM and should arrive by 5:45 PM, so yes, it is a bit long, but not much more than many people would spend in the office on any given day.

I'm glad you had such a wonderful time on the safari, and I'm glad to hear you're considering traveling with us again. I hope this advice helps you make a decision!

-Tim

JayMartin

My partner and I are in our early 80's and quite active. We both have some arthritus, but still play tennis (doubles), sometimes twice a week and have been on a Tauck river cruise and tour to New Orleans and Louisiana, both of which we enjoyed greatly.We recently returned from a tour of southern Spain with AHI which involved lots of walking on cobblestones in hot weather which we found quite tiring.

We have deposits on the Empire of the Inca tour for March 30, 2016 and are wondering if anyone in his or her 80's who has taken the tour would comment on their experience, especially re the amount of walking/climbing and the altitude issues.