Tauck airport pick up question
Were looking to book classic Italy and arrive a day early tauck says they will have someone at airport to pick you up and take you to the hotel. With so many scams going on how can you know for sure the person picking you up is in fact from tauck and some shady scam?
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As for scams, you doesn't need to leave your own home to come across a scammer. I prefer to believe there is still some good in the world, with some good people still in it, too. I understand not everyone shares my view. Some people prefer to stay at home. I hope you're not one of them!
As always, ring Tauck directly if you have real concerns.
Cheers,
Jan
Rod
Thank you very much also since you have been on several tauck tours were still researching our trip we may go this year or next year in your experience to the tour prices go up allot from year to year? Or do they generally stay almost the same prices?
This year they have a air promo going on as well so if we don't go this year hoping next year they will have a air promo as well
Tour prices do not go up very much from year to year, but they do seem to sell out much, much earlier than they used to, so it pays to book early. Occasionally the tours change a little depending on customer feedback. And occasionally tours stop going to certain places. There are about three tours that we have done that I can think of straight off the bat that Tauck no longer do, and they were lovely tours so I am glad we did them when they were offered.
Do you plan to book through a travel agent or with Tauxk? We always book with them directly. Good luck!
As a veteran of 23 Tauck tours, I have checked tour prices from year to year. I like to see the difference in tours from one year to the next. I have learned that the increase is, on average, about 5% the next year.
When Tauck offers an air promo, as they did on certain tours this year, it is usually only a one time offer. The following year there might be some offer to a different area of the world.
In regard to your original question about pick up at the airport. I agree with everyone that someone will be there. They will have a Tauck sign and your name on a list. In the booklet you receive prior to the tour (after final payment). it will explain to meet up with the person at the airport and tell you how to contact the company picking you up, if for some reason no one is there. I have never worried about how to meet the tour even when I did many of the tours by myself.
I was thinking that Sr85 was talking about the special fixed rates on airfares for most of their tours rather than the one time airfare offer on a specific trip, these rarely occur, especially on an ITALY tour because they are so popular. Either way, I hope all our answers will be helpful
From what I know of Americans' travel experiences booking flights with Tauck, it seems to me the best thing is that you don't have to pay for the flights till the final tour payment is due and in the meantime, they with make changes for you. If, say, your connections were to change, they will change the flights for you. That sure beats having to pay for your flights 12 months out with little opportunity of changes without substantial charges ... if you can change at all!
Most of the people who have answered your questions have travelled with Tauck many, many, many times. Some people, like Rod & myself, travel much further than most others do to join a Tauck trip. I choose to arrive at the starting point well ahead of the tour departure date. I do this because I want to get over my jet lag before the trip starts. (Why waste the first 5 days feeling so discombobulated that I could well as be on Mars!) I also like to be able to explore, preferably on foot, whatever new city (or old favourite) I have landed in. I make sure Tauck have my travel details well ahead of time (as mentioned by a previous poster) and Tauck take care of my transfers. I am met by someone with my name signposted, with my details there for me to see. They take over my luggage and take me to the waiting car, then deliver me to my destination. No tipping is required since that's already included and Tauck take care of that and any tips to the hotel porters, too. (All this will be detailed in your personalised travel documents, sent to your before your departure from home.)
Take heart! Tauck will take good care of you, whether you are a first-time traveller or an old hand at it like some of us here. As I said, I am personally aware that most of the people who have answered your question have travelled with Tauck before. Often. We are just not saying this to hear our own voices. We do want to help you by sharing our own experiences. We are not just making it up. (There might be some threads where I can't say this, because this is, after all, a public forum and I don't know everyone! It just so happens that in this case I can say that.)
It's a great big world out there. Tauck will help you see it. Have fun!
Cheers,
Jan
Glad for your clarification. Yes, Delta is one of the main airlines that Tauck uses. We rarely fly busines class but often use Premium economy. This sounds like a good deal. Some years Tauck is cheaper, sometimes not, because they cut their deals with the airlines so far in advance. As it happens, we just booked our next Tauck vacation and it is to Italy. Two things for us, first, Delta, is an airline we hate to use, (I think mainly it stings in our memory because many many years ago when we lived in England and were traveling to the US with my very nervous mother in law and our two young children, Delta tried to bump us from our flight in Atlanta on our way to Florida and she just about had a meltdown nervous breakdown) but more importantly, Delta does not have a hub here in Philly, our prefered airline is US air, though this has been screwed by it merging with AAirlines.
Before we realized that Tauck would not necessarily give you the best flights because they only have contracts with certain airlines, we once made the mistake of going with Delta to Africa and they had us fly to Detroit first before heading to Amsterdam for our next flight. This put hours on our itinerary, it would have been much easier for us to get to Newark and fly from there, so next time we went on an Africa tour we asked them to book flights the way we wanted to go, but we still used them to book our flights. For this Italy trip, because our end destination is not somewhere US air or it's partners fly to, we chose the Tauck flight, Premium Economy. We will get to Newark, less than two hours for us. We looked it up online first and it would have been cheaper to book it ourselves then and there. But once you book, that's it so we still decided to book with Tauck for the flexibility and their ability to help us out with rebooking if an unforeseen event happens, like an airline strike. Apparently, legally, Tauck cannot re-book for you if you need to make a flight change if you booked the flight yourself.
Bottom line, there are different factors for everyone, where you live, do you want to pay for your flight now or hold onto your money, do you want a good price even if the flights are not convenient etcetera. One of my best friends has plenty of money and travels independently a lot. Their main criteria for flying is to pay the cheapest way, even if they are criss crossing the globe to achieve it. That's not for me, I have less money but my sanity is more important to me, so everyone is different. The only time she used Tauck, she went with another girlfriend and did not take the Tauck insurance, the girlfriend did and she was the one who ended up breaking her arm, so because my friend had not taken out the insurance she elected to stay on the trip because of the other friend not having the insurance to get home. So another tip, take the insurance!
As I believe some have said, decide on your priorities, then let Tauck handle your flight arrangements, at least for your first trip or trips, until you get comfortable and decide if you want to do it on your own. One note about travel agents- there are good ones and bad ones. A good one can really help if you have flight problems, but you might as well be on your own if you have a bad one. Unless you know or have worked with a good one, let Tauck handle your trip and flight arrangements.
One final note. There are still plenty of 2015 openings, but dates for Classic Italy and Classic Italy, Small Groups, are filling up so don't wait too long. This is a popular tour and it usually fills quickly.