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Questions on Dress Code
We are going on the Week in Portugal tour in early September. The clothing suggestions list Tauck provides recommends men bringing a Sport Coat for evening wear. Do the restaurant's they take you to typically require jackets? Don't mind packing one if they do, but I am trying to pack light.
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If Tauck was going to take you to a venue requiring a jacket, the packing guidance would not say "An optional jacket and tie for men" which is what Tauck's website says for your tour.
The general packing guidance for this tour also includes their standard statement that "In Europe, especially in finer restaurants, it is generally customary to dress somewhat formally. Slacks or a dress for women and a jacket for men are acceptable dining attire." That's more to warn you in case you book yourself a restaurant that has a dress code requiring more formal attire.
They go on to say in the guidance that "It is advisable to avoid wearing jeans, sneakers or shorts for dinner. You may also wish to dress up a bit for the welcome reception and the farewell dinner, but by all means be comfortable."
It’s a terrific tour! I’m old school so I packed a blue blazer. If you’re eating at the castle you might want to wear the sport coat on the plane trip over.
I see many businessmen traveling in jeans and a sport coat. The easiest way to pack a sport coat is to wear it, or get your partner to wear it. I saw one guy who had his wife/girlriend wear his sport coat with her short shorts. She looked terrific.
My husband always travels with a suit jacket. He doesn’t consider it “old school”—just being respectful of the venue.
For such a short trip as this one, I can understand the reluctance of taking a jacket, especially if you think you will only need it once. Unless the venue specifies appropriate attire, you probably won’t be denied entry.
Enjoy your trip.
I took this tour a little less than two years ago. I don't recall ever having a need for dressier attire. Everything was really casual. Hope this helps.
I was once at a very formal venue in Malta, where one of our Tauck companions showed up wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and shower shoes. He appeared to be totally comfortable. For some reason the underdressed never feel underdressed.
Thinking some more....fellow travellers DID get rather dressed up for the farewell dinner at the Palacio de Queluz. I just wore a simple dress, but others did wear dressier attire.
Keep your eye on the weather. Last summer we had a reception and dinner at the Palacio de Queluz. The reception was in the garden and there is no air-conditioning inside. Men took off their jackets at dinner.
It just occurred to me why I may have a different point of view about dress attire than some on this forum. I think very few here were ever in the military. In a hot climate in the Navy wearing tropical Khaki would be the most comfortable, including shorts and a pith helmet, but in the same climate for a formal occasion you would wear a ‘formal’ uniform. Here, you are on vacation so wear what pleases you. Those of us who respect the venue may dress up a bit even if it might not be the most comfortable attire. “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.”
Be prepared for the horse ranch and the Lisbon tour. Make sure things are washable in hot water! Definitely no dry clean only. Wear comfortable shoes too!
Skipped Palacio de Queluz due to a 4 a.m. pick up for a 7 a.m. flight arranged by Tauck. Got up early during the rain to Sintra earlier in the day, too tired for the festivities without air conditioning in the garden. Any flies?
A warning to all. When you travel with Tauck they force you to book flights with early departures and then expect you to get to the airport early enough to not miss your flights. OMG what is the world coming to?
Henry is high today, I dont understand his comments
I'm heeding your warning Claudia, well said.
Yep, they're terrible. They made me book a 6 am departure out of Bergen Norway just because I wanted to get a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam that would get me home before the next day. Horrors.
You are correct about Tauckbooking very early flights. In fact. We noticed this on our recent Norway tour. Many people had very early flights at the end of the tour, they literally had to get up on the middle of the night. . We did not because we did research and booked our own flights at a civilized time. In fact, now that Tauck makes you pay up front for flights to many destinations, there is no longer a big advantage in them booking your flights.
I pick my flights, routes, airlines and seating, not Tauck. They are merely my agent in handling the paperwork and dealing with the airlines. Granted, all of my tours have been European ones and I typically use the same airlines. Tauck has my preferences on file and has always been pleasant and professional.
If you're going to Europe and don't live on the east coast it's almost impossible not to have an early flight unless you're leaving from a hub like Amsterdam/Paris/London. Even with that 6am departure, we barely got home at 8pm.
I always research first and call Tauck after I have an idea of routing options and prices. Fortunately so far European trips don't have that prepay issue.
We went on this tour last June.There were a couple of evenings where people wore “better clothes “than the touring clothes.My husband wore a full sleeve dress shirt with no jacket.Many men wore similar clothes.Don’t remember jackets!Hope you have Daniela as a guide! she was awesome.
Greetings. My wife and I went on the Week in Portugal tour last October, had a great time. Jackets are optional. I wore a nice sweater for the evening dinners. The final nights' festivities are held in a palace, the only time I felt something a bit more formal might be in order. A few gentlemen did wear jackets. Frankly, I don't like having to pack something that I am only going to wear once or twice, just a matter of space. I do like the suggestion that we could wear a jacket (Blazer) as part of our travel attire, will give some thought to that for our upcoming Spain adventure.
As it pertains to early flights, sometimes true. Our Christmas trip flew out of Naples to Paris to Atlanta, left for an hours' drive at 3:30am. Our Lisbon to Paris to Atlanta trip left around 4 am. In both case we flew out at 5:30am. Our upcoming trip to Spain has us flying home from Madrid to London to Atlanta at noon. The answer depends on where you are going and what is available.
Safe travels to all.
_Farewell dinner at the palace which was a replica of Versailles was definitely a dress up place but many men wore dress shirts.
_This was our group picture !