Advice/Support on managing 6 hotels in 13 days
Excited but a little concerned about this itinerary. I think I am pretty good at traveling... as this will be my 4th Tauck tour. Please advise on how to successfully manage these 6 hotels in 13 days. Have made reservations for Oct 2026. Thanks in advance!!
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Packing cubes. Unpack only what you will need at each stop. This is a wonderful tour, one of my top 3 (out of 21). Enjoy!
Thanks, MCD. Is there a lot of dressy events that need dressy casual attire? (ex Blue Danube tour had numerous dressy events).
As MCD indicated, packing cubes/envelopes work great. Bundle everything needed for two (2) days and just pull one cube/envelope per hotel stay. Use travel size toiletries.
My husband and I like to unpack SOME items at each hotel. I like to divide my toiletries into separate bags. One bag for everyday essentials (hanging), one bag for all the what if meds and first aid things. One bag for hair supplies. I only unpack the hanging bag for most hotel stops. Leave all the other items in my suitcase, along with shoes and clothes I'm unlikely to wear on a given stop. I try to think ahead as to what I might need for the next few days (knowing that the suitcase is available, if needed). Also recommend packing cubes and/or plastic ziploc bags (use those for socks and underwear).
If there are luggage racks, we'll put our bags on them to access as needed. Admittedly, it's mentally and physically tiresome. We will continue to do land tours while we have the stamina and likely switch to river/small ship cruises when we've had enough. Nice to have options. On our recent Patagonia trip, we were thrilled that we only had 4 hotels in 11 days. A real treat!
No advice on packing and unpacking, but that's a very good tour. You'll enjoy it. (We went in 2019).
I was afraid the area would still show signs of the 1992 war but everything was very nice and modern.
You don't need a different dressy outfit for all occasions. One nice pair of slacks, one pair of shoes that go with them and 2-3 tops is plenty. No one cares if they see you in the same outfit repeatedly if they even notice.
And yes, packing organizers of what ever type work for you are essential. There are tons of websites and YouTube videos that discuss ways to use them.
I second what Claudia said. When I took this tour, our hotel in Zagreb (which is the same as on the 2026 itinerary) was the only elegant hotel, and slacks and a nice top were quite appropriate for the diningroom. There were no dinners in castles.
With these kinds of turnarounds....I don't unpack. I try to put the clothes in the suitcase in the order I tentatively plan to wear them - after I wear an outfit/item I move it to the bottom and the next outfit rises to the top. It makes my sister crazy but it works for me. Ha!
We don’t unpack for land tours either. 4 or 5 cubes in the suitcase, we just get out what we need and throw them back in the suitcase. Less chance of leaving anything behind too.
We have a one word answer to the packing problem … “boat”. We hate the baggage drill, and we hate buses, so we do mostly boats. We have done five safaris, and one real land tour. We can’t wait to get done with the intro days in a hotel, and board the boat where we unpack ‘once’. As of today we are both octogenarians, so all of our travel will involve small ships or riverboats.
Congratulations to you and Eloise! Another 8 years to hope to reach that milestone for me. Yes, I guess I hope to be still able to travel and boat vacations may become the norm. Also hoping by then that there is less need to think about taking jackets and cocktail attire because less luggage is so liberating to cope with before entering into the Tauck bubble.
Ideally I pack 3 outfits. One is for days 1,4, 7, 10 . Next for days 2, 5, 8, 11. Third , days 3, 6, 9, 12. After that go shopping!! I also put in a pair of dress slacks and a couple blouses/sweaters.
I’ve said before, many of our tours don’t go near shops.
Happy Birthday Sealord!
To Katrina, all I can say is you get used to it. I've tried different packing methods, and as they say, the best laid plans.....
After our first Tauck trip, I decided it was pointless to try to NOT look like a traveler in Europe. (Extreme politeness and learning a few phrases in the local language will get you a lot farther than nicer clothes, as long as you are neat.) Just pack comfortable tops and bottoms that you can easily mix and match. I don't bother trying to create outfits in advance. I never unpack. The hard part is when you have a transition day and they collect your luggage while you are at breakfast. Pull out your next day clothing the night before. I always keep a small toiletries bag in my day pack that has comb, toothbrush and toothpaste.
It's a really nice trip. Don't miss the silkworm lecture, if that same lady is still doing it!