Detailed destination itinerary
We are soon to leave on our 5th Tauck tour. I wish Tauck would send us an email of the detailed itinerary prior to our arrival at our destination. I have gotten information at the Welcome Reception on other trips that would have been helpful to prepare for the trip.
Pleas do not suggest Tauck’s website or links. I have been there and have the general information.
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The problem with sending out detailed daily schedules ahead of time is that they can and often change, and drastically so. Prime examples, on Classic Italy, our schedule for all three days we spent in Rome were completely changed- the TD and we only learned of the change a day prior to arriving that due to the Vatican management, the day and hours of our visit to the Sistine Chapel, museums, etc. were changed. That impacted schedule for all three days. If we had booked a private excursion for Rome we would have had to cancel. During Peru and Galapagos, our on-tour (commercial) flight from Cuzco to Guayaquil was cancelled due to fog. Our TD and Tauck HQ got us on later lights to Quito and since it was very late, lodging near the Quito airport. The following day, we flew from Quito to Guayaquil then on to the Galapagos.
If you call Tauck they can often give you more detail for a particular day, etc. than the preliminary itinerary, but still not as detailed as what you will get from the TD on the first day of the tour. Often when the preliminary schedule says, "After lunch you will have time to relax, explore on your own, etc. the Sales agent will be able to tell you rough times, e.g. "The coach should arrive back at your hotel (or ship) at approximately 2:30." Again, that can be subject to change, but in any case your time to "explore on your own" may be less than you anticipated. As you probably know, the schedule you receive on the first day of the tour, may be for just a few days, and even it can change.
FLEXIBILITY is the name of the game!
The problem with FLEXIBILITY is that Tauck's trend has been to include less in their tours, and offer more free time. Many sights/events require timed tickets. That's why we need to know.
And as Alan wrote, call Tauck for specifics. I've done that for days with significant free time.
I haven't experienced significant free time on the trips I've taken with Tauck. I've always been able to fill my free time with sights/sites near the hotel or dock. And I've rarely gotten a timed ticket ahead of time, unless it was for the Gift of Time day.
I agree with BKMD, less and less included meals and tours. I once booked an extra thing prior to a tour during what was supposed to be free time and it wasn’t. Now we hardly ever risk this. Also, some Tauck hotels these days are nowhere near the center of cities, especially Four Seasons. We have been as much as a half hour ride to get back to the action.
My experiences have been the same as Goddess’. We enjoy the balance between being guided and having the free time to explore and dine on our own. The European hotels have always been centrally located, except for those that have been chosen because of the proximity to a certain site.
Maybe always for you kfn; not for me. As an example, on my 2024 Classic Italy tour, the Sorrento hotel was in an isolated location. They did offer a shuttle bus to Centro, but the hours were limited.
We did Italy with Tauck over thirty years ago and I remember being disappointed about how far away the hotel was from the attractions in Rome. Same for Florence.
I kind of feel like the regular Tauck tours have been or are being "roamed." More free time, less meals, but not enough information provided to figure out how to use the free time before you get there.
We are being emailed regularly about the Roam tours.
I get the Roam e-mails, British, as well as those women-only tours...not really interested in either.
Lots of Roam emails..................................
We used Viator once we were on site for some of our downtime as needed.
On all 4 of our Tauck tours - we didn't find there to be excessive free time. Usually it was after some really busy time or really physical activity so it was a good break.
I do find that the free meal days are pretty safe to plan for a nice meal out. Depending on the location - we planned Michelin star meals - we just safely book at a later time (8:30PM or so) and its always been ok. We did this in Capri, Rome, Avalon and Normandy.
You can try to find trip reports of other trips to get a good idea but sometimes things change. When we did Provence - we had a few surprises that weren't on the original documentation given and with talking to our tour guide - he says they don't do that if they can't guarantee it for every tour so it becomes a 'special tauck moment' instead.
I haven't received any Roam emails. Maybe that's something I set in Preferences. I still receive too many mail catalogs, a small ship one just arrived. I've told them several times not to send me any ship/cruise catalogs, as I don't like those kinds of trips, but it doesn't work.
On free time, if you've been travelling with Tauck for a while, I don't know how you could not notice the increase in free time.
I’ve been traveling with Tauck since 2003. I can’t recall any free time back in the day.
We look at it like this, we can take vacations on our own with free time. When we go on tours, we like to be busy. Now there are choices given on tours, I’m sure there is enough to please anybody. If you want free time, just take it and miss one of the things on the itinerary, some people mention they do that.
As far as Michelin meals, I do enjoy those, but could not manage them on a tour, Tauck offers too much food. Sometimes if you have to find your own dinner, we are too full from lunch.
I don't understand why, if people are so unhappy with Tauck's direction, they are still traveling with Tauck.
Exactly my feeling, too.
I am doing just that. In the past, I did 2 or 3 tours with Tauck each year. This year I have one with Tauck (plus another trip with a different company). Working on planning for next year and so far Tauck isn't even on the list under consideration.
I do wonder if the amount of free time - really depends on which tour and what length.
I went back to read my trip reports of the two trips I did them on - the 13 night Normandy, Loire Valley, Brittany and Paris one in 2019 versus the most recent 7 night Provence one in 2025.
The 13 night had a lot more free time. Enough so - we had amble time to go see the release of IT Chapter 2!
I wish I had written trip reports of my 2017 trip or 2023 trips to see the comparison of the two Italy itineraries but life got in the way.
If more people vote with their feet, the message might get across, Otherwise, nothing will change. However, new Tauck customers don't feel a difference, as they have nothing to compare it to.
Goddess
I don't understand why, if people are so unhappy with Tauck's direction, they are still traveling with Tauck
I’m still in the testing phase with Tauck. My mom did many tours with them in the early 2000s and spoke very highly. We did one land tour in Jordan and Egypt last year and we thought the tour director and Tauck did a very good job. I was very happy not to have to make those arrangements. However, I was also very displeased about the detailed itinerary that I received, it was a rehash of the generic stuff on the website. I also, think they can do a bit better on this, yes things change, but I really do want to know if the bus is getting back at 4 or 6. Do I have time to grab a drink, shower, pool, go shopping, etc.
We have a river cruise in France coming up in May and that also has the same rehash of generic plans. I did call them about one day and they did answer my question, but I don’t really want to call and play whack a mole, just send me whatever you have and as a adult, I can make decisions as I want to.
Will I travel with them again, I don’t have anything planned, but looking at some of the prices, I don’t want a buffet for lunch or this is what you get to eat, lol!
We are also traveling with different companies now. I was just on a Danube River cruise with another company, it cost me under $3000 for 7 nights. The food was absolutely the best we have ever had on a tour, apart from a tour of Japan that we did. Breakfast was buffet or al a carte, Lunch and dinner were served, lots of choices, four courses each. Local guides were excellent. The groups were split up with one called the Gentle tour which was either shorter, easier or slower paced for those who required it.
The only difference to Tauck were small cabins and we only slept in them.
You can’t beat Tauck for reliability and their insurance is very good. I still love Tauck. We have had had lots of amazing vacations with them. What we look for these days is what is included in the itinerary. If we can do better elsewhere now, we go with another company. I know I’m not the only one finding differences from the Early 2000s.
Different strokes. We are both over 80, so four or five hours touring is fine with us. If we find out the standard and only offered tour is the Tauck tour, and involves eight hours on a bus, we sometimes don’t go. We also don’t eat three meals per day. It is normally breakfast or lunch, and dinner. So days that don’t have the Tauck power feed are also fine with us.
I agree with Sealord.
Our first trip with Tauck was in 1993. We are in our mid-70's and have been on 19 tours in total and have found the pace coupled with the amount of free time to be just right for us. I like having free time. I find that when the day is totally scripted we feel that we are rushing from one sight to another. As an example, when we took the France tour last summer, after the tour of the D'Orsay we decided to stay longer and see parts of the museum that were not covered by the guide. We also explored some of the smaller towns we stayed in. It was great seeing the different architecture and walking along the beach in Deauville.
I plan for a trip by looking at guidebooks and deciding what we would like to see that is not included in the guided tour. Our choices may be different than yours. Many years ago in Lisbon we took a ride on a street car and spoke with an elderly Lisbon resident. He thought we were German tourists. His perception was that Americans spend their time with guides rather than exploring by themselves.
On the Duoro River cruise in Porto we walked from the ship to the ocean. It was interesting to see that the coast is very similar to what you would find in Maine.
I am also much happier with the decision regarding the number of meals that are offered. At lunch we like to wander around a city, stopping in churches and municipal buildings and get a snack rather than having a large meal, especially, if we are having one at dinner. Conversely, if we get a large lunch I don't want a large dinner. I think that lunch only makes sense when you are traveling a distance or going to a special destination.
In my experience, the itinerary they provide with the final documents almost always is the same as the one on the website/catalog. They might add any very recent changes or give a little more detail about what sights are to be seen. For the longer land tours we've been given only the first half of the tour's daily itinerary with the second coming later. On river cruises you only get the daily schedule the day before. There has been so many changes we've experienced during the tours - traffic delays, local events like marathons or concerts, river cruise ships block by other ships, last minute ferry schedule change, etc.
Some people may prefer to get a detailed schedule before the tour starts and risk that things might change, but I don't see Tauck doing that. They would end up dealing with a whole lot more people complaining about schedule changes than the few that want it early. Even if the schedules clearly marked that they were subject to change, a good percentage would never pay attention to that just as there are a certain amount who barely if at all read the basic itinerary. They won't be able to please everyone.
As to the discussion of how much is now included, I'm more concerned with the quality of the excursions than filling every moment. Tour group size, good local guides, and unique opportunities like after hours visits. I like doing research and having some time to see what I want at my pace. On the river cruises it seems like there is certainly more options to chose from than ever before so you can find what appeals to you.
What I haven't liked on land tours based on our last 2 were the Tauck dinners where the menu is limited when I'd often prefer something much lighter and taking less time. In the past you could choose from the entire restaurant menu barring some very expensive items. Now were being limited to 2-3 starters, 2-3 mains, etc vs the full menu which has left me finding it hard to chose something I'd like.
Regarding the meals: I prefer an ample leisure breakfast and a very late and long leisure lunch. I don’t need or require a long and late dinner after that and I’m in my early 70’s. I’d rather skip a dinner than have a late dinner and I love good healthy food. I could not sit through a late dinner after a full day touring and then go to bed after a heavy meal. Not possible for me.
My solution for late dinner - just have a starter.
Interesting information … and another reason I like boats. You get the full menu and rarely are on your own for meals off the boat. Your drinks and tips are also included on the boat trips.
I agree Goddess. If I have had lunch I often will just order a couple starters for dinner, and then have a desert if it looks good. I cannot eat chocolate or nuts, so the choices are sometimes limited.
I agree with Goddess and Sealord. We frequently will have soup and an appetizer for dinner while on tour, unless we are on our own. No dessert for me unless it is fruit-based.