$4,000 more!!!

[Bobo912]

Thank you for sharing your observations. We have ABD Central Europe booked for next year, so of course it is reassuring to read your comments.

Are all the Tauck itineraries kid friendly or are there certain tours designated for kids? I am surprised that they would have a tour with only 1 guide. That does seem to be a Disney Difference then...

Tauck Bridges are family trips. There is also Tauck World Discovery that offers a wide range of itineraries mainly for adults, but children can also join these trips. And Tauck's Culturious trips are smaller groups and that delve more into the culture of the country.

 

[carpenta]

I have heard good things about the river boat cruises and I would consider doing that with Tauck.

Since ABD does not do riverboat tours Tauck is the only family tour as far as I know. We did the Danube Tauck Bridges tour but not a happy camper. The ship and crew were fantastic BUT Tauck only rents the ship and crew. The crew were SO nice to the kids and couldn't do enough to spoil the kids on the trip. The Tauck members.........did not lift a finger to include nor even recognize that kids were even on the trip. The kids seemed to be more a pain in the butt than anything. IMO if you want a family experience Tauck is lacking in this department. My daughter kept saying "this can't even compare to Adventures".....

 

[wdhinn89]

I realize it is hard to make a comparison of only 1 Tauck Bridges tour vs 5 ABD, but after the one I have been afraid to try Tauck again. I will try and explain why.

I think having only one guide can be tricky. Ours was rather snarky, maybe a bad week for her, but it set the mood for the entire trip. She was actually pretty good with the kids, but not the adults. We had several grandparents on our trip and, as we all know, we don't hear or process information as quickly as we age. Well, she made it very clear she was annoyed when people asked her to repeat information. She often said "no worries", even though her demeanor implied there WERE worries. To this day I cringe when people say"no worries".

Ok she was one person and that can change, but there were other issues. This was the SanFrancisco/Yosemite/Monterey Bay trip. No walk on guide for our tour of SanFrancisco, just miss crabby to point out things from the bus. I really wanted my daughter to get a good history of the city and that didn't happen. They took us to the San Francisco Academy of Science. We have great Museums like this in Cleveland, that is NOT what I came to SF to see. I've been to San Francisco many times, and they left out some great locations. How great it would have been to get some insight into the Asian culture there, with a local guide who was of Asian descent. We drove through China town on the tour bus, you can't get a feel for it that way.

We did the ferry around Alcatraz with all the other tourists, all our guide did was purchase the tickets for us. Had I known this I would have opted to do something on my own. I really felt like I could have done a better tour on my own, except my daughter wouldn't have had the other kids to hang with.

Yosemite: we had the same Park Ranger guided tours anyone else could do. Of course the ranger talks were great, but again, I could have done that on my own.

The only location I felt like we had any personalized experience was at The Monterey Bay Aquarium. We had a behind the scenes tour there and our goodbye dinner was there. We were the only people in the place for the dinner, so that was very nice.

I have never had a Disney Guide treat guests the way this woman did. I'm sure if they did, they would no longer be an ABD guide. So the guides are my # 1 reason for sticking with ABD. It is hard to put into words the "specialness" of the ABD Trips, but that is why I am willing to spend the money for them and why I am afraid to spend that kind of money on Tauck again.

The End

Thank you for your review.

We actually considered doing the same tour this summer through Tauk but my husband felt it was expensive and something we could manage doing on our own. We were going to book the same hotels and see the same places but after researching other forums, we found Yosemite can be really crazy crowded in the summer. There were reports of people stuck in traffic for 2 hours to go 1 mile. All the park hotels were booked and the hotel Tauk used was outside of the park so we changed our plans. We figured we would try visiting in 2 years and book an on-site hotel in Yosemite well ahead of time.

We feel comfortable traveling in the US on our own but figured for the first time in Italy, a tour would be best for us. Next summer is our 25th Anniversary and my husband and I will both turn 50 so we thought we would go all out. Such a hard decision. $4,000 is a lot of money.

 

[Bobo912]

Since ABD does not do riverboat tours Tauck is the only family tour as far as I know. We did the Danube Tauck Bridges tour but not a happy camper. The ship and crew were fantastic BUT Tauck only rents the ship and crew. The crew were SO nice to the kids and couldn't do enough to spoil the kids on the trip. The Tauck members.........did not lift a finger to include nor even recognize that kids were even on the trip. The kids seemed to be more a pain in the butt than anything. IMO if you want a family experience Tauck is lacking in this department. My daughter kept saying "this can't even compare to Adventures".....

Our experience couldn't have been more different. The guides were fantastic with the kids. They came up with one special activity after another for the kids - all of which were in addition to anything on the scheduled itinerary. And they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. It was leaps and bounds beyond anything I've ever seen on an ABD. I know we went shortly after your trip, so maybe they got some negative feedback and instituted some improvements or maybe we had different guides.

I did come across one other river cruise company that has a few family cruises. I think it was Uniworld. Hopefully that will be a trend and we'll have more options to choose from.

 

[carpenta]

Our experience couldn't have been more different. The guides were fantastic with the kids. They came up with one special activity after another for the kids - all of which were in addition to anything on the scheduled itinerary. And they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. It was leaps and bounds beyond anything I've ever seen on an ABD. I know we went shortly after your trip, so maybe they got some negative feedback and instituted some improvements or maybe we had different guides.

I did come across one other river cruise company that has a few family cruises. I think it was Uniworld. Hopefully that will be a trend and we'll have more options to choose from.

Well the true aspect of a good company is to jump right on negative reviews and correct what was perceived as a problem. The Tauck people all ate together at the dinner table with a reserved sign on the table. At one day on the cruise at lunch they all sat around a table and b*tched and moaned how hard they work and how the "front" office doesn't care. At the beginning we were constantly awoken by people running on the top deck right over our bedroom after midnight. Approaching the Tauck member I was told "what do you want me to do?" and after "there's nothing I can do"....Nice huh? Constant wake up after midnight......Lucky it worked itself out. No help to them. I could go on and on. Like you stated could have been a bad batch of guides........expensive chance for us I guess.

 

[disneydeb8]

Wow.

 

[ennuiphobe]

We just got back from a Tauck Bridges Italia Bella tour. Our guide was fantastic and the trip wonderful. After now having done 2 tours with ABD (Quest for the West and Knights & Lights) and 2 with Tauck Bridges (Costa Rica, Italia Bella), I'd say both companies deliver similar high-quality experiences. Both get the important things right: high-quality lodging, seamless handling of logistics, high-quality local guides, preferred access to venues, activities for kids, etc.

Quite frankly, much of the experience of any specific tour depends on the guide (or guides) for that tour. On our Knights & Lights tour, one of the guides seemed less than enthusiastic about being on the tour, and as a result, that has been our least favorite tour and led me to look into other tour companies.

One consideration though is the growing price gap between the two companies. When we started traveling a few years ago, the difference was minor. Now ABD starts out substantially higher and the gap widens as the ABD price increases as people sign up (Tauck's increase is much more moderate). Whereas the ABD premium used to be a few hundred dollars per person, now it can be a thousand dollars or more. Having experienced both, I'm not sure ABD delivers that much added value.

I'll certainly continue to consider ABD for future trips, but they are no longer an automatic choice because I know that other companies can deliver an equally high-quality experience.

BTW, does anyone have experience with Austin-Lehman or Thompson Family?

 

[SingingMom]

Well the true aspect of a good company is to jump right on negative reviews and correct what was perceived as a problem. The Tauck people all ate together at the dinner table with a reserved sign on the table. At one day on the cruise at lunch they all sat around a table and b*tched and moaned how hard they work and how the "front" office doesn't care. At the beginning we were constantly awoken by people running on the top deck right over our bedroom after midnight. Approaching the Tauck member I was told "what do you want me to do?" and after "there's nothing I can do"....Nice huh? Constant wake up after midnight......Lucky it worked itself out. No help to them. I could go on and on. Like you stated could have been a bad batch of guides........expensive chance for us I guess.

And the Tauck one we ran into in Paris had such a cranky demeanor ! Not a great idea to act like that while wearing a name tag! We are very biased, but we adore our Adventure Guides! ;-)

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Bobo912]

We just got back from a Tauck Bridges Italia Bella tour. Our guide was fantastic and the trip wonderful. After now having done 2 tours with ABD (Quest for the West and Knights & Lights) and 2 with Tauck Bridges (Costa Rica, Italia Bella), I'd say both companies deliver similar high-quality experiences. Both get the important things right: high-quality lodging, seamless handling of logistics, high-quality local guides, preferred access to venues, activities for kids, etc.

Quite frankly, much of the experience of any specific tour depends on the guide (or guides) for that tour. On our Knights & Lights tour, one of the guides seemed less than enthusiastic about being on the tour, and as a result, that has been our least favorite tour and led me to look into other tour companies.

One consideration though is the growing price gap between the two companies. When we started traveling a few years ago, the difference was minor. Now ABD starts out substantially higher and the gap widens as the ABD price increases as people sign up (Tauck's increase is much more moderate). Whereas the ABD premium used to be a few hundred dollars per person, now it can be a thousand dollars or more. Having experienced both, I'm not sure ABD delivers that much added value.

I'll certainly continue to consider ABD for future trips, but they are no longer an automatic choice because I know that other companies can deliver an equally high-quality experience.

BTW, does anyone have experience with Austin-Lehman or Thompson Family?

I totally agree with you. Both companies are excellent. From my personal experience, ABD doesn't offer anything to justify the ever increasing difference is price. Having two guides definitely isn't worth it to me. I've had wonderful guides with both companies, but I've also had some not so wonderful guides with ABD.

 

[wdhinn89]

Thanks so much for the information and opinions. We just returned from this summers vacation and now it is time to book next summers Italy vacation. I will definitely be reading up between the 2 companies and comparing everything before booking. $4,000 is a lot of money.

 

[Bobo912]

One other thing to consider when comparing price - and this can be big for a family of 4. ABD recommends a gratuity for the guides of $5-$9 per guide per day for each guest. So for an 9 day trip, for instance, the tip could be as much as $9 x 9 days x 2 guides x 4 guests = $648. For Tauck Bridges, the tour director's gratuity is included in the price of the trip.

 

[wdhinn89]

One other thing to consider when comparing price - and this can be big for a family of 4. ABD recommends a gratuity for the guides of $5-$9 per guide per day for each guest. So for an 9 day trip, for instance, the tip could be as much as $9 x 9 days x 2 guides x 4 guests = $648. For Tauck Bridges, the tour director's gratuity is included in the price of the trip.

WOW!!! Did not know that. Ok, we are now up to a $4,648 difference.

 

[pihanettie]

Looking at ABD and Tauck Italy, it seems like there are glaring differences to me in Disney's favor. They (Tauck) fit seeing Rome into 1 day (extremely exhausting for children). ABD is 2 days and there are big bonuses (kids get their own tour at the Colosseum, private tour of the Vatican, Castel Sant'Angelo). Extra time and extra experiences. ABD seems to move at a slower pace overall, not feeling so rushed. Alcohol/wine tastings included at several points. I remember when I was young I thought Florence was quite boring and I am a little hesitant to take 2 young children on that part of the tour, but Disney appears to be making it a little more fun by offering "secret" areas (passages) for the kids, an art detective game in Venice, olive oil flavorings, lawn games, movies, etc.
Not saying Tauck won't be doing this as well but at least they are not advertising on the web page from what I can see. Not feeling rushed and extra experiences such as these will make it more fun and a better learning experience for the kids.

 

[ennuiphobe]

Looking at ABD and Tauck Italy, it seems like there are glaring differences to me in Disney's favor. They (Tauck) fit seeing Rome into 1 day (extremely exhausting for children). ABD is 2 days and there are big bonuses (kids get their own tour at the Colosseum, private tour of the Vatican, Castel Sant'Angelo). Extra time and extra experiences. ABD seems to move at a slower pace overall, not feeling so rushed. Alcohol/wine tastings included at several points. I remember when I was young I thought Florence was quite boring and I am a little hesitant to take 2 young children on that part of the tour, but Disney appears to be making it a little more fun by offering "secret" areas (passages) for the kids, an art detective game in Venice, olive oil flavorings, lawn games, movies, etc.
Not saying Tauck won't be doing this as well but at least they are not advertising on the web page from what I can see. Not feeling rushed and extra experiences such as these will make it more fun and a better learning experience for the kids.

Have you taken the Tauck Bridges Italy tour? We were on it last week and I assure you Rome was not "extremely exhausting for the children". Tauck spends 2 nights in Rome, so the Rome activities are spread over 2 days. Our group became very close over the course of a week (as is common on these tours) and at no time do I recall anyone complaining of feeling rushed. Of course I'm sure that everyone wished the trip lasted longer, but that would have been true even if we were there 2 weeks.

It's likely that ABD has more planned activities. We didn't have wine tastings, olive oil tastings, lawn games, movies, etc., but quite frankly I don't think anyone missed them. We did have the private Vatican tour and the kids had a pizza making night in Florence and a trivia contest in the Uffizi. I don't know how old you were when you found Florence boring, but my 12yo son loved Florence, saying it's now his 3rd favorite city in the world.

The kid's movie night is a nice idea, especially for the younger kids, but if you've been on these family tours you know that after the 2nd or 3rd day the older kids (middle school and up) are eating and hanging out together anyway (on our Knights and Lights tour I think half the kids skipped the movie), so the parents get plenty of opportunities for adult-only dining.

ABD staying in a villa outside of Florence is actually the reason I chose Tauck. I wanted to stay in Florence rather than make day trips into Florence, but I can understand the villa being a positive for many people.

Having now been on 2 trips with each company, I would make a tentative observation that ABD provides more handholding and a more planned/structured environment than Tauck Bridges. If you're the type that likes everything planned for you on your trips, ABD is maybe the better choice. If you like to be able to improvise and customize yet retain all the benefits of a tour, maybe Tauck Bridges is more appropriate.

Again, I'm not trying to prove that one company is better than the other. I like ABD and look forward to taking another ABD tour someday. But I'm not a fanboy and I'll speak up when I see people making ill-informed observations about other companies with which I am familiar (I'd do the same thing if I saw people on a Tauck board bashing ABD). Bottom line, I think both ABD and Tauck Bridges deliver an excellent experience and are both worth of consideration.

 

[Bobo912]

Looking at ABD and Tauck Italy, it seems like there are glaring differences to me in Disney's favor. They (Tauck) fit seeing Rome into 1 day (extremely exhausting for children). ABD is 2 days and there are big bonuses (kids get their own tour at the Colosseum, private tour of the Vatican, Castel Sant'Angelo). Extra time and extra experiences. ABD seems to move at a slower pace overall, not feeling so rushed. Alcohol/wine tastings included at several points. I remember when I was young I thought Florence was quite boring and I am a little hesitant to take 2 young children on that part of the tour, but Disney appears to be making it a little more fun by offering "secret" areas (passages) for the kids, an art detective game in Venice, olive oil flavorings, lawn games, movies, etc.
Not saying Tauck won't be doing this as well but at least they are not advertising on the web page from what I can see. Not feeling rushed and extra experiences such as these will make it more fun and a better learning experience for the kids.

My experience has been that there are a lot of activities for the kids on a TB tour that are not listed on the intinerary, which is a very nice surprise.

 

[sabrecmc]

We are considering ABD for the first time for possibly a 2015 trip and then for China when DD(7) is a bit older. I am glad to hear Tauck offers some similar tours for less, but am curious why, if they do offer these fun activities for the kids, they don't tell you about them online? That is sort of a huge selling point for me, trying to make a trip that can be a bit of a beating with art and history fun for a young child.

I'm not really needing a lot of hand-holding for Europe or North America (though definitely would for China, though I've been there before). I lived in London and have been all over Europe, so would be fine doing that on my own. I took DD when she was 4, and we had a great time. I mostly want ABD for the fun of DD having other kids along and special activities to enjoy. I don't understand why that wouldn't be front and center from TB? I guess I'm the kind that wants to know ahead of time what I am getting for my money. I don't mind a few little magical surprises, but knowing in advance that the kids get a special activity is really important to me in deciding which tour to take.

 

[Bobo912]

We are considering ABD for the first time for possibly a 2015 trip and then for China when DD(7) is a bit older. I am glad to hear Tauck offers some similar tours for less, but am curious why, if they do offer these fun activities for the kids, they don't tell you about them online? That is sort of a huge selling point for me, trying to make a trip that can be a bit of a beating with art and history fun for a young child.

I'm not really needing a lot of hand-holding for Europe or North America (though definitely would for China, though I've been there before). I lived in London and have been all over Europe, so would be fine doing that on my own. I took DD when she was 4, and we had a great time. I mostly want ABD for the fun of DD having other kids along and special activities to enjoy. I don't understand why that wouldn't be front and center from TB? I guess I'm the kind that wants to know ahead of time what I am getting for my money. I don't mind a few little magical surprises, but knowing in advance that the kids get a special activity is really important to me in deciding which tour to take.

TB does list kid friendly activities on their website and in general I find them to be very similar to ABD. They have things like making cookies or pizza, scavenger hunts, etc. The main exception is the movie night. I suspect that the additional kids activities are not on the website because the TB tour directors have more freedom to come up with their own surprises, rather than the scripted surprises on ABD trips.

 

[sabrecmc]

TB does list kid friendly activities on their website and in general I find them to be very similar to ABD. They have things like making cookies or pizza, scavenger hunts, etc. The main exception is the movie night. I suspect that the additional kids activities are not on the website because the TB tour directors have more freedom to come up with their own surprises, rather than the scripted surprises on ABD trips.

Thanks, Bobo. I looked at their website, and I swear I only see pizza making on the Rome to Venice trip that seems at all a special activity. There is a musician serenading you on the gondola ride, but, quite frankly, that is common in Venice and I kind of found that a bit awkward last trip to Venice, so not a big deal to me. Did you do one of the trips that has the fun activities? I'd definitely be interested in hearing more about that.

I guess I see lots of guided tours with historians mentioned, though it says family-friendly, and, while that may be super interesting for some kids, it just doesn't sound as exciting for my DD. Lawn games, olive oil making, folk singing group, mask-making, a masked dinner with Venetian dancers, detective game...Maybe that is just a personal preference knowing my girl, or the way ABD describes things on their website (if so, kudos for marketing), but that sounds loads more fun! Not sure if that makes up for the price difference, and I'm sure each tour and each company has its benefits, but it certainly sounds more fun for a child. I've seen this stuff, so for me, it is really about exposing her to the world and having fun as a family. I'm not against TB, particularly for the price, I just really want her to have fun, even if that costs a bit more.

 

[ennuiphobe]

We are considering ABD for the first time for possibly a 2015 trip and then for China when DD(7) is a bit older. I am glad to hear Tauck offers some similar tours for less, but am curious why, if they do offer these fun activities for the kids, they don't tell you about them online? That is sort of a huge selling point for me, trying to make a trip that can be a bit of a beating with art and history fun for a young child.

I'm not really needing a lot of hand-holding for Europe or North America (though definitely would for China, though I've been there before). I lived in London and have been all over Europe, so would be fine doing that on my own. I took DD when she was 4, and we had a great time. I mostly want ABD for the fun of DD having other kids along and special activities to enjoy. I don't understand why that wouldn't be front and center from TB? I guess I'm the kind that wants to know ahead of time what I am getting for my money. I don't mind a few little magical surprises, but knowing in advance that the kids get a special activity is really important to me in deciding which tour to take.

I think the level and nature of kids activities depends on the trip, and to some degree the guides. On what my son calls 'doing' trips (such as ABD Quest for the West or TB Costa Rica), the tours are filled with so many engaging activities that special kids-specific activities are almost superfluous. On what my son calls 'seeing' tours (such as ABD Knights & Lights or TB Italia Bella), the number of kids activities seem similar, but their value can depend on the interests of the child. For Knights & Lights, I think the only kids activity (other than movie night) was the scavenger hunt in the Louvre, which the kids loved. For Italia Bella, my son enjoyed the trivia contest in the Uffizi and the pizza making (I asked him about the kids activities on ABD's Italy tour. He says he would have liked the pasta making but would have had no interest in mask making).

But as I mentioned in a prior post, within a day or two the kids bond and make their own fun. For instance on our last tour, one night the kids hung out in the piazza in front of our hotel goofing around and shooting those rubber-band powered light-up helicopter things into the air. On another night the kids got together and made their own Harlem Shake videos.

One point to note is that while Tauck offers kids activities, the guides are there to make sure the trip runs smoothly, not to keep the kids entertained. Our Tauck guides have been fun and engaging with great personalities, but their primary responsibility is managing the trip. This is where having 2 guides can make a difference. On our Q4tw tour, one of the guides was fantastic with the kids, always engaging them and filling down time with spontaneous activities. He really made the trip special. On the other hand, on our K&L trip, one of the guides seemed to be phoning it in and as a result the overall experience was somewhat flat.

[edit: to be fair to our TB guide, I should mention a couple things I remembered he did with the kids. During bus rides he would hold pop quizes about places we visited or saw, with the winners getting Italian candy and caps. And on the train ride to Venice, the kids were given a trivia test about the trip to date, with the winners announced at our lunch in Venice and receiving large containers of Italian candy and pastries]

One advantage of Tauck is that they will tell you when making a reservation the numbers and ages of kids that have signed up for the different departures, allowing you to select a week with the best match for your own kids. As of a few years ago, ABD would not give out this information (hopefully this has changed).

Another option is Thompson Family Adventures. In addition to a tour director, their tours include a designated 'mentor', whose job it is to 'engage the kids in games and activities'. I'd love to hear from someone who has taken one of their tours.

 

[Bobo912]

Thanks, Bobo. I looked at their website, and I swear I only see pizza making on the Rome to Venice trip that seems at all a special activity. There is a musician serenading you on the gondola ride, but, quite frankly, that is common in Venice and I kind of found that a bit awkward last trip to Venice, so not a big deal to me. Did you do one of the trips that has the fun activities? I'd definitely be interested in hearing more about that.

I guess I see lots of guided tours with historians mentioned, though it says family-friendly, and, while that may be super interesting for some kids, it just doesn't sound as exciting for my DD. Lawn games, olive oil making, folk singing group, mask-making, a masked dinner with Venetian dancers, detective game...Maybe that is just a personal preference knowing my girl, or the way ABD describes things on their website (if so, kudos for marketing), but that sounds loads more fun! Not sure if that makes up for the price difference, and I'm sure each tour and each company has its benefits, but it certainly sounds more fun for a child. I've seen this stuff, so for me, it is really about exposing her to the world and having fun as a family. I'm not against TB, particularly for the price, I just really want her to have fun, even if that costs a bit more.

It’s funny that you mention the historical aspect of the trips, because I intentionally stayed away from Europe trips (including the ABDs) for several years because they were so heavy on history and we did the ones with more outdoor activities instead. I know my DS is not interested in history – he likes rafting, ziplining, etc. and animals. But when we finally did a European trip he loved it. There were a lot of activities in addition to the historical tours, but even the historical tours were fun for the kids. The local tour guides made it entertaining for them.

I haven’t done the Italy trip with either company, so I can’t speak to that. The first TB trip we took in 2010 was the Northern CA/Yosemite trip. It included kayaking, biking, visiting the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, etc., a lot of activities that were fun for everybody. The kids did rock wall climbing and a junior ranger activity at Yosemite and the guide came up with games and contests (with prizes) for the kids throughout the trip. Last year we did the Danube cruise, which I remember in more detail since less time has passed. There was a scavenger hunt for the kids in Bratislava, a bike ride into one of the small villages for ice cream, a visit to the Vienna Prater where the tour directors challenged the kids to a bumper car battle and rode other rides with them, as well. They had a race with prizes through the maze at Schonbrunn Palace. They baked and decorated cookies. There were contests of some sort every day where the tour guides gave play money as prizes and the kids could use it to buy things at the gift shop. The tour directors purchased and assembled kites for the kids to fly on the deck of the boat, which was really cool. They had a dance party with refreshments on deck for the kids (no adults allowed except the tour directors), which gave the adults a chance to have a quiet dinner or a visit to the spa. We had an activity near the end of the trip where everybody made a sculpture of a face out of marzipan. The guides took all of the kid’s sculptures (and there were probably 40 or more kids) and made up a funny, personalized award to present to each kid along with a prize. They bought a lot of stuff for prizes and everything that was left over, the kids “bought” with the remainder of their play money. I’m probably forgetting some things, because there were so many extra things the tour directors did for the kids. But aside from the surprises, all of the activities that weren’t geared specifically toward the kids were still a lot of fun for them. I’ve been on 4 ABD (#5 booked for next summer) and 2 TB trips and my experience has been that TB has as many kid friendly activities as ABD. I will definitely be taking more TB trips in the future, as well.