Tauck Reviews 

We have taken one TAUCK 8 day tour (Savannah/Hilton Head/Charleston) and based on that experience would not recommend them for the following reasons:
1. They are expensive. We paid $5,589 PP. If you booked this yourself, it’s only ~$3,165. This means you are paying almost twice as much for the same experience.
2. The experiences were “nothing special”. We could have booked any of them on the internet.
3. The food was mostly “OK” with one meal being superb and one meal being inedible.
4. We got the impression that our tour director was “phoning it in”. She really didn't seem like she wanted to be on the tour.
5. They also overcharge – we booked an extra day at the hotel and were charged $298.50 (the single person rate) times 2 (since there were two of us) for a total of $597. The published rate for our room was $383.
I’d also consider another aspect of the tour: You are being “programmed” and in order to get the most out of the tour, you need to be up in the morning and stick with the group. If you’ve never watched the movie, “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium”, please do so prior to booking. Sure it’s satire, but there’s a lot of truth there. There's not fault to Tauck for this, that's what they do, we just decided it's not our "style".

If you do decide you’re a “tour person”, check out Roads Scholar tours. A similar tour from them would have been $3,099 PP and the tour leader, Ruth Miller, would have been fantastic (we had her for our Tauck bus tour in Charleston, she was fantastic, one of the highlights of the trip. )

Net-net, do your homework and make sure this type of travel is really “for you” and whatever you do, don't book extra days through Tauck.

Tauck is a disaster! Save your money and use another tour company. Went on very expensive Danube tour starting 10/1/23 from Budapest on the Danube. Cabin filled with sewer gas the whole trip. Asked for help three times and Tauck employees pretended they didn’t know. Never helped. Left review an Tauck said tough. Sorry sewer gas was so bad in your cabin it kept you awake at night.

No help and no consideration. Avoid Tauck. If Tauck is brave enough to contact me they can check their internal reviews from 10/1/23 Danube trip starting in Budapest. However, Tauck cares not for their customers and are cowards. I only wish I could give them less than a 1 star review. My feeling are negative 5 stars or worse.

Was on tour with another family that will verify sewer gas and no relief from Tauck. Very sad company. Happy to talk to any prospective future Tauck victims.

Take my advice and avoid Tauck. Find another tour company.

My wife and I recently took a trip to Italy, a 14-day Tauck Classic Italy. The trip was wonderful until my wife fell and could not continue on. Although we had issues with the travel insurance company, Tauck stepped up and agreed to reimburse us for the expenses we had because of some communication issues when we left. I will definitely be scheduling more trips with Tauck. They are a first-rate company who understands the value of dedicated customers.

After 16 trips with Tauck, this was my last. The overall trip was BORING, on and off the bus, packing/unpacking after 1 or 2 days in each hotel, dull sites. Their choice of hotels has deteriorated considerably. One of the "hotels" was less than 1 star. But the worst part is their customer service. Apparently they could care less about keeping customers. Maybe ignorant first-timers will keep them going for a while. Doubt it.

More than a year ago we signed up for the Switzerland: Europe's Crown Jewel tour for September 2023. One of the featured items on the website and in brochure was a trip on the Glacier Express glass-domed train through the Alps. About a week before departure, Tauck sent an email saying that they couldn't get tickets so they substituted for a regular train, a very long bus ride, and a tour of a cheese factory. Getting train tickets is their core business. They knew the dates. We booked more than a year in advance. We questioned them and were told that they would not be providing any compensation because they provided an alternate excursion. The basement of a very small, stinky cheese factory was not a suitable alternative to the world-renowned Glacier Express. During the trip, we learned that some couples got cash back - when we protested to Tauck, they offered a voucher if we booked a future trip. I feel that this was a bait and switch. This was our third Tauck trip and I question whether I will ever use their voucher.

Otherwise, this trip had way too much bus time. The meals were good. The hotels were average. Pace was geared to people 70 plus years old....we are 60 and were the youngest people on tour.

Tauck does it best! This was my 8th Tauck Trip and it was wonderful. Well planned and excellent experiences. Would highly recommend Tauck. They are the best!

First time Tauck Tour, Essence of Japan. It will be my last. Spent more than 45k and they handled flight booking. They booked international layover outbound with 40 min window. Not surprisingly my bags, clothes and medicine didn't arrive for 30 hours. They acknowledged their fault in email but Guest Relations tone deaf. They offered small cash refund and future credit on next tour. Won't be a "next tour ". It was once a great brand but they have lost their feel for customer retention. If you use them, book your own travel and save money and aggravation.

First time Tuack Tour, Essence of Japan. It will be my last. Spent more than 45k and they handled flight booking. They booked international layover outbound with 40 min window. Not surprisingly my bags, clothes and medicine didn't arrive for 30 hours. They acknowledged their fault in email but Guest Relations tone deaf. They offered small cash refund and future credit on next tour. Won't be a "next tour ". It was once a great brand but they have lost their feel for customer retention. If you use them, bookyour own travel and save money and aggravation.

Sad to see a once good tour company stumble and fall into mediocrity. That’s Tauck post-Covid. My May 2023 tour of Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley was done on the cheap by Tauck, yet cost me thousands of dollars extra as a solo traveler on a special small-group tour.

5-star hotels switched to 3 and 4 (without any compensation or explanation)… many more meals “on your own”… lots of “self-guided” tours of museums and chateaux and castles we knew nothing about… airline quality “rubber chicken” dinners, not in hotel restaurants, but in sad and isolated business convention spaces… poorly-trained newer Tour Directors (like the one on this tour) with limited experience traveling outside her tiny Canadian village or dealing with people from diverse backgrounds. She even confessed that this was a second gig job that took her away from her own business back home! You get what Tauck pays for, but unfortunately, not what YOU pay for.

Speaking to a “Guest Relations” agent was comically pointless. She tried to make everything my fault, which I now understand is par for the course with the “new” post-Covid Tauck. Please reconsider spending huge amounts of your hard-earned money on a tour company that has lost its way and no longer delivers.

We have taken two tours with Tauck, one to California and one to Italy, both in 2022. We have two tours scheduled this summer. We originally scheduled our tour to Italy in 2020. When everything shut down, we received a credit for a future tour, that included the price of the insurance. If you book another tour, and cancel THE DAY BEFORE the tour you are signed up for, you get 100% of the money applied to the new tour. You pay for insurance, so that you get your tour price and flights refunded.

Not everything goes perfectly. This grousing and complaining on this site is shocking. If you buy the insurance, and don't take the trip, without booking another tour, you don't get the cost of the insurance back. That is clearly spelled out in the travel documents. If you don't want to pay for travel insurance, then don't pay for travel insurance. But, to say you canceled, and to complain that you didn't get your premium back, is just ridiculous.

I have traveled with the constant complainers, and those who have something negative to say at every stop. Most people are wonderful, and thrilled to be on their journey. However, you will never satisfy everyone.

Go with Tauck, if you want a top of the line experience. Top hotels, access, skip the line access, etc. Great local guides. Private after-hours tour of the Uffizi gallery was fabulous in Italy. We have had a bad meal here or there with Tauck. Did it wreck the trip? No. Where there some things I would have changed a bit? Yes. Did it wreck the trip? No.

I would think that those able to afford a Tauck trip would realize how blessed they are. Stop complaining and realize that you will never get a perfect trip. I will continue to travel with this company and I will tell you why.

We were supposed to leave for a trip on Tuesday, May 16th. On May 15th, my son was hospitalized. The rep took care of me, and guess what? I already have a full refund, less the cost of the insurance. Today is May 18th, and I already have my money back. This is a good company that cares about its guests, so I recommend them. I have made some unbelievable memories with my family. I have been lucky to be able to go to places I have only read about. An occasional so-so meal or an imperfect itinerary cannot lessen the impact of the travel unless you allow it to do so.

WE HAVE TAKEN SEVERAL GREAT TOURS WITH TAUCK PRE COVID🥳….however taking tours POST COVID has been a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. 😱
THEIR Directors are NOW RUDE, ARROGANT, COMBATIVE AND DISMISSIVE! If you have any concerns while on a Tour …KEEP THEM TO YOURSELF🤫….otherwise they will tell the other Traveler’s to AVOID YOU!! THE QUALITY SINCE COVID HAS DROPPED FROM 5* TO 1/2* We will NEVER AGAIN use them.

Douro River cruise, excellent.

Booked a summer cruise out of Nice 2023. Had to cancel seven months prior to the departure date. Had made a $3000 deposit that Tauck refused to return or apply as a future credit.

Never will travel on them again

Tauck sells a Guest Protection Plan (GPP) it states is intended to protect the customer in the event that the customer decides to cancel a trip. What they don’t tell you is that they will keep the premium paid even if Tauck chooses to cancel your trip. If Tauck cancels a trip, they will maintain the amount paid in an account for a limited period of time. If the customer does not use those funds on another trip at the expiration of that time, Tauck declares the customer’s money lost and refuses to refund it. Most notable is the fact that Tauck is the only entity we dealt with throughout the pandemic who did such a thing. All others refunded all monies in full, including “insurance” premiums paid to them, when the company cancelled trips and cruises. After having pursued all reasonable avenues, I was today informed by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that Tauck still refuses to change this practice.

Very disappointed Tauck tour( currently on). The food: dinner menu: Entree: 1 Red beans & Rice. 2. Crawfish etouffee. Cash bar. That’s. Most dinners are disappointment. Cost: Average $1000+/day/couple.

I was on two Tauck tours last year: Jordan and Egypt and Rhine Oktoberfest cruise.
Both tours were superb.
Local guides were used at every stop.
We were really pampered: luggage pick up at our room when we moved.
On the river cruise, all tips and alcohol are included in the price.
Both were truly first class trips.

I was going to complain to their HQ, but could not find a direct route. However, having read the negative feedback from recent clients on the hugely expensive trip on the Grand New England tour, it looks like I got lucky! Having booked last autumn for next September, my health detriorated, and I needed to cancel. I understand the T&C regarding cancelation but did ask the Tauck might refund my deposit of £400, if they resold the spaces. Seeing that the 29 Sept 2023 tour is now sold out, I asked if they would repay as a sign of goodwill. NO WAY! came the reply. This is sharp practice as they get paid twice over. BTW my health seems to be improving, but I will give Tauck a miss on our next trip to New England.

I am updating my review of Tauck to be 5 stars because while it did take a long time to work out my refund for the missed days of our trip due to Covid infection 5 days into our Ireland tour the company has refunded all of my additional expenses and the cost of our missed days of the trip. I will be a returning customer as they have restored my faith in customer service!!

Our Grand New England tour was a huge disappointment, and we will never use this tour company again. The guide was totally unknowledgeable of all of the sites we visited, she was incompetent at coordinating travel for a small group, and she said and did offensive and inappropriate things throughout the trip. Worst of all she sent out our personal information in an unsecure email when we specifically told her not to do so,
This company is completely unwilling to take any constructive feedback from its customers or take seriously the egregious problems they have with their tours. Don't waste your time or money with them.

Our recent Grand New England trip was a huge disappointment from the quality of services provided by our Tour Guide, the quality of Hotels and services provided by them and food services at hotels and optional sites. This was our first and last experience with Tauck. Their management was advised in detail of our complains and their response was a verbal apology and a certificate for a $250 discount on future Tauck tours as an incentive to use their services again. I'm pretty sure they knew we would never book a tour with them again so they really offered nothing to compensate for their failure to provide a high quality trip that warrants the prices they charge for services provided. This company is seriously relying on repeat customers and the reputation they had in the past. If you want a 1 Star travel experience, book with Tauck!

We just returned from 14 days in Portugal and Spain. Overall the trip was enjoyable and the guide was superb. Though on that subject, after spending $15K for the trip, we were told we still needed to tip the guide and driver an additional $500 because they depend on tips for the “majority” of their salary. This is ridiculous; Tauck should pay them what they’re worth and not ding the clients extra, unless each person wants to give extra.
HOWEVER, I’d say Tauck is for people who really don’t care what they see as long as they stay in 5-star hotels, don’t have to handle their luggage, and have plenty of time to shop. I sent a letter to Tauck outlining 10 major deficiencies in our trip, including a flight that we were supposed to take from Lisbon to Seville that was canceled—we took our bus for 9 hours—no refund; we were downgraded from a hotel in Seville we were supposed to stay in— no refund. There were numerous “must see” sites that were not included that we had to seek out on our own and pay extra for (e.g. Granada Cathedral, Royal palace in Madrid, the Queluz Palace in Lisbon). Poor scheduling had us in the Prado Museum during peak time—after the impossibly crowded tour, the guide told us when to come later when practically no one was there; we did and enjoyed it. Tauck doesn’t provide any meals on some days, and way too much food on other days—they should balance this. There were just too many cites missing, when it would have been so easy to include them (even if optional for those who didn’t want to go shopping). We were there to see the important cites. One whole day was wasted in Marbella doing nothing—and that’s at a cost of $1000. At least there should have been a guided option to go somewhere interesting—even a walking tour of the old town—but there was nothing except a mediocre beach. Then there were three times we were taken to uninteresting Jewish Quarters in bland areas. Why? We feel we did not get sufficient value from the experience considering the price of the trip. We had very high expectations that Tauck did not meet. We will not travel with Tauck again. We learned our lesson.