We were very much looking forward to out tour of Rome and Sorrento. Huge disappointment—especially for the cost. Not at all what you should expect. The tour was at an exhausting pace. The local guides were very good, tour leader was somewhat surly. Accommodations were ok, nothing special. Food was lousy….but we did find exceptional food when we strolled away from the tour. Very mediocre experience at a very high cost. We’ll not be using their services again.
RI
RICHARD
This was my 5th Tauck trip (Great…
This was my 5th Tauck trip (Great Britain, Scotland, Wales) and I was absolutely shocked at the rude, superior and condescending manner of the Tour Director, Andres S., who faintly expresses his dislike for North Americans as evidenced by his repeated negative comments about American tourists. He is a South American living in Great Britian. Three times on the tour guests were left behind due to his failure to account for their presence prior to the bus departing locations. He was garrulous to a fault describing his personal preferences where we would tune him out, and when I queried him about a point his answer was "I already told you that". This was a demeaning response to a guest, especially on a very high-end tour. During the tour, he entered into a heated argument with a guest couple who had been left behind where due to the escalating tension in front of other guests I had to personally separate him from that couple to defuse the situation. I feel that this experience does not reflect our Tauck prior experience, and we have rebooked another tour. This was a failure of the Tour Director to understand his clientele, and I feel that he is unsuitable to work with high-end guests. My comments were expressed to Tauck management, and travel vouchers were issued for future trips. The trip was salvaged by my wife and I by completely ignoring the Tour Director and doing what we wished to do, rather than follow his suggestions to frequent his vendors of choice. Caveat emptor.
DG
Dick G.
Five great experiences
We have taken five Tauck small group tours (India, Spain, Portugal, southern France and Canadian Rockies) and have enjoyed all of them and recommend them all. India and the Canadian Rockies (just back from it) were particular standouts and which we would highly recommend. Great rooms with views, great tour directors and local guides and interesting itinerarries. We have always bought the insurance but never have had to use it.
RB
R B.
Expensive MLM experience
I just got back from a river cruise down the Rhine with a small side quest down the Moselle River.
Positives: the staff were friendly, food, numerous excursions.
Honestly, this tour company is heavily geared towards American travellers. Also, it had a heavy MLM feel with them talking about Tauck being a family, and constantly thanking each other and stroking each other’s egos.
This was a very very expensive trip, and there were costly fees to do laundry. A lot of people were washing socks and underwear in their sinks. I would not expect this from a luxury cruise.
We were on the top floor in one of the nicest rooms. The boat was so loud and vibrated so much that I feel fatigued from not sleeping and just from being on the trip.
Also, during the trip my family went in the hot tub on the top of the boat and got paint from the hot tub all over ourselves. They were quite dismissive and didn’t offer us a discount or really anything to make it right. It was pretty disappointing. They then emptied the tub, supposedly cleaned it, refilled it… said it was fixed. I ran my finger along the side the next day and got chemical paint residue on myself. Needless to say, I gave up.
Overall, we made the best of the trip, but the pace of the excursions were too slow.
DK
David K.
Just got back from a tour of Italy that…
Just got back from a tour of Italy that was amazing. For starters our tour guide Andrea was outstanding that set the pace. Hotels were great, balance of personal time was perfect, sights were amazing. This was my first tour and highly recommend Tauck.
RP
Ruth P.
I have been on 13 different Tauck…
I have been on 13 different Tauck tours. I have loved everyone. I am shocked to read so many negative reviews. Some things cannot be helped. The rooms in Paris are smaller than normal. I am a travel agent and love Tauck. when I read through the reviews that are so negative, what comes to mind is the people themselves must be poor travelers. Nothing is perfect.
CH
Charlette
I did the Grand Australia & New Zealand…
I did the Grand Australia & New Zealand tour
What was meant to be a cultural journey quickly became an exercise in frustration. The tour leader had no real knowledge of the destinations, and a chronic nasal issue made his already vague explanations nearly impossible to understand.
Time was wasted shamelessly. We stood in front of an unremarkable street sculpture for nearly 30 minutes, trapped in an unsolicited, meandering history lecture. Then, inexplicably, we were taken to a war museum showcasing World War I planes from Europe, on the other side of the planet. Baffling. The itinerary felt stitched together without logic, padded with stops that had no business being there.
An obscene amount of time was spent in transit, shuttling endlessly between these pointless locations, draining both energy and patience.
Evenings offered no escape. Confined to private hotel dining rooms with the same group, cut off entirely from local life, with alcohol flowing freely for those who wanted it. I did not travel this far to sit in a closed room with other tourists. I came for culture, for atmosphere, for the soul of a place, and found none of it.
Let me be clear: this company caters to those with no curiosity, no taste, and no desire to truly experience anything. It is travel reduced to passive consumption, moving from one forgettable stop to another without understanding or engagement.
Never again!
JH
Joe H.
Tauck keeps insurance payment and does not hold their vendor accountable
Booked a tour to Israel-Jordan through Tauck Tours scheduled for November of 2026. Their representative convinced me to buy their trip insurance even though no money would be due at all until about 90 days prior to the tour (August 26). Tauck called yesterday to inform us that the Israel Tour was canceled (and rightly so - no problem there). The problem lies in them not refunding the trip insurance that was never used at all since the tour never started and no money was ever paid for the trip itself (except the trip insurance). The Tauck rep said their vendor wouldn't refund the money. Well that's not my problem that's a Tauck problem. They sold the insurance as Tauck, they didn't send me to a different company or site to purchase the insurance so in essence this is Tauck insurance. This is a case where having trip insurance was more costly for a canceled trip than if I had never purchased the insurance at all. If I had canceled the trip no problem keep my money, but Tauck canceled it. When I was in business I had vendors that on occasion needed to step up to satisfy a customer due to their problems, mistakes, or policies because my company's reputation depended on us being fair to the customer and not hiding behind a vendor like Tauck is doing here. Tauck also promised someone from management would call to discuss and that didn't happen as well. They had a low level marketing person call because some executive or manager didn't want to deal with a customer with a valid complaint (Refund what you owe me for a trip that didn't and is never going to take place). Tauck rep told me "I NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND"..... and my response was as the client, "NO, TAUCK NEEDS TOUNDERSTAND ME". They graciously (sarcasm) said the insurance payment could be used against another Tauck trip (with a short time limit as well). My wife and I already have trips booked out a year+ in advance. Not only do I not have the opening for another Tauck trip we now seriously don't want a trip with Tauck and never will again. Tauck and their "vendor" are not out a dime if they refund my payment as there was absolutely no out of pocket cost to them for their cancellation. Tauck will never see one more dime of my money ever. .......Fool me once shame on you..,.."