ABD vs. Tauck for London/Paris

[BluesTraveler]

We have decided on London/Paris for our 2018 family trip. Now we are just waiting for ABD and Tauck to release their itineraries, so we can decide which one to go with. If any readers have done London/Paris with ABD or Tauck recently and has comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

[acndis]

We did the London/Paris ABD a few years ago (before the itinerary change). We loved it and had amazing guides (Laura and Fransesc--two of the very, very best). It is a great trip but it is really one you could do on your own, I think. We loved having the group because my son was pretty young. He really wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and loved having a group to do it with--however, London and Paris are so accessible, the ABD is not essential.

That said, the ABD (even with the new itinerary) hits the high (tourist) points of each city. My husband and I have been to both cities many times but we wanted to take my son on the "greatest hits" and it was great not having to plan the transportation, get the tickets, or stand in line. So, it depends on what you are looking for. I know you are pretty active and this is not a very active itinerary. It's more sites and history.

I have heard Scotland is the European itinerary to do if you want something active. Let me know if you have more questions and hopefully someone who has done the revised itinerary will post, too!

 

[BluesTraveler]

We did the London/Paris ABD a few years ago (before the itinerary change). We loved it and had amazing guides (Laura and Fransesc--two of the very, very best). It is a great trip but it is really one you could do on your own, I think. We loved having the group because my son was pretty young. He really wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and loved having a group to do it with--however, London and Paris are so accessible, the ABD is not essential.

That said, the ABD (even with the new itinerary) hits the high (tourist) points of each city. My husband and I have been to both cities many times but we wanted to take my son on the "greatest hits" and it was great not having to plan the transportation, get the tickets, or stand in line. So, it depends on what you are looking for. I know you are pretty active and this is not a very active itinerary. It's more sites and history.

I have heard Scotland is the European itinerary to do if you want something active. Let me know if you have more questions and hopefully someone who has done the revised itinerary will post, too!

Thank you! Yes, DH and I have done both London and Paris and they're both so easy on your own...but our kids LOVED being with other kids so we figured this would be a great way to show the highlight reel of both cities to them while still a fun vacation for us.

 

[hilarys]

I can't help you with a comparison - we are doing the London/Paris ABD this summer. I did happen to look at the Tauck trip details yesterday to compare the two. There are a lot of similarities, but there were some slight differences in the sites and activities that make the ABD appeal more to my family. I would be happy to give you my thoughts once we complete our trip in 2 months.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Is neither an option? I just did both cities on my own and it was incredibly easy. It would be like going to Chicago or New York with a tour group to me.

Unless it actually saves you money (wouldn't think so with either company) or it includes somewhere on the itinerary that would be difficult to reach without a car, like the cotswolds, maybe?

 

[hilarys]

Is neither an option? I just did both cities on my own and it was incredibly easy. It would be like going to Chicago or New York with a tour group to me.

Unless it actually saves you money (wouldn't think so with either company) or it includes somewhere on the itinerary that would be difficult to reach without a car, like the cotswolds, maybe?

We like to travel with ABD for many reasons including the social aspect of it. My kids like to make new friends as do we. We have much more fun traveling as a group and have made many new friends in our ABD travels that we continue to stay in touch with. I agree that those are not challenging cities to visit on your own but there are many advantages to traveling with ABD - having them plan out everything is another one of them. We are doing two pre-days in London before our trip and over the last 11 months since we booked the trip, I haven't had time to do more than bookmark a few interesting things - still have not come up with a plan for those two days. I am so busy that I relish having someone else do the research and book everything and come up with the right plan.

I understand your point though, I wouldn't do an ABD for San Francisco since I live here. Now I need to get off the DIS and get back to planning my two pre days.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I definitely understand the social aspect! Have a great trip!

One thing to consider- is the Tauck tour family oriented? My grandparents used to take those. They loved them but there were not many kids on the tours they took- if there were some at all.

 

[BluesTraveler]

I definitely understand the social aspect! Have a great trip!

One thing to consider- is the Tauck tour family oriented? My grandparents used to take those. They loved them but there were not many kids on the tours they took- if there were some at all.

Yes, Tauck has a program called Bridges that is specifically for families. Agree with HilaryS above on the social aspect of it. We do quite a bit of independent travel each year, but after our Alaska trip last year our kids were totally hooked on traveling with that kind of tour group. And it makes it so much easier on me in terms of logistics. So we've decided we'll do one trip/year in that format.

 

[tink1970]

Unless it actually saves you money (wouldn't think so with either company) or it includes somewhere on the itinerary that would be difficult to reach without a car, like the cotswolds, maybe?

My DD is an only child and she and I spend a looooot of time together traveling and not traveling. Sometimes a tour group is more for the kids' and parents' sanity than for practical aspects.

 

[acndis]

Thank you! Yes, DH and I have done both London and Paris and they're both so easy on your own...but our kids LOVED being with other kids so we figured this would be a great way to show the highlight reel of both cities to them while still a fun vacation for us.

I think this will be perfect for you, then. We went at Christmas (it was amazing) and the logistics of this trip (plus the December crowds especially in Paris) were insane. Laura and Francesc were amazing in navigating all of this for us. We could have done it but it would have been a nightmare that time of year!

I am sure both the Tauck and ABD are great but I do have a soft spot for ABD and two guides were VERY helpful on this itinerary.

 

[cal2net]

We did the London/Paris ABD a few years ago (before the itinerary change). We loved it and had amazing guides (Laura and Fransesc--two of the very, very best). It is a great trip but it is really one you could do on your own, I think. We loved having the group because my son was pretty young. He really wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and loved having a group to do it with--however, London and Paris are so accessible, the ABD is not essential.

That said, the ABD (even with the new itinerary) hits the high (tourist) points of each city. My husband and I have been to both cities many times but we wanted to take my son on the "greatest hits" and it was great not having to plan the transportation, get the tickets, or stand in line. So, it depends on what you are looking for. I know you are pretty active and this is not a very active itinerary. It's more sites and history.

I have heard Scotland is the European itinerary to do if you want something active. Let me know if you have more questions and hopefully someone who has done the revised itinerary will post, too!

Don't mean to high jack the topic but what was the dress attire for evening group meals (or on your own evening meals)? We will be doing the London/Paris ABD trip later this year and were curious.

 

[acndis]

Don't mean to high jack the topic but what was the dress attire for evening group meals (or on your own evening meals)? We will be doing the London/Paris ABD trip later this year and were curious.

London and Paris are fancy so I brought dresses and my Husband, son, and Dad had suits. You did not need them for the ABD portion. We went during December so we had Jackets. I dressed in pants, sweaters, and ankle boots most days. The farewell and welcome dinners are nice and I enjoyed wearing a dress to both but it's not required! I dressed nice for the theatre in London. Also not required but I think more fun. Going to the theatre is on your own time.

 

[cal2net]

Thank you. Definitely will pack dresses but wasn't sure for men. Husband plans on doing slacks and dress shirt.

 

[acndis]

Thank you. Definitely will pack dresses but wasn't sure for men. Husband plans on doing slacks and dress shirt.

A suit would be helpful if you go to dinner and theatre in London but you sure don't need it for the ABD portion.

 

[disneyphx]

We are doing ABD London/Paris this summer and compared the itinerary to Tauck Bridges quite closely - I just looked at them both again and am not sure what it came down to - maybe it was dates? maybe our preference for ABD?!

 

[BluesTraveler]

I hope you will report back after your trip!