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Insight Vacations vs Tauck
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Insight Vacations and Tauck.The Low Down
Upmarket coach touring, with 4.5+ star accommodation, maximum group sizes of 40 on a full size coach and more leisurely paced touring itineraries. The pricing of Insight's trips tends to attract travellers in their 60's and 70's. If you're tall, then you should seriously consider Insight, as their coaches been reconfigured to allow up to twice as much legroom as on a standard coach. Insight have recently launched trips through South America, and expanded their range of Gold Luxury Vacations, where you can expect the ultimate in luxury and refinement.We find that the feedback we get back from past clients is sometimes a little critical, and we feel this is because of the very high standard some of our clients are expecting due to Insight's positioning in the market. On every multi-day journey, there will always be little annoyances, but as a whole package the team here definitely recommend Insight worthy of your consideration. If you've travelled with any of its sister brands like AAT Kings, Trafalgar or Uniworld further savings are available.
New to the Australian market in 2017, Tauck began operations in the US over 90 years ago. Offering premium river cruises, land tours, small ship cruises, family adventures and small group journeys around the world. You won't find too many Aussies and Kiwis on their trips yet, as they have only recently opened an office Downunder, but Tauck are renowned for the quality and inclusiveness of their trips, whether they are on land or water. Stats
No. of Trips
383
No. of Departures
3,329
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$419
Accommodation
4 - 4.5 Star
Budget
Premium
No. of Trips
199
No. of Departures
3,626
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$828
Accommodation
4.5 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
At Insight Vacations we have been creating magical travel experiences for over 40 years, showcasing the most outstanding destinations and curated experiences in Europe and North America.
Why are we different to any other operator? It’s our unique Insight experiences. It’s our authentic and varied dining options, it’s travelling in smaller groups on customised coaches with twice the legroom, it’s staying in the right hotels in the right location, all brought together seamlessly by our exceptional travel directors. In essence: All the sights, and the insights….up close and personal…in comfort and style.
Travel is such a joy and a personal passion for myself and every member of our team. We’re so proud of the quality, service and value we provide and invite you to try it for yourself. Talk to Global Journeys to find out more about travelling in style and booking your next holiday with Insight Vacations.
We believe that when you travel, you should never settle for ordinary. You deserve to travel in good company, with someone who cares. We believe that good value sells itself – you should get what you pay for, and then some, in one upfront price with virtually everything included. Leave your worries at home; we take on all the planning, all the logistics. To you, it’s peace of mind travel, to us, it’s 90+ years of integrity.
Wherever we travel, we’re all about taking you to explore the world’s treasures….discover people and cultures you may not have known existed…and experience extraordinary, life-changing moments. Since 1925, we’ve built our company on the personal referrals and recommendations of our guests. We can think of no higher testament to our journeys and commitment to customer satisfaction – and no better way to tell you what we do than through their words.
Recent Reviews
4.5
We had the best time far better than expected which was largely thanks to our guide Remi and driver Gennero so many highlights we enjoyed every moment.
Near perfect. Tour Director (and Driver) were the most organised we have experienced. Spectacular countryside and enchanting historical cities and towns. Just be prepared to pay a lot for any snack or coffee or meal that you buy.
Our tour had a wide range of ages, some of whom had mobility issues, but his not uncommon and their needs were accommodated ...read more with minimal impact on the others. Two other things worth mentioning: English is the second language in Scandinavia and credit cards are accepted everywhere, so long as you have a functional PIN.
Our tour had a wide range of ages, some of whom had mobility issues, but his not uncommon and their needs were accommodated ...read more with minimal impact on the others. Two other things worth mentioning: English is the second language in Scandinavia and credit cards are accepted everywhere, so long as you have a functional PIN.
This trip was the greatest and made so easy with Insight Vacations booking through Global Journeys. Accomodation extremely good, tour director excellent, pace excellent overall a magificent trip.
A Wonderful Sicily & Malta Experience – Perfect for Solo Travellers
0
Vesna, VIC, Australia, Jul 2025
I booked my Sicily and Malta tour through Insight Vacations with the help of Grace at Global Journeys. After my original tour with another company was cancelled, Grace stepped in and helped me find this fantastic alternative, filling a gap in my itinerary before heading home. She was polite, professional, and a pleasure to deal with.
The Insight ...read more Vacations tour exceeded my expectations. From the outstanding Tour Director Fabio and skilled coach driver Claudio to the well-planned visits to beautiful towns and cities, every detail was handled with care. The group was made up of travellers from various countries, and everyone mixed easily, creating a friendly and inclusive atmosphere. As a solo traveller, I never once felt out of place.
I would highly recommend this tour. The only small drawback was the mid-July heat, though our Tour Director did a great job adjusting schedules to make the most of cooler mornings and allow afternoons to be enjoyed in the comfort of air-conditioned coaches or hotels.
The Insight ...read more Vacations tour exceeded my expectations. From the outstanding Tour Director Fabio and skilled coach driver Claudio to the well-planned visits to beautiful towns and cities, every detail was handled with care. The group was made up of travellers from various countries, and everyone mixed easily, creating a friendly and inclusive atmosphere. As a solo traveller, I never once felt out of place.
I would highly recommend this tour. The only small drawback was the mid-July heat, though our Tour Director did a great job adjusting schedules to make the most of cooler mornings and allow afternoons to be enjoyed in the comfort of air-conditioned coaches or hotels.
Well designed tour with an itinerary that enables visitors to see the Golden Circle and many of Iceland's attractions. It truly is a country of natural wonders. The meals provided and the accommodation were pretty good. Some of the optional excursions such as the visit to the Whale Museum could've been included in the actual itinerary, The Tour Director ...read more and the Driver were excellent and worked very well as a team.. The TD was professional, very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. The booking of the tour via Global Journeys was an easy and seamless process and Tracey Standing did a marvellous job keeping us informed every step of the way and promptly answering all of my questions. I wholeheartedly recommend both the Insight Vacations tour of Iceland and Global Journeys.
Went to places I never would have contemplated. Like the Orkney Islands right at the top of Scotland. Stress less travel as you arrived at each hotel and given the key to your room and your bags would be delivered. Had a great 22 days.
4.6
Just a bare glimpse (see our photo) of our amazing Tauck journey “The Spirit of the Desert”. It was fabulous!!! Colorado River, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce at sunrise (2 of those), Zion, and the clouds lifting over the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Thank you, a million times over! It was wonderful! I hope you have the opportunity to do it. Happy tr ...read moreails.
The poor weather (rain, cold and wind) was a distraction throughout the tour which, unfortunately, had a negative effect on many of the venues. It made the tour guides jobs particularly difficult. Not Tauck's problem but, nonetheless, it was unfortunate as it negatively impacted the tour. When we booked this tour, we compared it to another Tauck Eastern ...read more European tour referred to as a Jewish Heritage Tour. As we are are not of Jewish faith, we felt that this tour would not be meaningful to us. In hindsight, we are not sure that the tour we chose would have been much different from the Jewish Heritage Tour. Most of the members in our tour group were in fact Jewish and the focus of the tour definitely was on the Jewish faith and the Holocaust. I would like to suggest that Tauck make more of an effort to differentiate between these two tours. There is much to consider in an Eastern European tour that does not focus so highly on the Jewish heritage.
On a very positive note, the local tour guides were excellent, very knowledgeable, courteous and friendly. Our Tauck Tour Guide was also excellent with extensive experience in Eastern Europe. One final negative comment, unfortunately. Even though we realize that Tauck does not make hotel room assignments, we feel that they can do a much better job of influencing the hotels on our stay to provide rooms that are more comparable to the cost of our tour. We have not once during our Tauck tours been assigned a hotel room with a view of anything but rooftops of adjacent buildings or a view of another section of the hotel itself. That's not what we feel we deserve for the money we pay for these tours. On a closing note, we are booked on our next Tauck tour to Portugal in October and plan to book a follow-on Tauck tour to New Zealand on 2024.
On a very positive note, the local tour guides were excellent, very knowledgeable, courteous and friendly. Our Tauck Tour Guide was also excellent with extensive experience in Eastern Europe. One final negative comment, unfortunately. Even though we realize that Tauck does not make hotel room assignments, we feel that they can do a much better job of influencing the hotels on our stay to provide rooms that are more comparable to the cost of our tour. We have not once during our Tauck tours been assigned a hotel room with a view of anything but rooftops of adjacent buildings or a view of another section of the hotel itself. That's not what we feel we deserve for the money we pay for these tours. On a closing note, we are booked on our next Tauck tour to Portugal in October and plan to book a follow-on Tauck tour to New Zealand on 2024.
Denali was spectacular and thoroughly enjoyed the plane ride up over Denali. The trip into the park was also great and we did see some bears and Dall sheep way off into the distance. The Lodges were all Princess Lodges and were very crowded. Quite a number of us caught COVID so didn't make the cruise which was very disappointing but enjoyed what we ...read more did see.
Thoroughly enjoyed this tour. We had a great Tour Director and everything was well organised. She gave very informative information on the places we were visiting and had a great sense of humour. The accommodations were fabulous and there was a great group of people on the tour.
Overall, a wonderful experience. We must start with kudos to both Jemma and Hannah for all the support, help and advice you gave us throughout the booking process. Yes, we will book with you again and are now looking at Tauck tours to Australia, New Zealand and or Tasmania in 2023.
Our tour to Ireland was number one on our Bucket List and we were ...read more not disappointed. Vincent, our tour guide was a treasure of information on Ireland's history and overall knowledge of the political, economic and societal struggles that have plagued Ireland's history. Also, his knowledge of each of the sites we visited on tour was extraordinary. He truly deserves to be a "Keeper" for Tauck.
There are, however, two recommendations for consideration that would change our overall rating to five stars instead of four. First, the Westin Dublin was not what we expected of our accommodations. It was below the standard of other Westin hotels we have used over the years. Unfortunately, we had complaints that we registered with our tour guide and the hotel management. Compared with all other hotels we stayed in during our tour, the Westin was at the very bottom.
Secondly, the amount of time we spent on the limousine bus was excessive. We covered a huge amount of The Republic of Ireland's and Northern Ireland's geography and transit times to each destination were often at times too long. Due to the necessity to keep on track with our itinerary, we felt that the amount of time we were allotted at some of our stops was minimized. Again, a wonderful experience that took Bill back to his Irish roots!
Our tour to Ireland was number one on our Bucket List and we were ...read more not disappointed. Vincent, our tour guide was a treasure of information on Ireland's history and overall knowledge of the political, economic and societal struggles that have plagued Ireland's history. Also, his knowledge of each of the sites we visited on tour was extraordinary. He truly deserves to be a "Keeper" for Tauck.
There are, however, two recommendations for consideration that would change our overall rating to five stars instead of four. First, the Westin Dublin was not what we expected of our accommodations. It was below the standard of other Westin hotels we have used over the years. Unfortunately, we had complaints that we registered with our tour guide and the hotel management. Compared with all other hotels we stayed in during our tour, the Westin was at the very bottom.
Secondly, the amount of time we spent on the limousine bus was excessive. We covered a huge amount of The Republic of Ireland's and Northern Ireland's geography and transit times to each destination were often at times too long. Due to the necessity to keep on track with our itinerary, we felt that the amount of time we were allotted at some of our stops was minimized. Again, a wonderful experience that took Bill back to his Irish roots!
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