I have had the opportunity to go on both Tauck Bridges and ABD and you will have a great experience on both. As stated by Jen, the differences are the all-inclusive of the tour price for Tauck Bridges and the 2 Guides for ABD. I went to the Canyons with Tauck Bridges and Costa Rica with ABD
I read a trip report that someone posted about a Tauck Bridges tour, and the one thing I really noticed was she totally did not talk about the other people on the tour. Now that may just be her personality, but every ABD trip report I've read, people talk about the camaraderie amongst the people on the tour, and how the Guides tried to make them feel almost like one big family (that was certainly my experience). I just didn't get a sense that Tauck does that. And that, to me, was one of the great things about ABD.
I also would not care for moving around as much as Tauck seems to...
Plus, and I've looked, and I've not seen anything on their website about limiting the size of the tour like ABD does (no more than 40 people). That would make a HUGE difference, especially with only one guide.
Sayhello
Also, someone mentioned that the tour director gratuity was included with a Tauck tour. Below I have posted another quote from Tauck's website which states that tour director gatuities are not included on most tours. I just wanted to pass this information along. I have personally never done a Tauck tour but was seriously considering it when ABD came along. Since I am a big Disney fan I opted to go with ABD instead. I did the Southwest Spendours tour and have never regretted it. I am not trying to discourage anyone from taking a Tauck Bridges tour but I am confident that families with children (as well as couples, seniors, and solo travelers) just can't go wrong with an ABD tour.
Here is the quote from Tauck
Are gratuities included?
The customary gratuity to the Tauck Director and Driver is not included on most Tauck World Discovery tours. Such gratuities should be extended on a voluntary, individual basis and not done as a group. As an exception, there are some Tauck journeys in which the Tauck Director gratuity is included and/or a Driver gratuity will not be applicable. Information about Tauck Director and Driver gratuities specific to a destination is included within final tour documentation sent after a reservation has been paid in full.
All appropriate gratuities for luggage handling, bellman, doorman, dining room servers, housekeepers, local city guides, ship and train crew are included in the price of a Tauck journey.
Thanks, I looked all over the site, and couldn't find that. However, notice they say: Most of our land and rail journeys average 35 to 44 guests. ABD specifically says "The maximum group size is 40 people". "average 35 to 44" could also mean a particular trip could have 60 people, and another could have 20. The average for that is 40 people. There is no actual stated limit.Tauck does limit the amount of people per tour. Here is a quote from their website.
What is the average group size of a Tauck journey?The average group size of a Tauck journey varies depending on the trip that is selected. Most of our land and rail journeys average 35 to 44 guests. Some of Taucks cruise programs will average larger group sizes based on the capacity of a ship. While the group size can be larger for such cruise programs, the land touring and shore excursions are orchestrated in smaller group sizes.