Born to Travel

Weston Magazine – Robin Tauck takes travel to a New Generation

Bruce Springsteen may have been "born to be wild", but I was "born to travel". My father and grandfather have been pioneers and leaders in the American travel Industry since 1925, and as a 3rd generation President of Tauck World Discovery, I too am "bitten by the travel bug". As a parent now, and with my position, I hope to take my experience to new levels for a new generation.

The travel industry is immense, $525 billion US travel and tourism, employing 6% of the workforce, America's second largest employer, and now the #1 industry responsible for the economic growth and development of many countries, including third-world nations.

My brothers and I are very proud of our recent company honors as "#1 in the World" for "Classic land tours, Adventure travel and safaris" * and our generation is most excited a new brand launch...Tauck Bridges, We’re taking what we’ve always cherished as a family, to thousands of families seeking similar meaningful experiences. Our story of success is... a personal story:

As a young girl, travel was always a family priority. A child of the 60’s, my family vacationed to Florida, the National Parks, Washington & Williamsburg and New England and beyond, yet our trips seemed different from my friends. Aside from the “required” theme parks jaunts, my parent’s true mission was to deliver journeys that included plenty of education, learning and discovery, with a splash of fun, of course.

At age 16, I yearned to escape Wilton High School and go further afield. I researched “World at Sea” and “World Learning, then the Institute of International Travel” and easily convinced my parents of semesters abroad …cross-cultural family living and learning. In College, I majored in Marketing with a minor in Latin American International Studies.

At age 20, still a young person, while working in a major San Francisco hotel, my secret desire and life goal was to build a boat and sail the world! A daunting task, perseverance prevailed and I helped build an ocean-going Freya 39’ sailboat on a chicken farm in Petaluma, California. It took 4 years and plenty of hard work but in 1982, I set sail under the Golden Gate Bridge for a year-long adventure, over 9,000 miles, with my hard earned cash that “might last.” Favorite harbors and special people met included those in villages off the Sea of Cortez, Mexico’s western coastline, Costa Rica, the Perlas Islands of Panama and the 360 San Blas Islands, home to the Kuna Indians…plus a myriad of adventures in the Caribbean and along hidden treasures off our Intercoastal Waterway. One should never underestimate the cultural experiences and learning, in so many hidden corners of our own America, the beautiful. This was a favorite part of the journey.

In these days when millions of children have never seen the Grand Canyon or heard the story of Paul Revere or seen the first settlement at Jamestown, let alone sailed to remote islands inhabited by Indians, I’m even more thankful for these childhood experiences.

There are things children and families learn from travel that they just don’t learn at home or school. As I became a parent, I made up my mind that my daughter would experience life and learning beyond Fairfield County. To appreciate diversity, understand economic challenges and cherish different cultural experiences so that somehow, she too, might use her expanded horizons, to make her world a better place.

When my daughter Colleen was 8 years old and studying the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, we traveled to Kentucky to see the birthplace of Abe, the simple cabin shown in so many textbooks. Nothing prepared her for the visual of a famous President’s one-room childhood home, without water, insulation …and no TV! We stayed for days and with the creativity of children, she wrote plays, made projects and “make believe” that truly inspired me, as well as her teacher!

As a pre-teen, my daughter created her own visits and hikes in over 20 National Parks and volunteered along with “Save America’s Treasures” projects, helping protect these treasured resources. Now, at age 17, she seeks more educational opportunities with travel, studying Art & Architecture in Europe with a senior project expected in Eastern Europe or Russia. The generational travel bug has bit again.

Together, we’ve taken mother/daughter educational trips abroad as well as islands, states and provinces in North America. We started with the basics—Washington, Williamsburg, Virginia and Boston, the cradle of American Liberty. We’ve explored remote cultural lands and jungles and remote camps of South Africa and East Africa. All were spiritually bonding, educational and have created lifelong memories.

My daughter is now inspired by the Far East, Buddhist Cultures and the burgeoning influence of China to the world … but this one has to wait. I do believe strongly that young people must learn to earn their true life desires. So, she is now working at restaurants and stuffing travel documents to build her bank account.

Four years ago, in 1999, I remarried and became a step-mother to two more daughters of about the same age … Christen and Mary Kate. When my new husband and I began talking about a special family adventure on Tauck’s Kenya and Tanzania safari, the girls were very skeptical. For spring break, the beaches and condos of Florida with friends, was far more appealing than potential bugs, poverty and heat of Africa.

With a little persuasion we set off…and the experience was literally life-changing for all of us. Little did I expect to see happy teenagers, no showers, binoculars in hand, standing at a tent, smiling and laughing, at 5AM! Holding hands with Masai Warriers. Writing journals and drawing wildlife species. How exciting to me, to see Christen score an A+ in African Studies, a course she may have never taken, the following year at Staples High.

We’re taking our expertise worldwide and our “hassle free”; high quality travel arrangements are a welcome relief to a more highly stressed family audience. These are not “plain vanilla” vacations…..they include the best of the best. You can even volunteer as a family at unique locations in the National Parks on each USA trip! The Tauck Foundation is a proud partner of the National Park Foundation and “giving back” is a family philosophy.

Robin Tauck’s Family Travel Tips
• Involve your children in the destination decision
• Decide what family values you wish to instill, and find travel experience to fit.
• Tie in travel to school curriculum and enjoy learning outside the classroom! Schools will often provide leniency for special projects, upon your return.
• Ask about the accommodations – 3-star, 4-star, 5-star? Kids love the idea of tented safaris and other “fun” accommodations. A pool is a must!
• Choose travel programs that are balanced ... yet be sure there are plenty of well-researched “scheduled” activities. Beware too much “hanging out."
• Remember a journal, scrapbook, video or digital camera ... save the memories!