Contiki tour?

[East Coast Flame]

I just signed up for a Contiki tour in September. I'm doing the 10 day London/Paris/Amsterdam trip and I'm adding two days onto both the beginning and the end.

I'm a 25 year old dude heading over solo. My goal for the trip is to party my ass off and then maybe go see some culture and stuff. I feel like Contiki is right up my alley.

[bluejays]

How do the Contiki tours work when it comes to Euro or any other destination vacations? Do you have to book the flight separately from the tour itself or is the tour quote on their site all inclusive?

[East Coast Flame]

It includes flight, lodging, transportation, a couple meals and a few group excursions.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by fleury

How do the Contiki tours work when it comes to Euro or any other destination vacations? Do you have to book the flight separately from the tour itself or is the tour quote on their site all inclusive?

The price is just for the ground transportation part of it.

If you see a tour that goes from London to Rome, for example, you'll start the tour in London and leave it in Rome. It's your responsibility to get to London and to get home from Rome. Everything in between London and Rome, though, is included in the price with regard to transportation and lodging (plus, whatever meals are included -- usually breakfast every day and supper for about half the nights).

On the Australian trips, if you take a tour that covers both the east coast and the Northern Territory, they provide the flight between Cairns and Alice Springs, which none of the other tours I looked into did.

They do offer flight bookings as well, but it's usually cheaper to book your own.

[Incogneto]

if you are under 30, just go backpacking. it'll be the best time of your life.

[Esoteric]

I did a 31 day Contiki trip across Europe last summer. Tons of fun.

It's a great way to travel alone, get a sample of sights to see, and party a ton. I've got a ton of stories because of it, and would probably do one again, but combine it with back packing.

My tour age ranged from 18 to 29, and mostly everyone got along. I still keep in contact with a bunch of them.

[Jbo]

Seems to be an overall positive experiece with Contiki. Really thankful for all the feedback.

[SilverGS]

Did a 16 day Contiki Tour a few years ago. I was a little worried about booking at first since I had heard it was a huge party fest and my wife and I would be on the older side and well not single. In the end I ended up booking it thinking worst case is we would just do our own thing and use the tour for transportation, shelter and some of the food.

We had a blast. There were people of all ages and travel types but we pretty much all got along, well for the most part. There were people who partied a lot, others who did both, and some who didn't party that much but preferred to check out each place when possible. Chances are you will find people to hang around with no matter what you want from the tour.

When I went I found there were 3 levels of yours
1. Camping Tour - Generally the youngest average age and most partying since it is the cheapest option. You do camp and sleep in a tent.
2. Split Camp/Hostel Tour - A bit more expensive so average age slightly higher and mostly hotels with potential camping some days
3. Hotel Tour - Most expensive so average age tends to be slightly higher. Of course when I mean higher probably 25. In Europe you share with 1 other person or as getbak mentioned you can pay the single room fee to get your own room.

There is a lot of bus travel but you do get to see a lot for the price you pay. I know quite a few people hooked up on the tour including the bus driver. We were able to balance it quite easily. If you want to party every night you can. If not you can go do your own thing. No one on my tour made a big deal either way.

There is a bit of luck as well. I have talked to others who have done Contiki tours and thought they were ok and don't keep in touch with anyone anymore. Ours however got along fabulously. Half my tour is on FB regularly, a group of girls from Aus, US, and Canada have even gone on a few more trips together because they liked traveling together so much. I even got a couple of wedding invitations from tour members last couple of years. Overall, I would definitely recommend doing a Contiki tour. I think worse case scenario if you don't get along with many people is you get to see a lot of Europe in a small amount of time at a decent price.

[Kipper3256]

wait, so the prices do not cover the airfare from your province to the county and then back to Canada? isn't that kinda pricey then?