Contiki european discovery review

It’s also nice to be able to recognize some faces for the first motor coach trip together. It was a great taste tester of Europe , i was amazed at how many beautiful places and things we got to see in such a small amount of time. Start and end in London! Where does Contiki tour?

Are coniki tours any good? What does Contiki mean? Contiki offers tours for destinations around the world including Europe , Asia, USA and Canada, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand and their latest tours are now in Africa too.

With tours as short as a weekend to as long as days, there is something for everyone. Contiki offers a variety of accommodation options: hotels, hostels, camping, and some tours which include a mix of accommodation styles. The two tours that I have been on were both hotel accommodation.

Contiki books three-star hotels, so don’t expect the Ritz, however, I found the accommodations perfect for casual travel and some of the hotels well exceeded my expectations as a budget traveler. The biggest issue I had with Contiki’s accommodations was how far they were from the city. Typically, as the quality of the hotel increases, the distance to the city also increases. Personally, I’m only in a hotel room only to sleep so I can deal with subpar quality, but if you’re someone who requires five-star service to get to sleep, I’d recommend at least researching the hotels specified on the tour before finalizing your booking, just ensure you’re not disappointed when you arrive.

See full list on airplanesandavocados. In our digital age, I feel that it’s important to make a quick note about the internet situation on these tours. The coach does have WiFi available for purchase – do not do it, it’s ridiculously expensive, even your tour manager will tell you not to waste your money. As for the WiFi in the hotels, it was hit and miss. Europeans are very, very different from us in North America and do not feel the need to be constantly connecte thus WiFi is sparse.

Some hotels have free WiFi available for a certain period of time, some only an hour, some for an entire day. Others only have free WiFi available in the lobby, and others have no WiFi at all. However, when you’re out and about, some of the coffee shops and restaurants will have free WiFi available, just be sure to purchase something from them as a curiosity.

Although most of the Contiki tour managers have an extensive amount of knowledge about the cities you’ll be visiting, they’re not experts like the local tour guides are. I found that between my two tours, the tour manager can make or break your experience. Some of the tour managers are very knowledgeable and go above and beyond to ensure you have a great time on your trip. On my first Contiki, our tour manager custom printed his own city maps with his top tips, and always gave us thorough information and directions before dropping us in the idle of a city. I swear this guy was a walking history textbook – I was floored by how much he knew!

He was clear about ground rules on the coach and in different countries, makin. I didn’t expect much of the breakfast anyway, and it usually was just pastries and cereal, however, sometimes you’d get lucky and a hotel would offer bacon and eggs as well. If you’re someone who needs a little more fuel first thing in the morning, pack some extra snacks in your suitcase or account some more room in your budget to purchase additional breakfast items.

You’re on your own for lunch most days, which gives you the opportunity to wander about, unless you’re on a high-paced tour, then you’ll be eating lunch at wherever the bus stops between your next destination. Contiki includes a few dinners and a lot of the other dinners are usually included in some type of paid excursion. I was very pleased overall with the quality of the food on both tours I did.

The restaurants were authentic to the different cities we visited and provided a wide. So regardless of what your budget is, there is a tour out there for you! I think the price is right for these tours and you’re getting the most bang for your buck, so there’s no need to be concerned about getting ripped off. I was very impressed with the high value that each of my Contiki tours delivered. However, my only issue is that Contiki claims that going on a tour with them is more affordable than going on your own, and that’s a blatant lie.

If cost is your only concern, you don’t necessarily need to choose Contiki. You can do everything that a Contiki tour does, on your own, for the same amount of money. It’s not cheaper one way or the other. The only difference with going on your own is that you’ll be paying the same amount of money, but doing all the legwork of booking hotels, excursions, dinners, etc. So if you’d like to just lay back and leave the planning to.

Contiki offers a wide variety of excursions that you can add on to your trip for an extra cost, and of course, you’re encouraged to do them all to ensure you get the most out of your trip! A lot of these excursions I do believe are once in a lifetime opportunities and worth the price like the cabaret show in Paris, the concentration camp visit in Berlin, and white water rafting in Austria. Keep in mind some of the excursions can be more fun with a group of people so you may want to splurge.

Amsterdam – no one wants to be the weirdo attending that alone! Depending on the tour you do, the coach will either be your home for a few weeks or just a vehicle you see once or twice. In the high paced tours you’re on the coach for 6-hours almost every day as you move from country to country. It is a very comfortable and clean means of transportation, and depending on your tour group, it’ll either be a very fun 6-hours, or the worst 6-hours of your life.

Most people spend their time on the coach sleeping off their hangovers from the night before, and as long as no one pukes, you’ll be fine. You might have heard Contiki referred to as the “drunken orgy on wheels” and this nickname is not far off. Pretty much every night you have the option of going to a club with the group and getting hammered with your new travel companions. While you will undoubtedly have a great time, I found after my first trip that I spent over 2euro in alcohol, which I had not originally budgeted for – it’s very easy to get carried away. For those who are just looking to party their way through Europe, or just have a great time and meet new people, you will have an absolute blast on a Contiki tour.

Speaking of your tour mates…they will be the highlight of your trip. The people you meet on Contiki are friends for life. I still talk to the people I met on my very first Contiki four years ago and actually have plans to travel with a few of them soon. Hold onto these friendships.

The friends you meet traveling are the best kind of friends to have. And you’ll always have a couch to crash on somewhere in the world! When you book your Contiki tour, tips are said to be included in the price of your trip. However, the only tips that are included in this price are the tour group dinners. All the local guides will expect tips at end of their walking tours, but of course, it’s at your discretion whether or not to tip them.

Within the last few days of your tour ending you’re given an envelope and told to write a note to your tour manager and driver with a tip enclosed and your name. Your tour manager and the bus driver will also be expecting a tip at the end of the tour. I mention this because it caught me off guard on my first trip and I found myself scrambling for cash on the last day of my tour. From a traditional German beer hall to a breathtaking Austrian mountain range and a gelateria in Rome , you will get a taste for all the best bits , ticking off countries in 12-days. Compare similar trips and tour companies to find your perfect vacation at the perfect price.

They Do Have a Party Atmosphere. The tour group age range is almost synonymous with the party atmosphere. Overall, I thought that Contiki’s Eastern Trail tour provided a great introduction to Central Europe. It’s a perfect “appetizer” trip for those who want to sample a variety of different cities and get a taste for where they might like to return to in the future.

European Discovery , a days tour from London to Amsterdam, Rhine Gorge and destinations.