European Contiki tours

[huggie]

Hi, looking to do abit of travelling next european summer....
was thinking about doing a contiki tour for 2 weeks or so of teh trip.
Any reports? Ive heard good and bad things. Im male, heard its great for the boys.... ?
how much does the tour cost and where do they run?
do they go through party towns?:offchops: :tripping: :)

[Bank_Robber]

The internet is a marvelous place my friend…

http://www.contiki.com/

[SpaceMonkey]

Originally posted by huggie
Hi, looking to do abit of travelling next european summer....
was thinking about doing a contiki tour for 2 weeks or so of teh trip.
Any reports? Ive heard good and bad things. Im male, heard its great for the boys.... ?
how much does the tour cost and where do they run?
do they go through party towns?:offchops: :tripping: :)
If you want to fuck other tourists and get a McDonalds version of European culture they're probably great, but I'd personally make the effort to visit the places that interested me independently.

[huggie]

Originally posted by Bank_Robber
The internet is a marvelous place my friend…

http://www.contiki.com/

Have a shave ya pleb.
BR is back!

[manwhoknows2lil]

If you don't have a fucken clue about where or what you want to see , Contiki is a pretty good way to go .

You will be rushed through most things , but you do sample a fair bit , though not too much of the beaten track .

They are a great sampler in a way .

Anything you liked , or wish you had more time for , you can return too with a modest knowledge of that area .

[ponsdale]

Have a look for the BUS ABOUT (http://www.busabout.com/) option. Owned by the same people who started Contiki (I think), follows similar route, have safety of lots of other backpackers, can travel at your own pace.

[PhaseIII]

A few mates that have done the tour said it was fun but by the end of the 2 weeks they were just waiting for it to end. Me and a few mates are going overseas next year and one option I thought of was going to Macedonia for starters cos I have a place there making it an easy place to set up a home base. Buying a car from there and proceeding to drive to places of interest in Europe returning home selling the car chilling out and then back to Oz. Has anyone ever done anything like this or have any thoughts on if its a good idea or not, costs etc... ???

[Deity]

Contiki's are good! Free love, lots of drinking and also lots of early rising. So if you have a big one the night before your bound to be hung over the next day and prob miss out on all the fantastic site seeing, so make sure you dont overdo it unless you have a good stomach for plenty of drinking.

I wouldnt suggest going for only 2 weeks unless you're going to back pack the rest. You're going to Europe! There's so many countries to go to. I think and have heard from plenty of ppl also, that 3 months is plenty. Two weeks wont give you much site seeing anyway.

Oh and make sure when you go, dont leave your other half behind or make sure you go as an unattached individual

[robotech]

Originally posted by PhaseIII
... Buying a car from there and proceeding to drive to places of interest in Europe returning home selling the car chilling out and then back to Oz. Has anyone ever done anything like this or have any thoughts on if its a good idea or not, costs etc... ???

heh, my old man did that in the 70s. Said he had a blast, but he's a master with mechanical stuff so I guess that helps.

I'm heading off to Europe in 7 short weeks ;D And we're organising a car through renault eurodrive (http://www.eurodrive.renault.com), which is basically a short term lease on a brand new car for 17 days and over. We're getting this sexy little car called the Megane and it's costing about $1500 for 24 days and then $30 a day after that. You gotta add petrol, tolls etc into the equation, but between 4 people it's pretty cheap and you get to see what you want when you want. Personally I wouldn't consider doing a contiki tour - I just wouldn't consider it a holiday if I'm constantly on a schedule, but thats just me. I've known people that have been on contiki and have had lots of fun (but were so drunk they don't remember much of the trip, hehe), so I guess it just depends on what you want out of the experience...

[SPOKEYDOKEY]

"we wanna, we wanna,
we wanna wee,
if you don't stop for us,
we'll do it on the bus"

:lol:

"so, what bank do you work for?"

[HungryHippo]

I did a four week one last year and it was kewl-i fortunately got shacked up with a real sikunt - I swear is my soulmate - but if you dont it could be hell- alot of bitching occured on mine but I just took no notice of it dont get in the "bitch girl crew" of the tour - just laugh at how stupid and immature they are and it will be a blast! I had the most amazing experience of my life - my advice schedule the tour around the time of the love parade - i didnt get to go to the one in berlin but i went to the one in vienna and it rocked.

I suggest to go by yourself because you end up learning so much about yourself.

It was a lifechanging experience, just go with and open mind.

HIGHLY reccomended

[Goldfish]

I used to work for contiki Europe and my brother is currently working for them, its an awesome way to start, get to see alot and if you have time after the tour finishes you can go back and revisit. dont bag it unless youve actually done it and had a crap time... you dont have a clue...
id recommend it to anyone, especially anyone planning to travel alone...

if ya need any info just message me. Spent 3 1/2 years bumming my way round the world..

Kirst

[PhaseIII]

I'm heading off to Europe in 7 short weeks And we're organising a car through renault eurodrive, which is basically a short term lease on a brand new car for 17 days and over. We're getting this sexy little car called the Megane and it's costing about $1500 for 24 days and then $30 a day after that.

I have looked at the site and it seems like a pretty good deal. Did you organise this through Renault Aust. Also what countries are you planning to visit? Whats the deal with getting visas for non EU countries? How expensive are tolls, fuel etc? Sorry for the bombardment of questions but this seems like what we wanted to do and i assume that you have done all this research already so it would be a great help :)
I like that Megane however might be a bit of a tighte sqeeze with four ppl plus luggage.

[robotech]

I haven't actually booked yet, but we'll be booking through the australian office. Give them a call on 1300 551160 and they'll send you out a free brochure with all the details and an ultra-cheezy information video, hehe.
The only problem with it is that it's only free to pick up and drop off in (or close to) france. If you want to pick up or drop off the car in other countries, there can be additional fees of $200-400 per pick up or drop off.
You have to book before 29 August to get the cheap rates, though, and you also get a discount off pick ups and drop offs outside france if you book early too.
I think the only non-EU country we're going to is the Czech Republic and the visa for there wasn't very expensive - like 20 or 40 dollars i think. For some reason Aussies and Kiwis are the only ones they make get visas...
Petrol is pretty expensive, try to budget about 1 euro a litre and tolls between countries can be pretty steep - around 40 euro for some and you have to pay to use the autobahns as well.
I reas most of this in various lonely planets, so try to get hold of the europe lonely planet and it'll probably help you out a lot.

have fun!

[heavy d]

Have some self confidence, have some self respect. Take some more time off, see a bunch more for the same money and come home all the better for it. You won't regret it.

[bigblue]

I know I shouldn't prolly ask this here, but i will anyways..

Anyone been to Vancouver or Sweden? I need some advice on travels to those areas and what the deal is like in terms of culture, living expenses and general vibe...

Wanting to live to pack the bags and leave next year for 6 months with uni... can't figure out where to go... advice?

[beebop]

do a tour if u want...but c'mon, contiki?!

there are much cheaper/better companies over here, get on the net, don't take the cheesy option. and yeah, try not to get too wasted every night so u miss what u paid a trillion dollars for!

besides, van tours are where its at ;D

[tabatha]

It really depends what you want. If you want to see unchartered territory dont do contiki.
BUt I did a 'top deck' 35 day greek islands sailing tour which was awesome. for three days we sailed round all the greek islands and slept in ports. Smetimes I wished I hadnt committed to one for as long though. People do piss you off at times and do get wasted, but it can be quite fun and I reckon that you can party hard and fit in quite a lot of sight seeing. These tours are good for a 'taste,' esp if you havent been to europe before. I reckon go for a 16 day, then travel a bit on your own. Just do a tour thru France, Italy Austia and Germany and England or something. These ones probably necessary.. Though a lot of the tours dont cover berlin which a lot of ppl love too,
GOOD LUCK!

[Vadaar]

Actually touring is the best way to find out about a region in a short time. I have done independent and touring and if you have a shortish time and don't feel like learning about Europe from a book go on a tour. You get local guides that explain what you are looking at which makes a big difference and you get driven from place to place. Anyone who has done Paris in two days independently should know that being driven would be way better than walking. I have never been so exhausted as the times I did cities by my self. Look at Contiki or Breakaway. I have done both and they are both great, breakaway is more touring less drinking.

[Wanderer]

Ive heard that you can join tours that have many buses and just jump on and off as you go, stay in one place as long or little as you like and if you get stuck with a bunch of wankers or a really cliche bunch then you just get on the next bus. Dont know if thats how Contiki works but always reckon best way to travel is with minimum plans, and just see how things work out and where you find yourself.



:) :) ;) :) ;)

[djbobbit]

Originally posted by Wanderer
Ive heard that you can join tours that have many buses and just jump on and off as you go, stay in one place as long or little as you like and if you get stuck with a bunch of wankers or a really cliche bunch then you just get on the next bus. Dont know if thats how Contiki works but always reckon best way to travel is with minimum plans, and just see how things work out and where you find yourself.



:) :) ;) :) ;)
Just got back from Europe myself 2 weeks ago. Me and my mate did it independently for 5 weeks (Spain, Portugal, France, Italy) but we met up with a couple of girls we knew who were doing Bus About. It's not quite Contiki, in terms of spoon feeding and organised touring, but they do hold your hand quite a bit. The buses go to all the major cities (and some less major ones) and they can organise accommodation for you if you need it (quite handy if you go in peak season). The advantage is that you go at your own pace, just jump on the net a day or so before you want to leave and book a seat on the next bus stopping in your town. These friends of ours found it really good, especially as it was their first time and it was good to have a bit of help if you needed it but you could also be fairly independent as well. I think they payed $1500 for an unlimited 3 month ticket.

My advice to huggie: go independent, but if its your first time and want a bit more organisation go Bus About, its a happy medium between spoon feeding and free spirited travelling. And make sure you get to Pamplona and then go down to the beaches in Portugal. Magic.