Honest advice needed...

I've never been on a Contiki trip before but am looking into an Australia package with another friend.

All-inclusive seems the way to go for the value and cost, but my only concern is with the tour itself.

I love to have fun/dance/etc, but am not interested in spending $1400 to see Australia through the windows of a bus and spend the majority of my trip in discos and on touristy beaches only to return home with photos of people I've made out with in clubs and that sort o thing.

I want to actually visit and explore the region, culturally... and hopefully with other younger (mid-20s) people. Not just the typical tourist ventures and American-friendly restos, bars, etc.

Dont get me wrong - I want to meet people, dance, party. But I'm worried about the trip being limiting in regards to cultural affairs and so on.

For instance, I'm not interested in snapping a few pictures of the Sydney Opera House and than heading off TGIFridays and spending the rest of the day on a crowded beach.

A day or two of relaxing is fine... but I'm more interested in exploring the smaller towns, people, history, lifestyles, music, concerts, shows, food, etc.

From people who've gone on trips with Contiki before... would you say it leans more towards the Cancun party club crowds or is it a vehicle in general for students on a budget to experience new and interesting places together?

Do the trips pander to North Americans... Will I be eating hamburgers and stuck in bad techno clubs every night, or will I actually get to fully experience and appreciate the different regions?

Please answer honestly and from experience.

To offer some background - I'm 24 (m) from Montreal and so is the friend I'll be travelling with. Uni. student.

No objections whatsoever to getting drunk on beaches with nice girls (in fact, I welcome it!) - but I do that here most nights at bars without spending fourteen hundred dollars.

Any replies would be really appreciated.

Cheers!