-
-
Follow Contiki
- Follow @contiki_us
AllEverything, All the time, Everywhere.
10th May 2012
I am considering a number of different tours to Italy for September 2011, Contiki’s Simply Italy being one of them. In trying to make an informed decision, I have a few questions regarding this tour:
1. Was the tour too fast-paced, or did you feel that you had sufficient time to check off the items on your “must see/must do” list?
2. Were the hotels you stayed in clean and comfortable, with private en-suite facilities (with working plumbing!).
3. Were the hotels you stayed in conveniently/centrally located, or did you have to spend a lot of your own time and expense getting to the places you wanted to visit in your free time?
4. Contiki is targeted at the 18-35 crowd; did you find there was a good mix of ages on tour, or was it mostly full of the younger demographic (25 and under) with a focus on partying/drinking/clubbing, etc.?
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers 
10th May 2012
Hi there, me and my husband are doing the Euro Discovery tour departing 6th February 07, just wanting to now what the weather is going to be like this time of the year so I can know what to pack, any thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated….
10th May 2012
Hi,
I am from Canada and I really like want Contiki has to offer.
My question is do people go with other people or by themselve?
Thank you
10th May 2012
Hello,
I’m going on the backwards Grand Explorer starting the 9th of december (starting the 7th for me – I’m on the american east coast, and I need to get there first), and I had a couple of questions after looking through the “what to pack” section of the booklet:
First, being american, I didn’t understand “pegs”. They’re clothes pins, right? For drying clothes on a clothes line?
(Likewise, I’ve figured out “washing powder” is what I would call “powdered laundry detergent” – at first I was wondering if it meant some kind of powdered body soap. It’s always the simple things that trip me up!)
My main question is: wouldn’t there be dryer machines? Or is this one of those things that are done differently over there?
Would any convenience store or chemist have pegs? Or do I need to look for a supermarket?
(four more days)
10th May 2012
hi everyone
new to here, just had a few questions for fellow girls that travelled on their own.
Im 21, from brissy and keen to escape the rat race for a trip o/s but my mates have the old excuse of “no cash” and im like screw it i just wanna go over to the US.
any advice for me? im a bit scared about doing it all as i know alot of couples go and i feel like maybe people on their own may get excluded?
thanks everyone xx
10th May 2012
Hey guys n gals
I’m planning on doing Beaches and reefs tour in October.
Apparently there’s a right direction to do it in but i havent been told if this is start in sydney or start in cairns.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
Thanks in advance
J
10th May 2012
Hi All….
Considering my first Contiki trip. To Europe. I’m 26…and am currently unemployed so I figured rather than sitting at home and twiddling my thumbs, I should do some traveling. I have been to Europe once before, but not by myself before so it makes me slightly nervous, but that’s ok. Just a couple of questions for those of you experienced travelers with Contiki:
1. How are the trips really? Are they worth it? I’ve read only a handful of bad reviews and it seems like it just depends on the group of people you are with.
2. How tour-ish are they? Do you get a lot of time to go off on your own? Are you stuck going to things you might not want to do?
3. I’m a fairly picky eater so the supplied dinners and such make me wonder what I will get and if there is nothing for me to eat am I allowed to skip it in favor of going on my own to find food for myself.
Answers to these questions would be appreciated! And any other helpful tips you all have. Thanks so much!
10th May 2012
Hi Everyone!
We were going to use Insight Tours until I heard about Contiki. Now I’m strongly leaning towards taking the Contiki tour, but I want a little more info about the hotels. We’re going in mid-late September so it should be cool enough not to worry about air conditioning, but I’m concerned about the cleanliness of the hotels and the safety of my items should I need to leave stuff in the room. Are there any links to any of the hotels online or does anyone have any names of where Contiki books you for the Simply Italy tour? Any info would be fabulous! I also heard the hotels are little far out of the city – are we talking maybe a 5-10 Euro cab ride?
Thank you!
10th May 2012
I am planning to do the LA to the Bay 24th Nov – 3rd December but I will have my ski luggage with me as I am on my way to do a ski season.
I just saw the luggage restrictions, does anyone know what you can do about it? Am I not going to be allowed to bring my skis?
10th May 2012
Hi
I am doing the European Encounter in May and i am wondering about what kind of clothes to bring for the cooler places like Swiss Alps etc?
I know Europe will be going into Summer so most places will be warm. I have a nice warm jacket which i was thinking of bringing but it is a little bulky. I get cold quite easily so i’m not sure if all i will need is a light jacket or something a bit warmer?
If anyone can give me some advice i’d much appreciate it.
Karina
10th May 2012
If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me!!! I went alone and overall had a great time…Alot more bus time than I thought, but it is what it is…I did all the optionals and don’t regret a thing…would def do another contiki
10th May 2012
Hey All Contiki Travellers
I was wondering if anyone that has travelled the European Discovery, Disoovered any problems with bedbugs!!!! I have been reading some travellogues that have said some pretty aweful things and I am concerned about infestation problems in the hotels
10th May 2012
I wasn’t sure if this was the right place to post this, but I’m sure the moderators will move it if that is the case…I don’t know if anyone else is having passport issues, but in case you are, in the process of helping my sister figure out what was going on with her passport (she applied for it fifteen weeks ago and only just received it yesterday, just over a week before our departure date and after we went through most of the options that I’m about to write about) I have discovered the following information…
First of all, very recently (within the last week and a half) the NPIC has changed the time frame for receiving a passport from 10-12 weeks to 12-14 weeks. If you call the #1-877-487-2778 number, you do not have to listen to all the long-winded messages at that number if you are just trying to find out where your passport is because you are within a couple/few weeks of leaving. As soon as you hear the first message, press the number 1, wait for the next message to start, press the number 3, wait for the next message to start, and press the number 1 again. This will (hopefully) put you in a queue to talk to someone. There is no hold music or anything so don’t worry if you don’t hear anything! If you get the “all of our customer service reps are busy, your call cannot be answered” message, hang up and keep calling until they get put on hold. Everytime my sister used this number it took her numerous tries to get through, and once she got through, she was on hold for 20-30 minutes; however, they will be able to tell you where your passport is being processed, which is crucial. It seems that the New Orleans and Charleston processing offices have the worst backlogs.
If it is within 3 business days of your trip and you still have not received their passport, they can try contacting a watchdog group at #202-647-7948. Also, if you are finding that you cannot get through to the 877 number, you can call this number and give them your passport locator number from the travel.state.gov (to get this number you just follow the links on that site to the form where you put in your last name, DOB, and the last 4 digits of your SS #) and they will be able to tell you where your passport is as well.
If you still have a couple weeks or so, you can also try contacting your senator to see if his or her office can do anything to push it through. I think this is actually the option that got them to finally send my sister her passport.
OR, once you know where the passport is being processed, you can use the following link. It is a VERY LARGE PDF document with numbers from many different US Agencies. The link is:
www.state.gov/documents/organization/82073.pdf
Anyone with the letters “CA/PPT” next to their name is a passport processing agent. Just look at the area codes to determine which agency they work at (for example, 203 is the Connecticut passport agency, 843 is Charleston, 202 is D.C., 504 is Boston, 808 is Honolulu, etc.). Yes, it takes a while to go through this list, but if you are leaving very soon and still need your passport (and have already tried the 877 number, the watchdog number, and contacting your senator), this is the best “last resort” option available to you. Find a few numbers for people who work at the agency where the passport is being processed and start calling. Be nice because these agents have been informed not to end a call with someone looking for their passport unless the person is belligerant! You should only use this option if they have exhausted all the others suggested above.
I know this is a lot of information but I hope it helps someone out.
10th May 2012
Hey im from Australia, doing the grand explorer next month (feb) and i was just wondering if n e one knows if my mobile will work over there?? Thanks
10th May 2012
Do you ever wonder what you should buy yourself to remind you of what an amazing Contiki trip you had?
When I went on my Contiki trip I made it my goal to buy myself a shot glass in every city we stayed in.
It was my challenge to find a different and unique one in each place. When I got home it was so much fun to line them all up and tell my friends and family about all the different places and sites I saw.
So if you need an idea of a fun AND useful souvenir, this is a great thing to do on your next adventure!
10th May 2012
I plan to go 2 Ibiza for 3-4 nites after completing the Medit.highlights trip in June.
Any recs on an affordable hotel/aprtmnt for 1 person ?
thnkx !!!!
10th May 2012
I am going on the Simply Italy trip from May 27th to June 8th and was wondering if I should book tours to the Vatican Museum and anything else that’s usually busy beforehand. If i should book them ahead of time, can anyone recommend a place/company to book them with?
10th May 2012
Last week I booked my first overseas holiday, and for a portion of the time I will be doing a Contiki! I’m really excited, but also extremely nervous as I’ve paid for pre and post tour accomodation. I’ll be staying in the hotel’s that Contiki go through, which means I’ll be sharing a room with another Contiki-goer.
I am so sooo nervous about this as this person is going to be a complete stranger! Has anybody ever experienced this before that can ease my worry? Before the tour I’m arriving 2 days early, and for those 2 days I have nothing planned. No tours or anything! It worries me that I will be confined to my hotel room for 2 days because I won’t know how to get around or where to go or anything. And even though I am a super friendly person, I keep thinking about the possibility of not getting along with my room mate and not having anybody to trust or hang out with before the tour!!
Someone please help!!
Btw I’m doing the Western Highlights tour starting in LA and finishing in Vegas in April next year. If anyone is doing that tour let me know.. it would be awesome to get to know you before I get there!!
