European Experience

My Contiki trip to Europe well exceeded my expectations! The people and the Contiki onsites made it so welcoming and enjoyable for me. Traveling solo I did feel a little uneasy, but by the end of day 1 that feeling was long gone! Travelling with 40 people, you do create a bond that turns into great friendships! My only regret was not picking a longer tour ! :( That being said, I've already put down a deposit for my next Contiki ! Bring on America!!] #gason #Fixe

I had the time of my life!!! Met super amazing people and got to see evan more amazing places!!! Accommadation was good - think 99% of us got most of our sleep on the coach (bus) ride to our next destination..... :D We had the best coash driver and tour guid - made a great team and that made the trip just that much more awesome. In France and Italy we had a lot of Pizza and Pasta, and then when we got to Germany we got around to the food that I as a South African love. In Germany there was a lot of beer drinking. All the Contiki stop overs had a bar - and wow what a PARTY!!! I recommend this trip to anyone that wants to see Europe and have fun!!!

This trip was amazing! It was very organized and we got to see a little bit of everything. It would be nice to spend more time at certain tourist attractions, but in the event of time we had to leave. It was difficult to roll the suitcases on gravel to get to certain cabins and up hills. The food was manageable for the most part, I would recommend eating light at the service stops since they are expensive and not very good. The bus driver was very accommodating and would drop us off at central locations. The tour manager always told us where to go and how to get back to the hotel/stopover via taxi/train, this allowed us to stay later if the bus left. What made the trip was the people; our tour group was very inclusive. We laughed, fought and cried together, but in the end we all loved each other!

This European experience contiki tour was the best time of my life. Saw the breathtaking beauty of Europe and am now apart of an amazing, multinational family of fellow contiki travellers. Loved it I want to do it all over again!!!!!!!

If you're trying to decide between this trip and a shorter trip choose this one!! After going on this trip and talking to other people who did a similar but shorter trip I was so happy I picked the European Experience! On the shorter trips most of your time is spent travelling but on this trip you get free days in the amazing cities and countries you visit. This trip was the trip of a lifetime!!!

All in all the trip was amazing, this was my first contiki and I was travelling solo, but the people were great and it was a really good experience. It's really fast paced, you really just get a taste of each city, but you still get to see a lot. You get a lot of free time to do what you want do and see what you want and really get a chance to experience every city. The accommodations are just okay, they weren't the greatest, but you really only end up sleeping for about 4-5 hours if even, so you don't really spend too much time in the cabins. Bed bugs were an issue, which was really frustrating and upsetting, but it happens. Bug repellent and cough/cold/flu medicine is a necessity, because the contiki cough is unavoidable.

Over all, this was one of the best things I could of ever done. I went solo so I was extremely nervous, but by the 2nd day everyone had loosened up and intermingled and by then you already felt like a group. With the OPTIONALS I did majority of them, I don't have any that stand out that say "do not do". some of the walking tours where a little boring but that just depends on the type of person you are, if you can keep your attention long enough. be prepared for the white water rafting, it was freezing! my toes went purple, so bring very warm clothes to change into after! apart from that, do everything you can afford. ACCOMODATION: I didn't really have a problem with any of the accommodation. it depends on how picky you are with things. in Austria I unfortunately did pick up bed bugs but all my washing was paid for to get rid of them, and another guy got them in Rome. the cabins were really cute, majority didn't have air cons which was maybe the only down fall. in Florence I was a little annoyed at the fact there was only 2 washers and 2 dryers on offer to share, and which you needed to pay for (along with wifi that only worked in certain areas). FOOD: the provided breakfast every day filled me up until lunch. At contiki run sights the breakfast was really good (eggs, bacon, toast, fruits ect) but at the hotels/cabins sometimes it was just toast, fruits yogurts and cereals which were still pretty good. lunch was provided on a couple days; other then that you needed to provide your own, but it was very easy to get where ever you went. Some days you do spend quite a while on the busses, but you have service stops every 2.5hrs in a village to wander for an hour and get food. also on the bus is music and our guide played games ect. if you wanted to sleep then the chairs reclined and it was easy to doze off, especially after a big night before! usually every 2nd night was a party night, even if it wasn't a party night; something chilled would become more. If you didn't want to go out that night/drink ect then there was no hassle at all, some nights I stayed in and I didn't get any crap for it. my tour guide (Rachel) was better then I ever expected. she went out of her way to help me, one night she lent me her ipad so I could stay in and watch movies as I wasn't feeling very well. she was professional but knew how to connect with each person on tour individually and she pretty much notched the tour up that bit extra! as for anna, the driver, the tight corners and passage ways she could squeeze through was crazy! even though she was at the front of the bus, she always bust a move and came out when she could! the people I met on tour I will never forget, the last day together was very hard knowing you may never see them again. all in all, this is a must do. ill def be doing contiki again! #opaaaa #babybird #shoey #savethequeen #kyleeeeee #shotsshotsshots

Best trip I've ever taken and met some of the best people who are like family now. Totally worth the money spent and would do it again in a heartbeat.

I just got home from my trip, and I could not be more disappointed to be home. Our tour guide Carly, was absolutely fantastic; she knew historical information, where to go, where not to go, she joked around, and knew how to show us a good time. Our driver, Sandro, was equally as awesome! Met 44 of the most incredible people, and met 7 people that will forever be family. The places we went were incredible, and even though most of the monuments we went to in Italy were under maintenance and covered in scaffolding , we were just as amazed. The parties were nothing but fun. We were unable to do the water rafting in Austria due to it being off season, but other than that I did almost every optional, and I don't regret one. the Paragliding in particular was my absolute favourite. There were people that travelled solo, people in groups, and even couples. So if you're travelling alone, don't worry about it at all. Everyone becomes a family by day 3. I would do this trip over and over again. It is a budget tour, so don't expect to stay at fancy hotels. That being said, we were always looked after and had accom needs met, no problem. Contiki on sites were always there to help. My one suggestion is to bring medicine and lots of it. the #contikicough is real, and it is not fun. I had it for a few days and then got over it, then everyone got sick and i caught it again and its sticking around. So make sure you bring lots of cough syrup, cold and flu meds and lots of tissues. If you're on the fence about doing this trip, just jump and book it. Best time of my life. Miss it already.

Lots of fun ejoyed the trip. will do it all again in a instant

This is the best thing I've ever done in my life, and I'm not kidding! Made lifelong friends who I'll never forget and WILL be making more than an effort see again. Our driver and manager were our friends, they were great company. The trip was a perfect mixture of fun, drinking and seeing amazing sights. I'm recommending contiki to all my friends, it's changed my life. The hardest thing was saying goodbye to everyone!

This is a great tour, you go to some really awesome places. the only thing that I would say is that it is a bit rushed.. i prefer the slower paced tours. also i felt most of the hotels were a bit outside of town. If you can afford the superior level of tour i would go with that. you'll get more bang for your buck.

This is such an amazing trip! Everything you do is awesome from the sight seeing to the optionals--and do all the optionals! I cannot recommend this enough, it's the perfect amount of time and the perfect amount of places. A few suggestions would be that you will need nicer clothing for some of the optionals in France and you will DEFINITELY need bug spray in Venice. Also, bring a neck pillow for the bus, I didn't have one and my jacket was not comfy. Also take a large beach towel for you towel because they can double up as blankets on the bus or if you do not want to get your sleeping bag out in the accommodations. Again, I cannot recommend this enough and if you are even slightly considering it, just do it because you won't have any regrets and you will meet so many cool people and share incredible experiences. Also do not be afraid to go alone, I did and I am so glad for it. The food is also great everywhere but be prepared to try some newer items that may be specify to the region.

You will have the absolute time of your life on this trip. It's the perfect amount of time, if you're trying to see a lot in not a lot of time. HOWEVER, there's a few things I wish I knew before I chose this trip: 1) If you are traveling later than July, you will encounter bed bugs. I traveled for the month of August and had three separate bed bug infestations - all at the "special" contiki stopovers, not any of the hotels. The management will not do anything about it unless you throw a fit, which I did both the second and third time, at which point you receive tokens for laundry and they "steam" your room. I got into the habit of checking my bed before every night I went to sleep, but there isn't much you can do to prevent them.. The bits are gross and itchy and it's beyond frustrating how little contiki does to mitigate such a disgusting problem. 2) You WILL get sick, like VERY sick. Bring enough cold medicine to last the entire trip, every single kind you can think of. 3) You WILL get lice. It's not as common as the bed bugs, but still very prevalent, and absolutely impossible to handle while traveling. Most people don't realize until they have already gotten home from the trip, but enough people in my same travel group got it as well to know that it was contiki (I ONLY traveled contiki, not a single accommodation was outside of them, so I can 100% know that where I got it). *In the end, if you're with a good group of people these things aren't going to ruin your trip, but my trip would had been a lot less STRESSFUL (I mean come on I was trying to enjoy my holiday) had I known these precautions going into it.

Great time. Best decision that I made was to do Contiki. Made 37 new friends and have truck loads of awesome memories!

Being a frequent traveller, this was the first Contiki I've decided to do and I have absolutely #NOREGRETS. This was honestly the best trip I've ever had! The sights covered in the tour are just amazing, the contiki villages & on site crew were so much fun. But the true highlight of the trip was all the amazing new friends I met and the ridiculous amount of memories we all now share. I honestly could of stayed on that bus and continued travelling the rest of the year with these guys. But a massive thanks to our coach driver David & Steve our tour manger who was so much fun but also did a great job by giving us a lot of information on the cities & sights and making the trip run so smoothly & to top it of it was his first tour! Awesome job buddy & many thanks. Definitely would recommend.

Going through all these amazing tours online, i wanted to get the most out of "my trip" with the amount of days i had to play with. This tour to me gave me a taste of the best of Europe, as i got to experience a bit of each place which i think we covered 8 countries in 20 days. I was quite a shy girl before i left for this trip but after a day of travelling with your new tour mates, i was talking and socialisng with them all and some i have made close friendships with! This trip changed me for the better, i am more confident, independent and happier and i thank Contiki for helping me gain this much need confidence. The optionals i thought covered everyones needs such as the dare devils, the quieter types and the party goers.. so for me i felt it was a good mix. One of my favourite optionals was going up Jungfrau mountain, what an amazing experience, i would fit this in your budget! As it is mind blowing! Most beautiful sight... and the snow is good fun too.. so pack some winter wollies and you will need them! Accomodation was good! Most places we had our own private cabins in a seperate area of the camp grounds such as Florence i think from memory? Best place was definetly in the Beaujolas Region the Chateau was amazing, the scenery, the wine and the little club downstairs was good fun too! Good taste of what was to come down the track. Theme partys were a highlight too! In each place we stayed the crew would plan theme partys for us for example we had a traffic light party and so you had to wear something red green or yellow... depending on your status :P. Other themes were Venetian (venice) tight and bright... I <3 Roma white board party and more crazy partys! Great way to get to know your fellow tour mates and some times over contikis would be in the same place so you got to meet other people too! Overall i would defiently suggest this tour to any one looking for a taste of what Europe has to offer! Great way to see where you would like to go back to and explore more... i know im already thinking of what i would like to do next year... Hope you find this helpful :) Happy Travels!

I had the best time of my life during the European Experience... My whole group was fantastic and have made some friends for life.. You need to do all the optionals.. Your only there once so try everything. Austria & the Swiss Alps are the 2 most beautiful countries. I wish we had spent more time there! One of the best nights out was Nouvelle Eve Cabaret show! Best optional without a doubt was the White water rafting & paragliding in Austria.. Try as much of the local foods as possible.

Did this tour in may 2012, was the best 3 weeks of my life.. Was absolutely unreal. Had the best tour guide/bus driver/ group!! The sights were amazing, the parties were awesome.. Don't have a bad thing to say.. This tour was the right amount of days, and I would defenetly recommend it !!

Nothing will ever prepare you for the go go go of contiki! This was the best 20 days of my life that I got to spend with 45 amazing other travellers and our fantastic tour manager, Mark Davies and awesome coach driver, Cathal Woods. We saw everything amazing that Europe had to offer and you get so much more out of your contiki experience than you'll ever expect. Yes, we partied a lot and yes we hardly slept and yes! We were always on the move but I wouldn't change my experience for the world. The food was always good and so was the accommodation, and don't skimp on the optionals! It's the best way to get to know your fellow contikians. I would do this tour again in heartbeat, my advice would just be to know that you'll never be prepared for what's about to hit you but get ready for the time of your life!