Spotlight on Greece

Spent a really fun four days travelling around Greece. Fortunately our tour only had 14 people and so it was a lot more close and personable. It may have only been a couple of days but we got a good overview of Greece and I didn't feel a need to stay any longer. To start off with we had an optional dinner for 44 euros. This was tricky as it felt hard to say no to a group dinner just as you start the tour. However the dinner is no way worth 44 euros it should be more like 22 euros. It is really just a standard meal and the entertainment was short and hard to see. Unfortunately we missed going into the ruins of Mycenae as they were closed but we got free lunch instead so that was appreciated. There is quite a bit of bus travelling, about 10 hours over 4 days. Fortunately this time was enlivened by doing some group games, historical facts and music. The ruins and museums at Olympia and Delphi were nice. Although when it says ruins it means there is virtually nothing left. At each site we had a local tour guide but I didn't find them all that helpful, often rushing through the museum and telling us things we already knew. The quality of the hotel rooms were fairly poor with hard beds and rubbish showers however very little time was spent in the room anyway. The reception and bar areas were much nicer. There were also several stop overs at small towns along the way which were quite interesting and off the main tourist routes. The view from the bus was always beautiful. At Delphi we went to a night club which was surprisingly fun. Hashtag SelfieinDelphi! Returning to Athens we got to see the Parthenon although sadly it is under construction and very little of it remains. I think the temple of hephaestus would have been nice to include being the best preserved greek temple and just down the hill. We then got in the bus and drove past some other important buildings, not really sure why? We briefly saw the pancreatic stadium for all of 2 minutes. Note: The tour finishes at 6pm so dinner is not included on that day which i think is pretty dodgy. No one caught a flight out that night so everyone was forced to pay for an extra night. So total additional expenses -Taxi to and from airport 80 euros -First night dinner 44 euros -Lunch for three days 30 euros -Entry to night club 10 euros -Last night dinner 25 euros -Drinks at bars in hotel (0 euros for me as i didn't have any) -Souvenirs 70 euros (4 statues, 2 fridge magnets, 1 pot) -Additional night in Athens 75 pounds What really made this trip awesome was the company of fellow travelers and our awesome trip managers Tom and Izzy.

This was my first Contiki and my friend and I had a great time on this trip! A good, short way to see the more historic parts of Greece. Athens was interesting to see the Acropolis and Agamemnon’s Palace (when you're driving to Olympia). Our tour guide made it really interesting! Olympia was neat to see and very historic. Our tour guide surprised us with a trip to the beach and we all had a great time there! Delphi was absolutely beautiful. The hotel has amazing views and a nice pool. Great dinner here. We all went our for our last night together and had a blast! Our tour guide Paola was THE BEST! So sweet and went out of her way to be awesome! Our Driver Bobby was great too! Our group was hilarious and amazing. Was so sad to leave them. After only 4 days, felt like I made lasting friendships. We plan to hopefully do another tour together! Would definitely recommend this tour for anyone who wants to see more historic Greece. Great one to add onto your Island tours so you see both sides. Wouldn't suggest it just by its self though, unless you are really into history. The islands are just prettier and you have more fun in general. Disclaimer: I had never heard of Contiki/Topdeck until I started doing research for this trip. We decided to try out both so did this with Contiki and then the Island Hopper with Topdeck. With my experience with Topdeck and the group/guide I had...CONTIKI ALL THE WAY!!! Topdeck was an older crowd (we had 5 older, married couples on a 23 person tour). My friend and I were so upset to leave our Contiki group, especially since almost all of them were going on to do different tour versions of the islands with Contiki. We even ditched our Topdeck group on 3 or 4 occasions to go meet up with some former Contiki friends when our tours would overlap. So if this was your first time and you're having trouble deciding between Contiki or Topdeck, definitely do Contiki!!