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Contiki Reviews
All trip reviews are independently written by travellers who have experienced the Contiki product first hand. The reviews are recorded and displayed on the Contiki website through a third-party provider - Feefo.
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The Big Tiki (Auckland to Christchurch Summer)
Anonymous
Travelled Apr 2020
EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME
being on "the big Tiki" was the absolute experience of a lifetime Saul was a ripper our manager that somehow knew the best places to get a drink on the cheap and Squiddy was a great bus driver to be piloting us through NZ. I met the best group of people who ill stay friends with for ever.
Asian Adventure
Paul Maxey
Travelled Apr 2020
European Highlights
Vincent
Travelled Apr 2020
Austria Ski Plus (coach from London) - 1 week
Anonymous
Travelled Apr 2020
Kiwiana Panorama (Auckland to Christchurch Summer)
KC
Travelled Apr 2020
Kiwiana Panorama (Auckland to Christchurch Summer)
I am rating Contiki a four as it is a great way to travel on your own and see a lot of things in a short amount of time in a safe environment. This was my first big trip traveling alone, I wanted to just enjoy the trip, not have to think about where I was going next, how I was going to get there and where I was going to stay. The guide and driver were very knowledgeable as they were from New Zealand. The trip manager was organized, made sure everyone got on there add-on activities and was good at taking us out to local spots in the evening for good entertainment. The driver was very approachable, friendly and helpful at suggesting different places to see or things to do on your free time.
If I could change anything about Contiki it would be to have more involvement with group activities at minimal- no cost. I found that everything was very go, go, go and everything involved paying for it. I knew there were add on extras, but did not realize how busy it was and the only way to experience things. If you did not have an add-on extra than you basically had to find stuff to do on your own. There were 50ish people in my group, (also had no idea groups were that large) I did not even get to know or interact with half of them because of how busy it was.
Id suggest coupons for local places for discounts on food would be beneficial as cost of food was expensive and added up quickly. Most of time I went to grocery stores to grab food to take on the trip. Coming from Canada, a trip costing 3200 + Flight + extras + food all adds up quickly. The trip ended up costing me roughly another 4g on top of just the Contiki price.
Recommendations for other travelers: Make sure to have extra money for free time add-ons- amazing views, scenery for days, take lots of pictures / videos but don't forget to live in the moment because it goes by quickly.
YOLO #NO REGRETS, It was an AMAZING experience, I will definitely will be returning to NZ one day. I ABSOLUTE LOVED IT!
Booked from Canada
European Trail (Until March 2020)
Anonymous
Travelled Apr 2020
Should disclose all the information from the beginning.
The trip it self and the locations were great, our manager didn’t spend much time with us in each location and when we were with her she told us about the problems she had with ppl in another Contiki trips which scared me to do things and changed my behavior, we had a lot of free time in each city which wasn’t great because every time we visit a different city the group split apart, I personally ended up alone several times so what’s the point on traveling in a group if everyone can do whatever they want separately. The group was very big 52 so my recommendation for other travelers is to find a smaller group of people and stick to them to travel together.
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Reply by Contiki Support
It's great to hear that you enjoyed getting to see some of the cultural sights that Europe has to offer, and we hope that you've returned home with many lasting memories in tow. Having said this, we do note that there were a few aspects of your time away on the European Trail that may not have met your expectations, including the size of your group, the service provided by our Trip Manager and the itinerary. We certainly appreciate these concerns, and will be sharing them with our Operations Team for their consideration going forward. Here at Contiki, we're also looking for ways to improve our trips and make them even more unique, so thanks again for sharing your feedback.
European Whirl
Thomas Wilsdon
Travelled Apr 2020
Grand Southern (Start Los Angeles - Until March 2020)
Anonymous
Travelled Apr 2020
Grand Southern (Departed in LA and finished in NY) - Started in Dec 2019
Do the trip. Don't put it off. It was a great trip all round (e.g. making new friends from different parts of Oz, not having to worry about accommodation and finding activities to do, covered so many places in a month - tour provided great insight into Southern America). I'm glad to say that I've made tight friendships with some of the people on the tour.
Only downsides were the Contiki Cough that knocked out of all the tour group and the occasional long bus trips (e.g. Santa Fe to Amarillo, St Augustines to Savannah and than to Rayleigh).
Highlights of the trip include New Years Eve in New Orleans (be careful of the Hurricane and Grenade cocktails), Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Miami, For Worth, Washington and Cocoa Beach / JFK Space Centre (we got to see a SpaceX rocket take off at night). However St Augustine, Georgia and the Carolinas weren't that exciting, but it was a necessary evil to get from Florida to Washington.
Luckily the group I was with were great (Mainly Aussies from Qld and SA) with the odd few from Canada and NZ. Due to the time of the year, most of the people on tour were teachers and boy did they know how to party. 2/3 of the group were in their early 20s and the remainder were in the late 20s to mid 30s. Reasonably good dynamic with some odd moments.
Food was good overall (I was actually surprised). Most of the breakfast meals included hot items (e.g. bacon and eggs). Occasionally breakfast only included cereal, milk and a piece of fruit etc. The provided dinners were fine (e.g. pub quality and BBQ meats in Texas / Florida).
And yes, there was lots of partying (2 out of 3 nights were spent on drinking).
Despite negative reviews about accomodation from past reviews, accommodation for our trip was good overall (apparently Contiki HQ have been able to secure better deals due to a downturn in the tourism industry in the USA during 2019), however the location of some of the accommodation was a bit far to the city centre (e.g. Memphis, DC), so be prepared to use Uber frequently if you're experiencing the night life in certain cities.
There were semi-frequent stops to Walmart, so it was a good opportunity to stock up on beef jerky... and alcohol.
In terms of budget, you're looking at spending $3.5k to $4k throughout the whole month (e.g. meals at restaurants, alcohol, optional activities, gifts, shopping). Low Aussie dollar had a big impact on purchasing power.
Sol Seeker (From Dec 2019)
Anonymous
Travelled Mar 2020
Good customer service but key information omitted
For the price paid, we felt that there should have been more included activities. We were able to find the same or similar activities to the ones offered by Contiki at much cheaper prices. For example, we did a catamaran trip to Isla Mujeres at a fraction of the price quoted by Contiki. The included meals weren't very nice or authentic and seemed like a waste of money on Contiki's part. Eating at restaurants like the one we ate at for the welcome meal in Mexico City is unnecessary. Additionally, the day we spent in Playa del Carmen was a waste and should be replaced with Tulum. We organised a day trip to Tulum from Cancun ourselves and had an amazing time. I wish we had more time there and that it was included on the tour.
The main issue I had with the trip was that I experienced quite a bit of racism from the other travellers. Remarks were made about my appearance and I was actively excluded when we first joined the tour in Mexico City. After deciding not to leave the tour (considering how much money I'd spent and that I'd spent several months looking forward to it) we ended up creating our own itinerary and keeping to ourselves. The trip manager seemed oblivious to this, which was a poor reflection on Contiki.
I'm an experienced traveller and when I travel I want to be immersed in the culture of a new country, eat local food, learn about the history and meet the people. I want an authentic experience. Unfortunately, this isn't what Contiki offers. The main objective seemed to be getting blind drunk and being too hungover to truly travel and explore during the day. Although this is clearly what some people are looking for in a travelling experience, I am not and therefore I will not be using Contiki again.
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Reply by Contiki Support
Thank you for sharing your experience on the Contiki Sol Seeker here with us; we really appreciate hearing from our travellers. While we hope you were able to enjoy your trip for the most part, we regret to note that there were certain aspects of your time away with us that didn't entirely live up to your expectations. As we really do take on board all of the feedback we receive, please do be assured that your comments will be shared with our Operations and Product Development teams for their attention and consideration. On another note, it genuinely saddens us to learn that you might have experienced any form of racism from some of your fellow travellers, as this is certainly not something we stand for here at Contiki. Indeed, our professionally trained Trip Managers are always available to provide assistance when these issues arise, and we do encourage our travellers to bring any concerns to their attention. Having said this, we still hope you were able to come away from this trip with some great memories and new friendships in place. While we note that you may not choose to travel with us again in the future, we nevertheless wish you all the best in your future explorations.
Spain, Morocco & Portugal
Isabelle Lepage
Travelled Mar 2020
A Contiki must!
Karin our trip manager was the best!! Such a good vibe and positive attitude from day 1 to the last day. Our driver Joao was incredible too!! We had the most amazing time and we did so much in so little time. There are quite a few travelling days but they are worth it. All FTA meals in Morocco are a must! Overall, great trip!!
Pure Sri Lanka
Jessica Castillo
Travelled Mar 2020
Great Britain & Ireland (Until March 2020)
Kym Wyntjes
Travelled Mar 2020
European Discovery (Winter - Until March 2020)
Jonathan Vu
Travelled Mar 2020
Egypt & The Nile
Daniel Rodriguez Aguirre
Travelled Mar 2020
Egypt Feb 2020
Awesome experience Tour guide Sherif was amazing he showed us all there is to see. Outline of tour was good everyday was a new adventure. Food was good , made new friends and felt safe the whole time. Saddest part was saying goodbye to all my new friends and to Sherif who without him the tour wouldn’t have been as great. Thanks again Sherif
Booked from Madison Wisconsin
Israel and Jordan Uncovered (Until March 2020)
Anonymous
Travelled Mar 2020
Israel and Jordan Uncovered (Until March 2020)
Jake Harris
Travelled Mar 2020
Easy start!
This trip far surpassed my expectations. Thinking back to it now, almost a month after it had finished, I'm still in awe. Both Israel and Jordan are extremely beautiful countries and are a must see! The locals are extremely friendly and are mainly all very helpful! The itinerary was surreal. My personal favourites were visiting the Wadi Rum desert, Petra and Elat. Our tour host for Israel was a local named Fabian. Not only was he extremely knowledgeable about everything in Israel, he was also extremely funny. Our group bonded with him so well, that he became a part of the Contiki travel family with us. Our tour manager Lauren (Loz) was great! She was well organised, professional and hilarious (She cracks some of the funniest instant one liners). Our group was small, 20 of us in total. Most of us were between the age of 25-30. It wasn't your typical Contiki of going out drinking every night, we were in Israel and Jordan after all, but that was a nice change. There were a few heavy heavy nights though (Elat and Tel Aviv). Our group bonded extremely well and even now, we still all actively speak in a group chat! Overall, I could not fault this trip. It was unbelievable and incredible! Although, I understand Contiki have since removed a few locations from the itinerary, like the Dead Sea and Galilee for the 2020 version. I would definitely recommend trying to get to these places!
Booked from London
The Powder Rush
Anonymous
Travelled Mar 2020
Amazing😍
Trip of a life time. I thought being a shorter trip you wouldn’t get much time to make good friends but I was wrong. We made amazing friends, Alex the trip manager was great. Good amount of time in each place. Canada is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, can’t wait to go back. Would highly recommend! Do be aware of additional costs, the adventure activities in Canada are expensive (this is out of Contikis control)
Grand Southern (Start New York City - Until March 2020)
Benjamin Lebner
Travelled Mar 2020
Southern Adventure (Start Los Angeles - Until Jan 2021)
Tess Elstone
Travelled Mar 2020
Southern Adventure (Start Los Angeles - Until Jan 2021)
Tour manager Woz was amazing! She was super organised and knowledgeable, but also knew how to have fun with us. The itinerary was amazing and really highlighted the best of southern USA. Definitely would recommend if your a solo traveller as the length was perfect and is an amazing way to meet people
Kiwiana Panorama (Auckland to Queenstown Summer)
Anonymous
Travelled Mar 2020
loved every minute! So much support! Memories I will never forget :)
Itinerary and activities were awesome! So action packed and I wanted to do as much as possible! Trip manager and bus driver were so amazing and went above and beyond my expectations! Would definitely recommend contiki to anyone it was amazing!