My Contiki Experience - What I Wish I Knew Before I Left.

Anyone who knows me is well aware that Europe has been on my bucket list for some time.  So this summer, I took the plunge, and finally went!  The tour group I settled on was Contiki, and the experience was nothing short of absolutely amazing.  While I'd love to ramble on about my trip, this post is going to be an independent, unbiased review of my experience with this company.  Buckle up kids, this is going to be an in-depth review of my experience with Contiki.  This is not going to be a travel blog from each city - but stay tuned for that later on!

For those who don't know, Contiki is an Australian based company that caters exclusively to 18 to 35 year old travelers.  At 25, I found myself amongst the older half of the group, with most travelers between 18 and 25, and a few in their early 30s.  While Contiki is a great option for a couple or a group of friends, it's a great option for solo travelers as well.  This time I went with one friend, however next time I intend to embark on my first solo trip!

Click here for detailed information about the tour: European Magic

Image Source

Locations

London, England (1 night)

Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1 night)

Saint Goar, Germany (1 night)

Munich, Germany (1 night)

Innsbruck, Austria (1 day)

Venice, Italy (2 nights)

Lucerne, Switzerland (1 night)

Paris, France (1 night)

You also pass through numerous cities, and even stop in a few for rest stops. 

What's included?

9 nights accomodations

Transportation by coach bus, ferry (across English Channel and to and from Venice), and train (in Venice).

13 meals - 5 dinners, 8 breakfasts 

No Regrets Inclusions (more on these later)

Free Time Add-Ons (more on these later too!)

Group Size: 50 to 52 people per European tour

Overall Experience

This was my first Contiki, and I LOVED it.  If I can give you one piece of advice, it's to go with an open mind.  Don't expect anything, and be open to everything. 

Would I Recommend This Trip?

Yes IF you are a first time European traveler, want to see a lot of places at once, want to visit the highlights of each city in a short period of time, have a lot of energy, can tolerate long bus rides, enjoy group activities, and don't mind being on a fast-paced schedule.

No IF you have traveled Europe before and have seen a lot of the highlights of each city, prefer slow-paced leisurely travel, strongly dislike spending a lot of time on a coach bus, or prefer to spend a lot of time alone.

While I LOVED this trip, I would never do this exact trip again, though I'm not opposed to something similar in another part of the world.  This trip is like a European Sampler - you get a taste of each country before you decide which ones you want to commit more time to in the future.  And while I would definitely return to each location again, as well as travel with Contiki again, this particular tour isn't really something I feel the need to do a second time.

Now let's get into some of the specifics.

Organization

Contiki sets a standard of organization for each tour manager, and mine did not disappoint.  Each minute of the trip is carefully planned and timed, and clearly communicated to the group.  Contiki tour managers create "day sheets", which are great little itineraries that communicate the day's plans, times, locations reminders, and bucket-list recommendations.  These day sheets take a lot of guesswork out of the day, and made my organized little heart soar.  The tour manager is also responsible for booking things ahead of time, such as train tickets, gondola rides, and included meals.  Not only is it a headache to do this all on your own, but it can add up.  Let someone else do the work - and arrange a group rate, meaning you end up paying less!

Recommendations

Contiki tour managers have the hookups - they know where the best spots are in each city and pass that information on to you via the day sheets.  It's up to you whether or not you want to go, but I'd recommend checking them out.  

Locations 

I loved the European Magic tour - it's a great way to visit eight countries in ten days, and really get an idea of the highlights of each country. The tour is great for hitting up the touristy spots - the Eiffel Tower, all of Venice, Lake Lucerne, the Amsterdam canals.  The tour manager is knowledgeable, and will be able to point you in the direction of the key places to go in each city.  However if you wanted in-depth experience of each country, then this is not the tour for you. This trip involves a lot of travel which means a lot of time spent on the coach bus, and not a lot of time spent in each country. For me this worked because I've never been to Europe before, and I wanted to know what I wanted to go back and see.  I was also able to be pleasantly surprised by little places I would never have thought to visit, like St. Goar which was very tourist-friendly and culturally rich.  Go back to my original point - if this is not the travel style for you, don't book this trip. 

Accommodations 

The Super 8 in Munich

Contiki books accommodations that are budget friendly, and in convenient locations.  This means that some hotels will be great, and others will be ... not so great.  The hotels I stayed at were between 3 to 4 stars each.  Most came with two twin beds and a bathroom (I say most because Switzerland was the odd exception to the norm).  There wasn't much room to spread out or unpack, which suited me just fine.  You wont be spending much time in the hotel room, so the space provided will be ample for getting dressed, showering, and sleeping.

If you've never been to Europe before, accommodations will be quite the shocker.  European hotels, even the 4 star hotels tend to be much smaller than their North American counterparts.  However you have to be open minded to the change - and like I said, you wont be spending much time in there anyways. 

Meals

Most Contikis include breakfasts and some dinners.  Don't expect too much of these included meals - they're standard hotel food options, with a European flair.  However I did have a great all-you-can-eat pizza experience in Switzerland that I'll blog about sometime, and the included meal in Italy was exceptional.

Purchased meals tend to be the best, as you really get a taste of that country's traditional foods (pun intended).  Our tour manager gave us some really great recommendations for places to go for food in each city, and I thoroughly enjoyed each one.  Google maps is definitely your friend - look for reviews of each place, and check out the menu beforehand.  Also, don't be afraid to ask the locals for recommendations!

No Regrets Inclusions

Contiki refers to your included activities as "No Regrets Inclusions".  Some of them are great, others are not so exciting.  Some of the included activities sound great on paper, but they're really just something you drive past on the bus. For example, one of our inclusions was to see Lorelei Rock, which sounded great, until you realized that you were just looking at the rock through the window of the bus as we drove past. That being said, other inclusions or really great such as the canal cruise of Amsterdam, the walking tour of Venice where you really got to explore the city, or the guided bike tour of Munich with the legendary Mike's Bikes. When it comes to the No Regrets Inclusions, you can't really expect much some will be awesome, and others will leave you wanting more.

Free Time Add-Ons

During your free time you have the option of exploring on your own, or sticking with the group and doing what Contiki calls a "free time add-on". Don't be fooled by the word "free" - free time add-ons are activities that you have to pay extra for.  You pay for these when you're on your tour, and you have the option of paying with card or cash.  Each tour is different, and the price for each add-on will ranged based on the country that you're in as well as what kind of tour you signed up for. The free time add-ons for my trip ranged from 9 Euros for a wine tasting in Saint Goar, to 157 Euros for the Moulin Rouge in Paris.  Don't feel pressured to do the free time add-ons if you don't want to - but don't miss out on something you're interested in trying out. I did all of my free time add-ons, and I didn't regret them. The add-ons for the European Magic were absolutely incredible, including the Moulin Rouge.  

Transportation

European Magic involves a lot of travel. This meant that we spent a lot of time on the bus daily, ranging from 4 hours to to 8 hours.  You will stop at rest stops along the way for 45 minutes to an hour, use those opportunities to stretch your legs and grab a bite to eat.  With all of the change in altitude, plus all the time spent on the bus, it's very likely that your feet are going to swell.  Mine did. Compression socks are your best friends.  Also keep in mind that with all the recycled air on the coach bus people are going to get sick. I was very lucky, I didn't get sick until I came home.  Make sure to pack cold medicine, and stay hydrated.

I'm sure I could go on and on about the trip, but I'll stop here.  Please feel free to leave questions and comments in the comment box below!

Stay tuned for more travel blog posts, as well as lots more pictures!

xoxo, J