Contiki

...and having previously travelled with Contiki around America and Australia, I now feel qualified to write a pretty comprehensive and balanced review. So here goes it...

What is Contiki?

And well you might ask. Very few people in the UK have ever heard of Contiki and it not to my knowledge advertised here. I found out about them by a visit to my local travel agent where the conversation pretty much went like this:
...
...Contiki.

The Contiki story begins with a New Zealander, John Anderson, embarking on a journey to travel Europe in 1961. As he was on a strict budget and didn't want to travel alone he ended up hiring a minibus and gathering a group of likeminded young people. Together they explored Europe and had a wonderful time. Unable to sell his minibus on return, he decided to advertise the same trip the next summer and so Contiki was born. *
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Having just got back from a 6 week European Tour and having previously travelled with Contiki around America and Australia, I now feel qualified to write a pretty comprehensive and balanced review. So here goes it...

What is Contiki?

And well you might ask. Very few people in the UK have ever heard of Contiki and it not to my knowledge advertised here. I found out about them by a visit to my local travel agent where the conversation pretty much went like this:

"I want to travel Australia, on a budget, and I don't want any camping nonsense!"

The answer, I was told, was Contiki.

The Contiki story begins with a New Zealander, John Anderson, embarking on a journey to travel Europe in 1961. As he was on a strict budget and didn't want to travel alone he ended up hiring a minibus and gathering a group of likeminded young people. Together they explored Europe and had a wonderful time. Unable to sell his minibus on return, he decided to advertise the same trip the next summer and so Contiki was born. *

Nowadays Contiki is one of the leading tour operators for young people - the designed age being between 18 - 35. They operate a vast variety of tours, lasting from a couple of days through to 6 weeks, all across the world. Areas where Contiki tours operate include: America, Australia, Europe, Russia, New Zealand and Canada. As you can see these are all "developed" countries, so for those wishing to explore more adventurous territories, say South America or Africa I'm afraid Contiki isn't for you.

The Contiki Tour Format

Having booked your Contiki tour, you will arrive at the starting destination, usually at least the night before. Flights to and from your chosen country are not included in the tour price. Contiki generally have a specific hotel that they use in each city and your travel agent (or you can do this through the website) will be able to arrange you this accommodation.

The night before each tour there is a quick meeting, generally in the hotel, information about which is put up on a notice board in the reception area of the hotel. It is good to go to this meeting because it is here your tour guide will check all your tour documents, but also it is your first chance to meet your tour companions.

The next day (usually at the crack of dawn) your tour begins! The Contiki coach will become your home for the duration of the tour, and strangely, you learn to love it! Generally speaking everything on Contiki is organised to a set itinerary that you will have seen when you booked. To take an example couple of days from my most recent tour:

Day One: We joined the tour at the crack of dawn at the Royal National Hotel in London. The morning was spent driving to Dover and chatting to our fellow travelling companions. After a short ferry ride to France we spend the rest of the day driving to Contiki's "camp" site in Paris. That evening we have welcome drinks and drive into Paris for a night time "orientation" tour where our tour guide gives us the low-down on Paris.

Day Two: A free day to explore Paris. We are driven into Paris in the morning and left to our own devices for the day. That evening we go to an optional dinner (see below) and afterwards to a great pub - everyone is getting along famously by now!

Day Three: Also spent sight seeing in Paris.

Day Four: We drive from Paris to Lyon, thus spending the vast majority of the day on the coach. Rest stops, usually either in small towns or at roadside service stations, are about every two or three hours. That evening we check into our hotel and have the evening free. Most of us end up exploring the riverside pubs and clubs set up for the Bastille Day celebrations.

And so the tour goes on. The driving / rest days ratio varies depending on the tour you have chosen, but you will be aware of this before you even book a tour. Make no mistake though, you will normally spend full days on the coach. But this is not as bad as it seems - people play games, listen to music, gossip away or just sleep...

Which reminds me, Contiki is not a restful holiday. The concept is far more to see as much as possible in the time allowed on a budget. Therefore if you want to be social and go out every evening (which is very much encouraged, after all you are there to have fun) get ready for having no sleep because you will have to get up early (by this I mean 6am - 8am) many mornings. The amount of sleep-ins you will get varies from tour to tour - for example on my American tour almost every other day was a free day so we could stay in bed and go sight see at our own leisure. In Europe, by comparison, many of the places we were staying were pretty far out of town so every day you had to get up and get on the coach.

Generally on the sight-seeing days you are left to do what you want, although your tour guide is always on hand to offer advice. If you have been bought into town on the coach you will be told a meeting place and time if you want to get a ride back to the camp site / hotel. In most cities you are only given 1 full day to explore, but in a few you have 2.

Some people feel that the Contiki experience rushed them too much. Admittedly it is impossible to see all of Rome say in one day. However it is an excellent way of seeing many different places in a limited time on a restricted budget. On my trips I flagged several places I would like to return to and spend more time. Interesting, given recent events, one of those places was New Orleans and I still intend to go back one day.

Accommodation & Room Sharing

Contiki accommodation varies greatly from tour to tour and place to place. On some tours you can chose between camping, budget accommodation or a little more luxury depending on your price range and preferences.

Generally I have ended up in the budget accommodation and had widely differing experiences. On my first tour, in Australia, the accommodation varied from nice hotel rooms to "cabin" style rooms with shared toilets and showers. In America where accommodation is generally cheap we almost always stayed in hotels and were never without an en-suite. European trips are slightly different as so many Contiki tours operate here throughout the summer and hotels in Western European cities are pricey. Therefore in places like Paris, Venice and Rome you stay at special Contiki camp sites. Here there are cabins, generally with communal bathrooms. In other places the accommodation is hotels or hostels.

An important part of the Contiki experience is making friends. Therefore the majority of people opt to share rooms - the sociable and economical option. Usually you share in groups of between 2 and 4 people and can chose your roommates from place to place.

Who Goes On Contiki?

As previously mentioned Contiki specialises in travel for the 18 to 35s. As an Australian based company, most tours are primarily made up of Australians. I believe Contiki to be considered something of a right of passage in Australia! However on my tours there have also been a fair few Americans and Canadians along with some Brits and even people from as diverse countries as Italy, Germany, Brazil and Mexico.

One of the most fundamental reasons for doing a Contiki tour is to have fun and make friends. The great majority of people doing a Contiki tour do so on their own as I have done. Admittedly this is a nerve-wracking experience when you first arrive, but with around 50 likeminded people of the same age spending day and night together you bond pretty quickly! I have kept in contact with many of my friends from each of my tours and, as many are from overseas, we have been to stay with each other whenever possible.

What Is Included?

· Coach travel (in special Contiki coaches)
· Additional travel where required, for example connecting flights, ferry travel etc.
· Depending on the trip, often many of your meals are included. The included meals can be in the form of a restaurant buffet, a breakfast / evening meal at your hotel or camp site or vouchers / money to use whenever you want. Check out the individual trip itineraries to find out how many meals are included.
· All accommodation during tour dates.

What Is Not Included?

· Travel to where you start the tour and from where you end it.
· Most tourist attractions / sight seeing activities are extra with the exception of some walking tours.
· Optionals (see below).

Optionals

Most Contiki tours offer what is called "optional excursions". These are exactly as they sound and range from a group meal to a white-water rafting trip depending on what's available locally.

If you are planning to travel with a limited budget, it is often worth checking out the web site and deciding which optionals you might like to do in advance because they can bump up your spending money by a couple of hundred pounds and you don't want to miss out on a meal with all your mates or that once in a lifetime helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.

Prices
Price information can be found on Contiki's website, but as an indicator most tours average at about £50 per day.

Staff

On every tour you have a tour guide and a driver. The tour guide is there to give you any information you require - such as where you need to be at what time - to provide a background and info to the places you visit, to organise the optionals and to point everyone in the right direction in terms of evenings out.

In addition, in Europe, the campsites are staffed by Contiki reps who provide knowledge about the city, cook your included meals for you, maintain the cabins and organise parties!

Conclusion

I absolutely loved all three of my Contiki experiences. Each were very different but the fundamental elements were the same - I saw some amazing places, had so much fun and made life long friends. The memories will live with me forever.

Sounds Great, Where Can I Get More Info?

For information about tours and Contiki resorts visit:

www.contiki.com

or pop into your local travel agent, STA Travel in particularly have a lot of Contiki information.

or if you have any questions that I haven't covered here please feel free to drop me a line in my guestbook.

* Information from Contiki website

Thanks for reading & I look forward to hearing your comments. Triciax
 

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