Things to Consider Before Booking a Contiki Tour

Here are some top tips to think about before booking a tour aimed at the 18-30 age group written by seasoned travellers by Jessica Dangles.

If you’re between the age of 18-30 and interested in traveling on a tour, there are a lot of options to choose from. Contiki cater to younger travelers by offering affordable trips with plenty of free time. These tours also appeal to solo travelers because you have the opportunity to meet like-minded friends from all over the world.

The whole reason to take a tour is to have all the planning and preparation done for you. In short, the only work you have to do is booking airfare (some tours will even do this for you) and showing up on day one.

For young professionals with limited vacation time, tours offer an easy way to make the most your time, with many European tours hitting several countries in under a week.

Essential Things to Consider Before Booking

Group tours are not for everyone though, especially Contiki. Here are a few things to consider before signing up:

1. What Budget Do You Have

You can certainly travel for cheaper than the prices Contiki and most tour companies boast, but part of the fun is meeting new people and having everything planned for you.

It is wise to find out what is included in the tour fee prior to putting down a deposit. Are the excursions included or is there an additional charge? What about transportation?

Do a little legwork ahead of time to make sure you are getting the most for your hard earned dollars.

2. Age

If you are in your thirties, you may be one of the oldest members of the group. Many travellers are students or young travellers on a trip funded by their parents or on a gap year from school

3. Tour members like to party

You should prepare to be surrounded by hung-over people each morning and possibly kept up at night by the sounds of drunken travelers

4. You will have at least one roommate

Unless you pay extra you will be sharing a room with another person of the same sex. You might meet your future best friend or you might get kicked out of the room at 4am when he or she brings a “friend” over

5. Don't Expect Luxury

You aren’t on a luxury tour. Contiki do not generally offer 5-star hotels, first class transportation, or room service.

These may not be deal breakers for you, but not everyone will enjoy traveling in that environment. Tours with Contiki and similar companies are a safe, fun, and relatively inexpensive way to see the world. Do your homework before choosing to book a Contiki group tour and go into the experience open minded and ready for anything.

By Jessica Dangles