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Last updated: August 2020

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After my first trip to Europe with Contiki, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the tour company, and today I’m finally sitting down to answer all of them. This in-depth post will cover everything from accommodations, dining, excursions, tipping, transportation, and more.

Contiki is a tour company that caters to travellers aged 18-35. They run a variety of different types of tours, from camping to hotel accommodation trips, all varying in length from 4 days to month-long excursions. The company operates all over the world however, this review will be focused on their European tours.

I have been on three Contiki tours (as of 2020):

• European Discovery – 12 Day Europe Tour
• Berlin, Prague + Vienna – 9 Day Tour (This trip no longer exists, but has been changed into the Berlin to Budapest)
• Eastern Trail 

Contiki is a tour company that provides young travellers with unique, adventure-packed travel experiences that they'll never forget. Share on X

Each Contiki tour I did was unique in its own way, giving me the opportunity to try an appetizer of some of Contiki’s best tours in order to provide a thorough review for my readers.

After three tours with the company, here is my no bullshit review of Contiki:

Accommodations

Contiki offers a variety of accommodation options: hotels, hostels, camping, and some tours which include a mix of accommodation styles. The two tours that I have been on were both hotel accommodation. Contiki books three-star hotels, so don’t expect the Ritz, however, I found the accommodations perfect for casual travel and some of the hotels well exceeded my expectations as a budget traveler.

The biggest issue I had with Contiki’s accommodations was how far they were from the city. In big cities such as Paris, Rome, and Amsterdam we were in hotels located 40-60 minutes outside the city. Typically, as the quality of the hotel increases, the distance to the city also increases.

Personally, I’m only in a hotel room only to sleep so I can deal with subpar quality, but if you’re someone who requires five-star service to get to sleep, I’d recommend at least researching the hotels specified on the tour before finalizing your booking, just ensure you’re not disappointed when you arrive.

However, if you’re keen to “rough it” you can save a lot of money by booking one of Contiki’s camping or hostel tours instead of their hotel option.

WiFi

In our digital age, I feel that it’s important to make a quick note about the internet situation on these tours. The coach does have WiFi available for purchase – do not do it, it’s ridiculously expensive, even your tour manager will tell you not to waste your money.

As for the WiFi in the hotels, it was hit and miss. Europeans are very, very different from us in North America and do not feel the need to be constantly connected, thus WiFi is sparse. Some hotels have free WiFi available for a certain period of time, some only an hour, some for an entire day. Others only have free WiFi available in the lobby, and others have no WiFi at all. However, when you’re out and about, some of the coffee shops and restaurants will have free WiFi available, just be sure to purchase something from them as a curiosity.

Tour Managers

Your tour manager is essentially the “babysitter” Contiki assigns to your tour; they are not official tour guides. Although most of the Contiki tour managers have an extensive amount of knowledge about the cities you’ll be visiting, they’re not experts like the local tour guides are.

Your tour manager is basically there to make sure everyone gets to the bus on time, organize the group dinners, and help you pick and plan your excursions. I found that between my two tours, the tour manager can make or break your experience.

Some of the tour managers are very knowledgeable and go above and beyond to ensure you have a great time on your trip. On my first Contiki, our tour manager custom printed his own city maps with his top tips, and always gave us thorough information and directions before dropping us in the idle of a city. I swear this guy was a walking history textbook – I was floored by how much he knew! He was clear about ground rules on the coach and in different countries, making sure we respected the local customs but was also not afraid to have a good time with us at the bars and pubs.

On my second Contiki tour, it wasn’t that my tour manager was bad per say, but she definitely tailored many of our excursions and activities to her own interests, which did not align with most of the groups and left a lot of us feeling bored and frustrated.

One thing to be wary of is that the tour managers will take you to bars and restaurants they’ll say are the “best in the city”, however, you’re most likely only being taken there because your tour manager will collect a commission or get kickbacks for bringing business to the establishment.

This is a common practice in the tourism industry, so it’s totally understandable; I only mention it to caution you to not be naïve and do your research before you get to your destination. You are by no means obligated to stick with the group the entire time! If your tour manager is saying a certain restaurant is “the best in the city”, but you’ve been dying to check out another one, don’t be afraid to go off on your own. Don’t just blindly go along with everything the tour manager says; it’s certainly alright to break away from the group every once in a while.

Hostels or hotels? Face paced or laid back? No matter what your travel style, Contiki has a tour for you! Share on X

Food

Breakfast is included every day on your Contiki, but as one of my tour managers stated; “breakfast in Europe is a coffee and a cigarette”. I didn’t expect much of the breakfast anyway, and it usually was just pastries and cereal, however, sometimes you’d get lucky and a hotel would offer bacon and eggs as well. If you’re someone who needs a little more fuel first thing in the morning, pack some extra snacks in your suitcase or account some more room in your budget to purchase additional breakfast items.

You’re on your own for lunch most days, which gives you the opportunity to wander about, unless you’re on a high-paced tour, then you’ll be eating lunch at wherever the bus stops between your next destination.

Contiki includes a few dinners and a lot of the other dinners are usually included in some type of paid excursion. I was very pleased overall with the quality of the food on both tours I did. The restaurants were authentic to the different cities we visited and provided a wide variety of options for different preferences.

Cost

Depending on the length of the tour, the destinations, and the travel style, Contiki tours range from $400-$7000. So regardless of what your budget is, there is a tour out there for you!

I think the price is right for these tours and you’re getting the most bang for your buck, so there’s no need to be concerned about getting ripped off. I was very impressed with the high value that each of my Contiki tours delivered.

However, my only issue is that Contiki claims that going on a tour with them is more affordable than going on your own, and that’s a blatant lie. If cost is your only concern, you don’t necessarily need to choose Contiki. You can do everything that a Contiki tour does, on your own, for the same amount of money. It’s not cheaper one way or the other.  The only difference with going on your own is that you’ll be paying the same amount of money, but doing all the legwork of booking hotels, excursions, dinners, etc. So if you’d like to just lay back and leave the planning to someone else, a Contiki tour would be a better value to you.

Excursions

Contiki offers a wide variety of excursions that you can add on to your trip for an extra cost, and of course, you’re encouraged to do them all to ensure you get the most out of your trip! A lot of these excursions I do believe are once in a lifetime opportunities and worth the price like the cabaret show in Paris, the concentration camp visit in Berlin, and white water rafting in Austria.

You’re made aware of your excursions and their cost before your trip, so I would recommend researching them and seeing if it would be more cost-efficient for you to do it on your own. Keep in mind some of the excursions can be more fun with a group of people so you may want to splurge. (ie. the live sex show in Amsterdam – no one wants to be the weirdo attending that alone!)

The Coach

Depending on the tour you do, the coach will either be your home for a few weeks or just a vehicle you see once or twice. In the high paced tours you’re on the coach for 6-10 hours almost every day as you move from country to country. It is a very comfortable and clean means of transportation, and depending on your tour group, it’ll either be a very fun 6-10 hours, or the worst 6-10 hours of your life. It’s hit or miss and really depends on your group, so I recommend bringing a book and some headphones just in case. Most people spend their time on the coach sleeping off their hangovers from the night before, and as long as no one pukes, you’ll be fine.

Partying

You might have heard Contiki referred to as the “drunken orgy on wheels” and this nickname is not far off. Pretty much every night you have the option of going to a club with the group and getting hammered with your new travel companions. While you will undoubtedly have a great time, I found after my first trip that I spent over 200 euro in alcohol, which I had not originally budgeted for – it’s very easy to get carried away. For those who are just looking to party their way through Europe, or just have a great time and meet new people, you will have an absolute blast on a Contiki tour.

The People

Speaking of your tour mates…they will be the highlight of your trip. The people you meet on Contiki are friends for life. I still talk to the people I met on my very first Contiki four years ago and actually have plans to travel with a few of them soon. Hold onto these friendships. The friends you meet traveling are the best kind of friends to have. And you’ll always have a couch to crash on somewhere in the world!

Tipping

When you book your Contiki tour, tips are said to be included in the price of your trip. However, the only tips that are included in this price are the tour group dinners. All the local guides will expect tips at end of their walking tours, but of course, it’s at your discretion whether or not to tip them.

Your tour manager and the bus driver will also be expecting a tip at the end of the tour. Within the last few days of your tour ending you’re given an envelope and told to write a note to your tour manager and driver with a tip enclosed and your name. I mention this because it caught me off guard on my first trip and I found myself scrambling for cash on the last day of my tour. On my second tour I was a little bit more prepared and set aside my tip for the driver and tour manager at the beginning of my trip; which is what I would recommend everyone does, just so you don’t accidentally overspend!

Conclusion

So should you go on a Contiki? Yes and no.

I think Contiki is an excellent tour company for someone who is nervous to travel solo for the first time, or maybe someone who is looking to just have a good time and make some friends.

Contiki is also a good idea for groups of friends as it takes a lot of the arguing out of decision making since most of the decisions are made for you.

The number one reason I would choose Contiki is if you don’t know what you want to see. Maybe you’re new to travel and know you want to go to Europe, but don’t necessarily have specific destinations or monuments in mind. Basically, if you know you want to go to Paris, but can’t think of anything to see other than the Eiffel Tower, go on a Contiki. They’ll not only help you figure the logistics of your trip out, but they’ll educate you and open your eyes to things you could have never imagined.

On the flip side, if you’re someone who is comfortable with traveling and have a good idea of what you want to see and do, I would ditch Contiki and do your own thing. You can still find local guides when you get to your destination and plan your own excursions. I personally, do not plan on doing another Contiki anytime soon, because I’d like to challenge myself to go own my own, as well as plan a trip that is more directly focused on exactly what I want to see and do.

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Think you’re ready to book your Contiki tour?

Check out my post on how to pick the perfect tour for your travel style!

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Check out more of my Contiki posts:

• 7 things to know before booking your first Contiki tour
• Contiki Cares: How Contiki is supporting sustainable travel
• An In-Depth Review of Contiki’s Eastern Trail Tour
• How to pick the perfect Contiki for your travel style