I came across this vacation by accident, I originally was trying to find a vacation for myself, my 8 year old daughter, my mom, my aunt and my cousin for Europe. I was told I could go where ever I wanted since this was my graduation/birthday present, but there were some problems trying to organize all of this with everyone. I found the tour, thought it looked like fun, then looked into who Contiki was and realized it wasnt possible becuase of the 18-35 age limit/party tour concept. So I nixed the whole dam thing and went back to looking at other stuff. But the whole idea of going by myself was in the back of my mind the whole time and I kept telling myself that if I had the balls to actually do that, I would in a heartbeat (also I finally remembered Contiki from The Real World in Australia). Well, I finally decided to after MUCH research on the company, reading reviews, looking at all the trips, etc. I wrote this so others could know what to really expect, and also so that I dont forget my amazing trip!
So in case your thinking about going on one of these trips.... heres some stuff you should know:
*No, I didnt just go to Europe to drink, even tho at times it might sound like it :) But hell, Im still young and after 3 of the hardest years of school of my life I flippin deserved it. There is no need to worry that this was only a "party trip" there were many couples who didnt hang out with us all the time, went out and did their own thing. No need to follow the group, in case you were wondering.
*I choose this trip because of the places it went because I have been studying non-stop a lot of art history, world history and architecture (which I make references to in the rest of the blog) Might be boring to others, but Im fascinated by this stuff so ignore me if you like and call me a nerd.
*Before you go on this trip, it is wise to research the trip itself, and of course the places you are going. I was amazing that some people didnt have a clue about the places we were at. I read every review I found on Contiki, some were bad and some said the tours suck, others said it was the time of their life. I knew A LOT of what to expect. I knew what I wanted to do and see and what I didnt want to do. I figured that the people on your trip and your TM/driver are 95% of the reason your trip will be amazing or horrible. If you complain the whole time cuz the hotel is ghetto or about anything, then your ruining your trip and everybody elses. Sit back, take it, enjoy it, & make the most of it. Your in a different country and the cultures are different, if you wanted things to be like where you live, then stay where you live. So you have to pay to use bathrooms and the food wasn't always the best, my bathroom flooded and I could have been electrocuted... Looking back I laugh at that and it was all these things that make your trip great.
* Bring about 100 bucks a day. I brought 100 American and did fine (bringing enough to be 100 euros a day didn't occur to me till way later) Some days I spent about 15$, some I spent more than 100 because of shopping. Bring cash and cc's/debit. Travelers checks are a pain who wants to search for a bank? There are places to exchange money all over.
*Now, being the responsible chick that I am, before I left I made sure I had enough money for each of the excursions I knew FOR SURE I was going to do. I converted the prices into euros and put that money in an envelope. Also put enough money in an envelope for tips for the driver and TM. A lot of people dont like to tip because its not customary where they are from. In the U.S., 20% is customary and I am from a bartending background and had to survive off these tips, so I put enough in an envelope and hid it in my luggage.
* Everybody I talked to could speak English.
* Def bring a travel pillow, hell bring a little blanket for the bus too. You can keep these things on the bus.
* It was colder in London, Amsterdam, Germany & Austria. Shitaly was H O T.
* I was barely harassed by any locals to buy anything. If anything we just had some creepy stalkers.
* Try for the backseat of the bus if you can get it to yourself :)
* Some places are super nice, some are not. You will get over this.
* Theres like 4 plugs on the bus to recharge your stuff, some people hog them (Noff...) I just unplugged his stuff and used his :) So charge your stuff in the hotel. I wish I would have brought more than 1 converter because you can only use it with one thing at a time, and also because Im a moron and lost mine in Munich and had to borrow everyone elses.
* I wish I would have gotten the phone they offered. If you do, get your TM's # and your travel buddies numbers.... Just in case!!
* Sit back and enjoy every second, I cant stress that enough. Most likely you will be depressed when you get home cuz you dont see those faces anymore. I was originally going to go on the one that left 3 days before this one, but it was booked. Thank God!
* If you have the time, I would go on a longer tour. I honestly didnt think I could be gone for 2 weeks, usually I go on vaca's for a week and all I want to do is go home. I really did not want to leave when this vaca was over. No you dont get a lot of time on this particular trip so we named it "The European teaser". But I got to see a lot is the short amount of time I was in each city, which is why it is wise to research each city before you get there!
*Read what others said to bring and not bring, what to wear not wear, what was fun and not fun, then figure it out yourself! I had the absolute best time of my life. I went solo and was scared to death my tour would suck or the people would suck. Im SO happy I went by myself. No one else to worry about, meeting new people. There were actually a lot of people by themselves. I thought the best way to spend my b-day would be to celebrate it on the other side of the planet... and it was amazing! I like every single one of the people I met and now I have friends all over the world. I hope we get to meet up again for another trip next year! Also, Im so happy I met the Veronic/kas. These 2 were amazing chicks and I owe a lot of my amazing vacation to these 2 girls.
More pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88645&id=820997800&l=13af79f8d0
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88713&id=820997800&l=a6ccaeed63
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89174&id=820997800&l=d05e0443f5
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89018&id=820997800&l=9b029659f2
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