Travel Contiki vs Topdeck vs Intrepid

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I'm a big party goer myself but even I don't think I could handle being crammed in a bus and chaperoned around like high school kids for weeks on end, especially with a hangover. No doubt the partying and sight seeing would be a lot of fun but everything in between would absolutely suck. I think you could get a better experience staying in hostels and going at your own pace. Then you can sleep when you're sick/hung over without worrying about missing a bus to the next destination, stay in a city as long as you please, and choose who you do and don't associate with.

To be honest I struggle to see the appeal of these tours- must be catered to lazy people who are willing to over-pay for not having to plan anything, are to insecure to be on their own at times, or can't get girls without them being spoon-fed to you on a bus.
 
Footy Matt said:
I'm a big party goer myself but even I don't think I could handle being crammed in a bus and chaperoned around like high school kids for weeks on end, especially with a hangover. No doubt the partying and sight seeing would be a lot of fun but everything in between would absolutely suck. I think you could get a better experience staying in hostels and going at your own pace. Then you can sleep when you're sick/hung over without worrying about missing a bus to the next destination, stay in a city as long as you please, and choose who you do and don't associate with.

To be honest I struggle to see the appeal of these tours- must be catered to lazy people who are willing to over-pay for not having to plan anything, are to insecure to be on their own at times, or can't get girls without them being spoon-fed to you on a bus.
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Your comment suggests you've never done an organised tour. FYI, your portrayal of what occurs is inaccurate.

Some people travel on their own, doing their own planning and their own thing. Others choose to go on organised tours for varied reasons, few of which you've mentioned. Neither way of travelling is right or wrong, better or worse. It's purely up to the individual as to what suits them.
 

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swiftdog said:
Need to weigh in on this. I'll preface it by saying that I did a Contiki in the States and thoroughly enjoyed it. Would happily recommend the tour I did to anyone.

However, as a young Norwegian girl told me as I was tossing up whether to move on to my next destination or stay put for another day or two, while in Europe, "your most fond memories of travelling won't be the places the visit or the experiences you had, it will be of the people you meet". Yes, it's cheesy as all hell but I can honestly say that she's right.

I think there are 3 main reasons people choose to do a Contiki - partying reputation, easy to organise, instant friends. First point - you're in Europe. Everybody partys. Many hostels are notorious for being party hostels if you want to do that every night. Many hostel bars are full of people looking to get drunk and fornicate with as many people as possible, non-issue.

Easy to organise/no planning. Is planning easier on Contiki? Yes, no doubt. Is that necessarily a good thing? No, I don't think so. How do you figure out what to do in a new place? Networking with other travellers, hostel staff and free walking tours. You'll speak with other travellers while backpacking, many of which will have been to the city you're planning to visit next. You'll learn about their experiences, what they did, where they ate, where they stayed and likewise you'll do the same for them. Almost every major city in Europe has some sort of free walking tour. Probably the best way to learn about a new place and what to do is by one of them. More often than not you end up doing these things with people you've met on the tour, which will bring me to my next point later. Finally, learning from hostel staff and locals. I'm sure everyone here has a favourite local spot that they'd recommend off the beaten tourist track. It works the same in Europe. When in Barcelona, do I want information from the proud, passionate Catalan girl who's lived her whole life there or a guy from London who's learnt about Barcelona off a sheet of paper?

The people you meet. I'm still in touch with many people from Contiki, and it's always great to catch up. But it's nothing, and I mean nothing, compared to the friendships with people from every corner of the globe. You're never going to get this from a Contiki tour (yes there will be a handful of non-Aussies on a tour but it's not the same). It's great coming home as a group after a night out on tour. It's even better coming back with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed gorgeous Norwegian girl (different to the one at the start) twisting your arm to stay with her for another couple of days instead of moving on in the morning. Some of my favourite moments were just chin wagging around the table with different people with different cultures and backgrounds, some of which I still keep in touch with. I'm in the process of planning another trip and have had people offer up their homes for accommodation and to act as tour guides. You will never get the same experience with people from a tour.

Not trying to knock Contiki, you'll have fun on a tour. Ask anyone who's done both though and 99/100 will tell you to go backpacking. The whole experience is just so much more fulfilling travelling from hostel to hostel and you get more out of it.
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Hi! I'm thinking of planning my own trip but sort of following the Contiki route. Would you happen to still have the names of the hotels/ hostels you stayed at?
 
crownie said:
thinking about maybe using intrepid for when i want to go to south america.
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I went with Dragoman when in South America, which is a sister company of Interpid
The tours are a bit more hands on than the Contiki/Intrepid/G Adventures ones I had done previously
All up my tour was 60 days and 28 of those were camping, which meant we did our own cooking, cleaning etc
The vehicles are absolute beasts that can handle just about anything terrain wise but comfort isn't quite what you'd find on a coach
I enjoyed the travelling aspect of that tour much more than the others I had done that used coaches or public transport

https://www.dragoman.com/destinations/details/americas/south-america
 
Jamie123 said:
Hi! I'm thinking of planning my own trip but sort of following the Contiki route. Would you happen to still have the names of the hotels/ hostels you stayed at?
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Unfortunately I threw out my "Oh shit!" sheet (as they term the list of your hotels you're given) for my Grand Southern when I moved recently. Then again, I did it in '03 so no telling if that list would still be valid.
 
strath39 said:
Anybody done top deck In the USA ? Looking at doing coast to coast
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Have a look at Trek America. I did the Southern Sun with them which was excellent but a while ago now in 2007.
 
Doing a European Contiki in November, as well as checking out Ireland before hand. Have only heard good things about Contiki trips, more about meeting people and having a good time than sight seeing.
 

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Tannehill17 said:
Depends, mine was mostly mid 20s and a bunch of people in their late 20s. Had a few 18y.o girls which was wierd since we were in the States and they couldn't go out
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When I did NZ 20-23 was the main age bracket. with 5-6 over 30 and the same under 20

Thailand was pretty similar as well.
 

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Travel Contiki vs Topdeck vs Intrepid

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