Travel Contiki vs Topdeck vs Intrepid

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One word: Don't.

I just did a tour with Contiki, absolutely loved the people and everything, but the drive days are too long, the time in each city is too short.

And 11 people from my tour (52) did another tour straight after. All said the same, everyone on the tour just wants to ****. Sluts everywhere.
 
I done Topdeck which is identical to Contiki. I would agree with above that there isn't enough time in each place and too much driving. By the end of it you need another holiday due to being exhausted. I wouldnt do it again.

Half of the accomodation was rubbish. Like at the Hans Brinker for instance. The people and Europe itself were great. The groups tend to vary depending who you end up with. Ours was fairly quiet and nobody hooked up or anything like that.

It was fairly cheap though so it was decent value for money considering how much I saw and the experiences.
 

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Look into busabout, it's a hop on hop off bus that drives all over Western Europe, and they give you plenty of advice on accommodation and things to do in each city, you can then stay as long as you like and just jump on the bus to head to the next place whenever you want, a ticket is valid for 6 months I think, and they normally leave the main city's every 3 days, but obviously you can stay 3,6,9 or whatever amount of nights you choose.
 
I did Contiki through Europe and found my group was different to the stereotypical "orgy on wheels"
This was probably due to it being the 45 day tour and everyone was there to actually see the sights.
We ran into shorter tours and they had been through each other at least once

Last year I did tours through China and SE Asia with G Adventures and Intrepid
The groups are much smaller (max 16) and have no age limit. So you can have oldies in there but thankfully ours were nearly all amazing and active people
With the smaller groups it means you use public transport a lot more often, which can be an adventure in itself

Group dynamics play a massive part in how enjoyable a your is. I've been very lucky in that all my tour groups have got on really well.
The tour manager is massive as well. I've had 3 great managers and 3 mediocre/awful ones. You can work around a bad one but a good one makes a huge difference

Personally tours suit me pretty well. I know personality wise travelling completely solo isn't for me (too introverted), but chuck me into a croup of like minded travelers and I have the time of my life. Logistically and organising everything wouldn't be an issue for me. I've even booked a hotel room in Rio while standing in line at Subway
In 3 months I go to South America and have another 60 day tour run by Intrepid's sister company, Dragoman. Following this I'm in Brazil for 10 days where I'm going to 3 World Cup matches.
If I had found a mate who could come over with me, we would have just winged it, but no one could take off for 10 weeks with me.
 
WCErevival said:
I done Topdeck which is identical to Contiki. I would agree with above that there isn't enough time in each place and too much driving. By the end of it you need another holiday due to being exhausted. I wouldnt do it again.

Half of the accomodation was rubbish. Like at the Hans Brinker for instance. The people and Europe itself were great. The groups tend to vary depending who you end up with. Ours was fairly quiet and nobody hooked up or anything like that.

It was fairly cheap though so it was decent value for money considering how much I saw and the experiences.
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Pretty similar to my experience with a 12-day Euro tour I did with Topdeck in 2012.
Our group wasn't fully booked so people could spread out a bit on the bus.

The main thing against this type of tour is having to adhere to the schedule (get up early every day), stay in their chosen accomodaton, etc.
However, sometimes it also can be very convenient to just be 'along for the ride', without having to organise everything yourself.
There were a few optional activities that I may never have considered if I was self-organising everything.

Contiki (18-30) has the reputation as being full of party types, while Topdesk allows for a slightly older crowd("30 something"), so you might on average get a more mature group. Can't comment on Intrepid.

Might also mention I did a 3-day tour of Scotland (Isle of Skye, highlands) with Haggis tours. They are more of a backpacker level (although ages ranged considerably) and accomodation was a hostel next to Loch Ness. I liked it, although I would try and get a solo room next time.
 
I'm currently planning a SE Asia tour (predominantly Malaysia with a little bit of Singapore and Bangkok) and have found that Intrepid looks to be the way to go, especially in a region where you have more than normal amounts of yobbos.

Have ruled out Contiki as it is too expensive compared to other and better options.

Did an Egypt tour with Topdeck and had a blast. No one was there for a root every night, all there for the sights and cultural experience and with a few nights of fun on the piss aswell. Made some good friends that last for years. Tours of all sights were excellent and had well knowledgeable guides.

Did a Busabout tour of a handful of countries in Eastern Europe and also had a blast. Larger group, a few who just wanted to get pissed every day and night, even at the expense of sightseeing and cultural expenses which is a bit of a waste, but it didn't affect me. You will have to stay in shared dorms in hostels with Busabout, safe from my experience still but a lot easier to lose stuff especially valuables even if they don't get stolen.

Had a lot of free time to do our own thing as well as scheduled things and Busabout is much better for this than Topdeck and especially Contiki, whom the latter from what I've been told is clearly the worst if you want your own space and want to do your own things every now and again. Decided on one night in Budapest to join a breakaway group to go in the local baths and have a more traditional Hungarian dinner as it is more suitable then the Busabout plan of having a Middle Eastern dinner and dress up party. Flexible as long as you are where you should be when the bus has to leave.
 
docker_azza said:
Had a lot of free time to do our own thing as well as scheduled things and Busabout is much better for this than Topdeck and especially Contiki, whom the latter from what I've been told is clearly the worst if you want your own space and want to do your own things every now and again.
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It actually comes down to where you go and what tour you do. The Contiki I went on in the US was great. Had heaps of spare time. Like 2 full days on your own sometimes more in each city on top of the stuff you do with them and got to stay in 5 star hotels. There was an option to have your own room.
 
I did 2 Contiki tours in Europe and found them both to be incredible.
Yes, there is a big emphasis on partying (which for me is a good thing) but it never stopped me from doing any of the sightseeing and cultural experiences in any of the cities we visited, and also, if the party lifestyle is not your thing you always have the option of skipping the nights out.
Personally i couldn't recommend it highly enough, some of the best times i've ever had
 
WCErevival said:
I done Topdeck which is identical to Contiki. I would agree with above that there isn't enough time in each place and too much driving. By the end of it you need another holiday due to being exhausted. I wouldnt do it again.

Half of the accomodation was rubbish. Like at the Hans Brinker for instance. The people and Europe itself were great. The groups tend to vary depending who you end up with. Ours was fairly quiet and nobody hooked up or anything like that.

It was fairly cheap though so it was decent value for money considering how much I saw and the experiences.
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Good old Hans Brinker. I loved that Hostel :)

I've never done a tour like this, basically because I like to do my own thing but have heard Contiki is pretty much full of easy girls, not much sleep, a lot of driving and basically just a glimpse of every place. Cool if you just want to say you have been to 12+ countries and get easy lays (hey I don't mind that part obviously!) but it doesn't really give you time to actually get to know those cities and countries. If you are pressed for time and rich (these thours are bloody expensive, even for one off events like Oktoberfest) then it isn't a bad option.

Topdeck has a bit of a better rep in having groups more interested in sightseeing and learning but not by much. The way I have done it is a combination, so doing my own thing but for festivals or for a small part of a trip going with someone like the Fanatics, PP Travel etc.. So you get the best of both worlds imo. Crazy few days drinking basically from the time you wake up to pass out, but also get good advice and guidance.
 

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I look at Contiki tours as a way of seeing the different cities and countries in a very short time. You can then decide if you want to come back again and explore the city further or if it is really bad don't even think about coming back to that place again. It is like a try before you buy.

Great tours, plenty of friendships made. I still catch up with people from my tour in different states 15 years on.
 
I have done a Topdeck 28 day tour of Europe, a 16 day Contiki tour of the UK, i have gone around Europe on Busabout and gone through Scotland and Ireland with Haggis and Shamrocker.
A lot really depends on the groups you end up with. Thats really the key. All the tours i went with have had a really good group of people which weren't about everyone trying to **** around and hit the piss.
 
Did Contiki and TopDeck in 2010 when in Europe.

Personal preference was TopDeck due to the people being more my age group, I was late 20s, and much friendly pretty good people from all sorts of places and were interested in the sites. Went out for drinks and clubbing in the evening but were responsible. Tour guide was a sleaze and he was hitting on the hot girls. Before I joined the group, there was apparently a hot Brazilian girl he had slept with. Smaller group by the time I had joined, so plenty of sleeping room on the bus.

Contiki I was surrounded by mostly 18-21yos Aussies who were just there to drink and get hammered and didn't really care much about the sites or culture. The tour guide though was awesome. Big group, bus was absolutely packed.

As others have said, a lot of time on the bus driving from city to city.

If you don't know what to do in various cities and keen to meet fellow travelers, then do a tour.

For me, the tours were great as I was traveling with my cousins and we had got on each others nerves. The tour was a nice break and spending time with new people.
 
Cheers for the feedback. Will book a topdeck tour of new zealand over easter, and see if they are worth it, otherwise will just do europe with a backpack
 
I have used all 3 companies over the years.

I did a five week Discover Europe tour with topdeck in 2011 and had a ball. We actually had two days in most cities and it was well planned. We would do an orientation tour on the first day and on the second day we would have a free day to explore. Best days of my life, so much fun. Ofcourse I was exhausted by the end of it but why wouldnt I be? 5 weeks of partying, sight seeing and late nights will do that to you. I don't regret a minute of it. I liked top deck so much that Im doing a 3 week US trip with them in June this year. All in all, Topdeck definitely caters for a mid to late 20's/early 30's crowd with a few big nights and lots of fun.

I have done contiki in SE Asia and China and had good fun. Probably the locations were suited to a different crowd which suited me. There wasnt a bunch of 18 year olds on my trip either time. We partied ofcourse and had some laughs. Not too different to Topdeck but probably a little more rushed and a little less free time is my only real complaint/difference. My sister did Contiki Europe with her boyfriend and she had fun but did say there was a lot of 18 to 21 year olds which changed the vibe a little so keep that in mind.

I did an intrepid tour last year through Russia, Mongolia and China....through the transmongolian rail way. Intrepid is different. There are no age restrictions on the tour so we had from the age of 28 to 65 on ours! It is really good if you want to travel with others and want some guidance but are a little more independent. We did alot of things together but also there was a lot of free time. The only thing I fault with intrepid was that our tour leader had actually never been to Russia before the trip and we got lost walking around Moscow a few times. She also wasnt as informed about the train or toilet stops along the way so we were always guessing what was ahead. It wasnt her fault ofcourse but intrepid probably should have arranged someone who had done it before.

Tour travel is great and as someone else said here...it suits me. I dont like being on my own and I am a social person so make friends easily. It gives you a great opportunity to see alot and decide how much you like the place. If you want to 'do Europe' you can in a short time and decide what countries you like. If you hate a place and you know you dont want to go back you know it and dont have to. Hope this helps. Have fun!
 
The_Todd07 said:
Following this I'm in Brazil for 10 days where I'm going to 3 World Cup matches.
If I had found a mate who could come over with me, we would have just winged it, but no one could take off for 10 weeks with me.
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I'm heading over to the World Cup solo as well. What matches have you got mate?
 
I've used TopDeck in Europe and TrekAmerica in the US, and also Macbackpackers in Scotland. Had good experiences with all three. As far as using tour companies go each had advantages over solo travel for my circumstances and itinerary. TopDeck took me all across Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, TrekAmerica across the Western states to the national parks etc. and Macbackpackers was a quick and cheap Highlands tour.

There are pros and cons to using tour companies. My only real recommendation is to look at what you get on a tour vs what you'd get travelling alone or with friends etc. (anyone can 'do' London, you can't just rock up at the Russian border for example) and to make any tour part of a holiday, not the whole holiday. If you're travelling for months on end sometimes it's nice to have a week or two of structure and to meet some new people etc.
 
Haven't done a top deck or Intrepid, currently looking at top deck tours as they seem to have a wide range of tours.

Did a 14 day Europe Contiki in June 2012, and it was amazing, no doubt you party hard and there's lot's of travelling but for me personally was an adventure and a challenge … still got to see load's of landmarks but don't think I got to embrace each countries cultures as much as I would've liked which comes from having just over 23 days of annual leave to travel…
To me contiki is particularly good for those who have time constraints and want to see as much as they can in little time, I visited 11 countries in 14 days… although they count countries in transit & Vatican city!
 
As someone who has visitied a stack of countries and never taken an organised tour longer than a day I'd say do it yourself. Not only is it cheaper but you can do things at your own pace, see the sights that you want and stay in hostels/hotels of your choosing. You meet more people than you would on an organised tour and random sex is still very easy to come across. Personally I couldn't stand being crammed into a bus like cattle for two weeks with 16+ other people, but that's just me.
 

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Travel Contiki vs Topdeck vs Intrepid

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