Travel Contiki vs Topdeck vs Intrepid

[And_ROOS]

Depends though i ended up making a super close bond with 40 of the 49 people on my bus so my top deck tour in Europe went from being awesome to being out of this world.

 

[Tannehill17]

Did a contiki in Feb this year, 2 of the best weeks ive ever had. Went from New York to New Orleans, highlights were probably DC and Miami. Made so many new friends, saw a lot of places I probably wouldnt have bothered with and had so many epic nights. Obviously contiki isnt for everyone but if your young, love to party and want to see a lot in a short amount of time then Contiki is the way to go.

 

[Goodo73]

If you haven't read Rule No.5: No sex on the bus (by Brian Thacker), I suggest you do. In it he details his experiences as a tour leader with Top Deck back in the 90s. Hilarious! I've only gone on tours with Contiki in the US, but there are stories in the book which resonate no matter what tours you've done.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

Contiki and Topdeck in Europe are pretty much the same. What will make or break your experience is probably the tour manager you get and of course the group of people you travel with.

My experience with Contiki in Europe wasn't as good as it should of been as the tour manager I got kept on getting lost and didn't have any street smarts on the best times to visit attractions. He admitted at the end of the tour, that it was only the 2nd time he was in charge of a group in Europe.

Also agree with others that Contiki was a much younger age group compared to Topdeck.

Contiki and Topdeck in North America, I would favour Contiki as they have got the experience in running tour in North America (Topdeck only recently add North America about 3 years ago). I know they are constantly improving their hotels and locations to be close to the city. For example Contiki used to stay at a hotel off the strip in Vegas, now they stay at Harrah's which is right in the middle of the strip - perfect location.

 

[Borry]

Just about to finish my Cambodian tour with Intrepid, and apparently we are expected to give a tip to the bus driver and to the tour guide.

As I have never been expected to tip tour guides and drivers on every other tour I have done, and that their pay comes out of the fees I pay for the tour, quite honestly I find this bizarre!

My Intrepid group was only three people and there was no drinking on this tour so I'll stick to either Topdeck, Busabout and Contiki the sights are important, but a tour needs to have a party, let some steam off element to it for mine and not be too serious.


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[The Swans Blog]

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.

I'm doing 7 weeks by myself, 5 countries, all pre-paid before I head over

 

[ash_1050]

I'm doing 7 weeks by myself, 5 countries, all pre-paid before I head over

And as of Thursday I embark on a 10 country trek that will last until I run out of cash. Each to their own I guess

 

[Poetic Justice]

Just about to finish my Cambodian tour with Intrepid, and apparently we are expected to give a tip to the bus driver and to the tour guide.

As I have never been expected to tip tour guides and drivers on every other tour I have done, and that their pay comes out of the fees I pay for the tour, quite honestly I find this bizarre!

My Intrepid group was only three people and there was no drinking on this tour so I'll stick to either Topdeck, Busabout and Contiki the sights are important, but a tour needs to have a party, let some steam off element to it for mine and not be too serious.


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We were asked to tip the tour operator and the driver on Contiki.. so it's obviously not unfounded.

I did an 18 day Contiki and it was the best time of my life, heaps of friends and people complain why would you wanna be with a bunch of aussies, but they miss the poart where it's a bunch of aussies on holiday who are cashed up and wanna let loose.. so like minded and with the same aim in mind, it means we're all there to achieve a common goal - see shit and have fun!

After the contiki finished I joined an existing tour from Topdeck which was a camping tour. It was a 35 day tour and I joined in half way through for a period of 10 days going from Dubrovnik through to Budapest and it was shithouse. Given it was a camping trip it was full of 18-21's on a tight ass budget, which I thought wasn't an issue initially but they were mainly uptight as well, not a single hook up had happened in the 18 days prior to me getting there. Not that it is to be expected but eh.. euro trips seem to resonate that way with me. My regret was that I couldn't somehow manage to get a sail croatia trip to fit in instead of the camping tour that I went with.

 

[Shell]

After the contiki finished I joined an existing tour from Topdeck which was a camping tour. It was a 35 day tour and I joined in half way through for a period of 10 days going from Dubrovnik through to Budapest and it was shithouse. Given it was a camping trip it was full of 18-21's on a tight ass budget, which I thought wasn't an issue initially but they were mainly uptight as well, not a single hook up had happened in the 18 days prior to me getting there. Not that it is to be expected but eh.. euro trips seem to resonate that way with me. My regret was that I couldn't somehow manage to get a sail croatia trip to fit in instead of the camping tour that I went with.

I'm assuming how you worded that you actually knew the tour was half way through? I did a Trek America tour a couple years ago- a 28 day one- and I was actually joining it at the half way mark. Was absolutely furious- everyone had their own cliques, private jokes, etc which of course I had no idea, was completely awkward, especially at the beginning. Only 2 people- including me- joined the tour at this point. And surprise, surprise am in contact with a total of zero people from that tour now.

Also re. the tipping stuff- yes tipping is definitely asked for, especially in the States. Luckily I had a good tour leader, so I did tip him $5 per day which is the usual rate iirc.

 

[Goodo73]

I've not joined tours mid-way but have had people do so on ones I've been on. I can understand how it would be hard on them, and wouldn't choose to do it myself.

Tipping of the tour manager and driver is standard on Contiki in the US (as it is for most folks in the service industry).

 

[Shell]

I've not joined tours mid-way but have had people do so on ones I've been on. I can understand how it would be hard on them, and wouldn't choose to do it myself.

Tipping of the tour manager and driver is standard on Contiki in the US (as it is for most folks in the service industry).

But see that's the point- they chose that. I had NFI I was joining a tour at the mid way point.

In hindsight I really should have contacted TA after it all and complained. Not that it would do anything but still...

 

[Poetic Justice]

I'm assuming how you worded that you actually knew the tour was half way through? I did a Trek America tour a couple years ago- a 28 day one- and I was actually joining it at the half way mark. Was absolutely furious- everyone had their own cliques, private jokes, etc which of course I had no idea, was completely awkward, especially at the beginning. Only 2 people- including me- joined the tour at this point. And surprise, surprise am in contact with a total of zero people from that tour now.

Also re. the tipping stuff- yes tipping is definitely asked for, especially in the States. Luckily I had a good tour leader, so I did tip him $5 per day which is the usual rate iirc.

Yeah I guess you could say I was aware of it but not fully prepared to what it would be like because I was just excited to be booking a trip to Europe really.

It wasn't until I was midway through Contiki that I realised that it would be the way you described and it certainly delivered on that description. And I'm also in contact with no one on that trip..

 

[swiftdog]

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.

 

[Tannehill17]

I'm assuming how you worded that you actually knew the tour was half way through? I did a Trek America tour a couple years ago- a 28 day one- and I was actually joining it at the half way mark. Was absolutely furious- everyone had their own cliques, private jokes, etc which of course I had no idea, was completely awkward, especially at the beginning. Only 2 people- including me- joined the tour at this point. And surprise, surprise am in contact with a total of zero people from that tour now.

Also re. the tipping stuff- yes tipping is definitely asked for, especially in the States. Luckily I had a good tour leader, so I did tip him $5 per day which is the usual rate iirc.

This was supposed to happen to me. Booked my contiki from new Orleans to New York but fortunately they overbooked and got me on one from New York to Orleans. Which was important since i was there for the first 2 weeks of the tour and not the last(both tours start/finish in LA). Wouldve sucked joining halfway through, everyone was already best friends, etc and we were all pretty sick by the halfway stage of the tour.

 

[Shell]

This was supposed to happen to me. Booked my contiki from new Orleans to New York but fortunately they overbooked and got me on one from New York to Orleans. Which was important since i was there for the first 2 weeks of the tour and not the last(both tours start/finish in LA). Wouldve sucked joining halfway through, everyone was already best friends, etc and we were all pretty sick by the halfway stage of the tour.

Everyone- absolutely everyone on the bus got sick on my USA trip- except for myself and the tour leader. Have no idea how that happened- usually I pick up every god dam bug.

I did make up for it tho on my European tour (45 dayer)- the whole week of Italy all I can remember is pain, discomfort, illness and more pain. Got over it by Greece, but then this aggressive cough just came outta nowhere- I couldnt stop coughing for about a month. (but wasnt sick). Lol, it was like we all had kennel cough or something.

I suppose at least I didnt go to Egypt- jesus some people on that leg picked up some nasty gastro bugs.

 

[Lion for Life]

Everyone- absolutely everyone on the bus got sick on my USA trip- except for myself and the tour leader. Have no idea how that happened- usually I pick up every god dam bug.

I did make up for it tho on my European tour (45 dayer)- the whole week of Italy all I can remember is pain, discomfort, illness and more pain. Got over it by Greece, but then this aggressive cough just came outta nowhere- I couldnt stop coughing for about a month. (but wasnt sick). Lol, it was like we all had kennel cough or something.

I suppose at least I didnt go to Egypt- jesus some people on that leg picked up some nasty gastro bugs.

Hahaha, the dreaded Contiki cough, everyone around me was getting it when i did the european trip but it didn't hit me until the last couple in Amsterdam.

Oneway or another it seems everyone gets it, i reckon i staved it off for so long though because i was eating that much medication to get over hangovers that i inadvertently immunized myself against it

 

[Shell]

Hahaha, the dreaded Contiki cough, everyone around me was getting it when i did the european trip but it didn't hit me until the last couple in Amsterdam.

Oneway or another it seems everyone gets it, i reckon i staved it off for so long though because i was eating that much medication to get over hangovers that i inadvertently immunized myself against it

Lol, you should have heard us all on the overnight ship to Corfu. I felt so sorry for the general public having to put up with that- 45 people just continually coughing.

Was quite the sight. Or noise.

 

[swiftdog]

Ahh that old cough. Honestly, it's impossible not to get it. I managed to avoid it until the second last day, so shit. Interestingly I remember the girl that copped it the worst. She was completely out of it for a fair chunk of the tour. She had a boyfriend back home so didn't exchange bodily fluids at will with others yet still copped it the worst of anyone.

 

[sabre_ac]

These kind of tours are great for people who are travelling by themselves overseas for the first time, its impossible not make friends and you get a taste of what travel is all about.

If you have a bit of experience overseas and are in the 20s or early 30s age group I would definitely recommend maping your own journey and booking hostels, you get far more control over what you do and while also being in an environment where it is very easy to make friends and the added benefit of avoiding people if you choose.

 

[Borry]

Depends on what hostels you stay in. There's lots of shitty and anti-social ones amongst the good ones that have a bar area etc. making meeting new people easy.

Tours, whereas its a lengthy one from these companies or a simple short day tour etc. are worth their weight in gold for those traveling alone and when not on tour, I find from experience that it's important to find the expat bars and hang out in them to meet people.

 

[MaddAdam]

I did Contiki Syria.

 

[revival_mode]

i recently got back from a month in europe, did a 12 day contiki & just used hostels for the rest.

Had an absolute blast on the contiki. there are obviously advantages/disadvantages to doing a contiki tour or the like, but the one i did wasnt the usual aussie dominated party fest like everyone said it would be. We had an awesome group, a few who i'll keep in touch with and a couple i'd genuinely call friends now. It was only in the one country (italy) so it was the one group the whole time (no people leaving halfway through or joining), there didnt seem to be as much bus time as many of the other tours and most were more interested in exploring the country than getting shitfaced in a club every night.

on the other hand, we generally booked our hostels the night before or same day so we didnt get to stay in any of the big popular party hotels. we still met people and had a great time however it is different trying to meet & befriend or get along with new people every day. probably wont stay in touch with any i met while hostelling tbh, just never connected that well with any of them.

With the contiki I would absolutely recommend it as long as you know it will be fast paced and you wont get to spend much time anywhere & will have even less free time to do and see the things that you want to. I now know the places i want to go back and spend more time though. i think the actual tour your choose and the people in the group make the biggest impact though, i was really lucky with how mine turned out

 

[Anton Newcombe]

Thinking about doing one of these across Europe. Does anyone have any experience, stories with either of the 3 and which one would be the best?

I've done both Contiki and Top Deck. Its sick for places like the Greek Islands, but the rest of Europe can be a grind if you don't like bus travel. Personally I'd give both a look in if you are travelling for the first time, or solo. You get a lot of postcard destinations into one month. Ive blogged about some of my experiences at www.thetourreviewer.com but I dont really cover off on backpacking stuff which is also an awesome way to see Europe (particularlly Spain, Italy and France)

 

[jazzee]

I did Contiki Syria.

I actually did do Intrepid in Syria five years ago. Was amazing. Makes watching the news that much tougher

I've found Intrepid great, but with the smaller groups you can sometimes find it tougher to find folk to relate to.

Topdeck is pretty much Contiki in Europe. Mix of awesome and shonks.

 

[hamohawk1]

Anyone done a contiki or top deck in nz. Have done extensive travelling solo and on contiki's but just scouting out what would be best.