In August 2008 I went on a Contiki tour for 16 days around Europe.
I have finally finished my blog which contains my day to day journal, some photos, my video with heaps of pics, some tips, details on money spent, my packing list, etc etc.
Its pretty much all done but I am still editing the video/second post a little.

I thought it was time to give back, as I spent alot of time gathering information on these boards before I left!
If you do read the blog (or part of it - its long!), I would love some feedback either here or in the blog comments so I know if people like it/hate it/think its useful/etc.
Any questions please ask away! I am happy to help

http://itwasthesummerof08.blogspot.com/

Best time of my life!

P.S. All the tips with money/packing etc is in the second post which is right at the end of the page, scroll all the way down!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OffToSeeTheWorld,

I have no idea if you ever check this still, since it was back in August that you went...i read your blog...yes the whole thing....it gave me good in sight to what i should expect. i am goin on this trip on JUly 3 and cant wait. it was reassuring to see someone had gone on this trip and had a the trip of a lifetime. i hope i have as much fun as you seem to have had!!!

u didnt mention anything about beaches...did u not stop at any beaches in nice?

Hey,

Thanks for the comments

We were near beaches where we stayed but because I was sick when we were in Nice I didnt get go to any of the beaches

Lots of other people did though!

Great travelogue!

Great travelogue, I really enjoyed reading about your trip, sounds like you had a blast!

PMSL at the urine story in Florence, what a corker! Thanks for sharing, it has really helped me with plans for our trip in September.

Cheers!

Awesome travelogue! I'm going on this trip next month so it was fun to read all about it. I've been worried about how I can possibly pack for 3 weeks in one 44 lb suitcase. I was surprised to see that you thought you packed too much - I probably need a LOT less than I think I do!

Thanks all for the comments

Haha yes Florence was a fun night, will never forget a group of 50 trying to tiptoe through the city!

Have fun HallieG!! Pack light

sounds like you had a great time...and you have a great travelogue!!... i wont be going on a contiki for a long while yet but reading travelogues like yours have made me even more sure that i want to go
amy

wow, that took a while! once I started I didn't want to stop reading, was a great insight to your trip, very informative and heaps of detail. Thanks

Sounds like you got lost a fair bit which will no doubt happen but you always found your way back without too mush hassle.

lol at the amount of Maccas stops, sometimes I spose it would be hard to go past something your comfy with and know.

the buckets of urine out the window, holy ****! didn't expect to read that haha.

One question, when you said you had to leave your suitcase on the bus and pack for 2 days in a backpack for Switzerland and WWR was that because you had to carry your bag everywhere? was there size restrictions on the bag you could take up the mountain?

Also it sounded like there were English speaking people in most places you went, was this the case? Did you have much difficulty with customer service at bars, deli's, post offices, internet cafes, etc?

Hi OffToSeeTheWorld

That was awesome! I am travelling September this year, solo, on London, Paris + Rome. Really helpful blog. My first time OS and also from Australia (Queensland). I'm really nervous but your blog has given me heaps of helpful tips.
Thanks Kristy

Thanks for your comments guys, im so sorry I havent gotten back to you sooner Leigh (awesome name by the way haha), I havent been on here for such a long time!
You have probably already gone on your trip but ill amswer your questions anyway!

We kept our bags in the hotel room at Switzerland, the reason why we couldnt take our suitcases up was because of the size/weight restriction on bags getting up the mountain. They never weigh it so thats nothing to worry about but because of the size of the cable cars we could only bring up a backpack/smaller bag. They didnt really even look at our bags but they'd definitely notice if you tried to chuck a suitcase into the cable car haha.

There were alot of English speakers which was lucky for me! I was surprised at how many knew English. The hardest country to communicate with people would have definitely been France. The other countries seemed to know a fair bit and were happy to speak it. Bars were fine, no one had any trouble there that I know of Im guessing they are used to a lot of tourists coming through

If you havent been on your tours yet I hope you all have a great time!

hey, just wondering if you could tell me what time you arrived back in london?