I'm thinking of going on this trip Jan 4th 2008. I'm a bit nervous about travelling by myself to Egypt. Anyone else thinking of going the same time?

hey there, i am also considering doing this tour, but the week before (dec. 28 departure).

how set are you on the Jan. 4th departure??

I'm considering the Dec. 28th tour as well. For getting the time off work I would definitely have to do either Dec. 28th or Jan 4th. I'm hoping that one of them will become "guaranteed" in the next few months so that I can finalize my time off. Where are you coming from?

I've wanted to see Egypt my entire life, i'm so excited!

hey there, i am from warm and humid Windsor....and you??

my work gives me from Dec. 24th until Jan. 1 off, and then i will take 1 vacation week from Jan. 2 until the 8th.

i would probably fly to London for a couple days first, then fly to Cairo so i don't do one LONG flight.

Hey,myself and my husband are also planning on this trip!I really hope that this tour gets guranteed...i'm so exicted. This will be our first tour with contiki.Well now there is 4 of us as a possiblity so that is good. It is still really early.What contiki tours have either of you been on?

Hello Patty, i just got back from doing Eastern Roads. it was a great tour!!
i also did Spanish Highlights in 2003, which is a bit different than the spanish tour now, and i did London, Paris, Amsterdam over Christmas and New Year's 2004-5.

how about you??

I live in Guelph, Ont. - usually covered in heeps of snow but this year we were pretty lucky!

I work for the government so I'm only given Dec 25th, 26th and Jan 1st off. So for me it probably doesn't make much of a difference which tour I do. I actually assumed that the Dec. 28th tour would have less people because it's so close to Christmas - but now realize that a lot of people would probably want to be somewhere exciting for New Years. i know I would!

I'm doing Contiki's European Discovery tour in early September. Any advice for a first time traveller to Europe?

hey Nikki, i have heaps of advice, both from previous Contiki tours, and traveling around Europe alone.
first, you better have a digital camera with lots of memory. you will be amazed at all that you see, so keep shooting.
second, drink lots of water, and make sure it is not gassy, mineral water before you buy it...you will be in for a surprise otherwise.
ATM's are everywhere, so don't bring a lot of local cash with you. and don't bring Canadian Traveler's cheques.....no one will cash them. bring some pounds to cover your first days in London, and some Euros to get you started.
and pace yourself for party nights. Weekends are always good, and cities like London, Amsterdam, Munich will be a blast. Italy may be more tame. but it all depends on the rest of your tourmates.
think about which optionals you really want to do, and 'maybe' want to do, and then ask your tourmates to see what they are doing. i find most are worth it, but it can add up, so if you are on a budget, you may have to sacrifice, but remember, you may never return to these places, so if you can, do as much as you really want to. 5 years from now you will remember the experience, not how many Euros it cost.
and no worries if you are traveling alone. on my recent Contiki tour (51 people), there were 10 girls who went alone. our tour had lots of couples.
let me know if you have any specific questions.

Hey Nick, thanks for the advice! I'm really glad you warned me about the Traveller's checks. I had originally planned on bringing mostly traveller's checks but if there are plenty of ATM's available I would be much more comfortable with that. I was worried about travelling alone but it sounds like most tours have several solo travellers, so hopefully it won't be as lonely as I was originally afraid!

One question - did you find that you had access to internet a few times over your tour? I may have to keep in touch with some people from the office from time to time. I'm sure I will think of tons of questions between now and September so I may have some more in store for you. Thanks again!

you'll find everyone is really friendly on these tours. Contiki usually tries to match you up with a roommate around the same age too. for example, they would rather match a 25 year old from Canada with a 25 year old from Australia, as opposed to a 34 year old from Canada and a 19 year old also from Canada, but you never know.
internet cafes are out there, especially in the old city centres and popular tourist zones. hotels may have internet too, but it may only be one computer.
for money, i would suggest you take at least 50 pounds and 50 euros to start. and most hotels have money exchange too. i am with BMO, and it is $3.25 or so each time i pull out money overseas.
also, call you credit card companies before you go to tell them you will be overseas, otherwise you may be declined while trying to buy that rare, expensive one of a kind souvenir......
i rarely use my CC overseas, and have it as more of a back up plan.

Hello all,

My wife and I are also planning on going during this time some where between end of Dec through Jan. We were first thinking the Jan 18th booking but we can probably switch it around so now there would be 6!

Hello Wade and Heather.

with 6 travelers, we are almost halfway there. this tour needs 15 people minimum to run. it is still early, so i am sure more people will show interest too!

have you done any Contiki tours before?

Hi.
I am also thinking of taking this trip alone, I am from Ont and wonder if anyone from Ont has found out how much the airfair is? Havent looked into that yet but have heard its around 2000$. Let me know if anyone knows.

Nick,

Never done the contiki tour. We have travelled quite a bit but this is probably the most foreign atmoshpere we've looked at ao thought it would be better to do it through an organized fashion... plus would be fun with a group! Also, we emailed some friends in England who might be interested so that would add two more.

Hey Holly from San Francisco (our home) it's only $1200 US so it;s hard to belive the airfare is $2K... but maybe it's just a currency conversion diff...

Wade

Hey there Holly, Wade & Heather! I'm glad we're getting more interest in this tour.

Last time I checked Expedia.ca, the prices hovered around $1500 Canadian for a Dec. 28 to Jan 6 trip. That was for a flight leaving Toronto, ON.