im going to be by my selfffff, im scared

I'm a 19/f/canada... going solo on the August 21-Sept 5th Euro Highlights tour!! Pretty anxious/nervous... feel free to e-mail me or add me to msn tara-grace@hotmail.com

I had planned a backpacking trip with my 2 other guys until they bailed on me so I've now signed up solo for the European Encounter: August 12-Aug 27, with a couple days before and after in London to explore. Really excited and anxious

I'm considering going solo on a tour (somewhere in Europe) but can't really do it until fall. My concern is that since I'm planning on going when less people seem to do so, that it's just going to be me, a tour guide, and a couple or something similarly not so social. Is there any way to know (other than that fun little check on the web site that tells you whether or not a tour is confirmed) how many people are going on a particular trip? My heart isn't set on a particular destination and this sort of thing would help me decide.

Also, if I were to find a friend to go with me sometime in the next couple of months, do any of you know if I can simply register now and have my rate adjusted when my friend registers?

I'm obvi a complete noob, so thanks for your patience...

Doing the euro whirl on the 5th september solo, after tour catching up with mates in London.

Then through France during the Rugby World Cup, spending a few nights in Barcelona then its Oktoberfest time.

I'm thinking of going on a contiki tour in August by myself. I'm not really worried about going alone, I was planning to go to Europe by myself anyway and my sister is in London, but I'm 27 with a 5 year old and I'm worried that I will be alot older than most people and most people will just want to drink and shag themselves silly on the tour. I don't mind a drink (or 4) but I'm worried that if I don't want to party like other people, I'll feel left out.

hi,

i am going on the europe scapade tour leaving london on the 5th, anyone on that tour? anyone leaving from la?

quote:

Originally posted by lodz_au:
I'm thinking of going on a contiki tour in August by myself. I'm not really worried about going alone, I was planning to go to Europe by myself anyway and my sister is in London, but I'm 27 with a 5 year old and I'm worried that I will be alot older than most people and most people will just want to drink and shag themselves silly on the tour. I don't mind a drink (or 4) but I'm worried that if I don't want to party like other people, I'll feel left out.

A significant majority of the people on the tour will be drinking but I found that MOST of the drinking was quite responsible [St. Patty's day come to mind as a big exception on my OZ tour:]
There were definitely people on the tour that drank more than others. We did not have anyone on my tour that did not drink at all There were those that partied till 3 when we had to get up at 6 and those that went to bed early [11-12 PM] myself included in the ones that wanted a good nights sleep.

I'm going on the European Highlights leaving Aug 1st. I'm going alone and I'm very excited but also a bit scared. Anyone else going on this date? E-mail me sarah.m.hassan@gmail.com

Hey everyone, I've travelled with Contiki and would like to offer some advice:

If you plan on taking a credit card to Europe, you may want to call your credit card company to let them know you'll be travelling so they don't think the card has been stolen and cut you off.

Another thing I recommend is carrying your cash in a money belt, I find it safer.

Plan on spending $100-$150 USD per day. You'll have to buy lunches daily, souveneirs, some dinners and going out at night. You should try exchanging money before you leave. You'll have to chance to do so on the tour, but easier to get that part out of the way and have one less thing to worry about.


When you pack, throw some clothing into your carry-on to lighten the weight of the suitcase and in case your luggage gets lost. Leave room for souveneirs & carry with you an extra copy of your pasport and hotel address list.

In terms of weight of luggage, it's the airlines that are more strict than Contiki. Each airline has their own weight threshold & will only be too glad to charge you extra for going over. You can find out the limit/rules by going on the airline's website.


Feel free to ask me anything else.

Brian (from New York)
brij75@yahoo.com

Southern Ireland '97
Grand Explorer '00
Rainbow Nation '01 (no longer offered by Contiki)
Beaches & Reefs '02-'03

hello, My friends and I are planning to visit in Egypt, is that advisable to go to in this country ? I mean like for example the security reason?

From people i've talked to that have gone, they said it was very safe. However, if the security concern would be in your mind during the whole trip, you may not want to go there.
The way i look at it, it can be unsafe anywhere.True some places pose a higher security risk than others but it's all up to how comfortable you would feel going to those kinds of places. I mean, who knew what would happen in London or New York.
I've gone to some cities such as Johannesburg & Rio De Janiero for which all I heard and read about was how bad the crime was, but i encountered no problems.

Hope that helps.
Brian
brij75@yahoo.com

Recommendation - Trekking Annapurna,Langtang , Everest and Kanchanjunga in Nepal

If you want to go trekking in Nepal as an independent traveller for either short or long treks with or without a whole lot of experience then you could look up Nar Bahadur Gautam, a trekking guide with an excellent track record for those who go to Nepal for tough trekking to Annapurna, and others like myself who need to trek in order to take photographs. He is really useful guide in particular for Botanists and phtotographers due to his excellent knowledge of the terrain. Nar Bahadur has built up a great network of contacts and is warmly received at all the village. We were never hustled or encouraged to spend our money on anything and were able to go about our business getting the most out of our time, just what you need after spending a week in Kathmandu where the hawkers have become ever more predatory. Nothing is too difficult or too small for this good humoured honest Nepali. Nar Bahadur Gautam's email address is narba@hotmail.com. He can also be contacted by post at G.P.O Box No. 2369, Kathmandu, Nepal. his cell phone no.9841342188

- David and Catherine, UK

THE BEST WAY TO TRAVEL IS BY GOING ALONE> I JUST CAME BACK FROM A TOUR AND HAD THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE, ITS GREAT, CAUSE YOU ME AND BECOME GREAT FRIENDS, WITH THE GROUP.

i am looking at doing a winter contiki tour at the end of 2008 because i am still at uni and was wondering on the ski austria and has anyone done it before and what was it like.i am also going solo plus i have never snowboarded before.