Hi all,

My name is Mikal and I have just completed the Wild Western and am doing the Big Apple Explorer right now. I've got a couple of moments to let you all know what your best options are for calling home. Its totally up to you of course but my recommendation is that you all avoid the eKit mobiles and sim cards like its the plague. For one they are actually really expensive. The connection fee and then the cost of the calls is bloody unbelievable. Also, the sim cards may not even work in your specific phones so please if you do go down this road, make sure you know if it is going to work in your phone. I've had an incredibly bad experience with the eKit sim card and I have a Nokia 6021 that is only 12 mths old. Plus, if anything does go wrong, forget about getting good help from the help line phone number. It was a massive waste of money to buy the sim card so don't do it. I ended up buying a $5 dollar phone card from a liquor store and that has been excellent. I've used it on pay phones in the street and on the hotel room phones and it doesn't cost anything other than that original $5. And you get about 5 hours talk time internationally or 18 hrs locally in US.

FORGET ABOUT EKIT FELLOW CONTIKIERS.

Hope this helps some people. You could also just stick with international roaming on your mobile but that too is expensive.

The choice is yours.

Mikal

thank you so very much for that advice! i was freaking out about not knowing how to call home!

I am doing the wild western on 11th june 08, cant wait. but as i am travelling alone, do you have any advice about the trip? i would love to hear as much as possible! thank you so much!

Hey Kelcop,

First off, look forward to the Wild Western. It was an unbelievable holiday for us so I hope it will be for you too. My wife and I had an awesome time. It didn't matter in the slightest that we were married. For a single person going on this trip, don't even let it worry you. There were a few singles on our tour and they had a ball. The days really lend themselves to group interaction and at the end of the day everyone is there for the same reason, to have an awesome holiday. Contiki has that down to a fine art, trust me. The days are long, early mornings and late nights, especially if you are out partying, and I highly recommend partying when you can because the night life stuff that is organised by the TM is just as good as the "holiday itinerary." Up to you if you have a spacer night because you'll be stuffed at some point. Its full on 100% of the time. Now if you happen to get Jason as the Tour Manager and Marcus as the Driver you'll be in great hands.

Anyway, look forward to it and if you have any more specific questions please don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to answer.

P.S. You're gonna be bloody hot in June!! I can't emphasise that enough. In Oct just gone we were still getting days in the 30's away from LA. Scottsdale and Vegas were mid to high 30's.

Catch ya,

Mikal

Hey, just letting you know I did the Wild Western in OCT2002 - on my own - and it was fantastic. the weather was perfect, the sights were awesome and the group was wonderful. I also did the Grand Southern AUG2007 - on my own - and once again it was a great trip. Although, the crowd was alot more into the drinking and partying than on the previous trip. But either way - these trips to the US are amazing - and I can't wait to get back once more. Going alone isn't a problem - there is always someone you can hang out with. Enjoy !