Well, my wife and I thought this was going to be a maturing experience for our 18 year old. Well.... not so. I am going to cut and paste an e-mail from him to us that you can read for yourslves as he is still on the tour.
"The people on the tour are pissing me off and the tour manager was being loud last night so im currently going on no sleep...we went to some bar he liked and everyone is very exclusive with who they talk to...the girls are all *****es except like 2...and people seem to have a bad attitude towards me...especially this american. When i went to say "hello" he told me to **** off...really nice group of people...this has opened my eyes to how people are so stupid and even when out of high school theyre still just as dramatic and immature as before...especially the americans...theyre pissing me off the most...other than that the g australian guys who are pushing themselves on the women and kissing them, basically sexually harassing them and i need to sit there and watch this...it just makes me proud to be a gentleman...essentially im tired of this trip and i want to come home...people are so wishy washy, this is exactly what i didnt want was another god damn social hierarchy that i need to establish in order to keep my sanity...im just looking forward to home, and anything worth enjoying ive been doing it alone. my age has a lot to do with it i find...that people dont want to talk to me.

His parents comments are "Way to go Contiki, another happy customer!! No wonder you don't want to disclose ages as we would not have sent him if we knew he was the only 18 year old!!!!

That's unfortunate to hear. But, in is not contiki's fault. In the end, it all depends on the people you are with. I am 19, I just did a contiki trip, and I was the youngest one of the whole tour group, but the people I was with were great and I had an amazing time. So, like I said, sometimes you just get stuck with a crappy crowd.

Hi there,

Thanks for your input. That was great that you got a good group to travel with. As my posting indicated, he got stuck with a not so good group. The only complaint I have about Contiki is that they wouldn't disclose the ages booked on the trip. If I would have known that he was by far the youngest, we would have delayed the trip until we knew kids his age or close to it were on the trip.

What tour was he on? How was his roomate?

quote:

Originally posted by LorneB:
What tour was he on? How was his roomate?

He was on the European Inspiration. He didn't really comment about his room mate but I will find out in 5 days.

Please let us know once you are able to speak to your son the full story on this; I'm interested to find out what happened. I went on my first Contiki when I was 18 and I just did one the end of last year (I'm 28 about to be 29 now) and I've had a great time on each trip. I've done 7 Contiki's throughout these years. Of course, some tours were more fun than others because some tours had better people to travel with than others. It really does depend on the people. My first Contiki when I was 18 I did Simply Italy and there was this 35 year old lady from Montreal (35 y/o who acted 50).. She was difficult to deal with but she was the exception. I would just say "Good morning" or whatever when we would cross paths and that's about it.. It's unfortunate that your son is not having a good time since travel is obviously not cheap. Please fill us in; thanks.

quote:

"The people on the tour are pissing me off...the girls are all *****es...he told me to **** off...this has opened my eyes to how people are so stupid...theyre pissing me off...another god damn social hierarchy that i need to establish...

Your son calls himself a gentleman in his email to you however, this is not quite the speak I would expect from such.

I understand that he is obviously frustrated and upset but, if this is the way he is coming across while on the bus, then I can understand why he might be feeling a little ostracised by others. I get a feeling of anger and resentment just from reading this email, I can't imagine what it would be like to actually be on board with someone who has these thoughts. Subconsciously, he would be imparting his anger onto the people he is with and that in turn, would lead to tension.

Research is the key here - by reading through Contikipedia and these boards before booking, your son would have realised that each tour is very different and that each has their good and bad.

I have done four tours in the past and, to be perfectly honest, I have never seen anyone "left out or abused" because of their age. I definitely think that there is more to this story and many more reasons why your son is supposedly "not liked" by others - whether or not he chooses to give you the full story when he returns though, is a different matter.

It also helps if guests on the bus are open minded and understanding of each other. Not everyone loves to party every night and not everyone wants to do the same thing all of the time but, you can either choose to get really angry because things are not the way you "thought" they would be (as it appears here) or, to realise that this trip is once in a lifetime; it might not be totally perfect in your mind but you just accept it, move along and keep having the most fun you can because you might never get back there...

Hi all

I am goin on my first contiki myself, in june 2010 at the age 22yrs!

However, i am a travel agent for flight centre and have been for about 7 mnths now.
It is my exprencice that each tour is different, and my main markert for selling contiki is 18 - 20 yr olds.
As the comments above stats it is very varied on the GROUP you are placed in and the way you wish to react to the "nonsense" goin on around you.
Example i just sent a freshly 18yr old girl on her 1st int tour/holiday in aug this year, she called me 4 days in crying her eyes out, saying she hated it and wanted to come home. I asked her why and she explained that the people were horrible and like your son treated her diffrently becoz of her age.
I then asked her if she would stick it in for a couple of days and try and join in rather then sit back and cristice and in a way disclude herself.. and guess what.. she stayed the WHOLE time, she came bak into see me after her tour was finshed gushing about it and saying it was completely the way you persive the people and the efforts you put into having fun

I would say she had done a 180' just over the the way she was thinking

so what im trying to say is... contiki isnt for everyone but you will have a more amazing time if you go in open minded and try and ignore the bs and have as much fun as possible!!

Very sorry your son had this experience, but believe me, every group is different, and every person is different.

I just came back from the European Inspiration. I'm 30. We had a couple of folks older, many in their mid-20s, some in their early 20s, and four 18-year-olds. The younger kids basically got adopted by the other 41 of us. Three of them were together- they were there strictly to have fun, to enjoy, and they were looked out for by everyone (It probably didn't hurt that there were five schoolteachers on the trip).

I'm also sorry that people were rude to your son. I found my tour group extremely open. Nobody told anyone to f*** off, though some people kept more to themselves. I think, in the end, almost everyone had a great time with everyone else- but knowing what I know now, I personally, wouldn't have had a good time on the trip when I was 18, given my mindset at the time.

From your sons comments, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that HE was probably the problem, not those around him. Ragging on Americans and Australians, saying the girls are all ****es. Doesn't sound to me like he's the most social creature out there.

I'm 26 and I was the second oldest (oldest being 30) on my tour. The majority on it were between 18 and 22, and I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had. Tell your kid to build a bridge, and get over it. Lighten up and have some fun.

I wouldn't just assume that age is what's causing the rift between your son and his tourmates. A major difference I see between his situation and most other people is how they got on the trip. Other people have worked hard to save money for the trip and have a different sense of appreciation for the opportunity than someone who was "sent" by his parents. I find this in my interactions with people on a tour or not. People who have to work very hard for what they want have a much different attitude then people who are handed things. That could be why other people on tour aren't getting along with your son. There are plenty of 18 year olds I know who have a good attitude and appreciate what they have. If anyone on a tour (regardless of age) was as miserable as your son seems, people aren't going out of their way to hang out with him/her. If your looking for a way to have your son mature, I guarantee making him get a job and support himself will get you results.

I think that wat people are saying is exactly right. he seems a bit agro in the way he's writing so it seems likely that thats the way he's coming across to his tour mates.

what ChrisSoll48 said is totally right. im 19 and have been saving (VERY) hard for my europe trip next year. i dont get paid all that much where i work so its been very hard trying to save and pay for my car and rent as well. when i go on my trip it will be the best thing knowing that ive paid for it myself, ive gotten myself there and its all my money. to be truthful i cant stand people who get everything paid for them by their parents. its the only thing i cant stand because they dont appreciate what they've got. they've never had to work hard at paying for something that want and they usually turn out arrogant or stuck up. and thats how they come across to others.