Hey anyone who is considering this tour!
So I just got back from my LTA, and I thought I would just a little overview for those of you who are considering doing it. When I asked my TM what his fav tour of all was he said this one. Why?? Because it is the least rushed tour out of them all. You see it all, and you have time to enjoy it. Every other tour we ran into complained about how rushed they felt. Plus when you have 2 nights in each place, you can do laundry!!!!

So you start in london, getting to the RN is easy, and you are off!! Paris is your first real stop, and you get a nice 2 full days there. Its an amazing place!!! Make sure you try the snails. When you are done there you head to the wine region in France, where all you will do for a couple days is chill (hopefully the pool will be open) and drink wine. Or anything else for that matter but the wine is the cheapest and its great. If you didn't like it before, you're gunna like it now. Then its to barcellona! An awsome place for shopping, sight seeing and partying!! Don't bother going back to the campsite at night, just stay out and party in the local bars cuz the cab ride back is super cheap, and it'll be one of the best nights out if you go! Drink lots of sangria and eat lots of pallay! (I probebly spelt that wrong but you'll know what I'm talking about) Then you head back into france for some beaching and gambeling. Even if your not a casino person, bet a little cuz its totally fun to say you did! Nice is kinda under construction at the moment (I'd been before and right now, compared to how I saw it the first time, it looks like ****) so maybe spend your day in cannes. Not as good shopping but the beach is full of nice imported sand. The drive into Italy is one of the best on the trip, so try not to sleep through it. Beautiful drive. In Florance everyone has the optional supper and thats cuz the food is great (but I thought all the optional suppers where great). The red garter is okay, and space is fun too, though it helped that my group was the most fun people I've ever met and we had fun anywhere. See how many others of your tour are going (for all the optionals really) and you can base your decision off of that. On to Venice! You will get lost but you will get found again and its fun! Climb every dome and tower you can along the way, in all cities. That said, sometimes the line is waaaaaaaaay too long and you can find alternatives. The bar in Venice is amazing, so party hard both nights!!! Drink with your driver the first night cuz he'll be allowed! Bring insect repellent since the misquitos are horrible in Venice. This is where your mysterous bug bites will begin, and they wont stop till the tour is over. Rome is great. No matter what they say, the lines (for everything, the sistene chapel, the dome, the tombs) are worth it and they move pretty quick. Buy some rosery and have it blessed on the last popes tomb. Very cool. The spanish steps are just steps. Not the best, or so I hear. And the shops along that road are way more than you will probebly have to spend. I spent the whole day in the vatican, and I dont' regret that at all! Party hard here cuz some of your tour is about to leave, as is your driver. If your TM is as rockin as mine, he'll have everyone sign their email addresses for you all to keep in contact. The ferry over to greece had a very expensive meal but you get a ton of food. Sharing it would have been a good idea. I'm not sure if you are allowed, but I'd look into it. Corfu is a chance to do nothing. Check out the beaches and drink. Beware of greekish time and creepy greek men (they are worse than italians). Go on gorges boat!!! Our weather sucked and we still had a ball, mind you we were all drinking and apparently (according to muffin) most tours dont get pissed on the boat. We did. lol. Athens is half dirty half great! Again beware of the men. Cry your eyes out and say good bye!

So that sums up my tour. Things they don't tell you: Bring a little but fat journal that you can carry everywhere. You can use it when you NEED paper, to write down advice, bands, music you heard a lot, quotes, and journal anywhere so you dont' forget stuff ~ Bring lip chap cuz its expensive in europe ~ You won't be able to plan out everything now, though its tempting, just go with the flow cuz when you get there, everything will be different then how you planned ~ Dont' be afraid to be on your own, once you are there its not so scary and locals are usually really nice and helpfull ~ Go on every optional you want to and don't think about the cost. The 2 I missed were the rome tour (heard it sucked from half, half liked it) and the cabaret (we got drunk and went to the sex museum instead, had a GREAT time). The meals, while way more money than you would pay on your own were a great time and the food was very good (especially in greece!!) ~ Dont stress over money ~ Have your credit  card info handy and DONT keep all your cards in a wallet or something like that. Keep it in your money belt, even if your money belt is just in your bag, you probebly won't lose it that way ~ Shower at night to avoid the lines. Plus this gives you a chance to sober up and avoid a hangover ~ Prepare to sleep very little ~ There is a lot of time on the coach, but its only bad if you make it bad and complain. How to make it better? Good company, game boys, books and STRETCH at the service stops for 10 minutes. You may look dumb, but in an hour, your ass wont be sore and everyones elses will ~If you are as lucky as me, you will meet some of the greatest people you will ever meet on this trip, and you will love them! Not just our group, our Tm and driver, best group ever.

Any questions send me a message!
Steph

I did this July 2005 and it rocked.

Conming from cold part of New Zealand I was liking the warm weather taht we had all through the tour and almost didn't  come back as was loving the warm weather.

Onm Georges boat we had the national anthems play from all the different countries and us Kiwis had to do the Haka and then George taught us al the greek haka what a laugh it was s but we had a blast on tour

Michael
keltickiwi29@yahoo.com

Hey-- I was on Steph's tour (Hi girlie!!) And I couldn't agree more with what she said. There were definitely a few times on tour when I was tired of being on the go constantly, but looking back on it all now, I wish I was still there. It was the most incredible three and a half weeks of my life, and you'll definitely meet some great people along the way.

my LTA tour group was the best i thought. a friend of mine went a couple of weeks ahead of me and she was stuck with 17 other girls (no guys!) on her island hopping tour. funny though coz she bumped into another contiki group who had 19 boys, no girls. its the luck of the draw i guess on who you get stuck with but judging on the places you go, this ones the winner...
you can read about my trip by pressing on my blog review.

www.myspace.com/vansereno

Hay there, was just wondering what the actual name of the tour is?? sounds like alot of fun. ty, Krissy

hi there, thanks for that awesome review of the trip. i am looking to do that trip next year and am awaiting the new dates to be announced. your feedback has just made me want to do it more ! i love to party so it sounds like my kind of trip lol.

Hi, me and my mate are doing the London to Athens and Greek Island Hoping tour starting 28 June 2007 and finishing 30 July 2007. Just a quick question.. How much spending money would you recommend us to bring? We were thinking AUD$100.00 a day (we have already put away seperate money for the optionals, we have put money away for all optionals, so we may end up with more). Do you think this will be enough? We will buy presents etc with credit cards, so it would just be for food, drinks etc. Please email me at chell_vandy1982@hotmail.com Thanks

my group was pretty darn awesome in July 2005! this is the best trip, you see all the main highlights, and get a feel for each city a little bit as well. Totally worth 20 days, not too long, not too short. All optionals are great as well! and it's true we were doing laundry as well when we had 2 days staying in one place. I would say that 100.00 a day is a good idea, I am Canadian and I believe I used a little more than 100 per day. It's amazing how many Euros you use in a day! make sure you have a little more than that per day, or ask about ATM options while in the city. It especially helps to have extra money on you when you are in the shopping districts.