I wanted to know from the veterans about the spanish spree trips. Whats the best/worst thing about this trip. I have never done a contiki trip, this is my first. Is there anything I should be aware of?

Kia88,

I did this tour in July-August 07 and it was awesome. I've done 4 other Contiki tours and this one was probably the best in terms of partying. It depends what you're wanting to get out of the tour. There's history and architecture as there is in all other Contiki tours but other than that, it's party party party!

I would recommend getting to Barcelona a day or two early to have a look around yourself and avoiding the places you'll be going with the tour 'cause you'll see them anyway. Probably look at having an extra couple of nights in Ibiza too if you're into clubbing.

If you're not into clubbing, there's plenty of cafe's and restaurants near the hotel. I recommend going to Cafe Del Mar near San Antonio on the north side of the island and also getting a ferry to Formenterra which is a small island to the south of Ibiza (20 -30 minute ferry). The ferry is expensive but well worth it. The beach at the north end of Formenterra is the best I've been to with a calm bay on one side and waves on the other. Catch the first ferry there and the last one back. You'll need to get a cab from the port when you get there to the northern most point on the island. Can't remember how much it was though. Make sure you book your return cab to the port at least an hour before the last ferry so you don't get stranded. They speak reasonable English there too.

On the clubbing side of things, I recommend Privelage, Pacha and Amnesia. By all means check out the others but these were my favourites. Drink prices in the clubs are ridiculously expensive in all of the clubs so I recommend knocking a few back before you go. You will have time 'cause the clubs don't really kick off until midnight. I was paying between 12 and 18 euro for drinks in clubs. They're very generous portions with little room for a mixer.

Entry to the clubs is quite expensive too being between 40 and 60 euro. If you spend time on the beach through the day, there's promo girls and guys strutting up and down the beach handing out wristbands for free entry to some of the clubs.

Be aware of pick pockets mainly in Barcelona near La Ramblas, public transport and the beach if you go. If you're going in summer, I recommend you take a lot of sun cream and summer clothes. Seville and Cordoba are really hot in the summer, we had 40 - 47oC.

Our only hotels with pools were Granada and Ibiza. This may have changed but I would assume not 'cause the feedback on all of the hotels is generally good 'cause they are all quite near town and the sites. Other than that, it's a pretty safe and fun tour.

There is a lot of driving on this tour so make sure you take an iPod or something to keep yourself occupied 'cause it can get quite boring on the bus. We were out every night, usually until day break, and slept on the bus through the day to pass the boring travel time on the bus.

All in all, it can be an expensive tour if you party a lot or buy plenty of souvenirs, or quite inexpensive if you prefer to kick back, go to the beach and just wonder the towns that you go to.

Hope this helps,

Al

I went in the winter. THe worst part of the trip was the long drive from Barcelona to Madrid. If you are travelling in the winter I would recomend ending your trip in Bacelona

Best part of the trip is when two people did not make the bus in Madrid (the guide left instructions on how to get to Cordoba at the Front Desk) other then that Grannada was fun. I would recomend doing all of the sides even the one in Gebraltor (we think we saw Africa through the fog but the guides threw in some extras because of the weather and that made it worth while)

Also if you go in the winter you are not faceing tourism overload and also the weather is far cooler but much warmer then Canada