Hello world! I hope this message finds you well. I just signed up for the Spanish Spree winter tour departing on 22-Dec. I'm from the Los Angeles area, and have had wonderful experiences with Contiki tours in the past (this is going to be my 4th).

Just wondering if anyone else out there is going on this same tour (or seriously thinking about it). Have a pleasant week.

Andre

Hey, I just booked the same tour. I'm from Melbourne Australia. Sooo excited to be checking out Spain for Christmas!

Hi!

I just booked as well. I am coming from NYC! Cant wait for the trip, this is my first contiki tour!

Yay! Nice to know there are a few people going on this tour already. These are my third and fourth Contiki tours (following this one with the Simply Italy) - they are so much fun. Looking forward to checking out a place with some serious history!

Hi,

lozzib: Simply Italy is an amazing tour--I took it two years ago. I'll be happy to share any info on this tour with you.

DalginGirl: Welcome aboard! Spain is an awesome choice for a first Contiki tour. You'll get hooked on Contiki tours in no time

Likewise, I can't wait for this tour and look forward to celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Spain...Cheers!

Hi there everyone! I will be booking this trip soon and am happy to see there are already a few of us committed. Yay!
This will be my first tour ever! I'm so excited to be spending Christmas and New Year's in Spain as well.

Andre, what's the best way to handle flight from LA? I am in LA area as well. Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I am seriously thinking of booking this trip as well. This will also be my first contiki experience like some travelers on this thread. I wanted to visit Spain, and hopefully this will be a great experience! I am coming from Washington, DC.

Hi Bleu, a fellow Angeleno! I hope you'll book your trip soon. To answer your question, from my own experiences, doing these activities should help with getting thru any long-haul flights:

1. Choose a flight with the fewest # of stopovers and plane changes. Reasons: minimize travel time and the chance your luggage would get lost.
2. Drink plenty of liquids (water, juices), but avoid alcoholic beverages.
3. Get plenty of rest, even if it means just closing your eyes without falling asleep.
4. If you wear a watch, change the time to match your destination's before getting there. It'll allow your body clock to adjust faster once you arrive there.

4 months and counting down...

Andre

Hello everyone,

I booked my tour a few weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to come to these forums. I'm really excited about Spain. Being a Mexican, I've always wanted to visit the places where my ancestors came from.

Although I'm originally from Mexico, I've lived in the United States for a very long time.

I'm glad to hear that some of you have already booked your tours and I just checked the status and it's a definite departure.

Since I live in Coachella (Does anyone know about Coachella Music Festival), I'll be flying out of LAX, which is about 2 hours from here.

My only problem right know is airfare. It's really expensive. Have all of you purchased your airfare? I've been looking everywhere and the best deal I've found is 950 from LAX to Madrid, and that's adding one extra day before and after the tour.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Greetings,

Luis

I forgot to mention that this will be my second tour with Contiki. I went on the European Inspiration tour 2 years ago and I had the best time of my life. I'm also thinking of going on the GREEK ISLAND HOPPING tour next summer, depending on my finances.

By the way, I can't wait to spend Christmas in Madrid and New Year's Eve in Barcelona. What else could we ask for?

Yay for the definite departure status. Thanks for checking and welcome aboard, Luis! I'm also excited about Spain. My friends who'd been to Spain had nothing but awesome things to say about it, so I decided to experience it for myself.

I haven't bought my ticket yet, though I've been tracking the prices online for several weeks now. If you don't mind me asking, where did you find the $950 deal? Considering the time is around the holidays, I'm not surprised with the expensive airfares. I'll contact several local travel agents this week and find out if they would offer lower airfares. I'm also considering using my miles to fly to the East Coast, and go to Madrid from there. That way, I can shave $200-$300 off my airfare to Madrid.

Andre

Hi Andre,

I found those tickets on American Airlines through an airfare engine called KAYAK.COM. It's a really good website, even better than cheaptickets.

Last time I checked, I found tickets for $937 plus I'm thinking of buying the travel protection insurance, just in case I need to cancel, so the grand total would be close to $1,000.

I'm still debating whether I should wait or not. You never know with airfare. Although most of the people I've talked to think I should buy it now. In fact, one of my friends went to Madrid last April and said that her airfare was around $1200, so she claims that I have a great deal.

I was also thinking of just flying to the east coast, but a ticket from NYC is about 650....plus I would also have to pay more than 300 from LAX to NYC. So at the end, it's about the same or even more expensive.

Last time I went to Europe, I flew into and out of London. I think it cost me around $860, and that was 2 years ago. So I guess paying 940 or so is not such a huge difference, considering that airfare has skyrocketed.

I think I might get my airfare tomorrow. BTW, are you also thinking of getting there one day before the tour and one day after the tour? I think this is a good idea because the dates of our tour tend to be very expensive for airfare. I'll rather pay more money to stay there for extra days, than having to pay for airfare.

If you are also thinking of doing that, perhaps we could call contiki and have them book an extra night in a 2-bed room for the two of us. We might be able to save a few bucks that way.
Just an idea...

Other than that, I'm really excited about Spain. I'm already doing my research for the 2 extra days I'm staying. My friend tells me that Madrid is a huge city, with lots of things to do.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Greetings,

Luis

Hi Luis,

Thank you for sharing the kayak.com info w/me (and everyone in this forum). I hope others, too, may find it beneficial in their search for the best airfares.

I'm giving myself a timeframe between now until early October to purchase my ticket, and hopefully, I can find the best deal sooner than later. To answer your questions, I plan to arrive at least couple of days before our tour, so that I can maximize my time in Spain. I can't stay any extra days after the tour, since I have to get back to work on 4-Jan (yikes!). I'm also still figuring out my plans for the "extra" days--perhaps going on day trips to areas not covered in the tour, or maybe staying in Madrid to explore what it has to offer. If it's the latter, I like your idea about calling Contiki and book a 2-beds room to save a few bucks. Let me finalize my plans and I'll definitely let you know, Luis. Have a terrific day.

Andre

Yay! More people!

I am leaving from NYC so this may not be applicable to LA BUT my mom has said that airfare is going to be hiking up. I paid roughly $850 for my roundtrip tickets. I would jump in soon before it is too late.

Packing: does contiki give us a list of what we should have?? Being a typical female, I tend to overpack (don't all volunteer at once to help me with my baggage).

Cant wait to meet everyone

XO
East Coast (Danielle/Dani)

Hi Dani,

Thank you for that tip of buying the ticket early. I think it does apply to LA as well, since I've been hearing similar news about it.

Contiki does have a section (Contikipedia) on its web site on what to pack. Here's the link: http://contiki.com/contikipedia/articles/what-to-pack.

3 months and 12 days and counting down...

West Coast (Andre)