Firstly I'm from Birsbane Aus so the times are based on the difference from Brisbane time zone. London is 10 hours behind. Most other parts of Europe (at keast from Paris to Budapest) appear to be 9 hours behind, while Athens and Istanbul are 8 hours behind. Hope that helps.

hey guys im sara and i wrote way earlier to a different account but i have of ocurse fogot my password so i started a new one. woops
anyways i am sara 19 from the suburbs/country in melbourne australia and i am doign this tour with greek island option solo.
im pretty exited to see europe as most the people in my life went and did it with out me why i was still at high school and loved it. two of my mates actually did this tour and they loved every moment.
i have two questions to ask
1) is everyone just planing on doing most of the extras (my mates tell me to, but some dont sound fun if everyone doesnt join in)
2)what day before is everyone else expecting to arrive in london? i am arriving on the 25th of march and staying at the place where we leave.
anyways hope to get to talk to some of u a bit more before we leave.
sara

hey...me and my partner are flying into london 24th evening, and we will be staying at the imperial...just around the corner I belive...after the tour we are at royal national for 2 nights..

We will most likely do the majority of the optionals but I will just wait and see how we feel when there...it is always different when over there...

We are down to just over a month guys until we go...I cant wait...what is everyone doing after the tour ends?

Hi,

Im Dene and 21 from Auckland, NZ and will be doing this tour with Egypt option along with my mate Phil who is also 21.

We are arriving in london on the 24th and staying at the Royal National Hotel before we leave.

I look forward to getting to know a few of you before we go.

You can email me at flipped@woosh.co.nz or contact me via facebook under "dene scown"

Dene

I will be staying at the Royal National before and after the trip

I just have to double check my itinery coz it doesnt make much sense at the moment ..

OK have just made sense of it
I arrive in London on the 26th, early morning - 2 nights stay in Royal National - 5 nights after the tour

Would a majority be keen to meet up the evening before or something ? Maybe for a drink or 2 at the one of the local pubs ?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Matty,

hey everyone we are getting very close now...who is arriving in london early. I arrive with my parnter on the 24th (evening) then are planning on doing the sites around london for the follow few days before we set off on the tour...does anyone want to catch up? Hey matty drinks sound great to me. I believe there is some great pubs in russell square.

I am getting so excited about this trip and have begun to pack my bags as of this weekend! A little early I know but I am getting married 10 days before we fly out so i have alot to organise.

People from aust or WA in specific, what are you doing money wise? I am with commonwealth bank and am yet to arrange how I am going to utilise cards etc through europe. Anyone got any suggestions?

quote:

Originally posted by keentravelor:
hey everyone we are getting very close now...who is arriving in london early. I arrive with my parnter on the 24th (evening) then are planning on doing the sites around london for the follow few days before we set off on the tour...does anyone want to catch up? Hey matty drinks sound great to me. I believe there is some great pubs in russell square.

I am getting so excited about this trip and have begun to pack my bags as of this weekend! A little early I know but I am getting married 10 days before we fly out so i have alot to organise.

People from aust or WA in specific, what are you doing money wise? I am with commonwealth bank and am yet to arrange how I am going to utilise cards etc through europe. Anyone got any suggestions?

You should be able to get a visa card or something similar connected through your current account

I have that and another visa debit card

Thanks Matty. I went into the bank today and have it all sorted..

I also got an email from my travel agent saying the itinerary has arrived! I am going this afternoon to collect it...yipee now its becoming real that we are going! have others got theirs yet

Hey,

i'm also going to be arriving in the early morning on the 26th 5:30am the plane is scheduled to get in, plus taking into account security/customs check in times and the underground i'm anticipating i won't get into russel square around 9am. I believe the contiki basement doesn't open until 11am in the Winter season, so maybe for those wanting to meet up early the contiki basement may be a good randevous point. i don't plan on doing much sleeping the first day to allow my body time to adjust to the new timezone.

I'm also with the Commonwealth bank. I went into my local branch to notify them that i will be overseas during these months, and they have put it on their computer so my cards aren't locked for abnormal spending. I asked about the money matters.

I'm going to be using my normal commonwealth ATM card to withdraw cash (and presominately try and spend in cash), probably withdrawing the maximum amount possible to minimise transactions and fees. Apparently those with the Commonwealth bank can use their cards on all ATMS identified with either the Maestro or Cirrus symbols (they're the two circles joined together)

I also extended the amount on my credit card to $2500, and put on a new pin number which is required when using credit cards in europe.

I picked up my travel pack last friday, you can see all the hotels that we are staying in with the exception of Rome and Egypt for those going.I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there was some double booking in Egypt and we get put up in a resort or something as a result. I think it has happened in previous years. Rome will be interesting to see. We probably won't find out these details until the trip starts. Also they are yet to confirm the 09 prices for the optionals so for the time being we are advised to continue going off of the 08 dates instead. When everyone gets their travel packs you will see they have call vouchers. Do people intend to use these? I was just going to do the occasional email home and leave it at that.

Anyway 6 months down, 5 weeks to go!!!!! Take care and I'll see you all very soon.

hello everyone, i am doing the march 28th (+ egypt). my facebook is: ben.barclay

has anyone set up a facebook group?

is everyone keen to catch up for dinner / drinks the night before we start?

hey hey ben, there are heaps of people in facebook with your name. Do you mind adding me (as I know I am the only one ha ha ha) Kristy Zabaznow (not a very common last name).

Can i be a real blonde and ask how do we set up a facebook group? This sounds really helpful!

Take care guys and its so close until we go now...

Hey everyone,

I created a facebook group with the original name of "Ultimate European March 2009" so feel free to join

hey guys, just joined the facebook group so hopefully we can get quite a few more members before we all head!

i definitely think dinner/drinks after the pre-tour meeting the night before sounds great, i can't wait to meet everyone

the bf and i just made a waaaay detailed packing list so we're feeling pretty organised. am dreading the weight of my suitcase but, and having to take out clothes lol!

we're picking up our contiki stuff from the travel agent tomoz so it will be interesting to read up on our hotels and stuff.

36 days to go!!

xx

Hi All,
how do you join the facebook group, i just tried and it told me i had to be invited.
Renee

Dont worry, i figured it out, only 31 days to go, i am counting down