Hello. I am going on this awesome-looking tour on May 11th. Anyone else?

I'm going! But I'm starting in Moscow on the 14th instead. Are you ending in Stockholm or continuing on into Norway and Denmark?

hey there.
i am booked for this tour also. i am starting in Riga, and ending in stockholm.
i may stay one additional night in stockholm. we'll see. i may also arrive in Riga one day earlier.

Awesome. Are you Traveling with people or solo for this trip? I'm leaving from Canada.

hey there. i am traveling solo, this is my 4th contiki.
i live in windsor, ontario, so i could either fly from detroit or TO.

how about you??

hi. I am also traveling solo. this is my first contiki...actually my first trip overseas too. And I'm from Kitchener, ON. I'm leaving from Toronto May14

I had almost forgotten that I posted this. Oops. I'm ending in Stockholm. Have to get back home that day. Hate that. I'm actually traveling Europe for 2 months, finishing with the Contiki Tour. I'm stoked!
Traveling all by myself, but that's ok. This will be my second Contiki. I did the Ultimate European last summer. Looking forward to meeting you guys!

Stoney, where are you from? 2 months in europe...i am jealous. i have to keep seeing europe 2 weeks at a time every year!
where else will you be in europe?
Mel, you picked a great tour to make your overseas debut!! feel free to ask me any questions about these tours. they are all pretty similar in how they run.
i have also booked my flights, i will be in london for 2 days before our tour starts (in Riga), and i will stay 1 extra night in stockholm.

2 months in europe!... I am also very jealous.
Nick, where have you been with contiki? I imagine they must be pretty good if you keep coming back to them?
Any of you learning Russian or anything before going? How much preperation do you do for a trip like this? Sometimes I feel really prepared and then others I think i'm missing a lot of things...
Can't wait to meet you guys too. Yay vacation time!

Sorry. I can't believe I forgot that part. I'm American. From Colorado, actually and I love it! I see you two are Canadians. That's cool. A good chuck of the tour I had last year were Canadians.

Not trying to make anyone jealous with my 2 months in Europe. It'll be pretty lonely for me since I'm traveling all alone, other than the Contiki tour and an Intrepid tour I'm taking in the Balkans. I'll have to tell you guys all about it when we meet. I'm actually leaving the US on March 24th, so wish me luck!

If you guys feel like chatting before the tour starts, feel free to email me. My address is: sbrooks17@hotmail.com

Mel: This is your first time overseas? If you have any questions at all about being over there or Contiki or whatnot, please ask! And no, I am not learning Russian or anything like that. It's amazing how many people over there speak at least some English. Shouldn't have any problems.

Stoney: yeah my first time overseas... and I chose an 11 hour flight to Russia... we'll see if that was a smart move or not.
Even though you'll be alone for part of your travel, I'm sure you're going to LOVE it.
Ok, so 1 thing I'm planning on bringing if a nalgene bottle ( I heard the tap water in Russia is not drinkable?). Have you guys gotten your visa's yet? And how do you work carrying all these different currencies?

I answered you on facebook. But a recap: Nalgene's are useless in my opinion since you'll buy bottled water anyways. Visa's are super important. Get it ASAP, and don't sweat the monies. Will be easier than you think.

I'll be there on May 11th!
Leaving from Riga.

Cool. Explorer1092592 - where are you from? M/F? Traveling solo?

stoney from colorado, you must be loving this snowy weather!!
have fun on your pre-trip vacation.
Mel, an 11 hour flight could be tiring, can you sleep on trains, buses, etc? some people can, but i personally cannot, so you may be tired that first day/night. that is why due to my vacation time, i chose to land in London for a couple days first to get used to the time zone. what time do you land in Moscow? i think the group will meet up around dinner, so if you get to the hotel early, although you may want to walk around and explore, i would suggest take a nap. as for water, stoney is right, you always buy bottled water. but in europe, beware of 'mineral water', it all looks the same, but when you tilt your head back for a swig, you are in for a shock at all the fizziness LOL.
i did the Eastern Roads tour last year, and we were given a cheat sheet with various basic phrases for each country we went to. to be honest, although i tried to memorize hello, yes, no, please, it was no use. if you cannot pronounce it right, don't even bother, you will just make things more confusing for the locals. lots of pointing and nodding.
for money, get some local currency, russian rubles, before you leave. try your bank, but don't get too much, because their rate to you will not be good. i always go to a bank machine as soon as i land in an airport and stock up. and our bus will stop at border checkpoints, and you can always exchange money there. i NEVER use traveler's cheques, nor bring Canadian cash. both are useless. i always use my bank card and withdraw in each country, and i bring US cash, british pounds or Euros too.
i got my Visa info and will be submitting it in a week or two. need a photo.
Explorer, welcome aboard. where are you from??