I myself did this tour in May 2006. Its a great tour. However as compared to other tours, you do spend lots of time travelling on the bus. Be aware in russia, the roads are very bumpy and expect to get pulled over by the police a few times. The food in russia is safe to eat but its nothing special. Dont drink red bull in russia. FOr the optionals for russia, i would recommend doing all the optionals,yes u do go to a ballet, but even all the guys on my tour went to it, its one of those things of been there done that situation. Russia is a great experience. lots to see, and drink the vodka.
My other recommendations is go early to copenhagen or stay late after the tour. For Warsaw poland, theres an awesome park near by that has a good beer gardens for cheap.
Anyone have questions my email is koss78a@hotmail.com

what date in may did u go on? because i signed up for may fourth and now i am wondering if it might get cancelled because not enough people signed up.

I did the May 5th or 6th departure, it wasnt a guaranteed departurefrom the brochure. But most tours in May are usually a go, dont worry if it gets cancelled its up to last 2 weeks in april where u will know. Most of the time the bus will be a full house.

Cheers

hey,
me n my sis are goin on the 22nd july .
we were wonderini wat the average age is for the pp on the trip....n how were the accomodations like....sadly, im a bit uncomfortable sharin a room with 2 others...how did u find that?

quote:

Originally posted by world-travellers:
I myself did this tour in May 2006. Its a great tour. However as compared to other tours, you do spend lots of time travelling on the bus. Be aware in russia, the roads are very bumpy and expect to get pulled over by the police a few times. The food in russia is safe to eat but its nothing special. Dont drink red bull in russia. FOr the optionals for russia, i would recommend doing all the optionals,yes u do go to a ballet, but even all the guys on my tour went to it, its one of those things of been there done that situation. Russia is a great experience. lots to see, and drink the vodka.
My other recommendations is go early to copenhagen or stay late after the tour. For Warsaw poland, theres an awesome park near by that has a good beer gardens for cheap.
Anyone have questions my email is koss78a@hotmail.com

Hi there,

Was just wondering, What's wrong with the Red Bulls in Russia? I'm a big fan and might be tempted by them if I see them along the way. But if there's a good reason to stay away from them, it'd be good to know????
Thanks
Tamara

Nothing really wrong with the red bulls, no different then anywhere else.

Just dont drink too many, as i drank about 7 of them with vodka in one nite, NOt a good mixture

Yeah, too true. I'm not a huge mixing Red Bull and Vodka fan. Eitha one or the other, at a time for me!!!! Pity they only seem to sell it in cans outside of OZ (that I've seen so far anyway). Oh well, thanks 4 the advice...

Isn't riding around some of the best times? I've always had the best time on road trips in the car.
As for Russia I'm very much attracted to bumpy roads and Russian police. Oh man, now I'm double excited! I think Red Bull is pretty gross unless in jager bombs so no problems there. What was your favorite excursion?

Mate, we'll see if you are so fond of the Russian Police if they stop you for taking a picture near red square, while your passport is in a shoebox with the rest of the tours at the Belarus Embassy trying to get a visa. To be fair I was fine (eventually), and I was the only person on my tour to get stopped, so you probably have nothing to worry about. But it does happen.

I would LOVE to hear this story of getting stopped while your passport is getting a visa ( considering im leaving shortly any advice would be wonderful....)

Posted 18 Jul 2007 11:40 AM Hide Post
Hey
I'm NOT going on your trip but i've travelled with Contiki and would like to offer some advice:
If you plan on taking a credit card to Europe, you may want to call your credit card company to let them know you'll be travelling so they don't think the card has been stolen and cut you off.

Another thing I recommend is carrying your cash in a money belt, I find it safer.

Plan on spending $100-$150 USD per day. You'll have to buy lunches daily, souveneirs, some dinners and going out at night. You should try exchanging money before you leave. You'll have to chance to do so on the tour, but easier to get that part out of the way and have one less thing to worry about.


When you pack, throw some clothing into your carry-on to lighten the weight of the suitcase and in case your luggage gets lost. Leave room for souveneirs & carry with you an extra copy of your pasport and hotel address list.

In terms of weight of luggage, it's the airlines that are more strict than Contiki. Each airline has their own weight threshold & will only be too glad to charge you extra for going over. You can find out the limit/rules by going on the airline's website.


Feel free to ask me anything else.

Brian (from New York)
brij75@yahoo.com

Southern Ireland '97
Grand Explorer '00
Rainbow Nation '01 (no longer offered by Contiki)
Beaches & Reefs '02-'03