Hi,

I'm Alicia n im based in QLD in Aust. I'm planning 2 go on winter wanderer tour starting on Dec 31st 09. I'm goin solo, bit scary bt gunna b so much fun. Cant wait to spend my new year in Paris.

Is any one else thinkin or already made arrangements 4 this one?

Hey my friend and i are doing the same tour as you, were from perth.... we are so excited. Going solo will be fine youl make heaps of friends.. a friend of mine did the same tour of this last year and said it was the best time of her life so we have a lot to look forward to

Woo-hoo! Fellow people who are doing the same tour! I'm from NSW and myself and two buddies have booked and, despite the fact it's nine months away, I'm still very excited!!

hey orange are you a chick or a dude?

I am really interested in this trip, but trying to figgure out what day I want to leave, either the Christmas day or this one. I'm also flying solo, I'm so excited!

To Jazzistbl, I am a chick.

To NurseBailey, as I am definitely not biased one way or the other, you should definitely come on this tour and spend New Years in Paris!

im really excited about doing this trip because i still get to spend xmas at home and couldnt think of a better place to spend N Years

Girls...this is going to be one heck of a trip

not long nooowww does any one no of any others that are considering this trip????

Hi,

I'm thinking about booking this tour. I've actually already been on this tour, about a year and half ago, but I got really sick early on, so I didn't have as much fun as I should have. I didn't get to see everything I had planned on seeing, because being sick made me really tired all the time, and I missed out on a lot of experiences because of it.

New Years was in a small bar in Lucerne, Switzerland, and although it was a good night, Paris will definitely be way more fun.

being sick would suck.. was it anything to do with the weather e.g the flu ??

thats great that your looking at doing it again though.. yeh i think ny in paris will be beautifull

since you have done this tour, would you have any advice that would be helpfull?? how cols was it?

I think it was more to do with constantly going from cold to hot. The heating in most of the hotels, stores, and bars was pretty hot, and that's the perfect environment for viruses. Almost everyone on the tour got sick, but for most people it wasn't that bad. One guy did end up staying behind in Nice, because he was so sick. He ended up staying there for about a week to get better, then he met up with us again in Munich.

So I would definitely recommend bringing plenty of medication for colds/flu. That was a big mistake of mine. I brought some painkillers with me, but I ran out by the time we got to Lyon.

Most places were really cold. I think the warmest place was Nice, but it was sunny that day. Most days were between 5 and 15 degrees. Nights were very cold. Switzerland was the coldest. Our tour manager arranged to take us to Mt Titliss in the Alps. It was -11 at the bottom, but it felt a lot colder up the top. Prague was really cold, too. But as long as you have a thick jacket on, and a scarf and gloves, you won't notice it too much, because you're walking around all the time.

Make sure you bring decent thermals. I got mine from Kathmandu. They don't keep the cold out completely, but they definitely help.

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

wow i cant believe how many people were sick.. i will make sure i stock up on the cold n flu tablets though lol.

Did it rain very often? what shoes did you bring with you?

Thanks 4 ur advice, it always helps

You should consider doing this trip again too

I've definitely decided I'm going. I'm just trying to decide how long I should spend in london before and after.

Most people who get sick only get a minor cold. My sister has been on 2 contiki tours during summer, and she said everyone who got sick were over it in a couple of days. Most people on my tour got better quickly too, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I brought a couple of pairs of nice shoes for going out, and sneakers for the rest of the time. We'll be doing a lot of walking so make sure they're comfortable.

cool, how exciting

what king of day bag did u bring?

did u find the majority of ppl on contiki were females?

I know, I'm really excited!

I had a back pack that was big enough to keep anything I needed on the bus days. Most people did the same.

Over half of the people on the tour were females. I think there were around 35 girls and 16 guys.

It rained a few times, but mostly on bus days, so it didn't matter much. It rained in Berlin during the walking tour, though. It was really foggy in Lucerne, and it snowed when we went up to the top of Mt Titliss.