Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone else is booked on this tour. I am travelling with a mate and we are very excited already! Looking forward to meeting anyone else who is going...

Cheers,
Bel

As long as you mean departing London on the 30th of December 2006 I'll be on your tour! YAY Paris for New Years Eve, how awesome's that going to be?! Partypartyparty!

Have you done a Contiki tour before? I did the European Experience last May/June (2005) and had the time of my life so I'm so excited to do it all again... Are you doing any other travel before or after the tour? I'm doing Ski Hopfgarten on the 15th of December and a bit of time in Italy over Xmas before the tour.

Where are you from? My email is sldsymons@hotmail.com, drop me a line!
Shannon

Hey Shannon,
Oops!! I did mean 2006!! The tour is going to be fantastic, am really excited already! I haven't done Contiki before so its all brand new, so any tips you have would be awesome. We are doing the Check Out London tour before the Winter Wanderer. New Years in Paris is going to be pretty amazing...

Will drop you an email soon...

Bel.

Hrmm advice hey... Well you get out of it what you put into it I say... I'm into positive attitudes so I don't complain about stuff... this one will be a little different to my last though obviously cos it's winter but also cos the standard of accomodation will be a little better than the last time but I'm hoping it still has the social vibe that the other tours have (I'd heard some hotel tours could be a bit more sober but we'll have to set out to change that - are you a partier?) But yeah, what kind of advice do you want to know? Packing's going to be a challenge this time with winter-weight clothes, bulky stuff etc... last time I went it was almost summer over there so totally different. Bring laundry detergent so you can wash stuff overnight! Bring band-aids for foot blisters. Bring a lotta money! LOL I reckon I spent more on alcohol than souvenirs while I was over there so I'm buying more duty free on the way this time )
What else do you want to know?

So where in Australia are you from? I'm in Canberra. And how old are you both? I'm 22.

YAY so excited! Should arrange to meet in London the night before the tour or something... but we've got ages to plan stuff like that. Hear from you soon!
Shannon

Hi Shannon,
I have dropped you an email, but I thought I would put some of my details up here as well for anyone else that looks here and is on the same tour! I should have checked here before I sent your email as I asked similar questions...whoops! You don't have to answer them all again!

I am currently in Balranald in South Western NSW, but originally from Narrabri in NW NSW. I'll be 26 by the time we are on the tour...so am feeling decidedly old! I do like a party, and I'm hoping to balance the right amount of partying with not being too hungover the next day to miss all the tour stuff! But I'm up for a challenge any time...lol.

Thanks for the advice....will keep it in mind...

Looking forward to catching up!

Bel.

Hi guys,
My name is Debs and my husband and I are planning to do this tour. We havent booked it in yet but we're just waiting until we've saved a little more money so we can pay it all upfront and then go for it
By the trip I will be 24 and my hubby, Ben will be 28. We're both really sociable, easy going people and are so excited about this trip its not funny!
Its our first contiki trip and my first time going to Europe.
Im a primary school teacher so my holidays are really limited to school holiday time and so I wanted to see as much of europe as i could in the short amount of time i have between the end of term 4 and the start of the new school year. That is why we've decided to go contiki, coz it takes the whole hassle out of booking hotels and trying to fit everything in.
We're from Melbourne.

I so hope this tour goes ahead because this date is the only one that suits my time frame. If it gets changed to another date im going to be stuffed!

Anyways, its good to see other people are going on this trip and it'll be heaps cool to meet you guys!

Debs
 

Hi Debs,

Nice to meet you...so to speak! I can understand this being the only time you can go as I am also a teacher (primary trained but currently teaching secondary after a few years of primary!) and it really limits when we can go. Am looking forward to meeting you. I'm sure it will go ahead....We have already booked ours and paid for it so if it doesnt i'm going to be mighty annoyed! Drop me an email if you like at bin_norrie@hotmail.com

Cheers,

Bel.

Hi Debs,

"Lock it in Eddie!" I doubt very much that this tour would be cancelled - I booked really early because I was scared of it being booked out. I'm paid my deposit etc now so I'm so excited! You won't regret doing Contiki, even as a couple. We had five couples on our tour (four from Aus & one from the US) and they all had a blast. It's so easy to make friends & mingle.

Drop me a line at sldsymons@hotmail.com when you've booked in & if you've got any questions I'm happy to help.
Hope to see you there!!
Shannon
(Canberra, 22 yo female in case you were wondering!)

Hey Bel, Shannon and Debs,

I'm also booked on this tour. It's great to hear that others are booked on it too. This will be my first contiki and my first time to europe so it'll all be new and exciting for me and u guys are probably the same i guess. Although Shannon, sounds like you've got some good experience with it all. I might have a few questions for u.

I'm at uni so i had to pick a tour that could fit in with holidays and this tour sounded perfect it goes to most of the places in europe that i've always wanted to check out. I know it'll b cold but we'll get by. I'll be traveling by myself but looking forward to meeting u guys and making friends along the way. I can't wait for it escpecially NYE in Paris it'll be awesome. Party hard that night. I'm also spending a few nights in London before contiki and then a cuple in London afterwards and then having a week in Rome.

I'm 19yrs old (but i'll turn 20 on the last day of our tour), male and from Sydney. My email is gavinm_7@hotmail.com It'd b great to hear from anyone who's going on this tour.

Gavin 

Hi Team

My name is Marie and I am hoping to be on this tour as well. I am 25 and a teacher too...anyone see a pattern emerging? I can't wait to do Europe and party in Paris for NYE. This is my reward after separating from fiance a while back, was worth breain up to go to Europe! I just want this year over so I can do it. It's my birthday while we are on tour as well so save your pennies for a few (he he) birthday drinks

Hi all,
Well this is getting exciting! Its great hearing from others on the same tour...looks like a few teachers will be doing some serious holiday partying! My friend that I am travelling with is also a teacher! I guess these are the longest holidays that we have and it makes sense to travel! We are doing the Check Out London tour before hand as well...made sense as neither of us had ever been to London before and wanted to see the sights!

Marie - where are you from...and what do you teach?

Look out Paris!

Bel...

Hi All!

Wow how exciting is it to have so many people to share the countdown with!
Isn't it weird that so many of you are teachers? I'm going to uni next year to start studying to become a teacher too, it's quite weird that this tour has attracted so many! At least you all know you've got something in common other than travelling, although the people that I got closest to on my tour I had very little in common with so that doesn't mean much...
We'll have to make sure that we all know each other's emails & numbers etc before we leave Oz so we can catch up in London the night before the tour for a drink or something - there's a pub in the Royal National Hotel *yippee!*

I feel really strange having had some experience with the travel now, it's almost exactly a year (next week) since my previous Contiki trip started and I was doing exactly the same thing then - spending heaps of time online researching & getting myself psyched up. If anybody has any questions I can help with just let me know... not that I'm a travel guru or something now but whatever I can help with anyway...

Hey if you're all on MSN Messenger stick me in your contact lists & email me! sldsymons@hotmail.com

Woo-hoo Paris for NYE, we're going to go mental!! XX Shannon

Hi Guys,

My name is Amanda and I have also booked this tour.  I will have turned 26 just before the tour starts and no prices for guessing what I do.  Yep I am also a Teacher. I have been to the UK before but did not do contiki but had an absoulute fantastic time and I am really really excited about Europe.  New Years in Paris, UNBELIEVABLE!.  It would be great to meet up beforehand if anyone is interested.

Amanda

Haha, how freaky!
Well, I guess it is the time of year that us teachers are free...free to go away and its our longest break in the year so lets make the most of it!

Ben and I are going to do the check out london tour before this tour which should be good because that sorts out accomodation and most of the places that we wanted to see in london anyway.

Have you guys booked your flights already? If so, who through?
I am still looking for cheap flights but all the cheap ones are for travel before that date coz in Australia, december holidays are our peak time.
Did (or is anyone going to) book their flights through contiki? At least if they change the date of our trip they will change your flights for you without charge (apparently).

Getting so excited! Why wont this year hurry up and finish already!?

Luv Debs

Hey All,
We are going to have to try and keep the chalk talk at bay I think while we are on tour! Us teachers have a bad habit of talking school when we all get together! Where are you from Amanda and what do you teach?

Debs - Are you and Ben doing the check out London tour that starts just after ******mas? If so we are doing it as well.

When is everyone flying out? Jen (one of my best mates and travel mate) and I are flying out ******mas Eve from Sydney and will land ******mas morning. I'm not sure who we booked through...Jen organised the tickets and I am just handing my hard earned money over to her to fix everything up! I think its through QANTAS, but if its booked through Contiki I'm not sure!

Like Shannon, I am also on MSN, but only occasionally so feel free to add me. bin_norrie@hotmail.com

Looking forward to meeting you all...if only the rest of the year would fly!

Cheers,
Bel