Hey Jess,

As you Aussies would say, no worries mate... Second Contiki, eh? There's a pre-departure meeting in the evening for a round of drinks and icebreakers... so you'll have a chance to meet up with most people arriving early.

I'll be probably running back and forth between the Sandman and the airport helping people get settled... best way is to have some spare change handy... it's $3.50 Can for a one way trip from the airport to the Sandman by Translink bus... there's the Airporter bus which is a little more expensive and less direct. Roundtrip for the Airporter is $21 Can. Don't go by taxi...

If you're not coming in during rush hour... then I'd suggest Translink... it's also the most economical and direct route, if you're packing light. You'll hop the 424 Airport Bus to Richmond and transfer at the last stop to a 98B-Line Richmond, this will drop you off 4 blocks from the hotel...

The Airporter will drop you off right at the doors of the hotel if you have a lot of luggage.

I'll be posting more suggestions on this site as we get closer to the date. If you have any more questions feel free to ask them... Hope this helps.

Chris

Happy new year everyone (sorry it's late - finally got back from holiday on Monday). I see there are a few more people who have joined the tour or are thinking of joining so hello to you.

Chris, thanks for the tips about transport. I think you mentioned earlier about a Facebook group for this tour...could you post a link up on here as I can't seem to find it fon Facebook.

Oli

Hello Chris & Oli,

Chris, thanks for all the info re getting from the airport to hotel.... it all sounds a little complicated but I sure it is really easy.... Otherwise if your around the airport at the time I fly in I might hit you for a lift..lol.. :-)

Oli, if you type in ' Canada & Rockies 2008 trip ' into the facebook search bar if will come up with the page.


Jess

Hi Jess & Oli...

you're on the Facebook site now... keep your eyes posted for more developments on the tour... Contiki itself will give you an awesome tour... but I'm also throwing in ideas of my own to try and help enhance this tour. It's always nice if you can meet one or two people before tour as well... then you hopefully won't feel as nervous if you're travelling on your own... helps for everyone having a good time... which is the most important thing on tour...

Ya Jess, if I'm around the airport I'll let you know and I can help point you in the right direction, if not... the airport has plenty of capable staff to help you out... for sure... umm esp... since we're hosting the Olympics here in 2010... one would think... lol :-P

anyone else joining our tour... if you want to get onto Facebook... then you can follow Jess' suggestion or here's the direct link:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=8118400498

Hi Jess,

Thanks for letting me know about the Facebook link, have found it now.

Oli

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

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has booked their flights yet & if so, when do you land in Vancouver.

Oli

Hi all,
I'm mealzy and i'm 22 and from Aussie (QLD). I'm also booked for this tour and can't wait I'm so excited as I've always wanted to see Canada Would luv to talk to u all be4 hand and get to know you better So feel free to add me to msn or email me at mealz_85@hotmail.com. Cheers guys

Hey Oli & Mealzy,

Oli, My flights are booked. I land in Vancouver on the 26th at approx 1.30pm ish (that's if everything is running on time).


Mealzy,

Good to hear you've joined the tour. I'm also an Aussie but from VIC. If you get a chance you should jump on facebook and join the the group that Chris set up.

Cheers Jess

Hi All
Nice to see a new face on the message board Mealzy.
My flight arrives at 6.30am in Vancouver on 26th. Looks like we're going to have a few Aussie girls on this tour all from the East coast - QLD, Vic and NSW.
Like the facebook page. Not quite sure on the song choices though.
Talk to you all soon
Hayley

Hi Mealzy...

welcome to the Canada & Rockies tour... come jump on Facebook and see some stuff we've got planned for the trip.

Hayley, just a quick note on the day song... for anyone who's not done a Contiki, and those that have... the day song is something picked by the tour manager (not me)... it's like a theme song that gets played every day... and it sticks with you... one suggestion was to have a Canadian artist (our Aussie tour had an Aussie artist - Jet for our day song... and people loved it), the other thing is it's got to be an upbeat song (the one we had on our Hawaii tour was like a lullaby...) The tour manager will explain all this on the first day on the bus if you have any suggestions on songs... feel free to throw them in... Because we can't cater to everyone, the tour manager will try to pick a song to most people's liking... hence the suggestion of possibly getting a group vote on which song the group likes best...

the other thing about music is on most Contiki tours... some of the tour manager's allows people to bring their iPods or MP3 players up to front if you wanted to play a couple of tunes too... but again that'll be up to the Contiki Road Crew how they want to run the tour... I can only offer suggestions... Most of what I'll be doing is an addendum to what's already set on tour... like production of a Contiki DVD keepsake with various people's photos set in a slideshow for example... which has now become tradition over my last 7 tours and counting.

Cheers...

Chris.

If there is anyone who is gonna land in Vancouver around 4:30ish then give me a shout as that's when I land.

Does the day song get decided before the tour starts or does it get decided on as the tour starts?

Oli

Hey everyone

I am thinking of doing this trip now I've seen all these messages! Sounds like it's gonna be great!! I'm 27 and from England and will be travelling solo. I did Beaches and Reefs in Oz last year and can safely say it was the best time of my life!!

Maybe see you all in a few months time!!

Lauren

Hi Lauren,

Good to see another English person looking at joining this tour. Thought I might be the only one. I'm 21 & live near Tunbridge Wells (about an hour south of London in E.Sussex/Kent in case you haven't heard of T. Wells). Where abouts are you from in England?

Oli

Hey Lauren,

Good to hear you maybe joining the tour.... Like you, I'm also travelling solo and I think quite a few are doing the same.

The tour will be a blast so I hope you can join us.

Cheers

Jess

Hey gang,

To answer Oli's question, the Day Song, because it's decided by Contiki, it normally gets decided by the tour manager himself or herself before the tour even starts... but I'm going to try and see if there's a possibility to make it a group decision... I've discussed this possibility with our Contiki reps, and I'm hoping to meet with the tour manager before the tour starts. In any case, we'll see what happens as we get closer to the date.

Welcome aboard Lauren, yay, another person on tour, looking forward to meeting you on tour. The more the merrier... I think you'll find it to be a great tour. Have you ever travelled Contiki before? If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Like Jess said, most people do travel solo on these tours, so you're not alone.

Chris