Hey gang, I'm son heading out on the European Discovery tour for my first Contiki trip and have two questions regarding the optional excursions available on the tour:

1) At what point on the tour and with what method (cash, credit card) does one pay for the optional excursions?

2) Which of the optional excursions on the European Discovery tour are recommended and which are to be avoided?

You pay at the beginning of your tour, contiki gives you a list and you mark off which optionals you want to do and they they give you about 2 days in order to pay so that you can get the money. But the first optionals will have to be paid usually on your first day.

I did the European highlights tour which has the similar optionals, these are teh ones I did.

Parisian Dinner- This is a definetly a must do, this is on your second night so everyone is still getting to know eachother so go. Our whole tour went on this dinner. The food is so yummy. We had a choice for starter and main, I had snails and duck orange (very french), you also get dessert which was cake and then cheese and bread. On top of that you get bottomless wine, you get a choice between white, red and rose. Between our table of 6 we had 5 bottels of wine. In a normal restaurant that would have cost you so much!!!

Nouvelle Eve- What a great show. All the girls did it and a few guys. It's right by the Moulin Rouge. The show isn't all singing and dancing, they have lille skits in between. The whole show was so enjoyable plus you get champagne. One of the guys from our tour was called on stage to do the dance off and he won...his prize a topless bride. Be prepared to see lots of boobs in the show.

Tuscan Meal- Our tour manager calls this the stretchy pants dinner cause their is so much food, we had bread and dips then 3 diffrent types of pasta, then a chicken dish then a pork dish. Also had vegetables and potatoes. Then desert. I was so full!!! The food was delicious, i would really recommend this.

Group Pic- You have to get this no matter what, it will be the only pic of your entire group with your tm and driver. It's was really great and everyone signed it on the back. All the people that hadn't got one were so sad when they saw them, so get it!!

Guided tour of Rome- this is another optional you have to do!! You start in the ruins and learn all about the history and then you go to the collisseum. It was so great to learn all about Rome. Also we got to skip the queue to get into the collisseum which probably would have taken about 2 hours to stand in (it was so so so long). The tour isn't too long so you still have time to explore the rest of rome. When in Rome...

T Shirt- You all get to design them and they are really great.You only get them on your last day on the tour which is great cause then you have a clean shirt!! I'm really glad I bought one.

Gondola Ride- You have to do this in Venice, you can't go all the way to venice and not do one. It was so much fun and you get to see lots of Venice. You can also have champagne which makes it more fun!! You divide into 6,5,4 peopel in a group so you can do it with your friends.

Beerhall- Our whole group did this. It's a must to do. I don't drink beer but I decided to have one glass (or should I say jug) of beer, the glasses are huge. They also have beer with sprite (like a shandy) which was really yummy. The food was good and the atmosphere was amazing, everyone was singing and dancing to the German music. You also get german girl dancers. It was such a great evening so happy I did it.

Wine tasting (rhine valley)- Our whole group did this, you go into a dark cellar and try all sorts of white wine which is my favourite. You also get a shot glass to take with you and can also buy wine.

Canal Bike- There is no better way to see Amsterdam than riding on these boats, it's four per boat and they give you a huge picnic pac which all sorts of yummy stuff in the. Our entire group got so lost even though we had a map, the half an hour ride turned into 1 hour. We couldn't stop laughing the whole time, it was the best. We couldn't steer properly so we kept crashing into things and its hard work pedalling the whole time but it was just so so so fun. You end at Anne Franks house so we went in straight away.

Canal Cruise- Our whole group did this, it's more like a booze cruise cause there was bottomless wine, when we first boarded they give you coupons for three drinks but after a while they said it was bottomless. The views are amazing and it's a great opportunity to spend time with your whole group as this is the last night together.

Sea Palace Dinner- YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY. It's chinese food but it's traditional and so much, they give you plates and plates of different food, plus lots of veggies!! Our table couln't finish all the food.


Hope this helps. If you have any questions, give me a shout

quote:

Originally posted by Stubs2k:
Hey gang, I'm son heading out on the European Discovery tour for my first Contiki trip and have two questions regarding the optional excursions available on the tour:

1) At what point on the tour and with what method (cash, credit card) does one pay for the optional excursions?

2) Which of the optional excursions on the European Discovery tour are recommended and which are to be avoided?

I've done the Euro Discovery twice so I have a pretty good feel for the optionals. Some I did both times, some once, and a few not at all.

1) As I remember, you get a list early on and the TM explains each optional briefly before you choose which ones you want to do. You pay in CASH and can pay it all right then or within a couple of days. On my first tour, our TM let us pay for the first few optionals early on and then pay for the rest later on the tour.

2) The Optionals:

-Canal Cruise(Amsterdam)- I did this both times. Definitely do this! This will be your first night on tour and a great way to meet your new tour mates. Free booze and a chance to see one of the world's most unique cities through it's extensive canals.

-Wine Tasting(St.Goar)- Did this the second time, wish I had done it the first. Not much else to do in this tiny town. It's cheap and a good time. I'm not a big wine fan but I still enjoyed it.

-City Bike Tour- I have never done this, it was not offered either time I went. I know other people who have done this in Munich and they loved it. If it had been offered, I would have done it. Definitely go to the Hofbrauhaus with your group too!

-White Water Rafting(Austria) - I did not do this either time because I'm not a big water sports person. The people who did said it was fun, had amazing views, and that the water was freezing.

-Swarovski Crystal World(Austria) - DO NOT DO THIS! It's not worth the time or money. It has a couple of crappy "art" exhibits and then a gift shop. Just save yourself the time and go to the gift shop for free if you really want to buy some crystal stuff.

-Gondola Ride(Venice)- you pretty much have to do this. My first time was a lot better than the second time because the ride was longer and we got to see the better parts of Venice. People say you can get a cheaper price and a better ride doing it without Contiki so maybe check that out with a couple of other people from your group.

-Venetian Dinner- I did this one both times. I really enjoyed it both times. You get a lot of food and wine and some cheesy entertainment. Another great chance to have some fun with your tour mates. Other people have skipped this and found cheaper dinners so it's really your call.

-Guided Imperial Tour(Rome)- Did this on my first trip. It was nothing special. The lady was kind of hard to hear the whole time and there were times she would talk too much. If you have never been, this is probably not a bad idea.

-Souvenir Group Photo(Florence)- you will take this up on the hill overlooking Florence. It really depends how much you like your group. The first tour I went on I got the photo because we had a tight group that really clicked. The second time I did not because it was a lame group and TM and I decided to save the money.

-Tuscan Evening(Florence)- I did this one both times. It's another dinner with lots of food and wine and cheesy entertainment. I'm sure you could find a cheaper, better dinner but you would probably be alone and would miss out on seeing the Tuscan hills. I had a great time both times I did it.

-Space Electronic Disco- This one is really up to you. It will pretty much be just your group at this place with a couple of random, sleezy Italian guys trying to hit on the girls in your group. Drinks are expensive(you HAVE to buy two I think). I went both times but I wish I had not gone the second time.

-Mt.Stanserhorn(Lucerne)- Did this the first time and it was closed the second time due to weather. I highly recommend doing this optional. You will get plenty of great views from up on the mountain.

-Lake Lucerne Cruise(Lucerne)- This was not offered the first time. The second time it was and I chose not to do it, opting instead to check out the city. The people that did do this optional said it was nothing special.

-Nouvelle Eve Dinner and Show(Paris)- both times I went it was the Moulin Rouge that was offered. The first time I left the tour before Paris to do some traveling on my own. The second time I chose not to do it because it was 140 Euro or something ridiculous like that and not really my type of entertainment. The people who did go were split. Some said it was great, others wished they still had that 140 Euro. It depends on your budget and how badly you want to see such a show.


I hope this helps you out. Remember that you don't have to do an optional just because most of your group is doing it. The European Discovery is an excellent tour. You should have an absolute blast! I hope you get a group that is ready to have a good time. Let me know if there is any other advice you need about the tour.

Hi there!

I did this trip last winter and I have a website that reviews the whole trip along with the optionals and has other helpful tips, so you might want to check it out at:

www.lynseystravels.weebly.com

I took the Discovery tour last December so the excursions vary slightly for the winter. I did all of options, as did most people in our group. Everyone in our group became very close so we were all happy to do everything together.

The only one I wasn't crazy about was the guided tour of the forum and coliseum in Rome. There is soooo much to see in Rome, and so little time. Our guide talked waaay too much. By the time we finished in the coliseum we still wanted time to walk around and take pictures (the guide did a lot of standing around and talking) but felt like we had already spent so much time there and wanted to head out to see everything else. Unless you're a major history buff, I'd skip the guide and check it out on your own, at your own pace so you don't waste the day standing around.

The Moulin Rouge was the only other excursion everyone was split on. I did it and had a lot of fun. It's a great way to spend the last night with your tourmates. I'd say about half of our group did it (mostly girls). It is expensive but a staple of Paris. Afterward the whole group met up at a bar next door, so if you do skip the Moulin Rouge you'll still have a chance to spend the last night out with the group.

I would definetly do the guided tour of the forum and Colloseum in Rome. If you don't do it you have to wait in the long queue to get into the collosseum whereas when you are with the tour you get to skip the queue. I went in summer in June and the queue for the collosseum was almost around the collosseum...it was just way to long, you would have probably spend 3 hours in the queue (not joking). I found that I still had plenty of time in Rome as the last bus only leaves at 20h30 at night from the train station so after the collosseum I went to Vatican City, then St Peters Basilica, then St Peters square and then had lunch on the Spanish steps. Afterwards we stopped at Trevi's fountain and then did some shopping and had some yummy ice cream. I then did the cappuccini monks which was really scary and then the scala santa stairs (the ones that ***** walked up)and then finally we went to the Patheon and then for some dinner.

So basically there is plenty of time in Rome to see and do lots. Rome was my favourite place on contiki

quote:

Originally posted by Stubs2k:
Hey gang, I'm son heading out on the European Discovery tour for my first Contiki trip and have two questions regarding the optional excursions available on the tour:

1) At what point on the tour and with what method (cash, credit card) does one pay for the optional excursions?

2) Which of the optional excursions on the European Discovery tour are recommended and which are to be avoided?

Just came back from an European Discovery Tour...

1) Our TM gave us a list of all the optionals with pricing, and we get to check off what we wanted to do. She also gave us envelopes with the amount we owe a couple days later, so we can put cash in it before giving back to her. I guess it depends on your TM, we didn't have to pay her right away, some people on the tour didn't pay until almost @ the end of the tour. Also don't check off the optionals if you are not sure of doing, there is no refund once you pay. You can ask your TM if you can add on & pay them later.

2) Some of the people on the tour did everything off the optional list, and they had a great time on all.

Canal Cruise(Amsterdam)- fun. first night out with everybody, getting to know people. beer & wine is included...called it a booze cruise.
Wine Tasting(St.Goar)- only go if you enjoy white wine, that was all they offered for tasting...
City Bike Tour- fun. the tour covered a lot of grounds in munich that you otherwise wouldn't have seen on foot...
White Water Rafting(Austria) - didn't do...but people who went said it was a lot of fun...the water was freezing though.
Swarovski Crystal World(Austria) - didn't do...only went to the gift shop...
Gondola Ride(Venice)- a must do in venice
Venetian Dinner- fun, lots of food. pretty much a night out with the group...wine is included...
Guided Imperial Tour(Rome)- only go if you want to learn about the history of rome...otherwise you can pretty much do this on your own.
Souvenir Group Photo(Florence)- didn't do...
Tuscan Evening(Florence)- fun, lots of food. there were no decent restaurants around the hotel we stayed at, so some people joined us last minute.
Space Electronic Disco- didn't do...but heard it was a "young" crowd at the club...
Mt.Stanserhorn(Lucerne)- the weather wasn't too good when we went, so we couldn't see much...
Lake Lucerne Cruise(Lucerne)- didn't do...people who went said the night cruise was nothing special because it was dark when they went, and they couldn't really see the town at night. I think this might be better if you go on a summer tour.
Nouvelle Eve Dinner and Show(Paris)- didn't do...but people who went said it was really good...it depends if you want to spend 114 euro...

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

This is a question to anyone who has done the Guided Tour of Rome...is it worth while? I really want to see Vatican City and St. Peter's but I would like to see everything else too. Is there enough time to do it all?

quote:

Originally posted by Sarah:
This is a question to anyone who has done the Guided Tour of Rome...is it worth while? I really want to see Vatican City and St. Peter's but I would like to see everything else too. Is there enough time to do it all?

Yes, there is time to see all those things and more. I've done two tours that included Rome. On one tour, we got into the city early in the morning and did our guided tour. After that, our group headed over to the Vatican and then everyone kind of split up in there. Me and a some other people then went St. Peter's and then had lunch. So we did all that by about 14:00, leaving plenty of time to see more of Rome.

The other tour I went on went to the Vatican first thing in the morning and I think the guided tour was late morning/early afternoon. My friend and I chose to skip all that to sleep in and do some laundry and did not get into the city until late afternoon and we still saw all the stuff our tour mates did minus the Vatican, which we had both been to previously. We didn't mind skipping the guided tour because I had not been very impressed with it the last time.

If it is your first time in Rome, the guided tour is not a bad idea because you do get some history behind what you are seeing and you get to skip any lines there may be to get inside the Coliseum. However, if you are trying to save time and don't care as much about the history or going inside the Coliseum, you could skip the tour and you wouldn't really be missing much. Either way, you will have plenty of time on your full day in Rome to see the things you mentioned and more.