I’ve always dreamed of that big European tour, like most people! I wanted to see Paris, Rome, London, Amsterdam, Venice, Zurich, Barcelona, you name it! The hot spots! I wanted to see them all.

I did the whole backpacking thing, and it was good, but to be honest, that extra forty pounds on your back, the planning point to point, the hassle of train schedules, not knowing all the foreign languages, well, it was a bit much! By the time I was done, yes, I had seen a lot, but I needed a vacation from my vacation.

Then I went on a CONTIKI tour. It was a breath of fresh air. There it was, everything I wanted, all in one place. You get to see all the major sights, have travel taken care of with brand new air conditioned buses, have 40 new friends along for the ride, and get some insight into the cities with your resourceful guide. AND, I didn’t have to freak out about the difficult languages!

Then I found out that solo travel is in fact more expensive than taking a Contiki tour. Solo travel in Europe (based on 20 days with transportation, meals, accommodation, etc) ends up being between $131-$148 dollars a day. And that’s staying in hostels. Whereas, on Contiki, the same costs $118 per day!!!!!!!! And you get to stay in hotels and special Contiki villages!!!!!!!!!!

On top of it all, they offered all these extra options like canal cruises, white water rafting, cabaret shows, and so much more! These are things I wouldn’t have even considered doing on solo travels!

All in all, CONTIKI was one of the best experiences of my life!