When you’re exploring new lands, you never really know what to expect. Despite all the pictures displaying the magic of lively cities or out-of-this-world landscapes, when you get there, your experience might be different. One thing that plays a key role in your experience is the tour company you go with. Contiki is one of the options available and since they’re such a popular company, travelers should know whether they’re legit or not. Otherwise, their experience may be different than what they imagined. Hopefully, you will gather a lot of useful information from this Contiki review.
So, what is Contiki? Is this a tour company that you can trust, or are the positive reviews they get just exaggerated? Since so many questions surround Contiki, we decided to help travelers by reviewing the company.
Contiki Review – What Is Contiki?
Contiki is a big tour company that takes people to locations across the continents. With so many young people wanting to travel but not being confident enough in doing so without help, Contiki decided to make traveling accessible for everyone. They are meant for those who are between 18 and 35 years old, and they are amazing at organizing trips to destinations that people have been dreaming of for a long time.
Contiki is experienced in this area, as it was founded back in 1962. You should also know that they’re from New Zealand, and even their name has something to do with the establishment country. Basically, ‘Con’ comes from ‘Continent’, while ‘tiki’ comes from the New Zealand Maori charm for good luck.
The tour company aims to help people when it comes to complicated travel aspects such as accommodation or transport. As such, young people can simply enjoy the experience and make wonderful memories without stressing themselves with the transport and accommodation. They also have more than 300 itineraries and 8 different tour types they can choose from.
How Does Contiki Work?
We found Contiki’s process very easy to follow and trouble-free.
The first thing you have to do is pick your destination. As mentioned, Contiki offers trips to a lot of places in the world. You can travel across Asia, Latin America, the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, Africa, and the Middle East. If your plan is to visit any of these places, you can rest assured that Contiki will make it possible.
Also, it’s important to note that all essentials are included in the price of your trip. Moreover, it doesn’t matter if you are a solo traveler, you travel with another person, or travel in a group.
Once you know where you want to go, you have to choose your travel style. Travelers are different, so what works for another person may not work for you. This is why Contiki offers different travel styles, which is great. If you choose the right one, then your experience can truly be an unforgettable one. You can either choose to visit only one region or visit multiple countries on the same trip.
Then, all that’s left for you is to get ready to experience new territories and learn more about other cultures.
Accommodation Services
As already mentioned, Contiki takes care of the accommodation for you. The choice will depend on where you’re going and what type of trip you decided upon. Sometimes, they will provide you with hostel or hotel stays, other times, they will have camping options ready for you, and so on. It’s even possible to get a mixture of accommodation styles, depending on where you’re going and the length of your trip, as well as how much you stay in one place.
However, don’t expect Contiki to put you in the most luxurious hotels. They do book two or three-star hotels, but even these can be amazing. According to travelers who used Contiki, the accommodation looks wonderful and exceeds expectations even if it’s not the five-star hotel you might be dreaming of. Furthermore, the options can be pretty cheap, so if you’re someone traveling on a budget, you will have nothing to worry about.
As for hostels, they are not different from the hotel options. The only thing to note is that you will have to share a room with other persons. Lastly, campsites make a wonderful option because they are not exactly located in the middle of nowhere to put you at risk. Usually, these campsites are owned by the company, and you will stay in shared cabins instead of tents. The site is staffed by Contiki employees too.
If you need intimacy and more comfort, you can ask for your own room in some places, but you will have to pay more to make this possible.
Overall, everything looks good regarding the accommodation, the only exception being the fact that the spots are not always in the city. In some tours, hotels, hostels, or campsites might be outside the city – in fact, quite far away from it. So, you cannot just leave the hotel whenever you want and explore the surroundings.
You should also keep in mind that, in some situations, the spots are even off public transportation routes. So, if you want to spend some time in the city, you’ll have to pay for a taxi. And this can be pretty expensive, depending on your destination.
What About the Food?
Food is one of the main concerns when going on a trip, especially when you’re visiting another country where you don’t know what to expect. Every country/region has its own cuisine, and the prices will also differ depending on the location. On top of that, eating at a restaurant every time is excluded. You’d spend too much on that, which is not convenient if you’re a budget traveler.
Luckily, Contiki has this part covered for you to an extent. The tour company includes daily breakfast. The only small downside is that you don’t receive a huge amount of food, but at least you’ll have something to eat that will keep you going until the next meal/snack. They offer cereal and pastries – so, if you’re okay with that, this shouldn’t be an issue. Some hotels might offer something else, such as eggs and bacon.
If the breakfast offered by the company is not enough for you, there might be an issue. You’ll have to pack some of your own food to make sure you don’t get too hungry until lunch.
Speaking of lunch – this meal is not provided by the company, so you’ll have to take of it yourself. When the tour is a high-paced one, you might have to eat at the time the bus stops. It’s usually way before you arrive at the next destination. If this isn’t the case, you’ll have to walk around looking for places to eat. The good thing about the latter is that you can at least choose your own eatery and order the type of food you like to eat.
Then, dinners are sometimes offered by Contiki, other times, they are included in the price of the accommodation. However, keep in mind that you might have to help with cooking sometimes or even with cleaning. What’s great is that the food is usually amazing, and you’ll be able to please your taste buds with different flavors in every place you go.
The Pace of the Trips
Although Contiki is a great option in many aspects, there are definitely some things that some travelers might not like. For instance, you will spend a lot of your trip on the bus, with rides being longer than 5 hours sometimes. You stop several times along the way to enter gas stations or some roadside stores, and you have time to stretch for a bit and buy something you may need.
When it comes to exploring certain places, the only disadvantage may be the fact that you don’t spend too much time in one city. Sure, you may not need a whole week to visit a single city, but one day is often not enough to find everything the place has to offer. This applies especially to large cities. You may only be able to see the tip of the iceberg.
Some individuals may not have an issue with this, but others might want more from the trip. Moreover, while you’ll be spending 1-2 days in big cities, a smaller town will give you even less time, respectively half day.
Wi-Fi Options
We live in the technology era, so you might want to know if you’ll benefit from Wi-Fi or not. This is necessary as it allows you to browse the Internet or connect to your loved ones. So, while you’re visiting another country, you may need Wi-Fi access to let your family or friends know you’re safe, or simply to search for cool places to visit in the area. Well, Wi-Fi can be purchased from the coach, although there is one big drawback: it’s very pricey.
Wi-Fi may also be available in a hotel you’re staying, but not all the time. It really depends on where you are in the world. You may find free Wi-Fi, but in certain areas, this is only available for a limited amount of time. Some hotels have no Wi-Fi whatsoever. So, it depends on where you are, and whether you may be willing to pay for Wi-Fi access if you truly need it.
What About the Prices?
The prices for Contiki tours vary a lot. It’s all based on the length of your trip, as well as the destination and travel style you picked. They can be as low as $400, while others can go up to several thousands of dollars. It is affordable compared to other options, but if you want a longer trip and more destinations to visit, expect the price to rise a lot.
Pros of Choosing Contiki
Contiki certainly has some benefits – otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people traveling with them. Here are some of the advantages you’d get by using this tour company.
- You Will Meet New People
The best thing about the company is that it allows you to meet new people and connect with them. Most of the time, there will be other individuals on the tour bus who want to visit the same destination. You will bond and, who knows, they may actually become your best friends for life. Not to mention that you may also go on other trips together in the future if you enjoyed your experience.
- Lots of Partying
Another great aspect is the fact that you’ll party a lot. Of course, that doesn’t mean you’ll have the type of parties that leave you drunk on the side of the road, but you can go to local clubs. The other travelers will join you and you can have a blast together. This also gives you the opportunity to see how locals are having fun and you may even learn something about the culture.
- You Will Go Through Less Trouble
Traveling without a tour company means you’ll have to take care of accommodation, transportation, and other aspects yourself. If you choose Contiki, they will handle all these things on your behalf, and you only have to bring your luggage and good mood.
Cons of Choosing Contiki
Contiki has several disadvantages as well. For instance, it doesn’t allow you to stay too much in one place, and you may end up missing a lot of nice things, particularly if you’re traveling to big cities.
Secondly, you spend way too much time on the bus, which can get boring quickly if you aren’t someone who likes socializing. It’s also uncomfortable to stay glued to the bus seat for so many hours.
You can read our review of a similar travel tours company called G Adventures here.
The Bottom Line
Contiki can be an amazing option depending on your needs, preferences, and your plans for the trip. It can be cheaper for shorter journeys, and pricier for longer ones that involve more destinations. Overall, if you simply want to explore some new regions without the burden of looking for accommodation or handling the transportation aspect, Contiki can be a good choice. We hope this Contiki review provided you with some valuable information.
