Contiki - Europe

by Rebecca Balsamo

This was not to be my first, second or even third contiki tour but numbers four and five. The tour I choose to do was the 17 day Time out London to Athens tour. I went into this European tour a lot more relaxed than last time as I knew what to expect in most cities and was not rushed to see everything. The tour manager and driver where amazing. The tour manager was Australian,friendly and went out of her way to make sure we knew everything about each city and that we were all having a good time. She also made sure that she joined in on night activities to a certain extent.

One of the many amazing highlights of this tour was the fact that on our second night in Paris there was a music festival. So instead of going to a Parisian cabaret show we all sat under the Eiffel Tower listening to jazz music and dancing to 12 am.

This had to be the best night as it was the longest day of the year, the sun did not set till way after 10 and the weather was extremely good.

Another highlight was being in Italy. All of Italy is amazing and it is hard to pick a spot that stands out, but I would say one of my favourite little towns would be Orvietto and my favourite city is Venice. Being able to spend time at Pompeii was also a highlight. Having Italian heritage made it that much more exciting to see ruins and understand where the culture in my family comes from.

Another highlight of the tour was finally being able to see the Acropolis in Athens. This is an amazing site especially when the preferred Contiki hotel looks right at the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus.

To finish of this amazing summer holiday I decided to do a Greek Island cruise and booked this also through Contiki. The cruise ship was the Royal Olympic Countess and it was amazing. The ports we visited included Mykonos, Kusadasi, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete and Santorini. Rhodes was an amazing island. Just the atmosphere of the place combined with the very British feel that the island still has made it a very enjoyable day.

Visiting Crete was a highlight as I was finally able to visit the Palace of Knossos which had always been a dream. Santorini, well the most amazing sites I have every seen are all on this island. From Oia with its blue domed churches to Fira with its amazing cliff top restaurants and cafes is an island that has to be seen to be believed.

If I had it to do all again there is nothing I would change apart from a bad choice in choosing the optional mountain bike ride in Austria. Contiki have some amazing tours and amazing tour managers and are worth the on the go style of travel that you encounter.