Frequently Asked Questions

The best advice I can give is: pack light. I was raised by a woman who doesn't have the phrase "pack light" in her vocabulary, so this was difficult for me, but I was somewhat successful and still hated my suitcase after the first day. Then I had to drag it around for another 2 weeks.

Some have said to pack your suitcase then take half out, depending on how you pack this might work. Either way, make sure there is plenty of extra room for stuff you will acquire on your trip. Someone also recommended to me rolling and rubber banding clothes, which I did, and it worked for me. I think it helped keep my clothes less wrinkled and made it easier to manage my clothes during my trip.

If you're concerned about the weather, check out the weather underground, I liked their site when I was getting ready for my trip. But there are plenty of other sites out there too. I went in early May and it was cold in London and hot in Rome and everything between that.

Clothes: I recommend having enough clothes to last you from 2 night stop to 2 night stop, as it's tough to dry anything during 1 night stops. I'm generalizing since people taking similar tours might be reading this. If you're taking one of the shorter tours; European Magic, European Horizon, European Discovery, European Encounter you can fit enough clothes in your suitcase (depending on the suitcase) to last the whole trip, though that may not be the best way to go since you have to drag it around for 2 weeks. As for dressy/ going out clothes. My tour didn't get dressed up all that often, really just the night in Florence and in Paris for the Moulin Rouge. For girls one pair of dressy pants and/or a skirt would be fine, and about 2 or 3 dressier shirts should be enough. Guys would be find with a nice pair of pants and nice shirt, ties aren't necessary, for the dressier nights. Shoes: make sure you have at least one pair of comfortable shoes, for almost everyone that is sneakers, since you will be doing a lot of walking and spending time in your shoes. Also bring a pair of dressier shoes and one or two other pairs that you're sure you'll wear. Also bring a nicer sweater or pashmina and purse for going out. Oh, and a comfy pair of pants to wear on the long bus days, I wish I had had them.

Medication/Vitamins: Make sure you bring enough of any prescriptions that you take for the trip. You might also want to consider taking an extra copy of your prescription and a letter from your doctor incase you are asked about any of it when crossing borders. Make sure you travel with prescriptions in their original container so you don't get arrested. It's also a good idea to take a multivitamin before and during your trip to ward of colds and the contiki cough. Also consider bringing cold medicine from home, if you do get sick it's tough to find something in a country with a different language.

Packing for the day: I usually took my backpack on the bus with "bus stuff" in it. When I got off the bus I took a satchel type of purse (it's made to cross the body but sit in front of you, the one I had was made by Samsonite), my wallet and camera fit in it along with a few other things I might need during the day. It was much easier to keep track of then a backpack and a lot lighter.

Misc Items:

Alarm clock (battery powered is best since they use different voltages in Europe and your clock may run slow, which isn't very helpful if you're using it to help you wake up.

Stuff for the bus; MP3 player/CD Player, cards, book, magazine, travel pillow, candy and snacks

Travel Journal so you can keep track of everything you have done, it's also means you'll have a pen and paper around.

Antibacterial gel/ hand wipes, toilet paper - you never know where you'll end up using a bathroom!

Money:

I spent quite a bit of money while on my trip so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on spending money, but I'll try to give some guidance and tips on how and where to save and get it.

I spent an average of about $100 US a day, soup to nuts. That includes my tips, and I tipped a little bit more than recommended. I did just about every optional (I did Moulin Rouge with a couple girls on our own), purchased a watch in Switzerland and jewelry in Swarovski, along with a bunch of tacky souvenirs.

I didn't really watch my money that closely, but probably could have spent less if I had, keep in mind I did make a couple bigger purchases. I also ate some not so cheap meals, I spent between 3 and 15 euros on meals, and even got the infamous 5 euro soda once or twice. Always check the drink prices on the menu (especially in Italy) as wine, beer and bottled water are often cheaper then soda. In some cities for lunch you can go to bakeries and get good sandwiches inexpensively.

I kept most of my money in my money belt, and around a 100 euros in my wallet and/or pocket. I used a satchel type purse that fit my wallet, sunglasses, and camera when we were off the bus and in a city.

I usually advise against bringing travelers cheques because they can be a pain to exchange. When you only have a couple hours in a city do you really want to spend time running around to find a place to exchange travelers cheques? Another option to consider is the American Express Travelers Cheque Card or Travelex's Cash Passport. Both work like an ATM card but have the protection of Travelers Cheques. In the US I believe you can purchase the Cash Passport through AAA's travel department and from other countries I believe you can purchase it directly through Travelex.

As for exchanging money there are a couple options, I only really know the US, though some applies to any country. Some banks will exchange money for you, though generally only big chains and you have to order it at a main office. Another option is going to American Express Travel office or a Travelex office. American Express charged $3 for each currency you exchange. You should be able to find one or the other in any major city. I exchanged money before I left because I liked knowing I had one less thing I had to worry about when I got there.

Or you could wait till you get to Europe, there were plenty of American Express and Travelex booths in Heathrow. I believe you can order money through American Express and pick up at Heathrow, without having to pay a fee. There is also a Travelex at Russell Square that you can't miss. You can also exchange money on the ferry with no fees. Conventional wisdom from every source that I read says you get the best rates from ATM machines. They are pretty easy to find, so that is another option. I took advantage of this for the most part and it worked well for me.

Optionals:

Amsterdam Canal Cruise: I liked it and it was a good opportunity to get to know people at the beginning of the tour. The woman who did it was very energetic and told us some interesting stuff about Amsterdam, though I missed most of it since I was talking to people. You got some free drinks too. It also had one of the strangest bathrooms I encountered during the whole trip.

Amsterdam Cultural Show: This one is not on the official list but seems to be offered on most tours. It was a interesting, and I don't regret doing it. I personally see it as a onceish in a lifetime experience, don't know why you wouldn't, if just out of curiosity. But if it's not your thing, it's not your thing - don't do it. I think only about a third of my tour went, but we had fun and have memories to last a lifetime, some of us even more memories then others.

Wine tasting: I had a great time, the wine glass we got to keep was more like a shot glass though. I got a couple bottles of wine to bring home too. There's nothing else to do in St. Goar anyway.

Gondola ride: It rained and all but 10 skipped it. It really wasn't too bad in the rain, and my umbrella kept 2 of us pretty dry, probably dryer than if we were walking around Venice in the rain. It's Venice, how do you not do a Gondola ride?

Venice dinner: I didn't think it was very good, I only did it as a last minute thing as the plan for the day was screwed up by rain. I originally wasn't impressed by the menu, and should have stuck with my gut instinct. The entertainment was just ok. About half my tour did this and the other half seemed to have a better experience exploring Venice. The vegetarians thought the dinner was disgusting.

Vatican Tour: It was good; however, I'm not really into art, it's cool to look at, but I don't need much details. The tour was quite detailed, and between my limited interest and being tired it was too much, I ended up tuning out the woman most of the time. The ear thing was also really painful. I would say this is a must for art people and a maybe for non-art people.

Florence dinner: Excellent!!!! The food was good and kept coming and plenty of wine.

Space: I didn't go as I'm not much of a disco person and was going to hang out at the bar with a bunch of people, unfortunately when we got back the hotel the bar was closed and I kind of wished I had gone. Those who went had a good time, though it sounded like it was because of the people on the tour that were there that made it fun.

Lucerne Lake Cruise: It was ok, nothing to write home about, had nice views and cheap drinks.

Mt. Stanserhorn: Awesome view!!! I think I got my best pictures of the tour from there. It was the only place we got to see snow. It had been cloudy that morning when we went so I wasn't sure how good the views would be, but they ended up being pretty good since it was clearer on the other side of the mountain. We were also above the clouds so it was bright and sunny up top.

Eiffel tower: Even the people afraid of heights went on it.

Paris museum card: A good deal if you want to go to 3 or more museums (most people did the Louvre and Arc De Triumph and maybe some other one), plus you skip the lines. Otherwise it's a waste. It's tough (but not impossible) to do 3 in a day and Notre Dame isn't included, I think the church is free anyway but there was admission to a tower or something, that wasn't included with the card.

Moulin Rouge: It was weird but cool. Nice costumes and dancing, if you've seen a show like this before it might not be worth it. Glad I did it though, but don't need to see it again. I didn't do it as an optional I got together with Kamala and got tickets to the 11 pm show for 87 euros, it included a half bottle of champagne. The people who paid 130 euros got dinner, I hear the food was ok, but the service sucked. If you can get a group together beforehand it's worth trying to arrange something on your own to save some money.

The group picture: I'm glad I got it, but was kind of annoyed with Contiki. It was raining so we couldn't take it at the normal place in Florence, we ended up taking it at the bar at the Tuscan dinner. The picture came out good, but with all the cool places we had been to we took a picture at a bar that could have been anywhere in the world, basically it had no character and it didn't have to be like that. I blame that on Contiki.

The Coach:

Some days on the coach are long, the worst was Lucerne to Paris, but I think that was the only day that people actually complained about it. I think we spend 9 hours on the road. But some days were short too, like 2 or 3 hours. But the coach stops every 2 and a half to 3 hours either for a break or lunch. The time on the coach is good for sleeping, updating your journal, reading a book or magazines, listening to music, talking to people, or playing games. I must admit, I kinda missed the coach on our non-coach days and after the tour.

Getting to Hotel/ Contiki Basement:

From Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, or 3 take the Piccadilly Line of the Underground to Russell Square. When you get out of the station make a left and go about two blocks to Russell Square. If you want to go to the Imperial Hotel make a left and go another 2 blocks. If you want the Royal National or the Contiki Basement make a right, it's a block or so down. If your flight comes into Heathrow's Terminal 4 you will have to take a shuttle to the underground due to construction that will be going on into 2006. There are other ways to get to Russell Square, this is possibly the easiest. Heathrow's website has lots of info on getting to and from the airport, and currency exchange too. Caution, Taxis are very expensive, expect to pay at least $60, which is a conservative estimate.

If you plan on spending the day touring the city you can get a day pass for the underground, if not get a one way. I believe I paid 6 pounds for an unlimited off peak pass.

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