Contiki tours

Ive been thinking about doing a big trip through Europe next year and van tour seems the obvious way to go, Ive got friends that have done it and had the best time of their lives on the road for 3 months, the storys and photos are amazing!
The pros are that you can go where you want when you want and you can pick who you go with but the cons for me are, petrol (my mates spent over £1000 on their trip in petrol alone!) and hassles if the van breaks down in a country where you may find it impossibe to find a part for your 1977 Skoda mini bus! also the price, you want at least £3000 for a trip that long if ya want to go all out..(the peopel I know all had about that much)

I also know a few people who have done a Contiki tour, 36 days through 16 countries, your cost (from about £1500) includes transport, most meals and some excursions, it seems like a hasle free way of getting around, if the bus breaks down theyll send another to pick you up!

the thing I dont like is if I really like a place and want to stay longer but have to move on..

what does everyone think about those two options?

btw, I get 23 days holiday a year so I could do a contiki and still have a few days left over.

Richy dude, the answer is simple - BusAbout!

BusAbout is the best of both worlds, its a series of tourist buses linking all the major cities of europe, they always pull up right in the hostel/budget accom parts of town, but you decide when you get on and off, how long you stay, etc. No itineary like Contiki, just your own decisions about what you want to do.

And of course, they'll fix the buses if they break down!

Yeah Ive heard about that man, looks good..

Im gona do some serious investigation and look at all the above options.

Poeple i know that have done Contiki said it was good, but having a set schedule got on their nerves after a while!

BusAbout is def the way to go if you can't
do a van tour!

yeah I had a greeat time on Contiki - but wouldn't recommend it, if that makes sense.

ok for seeing a lot of things, to know where you want to go back to, but you soon find out its not the cheapest way to do things. They take you to all these places (shops, restuarants etc...) you normally wouldn't want to go (and which are not the cheapest) because they get a sly commision...

Me and Stu are planning to do Busabout in a few months

hell yes, just been checking out busabout..

www.busabout.com

looks like the way to go, you can get a 6 week pass for £430.00
(under 26)

the coaches are really nice and they have expeienced guides to give you information on what to do and see etc..

Im sold.

for some reason I thought that they had real crappy vans or something

theyre having a open evening on July 1st in Vauxhal..

Where abouts in Vauxhall, Richy? Thats just up the road from my place...

Might pop along

yea bus about or top decks .... never contiki .. i here they are so stick on where and times etc .

top deck tour i just did was sooooooooo good ... as they have a chef on every tour , and you get all meals cooked for etc . so its great .

I did busabout and it was wicked.. you can stay however long you like or hop on a train and go to places you want to visit that aren't on the busabout route. Then when you're finished you just get back on the busabout buses again.

I don't recommend Contiki if you like doing things on your own. You'll see what I mean when you start travelling on your own or on busabout. The demeanour of Contiki groups is very different and they stick together a lot, it's kinda embarrassing to be mistaken for being associated with them.