So in about a week and a half I’m heading off to London and Europe. I’m going to be spending 9 days in London – 4 before, and 5 after, with my Contiki European Highlights trip in between!
I was thinking about life and stuff, and realised that this is pretty much it. Being in my third year at University, with one year left, I would soon be out in the working world. I don’t want that. And so I decided at the end of last year that I really wanted to make my dream trip to Europe actually happen – one day on campus I went and got a Contiki Europe 2013-2014 Brochure. I’d heard about them before, but didn’t know too much about them and the tours they offered. I read this brochure from cover to cover many times. Then I made a list of the places that were “non-negotiable” for me to see. It was really only London, Paris and Rome that my heart was completely set on, so that didn’t make it much easier to narrow down the extensive options that are available. I knew I had just less than a month for my trip in total. I also knew that I wanted to see as much of Europe as possible as I don’t know when I will get to return. So that cancelled out the “in-depth” tours for me as these focus mainly on one country.
I needed to choose what kind of tour I wanted to do – camping, concept (mixture of hostels, hotels etc), and time out (hotels). I knew I didn’t want to do camping as I didn’t really want to set up tents and I’m not really a camping kind of person. I was torn between the concept and time-out option. And then I saw that with the Concept tours you get a chance to stay in a real Chateau in the wine region. I was sold. It was at this point that I also decided I would go alone.
So now I had decided which type of tour to do, it made my options less. I looked through a couple and decided on the European Highlights tour – a 14 day trip around Europe, visiting 8 countries (France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, Austria (in transit), Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium (in transit). I’d get to stay in a variety of accommodation (including the Chateau) and get to see many of the major sites of Europe, and visit 11 World Heritage Sites. I’ll post the detailed itinerary separately.
The tour was within my budget, ticked all my boxes and I’d have enough time to spend a couple of days in London too! Needless to say, I very quickly became obsessed. After looking at my university time table, I decided on the best date. And then Contiki told me that the date I wanted was already full. Panic. Devastation. Luckily there was a tour leaving the next day, so that worked well. Then I realised that if I took that departure date, I might not get to go into the Vatican and see the Sistine Chapel as we’d be in Rome on a Sunday. That wasn’t ideal. I booked it anyway, and kept an eye on the Contiki website departure calendar. The second that the date I wanted opened up I phoned Contiki and changed my departure date. Success! Let the 100-something day countdown begin.
Once the deposit had been paid, and my place on the tour reserved, I was the happiest person alive. And then the panic set in. Was I COMPLETELY insane?? How the heck did I think that going to Europe BY MYSELF for 3 weeks was a good idea? And then I looked at my brochure again, and began saving every picture of the EiffelTower I could get my hands on. This was real.
Over the next few weeks I booked flights, looked up everything I could about getting my visas and read every travel blog I could find. Travel blogs are incredible. The ones about Contiki made me so incredibly excited. And now, six months down the line, here I am. Almost on to the single digit countdown. About to go exchange my money. Making packing lists. Budgeting. And still reading every travel blog I can find.
It looks like my Contiki group is also incredibly awesome. So far we have 27 people (and me) signed in to the Meet-Up on the Contiki site. It will be a full tour of about 50 people. Everyone seems really excited, and those that I have spoken to so far all seem really cool. Can’t wait to meet all these new people!
Love,
The I’m-So-Glad-I-Planned-This Eager-Beaver Traveler
x
Megan's Travel Adventure 
Jun 13, 2013 @ 12:13:19
While traveling in Scotland, I met a few Australian girls who were leaving for a Contiki trip for 37 days; they absolutely loved it! It’s an incredible opportunity. Have so much fun!
Jun 15, 2013 @ 16:58:29
Thank you so much. I’m so excited!
Dec 30, 2013 @ 21:10:47
Hi Megan 🙂
I’m planning to do the European Highlights tour in June 2014 . I just wanted to know how long in advance you applied for your Visa? And do they require any documents from Contiki for the application.
Any other info that you feel is important will definitely be appreciated 🙂
Thanks
Jan 02, 2014 @ 23:07:14
Hi Jade! How cool, you must be so excited! Okay so you can only apply for your visa like 90 days before departure (I think it’s 90 days). I would seriously advise doing it as close as you can to that earliest date because you don’t know how long it could take. The visas can take up to 6 weeks each to process (I got mine in less than a week each time), and if you’re applying for both a UK and Schengen Visa then its better not to leave yourself any room for silly stress. You need to do the UK one first before the Schengen one though.
The documents you include are totally up to you, and double check according to the guidelines they supply you with on the websites. I did include my Contiki documents in both applications though. I included my invoice for the tour showing it was paid in full as well as the itinerary for the tour which I printed off the website (not sure if it still has that option). I also included the hotel list which I emailed Contiki for in advance.
You obviously need that for the Schengen visa because its proof of what you’re doing there in that time, as well as showing your accommodation. I included it in my UK visa application because I was returning to London after and so I wanted to show where I was in between.
I always say rather have too much than too little though, but if you work according to their guidelines you should be fine! Just remember that they mainly want to see you have enough to look after yourself while you’re there (accommodation and food) and that you’re not planning on staying forever! Haha.
Hope that helps and good luck! Enjoy the planning and your trip 🙂
Megs