A Contiki bus can hold 50 people plus the driver and tour guide, so I guess that is the maximum number on any one tour. Contiki seems to be very popular so I expect that most of the buses are pretty much full most of the time, especially around July/August time. I reckon the more people the better though on a tour like this.... our bus had only one seat free an that was fine by me. You will meet people from other tours in the campsites along the route too. We had one or two other Contiki buses for company at quite a few of our overnight stops.
You can choose the level of accommodation on Contiki tours in Europe depending on your budget, but the European Experience is a 'concept' tour which means the accommodation is mostly in 'Contiki Villages' at local campsites. These villages are basically a group of small cabins which take between two and four people, and there is normally a big tent set up nearby to house the cooking and dining facilities. The cabins are pretty basic, and some come with their own bathroom while others don't. But you don't spend much time in them anyway and they are perfectly adequate for a tour like this. Most of the campsites are very good and have their own bar, a shop, and possibly even a swimming pool.
Most of the optionals are worth doing, especially the ones like white water rafting and parapenting if you've never done them before. They give you much more of a chance to get to know the other people on the tour and are pretty good value. Below is a full list of the optionals on the 'European Experience' tour, along with approximate costs and my own opinion on whether they are worth it or not:
Optional
|
Place
|
Euros |
UK£
|
US$
|
AU$
|
Was it worth it?
|
Nouvelle Eve Cabaret |
Paris
|
50.00
|
31.00
|
45.00
|
87.50
|
Yes, a good night out and a bit of Champagne thrown in **** |
'Pub St. Germain' Meal |
Paris
|
25.00
|
15.50
|
22.50
|
43.75
|
Nice place and the food and wine were OK *** |
'Vecchia Firenze' Tuscan Meal |
Florence
|
20.00
|
12.40
|
18.00
|
35.00
|
OK, but nothing special *** |
Group Photograph |
Florence
|
9.00
|
5.60
|
8.10
|
15.75
|
Ours was good - beautiful view in background **** |
Space Electronic Discoteca |
Florence
|
8.00
|
5.00
|
7.20
|
14.00
|
A good club and a fun night **** |
Guided Imperial Tour |
Rome
|
14.00
|
8.70
|
12.60
|
24.5
|
Worth it just to see the Colosseum **** |
Gondola Ride |
Venice
|
18.00
|
11.20
|
16.20
|
31.50
|
You have to do this when you're in Venice *** |
Tour T-shirt |
-
|
15.00
|
9.30
|
13.50
|
26.25
|
Will you ever wear it again after the tour? ** |
White Water Rafting |
Austria
|
35.00
|
21.70
|
31.50
|
61.25
|
Definitely the best of the optionals - great fun ***** |
Mountain Biking |
Austria
|
25.00
|
15.50
|
22.50
|
43.75
|
Beautiful scenery, good fun and good exercise! **** |
Parapenting |
Austria
|
90.00
|
55.80
|
81.00
|
157.50
|
less than 10 mins in the air, but still a great buzz **** |
Swarovski Crystal Museum |
Austria
|
5.00
|
3.10
|
4.50
|
8.75
|
Cheap, but still a waste of time * |
Jungfraujoch Railway |
Switzerland
|
76.00
|
47.10
|
68.40
|
133.00
|
On a good day it is stunning, but in bad weather no **** |
Wine Tasting |
St.
Goar
|
6.00
|
3.70
|
5.40
|
10.50
|
If you like Riesling wine it's worth doing *** |
Sex Show |
Amsterdam
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Contiki don't like to advertise this one, but it's good for a laugh! *** |
Canal Bike Tour |
Amsterdam
|
11.00
|
6.80
|
9.90
|
19.25
|
Can't comment - rain stopped play!! |
'Tai Hu' Indonesian Restaurant |
Amsterdam
|
20.00
|
12.40
|
18.00
|
35.00
|
Last night out so you have to go... the food is OK too *** |
Accommodation
|
Location
|
Address
|
Bar
|
Pool
|
Shop
|
Laundry
|
Royal National Hotel |
London
|
Bedford Way, London WC1, United Kingdom |
Y
|
N
|
Nearby
|
Y
|
Camping Du Tremblay |
Paris
|
94507 Champigny-sur-Marne, Paris, France |
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
N
|
Chateau Du Cruix |
Thieze
|
Thieze 69620, Le Bois D'Oignt, France |
Y
|
Y
|
N
|
N
|
Hotellerie De Plein Air 'Le Mistral' |
Antibes
|
1780 Route de la Mer, 06410 Biot, France |
Y
|
N
|
N
|
?
|
Camping Internazionale |
Florence
|
Via Cristosaro Bottai 2, Impruneta, Florence, Italy |
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Seven Hills Camping |
Rome
|
Via Cassia 1216, 00189 Rome, Italy |
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Y
|
Camping Fusina |
Venice
|
Via Moranzani, 77 Bis, 30030 Fusina, Venice, Italy |
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
?
|
Gasthof Schoneck |
Hopfgarten
|
A-6361 Hopfgarten, Nord Tirol, Austria |
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Parkhotel Schwabing |
Munich
|
Domagkstrasse 26, 80807 Munich, Germany |
Y
|
N
|
N
|
?
|
Camping SCCV Jungfrau |
Lauterbrunnen
|
CH-3822 Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland |
Y
|
N
|
Y
|
?
|
Hotel Rheinterrasse |
Koblenz
|
Koblenzer Strasse 16-18, 56321 Rhens/Rhein, Germany |
Y
|
N
|
N
|
N
|
Inner Amsterdam Hostel |
Amsterdam
|
Wanningstraat 1, 1071 Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
Y
|
N
|
N
|
?
|