I chose this tour because it had plenty of two night stops..... essential when you're on Contiki if you want to stand any chance of remaining sane!  The itinerary actually turned out to be very good, even if it was a bit rushed and hectic.  And as a value-added extra we got to see some of Europe's loveliest roadside service stations!! 
The itinerary below is the official Contiki version...... you can go to the tour diary to see the story of what really happened!  And there is some more info on the tour at the bottom of this page.
Day 1 - London to Paris.   A warm welcome from your Contiki crew as we head for the White Cliffs of Dover and the Channel crossing to Calais, France. Past World War I battlefields to the splendour of Paris. What better way to begin than with an evening tour of the city illuminations. Contiki Village (Dinner)
Day 2 - Paris.  On our included sightseeing tour we visit Nôtre Dame, view the Champs Elysées, the Arc Du Triomphe, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. There's time to shop, stroll along the Seine or just relax at a sidewalk café. Tonight, why not experience a famous Parisian cabaret. Contiki Village (Breakfast)
Day 3 - Paris to Beaujolais Wine Region.  We travel south and stop at Fontainebleau to see the magnificient Château. Then to the Beaujolais vineyards near Lyon and two nights in Contiki's exclusive Château de Cruix. Contiki Special Stopover (B, D)
Day 4 - Beaujolais Wine Region.  Drink in the atmosphere, enjoy our included picnic lunch and explore the French countryside - the choice is yours. Contiki Special Stopover (Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner)
Day 5 - Beaujolais Wine Region to Antibes.  Our route today takes us south along the Autoroute du Soleil to the Côte d'Azur. Make the most of this splendid region and visit Cannes before trying your luck in the Monte Carlo casino. Contiki Village (B, D)
Day 6 - Antibes to Florence.  First visit a French perfumery, then into Italy to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa before arriving in the most fabulous of Renaissance cities, Florence. Contiki Village (B, D)
Day 7 - Florence.  Begin with our included walking tour to see the Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo and Santa Croce. Time is yours to shop for leather, gold and silver, visit the many galleries, or stroll along the River Arno. This evening, an opportunity to enjoy the colourful Florentine nightlife. Contiki Village (B)
Day 8 - Florence to Rome.  All roads lead to Rome and our Contiki Village. This afternoon why not discover the ancient ruins of Rome with a local guide. Later, a walking tour of this ancient city will include the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia, Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Contiki Village (B)
Day 9 - Rome.  Today, take your chance to explore Rome. Leisurely discover the secrets of the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel or simply wander the streets and soak up the atmosphere. Perhaps a barbeque tonight and a party in the local disco. Contiki Village (B, D)
Day 10 - Rome to Venice.  Travelling north we pass by medieval hillside villages. Then across the rugged Appennine Mountains for the Byzantine city of Venice. Contiki Village (B, D)
Day 11 - Venice.  Our complimentary motor boat takes you to St. Mark's Square, the Doges' Palace and Bridge of Sighs. See glass and lace making demonstrations, wander the fascinating canal side streets and why not treat yourself to a gondola ride. Contiki Village (B, D)
Day 12 - Venice - Hopfgarten.  Today we travel over the spectacular Brenner Pass. Perhaps an opportunity to go white water rafting on our way to Contiki's own Gasthof set amidst the magnificent Austrian mountains. Contiki Special Stopover (B, D)
Day 13 - Austrian Tyrol.  The picture-postcard village of Hopfgarten is an excellent base to make the most of the beautiful countryside and experience a vast range of outdoor activities: walking, cycling or parapenting. Contiki Special Stopover (B, D)
Day 14 - Hopfgarten to Munich.  On to Munich, the lively Bavarian capital. Our orientation tour includes the town centre with its historic Glockenspiel and excellent shops. Tonight, why not experience typical German fare in a Bavarian beer hall. Hotel (B)

Day 15 - Munich to Lauterbrunnen.  Leaving Germany, we stop in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein before travelling onto lakeside Lucerne. A chance to see the Lion Monument before shopping for local souvenirs. We spend a relaxing evening at our cosy Alpine chalet in Lauterbrunnen. Contiki Special Stopover (B,D)
Day 16 - Lauterbrunnen, Swiss Alps.  A spectacular day where you can choose to hike the many trails or enjoy a trip up the snow-covered Jungfrau mountain on a cog railway that passes through the Eiger mountain! Contiki Special Stopover (B,D)

Day 17 - Lauterbrunnen to Rhine Valley.  Heading north we leave Switzerland and enter Germany for Heidelberg and an orientation tour of this university city on the Neckar River. Then on to our hotel in the Rhine Valley. Hotel (B,D)
Day 18 - Rhine Valley to Amsterdam.  Today we cross the Dutch border making our way to Amsterdam. Visit a cheese farm and see how clogs are made on our afternoon orientation tour. Cycle through the countryside and explore the fishing and cheese village of Edam. Contiki’s centrally located hotel is home for our last two nights. Contiki Special Stopover (B,D)
Day 19 - Amsterdam.  After a diamond exhibition, why not take a canal bike ride to explore Amsterdam further, perhaps visiting Anne Frank’s house. Tonight, an opportunity to get together for our final night out. Contiki Special Stopover (B)
Day 20 - Amsterdam to London.  Travelling south through the Belgian Countryside to Calais we catch the ferry back to Dover reaching London early evening. (B)
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I've added some more information about Contiki's 'European Experience' tour below.  It is in a 'questions and answers' format and the answers are my opinions based on the tour that I went on.  Every tour is unique though - good weather helps of course and more than anything else it is the people you end up travelling with that make or break your trip!
How many people are there on each tour?

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.

Australia seems to be pretty heavily represented on Contiki tours judging by the two I have done, with a few New Zealanders, South Africans, Canadians and Americans to make up the numbers.  Unsurprisingly there don't seem to be many Europeans travelling on these tours in Europe!  Contiki is represented in over 35 countries though, so you could also be meeting people from places like Brazil, Mexico, Singapore and Japan.  Almost everyone who travels with Contiki is between 18-35 of course, although they do allow a bit of leeway sometimes if you are sufficienlty young at heart!  In my experience though most people are under 30, and the majority are probably in the 20-26 age range or something like that.
And what sort of mix of nationalities and ages?
Are the buses comfortable?
As much as you can expect on long journeys of up to 5 or 6 hours! The buses are of a pretty high standard though and perfectly comfortable enough even when full. There is a toilet on board (use not encouraged!), reclining seats, and a decent enough sound system too. You can even hang your towels and laundry from the overhead storage compartments if you like, but I don't think that's encouraged either!
What is the accommodation like?

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.

On a few nights you get treated to a slightly better class of accommodation, like the Chateau du Cruix near Lyon, or a hotel in Munich. If you want the hotel treatment every night though you will have to fork out a bit of extra cash for one of Contiki's 'superior/time-out' tours. If you like your home comforts then you might get sick of staying in campsites all the time, especially on the longer tours. But I think most people feel that the campsites are more fun and add something to the travelling experience!
Most people choose to share accommodation with others on the tour, this way it's cheaper and more fun (generally more fun that is unless you get stuck with the wrong people!) A room list is passed around the bus every day, so you can stick with the same room-mates every night or mix it around if you choose to. Single sex though unless you get lucky!
Can't say I'm much of a food connoisseur so my opinion might not count for too much! I'm happy with meat and potatoes! In general there didn't seem to be too much wrong with the food we had, except there wasn't a huge variety. Chicken seemed to feature quite a lot for dinner (or was that just my imagination?) and breakfast was the same most days, but you can't expect too much variety on a camping tour I guess. You are expected to help out with the cooking and washing up to a certain extent, but this is no big deal and helps you to get to know other people over the first few days. The tour manager will split the group into teams of 'cookies' and 'dishies' and everyone takes their turn.
How about the food?
The optional meals at local restaurants were worth it more from the social point of view (and the wine) than the quality of the food, but that isn't to say the food was bad. Everyone has different tastes of course so some people will like the food while others will hate it!
How much should I pack in my luggage?
Less than you think you will need is pretty good advice. You will almost certainly not wear half the clothes you bring, and may even end up buying new clothes as you travel around. Your backpack or suitcase has to weigh less than 20kg before Contiki will let you on the bus, and you will no doubt be buying plenty of souvenirs along the way too, so the more spare room in your luggage the better! Most of the time you will obviously be in relaxed clothes, but you will need something a bit smarter for going out at night of course.
How much money will I need... and which currencies?
How much money you spend will obviously depend on your budget and your choice of optional extras.... as well as your penchant for alcohol and tacky souvenirs! It is difficult to put a figure on it, but I ended up spending about £1200 on top of the cost of the tour over the 20 days. That works out at £60 per day which is about US$90 or A$170. You could obviously get away with spending less than that, or more if you wanted of course! But bear in mind that Europe isn't cheap at all (especially the big cities like London, Paris and Rome) and you'll probably end up spending more than you planned on.
The currency situation in Europe is about to become a lot easier from the start of 2002 with the introduction of Euro notes and coins. At the moment seven different currencies are needed for the 20 day trip, but that will soon be only three... British Pounds, Euros and Swiss Francs. At the start of the tour in London Contiki offers everyone the chance to purchase 'currency packs' that contain a small amount of each currency you will need. I don't know whether this will be neccessary in a few months time, but for now it is a good way to make sure you have a little bit of cash each time you enter a new country.

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:

How much do the optional extras cost... and are they worth it?
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 ***
In my experience on the two Contiki tours I have been on.... No. The tour leaders aren't required to have much of a knowledge of the places you visit beyond the basics, but I guess it is luck of the draw. Don't go on Contiki if your main reason for going to Europe is to see the sights at a leisurely pace and get lots of info on the cities and places you go to. The pace of Contiki tours is pretty rushed and hectic. Do go on Contiki though if you want to have a good time, meet people and get a taste of what Europe has to offer. Then you can go back and do the sightseeing some other time when you're less rushed!
Do you get given much info and history on the places you visit?
The final conclusion.... is Contiki worth it?
It depends on what you're looking for, but Contiki is very good at delivering fun holidays for 18-35s in Europe. The pace of the tours is fast with lots of late nights and early mornings, and you might get fed up at times or get back home feeling like you need another holiday! I think Contiki is much better if you are a single lone traveller, but they are good value for everyone and you will meet lots of fantastic people and make good friends all around the world. I've done two Contiki tours now and I wouldn't rule out doing another - so I guess there must be something I like about them! You can go to Contiki's website to find out more about their tours, and you can take a look at my tour diary 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
?
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