Contiki

>>1239218
Never been on one, but it gets asked from time to time here -- consensus seems to be that if you want to drink a lot and move about in groups, this is the company for you, but it is pretty pre-packaged experience with a minimum of travel-related experience. Seems to me that if you want to drinking in a pack thing, you could do it more cheaply at home, but to each his own.

>>1239231
The ski trip in Austria was skiing for 5 days then 2 day trips to Salzburg and around the local area. I didn't party that much but I know many other people on the trip did. Since this balkans tour covers 6 countries I think it would be less partying because you'll be on the move so often

I would not recommend it man, these tours are all about partying and attract a rowdy crowd.. I think it would be a lot more rewarding if you backpacked it solo.

>>1239218
Is xyz-tours any good?

NO BECAUSE TOURS SUCK AND YOU SHOULD PLAN YOUR TRIP YOURSELF REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

>>1239218
You probably won't get many people recommending Contiki on here because the user base is either too autistic or I suspect mostly too old.

It really depends on what your personal goals are. If you want to relax, have fun, meet new people and see the major sights then it's a very convenient way to do that. If you want to challenge yourself, undertake some serious reflection or get a detailed understanding of your destination it's not ideal.

By having everything organised in advance that saves you a lot of hassle in the preparation and conduct of the trip. Obviously there is a cost to that which makes it generally more expensive than organising your own trip but ultimately that depends on how you value your time. It also reduces your flexibility in deciding where to go and how long to spend there.

The big gamble is with the people. If you get a group who you really click with then spending a few weeks traveling and partying could be one of the best experiences of your life. If you get in a group with people who you find boring, who don't share your interests, who form a clique without you in it, then you're stuck with them the whole time.

Personally I sometimes like to do short tours (0.5-~5 day duration) as part of a longer trip. In that context they provide a nice balance to independent travel and can be very convenient for accessing certain sites that are otherwise hard to get to. As for Contiki, it doesn't interest me personally but I can see the appeal based on the reasons I discussed.

>>1239417
>these tours are all about partying and attract a rowdy crowd
Australian normies love Contiki tours.