hi,

I am a 32 years old male. I am thinking of taking the 17 days tour with contiki (Reefs and Rainforest). Has anyone taken that tour before and would like to share their experience on it. I am thinking of leaving the Nov 23 trip. I will be traveling by myself. Thanks.

review i read involve lots of partying young travellers, a good tour but you don't spend much time at each destination so it's good to get a good overview in a short time.

i visited the east coast of australia on my own.. i stayed at youth hostels along the way and booked day trips at my different destinations. i personally liked that better as it made me feel in control. i hate having someone give me a schedule when i am on holidays...

you can read how my trip went here:
http://www.christellefv.com/holidays...dec-week2.html
(Then choose the 3rd/4th weeks in december at the calendar in the bottom to continue reading..)

i'm sure the people on the forum here will tell you to visit another forum, lonely planet's thorn tree or something.. but i thought i'd try and help you here

If you can pack light, I would do the backpacking thing. Australia is easy since they speak English. If your bags are heavy, a tour might be a better way to go. Be aware that 35 is the age limit for Contiki, so you will be with the 18 year kids. Can you fit in? I've heard that Contiki can be a meat market but it depends who is on the trip. If you can handle a few immature 18-year old girls, you should be OK.

I took two trips out to the reef from Cairns and the Barrier Reef is a good three hours out and that was on a high speed boat.

Hi,
I took a 30-day Contiki trip around Europe during the summer of 2001 and had a great time. We saw so much and it was wonderful to have everything arranged for us. Plus I met a lot of great people!
However, the average age was probably 22 and only you can decide if that will bother you.

I have never been on a Contiki Tour, but my son who is 32, went to Australia last year by himself for 2 weeks. He booked Contiki Rainforest Tour from Cairns for 4 or 5 days. Not ever having been on a tour before he booked this short one. Upon his return he said it was the highlight of his trip and wished he had booked the extension of the tour but it was sold out. (Might it have been the blondes who surrounded him in the pictures?) He also went to New Zealand and tried booking a Contiki Tour there as well but they were sold out. Thought I would pass this information along to help you with your decision.

I've never been on a Contiki tour but from what I've seen of groups travelling that way you will have a ball, as women will almost certainly outnumber the men!!

It really depends how you want to go. You will doubless cover all the bases in a short time and won't need to think too much for yourself. But if you want a bit more flexibility - look, there are loads and loads of budget tours out to the reef and out to the rainforest from Cairns, and other places in QLD - and a huge network of cheap hostels that lay it all on for you.

Australia is probably the easiest place in the world to travel in a non-lux sort of way.

In other words, there is an alternative.

Have an amazing time!!!