Hi there, looking at options for a week or so during my trip to Europe in June this year!
I have looked at so many options and so many places and really would like a little help.
I like the idea of a cruise ship because that way I cant get lost and don't have to worry about airport hopping every five minutes, but I worry about age barriers.... all reviews etc have mixed opinions, so does anyone have ideas based on experience???

Contiki is not in the books as the only tours I am interested in are already booked out or the dates collide with other travel plans that have already been booked.

Need to be able to have fun and preferably make some friends in my own age group!

Head over to the Thorntree chat board as you will find loads of people your own age to discuss this with.

I would never take a cruise - yes you visit many ports, but from my understanding most of your time is onboard a ship. I think you can do much better, especially at your age.

I did Contiki at 23 and had a great time. It gave me the confidence to travel independently from them forward. Have you looked at other tours?

I understand that it can be intimidating to travel on your own for the first time...but with some help on boards like here and Thorntree you may want to consider it. I think it would be way better than a cruise!

Thanks for that! Will re-post there now

Thorntree is a good start for finding out about other tours or even other methods of travel. If you're still looking at tours and Contiki dates don't suit your plans, have a look at Top Deck (for tours) or Busabout (hop on hop off build your own itinerary). Both cater to your age group and will cover the parts of Europe you (I'm guessing) want to visit.

Also investigate the option of independent train travel with a Eurail or Interrail Pass (depending whether you live outside or within Europe) and staying in hostels where you'll meet lots of other like-minded young travellers.