Hi! I'm wanting to book a trip to Ireland and Scotland OR Greek Islands for the first week of September 2012. What would be the best website for that? I have only looked at Contiki and TopDeck. Anyone have any experiences with those Tours from either company or can suggest other Tour companies? It's my first big trip so I'd really like to get the best one for the best price.

Have a friend who went on the Contiki Greek Islands trip - said it was a perpetual party. The tours are generally well set-up and the accommodations are very decent for their Superior tours.

Guessing you're a solo in the demographic (sub-40 years). The Contiki tours I went on were fun - only about 1/2 or so Americans, lots of Aussies, some Canadians, some random additions from the Anglosphere (Brits, South Africans, Kiwis), occasional English-speaking Euro thrown in (three Dutch on one trip, an Italian on the other). No nothing about TopDeck other than what I could learn on the website.

So you'd say Contiki is more of a "party" tour? I'm 29 and yes traveling alone.

The Greek Islands one was - that was in summer, so yes. Fact is, that's what the Greek Islands, especially Mykonos (Santorini is more tame), are known for as tourist destinations for single and young travelers. Sheeyoot, look at the Contiki descriptions of the Islands: "Mykonos is famous for its blissful beaches and party culture" and "Relax on sandy beaches or lounge about poolside before a big night out, when Ios’ villages come alive."

I can't say Contiki is "more of" anything because I know nothing about TopDeck that's not on its website. To think that 18-39 year olds would be on vacation and not partying would be a stretch.

But TopDeck caters directly to the Aussie/Kiwi crowd, so if you're looking to escape the party crowd, that won't help. Look at their website: five ANZAC Day-centered offerings (this is part of the national soul of both Australia and New Zealand) and they've run trips to Gallipoli for 30 years! They also say the hotels on their EuroHotel tours have "bags" of local character, etc. Americans and Canadians (no one caters to Canadians for European travel, there are 10x more Americans) don't say "bags" as a synonym for "lots" or "tons".

I went on the Contiki Italy tour (not that hard partying, group was fairly tame, only six single guys and none Aussie, and Italy has less bump-and-grind nightlife style than Spain or Greece) and Spain/Portugal (much more partying than Italy and we didn't even go to Barcelona). Both had 40+ people, so if you were looking for quiet nights in or loud nights out, you could find your niche. Both also had more women than men, so strength in numbers favors you if you're female.

What I really want is to explore a country. I'm leaving more towards Scotland and Ireland I think. I'm just trying to find the best tour to go on. I'll most likely go with TopDeck I think. I don't mind going to a pub for drinks or whatever at night. But during the day for me, it's all about exploring the area I'm in. Greece I think I might save for when I go with somebody. I think it might be better that way. It's a tough choice for my first big trip since I'd love to go EVERYWHERE. But I've got time for that.

Can't help with Scotland, but if you really want a tour as opposed to doing it yourself, look at PaddyWagon Tours in Ireland. http://paddywagontours.com .

Hi RViezel,

You wrote, "What I really want is to explore a country."

It seems to me that for what you want you are looking at the wrong sort of tours. For Greece it would be better to focus on the mainland rather than the islands, and there are several Greek tour companies specialising in those tours. You could fly to Athens, explore the city on your own or with a group, then join a tour going to the Peloponnese, Delphi, Meteora, etc. If you are adventurous, you could even travel to the Macedonia region of northern Greece to visit Vergina and other sites usually overlooked by the average tourist.

If you still want to visit an island, it's easy to catch a ferry from Piraeus.

Two Greek tour companies that come to mind are:

http://www.chatours.gr/
http://www.keytours.gr/en/default.asp

I did England/Scotland/Ireland with Contiki in 2001 - my first big trip as well. After that, I've come to prefer small group travel (GAdventures, etc) or independent travel, but I found Contiki to be a good introduction to travel, if you're not ready to do it on your own. The regional tours of Contiki tend to attract slightly older (more 25s than 18s), and less party-all-the-time kind of people - the trip is what you make it, really. You can party every night, or go to bed early, or a mix - it is your decision in the end. You've got some time ahead of you, though - it would be worth doing some more research, to make sure you get what you want.

You're not "exploring a country" to any degree on those Greek tours, you're hanging out at beaches and getting loaded at night and looking at the Parthenon when you're in Athens. You're not really "exploring a country" on most of the tours, but the Greek Island tours don't give you a taste of Greece itself whereas the other country specific tours will.

As for the others . . . the itinerary for the Scottish portion of the Contiki Scotland and Ireland two-week tour sucks less than that of the brief Scottish portion of the Britain and Ireland two-week tour on TopDeck. If it were me, I'd do a tour that had as much Scotland as possible. Edinburgh > Dublin; Scotland > Ireland and neither is close in my book.

www.affordabletours.com good personal experience with Globus
40% off good upscale values for me. Scotland costly ?food nice castles etc. for me in the past.Personally would just self-guide Greece www.greecetravel.com will be the value play since they are going bankrupt will be great deals there.
ihg.com Athens was $80 bidding priceline for me last a few
nice hotels on Santorini.com maybe Mykonos wouldbe my choice.
ferries.gr cheap easy to get around. eurocheapo.com/athens

Happy Travels!

I guess I would need to understadn your goals.

My very first trip to Euroep, I took Contiki. I was not confident to do it on my own, so they took care of it all. I saw lots of places, the major well known sites within the cities, and did a few add-ons. It was fun, there was plenty of social activity, but you had to get up early some mornings

I did a 21 day Europe trip with some add-on days in London.

After that trip, I had the ocnfidence to go on my own.

So I'd say if your goal is to really see a country, a tour, unless it is really a specialized one, may just give you the overview. Remember also that the tour is taking you where they think the majority of people will want to go. And, they will add in a bit of free time. Hotels probably not near the centre, to keep costs down.

On your own, you determine the schedule. But, you have to prepare more, not just show up. Also, even if you go on your own, that does not mean you don't take tours, just that the whole trip is not a tour. For example, if you went to London, you could spend every day, or morning, or afternoon, or evening doing guided tours, like London Walks.

Good memories...Contiki...

My big problem right now is the money factor. That's why I can't take a really big tour my first time. Which is why I wanted to go with a tour group my first couple of times at least. Especially if I'm traveling alone. I'll most likely end up taking the 7 day Scotland tour with Contiki for my very first one, and go with something bigger maybe the second time. I'm all about seeing all the places they list in that tour. And it's around my price range that doesn't leave me broke at the end of it when I get home. Greece I'll save for something like a honeymoon or something like that. Rather than with a tour group.

I did Contiki's 16 day Great Britain and Ireland tour last year. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour but there are a few things you should know before booking (especially if you are planning on doing just the Scotland portion).

Unlike Contiki's Western Europe tours, this is a fragmented tour. Over the 16 days there are people leaving and joining the tour. Some are doing England/Scotland, Scotland/Ireland, just Scotland, just Ireland or the whole 16 days (which is what I did). On my tour, by the time we got to Ireland, the people who started in England an Scotland mostly mingled with each other and the people who joined in Ireland mostly mingled with each other. I would feel uncomfortable joining a tour where many of the people had already gotten to know each other and developed friendships, several people said that probably wouldn't have done the tour if they had known they were joining a tour that had already started.

Also, Contiki advertises their Scotland tour as 6 days but you're really only getting 4 days of travelling Scotland. The first day is you making your own way to the hotel in Edinburgh and meeting the group and tour manager/driver at dinner that night and the 6th day you have included breakfast at the hotel in Glasgow but that's it. Everyone who continues on to Ireland leaves in the morning and then you're on your own! (The same goes for the 8 day Ireland tour).

I'm not trying to discourage you from taking the tour as it is a good tour and I had a great time but I think it's unfair that so many people book this tour and are unaware of the tour structure. Whatever you choose to do, Scotland is a beautiful country and you'll love it!