My well traveled, mature, 18 year old son wants to go on a Contiki Tour to Greece when he graduates from highschool in June. He originally wanted to backpack around Europe with several friends but, unfortunately, none of them can make it for various reasons. He is not comfortable backpacking by himself so asked if he could go on the Contiki Tour. I have a few reservations but feel he is ready for the trip. I am wondering if other parents in Fodorland have experience with this and if you have any suggestions or warnings. Thanks Barb

Slightly off centre answer. Lots of young people, that age, including my niece, go to the Greek islands on their own.

Most of them go by package tours, and not with people like Contiki, but it's a fairly safe environment, and not one I'd have reservations about sending an 18 year old boy into.

I'd suggest avoiding the heavy drinking Brit resorts. In fact if it were me, I'd buy him a pass on the ferries, extract a promise that he'd avoid Rhodes, Corfu and Malia on Crete, and let him get on with it.

I think he'll love it

In your shoes, I'd be fretting over why at his age he still needs the comfort blanket of a package holiday.

But why are you asking the question anyway? He's old enough to travel without your permission: he's also presumably paying for the holiday from his own earnings.

Did you get other people to pay for your holidays when you were an adult?

Well, maybe it is a graduation gift.

But really, he is 18, and if I understand right, this Contiki is a guided tour. You have no reason to worry. My son went on his first Interrail with some of his friends all over eastern Europe when he was sixteen. I must say I worried, but I did not show it to him because I didn´t want him to start questioning his cababilities. And he managed just fine, was able to find places to sleep, and obviously even ate something since he wasn´t starved after three weeks.

Even some more "seasoned" travelers like the comfort of a package tour...age has nothing to do with it. She's asking if anyone has any experience with this tour, not if she's being a good mother.

Flanneruk - why could you possibly care who pays for this trip?

BabsB... I'm not familar with Contiki tours. He may want to find out if other 18 year olds join. He may prefer to go alone than on a gezer tour.

Hi BabsB,

My 18-year old is taking off for Europe this summer, so I can understand how you feel! If he's interested in a tour, you might want to check out Putney Student Travel, based in Vermont, and see if they have anything organized for Greece. They're excellent, reliable operators, and maybe that would give you some peace of mind. There are also several other tour operators that offer trips for high school senior/college aged kids. I will see what I can find in my files and post again, but in the meantime, I bet others here have recommendations. Good luck!

Julie - Contiki is a tour company for young people (18-35). Geezers are not allowed and a geezer to them is anyone over 35(no exceptions).

BabsB - There have been several threads on this board about Contiki so try doing a search. Contiki also has their own message boards that you might find helpful.

Ahh... great input... thanks...

Given this is a "geezer free" tour, if it withstands the basic background checks.... why not. I find nothing odd with an 18 year old that would prefer a safety net. He will likely return with several new friends... some of whom may be willing to venture alone with him on the next trip.

Flanneruk - why on earth would you lecture people like that? And who pays for this trip is not an issue.

BabsB, I think Contiki would be a good choice for him. Like many parents, I'd be concerned only about the normal stuff - excessive drinking and him getting robbed.

My only concern with him going on an organised tour is that he's bound to hook up with others his own age whilst out there (it's backpackers paradise in the Summer) who might be going off different places at the drop of the hat - and he'll be regimented to the company itinerary. Could he maybe do part tour, part back-packing?

It's common practice for 16-18 yr olds over here to head off to mainland Europe/the Med for summer and even those who go on their own meet up with a HUGE number of others in the same boat, so very few ACTUALLY travel on their own in reality.

I hope he has a ball whatever he does - I love Greece and the islands!

Thank you for all the replies. To clarify a few issues, we are treating him to this trip as a graduation present. And to flanneruk, believe it or not, we are also going to pay for his college education to the tune of about $120,000 less scholarships and financial aid, even though he is an adult! Just because a child turns 18 doesn't mean you stop being a parent for heavens sake.

Weadles, I will check out the options you mentioned, even though we are treating, we want to find the best deal and the best trip for our money.

Tallulah, I like you idea of him maybe adding a bit of time at the end of his trip to do his own thing. He will probably have his comfort level up by then and can get in a bit backpacking.

Thanks to all your input, I appreciate it.

There are some issues he might want to address before committing himself to a tour.

1-Does the tour cover what he wants to see and do or is he compromising too much for the sake of travelling with others?

2-Is he willing to share hotels rooms with a stranger (or will you pay the extra fee for a single?)

3-Is he outgoing socially in a roomful of strangers or will he withdraw into himself?

4-Can he be tolerant for long periods of time of whining, disillusioned travellers who wish they hadn't taken a tour, and can he put up with the inevitable loud and obnoxios tourmates who might be accompanying him?

5-All guided tours have their ups and downs. Is he able to adapt to whatever comes his way or does he choke in the clutches?

There are so many young people travelling in Greece in the summertime I have a difficult time believing that he wouldn't be able to find others just like himself to spend time with along the way, but if he needs the security of a guided tour than best of luck to him. I hope he has a great time.

I haven't taken a Contiki tour personally, but my cousin took one last year and loved it. They pack a lot into a short period of time (I believe she did something like 8 countries in 2 weeks) but it gave her a taste of Europe and she had a blast.

You may want to keep in mind, though, that many consider Contiki to be more of a "party" tour, meaning that there will probably be a lot of drinking and partying in the evenings. Expected, I guess, if its a bunch of younger people. Not that all Contiki tours are like that, but this was how my cousin described it, as did a travel agent a few years ago when DH and I considered taking a Contiki tour but decided to go on our own instead.

Good luck!
Tracy

I'm sure he'll have a great time. It's a very nice graduation gift.

I have to laugh though; if anyone extracted a promise from me not to go to Rhodes or Corfu or someplace else, that's exactly where I would be dying to go! Rather like Br'ere Rabbit and the briar patch!

Thanks to all for your input, opinions and suggestions. The tour he picked out pretty much covers what he wants to see in Greece, he is still reseaching so we will hold off a bit on reservation until he is sure. He wants to go into a triple share room so that he can meet people quicker and cut costs. He is outgoing and won't have a problem meeting new people. He may have a problem with the whinners, as our trip motto has always been no whinning allowed. But that's just a life experience he will have to get used to. He is going to talk to a few more kids at school, a bit out of his normal social circle, and see if he can drum up any interest in a backpacking trip, or interest in the Contiki tour. He has signed up on the Contiki site to chat with other travelers and is doing some reading about the area. He is taking the right steps so we will see what happens. And I'm with you Catbert, if someone told me not to go somewhere, I would just have to go check it out to find out why

What I've read of Contiki tours is that they encourage lots of drinking and hook-ups, which of course is why so many people find them appealing. And they travel through the sites at blazing rates, with most of the focus on night-time fun. But I don't know myself, so your idea of looking at various reviews sounds good.

it sounds good to me!

My eldest is 23 and I wouldn't be thrilled (although I wouldn't try to stop her, she is an adult after all) if she wanted to travel to a foreign country alone.

A tour sounds like a good way for your son to meet other like minded people and it really is better than him traveling alone - once he's figured out what he's missed or what he would have preferred to have visited then he can organise his own trip.

If you're lucky, he might invite you along

<What I've read of Contiki tours is that they encourage lots of drinking and hook-ups, which of course is why so many people find them appealing. And they travel through the sites at blazing rates, with most of the focus on night-time fun. But I don't know myself, so your idea of looking at various reviews sounds good>

Ahh...sounds like an 18-30s kind of holiday. In which case, no he won't do much about seeing the sites but he will have a fabulous time for an 18 year old!! ;-) On that basis, I'll again suggest that he does some backpacking on his own at the end of the trip!

Flanner, all we British types have marvelled in the past over how babied young American adults are.
Mine went inter-railing in the days before mobile phones and internet cafes.
Of course, you wondered what they were up to, but they were old enough to marry and vote, so the aged parents left them to get on with it.
Thousands of young Britons go off to Asia, Africa and South America on gap years every year at the age of 18.
It makes us raise an eyebrow or two when American parents book tours for their innocent 18 year olds and fret in case they forget to pack their teddy bears.