Contiki vs Trek America
 

Hi guys, I am (female 27yo solo traveller) and basically torn between doing a Wild Western Tour (Contiki) or Westerner 2 BLT (TrekAmerica) both tour last for 14 days and quite similar itinerary LA-SD-LV-GC-Yosemite-SF-Bay area-LA. I need an insight from anyone who'd experience those tours and also opinions on with company I should book?
I don't drink, but am still enjoying party scene as long as the music is good. I also an avid solo traveller and usually just go on my own alone (Destination: Europe both east and west, UK, East Asia, Australia, UEA). However, this is the 1st time am visiting USA, wanna explore west coast (the popular destination).
Somehow, the thought of going solo exploring those places on the itinerary quite depressing and somewhat lonely so I decided to go by tour (I did some research beforehand and come with Contiki or TrekAmerica as the most suitable itinerary & budget for me). But now I really can't decide which one I shud go with, I need advice from you guys on this!

Hi RedSolesLady. I have no experience with either of those tour companies as I would not travel with a guided group. I did want to mention that it is very possible to travel to these sites without a tour group. I believe many tour groups allow very little time at the actual sites - and involve very long hours in the bus driving between places. I have no idea if these tours allow much time for a party scene but I would be doubtful. I might be way off base here but most tour groups cater to an older crowd than your stated age group. In a 14 day trip, I would not attempt to see all of the sites listed. Is your interest more in seeing the California cities and Las Vegas, or in the national parks and scenery/outdoors type of trip?

Also have never even heard of either of thee tours. I do know that in europe Con Tiki is primarily a party tour for kids (mostly teens, early 20s) and that other tours are often mostly retirees.

If I were you as a first step I would contact the companies and ask about the typical age group for these tours.

Also would check out very carefully the daily schedule for these trips to ensure you won;t be on a bus most of the day.

If it were me in that position I would probably do SD, LA and SF on my own and then consider the possibility of a tour that just spends some time in national parks (where I probably would not want to do myself).

Thanks for the reply guys! I am now going with @nytraveler suggestion that I will do LA, SD and SF on my own while looking at possibilities/reasonable tour group to do national parks like GC and Yosemite.
My other option is to also do Vegas on my own and take a GC tour from there but some itineraries are always include Vegas in between trips Grand Canyon to Yosemite.

redsoleslady,
I have travelled with TrekAmerica quite a few times - although I must admit, it was quite a while ago. My first trip with them was up to Alaska & Canada, then I did a Westerner, Southerner, Easterner, another one that went from Miami up to Seattle, and one more in the Pacific Northwest and across to Yellowstone.
Had a fantastic time on each trip. Drivers were a blast and everyone on board was great too. I am not a drinker either, but had a great time when we went out to bars at night. Small group size was important to me 12-13 people was much better than the larger Contiki bus.
If I could wind the clock back to my 20s, I wouldn't hesitate to go with them again.

Several of my hostel roommates on various places have taken these tours. Mostly Australian women, 20-29 (or so). I had several discussions with them because I was curious. I'm also a solo traveller mostly. I can see the appeal but I wouldn't do it personally, at least not on the west coast.

Here's why: 1. the stops are very brief and while my roommates got to see a few highlights, they didn't get to branch out and really get a feel for the city, along the lines of their own interests. That's fine if you going to LA just for...I don't know...Hollywood and Santa Monica Pier. I'm not a Hollywood person, but I loved LA for so many other reasons. 2. the most memorable things I have experienced in California and elsewhere have not usually been in the urban environs. It's been driving scenery, hikes, swimming spots, beaches, old roadside attractions. I feel like the western US is really 10% urban and 90% everything else. A tour like that drives through on the interstate, giving you just a glimpse of that 90%, and I think that's a shame. But my bias is that I do like to hike and camp. I enjoy cities, but not all the time.

Can you drive? That's what I would recommend, given your age and the fact that you're already a confident solo traveller. The only reason I'd recommend one of those trips is if you think this is the only time you'll be in the west, as 14 days is really not long enough for the ground you want to cover.

If you can't drive- I'd say do your idea of the cities by yourself and the NPs with a tour group. Have a great time!

@gilbert56 I am looking to join either TrekAmerica westerner camping (7days) or westerner budget lodging (7days), do you recommend their camping trip? I never do camping, should I just join the lodging one? price difference is ignorable like only USD250. Being small group tour is their major appeal to me

@marverlousmouse Thanks for sharing, I am actually very reluctant to join tour group but since I wanna experience national parks, I am currently researching the most reliable company+reasonable price and shorter itinerary as I just decided 14 days with a group tour is probably too much for me haha. I will extend my stay in cities like SF and LA on my own definitely

Yosemite is pretty easy to visit on your own; it has its own shuttle system, and a lot of lodging options in the Valley. And you definitely wouldn't be lonely- the valley at least is packed during the summer with tourists from all over the world.

If you use a tour for GC, please report back! It's on my travel list, and it's one of the places that hasn't been convenient for one of my solo trips.

There is really no need to be part of a tour at the national parks. They are perfectly suited to self touring and millions of people do it every year without issue. The tours will give you very, very brief amounts of time "on the ground" in the parks. Book a room anywhere in the park at the Grand Canyon south rim. You could make a very nice loop out of Las Vegas seeing Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon.

@db6040 do we need to drive ourselves? is there any cheaper shuttle from LV to GC? would you prefer to stay in hotel or do camping at GC?

Which NP that you guys think is a must-see and most beautiful?

The best way is to drive yourself, yes. It is not difficult driving. I have not stayed in a campground at the Grand Canyon but if you are interested in camping I do think that would be a perfectly fine option. I would make it a priority to stay in the national parks. It adds so much to the experience. I would try to reserve either Mather Campground (presuming it takes reservations) or any in- park lodging. It does book up early though. When are you planning the trip for?

Sorry - I didn't answer your second question. It is almost impossible to answer. I personally think all the national parks are must sees - the cities don't interest me nearly as much. You may feel differently. It is so hard to say which is "the most beautiful." For me, the most beautiful site is probably Bryce Canyon. That is the most purely beautiful (in my opinion). Zion has more to do and is also beautiful. The Grand Tetons are another that come to mind as perhaps the most beautiful place I have ever been. If you ask 10 people what is the most beautiful national park - you very well could get 10 different answers.

The thing to remember - you can't see it all on any one trip. Certainly not in 10-14 days. You should narrow it down to what is most important to you.

I've traveled w/ Contiki before to the Canadian Rockies & it was one of the best trips of my life. Part of the reason I wanted to take a tour was so that I wouldn't have to drive. I was able to enjoy the scenery from a bus while someone else drove to each destination. We had a lot of optional activities & free time to do things on our own. If time permitted & everyone wanted to stay longer somewhere, the guide usually accommodated. I know most on here are against tours - I used to be too but sometimes it's just easier. My best memories of destinations usually involve a fun(ny) experience w/ someone. I had such a good time that I've traveled w/ many of my tour mates since then.

db6040: >>The best way is to drive yourself, yes. It is not difficult driving.<<

True - unfortunately we've tried (and <i>tried</i>) to convince the OP to drive (she has other threads) but driving is a no go :(

Because it's gonna be my 1st experience driving on the other side of the road, so maybe I'm not gonna brave it all the way and drive alone all the way to all NP in west coast. I might wanna learn to drive on the right side first in LA maybe? try driving for 1/2days, rent a car for 24hrs, if I ended up giving up, it would cost me as much haha (actually am looking at PCH on the map, seems quite an easy start to learn, any thoughts?)

EDITED:

Because it's gonna be my 1st experience driving on the other side of the road, so maybe I'm not gonna brave it all the way and drive alone all the way to all NP in west coast. I might wanna learn to drive on the right side first in LA maybe? try driving for 1/2days, rent a car for 24hrs, if I ended up giving up, it would cost me NOT much haha (actually am looking at PCH on the map, seems quite an easy start to learn, any thoughts?)

I am going in mid July, gonna spend about a month in west coast, so far my to-go list is SF, LA, Anaheim (disneyland), SD, LV plus I wanna do Yosemite, GC and Zion, Bryce Canyon if possible.

i have done the US but i did europe / scandanavia for 3 months. i like travelling alone but it was a great experience and i met a lot of great australians. average age for our group was probably 26. we were told when we got to each place about all the public transportation options that were available. there were several days i just did my own thing. i have 6 members of my family who have all done contiki and we all loved it (these were separate trips over several years). one of them even met her now husband on her trip and has moved to australia. they were non-drinkers and said they never felt out of place or pressured to drink. i think in this day and age there are quite a few younger people who aren't drinking. i don't hesitate to do contiki. i did the camping one when i went.

Redsoleslady- Out of the places on your list, I'd probably pick San Diego as the best place to experiment. Or maybe Anaheim. Sacramento would be ideal, if it was on your itinerary. Unless you are fairly good with navigation and maps, I wouldn't do LA. Gps directs you to all the freeways in LA and it's often less stressful to avoid those. If I hadn't had a lot of practice with freeways and merging recently, I think I would have been a lot more intimidated driving in LA. PCH can be dangerous, and I'd never recommend anyone drive in SF. A lot of driving in the US is way more boring than any of your destinations, lol.

Although- actually, I didn't mean drive the whole way, I just meant drive the parts necessary. The NPs are the only things you really need a car for, unless you really want to drive PCH. you could take transit between the cities. Despite freeways in LA, it's a lot better to have a car there because it's so spread out- by it's not absolutely necessary. If you try driving in LA- try driving outside of rush hour, definitely

So..basically, you could fly into SF airport, rent a car, and drive straight from there to Yosemite. Stay a few days. Then drive back to the airport, return the car, take transit to downtown, stay a few days in SF. same thing with Vegas. If I'm renting, I often do circular trips like that because I really don't care for driving and parking in cities.

I think Bryce and Zion may be a little too much. I think you should look into transit times, I.e. How much of that month you'll spend on a bus. (Also average temperatures- I don't know about Bryce, but I don't think I'd want to go to Zion in July).

@marvelousmouse thanks for your advice, just last night I googled and found that there's a tour company that do GC tour all the way by helicopter it's only take like half a day or so, maybe I will take those kind of tour. As for Yosemite, am still considering taking mini trip by Trekamerica for 2 nights camping.

I decided that since I only have one month and want to spend more time exploring cities, and I'll do NPs trip properly next time :D

Btw I just got info that 21-24jul is ComicCon in SD and it would be crowded there, should I skip SD altogether and save it for next time? or it's ok?