General Overview

The main difference between Camping, Concept/Budget and Time Out/Superior/Hotel Tours is the styles of accommodations utilized. There are however a few other differences between tour styles that you may like to take into consideration.

Concept/Budget tours are exactly that – a budget way to see the best Europe has to offer. As with all Contiki tours, there is loads of included sightseeing, free time and extra excursions. At many places you will stay there are shared facilities including bathrooms, showers, bars, shops, sports facilities, swimming pools, nightclubs, sometimes nearby beaches to soak up the sun! Theme parties during evenings with down time are also common on many Concept/Budget Tours.

A lot of people are who choose this style of tour who want more for their time and money staying in backpacker style accommodation. They are great for singles who are traveling alone and want to meet lots of people, students on a tight budget and party animals although it is also very common for couples to travel on Concept/Budget tours also.

Please note: You need to bring your own towel and sleeping bag on all Concept/Budget Tours as although some accommodations include bedding and towels, other do not. Cabins and Contiki Special Stopovers include mattresses, pillows and sheets however you will need a sleeping bag to sleep under and a towel with which to shower.

Where You Stay

Concept/Budget Tours stay in a mix of hardtop cabin style accommodations in campsites, budget style hotels and hostels as well as Contiki Special Stopovers. To get a better idea check out where you stay – Concept/Budget Tours.

Site Reps

A big part of this style of tour are the Contiki Site Reps – a totally unique part of this style of tour. These people are Contiki staff, guys and girls your age, who live and work at our European campsites and Special Stopovers. Great fun-loving people whose role it is to cook, clean, and everything else in between. Passionate travelers, they work hard, play hard and are always up for a good time. Site reps are an invaluable and unique part of any Concept/Budget Tour.

Food

• Breakfast – Breakfast is always included on all European Contiki Tours. Concept/Budget Tours have the advantage of the on-site Contiki Reps to help out with cooked breakfasts.
• Lunch – Lunch is always on you – allows you the freedom to eat what you want and enjoy the local flavors.
• Dinners – Roughly half your evening meals are included and sometimes reflect the region where you will be staying. Included meals are sometimes prepared by the Site Reps. There are also a number of optional excursion meals and opportunities to go out and grab your own dinner on any given Concept/Budget Tour.

Please note: If you have special dietary requirements (eg Vegetarian), let your Tour Manager know and they will notify the campsites and restaurants.

Cookies and Dishies

One of the ways Contiki helps keep the cost of our tours low is to get you to help out a little while staying in camp sites and Special Stopovers. Instead of employing an army of chefs to cook for the thousands of people who stay in our sites every year, being a cookie or a dishie is simply helping out Contiki Site Reps with either preparing food (for example, cutting up vegetables) or helping out with loading our dishwashers and drying up after a meal.

It’s simple, easy, is often (surprisingly) a lot of fun and (depending on the size of your tour group and your itinerary) you may only help out once or maybe twice during the course of any given tour.

Tonnes of Fun

The fun factor and socializing on Concept/Budget tours is off the scale with theme parties and sometimes 2, 3, 4 and sometimes even 5 or more bus-loads of Contiki clients alone (not to mention other travelers) staying in any given campsite on any given night.

Tours

Contiki’s Concept/Budget Tours