EUROPEAN TRAIL

London:

• The adventure of a lifetime kicks off today. Meet up with your new Contiki family in London town before hitting the road to Amsterdam.

Dover:

• Shortly before we find our ferry for France, we’ll be taking in the English coastline beauty of the White Cliffs of Dover. They owe their gorgeousness to their composition of chalk – you’re learning and we haven’t even left the UK!

Calais:

• Off the ferry we arrive in the port town of Calais – French soil! We travel north via Belgium before reaching…Amsterdam!

Amsterdam:

• Tonight, after an included dinner and a panoramic view of Amsterdam, the fun-famed Amsterdam is yours to explore in all its glory.

Hostel Amsterdam (or similar)

Meals Included: Dinner

Included Experience:

• Marvel at the White Cliffs of Dover

Additional Cost Applies:

• Have a Go on Amsterdam’s Highest Swing

Amsterdam:

• Amsterdam is cute as a button & sure to win your heart with its canals, obscure museums & a café culture like no other. Today use your time to get local, bar hop, museum crawl, and see what other tastes take your fancy, this place is famous for pancakes, frites and so much more.

Hostel Amsterdam (or similar)

Meals Included: Breakfast

Additional Cost Applies:

• Highlights of Amsterdam Canal Cruise

• Clogs, Edam and Dinner Experience MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience

Amsterdam:

Berlin:

• Get into the mood of exploration with a historical walking tour where you’ll discover 20th century Berlin (including Hitler’s underground bunker & the Holocaust Memorial) with our local guide. Berlin has so much to offer the hungry traveller, from the obvious icons like Checkpoint Charlie to all the obscurities tucked away in the side streets. This evening we’ll embark on an Alternative Berlin walking tour, taking us to all the city’s hipster haunts.

Generator Alexanderplatz (or similar)

Meals Included: Breakfast

Additional cost applies:

• Historical Walking Tour
• Alternative Berlin

Berlin:

Prague:

• With a full day to loiter, expect an entire photo album of Gothic architecture, market antiques & you cheers-ing beer; not to mention life! Tonight, you could see yourself spending the evening indulging in traditional Czech cuisine while admiring the local folklore dancers as the sun goes down on the ‘City of a Hundred Spires’.

Plus Prague (or similar)

Meals Included: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Prague’s iconic landmarks

Additional cost applies:

• Traditional Czech Evening

Prague:

• Today we exchange the Czech Republic for Austria, waving goodbye to pretty Prague knowing that cultured Vienna is coming right up.

Via Kutna Hora:

• Before Vienna we’ll be stopping in the Bohemian city of Kutna Hora, remembering that Bohemia is the name of the place and not a nod to the fashion sense of the people that live there. Make the local Sedlec Ossuary chapel a high priority, it’s decked out and furnished in the bones of over 40,000 … humans. Eeep!

Vienna:

• Austria, we have arrived! It’s time for a Habibi & Hawara dinner, followed by a classic night out in one of the city’s imperial palaces (both totally optional, should you prefer to spend your evening relaxing in style.)

Jo&Joe Vienna (or similar)

Meals Included: Breakfast

Included experience:

• Visit Kutná Hora (Home of the Bone Church)

Additional cost applies:

• A Classic Night Out
• Habibi & Hawara Dinner MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience

Vienna:

• A whole day lies ahead to uncover the ethereal Austrian capital. Our Trip Manager will uncover the historical heritage of Schönbrunn Palace, the State Opera House and the gothic St. Stephen’s Cathedral. And once you’ve seen all that, you’ll have a bit of free time to check out art galleries and local coffee houses, maybe even try a slice of the famous Sacher Torte.

Jo&Joe Vienna (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner

Included Experience:

• Get to know Vienna

Vienna:

• Rise up travellers and start practicing your Polish pleasantries, we’ll be in Krakow later today so they may come in handy.

Krakow:

• It’s onto the city of Krakow, which is now known for its salt mining heritage and tales of mythical dragons. Join an Orientation tour to get to know the city’s best beer spots and historical hotspots. Tonight you’ll have a free night to explore Kraków’s vibrant food and nightlife scene.

Ibis budget Krakow Stare Miasto (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Introduction to Kraków

Krakow:

• This morning we’re up and on our way.

Via Auschwitz:

• Today we will change pace as we drop to an unfamiliar and sobering level by visiting the concentration camp memorials of Auschwitz & Birkenau. Learning and growing is what we travellers do after all.

Krakow:

Krakow:

• Alpine scenery and traditional villages will make our departure from Krakow more manageable. Particularly with the knowledge that we have Budapest coming up in the eve.

Via Banska Bystrica:

• Pastel painted and manicured to perfection, Banska Bystrica is a lunch break that will charm you to no end. Being in Slovakia, it’s also your chance to brag 3 countries in one day – you crazy globetrotter you.

Budapest:

• Pastel painted and manicured to perfection, Banska Bystrica is a lunch break that will charm you to no end. Being in Slovakia, it’s also your chance to brag 3 countries in one day – you crazy globetrotter you.

A&O Budapest (or similar)

Meals included: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Visit Banská Bystrica

Additional cost applies:

• Budapest River Cruise with Dinner

Budapest:

• The day is yours to tackle Budapest however you see fit. After all the travelling we’ve done, you’ve probably earned yourself an afternoon soaking in the city’s famous outdoor thermal pools set amongst Art Nouveau architecture. Blissed out in Budapest – there’s an insta caption for you. If gardens, fountains, pools and ruins are the call of your day, put Margaret Island top and centre of your to do list.

A&O Budapest (or similar)

Meal Included: Breakfast

Additional cost applies:

• Széchenyi Baths & Walking Tour

Budapest:

• This morning we say goodbye to the city of Budapest and head south to Slovenia! Though the name Ljubljana might not be as well known as Budapest, that doesn’t diminish its delight as a European city. In fact, its undiscovered charm is all part of the fascination…

Ljubljana:

• Aesthetically wonderful and filled with youthful moods, Ljubljana is one to love for its off the tourist trail vibes and casual attitude. Without a list of monuments to tick off, you’re free to get cozy in a cafe and lap up the endless local feels.

Ljubljana Resort (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Get to know Ljubljana

Ljubljana:

• Ever the advocates of a balanced holiday, today we’re trading in the obscure unknown for the globally adored hot spot of Venice. Whoop!

Venice:

• Yes, it’s as cute as you imagine. Yes, you’ll feel like you’re part of an Italian fairytale. Yes, you are actually hanging out in the gondola clad floating city of Venice! A private boat ride, gothic architecture and a web of lanes to explore will keep your day filled quite nicely.

Anda Venice Hostel (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Cruise on a Motoscafo to Venice
• See canals and gondolas

Additional Cost Applies:

• Gondolas
• Traditional Tastes of Venice

Venice:

• Farewell floating city, but Italy, we’re not done with you yet, our next destination the Eternal City is just around the corner.

Rome:

• This afternoon will really take it up a notch as we uncover Italian icons in the country’s capital of Rome. Gelato, pizza, and ancient monuments galore, but why not try a pasta making class and cook a homemade meal for dinner? If that’s not your style feel free to explore and get a glimpse of Rome’s glory by night.

The Yellow (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Tour Rome on Foot

Additional Cost Applies:

• Rome Pasta Cooking Class & Dinner

Rome:

• Rome wasn’t built in a day but we sure can try and see it all in one day! Snap pink azaleas by the Colosseum, throw coins in fountains and sip espresso in a pretty street watching Italian life float by.

The Yellow (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Additional Cost Applies:

• Ancient Rome of the Emperors
• Emperors & Gladiators inc Colosseum

Rome:

• Lets hit the road as we have more of Italy to lust over…

Via Pisa:

• No trip around Europe is complete without seeing the world’s most famous #AwkwardLean, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Once you’ve got that perfect snap of you holding the thing up like you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger, we’ll be on the fast-track to the Florence.

Florence:

• For those of you not familiar with the whole Florence deal, we have two words for you: it’s heaven. Florence, the capital of Tuscany, is more proof that Italy has so many great places packed into one small region. Potter along the River Arno, be totally Tuscan with another drop of Chianti wine, and take in the beauty of the city and its protruding Duomo Cathedral. We have all day tomorrow to let the explorations continue.

Hotel Mirage (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Visit Pisa (for that Epic Selfie)

Additional Cost Applies:

• Tuscan Dinner

Florence:

• Today is a perfect balance of guided wisdom, food and free time to roam. Take the opportunity to explore streets bursting with heritage and delicious flavours as you explore the local markets and down some gelato.

Hotel Mirage (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Additional Cost Applies:

• Welcome to Florence Walking Tour
• Pizza Making Evening

Florence:

• Hopefully by now you are head to toe in fresh leather, you’ve eaten your bodyweight in antipasto, and you’re feeling fresh as a daisy and ready to farewell Florence.

Swiss Alps:

• Bunking down amid fairytale snowcapped mountains tonight shows how far we’ve come since golden Florence this morning, and that right there is the magic of Europe. Tomorrow we’ll set out to explore this magical land of cheese, chocolate and watches.

Adventure Hostel Interlaken (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Additional Cost Applies:

• Swiss Fondue

Swiss Alps:

• Open the window of your room & drink in the incredible view – if you can find words or photos that do it justice, we applaud you! If you’re feeling audacious, opt to take a trip to a Swiss mountain with your travel crew, or feel free to explore this classic European adventure town.

Adventure Hostel Interlaken (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Additional Cost Applies:

• Swiss Paragliding
• Jungfrau Mountain

Swiss Alps:

• Out with the altitude, in with the inner-city Parisian bliss. Once we’ve crossed the border out of Switzerland we will be coasting through the pretty wine producing region of Burgundy before our arrival in Paris.

Paris:

• We’ll reach Paris and enjoy an included dinner before a chance to explore the glittering city of lights.

Jo&Joe Gentilly (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Included Experience:

• Take a Tour of Paris

Paris:

• Stock up on perfume at the Fragonard Perfumery. Especially given the greatly discounted prices and authenticity of buying in France. Later you can moan over haute couture you can’t afford, admire the Notre Dame Cathedral whilst juggling coffee and crêpes, & get artsy at the many rooms of the Louvre. Just don’t wear yourself out, you will probably want to get involved with dinner and a cabaret show. With your last night looming, make it one to remember in the city of lights.

Jo&Joe Gentilly (or similar)

Included Meals: Breakfast

Included Experience:

• Visit a French Perfumery

Additional Cost Applies:

• Parisian Farewell Dinner
• Moulin Rouge Cabaret Show

Paris:

• Soak up your last dose of Paris and feel the astonishment of how much you’ve seen on this trip. And how close you’ve grown to your loved-up Contiki collective.

Via Calais

Via Dover

London:

• What a journey, if you’ve chosen to end your trip on arrival in London say a fond farewell to the remainder of your group as you wrap up the journey on arrival.

Included Meals: Breakfast