Europe Train Trips

I can’t even put into words how amazing this trip and experience was! First of all, this specific Contiki trip is fantastic for so many reasons: 1) The travel by train – It’s easy, convenient, and truly maximizes your time in each city. Before booking, I did tons of research and looked through all the other trip options and itineraries. I knew most Contiki trips are fast-paced, but what really worried me was not having enough time in each city to see the highlights and get a feel for the place. I didn’t want to spend more time traveling than actually exploring (which a lot of coach bus trips can end up being). Although this trip is fast-paced, like most Contiki’s, the train is a HUGE benefit of this specific trip & truly the most time-efficient way to travel through Europe. 2) The cities themselves – Each one was absolutely stunning and filled with history. I loved every place for its own special reasons. 3) The balance of structure and free time – This trip offers the perfect amount of free time in each city, so you never feel like you’re constantly “on a tour” or doing things you don’t want to. At the same time, there’s plenty of structure through the planned walking tours, group activities, and recommendations provided by your Trip Manager. So, if you don’t want to do any research or plan out your free time, you’ll still have more than enough guidance to make the most of each city. Because of this, I still highly recommend doing a bit of research beforehand and having a short list of must-see sites or spots to make your free time even more rewarding. 4) The group size – Ours was wonderful! We started with 14 people, and since this trip is “modular,” a few people left and new ones joined halfway through in Berlin, bringing our group up to 25. It was the perfect size to connect with everyone, make group dinners work, and truly feel like you had a second family. If you’re traveling solo (like I did) and are worried about making friends—don’t be! There’s always someone who’ll want to hang out, explore, or grab food with you. Everyone’s on the same page: wanting to see as much as possible, make friends, and have fun! 5) The add-ons – Every optional activity on this trip was incredible. They were all worth doing, so I highly recommend budgeting for as many as you can, plus a lot of your new friends will likely be doing them as well, so it’s a great way to connect with the group. 6) Getting around – In each city, your Trip Manager gives you a transit card (covering buses, trams, trains, and subways), which gives you unlimited access for the two days you’re there. It makes it super easy to get around and see everything you want without having to walk long distances all the time. My biggest piece of advice: backpack if you can! Luggage is doable, but it’s so much easier with a backpack - especially since you sometimes walk 25–35 minutes to the train station or hotel. You can easily store your bag above or at your feet on trains or public transport, rather than worrying about where to stash a suitcase. Overall, this trip had the perfect balance: enough structure that you won’t feel lost if you don’t plan anything, but also enough free time to create your own little itinerary or explore with your new friends. I want to give a HUGE shoutout to the most amazing human being and our Trip Manager, Ella Purser. She played such a big part in making this trip one of the best experiences of my life. She’s kind, helpful, fun, and genuinely cares about everyone. She was super organized - sending us daily itineraries that broke down the day’s timeline (when we had free time, when to meet up, add-ons she recommended, must-see sites, cultural highlights, and even local foods and drinks to try). She also made little podcasts for us; each time we boarded a train to a new destination, she’d send us an audio clip she recorded about the history and background of the next city. It was such a fun and engaging way to learn a bit before arriving. She truly was our “trip mummy” (as we all called her) - caring for each of us, keeping things organized, but always joining in on the fun and keeping the vibes high. She also even helped me navigate the process of seeing a doctor when I needed to get medicine for my cold (proving her well-deserved “trip mummy” title)!🤣 If you’re on the fence about booking this trip (or a Contiki in general), this is your sign to do it. As cliché as it sounds, this trip was truly life-changing for me. I’ve been to Europe many times before, but I’d always wanted to do a fast-paced trip like this to see my bucket list cities. I didn’t have friends or a boyfriend to travel with, and I was tired of waiting for the “right” time or person, so I just booked it alone! I spent 15 days with the most amazing people from all over the world. I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to meet them and travel together through 7 incredible countries and cities, creating lifelong memories on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Stop waiting, life’s too short. Book the trip. Thank you, @Contiki. I’m forever grateful I stumbled upon this one. ❤️

I had the best time! My trip manager was amazing. The activities were fun, the locations were close to train stations, and the accomodation was suitable. Would book again!

A trip which included historical sites, beautiful landscapes and wildlife opportunities. There were many highlights, and a couple of downsides. Because we visited Sarajevo on Sunday afternoon and Monday many of the museums and sights were closed, so a fascinating city was partly unexplored. While we were aware that lifts would not be available, we didn’t know just how many places had many many steps, in particular the Küstendorff resort. But a very enjoyable trip. Already considering the next one

A very varied trip, including time in historic towns like Kotor and Sarajevo, time in the countryside, walks, boat trips and even a narrow gauge railway trip. The roads are good so although it looks like a lot of travel, it was easy going. Two things to note: take seriously the warning about no lifts in hotels. This proved to be true and many of them have lots of steps up and down! Also, it can be very cold up in the mountains in late Sept/Oct while still hot and sunny on the coast so bring clothes for all seasons.

I have travelled a lot, and am now less interested than I was in "the sights" of new countries - architecture, mosques, temples, cathedrals etc - but more interested in the culture, politics, landscape and nature. On this trip we had many local guides in all seven countries and thirteen cities that we visited, and through them learned much of the culture: we also received an unprecedented sample of views from all sides in the warfare of the 1990s, following the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The Balkans are often held up as an example of "impossible to understand politics", but I now feel that I have at least absorbed a firm grounding in the basics of their politics, culture and relationships of the past 100 years.

I had travelled with Explore many times in the past, and was always glad to go on another trip. This was my first one since 2017. The tour leader was really outstanding in every respect, being unfailingly cheerful and friendly, competent and energetic. The mostly fairly mature 15 group members were at least as likable, cheerful and co-operative as on any previous trip. The hectic itinerary packed a lot in. More trains next time!