You’re young, you’re wild, you’re free. Of course you want to have fun, but you also want to experience different cultures… maybe even go camping or check out a European music festival.
Seeing the world is a must, but you don’t know which operator can make your #yolo dreams come true. Don’t fret, my 18 to 30 something-year-old friend, Contiki and Topdeck have got you covered! Consider the merits of both operators and pick the dream tour of your choice with the following in mind.
Group size, style and age requirements
Both operators offer a variety of trips that adhere to different travel styles. They both cater to young adults, so most tours are action-packed with sightseeing, local dinners and nightlife options. They each allow you to move at a nonstop pace or take it easier, depending on the experience you’re looking for.
Contiki offers tours to independent travellers aged 18 to 35. They have hard upper age limits on their tours and will not allow travellers older or younger than their age bracket to book a trip.
Contiki divides their trips into different classifications that help indecisive travellers determine the right trip for them based on their interests. Contiki’s Europe tours usually have 50 travellers in a group while their USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia tours have an average group size of 30. Their Latin and South America tours offer the most intimate experiences when it comes to group size.
Topdeck also offers tours exclusively to a similar age bracket as Contiki, but welcome travellers up to 39 years old as opposed to 35. Topdeck also has very similar group sizes to Contiki, as listed above. Their travel styles differ slightly based on the accommodation style, destination and bucket list highlight. The different styles vary from hotel or festival-focused trips to camping and sailing trips.
Accommodation
Neither operator will charge you a mandatory single supplement for any of their tours. The standard and style of accommodation varies depending on the tour. Each operator might place you in a hotel, a hostel, a campsite or somewhere else entirely. Both operators do make an effort to use local accommodations (think locally run hostels and chalets) where possible.
Transportation
Depending on the destination it can vary, but in general both operators offer large branded coaches and sometimes specialised transport, such as local ferries, trains and even flights. Throughout Europe, the coach/buses of both companies have onboard bathrooms, free wifi and reclinable seats.
Destinations
Contiki offers tours to the following locations: Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America.
Topdeck tours travel to: North America, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and North Africa, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Generally speaking, the main difference in locations offered is that Contiki can take you to Latin America while Topdeck instead offers trips to the Middle East and Africa.
Cost
Contiki and Topdeck offer very similar pricing structures. Contiki has 302 tours to choose from and Topdeck offers 288 tours. The most popular destination of choice for travellers is definitely Europe.
With Contiki, you’ll be paying a slightly higher price per day with the average cost working out to USD $184/day, while Topdeck’s average sits at USD $163/day.
Generally speaking, Contiki’s price per day is higher because they include more scheduled activities in their itineraries while Topdeck allows for more free time.
Looking for more info? Find reviews for Contiki tours here and reviews for Topdeck tours here.
