STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I used this company to go to Greece in 2000 and Egypt last year.  I had a good time on both.  It wasn't quite the frat party that people make it out to be.  There are all types of people that go:  people that keep to themselves, wild partying people, people who are nice but go to bed early, etc.

I didn't have a problem with the hotels despite having grown up with a family who will only stay in the finest of hotels.  They weren't the best hotels, but they didn't make me feel dirty at all.  The ones in Egypt were definitely nicer than the ones in Greece, probably because you can get nicer for cheaper there.  The Greece ones were basically no-frills type places, kind of like what you would find near the Jersey shore (I realize it is extremely likely that you have never been to the Jersey shore, but I can't think of a better comparison).  Basically, they have no restaurant, no salon, no workout area, you will usually enter your room from outside and the check-in area will be in a different building, no free shampoos and soaps, and just no special services that you might find at a more high end hotel.  They usually have a pool, poolside bar, and television.  The Egypt hotels were more equivalent to someplace I would stay in the US. 

I got a good feel for the culture.  In addition to visiting the big attractions, my tour guides took us to lesser-known places and places that are frequented by regular citizens, and our Egypt tour guide even brought us into the home of a family in the countryside.  We got to hang out with the family and they served us tea and we played with the children.  I also got a good feel for the nightlife in both places.  The tour guide has the scoop on the best places to go in the area. 

I really like that the tours are for people between the ages of 18-35.  I like having people my age around, not only because I love to go out at night, but because I have more to talk to them about.  I love the culture and experience of being in another country, but I need the social aspect as well.  When I went to Greece, I went with 2 friends that had boyfriends and didn't want to go out at night. I was happy to find that I had like 20 other people I could go out with.  When I went to Egypt, I went on my own, but never felt alone.  I still keep in touch with people from that trip.

However, I think I might have gone on the 2 best tours.  A lot of people that were on my tours had booked multiple tours in a row and they all said the Greece and Egypt ones had the best accommodations and people.  I clearly remember one of the girls on my Egypt trip talking about how disgusting the Italy trip was (the food, the hotels, the people) and how she almost cancelled the Egypt one because of it.  In the end, she was glad she did the Egypt one because it was a lot better.  I also heard bad things about England, France, and Spain.  I think the problem is that the Euro is worth more than the dollar and Contiki can't get as good of rates in those countries (back when I went to Greece, they were still using Drachma).