Contiki runs 76 trips for 18–35s on 18-35 Travel, across Netherlands, England, Vietnam, Japan. We show them with the honest all-in cost and our genuine fit ranking — the same neutral treatment every operator gets.
Review-weighted across every Contikitrip — the same maths as the operator’s own marketplace scores, but we state the evidence base. Based on 12,195 reviews, last refreshed July 2026.
For 18–35 trips of a similar length, Contiki works out about 10% cheaper than typical — compared like-for-like, not skewed by trip length. Flights and spending money are on top.
Contiki’s full cost breakdown
How they compare
Side by side with the operators travellers most often weigh them against — real per-day price, rating and group size. We take no payment to rank.
| Operator | Per day | Rating | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| ContikiThis one | £121 | 4.7★ | ≤54 |
| G Adventures | £125 | 4.8★ | ≤134 |
| Topdeck | £139 | 4.4★ | ≤48 |
| Intrepid Travel | £148 | 4.5★ | ≤22 |
Contiki reviews: how 12,195 travellers rate them
Aggregated from verified traveller reviews across the 276 Contiki trips we track, weighted by review count. Updated nightly from TourRadar data.
The honest read
The overwhelming theme across these reviews is that Contiki's guides make or break the trip, and mostly they make it. Names like Remi, Tom, Isobel, Emily and Sherif come up again and again with genuine warmth — praised for knowledge, organisation, energy and personal care when travellers were sick, nervous or solo. With guide rated 4.98, this isn't flattery, it's the core product working as intended.
The consistent gripes are smaller but real: not enough rest time between packed days, extras and add-ons that cost more than expected on top of the trip price, occasional naff optional excursions (a poorly-run ghost tour, dodgy shopping-plaza dinners in Japan), and food that lands lowest of all categories at 4.42. A handful of reviews raise serious red flags too — one guide accused of prioritising hooking up with travellers over group safety, and slow, painful refund handling from customer service when things go wrong.
Accommodation and food are the soft underbelly here (4.49 and 4.42 against guide's 4.98), with reviewers noting basic hotels on ski legs of trips and average meal arrangements. Transport and itinerary both score strongly, and most travellers feel the packed schedules — while tiring — are worth it for how much ground gets covered.
This suits younger travellers, especially solo ones, who want a structured, social, high-energy trip with an age-restricted crowd and a guide doing the heavy lifting on logistics. It suits people happy to pay extra for optional add-ons and who don't mind late nights. It suits less well those wanting slow travel, quiet downtime, or guaranteed top-tier food and lodging.
- Exceptional, knowledgeable tour guides
- Well-paced, sight-packed itineraries
- Great for solo travellers and making friends
- Smooth transport and logistics
- Food and dining quality inconsistent
- Extras/add-ons not included in price, adds up fast
- Not enough rest/downtime between activities
- Rare but serious guide conduct and refund issues
Is Contiki worth it?
Yes, for the right traveller. Guides are rated almost perfectly (4.98) and reviewers consistently credit them with turning good itineraries into unforgettable trips — solo travellers in particular feel looked after. The catch is food and accommodation trail behind at 4.42 and 4.49, extras can add unexpected cost, and a few reviews flag serious guide conduct issues and slow refunds. If you want a packed, social, guide-led trip and can accept average food/lodging as the trade-off, it delivers.
In their own words
Best 11 days of my life ! Killer group and amazing guide, if you get Stasi consider yourselves super lucky because he’s incredible ! So knowledge
did not care for passenger safety and only wanted to get with girls. Left our tour group stranded multiple times including emergency situations, caught hoo
Remi was a fantastic guide, always going above and beyond for our group to make sure we had the best time and everything ran smoothly. I ended up getting sick o
The first half of the tour was amazing, japan is absolutely stunning , the hotel's and breakfast was awesome and the included extras The snow was amaz
Was in the Egypt and the Contiki tour was scheduled to leave the next week. Wanted to see if there was any spots available but they would not look up to see if there was
Tour was good. Enjoyed the sheepdog experience immensely. But the trip manager slept with people on the tour w
Verbatim excerpts from verified TourRadar traveller reviews of Contiki trips.
Read before you go
See allGood to know
Is Contiki worth it?
Yes, for the right traveller. Guides are rated almost perfectly (4.98) and reviewers consistently credit them with turning good itineraries into unforgettable trips — solo travellers in particular feel looked after. The catch is food and accommodation trail behind at 4.42 and 4.49, extras can add unexpected cost, and a few reviews flag serious guide conduct issues and slow refunds. If you want a packed, social, guide-led trip and can accept average food/lodging as the trade-off, it delivers. That's distilled from 754 real traveller reviews, not from Contiki's own marketing.
How is Contiki actually rated?
4.74 out of 5 overall, from 12,195 reviews across 276 trips. By category: guides 5.0, itinerary 4.9, transport 4.8, accommodation 4.5 and food 4.4. The weakest score is the one worth reading the reviews about.
What do people complain about with Contiki?
The recurring themes in their own reviews: Food and dining quality inconsistent, Extras/add-ons not included in price, adds up fast, Not enough rest/downtime between activities and Rare but serious guide conduct and refund issues. We publish the complaints because a page that only lists praise is an advert.
What happens if I cancel a Contiki trip?
Deposit: £60 (UK bookings), then unlimited interest-free instalments. Balance due 60 days before departure (book inside 60 days = pay in full). Cancel 60+ days out: refund minus the deposit — but the deposit is banked as FlexDeposit, reusable on any future trip until your 36th birthday. Inside 60 days: escalating charges per their date bands — check your booking terms. Changes: No booking or change fees; bookings amendable up to 45 days pre-trip. Taken from Contiki booking FAQ, checked 2026-07-19 — verify at checkout, terms move.
Is Contiki good for solo travellers?
Yes — Contiki runs small-group trips built for solo 18–35s (groups of up to about 54), so most people arrive on their own and leave with a crew. You book your own place; the shared group is the whole point.
What age is Contiki for?
Every Contiki trip listed here is aimed at the 18–35 bracket. The operator sets the exact minimum and maximum age per trip, so check the specific departure before you book.
How much does a Contiki trip cost?
Across the 76 trips here with live pricing, the tour ranges from £335 to £4,795, with a midpoint of £1,321. Those are the operator's own prices for the tour itself. Add return flights and the tips a group tour actually expects and a typical trip lands nearer £1,786 — that second figure is our estimate, not a quote, and every trip page shows its own breakdown.
Where does Contiki go?
27 countries. By trip count: England (14), France (6), Italy (5), USA (5), Greece (4) and New Zealand (4), and 21 more.
How long are Contiki trips?
They run from 4 to 45 days, and the typical trip is 10 days — long enough to justify the flight, short enough for most annual leave. You can filter by length on this page.