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Visiting Amsterdam for the Second Time
I’ve been travelling since I was about 18 months old. My family and I (obviously, including me) moved to Mongolia for three years, and we took a few excursions home to New Zealand, as well as around Asia. And in all my travelling, usually, I like to go places I haven’t been before. I love exploring new places, eating new-to-me food, and…
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Taking a Visit to Juliet’s Balcony, Verona
There were definitely stops along our Contiki route that I hadn’t really clicked were famous places. The big spots, yes, and I was looking forward to those, but I hadn’t really engaged much with the itinerary in detail for some of our mini stops along the way. And visiting Verona and Juliet’s balcony was one of those. I absolutely wish…
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Riding the Hop on Hop off Barcelona Bus
I am no stranger to exploring a new city by bus. So when my friend and I (okay, and our whole Contiki group) found ourselves in the height of summer in Spain with not much of a plan, we decided to try the Hop On Hop Off Barcelona bus. I’ve talked about the Hop On Hop Off buses before (and…
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5 European Countries I’d Go Back To
In 2024, I spent nearly 7 weeks gallivanting around Europe and the UK on a huge Contiki tour. It was a lot of fun, and I am so glad I made the decision to go. There were so many stunning European countries and cities that we visited along the way – I ended up going to 17 that trip! –…
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Is Pisa Worth Visiting? My Honest Thoughts
Our stop at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, was fleeting. We were enjoying our Contiki, coaching our way around Italy by this stage, and while we didn’t stay in Pisa, it was a lunch stop on the way to Florence after we’d been in Venice for two nights. We only had a few hours there, so is Pisa worth…
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Visiting Venice Italy – Is Venice Worth It?
One of the things I was really looking forward to when we were on our Contiki trip gallivanting around Europe was visiting Venice in Italy. I feel like for the majority of my life I’ve thought (and let’s be honest, said out loud on numerous occasions), “I want to visit Venice before it sinks”. Anyone else say that? ✋🏻 Well…
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Visiting the Trevi Fountain in Rome
There’s something incredibly odd about standing at the foot of a monument you’ve only ever seen in history books at school and university, or seen in part in movies. It feels a little surreal. Though I have to say, while we were visiting the Trevi Fountain, the crowds definitely made it seem more tangible and ✨there✨. When we rolled into…
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Take a Walking Tour of the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona
Over the course of my 5-week Contiki around Europe in 2024, I discovered that I actually really enjoy walking tours. We ended up doing quite a few of them, even if they were short, whether they were guided tours or self-guided. Only about a week into our trip, we ended up doing a walking tour, Barcelona edition, through the Gothic…
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A Breakdown of the Contiki Special Stay Accommodations
If you’ve been checking out Contiki’s websites and looking at the various epic-looking trips they offer, you’ll notice that in the itinerary for many of the trips they have accommodation listed as Contiki Special Stay. These are, as the name suggests, accommodations along the way that are a little bit more than your average hotel or hostel. They might be…
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The Poetry Pharmacy on Oxford Street in London
The Poetry Pharmacy is an absolute joy to visit The Poetry Pharmacy in London was a bit of a surprise finding for me earlier in 2024. I think it was on a Reel on Instagram or a post or [insert another place online where you might see such things], and I immediately saved it and sent it to friends. Little…
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Things to do when you visit Nice, France
When we were on our Contiki, one of the things we got to do was visit Nice, France. In fact, we had two nights, one full day, and while it was incredibly hot and I sweated far too much (tmi sorry), it was such an enjoyable stop along the way on our European Adventurer trip. We had one full day…
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Visit Arles, France where Van Gogh’s Famous Yellow Cafe is
The city of Arles is very unassuming. While we didn’t have long there – barely time to find a restroom and grab a bite to eat as we made our way through France, the small city of Arles, with its 50,000 or so people, was a sweet one to walk around, even for a short time. The city lies on…
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Europe’s Highest Chocolate Shop | Lindt Shop Jungfrau
Not gonna lie, I had no idea that a) there was a chocolate shop at the top of Jungfrau Mountain and b) it was something I should be looking forward to when I booked my Contiki. But the Lindt Shop at Jungfraujoch is Europe’s highest chocolate shop and it was an absolutely brilliant surprise when we explored the mountain. It…
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Visit the Picturesque Town of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
I didn’t realise that I should have been looking forward to visiting Switzerland while on Contiki much more than I was. But when we arrived in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, I knew in an instant that even though we were mere days into our 37-day trip around Europe, it was going to be a highlight. And it was. The sweet wee town…
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Visiting Paris for the Second Time
The year was 2013. It was probably around October or November, and my family and I lived in England but were moving back to New Zealand, where we’re originally from, in January 2014. We had lived in England for about 2 years and had been to a bunch of places in Europe and further afield, but hadn’t made it to…
