How To Share Your Space On Contiki And Stay Sane

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One of the things I was nervous about when I booked my Contiki was sharing life with so many people. So many strangers. While I don’t mind being around people, meeting new people, or even spending every day with the same people … it was still going to be a big change from normal life for the duration of the trip (5 weeks).

When you’re learning how to share your space with 35+ people on Contiki, you learn pretty quickly the vibes of others, how they go about doing things, organise themselves, and how they react to things … it’s a very interesting experience. Brilliant, for the most, part. But there are some things I wanted to point out in case you’re booking a tour with strangers or have been thinking about doing group travel but you’re quite sure yet.

When I did my Contiki, it was a 37-day European Adventurer trip, and we had 36 people in the group: 34 travellers, plus our Trip Manager and our Driver. Our TM and Driver were with us the entire time, so we shared space and life with them, too.

Living with 35 other people for 5 weeks seems like a daunting number (imagine doing the Ultimate European trip for 45 days and up to 50 strangers!), but I have to say after the first week of getting used to it and settling in a bit, it got a lot easier.

There are three main areas that I think you really notice that you’re sharing your space with strangers.

Sharing the coach
Sharing your personal space
Sharing the adventure/activities

Let’s dive into these things a little more.

Learning how to share your space on Contiki (or other!)

Sharing the coach

Ah the coach! Your main mode of transport if you’re doing group travel with Contiki.

Our coach, thankfully, was slightly fewer people than a full coach, however, it was still full of strangers. Until those strangers become friends, of course, but those first few days and even up to a week really, you’re travelling around with a bus-load of randoms.

The seats

People quickly discover their travel buddies and their spots on the coach, that’s for sure. One Day One, right at the beginning, I was one of those who jumped on the coach as soon as humanly possible (second on), to get a seat and sort of establish it as ‘my seat’ for my friend and I (we were collecting her and a few others in Paris, while we started in London).

If you’re a creature of habit, then this might be something you do, too. You’ve been smart enough to get on the coach first, grab a seat that looks like a bit of you, and because you’re a creature of habit, that’ll be your seat for the duration of the trip.

This is great until someone steals it. Jsut be flexible and don’t hold onto your seat too lightly. But also, don’t stir the pot and cause trouble if someone is obviously sitting in the same spot each day. Come on, man.

The overhead compartments

The most amusing thing about the overhead compartments on our Contiki coach was that they got fuller as the trip went on. At the start of the trip, everyone had a smallish bag that they put above them in the coach.

By the end, we had things like additional sweatshirts, shopping bags, and my umbrella that travelled all through Europe with me and I only needed it near the end (classic) … Everyone’s belongings sort of expanded over the course of the trip, which meant we ended up vying for space above the seats a bit.

Just remember to be conscious of your belongings and how much space you’re taking up. If you don’t need it on the coach, pop it in your suitcase underneath.

The bathroom on the coach

All the Contiki coaches will have a toilet onboard. I’m happy to announce that I did not use the coach toilet even once. 👏🏻

But it is something that you’ll be sharing with all the others while on board. We had a strict ‘only in emergencies’ and ‘only number ones’ rule for our coach, which meant that a) toilet smells were basically non-existent and b) our driver didn’t have to have a horrific time emptying out the toilet.

Quick tips for sharing coach space

Try to minimise the number of things you have on the coach
Be mindful of those in front and behind you
If there are rules to follow, make sure you follow them. They’re for the good of all. Trust me.
Embrace the current vibe. And what I mean by that is if the bus is in the mood for a sing-along, don’t get mad if you want to sleep. And vice verse. And whatever other vibe-scenario you can think of. You’ll stay a lot more sane if you simply embrace coach life for what it is.

Sharing your personal space

When you’re travelling with a group, you’re going to be in hostels and hotels. And when you’re booking a Contiki that is a hostel trip, it means that you’re going to be in bunks a lot or at least sharing a room no matter where you go.

Personal space suddenly goes from your entire house or bedroom back home to the surface area of your bed and a spot on the floor for your suitcase. And that’s pretty much it.

If you ever find yourself in a room that allows for a bit more spreading out, still remember that you’re part of a room with other people. And if you’re all trying to spread out a little bit then it’s going to become very chaotic, very quickly.

Quick tips for sharing your personal space

Keep your stuff tidy if you want others to keep their stuff tidy
If you need to make your space more your space, then about hanging up a blanket if you want a little more visual privacy
Respect other people’s space/bunks/bed/areas
If you’re leaving things in the bathroom, make sure there is room for other people’s things
Have gentle conversations with others if you need to, remembering that you need to travel with these people for a long period of time
Be mindful of noise. Everyone will be arriving at different times to bed, usually, so make sure you’re being as quiet as possible if you’re coming in late
Don’t hog the bathrooms or the powerpoints.

At the end of the day, the best way to stay sane while sharing your personal space in places like hostel or hotel rooms is to make sure you’re acting in a way that you would want others to act in. Which seems pretty obvious, right? Right. Be mindful and conscientious.

Sharing your adventure & days

The joys of group travel like Contiki are that even if you’re a solo traveller and you started this trip knowing no one, you get to experience some pretty darn incredible places with people. And even if you didn’t know them at the beginning of the trip, you’ll sure know them by the end.

You’re hanging out with these people in your transport, in your accommodation (and breakfast!), but you’re also doing a lot of adventuring and activities with these people.

You’re going to see these people a lot, every day, even if you’re getting out and about on your own, it’s likely you’ll spend a lot of your time with some of the group. Remember not everyone is going to travel like you, eat what you like to eat, want to do extreme sports, or party all night. Give people their freedom to do what they want to do, and don’t push them. You wouldn’t like that either, right?

Quick tips for sharing your adventures

If you want to do something that no one else wants to do, be brave and go and do it anyway. You’ll regret it if you don’t.
Likewise, if everyone is doing something you don’t want to do, don’t give in to peer pressure. Do something else.
Be on time. For the sake of your Driver, Trip Manager, and also your fellow travellers
If you have information that might be helpful for others (like the hostel wi-fi code!) share it with others
Look out for one another, especially if you’re out on the town at night

At the end of the day …

When you’re travelling with a lot of other people, learning how to share your space on Contiki (or other!) is going to be a contributing factor to whether you love it or it grinds your gears and you regret everything.

We don’t want that.

Remember to be flexible, conscientious, mindful, and open to conversations that need to be had if they need to be had.

You totally got this. 👊🏻

I’d love to hear about your experience with sharing your space during a group tour! Let me know in the comments!