Contiki Reviews 143

Please read the T&Cs. The $200 deposit is not given back if you choose to cancel your trip for whatever reason and they offer no solutions what-so-ever aside from "transferring to a friend"

It gives the impression that you can secure a spot on a trip for a low fee and with little commitment when that is not the case. I'd only suggest booking a contiki if you can pay the trip price in full.

Since returning from my trip I’ve tried to communicate with Contiki’s customer service advisors, but have had very little support.

I had to drop off my tour half way through, as there were members of the tour who were clearly ill and had been in contact with people with Covid, an illness which had previously hospitalised me.

These people were not asked to leave the tour, despite posing a clear risk to others. I was even told I had to share with one of these clearly ill people, and was unable to book a private room.

Despite putting my health at risk and forcing me to drop off the tour, Contiki have taken no responsibility.

The first half of the tour itself was great and the trip of a lifetime, I’m just sad I had to miss the second half due to Contiki not sticking to their own policies.

I did Cape, Falls, Safari trip with Contiki in December 2023. There were several instances of Contiki suggesting that an activity is included to the price yet they charged it extra in the trip. The PDFs they send before the trip (and the info they show before they sell) make it sound like a lot more is included than it is. When I confronted them about this, they refused to take accountability.

Overall, scammy company. You'll end up paying A LOT more than the base price, unless what you wanna do is literally stay in the hotel the whole trip. Also, they take *28* days to reply to your messages, which is insane.

So disappointing!

Absolutely horrible customer service. I've been charged twice two different amounts for the same trip after it was canceled because of weather. You can't speak to anyone and everytime I call its this will be expedited. Meanwhile they owe me over 3000 that I have to just wait for. I would never allow my kids to use this company again. We are ready to file a fraud complaint with the Attorney General's office

Would not book with this company again.

We made a reservation and paid in full. They got back to us to say that our trip had been denied. We ended up losing money. The money was also not automatically refunded and we had to go chasing it.

Staff were very helpful.

I went on the Ecuador and Galápagos Island tour with Contiki and if I had my time again, I would have booked with a different company, mainly because of the Galapagos leg of the trip.

Go to Ecuador and the Galápagos but don’t do the Galápagos with Contiki. It’s a complete rip off and we had horrible tour guides.

When we arrived in the Galápagos we were met by James and Andres. Throughout our trip it was unclear who was the trip manager. From the beginning, James was scowling at passengers, rushing the group and rarely had a kind word to say. He would often leave out essential information like what to bring at the start of the trip. This improved as the trip progressed and people complained.

On the first day we had a lot of different transportation, were rushed and my friend and I were nearly left behind on the first island as no one was counted onto the boat or kept together.

We were not warned how bad the speedboat transport was (we had to take this multiple times) and were shocked at how rough and long the trip was (this transport option needs to be changed). The boat was always crowded, without adequate ventilation and visibility, and jarring. It was definitely the worst part of my trip other than the frustration of the guides.

We had an optional bike ride that we were told was 'easy' and 'beginner' as many passengers expressed that they were inexperienced. Little did we know that the bike ride was in the heat, around 14 kms or more long and sometimes through sand which would trip people off their bikes (indeed one person fell off in the sand). When James saw that people were struggling to keep up he appeared angry and rushed us to continue. I personally had a bike that's chain kept coming off and got a flat tire. Then Andres swapped his bike with mine. There were also comments made that people shouldn't be walking only riding as it takes too long. The sights seen on this tour were not worth the long and tiring ride (particularly the mangrove section where we were bitten by many mosquitoes after not being warned about bringing bug spray).

On the included snorkeling on Isabella no one gave us any information about the animals including that sea lions may be swimming with us (so this was quite a fright for me initially). It would've been nice to understand some more about the creatures and the ecosystem throughout the entire tour.

There was no day song or day sheet throughout the entire tour. We often had to ask for information to be posted on the watsapp group and would often have a tour leader say "as I told you yesterday."

One day we were taken to a restaurant for a tiny included breakfast. On another day we were taken to a local restaurant for included breakfast and they ran out of scrambled eggs, and watermelon, and had low quality food and drinks. My roommate’s coffee had curdled milk that she couldn’t drink. James and Andres often disappeared during meal times and this was no different.

Part of the issue with being rushed was that we didn't have adequate toilet breaks. At one point at the Charles Darwin Centre I asked James if the whole group could have a toilet break and he said yes. When my friend and I went to the toilet he moved the group on and continued the tour without us and said snide remarks to other passengers while we were gone when someone suggested that the group waited for all members.

The Galapagos Planet Hotel room was loud (constant hammering day and night, loud slamming doors, drunk people yelling as they came home) and tiny. We had no hot water and no duvet on the bed. I complained about both of these issues to the staff but it was never fixed. So I gave up. My roommate and I ended up booking another hotel room for the last night due to lack of sleep.

I passed all of this information onto Contiki, so hopefully these issues will be resolved shortly.

They say you meet people from all around the world which is a bit of a false advertising. In fact 90% of the people on my trip are Australians. They also use what’s called dynamic pricing which seems sketchy at best. My advice; pay in AUD if you must go with a group. But imho it’s way more fun to just stay at hostels and meet people and party that way. Saves money and you meet more interesting people

Beware of Contiki Tours - Deceptive Sales Tactics and Heartless Policies

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5)

My experience with Contiki Tours was nothing short of a nightmare, and I feel compelled to share the truth about this company's deceptive practices and heartless policies. From the very beginning, I encountered red flags that should have warned me away, but unfortunately, I fell victim to their pushy sales tactics and false promises of flexibility.

Unhelpful and Confusing Online Assistance:
When I reached out for help in choosing a tour, I was connected with a representative named Karl. Instead of providing genuine assistance, he seemed more interested in making a sale than ensuring I made the right decision. Karl was pushy and insistent on reserving a spot immediately, even when I had legitimate questions and concerns about the tour. When I sought further clarification, he abruptly signed off without addressing my remaining queries, leaving me feeling disregarded and unsure about my decision.

Deceptive "Flexibility" with Deposits:
Contiki Tours boasts about being understanding and flexible when it comes to changes in travel plans, such as the unfortunate event of a loved one's death. However, my personal experience contradicts this claim entirely. Only a few days after signing up for the tour, I had to urgently change my travel dates due to a family funeral. I promptly contacted them, hoping to reschedule my trip later in June. To my dismay, I was met with a cold and unyielding response.

Heartless Cancellation Policy:
Despite their promises of flexibility, Contiki Tours imposed a substantial cancellation fee when all I wanted to do was change my travel dates. The cancellation fee was shockingly high, given that I had signed up only a few days prior. I was left feeling crushed and heartbroken, as I had lost a significant portion of my deposit, money that I couldn't afford to lose. It was clear that the company's empathy and understanding were just empty marketing claims.

Disgusting Lack of Compassion:
In the face of a family tragedy, Contiki Tours displayed a complete lack of compassion and understanding. They prioritized their profits over the emotional and financial well-being of their customers, leaving me deeply disgusted and disappointed in their business practices.

In conclusion, my experience with Contiki Tours was nothing short of a distressing ordeal. Their online representative, Karl, was unhelpful and pushy, and their claims of flexibility and empathy turned out to be outright lies. I caution anyone considering booking a tour with this company to think twice and explore alternative options that prioritize customer satisfaction and genuine care for their travelers.

Contiki is unsafe and doesn’t care about your safety. I had a roommate acting erratically and self medicating with whisky and cigarettes due to what they said was “severe mental health issues”. After some disturbing conversations I told the tour manager I felt unsafe and uncomfortable and his response was that Contiki was “Russian Roulette” with regards to roommates. Because of the behavioural issues of this roommate no one wanted to switch roommates (understandable) and I had to pay for my own emergency accommodation. In the end I had to pay for twice the accommodation as the tour manager didn’t care about safety and the only thing he offered was to profusely apologise on multiple occasions. I also followed up with the Contiki safety “specialists” but the issues was ignored and I didn’t receive a response with my concerns until months afterwards. Sad, as there was a lot of good people on tour but Contiki but it only takes a bad egg to ruin the trip if you get roomed with them. Was so traumatic I left the tour early and even then Contiki took the course of victim shaming. Can’t believe I paid money to an organisation that doesn’t take safety seriously

I had a positive experience with a LA to the Bay trip (California, Nevada, Arizona). I departed from London and all the stages of this trip went smoothly (flight, transfers, the tour itself, hotels). For what I paid at the time it was totally worth it.
Sadly I will soon be over the allowed age limit and will not be able to attend these trips anymore.
It would be great if they could extend the age limit. It saddens me to see so many negative reviews on here.

You can’t book without paying the full amount and then they take their sweet time to go back and say it’s all full. Surely you can check your availability without this back and forth?

Contiki will not allow you to join their trip if you have Covid-19 but refuse to give you a refund as they view it as a 'cancellation.' I hope you have good travel insurance and if you booked through Flight Centre, Covermore Travel Insurance will not reimburse you for your Contiki trip. Contiki's mantra is if you don't test for Covid, then you don't know, which is very irresponsible. 

You are going to get sick either with 'Contiki Cough' or 'Contiki Covid' and people do not cover their mouths, and no masks are worn. 
The Contiki coach won't always take you back to the hotel after completing your optional ad ons i.e., dinner. This is unsafe as you have to make your own way home and taxis, ubers and public transport is not cheap. Also, most people decide to party after the optional ad ons, sometimes until 3am so if nobody else wants to go home with you expect to walk the dark streets of a foreign country on your own. 

Sexual harassment is rife and can make the travel experience uncomfortable. 

There is a strong expectation to party, get drunk and have casual sex, and some roommates get too comfortable as they 'invite' a boy or girl into their room and have sex with them even if it is your room too.

Contiki cancelled our Andean Crossing tour with no notice whilst we were already overseas. We were only lucky enough to hear about the news word of mouth from a previous trip manager which stopped us from entering a zone of civil conflict. Contiki provided absolutely no communication about the cancellation of the tour and provided us zero assistance in getting back home. As someone who has done four other Contiki tours, I will never travel with Contiki again due to this appalling experience where my safety was severely compromised. Save yourself a hassle and book elsewhere!

We had a terrible experience with this company. We were meant to go on a trip of a lifetime to Peru in December but felt unsafe due to protests and state of emergency in the country.

Contiki has sent us no proactive communication and refused to offer any refund or altenative arrangements by telling us that things are starting to reopen even though tourists were being evacuated from Machu Picchu less than a week before our departure date. It doesn't seem right for them to take a decision on our behalf to potentially risk our safety by forcing us to travel to a country with such a volatile situation where things can change at any moment. Would recommend avoiding them as if anything goes wrong you will be left on your own and out of pocket.

Not being dramatic when I say they effectively have ruined a trip of a lifetime.

I’m due to go to Patagonia in February 2023 and they emailed me 5 days ago (with less than 2 months to my trip) to say that the tour I had booked on would no longer be going ahead due to “operational issues”. I have no rights to any compensation as they are not liable for anything if they cancel the tour up to 45 days in advance, but I am now faced with the challenge of rearranging the entire trip myself, as a solo female traveller, going to Patagonia in peak season when almost every tour is booked up. My flights are non transferable and non refundable so I’m not left with many options.

Their excuse is that unless a tour is marked as a “definite departure” on their website, it’s always possible the tour may be withdrawn. However at no stage was this made clear, and when I booked three months ago none of the tours were marked as “definite departures” so I would never have known the difference.

Disappointment doesn’t cover it. This is my first experience using Contiki and I can categorically say I will never go near them again.

I was a very loyal customer, went on two great trips before the pandemic. Before Covid Contiki was amazing and I really enjoyed the experience making friends and seeing unbelievable places.

But then after Covid, I then went back travelling with them in 2021 and although it started off ok and everyone started off fine, on the 4th day then this is when the trouble began, people were much more bitchy and were been discriminating towards anyone who was considered different and started leaving out certain people. This is when the double standards began such as people were allowed to be in the group and anyone who was different was put to the side, this was happen when I saw a group photo of everyone in the Contiki group except me and another person having a great time, even people I thought were my friends stabbed me in the back. After I filed a complaint towards the company about certain people in the group. The company advised this doesn't happen very often, which made me happy to go on another trip.

The second trip after Covid in 2022 had better people, but the Tour rep seemed to favour certain people and always gave me the short end of the stick. After a misunderstanding on the last night, I was once again given the short end of the stick by the Tour rep.

After a month later Contiki told me that I am not suitable to go on their trips due to feedback about me, yet they allow others who cause trouble to go back on their trips.

Contiki seem to have double standards - they are willing to let people do drugs, favor certain people and yet when it comes to certain people like me - they seem to give me the short end of the stick. Furthermore isn't the idea of the group was to travel and make friends along the way.

Don't travel with Contiki - their is favoritism and double standards in that company. Very disappointing how bad they have become.

Done a contiki way back in 2020 which was incredible before covid and that was in Australia. Was so incredible as the trip manger kept tabs on everyone and had rules and just wanted everyone to have a good time.

My recent Europe trip was good at times but near the end was completely ruined by literally nearly the whole group just taking tonnes of drugs and the trip manager done absolutely nothing.

You’re hardly safe on these trips now and it’s all about parting constantly. If you’re like me 25-30 age range steer clear of contiki. It used to be good but it’s really questionable. Also I got the contiki cough and got called a ‘dramatic’ by my trip manager when I ended up getting quite ill…. Turned out to be quite a bad infection in the end.

No care at all or consideration from the trip manager or group.

Like… made 1 friend LOL! Everyone was just off their face on drugs.

I was booking accomodation for before the trip in London, and booked through Contiki. Huge mistake.
Contiki told me I would have to pay a cancellation fee if I wanted to UPGRADE my room. This is absolutely ridiculous and no hotel would ever charge you a fee for wanting to upgrade (other than paying the difference of the actual room prices). I called the hotel (Royal National Hotel) to enquire about it, and they said there should not be a fee.
Contiki trying to rip me off is disgusting. To reiterate I WAS NOT TRYING TO CANCEL MY BOOKING. I WAS WANTING TO UPGRADE AND PAY MORE MONEY. Would recommend booking your own accomodation NOT THROUGH Contiki. Big mistake.

On hold for 28 minutes so far trying to cancel my trip because it can't be done online. I see now that the fee is 25% of the total, £270, because it's 41 days until departure, rather than their cutoff of 44 days.

The trips are amazing and well worth it. I give it 2 stars however due to terrible costumer service and faulty website (couldn't make payments, couldn't login, couldn't change password). Very unprofessional.