The Balkans trip was lovely if not for a little off balance. I think that flow of the trip was extremely disjointed, with a lot of time spent in places with little to see and do, and very little time in exceptional places. The last two days felt like a very long bus ride and I don't think it was well planned out (specifically the hop (on some trips taking up to a full day) across the Serbian/Hungarian border). As a modular trip there were new people coming and going and lots of roommate switching which exacerbated the Contiki Cough, leaving most people sick for a good portion of their trip. The included meals were almost inedible, however the FTA meals were incredible. The Bosnia Dine with the Locals and Budapest River Cruise were to die for. There are some exceptional accommodations and some extremely sub-par accommodations, so make sure you do your due diligence in packing accordingly. There is a lot of free time and, depending on your Tour Manager, you may not get your Day Sheet in advance so come prepared with ideas of what to do in each city. The Tour Manager and Driver(s) on my trip were exceptional and had so much knowledge which really itched the history part of my brain. I also think that the cities/towns themselves were all quite beautiful - Sarajevo, Budva, and Dubrovnik being my favourites. I think that a lot of what made the trip great was driven by the Tour Manager, Driver, and other Travellers. I think the parts of the trip that left something to be desired could be fixed by an audit of the trip elements and scheduling. I had to change the dates for my trip and the team at Contiki made it exceptionally easy. I will say that I did seem to miss out on quite a few pre-trip communications from the company, however it did not impact my trip.

The Balkans Discovery has been my favorite Contiki trip to date! Croatia exceeded my expectations! Really enjoyed the kayaking experience in Dubrovnik, highly recommend! The culture and history you learn throughout the trip was amazing to witness and learn. Booking is always super easy and Contiki is always able to help answer any questions and help with booking the trip or flights.

It was amazing! Trip manager, Liv, went above and beyond. Beautiful sites and lovely people on board. When booking, I was under the impression that it would be a small coach with half the number of people so it was a big shock to know I was on a bus with over 50 people! This should be clearer on the website.

Favorite included activity was the dinner cruise in budapest and the tour. That was incredible. The tour guide had so much information and was welcoming. I liked that we took various forms of public transport throughout the tour too. Favorite place was Sarajevo. I admired the mix of cultures and I think we went slightly off season. So it felt like it was less touristy and we had the chance to speak with locals in our free time. We went during a crazy heat wave and there was a Balkan wide power outage, but it really added to the trip and somehow made it feel more authentic haha. Super easy to book! I liked the option of paying any amount off over time. The documents were well organized and sent a month prior to the trip start date which I appreciated. It made planning for before and after the trip much easier. I think something cool to add might be a way to get in touch with other people that will be on the same trip earlier. It could be helpful to plan a way to the start point together etc...

Trip was awesome! Maybe one or two more free time add ons would be nice but no complaints overall. Effortless and safe experience!

Everything was super easy as usual I absolutely loved this trip! All places were so beautiful. Meet amazing people and even made new friends. Great experience and certainly recommend it. I’m planning my next trip with Contiki for 2024 already.

The destinations on the trip were fantastic! Would have preferred one more night in Belgrade as it was way too rushed. Difficulty booking trip as I was not given confirmation for a couple days about my booking, and was unable to put a deposit down to confirm my spot like I had been able to with previous contikis.

Amazing experience, so glad I chose this trip…my only wish would be to do it all over again! Couldn’t have asked for a better trip manager and coach driver…and made some awesome new friends along the way. Worth every cent! The trip was easy to book, great customer service from Contiki. The only thing I wasn’t aware of was that there was the option to go Split to Split (as opposed to Split to Budapest). However, that was my bad for not throughly browsing the website when I booked.

Our tour guide Tom was amazing. However there was too much time spent on the coach. One of the countries we visited didn’t have much going on. Overall the sites we saw all started to look similar to each other.

The trip manager was really well organized with recommendations on where we should go or with what we should do. The activities were really cool because they immersed us and wouldn’t be something I would necessarily be able to do if I travelled alone to these places. Booking the trip was really easy and they ensure it’s flexible, so I have a lot more confidence that if something changes, I don’t lose all of my money. I really enjoyed the group of people I was with on my trip and how safe I felt in some countries that are perhaps a little more off the beaten path. I did have issues with a roommate and her cleanliness while she got sick, and my trip manager helped me resolve that as well. The bus driver was also extremely great at his job.