Home > Compare Adventure Operators > Contiki vs Topdeck
Contiki vs Topdeck
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Contiki and Topdeck.The Low Down
Over 35? Then Contiki is not for you. With tours and adventures designed for the 18-35's through Asia, Africa, North and South America and Europe, you'll need lots of energy for the good times ahead. Traditionally Contiki trips have been known for their late nights, lots of sleeping on the coach, and some sightseeing on the side. Contiki's philosophy of #NOREGRETS is about changing your perspective on the world, walking in others shoes, witnessing different cultures, religions, and ways of living. But most of all, it’s about living life out loud, unashamedly and completely, loving every single second of being young! 
If you are 18 to 39 then you might want to consider jumping onboard with Topdeck. Epic Euro Trips, in-depth small group trips, and tented camping trips around Europe in the summer months. While Europe makes up the backbone of Topdeck's range, they also run a series of tours through the USA, Canada, Africa, Asia, Australia & New Zealand.As opposed to Contiki, Topdeck trips allow you to be another 4 years older before you have to start considering alternatives. With the potential to still be boozy, party trips, the subtle change is age range means clients are more inclined to exploring the destination and culture, with plenty of free time on offer to do so.
Stats
No. of Trips
424
No. of Departures
9,656
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$271
Accommodation
2.5 - 3.5 Star
Age Range
18 - 35 Years
Trip Styles Coach Tours18-to-30'sSailing TripsFestivals & EventsShort BreaksWinter & Ski Trips
No. of Trips
80
No. of Departures
581
Avg. Trip Length
14 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$254
Accommodation
2.5 - 3.5 Star
Age Range
18 - 39 Years
Trip Styles Coach Tours18-to-30'sSailing Trips
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
Contiki are the world leaders in travel experiences for 18-35’s. We exist to connect young travellers to the time of their lives. We believe in real experiences and we care about making sure these experiences contribute positively to the people and places we visit. We are focused on discovery, once-in-a-lifetime moments, human connections, and making every second of being young count.
For over 55 years we’ve been perfecting the secret formula to the perfect trip - we know you’re after unique experiences, local insight and accommodation that’s more than a place to sleep. We run over 350 trips across 6 continents, each one designed to get to the beating heart of a destination, understanding the local way of life, unearthing unforgettable experiences and creating lifelong memories. Real experiences, unique accommodation, local food, the best team and awesome people all deliver Contiki’s no regrets experience.
Topdeck is a collective of explorers who are devoted to travel, we strive to open minds, shift perspectives, learn new things and make a difference. We build epic group trips for 18 to 30 somethings and our passion is to inspire young people through life-changing travel experiences.
With over 46 years’ experience, our business is to make travel dreams a reality, we know what works and we’re not afraid to shout about it. We offer variety, comfort and value for money, and promise a hassle-free holiday, loaded with authentic local experiences.
With loads of free time to explore, heaps of included meals, access to some amazing bucket list activities and the opportunity to meet a whole bunch of like-minded young travellers, Topdeck trips are way more than your average package tour. They’re the experience of a lifetime.
We build the trips. You build the memories. So, if you’re looking for an unforgettable adventure? Topdeck’s the only choice!
Recent Reviews
Can’t wait for the next Contiki. Only have one more year. 0 Darryl Rogers, Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada, Feb 2022
Everything about this Contiki was amazing. The guide was amazing and we will continue to be friends long after! The people were amazing, the extras and most importantly Ecuador blew me away with its beauty! I loved everything about this trip. Can’t wait for the next Contiki!
It was just great, I liked everything, the hotel, food, people, the activities. We had great weather too (lots of snow). The only downside was that there were no parties due to COVID restrictions in Austria.
Each day was jam packed with activities and I was happy we saw a lot of the main attractions in Iceland.
Amazing trip. So much adventure. Great people and great tour guide, Esteban. He gave us all the details we needed and always answered our questions and helped us in anyway he could!
Elise was amazing . As was Paolo our bus driver. Elise did a fabulous job navigating a great time for us during difficult circumstances (COVID)
Bravo Italia was a fantastic tour that included 16 stops around Italy. This is not for someone looking for a leisurely holiday - every bus day had stops at towns with walking tours and then time for lunch along with a group dinner once you arrived in your location, and most free days had included walking tours or activities that took up most of the ...read more morning. If you are looking to see as much as you can in as little time as possible I would recommend this. Our trip leader was highly knowledgeable and always happy to help if you had a question about where to go, what to do, etc. The other people on the trip were mostly from Aus/NZ and were mostly age 25+, with a lot of couples. Booking through Global Journeys was easy and I would use them again.
This tour is great for someone who wants to get a taste of many different countries in Europe and plans on returning later for some more in-depth travel. The tour is very fast paced, as you are on the bus almost every day, but the trips go by quickly and before you know it you are in a new place. The accomodations were all of decent quality, the included ...read more meals were nice and there was a great mix of planned activities and free time. There was never any pressure to do any activities though, so you could always go off on your own accord if you wish. My tour leader Jass and driver Filipe made the trip fun and I will never forget this experience. If you are thinking about it and are not sure... just do it. It's the best thing I've ever done and as a solo traveller was a great way for me to make friends.
Juliet at Global Journeys was an excellent travel agent - she put through all my request efficiently and promptly and was happy to answer any questions. Would highly recommend booking through Global Journeys as they gave me the best price I could find on this trip.
Juliet at Global Journeys was an excellent travel agent - she put through all my request efficiently and promptly and was happy to answer any questions. Would highly recommend booking through Global Journeys as they gave me the best price I could find on this trip.
A very fast paced and exhausting tour but really worth it. I got to visit all of the places I only used to dream of visiting. The accommodation was lacking in some cities but generally pretty good. The Topdeck tour leader and coach driver were very professional and lovely people. Some of the optional excursions were disappointing but I'm glad that I ...read more got to experience them.
Booking through Global Journeys was a breeze and Juliet Scott was fantastic! I would definitely recommend this trip and booking through Global Journeys to friends and family.
Booking through Global Journeys was a breeze and Juliet Scott was fantastic! I would definitely recommend this trip and booking through Global Journeys to friends and family.
I really enjoyed the laid back pace of this tour. Unlike the usual Europe coach tours, this felt more relaxed, mostly as it was one county and main transport by ferry. The accommodation could be better, hotels usually not in central locations (apart from the really small islands we visited) and fairly dated/old. Also, a large chunk of the tour are very ...read more young, be prepared for lots of alcohol/late nights. I found the pairing of roommates quite odd (e.g I'm in my mid twenties and shared with an 18 year old, another was a 30 year old with a 20 year old). Otherwise the tour was very enjoyable and I really enjoyed the amount of free time. The optional tours were worth it as well.
We both had a great time, got to see so much and learnt a lot along the way. Booking through Global Journeys made it very easy.
If you are looking for a week of fun and adventure tasting some of eastern Europe's most amazing cities this is the tour for you! I made the most amazing memories with some pretty amazing people! Just a warning this tour does join a bigger group who has been travelling for about 2 weeks prior but don't let that turn you off because I had not problem ...read more me and the other people going in bonded and we integrated pretty well into the larger group.
Starting with Budapest the welcome dinner was massive and the ruin bar we visited was awesome! But we turned in early on the first night as a lot of the new travellers had a big day of travel. We walked up to the Budapest castle and relaxed in the thermal baths, drank way too much in the ruin bars and danced out hearts out! The optional dinner cruise was a great way to kick of a big night and seeing the city lit up from the river was incredible. The dinner was amazing though should have been advertised as a buffet as I was expecting a sit down meal and 2 bottles of wine (which for my table turned into 4) were a great compliment to the cruise.
Krakow was the next city and the quick walking tour that night was good for getting our bearing on the city! I paid for the optional pub crawl which I highly recommend it was a night I will never forget and the hour of free drink definitely helped that. The next day I did the optional Jewish walking tour and the salt mines both were informative but with the hangover form the night before by 3pm I was struggling. Auschwitz was something you just can't miss when in Poland and I'm happy that was an inclusion in the tour. It was also made clear that if we were struggling with the visit we were more than welcome to come back to the bus and have a chat! It was nice to know we had a safe place if it was too much! The only overall downside to Krakow was our accommodation classified as a hotel upgrade it was awful and was a real let down. it was also far form the city center. A lot of us would have preferred to have stayed in a hostel closer to the city centre.
After that we ventured onto Prague a city which I fell in love with and probably the best time I had on the tour. The city was gorgeous filled with amazing food, beautiful architecture and it was easy to navigate. The night we arrived in Prague we had an informative walking tour and then we headed out for a night in the 5 story club. Being a Sunday night it was pretty quiet but our group made fun for itself. My night ended on a bad night having my phone lost/stolen (the latter more likely as i found out later that the club is notorious for things going 'missing'). But none the less I had a good night and I was having so much fun that the next day it was a joke and my new friends kept my spirits up and let me forget about it! We spent that day running around the city visiting all the gorgeous sites and just having too much fun! That is a day I will never forget and it is because I was on this tour!
All of the inclusions from the hotels to the breakfast and the extra activities were well worth the money. But being in Europe everything is cheap and you can enjoy without having to worry too much about money. You do spend about 3 days on a bus but I enjoyed the bus journeys even when were delayed because we caught up on the sleep we were lacking (only sleeping for 3 hrs a night was catching up) watched movies and chatted. There were plenty of breaks as well. Our tour leader Amanda was amazing could not recommend or praise her enough! She included us newbies, had itineraries, Facebook groups, recommendations everything you could ever want or need from a tour leader she had! Sergio our bus driver was hilarious, including and a lot of fun! Booking with Global Journeys was easy, quick and would definitely book through them again! Overall this is an amazing trip and I couldn't recommend it enough!
Starting with Budapest the welcome dinner was massive and the ruin bar we visited was awesome! But we turned in early on the first night as a lot of the new travellers had a big day of travel. We walked up to the Budapest castle and relaxed in the thermal baths, drank way too much in the ruin bars and danced out hearts out! The optional dinner cruise was a great way to kick of a big night and seeing the city lit up from the river was incredible. The dinner was amazing though should have been advertised as a buffet as I was expecting a sit down meal and 2 bottles of wine (which for my table turned into 4) were a great compliment to the cruise.
Krakow was the next city and the quick walking tour that night was good for getting our bearing on the city! I paid for the optional pub crawl which I highly recommend it was a night I will never forget and the hour of free drink definitely helped that. The next day I did the optional Jewish walking tour and the salt mines both were informative but with the hangover form the night before by 3pm I was struggling. Auschwitz was something you just can't miss when in Poland and I'm happy that was an inclusion in the tour. It was also made clear that if we were struggling with the visit we were more than welcome to come back to the bus and have a chat! It was nice to know we had a safe place if it was too much! The only overall downside to Krakow was our accommodation classified as a hotel upgrade it was awful and was a real let down. it was also far form the city center. A lot of us would have preferred to have stayed in a hostel closer to the city centre.
After that we ventured onto Prague a city which I fell in love with and probably the best time I had on the tour. The city was gorgeous filled with amazing food, beautiful architecture and it was easy to navigate. The night we arrived in Prague we had an informative walking tour and then we headed out for a night in the 5 story club. Being a Sunday night it was pretty quiet but our group made fun for itself. My night ended on a bad night having my phone lost/stolen (the latter more likely as i found out later that the club is notorious for things going 'missing'). But none the less I had a good night and I was having so much fun that the next day it was a joke and my new friends kept my spirits up and let me forget about it! We spent that day running around the city visiting all the gorgeous sites and just having too much fun! That is a day I will never forget and it is because I was on this tour!
All of the inclusions from the hotels to the breakfast and the extra activities were well worth the money. But being in Europe everything is cheap and you can enjoy without having to worry too much about money. You do spend about 3 days on a bus but I enjoyed the bus journeys even when were delayed because we caught up on the sleep we were lacking (only sleeping for 3 hrs a night was catching up) watched movies and chatted. There were plenty of breaks as well. Our tour leader Amanda was amazing could not recommend or praise her enough! She included us newbies, had itineraries, Facebook groups, recommendations everything you could ever want or need from a tour leader she had! Sergio our bus driver was hilarious, including and a lot of fun! Booking with Global Journeys was easy, quick and would definitely book through them again! Overall this is an amazing trip and I couldn't recommend it enough!
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