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People I met who did Contiki really enjoyed it, saying that you really bond with your travel mates and that you get to do a ton of things. The complaint is that you couldn't really enjoy the places you went to because it was far too fast paced and that they felt they only got an overview of several cities and that it mostly served as a means of telling them which cities they intended to later revisit and chill out & enjoy.

As a lone traveler or even a pair I think this would be a great option, but with a group of friends I think that Contiki would not suit your purposes because it is for the most part a social thing rather than getting to really see any city. I've not done it, but that is the message I received from the people I met along the way traveling post-contiki-traveling. As a group I'd recomend doing either the bus-about tour or doing the train thing. Bus-
about drops you off at the best hostels the city has to offer, and nearly always assures you a room (I believe). TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HOSTELS, They are beautiful. Avoid YHA hostels.....they are utterly devoid of spirit and life. Independent hostels have such personality and are cheaper, generally. They stick together too so where ever you are there will be flyers for the next cool hostel. Guide Books have good recs too. Bus-About takes you to these if you choose to do it. The fault with Bus-About is that your route is planned and while it's really great, you have limited say. Independent travel is the best because you can meet someone and decide to go to a different city than you planned or bypass a city they think sucks. Personal recs are very helpful.

Check out Rick Steves!

Cheers & enjoy your travels....

Cory