TORONTO — Staying ahead of the curve with Gen Z and Millennial travel trends, Contiki’s just-launched Europe 2020 program has cut 23 trips and streamlined offerings to include train trips – a first for Contiki in Europe – plus new boutique accommodation and new conscious, wellness and active experiences.

Clients can save up to 25% off Europe Summer 2020 Discoverer, In-Depth Explorer and Iconic Essentials itineraries when booked before Oct. 31, as well as 15% off Sailing, Ski and Snowboard, Short Trips and Festivals and select winter departures when booked before Feb. 27.

Sheralyn Berry, President, Contiki Canada says Contiki “understands social travel has changed and what young travellers want is constantly evolving – which is why we’re constantly evolving our product.”

Introducing train trips is a first for Contiki in Europe, she adds. “We still love our coaches and we’ve released a new fleet with Euro6 engines – the cleanest on the market – but the key driver for our latest release is to provide travellers with a variety of options. I’m extremely proud of the new product our team has pulled together for 2020 and we can’t wait for travellers to join us on our newest trips.”

The 2020-21 Europe lineup also includes brand new accommodation in partnership with leading youth brands like Jo&Joe, Selina and Moxy.

Contiki is also introducing new ‘Special Stays’ including Noah Surf House in Santa Cruz, Portugal and a traditional Moroccan Riad with an indoor pool and cooking classes in Marrakech, alongside the newly renovated Contiki-owned Gasthof Schoneck.

The program also includes new smaller group sizes of 24 on train trips, optional start and end locations and a range of new cultural, local, food, wellness/active and conscious experiences designed especially for travellers aged 18-35.

New cultural experiences include alternatives to the traditional walking tour such as an e-scooter guided tour of Paris, a Kick-Bike guided tour in Vienna and an e-bike tour in Porto, a day trip to Windsor and Stonehenge in the UK and a guided visit to the Montmartre district of Paris.

New local experiences include learning to row like a gondolier in Venice, an evening seminar at the Prostitute Information Centre in Amsterdam and a Venetian mask-painting workshop with aperitivo in Venice.

New food experiences include learning to make Pastel de Nata in Lisbon, perfecting homemade pesto in Cinque Terre, a Catalan cooking class in Barcelona, dinner at the Time Out Food Market in Lisbon, an EatWith dinner with locals in Porto and an Icelandic farm-to-table meal in Efstidalur.

New wellness and active experiences include base ‘flying’ off a building in Berlin, bungee-jumping off a crane in Amsterdam, surf lessons and yoga classes in Portugal’s Santa Cruz, stand-up paddleboarding in Santa Cruz, Dubrovnik and Nice and a glacier adventure in Iceland.

New conscious experiences include a Cascais street art tour with local residents in Lisbon, an ‘Unseen tour’ of Covent Garden hosted by and supporting formerly-homeless people in London, a Refugee Voices tour of Berlin guided by Syrian refugees and the chance to take part in a reforestation program in Iceland.

The company says its new and improved Europe product for 2020 has also been “radically streamlined”, with 23 trips cut to improve quality and efficiency of itineraries. Updates have been made to a further 33 trips.

All new trips launched in Europe are seven to 12 days in response to a global trend for shorter trips, with an average trip length of 11.8 days predicted for 2021.

There is also more opportunity for travellers to start and end in different locations, like Split or Dubrovnik on the new Croatia Islands & National Parks trip, says Contiki.
New trips include Europe in One Week: Amsterdam, Alps & Paris; London to Berlin by Train; Berlin to Budapest by Train; Rome to Barcelona by Train; Portugal City & Surf; and Croatia Islands & National Parks.

Contikti says these six new trips have been added to more than 100 existing trips available in Europe with the company.