The final day of a massive tour is always a mix of anticipation and nostalgia. We checked out of our hotel in Belgrade and prepared ourselves for the stretch up to the Hungarian border.

Day Eight of my Balkan trip began by waving goodbye to Sarajevo and settling into our coach seats for a long, scenic journey stretching toward the Serbian border.

Our full day in Sarajevo kicked off with a familiar face. We met up with our incredibly engaging guide from the day before, Enes, for a group walking tour of the city centre.

Seeing Mostar lit up at night was pure magic, but seeing it under the bright morning sun was a whole different experience. The way the light hits the turquoise Neretva River rushing beneath the historic stone arch of the Stari Most is absolutely breathtaking.

There is a distinct thrill that comes with driving toward a destination you know almost nothing about. As a traveller, those are the places that usually leave the deepest impression.

There is no better way to get the pulse of a new city than a bright-and-early walking tour. It is the ultimate strategy for a traveller: you get a curated preview of the city's highlights, figure out exactly where you want to circle back to later.

There is always a tiny bit of nervous anticipation that comes with joining a group trip late. I officially met up with the Contiki crew at 7:30 AM, stepping into a group of over 20 people who had already spent a week bonding their way from Budapest through Slovenia and Croatia.

In August of 2023 I went with my friend on my third Contiki trip, this time it was LA to the Bay, exploring the American southwest.

It was such a great time, but of course, I’m here to share the good, the bad and the ugly.

Before we knew it, we were arriving at the last stop on our LA to the Bay Contiki trip – San Francisco. 

I’d never heard of Bass Lake before taking the LA to the Bay Contiki trip with my travel bestie, Sophie.

We’d be travelling from Las Vegas to Bass Lake, spending a night in a cabin, and then heading to Yosemite National Park for a day of hiking and gorgeous views.

I never really had a desire to go to Vegas, until I visited with our LA to the Bay Contiki trip.

Then I caught the Vegas bug and wanted to go back.

Getting to visit the Grand Canyon for a couple of days with my travel bestie and our LA to the Bay Contiki trip truly was an incredible opportunity.

I’d never thought about travelling to Arizona. And then it was a destination on our LA to the Bay Contiki trip.

Now it’s one of my favourite states, and I can’t wait to go back one day.

I’d never had the desire to go to San Diego before my LA to the Bay Contiki trip, but friends, I get it now.

We had met both travelling solo for 3 weeks across Canada, but instantly became close friends, and we knew we wanted to do it again.

So we looked at some overlapping bucket list destinations and chose to go on Contiki’s LA to the Bay trip together.

The Grand Canadian (now Ultimate Canada) 3-week journey across Canada was my second trip with Contiki. 

Vancouver would be the final stop on our cross-Canadian Contiki trip.

It had been a long three weeks, but it was full of adventure and I was really bummed that it was coming to an end. 

Banff was probably the stop on our cross-Canada Contiki trip that I was most looking forward to visiting.

It was somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit, but never got around to it. Now I’d be driving through National Parks and seeing iconic Canadian landscapes with other solo travellers.

As a person who doesn’t drive myself, I don’t know if I’d ever have had the chance to explore Jasper, if I didn’t go with my cross-Canada Contiki group. But the advantages of having our tour bus and a group of new friends to travel with were undeniable.

The drive from Whistler to Sun Peaks was a long but gorgeous one.

Our Contiki bus hit the road, and immediately I knew that day’s activity would be watching the scenery. We lost phone signal as soon as we drove into the Rocky Mountains, forcing everyone to talk to one another.