Today is an historic day and I know what you are thinking; Hans Christian Andersen was born in 1805 and International Children’s Book Day. You are so right, but today’s also the momentous day that Flight Centre launches our Guest Travel Blogger series and what better way than with a tour through France, Germany, The Netherlands and Switzerland? Shannon Rooney shares her incredible holiday experience while vacationing on a Topdeck Tour (for the 18-30 year-old market) she took from March 6^th -14^th. With that we hand it over to Shannon –

This was by far one of the best experiences of my life. I went into doing the Topdeck Tour thinking “Oh okay, another tour company, another day, should be interesting and pretty educational…” and not only was it interesting and educational but it was fun with absolutely outstanding in service! I met people on this tour who I will be able to call friends for the rest of my life.

I would recommend Topdeck for all kinds of travelers; leisure travelers, budget travelers, and educational travelers alike. The great thing about Topdeck is how much is actually included; oh and you can’t forget all the free time!

Topdeck provided us with amazing guided tours of Paris, Luzern, The Rhine Valley and Amsterdam. Some of the highlights included;

PARIS:

I don’t even know where to START! Paris is honestly one of the most magnificent places on earth and Topdeck didn’t miss a thing! We experienced a River Cruise of the Seine River, a Bicycle tour of Paris through rush hour traffic, a city tour of Paris including the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysée’s, The Louvre, and much more. They even took us on a gourmet picnic in front of the Eiffel tower! If you are looking for great nightlife in Paris I would suggest the Latin Quarter as it provides you with great restaurants, clubs and local flavors.

LUZERN:

Wow – I never thought I’d be able to say that I had visited one of the most amazing mountains in Switzerland; BUT I did and Mt. Rigi was beyond spectacular! When you go you have to go “sledging” which is scary at first; but such a rush! Going down the side of a mountain on a piece of wood is definitely a ‘must do’ on a Topdeck adventure.

This of course is not the only thing we did in Switzerland. We experienced the history of the town of Luzern and enjoyed some great food.

RHINE VALLEY:

When was the last time you stayed in a 12^th Century Castle? I can say it was in March of 2009. Not only does the Rhine Valley have the most amazing old architecture but it’s also famous for its Wine Valleys. Topdeck provided us with true local flavors and history.

AMSTERDAM:

What can I say about Amsterdam? Not only did we get the opportunity to do a bicycle tour of Amsterdam but we did a walking city tour through the famed Red light District, saw the Dam Square, and visited the Royal Palace. Shopping in Amsterdam is also a must as they have cobblestone streets filled with fashion outlets! Nightlife of course is huge in Amsterdam; hop on a dinner canal cruise through the city and then head out to a local club for a little bit of Dutch flavor if you can.

The Topdeck reps and tour guides are so awesome. I honestly didn’t know that someone could hold all of that information in their brains! These people are so well trained, so knowledgeable, so friendly, and of course so much fun! I can definitely say these are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Their number one goal was making sure we had fun and were learning on the way. By far this is in the top spot for the best time of my life.

If you don’t do anything else in your lifetime – do a Topdeck Tour. I guarantee you will make memories that will last!

Shannon Rooney is an International Travel Consultant based in Calgary, Alberta and can be reached at Shannon Rooney or 1 866 416 7716.

Categories: Destinations

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am and is filed under Destinations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.