Unlucky in love and sick of dating apps? Perhaps your answer lies in a Contiki or Topdeck tour…
These days when it comes to dating, apps are the only way to go. It’s sadly now rare to look across a crowded bar, lock eyes with a stranger and experience a love at first sight that leads to a long-term relationship.
But all of my single friends complain about dating apps. There’s the time-consuming task of curating the perfect profile. Spending long hours looking at potential matches. Engaging in conversations that either fizzle out (because someone inevitably ghosts) or lead to an awkward first date…
I’m not saying that dating apps don’t work; I do know one person who met their long term partner that way. But for the most part, from what I hear: dating apps suck.
If you haven’t gathered already, I am not single and haven’t been for a long time. So long in fact, that I’ve never had to use dating apps. So how did I meet my partner of six+ years? On a Contiki trip in Europe.
Actually, it was a Topdeck tour but same difference. Eight years ago, whilst on a tour, I happened to encounter a fellow Australian travelling on a different tour.
We instantly connected, like we were old friends reuniting. After a magical day together in Rome, our tours went their separate ways but not before we added each other on Facebook (Instagram wasn’t as popular back then). We then stayed in touch for two years.
Then we finally met up again once I moved to Sydney (where he lived) and the rest is history; we’ve been together ever since. Sure, I could just be extremely lucky that I happened to meet ‘the one’ (even I rolled my eyes as I typed that; sorry) while abroad on a Topdeck/Contiki trip but I’m not alone.
Both Topdeck and Contiki have detailed blog posts that highlight multiple couples who met while on a tour. One couple, Stephanie and Dennis, met on a Topdeck trip too.
“We began the trip as friends and ended up falling in love while travelling Europe together!”
Stephanie
With a similar story to my own, a woman named Jillian met her now-fiancé on a Contiki tour.
“My fiancé and I met in August 2017 in Greece – he was on a 5-day Greece Contiki, and I was on a 5-week European Explorer. Our tours happened to cross paths on the island cruise… After becoming friendly – as we’re both from New York (neighbours, actually!) – we discovered he met my roommate in our local bar 6 months prior!”
“…We stayed friends for a year, then ended up taking another Contiki trip together in Argentina and Brazil. That’s where we decided to try out a relationship. Three years later, we’re engaged and planning a destination wedding!”
Jillian
Contiki was also responsible for Anne’s delightful love story…
“We met on the 21-day Contiki European tour in 1988. He was from California and I was from Ottawa, Canada. In Venice, we needed a sixth person for the gondola ride, and he offered to join our gondola. We hit it off and [34] years later, we are happily married with two wonderful kids.”
Anne
Now that COVID travel restrictions are easing/lifted in most parts of the world, perhaps if you’re single and looking for love you should ditch the dating apps and instead take a chance on a Contiki or Topdeck tour.
You might just hit the (dating) jackpot. And if not, at least you went on an awesome trip.
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