Meet Matt Grieves
Sharing expertise in Group Tours and more
My Story
Hi, I’m Matt Grieves, a former Police Officer from Brisbane, Australia. In 2010, I went on my first overseas adventure, which opened my eyes to the world of travel. After joining a tour of Europe with Contiki in 2013 and seeing what my tour leader got to do for work, I thought ‘How do I get that job?!’
When I got home I looked up their careers page and wouldn’t you know it, they were hiring for the next season. I was a bit lost in my policing career at this point so the following year I decided to apply.
After going through the rigorous interview process, I was one of the lucky few out of thousands of applicants to land a position on one of the 2015 training trips. I somehow managed to survive the gruelling 10-weeks of training and was immediately posted to the Greek Islands…oh how horrible I hear you say.
Of course, it was an amazing season, and I knew I wanted to continue, so I handed in my badge to return for the 2016 season. Over the next few years I took young travellers all over Europe including Scandinavia and even into Russia. Over the winters I was lucky enough to join the team in Asia running the Big Indo China tour visiting Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Leading groups of young travellers was an amazing experience but after 3 years it had taken it’s toll. So in 2018 I took a break and moved to Munich to be a bike tour guide with Mike’s Bike Tours. It was another amazing adventure and I fell in love with Munich even more. But by the end of the season I was missing my life on the road, so the following year I returned to coach tours with an up and coming travel company called Expat Explore.
Along the way I have learnt a lot about the history of the world, different cultures and also how to successfully navigate from place to place whether on my own or with a group of 50 happy, sometimes scared, passengers behind me.
Now, at the close of 2024, I have embarked on my biggest adventure yet—becoming a father! I’m certainly excited to see how my world will change with the arrival of little ‘Fika’ and have, of course, had to assess my life on the road.
So rather than be away from my daughter for months on end I’ve decided to instead dedicate my time to sharing the knowledge I’ve picked up over the years. The travel blogging scene might be over saturated but I believe I can offer a unique perspective on the world of travel and offer some insight that many of today’s amateur travel writer’s can not.
Contiki
Contiki is well-known in Australia. It is a right of passage for young Australians to ‘go on a Contiki.’ Due to the exclusivity for 18-35 year olds, you get to travel with a group of like-minded travellers. I enjoyed my tour so much that 2 years later I was sitting up the front myself and I haven’t looked back.
Mike’s Bike Tours
In 2018, I had a break from my life on the road and took up a gig in Munich as a Bicycle Tour Leader with Mike’s Bike Tours. I was always fond of Munich as it was the first European city I explored as an adult and I had done the bike tour on my first Contiki trip. It proved to be a fantastic year discovering all that Munich has to offer and drinking a lot of beer along the way. The best bit was the culmination of the season, the Oktoberfest!
Expat Explore
I had heard of Expat from some of my Contiki colleagues who had made the move over. They raved about the working relationship with the office and how nice the passengers were. Feeling the itch to take up the microphone again I applied to join them in the 2019 season. Here’s a photo of me and the other new tour leaders from that year. As you can see Expat does not take itself too seriously. With a focus on fun and providing amazing value, they are growing year-on-year and taking it to the more established brands.
Who is TourRadar?
Throughout the site, you will find references to ‘TourRadar,’ and you might wonder who they are? Well in their own words..
“TourRadar is the Organized Adventure Platform, offering the world’s largest selection of multi-day organized adventures worldwide. TourRadar connects travelers and travel agents with over 2,500 multi-day operators, offering 50,000+ adventures in 160+ countries.”
If you’re ready to start exploring, then click on the link below and check out their website. You won’t be short of choices no matter where in the world you wish to explore.
