ef tours paris hotel

EF Tours Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Is EF Tours right for you?   

So your kid just came home from school with a gorgeous full color brochure about an upcoming trip to Europe with EF Tours that one of their teachers is leading.  He or she is super excited about all the cool things they get to do and is just begging you to let them go.  

It sounds great, but as a responsible parent, you want to know exactly what you’d be sending your child off to do, and how things would actually work on this trip.  

Well, lucky for you we took a 12 day visit to Europe with EF Tours, and have all the details to decide if taking an international trip with this company is right for you or your teenager.  

We’re going to start with the breakdown of how things work with EF and what to expect as a participant or a parent, and then move on to our specific experience with our tour.  

I always like to start my reviews by reminding you that I was not compensated in any way to write this post.  All opinions are my own, and all costs were paid out of our pocket for this experience.

What is EF Tours? 

EF Tours is a travel company that specializes in international tours for students.   

According to their website , EF Tours has been in operation since 1965 and offers trips for students and teachers designed to “provide immersive, life-changing education.”

Basically, EF Tours organizes international trips for students to a wide variety of destinations, promising “compelling itineraries” full of “experiential learning.”

They also promise to have the “lowest price on the market” for this type of travel.  

EF, as a company, offers may types of tours ranging from group trips for adults to organized gap years for high school graduates.  While these options are available, the bread and butter of the company is the basic high school student tour which is what we took.  

How do EF Tours work?

EF Tours have a pretty straightforward process during the sign up period, prior to departure and during your trip. 

Before we get into that, it must be said that EF Tours operate fully independently of the local school district, and are not endorsed or supported by them whatsoever.  

While this may seem like a school trip, it is not.  It is a trip run by a business who just happens to recruit participants through the school system.  Your local principals, school boards, etc. have zero control or influence on these trips.  The school is only involved in the process as far as whether they allow teachers to hand out information in schools or not. 

The EF in EF Tours stands for Education First.  According to their website, EF claims to “design tours to help educators teach, and so students can learn more—about tolerance, other perspectives, and themselves.”

The Sign Up Process

EF Tours are set up to be “hosted” by a local teacher who is then designated as the “group leader.”  Teachers are incentivized with free and reduced price travel to recruit students to join their tours.  

Tours are advertised by the group leader/teacher to students at their school and to their local community.  Interested students and parents are invited to attend informational meetings either in person or virtually where the group leader/teacher goes over the itinerary and any questions potential participants may have.  

Students and parents can then sign up directly through the EF Tours website, and submit all payments directly to the company.  

Trips are usually initially introduced about two years before the travel date so that participants can make smaller monthly payments to cover the cost of the trip.  Costs for these trips can range widely, depending on the destinations and length of the trip.  

EF has the group leader/teacher set up deadlines for signing up to go on the trip, sometimes including small discounts to encourage enrollment.  This tends to give a false sense of urgency to the sign up process. 

We found that participants can sign up just about any time before the trip departs.  We signed up about a year out from the trip, while another student who traveled with us signed up just a month or two before we left.  

Anyone was allowed to sign up for the trip.  We were encouraged to invite friends and family to join us on the tour, whether or not they were associated with our school or even local to our area.  

Adults did need to pass a background check in order to participate in the trip, since adult tour participants are traveling with minors.  

We were not given specific dates for our trip, but instead we were given a window of time during which the trip would occur.   Our dates were finally confirmed about two months before our departure.  

There are usually two or three optional excursions that can be added to any tour.  These usually include some special activity or visit to an additional landmark.  

Tour participants may also choose to upgrade the insurance for the tour. 

Before Your EF Tour

Once you’ve signed up for your EF Tour, you’ll be given access to a tour portal on the EF website where you can track your payments and what steps you need take next to participate in the trip.  They also provide a fundraising page, where friends and family can pay EF directly to offset the cost of your trip.  

Our group had a few in person meetings at a local restaurant prior to our trip where we discussed issues ranging from passports to packing for our trip to Europe , and got a chance to meet our fellow travelers.  This may or may not be true or all groups that are traveling with EF.  

Each participant in our tour was required to submit a copy of our passport to EF to insure that we had the proper documentation to travel.  

Information about our flights was not available until about a month before our departure, and information about our hotels was not available until we were about three weeks out from leaving.  

EF Tours uses a wide range of airlines, and travelers do not get to indicate a preference.  EF books all travelers in economy class seats for all transportation methods.  EF will book with whatever airline has space available for the lowest price for the group.  

As for hotels, travelers know very little about where they are staying ahead of time.  Per the website, tour participants are assured that “travelers can count on safe, clean and comfortable hotels with private bathrooms” but much beyond that the info is sparse.  

Students can expect to room with one to three other students, and possibly have to share beds.  Adults can expect to share a room with one other person.  For a fee, a single room can be requested for the tour. 

EF does indicate up front that hotels may have small rooms without air conditioning, television, or elevators, and that WiFi may not always be available.  

During an EF Tour

All transportation arrangements are made by EF Tours, including flights, buses, trains, etc.  They book all accommodations and attraction admissions for tour participants. 

Two meals a day are included in the cost of a trip with EF Tours.  Breakfast is provided each day at the hotel, usually continental style, but sometimes with hot offerings just depending on your hotel.  Dinners are are pre-arranged with a preset menu by EF at local restaurants.  EF will make accomodations for those with specific dietary needs, such as gluten free or dairy free meals.

While the teacher recruiting students is designated as your group leader, they don’t actually lead the tour once you start traveling.  EF provides a Tour Director to accompany your group through the entire trip.  

This Tour Director is supposed to handle just about everything on your tour, including all your pre-booked accommodations, meals, excursions, tickets, and transfers.  This person is there to direct the group and handle any problems with logistics you may encounter along the way.  

During the tour, your group will meet up with various local guides who will give you some sort of tour of the city or historic site that you’re visiting.  These tours are usually walking tours, but sometimes are bus tours, depending on the location.  

Tour participants are also given access to an EF Tours App, that just lists your daily itinerary for your trip.  

Our EF Tour Review

Our specific tour featured quite a daunting itinerary.  We toured Europe for 12 days, visiting sites in London, Paris, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and Capri, with no more than two nights in any destination.  

Our tour consisted of 26 travelers from our high school: three teachers, seven adults and 16 students.  We were combined with a group from upstate New York consisting of 14 travelers: one teacher, one adult, one child and 11 students.  There were a total of 40 people on our tour.  

What EF Tours Promised

Before our tour, the group leaded made sure every person who showed an interest in going on the trip got the glossy, full color brochure that outlined our itinerary and told us what to expect on the tour.  

The brochure promised that participants would be “surrounded by the people, the language, the food, and the way of life” of the destinations on our itinerary.  We were assured that our tour director would be “with us around the clock, handling local transportation, hotels, and meals while also providing their own insight into the local history and culture.”  

We would be spending time in three different countries, seeing some of the most beautiful and historic cities in Europe.

The brochure also claimed that students could earn educational credit while on tour, and that all tours feature “experiential learning activities.”

Our tour left some of these promises unfulfilled, but did give us a glimpse at some fantastic destinations in Europe and some amazing memories.  

Our hotels along the trip started out stellar but seemed to go downhill from there, unfortunately ending in truly unacceptable accommodations.  

Even though this wasn’t guaranteed, all of our accommodations had some sort of air conditioning, with some that functioned better than others, and all of them had WiFi.  

For the first four nights during our stays in London and Paris, we were sent to Hilton Hotels .  They both were on the higher end of what I expected based on the descriptions provided by EF Tours of what our hotels would be like.  

The rooms at these Hiltons were very new, immaculately clean and extremely comfortable.  They were both located about an hour outside of the city center, but that wasn’t too much of a problem.  

When we reached Italy, things changed a bit.  

For a quick overnight in Milan on our way to Florence, we stayed at and AS Hotel in Limbiate.  This hotel was a bit older than the Hiltons we’d stayed in, but it was clean, spacious, and comfortable.  

Between Florence and Rome, we spent the night at the Hotel Villa Ricci (not pictured).  This hotel was significantly older than the other three we had stayed at, but it was still clean and comfortable.  While the room wasn’t much to write home about, some members of our group lucked out and got spectacular balconies. 

Once we arrived in Rome, the Villa Aurelia was our home base for two nights.  We learned that this hotel had once housed men studying to join a monastery, which explained the doritory feel of the place.  Again, we found these rooms to be clean and pretty comfortable.  

On our way to Southern Italy, we spent the night in Sorrento at Sisters Hostel .  This was the only true hostel on our trip.  While they still stuck with four students to a room, several of the student rooms had enough beds to sleep up to 12 people. 

Though not quite as refined as the Hiltons, and a little slap-shot with the furniture, we found this place to be clean and welcoming.  While it wasn’t quite as comfortable as some of the other places we’d stayed, it was completely acceptable and had a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples from the rooftop terrace. 

Things took a turn for the worse on our last night of the tour, when we stayed at Hotel La Pergola in Rome.  This place was truly one of the worst hotels I’ve ever had the misfortune to stay at (and as a travel blogger, I’ve stayed at a LOT of hotels).  

Things started off badly when we discovered that the lights in all the hallways were not on, and that we had to hunt around with our cell phone flashlights to find our way to our rooms.  I asked the front desk to remedy this, but it was never addressed, and we had to repeat the blind search for our rooms every time we went up.  

Upon arrival in my room, I found it to be extremely dirty.  There was a layer of dusty film all over my bathroom and my pillow had an unidentified crusty stain on it.  My daughter’s room had the same layer of dirt in the bathroom, plus a shoe print from where someone killed a bug on the wall.  I checked our beds for bedbugs and thankfully did not find any. 

The front desk did not seem to care and we were told no one was available to come clean the bathrooms.

But the worst experience in this hotel went to a dad on our trip, who’s single room contained only a sofa.   Not a sleeper sofa, but just a hard couch.  There were no linens or towels available to him whatsoever. 

When he asked for these items at the front desk, he was told that we should have called earlier to request them since they were all locked up in a cabinet by the time we arrived at the hotel.   He ended up sleeping on a towel laid out on the sofa with a travel neck pillow, that had been provided to him by his daughter from her room.

The front desk attendant seemed more than annoyed anytime someone from our group would approach them, and insisted that we all leave our keys at the front desk when leaving the hotel for dinner that night.    

We weren’t left with much recourse, since this was a group trip and we were on our last night, so we decided to just grin and bear it, and did our best to get some sleep.  

Overall, I’d say that the hotels provided were quite good, with the exception of Hotel La Pergola.  For ten of the eleven nights of our trip, we were provided with clean, safe accommodations that lived up to what the EF Tours website told us to expect.  

At the time of this publication, EF Tours has been notified of this unacceptable hotel and has yet to respond.  

Meals on the tour ran the gamut from weird to stellar, but overall were not to bad.  Breakfast and dinner every day were included in what we paid for our tour.  

All breakfasts were served at our hotels.  Sometimes they were just continental breakfasts with cold offerings, and sometimes we were given hot breakfasts with eggs, bacon, and such.  Sometimes it was quite obvious where our group was supposed to go, and sometimes it wasn’t. 

Overall, breakfasts were adequate throughout the trip.  

Lunches were not included in the initial price of our trip and were paid out of pocket each day.   

Lunches were always a gamble.   It all depended on where we were and what was going on whether or not we’d get to select a restaurant on our own or if the group would be directed to eat at somewhere specific, and if we’d have lots of great choices or really limited options.  

For example, on our first full day of the trip, we visited the Tower of London.  We told to make sure we ate lunch after our tour, before rejoining the group to get on the bus.  The only options available to us were food trucks along the river right next to the Tower complex.  

It was the worst during our travel days.  We were frequently told we could just grab a bite to eat at the train station or the airport, only to be left with minimal time and very limited options.  

But some days lunch was great.  During our time in Rome, lunch came with some free time to wander, so we were able to go out and select the restaurant of our choice.  

Some days our tour guide would set up a lunch option for us, having arranged a preset menu and price with a local restaurant.  Those options were usually something like a burger, pizza or a cold sandwich.  

I’m not sure if the lunch situations were like this because of our tour guide or because of EF itself.  Sometimes it seemed inevitable, like when we were stuck in an airport or train station.  Other times it seemed like our guide might be creating these situations by not fully informing us what was available near by.  

All dinners were set up at local restaurants before our arrival.  We did not get to select from a menu and were all served the same thing each night, with the exception of those who had special dietary needs.  Each meal came with water, but we were allowed to order additional drinks at our own expense if we choose to do so.  

The worst dinners EF provided happened during the first few days of our trip.  During our entire time in London, we were not once served any traditional English food.  Our Tour Director said it was because “London is a melting pot of cultures,” but our group didn’t buy that.  

Our first group dinner in London was at a Korean restaurant where the group was served a hot stone bibimbap with chicken.  I’m normally a big fan of Korean food, but this wasn’t great. 

The next group dinner was at a Polish restaurant where the group was served a fried chicken patty and french fries.  

When it became apparent on the second night that we weren’t going to be getting any traditional English food, my daughter and I made arrangements to go get dinner on our own, and pay for it out of pocket.  Four other members of our group chose to join us.  

We simply got information from our Tour Guide when and where to meet up with the group after dinner and selected a nearby local pub so we could have a traditional English dining experience.  

Dinners seemed to improve when we got to France. During our first night there we had a lovely traditional French meal of chicken with mushroom sauce in the back room of a small picturesque cafe with a ton of ambiance.   On the second night we had a traditional Alsatian dish called Flammekueche, which was sort of like a pizza with a creamy sauce.  

In Italy, the dinners were quite good.  Of course we were served a lot of pasta, but we also had braised beef in tomato sauce, gnocchi, and pizza.  

According to the folks on our trip who had special dietary needs, the dinners were pretty good for the most part.  Although it did seem that everywhere we went in Italy, anyone who was gluten free or dairy free was served watermelon for dessert.  

Before we left on our trip, we were told by our group leader that we shouldn’t need more that $25 US dollars per person per day for lunches and snacks.  We found that that number was not quite accurate for us, especially if we ever wanted to stray from the planned meals that EF Tours had set up for us.  

We also found that we frequently needed to buy water to stay hydrated in the high temperatures of Italy during the summer, and at most of the locations we visited, water was marked up quite a bit.  

Overall, the meals on our trip were pretty good, but could definitely have been better.  

Our Itinerary

We knew going into this tour that our itinerary would be extremely hectic.  With no more than 48 hours in any location, we expected it to be jam packed.  It was kind of like a tasting menu, where you got a little bit of each destination.  

What we didn’t expect was the significant amount of wasted time and changes to our itinerary that happened on our tour.  

Things started off poorly when our tour guide was an hour late to meet us at baggage claim and then our bus was over another hour late to pick us up at the airport.  

While our tour guide was a very sweet, personable woman, she didn’t seem to understand how to manage the timing logistics for a group of 40 travelers.  

Our group was quite good about being on time to meet up locations with a couple of small exceptions that could not be helped.  No one wanted to be the person that made us late.  

Our tour guide didn’t seem to have this mentality.  She was frequently the last person downstairs at our hotels to meet our bus 15 to 20 minutes after the time she told us to meet her, and did not budget in adequate travel time to most of our destinations. 

For example, while we were driving across Italy, she had our driver stop at a large gas station for a bathroom stop.   She told us we only had five minutes to use the restroom and get back on the bus.  It’s completely impossible for 40 people to make use of just a handful of bathroom stalls in five minutes. 

We were late to our tours in London, Florence, and the Vatican.  We were late to our tour of the Colosseum in Rome.  We were late to our appointment at the Louvre.  We were so late to our tour of Pompeii.  This significantly hindered what we were able to see at our destinations, and made the whole tour seemed very rushed every day.  

Things like this happened over and over again throughout the trip.  This resulted in our group being habitually late to most of the tours we went on, and significantly cut into our time at some really important places.

The only times it seemed like we weren’t late was when we had to catch a flight, a train, or a ferry.  

There were also some pretty significant changes to our itinerary. 

Several items listed on our initial brochure were changed before the trip due to pandemic restrictions and travel challenges, which was fine.  We had ample notice and knew what to expect.    

But there were several instances where visits to certain locations were dropped off our itinerary completely, and visits to other non-advertised locations were added.  

Sometimes this was a good thing, but sometimes it was incredibly frustrating.  

In London, a walking tour of Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden and Leicester Square was replaced with “free time” at the British Museum, which we really didn’t mind. 

But in Florence, visits to San Miniato al Monte and Piazzale Michelangelo were dropped off the itinerary with no explanation.  

On our way to Rome, our guide added a stop in Ovierto, a beautiful small town with picturesque views, wonderful dining and great little shops which we enjoyed immensely. 

But in Paris, a visit to Montmartre was abandoned, even though our dinner restaurant was within a mile of the historic location.  

The best unexpected addition to our trip in my opinion was the opportunity to see a musical in the West End of London.  Our guide was able to secure tickets (for an extra fee) for those who wanted them to a performance of Wicked during our free evening.  It was absolutely fantastic.  

But in the most frustrating example, during our time in Paris a visit to the Frogonard Perfume Museum was added to our itinerary.   No one asked to go there, and most of us seemed annoyed that we were stopping.  We were assured that the stop there would only last 30 minutes, but it ended up taking three times that, leaving us only an hour and a half to visit the Louvre before we had to be back on the bus to catch a flight to Italy.  

These added stops almost always involved additional costs as well, which we were not informed of before leaving for our trip.  This caused problems for a few kids on our trip who weren’t expecting these costs, and they unfortunately had to miss out on some of the better additions. 

There also seemed to be major sites in some of these cities that were not ever even an option to visit or see, due to our limited time in each city.   We didn’t go to Westminster Abbey or St. Paul’s Cathedral while we were in London, and there were too many things to count in Paris that we didn’t even glimpse.  While we were aware of this upfront before the tour, it really did feel like they didn’t allow enough time in any location to really see the cities we were in.  

Despite these frustrations, the itinerary did take us to some fantastic places and we had some absolutely unforgettable experiences.  We had a fantastic time seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.  We enjoyed a truly magical and unexpected sunset under the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  We got to listen to an orchestra perform in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.  We were able to marvel at the unparalleled artwork inside St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.  We saw the stunningly beautiful sites of Capri from a private boat tour.  Those memories are truly priceless.  

During our trip there were extra excursions offered in any city we stayed in more than one night. 

In London, the excursion was a visit to the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel type ride that gives riders a birds eye view of the city.  In Paris, it was a trip to Versaille to tour the palace and the gardens.  In Rome, it was a tiramisu cooking class.  

We choose not to participate in the excursion in London because I’m not the biggest fan of heights, and in Paris because my daughter wanted the opportunity to spend some extra free time in the city.  

I’m extremely glad we made those decisions.   

While the London Eye excursion seemed to go well for those who went on it, it was over priced.  EF Tours charged each participant $60.  Tickets can be purchased individually at the ticket booth for just $42 USD or for groups ahead of time for just $24 USD.  I’m not sure what EF added to the experience to warrant that upcharge.  

By skipping the London Eye, we were able to have a bit more time to explore and plenty of time to enjoy our pub dinner that we mentioned earlier since the London Eye excursion was timed to happen right before dinner.  

In Paris, those who went to Versaille told us the experience was underwhelming because of the limited time available inside the palace, and the lack of lunch options available to those who went.  

The Versailles excursion seemed overpriced as well.  EF Tours charged $114 USD to each participant.  Tickets to the entire estate are free for those under 18 years old and cost under $30 USD for anyone else, and that’s without a group discount.  Even if every single person had to buy a ticket,  I can’t imagine that the cost for a group tour and the transportation to get the group there cost an additional $84 USD per person.  

The tiramisu cooking class in Rome was not optional for our group for some reason.  I think our group leader made that choice when she set up our trip.  We paid an extra $85 USD above and beyond the base tour price to experience it.  While I could not find information about individual class pricing, I highly doubt that EF paid that much per person for us to spend an hour making tiramisu. 

I will say that the class was a fun experience at a great location, and we all enjoyed the desserts we made together.  

Overall, unless an excursion is of special interest to you, I wouldn’t recommend participating in them, simply because they seem overpriced.  Having extra free time to see the sites of your choice seemed to be the best option during our tour.  

Education on an EF Tour

EF Tours makes a big deal out of their tours being focused on education.  We were promised “experiential learning activities” during the trip.  They even claim you can earn credit for going on these tour.  

We found that there wasn’t that much education attached to our tour.  

The local tour guides who showed us the sights of each city were the most informative folks on this trip, with extensive knowledge of the history and culture at each stop, but we were forced to use amplifying devices called Whispers in order to hear the guides.  These Whispers often had glitches or were garbled, making it very hard to understand our guides.  

Other than the local tour guides and maybe the tiramisu class, I wouldn’t call just visiting these historic places an “experiential learning activity.”  

We also learned that our high school would not give any credit to students who participated in these trips, even though much was made of the educational credit during the pitch to get us to join the tour.  

This isn’t to say that we didn’t learn anything on our trip.  We did have some great cultural experiences while we traveled.  But learning seemed to take a back seat to just being in another country in most circumstances.  

Safety with EF Tours

As a parent considering an EF Tour for my teenager, I know safety was a big concern for me.  

When my husband and I decided to send our daughter, we felt like one of us should go with her since she was only 15 at the time we went on the trip, and had not traveled internationally like this before.  

For the most part, I felt quite safe during our trip.  

Before our trip, our group leader did make sure to advise us about pickpocketing and theft at major tourist sites in Europe, and advised us to be prepared.  She did make sure we were always wary of our passports and where we were keeping them during our travels.  

While on tour, there was only one time that I felt like our group was taken to an unsafe area.  That was during our terrible last night in Rome when we had to walk from our hotel to our dinner restaurant through some pretty sketchy areas of the city.  

Although student were allowed to go out on their own during our free time, they were asked to go in groups of three or four and were left in pretty safe areas to spend their free time.  

The biggest problem I saw with safety was when our Tour Guide would take off walking at a breakneck speed, frequently leaving half our group stuck at crosswalks or a few turns behind.  She usually did a count to make sure everyone was there when we were ready to leave, but she did leave people behind at least twice during our trip and have to go back and get them.  

Most of the time we had no idea where we were headed when we were walking to different locations.  We were never given the names of the restaurants or addresses of where they would be unless we specifically asked for them.  I think communicating with the group more about where we’re going could have avoided some sticky situations that a few of our travelers found themselves in when they were left behind.  

We also didn’t have a way to contact our Tour Guide directly.  Only a couple of people were given her contact information, which made communication confusing and difficult during our free time, especially when she got delayed during our free evening in Paris and our meeting time had to be pushed back significantly.

Curfews and group rules were left up to our group leader, who didn’t set many boundaries for our students.  

Since the legal drinking age in the areas we visited was 18, student who met this requirement were allowed to drink alcohol on our trip, but were asked to limit it to one drink with dinner.  By and large, our students respected this request and did not take advantage of the lowered drinking age to go and party it up.  

Trips like this EF Tour require students to be pretty mature when it comes to safety.  We had a wonderful group of kids who took their personal safety pretty seriously, and didn’t take unnecessary risks that would put them in jeopardy.  Had it been a different group of personalities, I’m not sure how it would have gone.  

EF Tours:  Our Final Verdict

Would I travel with EF Tours again?  That seems to be the question at hand here.  

My EF Tours experience definitely taught me a lot about group travel.  As someone who travels pretty frequently , I usually make most of my own travel arrangements, from flights to hotel reservations to activities.  It was quite nice not to have to worry about any of that.  It really did take a lot of pressure off to just let someone else do all that work. 

But relinquishing that control does require a certain amount of trust.  There were some areas that I would definitely trust EF to arrange again, and other areas where I really think they could do better.  

For this trip it really came down to adjusting expectations once we were traveling.  I really did expect there to be more education involved in what we did while on our tour.  I really did expect to spend some quality time at these major historic sites. 

Once I realized that time would be much more limited at every destination than I expected it to be, the trip went much more smoothly.  

I think our experience would have been better with a more seasoned Tour Guide.  Ours just didn’t seem quite ready to handle all the pressures and logistics that are required for managing a group of 40 people for 12 days.  

EF Tours is definitely a budget tour company, and for the price, you do get a good experience.  

Did EF Tours create the trip of my dreams?  Not by a long shot. 

Did they create a good experience for students who haven’t done a lot of international traveling?  I’d say yes.  

Do I regret going on an EF Tour?  Absolutely not.  I had some incredible experiences in some amazing locations with my only daughter, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.  

Would I go on another EF Tour?  I think I would, but I would definitely choose a slower paced itinerary with more time in each destination.  

Do you have any questions about EF Tours that I didn’t answer?  Feel free to ask me in the comments!!

EF Tours Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Saturday 20th of July 2024

We just back from a Greece and Italy tour. Most of the issues you had we had as well. Education was limited and we didn’t have time to explore the areas we were with the guides. We had 1 to 4 hours of free time and we didn’t plan ahead because we didn’t get details ahead of time. One example was the night before we traveled we were told we will go to the beach so bring a towel. We were not in a hotel when we went to the beach so around 8:00 pm we had to walk around to find a store with beach towels. Once we left the beach we had to change into our clothes at a restaurant before we got on a ferry. On our schedule it indicated it was an overnight ride but that day we found out we would be on the ferry for 20 hours. I could write a blog on our experience on some of the hotels, the amount of travel times, the lack of information, and unexpected changes. We did enjoy seeing the areas we were exposed to and enjoyed the food that we bought.

Sunday 7th of July 2024

This is a very fair review of EF Tours. I think it gives great insight to what to expect on the basics for one of their tours. I am a teacher and I have "led" (organized) tours with EF since 1998. I'd like to share a little in response to some of the things you mentioned. Hopefully, the teacher who organized the trip you were on took the time and gave very honest reviews on each hotel, each dinner restaurant, & the tour guide. I know EF takes looks into those reviews. We were once joined at a dinner in London (by an EF worker from the London office)... when I asked why she was eating with us, she commented that the restaurant had gotten some negative reviews so she was there to check. I have even been encouraged by a tour guide to make sure I give an honest review and provide details when a hotel is subpar. It happens occasionally but is not the norm--maybe one hotel every other trip, depending on the location. (on a side note, I have never heard back from EF on any "complaint" review I have given.) The last hotel you mentioned should not be, and may not be now, used by EF. The leaving of the keys at the desk has been quite common on most of my trips. It's because of the number of people (students) who lose keys while they are out--so I have been told. We have had to do this in numerous countries throughout Europe. As for the meals, when I first starting traveling with EF, there was always a balance of trying to make sure kids ate and didn't leave dinner hungry but also trying to get students to experience local dishes. I was asked once what I wanted the group to have for dinner--spaghetti (again) or another dish and I chose the other dish. Well, that didn't go well as most of the students just looked at their plate (I thought it was pretty good and nice to have something different). Needless to say the restaurant owner didn't seem to happy either. Again, I think it is a tough balance. However, you shouldn't have been served chicken patty and French fries. (Again I hope the tour guide and teacher gave honest reviews). The overall outcome of the trip really comes down to the tour guide. Having a tour guide who is a GREAT COMMUNICATOR, very organized, manages time well, etc. can make a trip amazing. The tour guide makes or breaks the trip. My last trip in Rome, our guide had us up early (which we didn't like) but when we were standing in the Colosseum basically by ourselves, because we were the first ones in, made it worth it. I would day that most of my EF tour guides have been good...some have been great...a couple have been exceptional. You are definitely right on the next trip being fewer destinations. I have found that fewer countries & not selecting those costly excursions, allows for more free time. EF tried to pack in all they can in a short time. Your lead teacher has to choose trips wisely and know how to work in free time. Obviously I continue to travel with EF--they are a budget company which can attract more students--and your review was pretty spot on with what that budget tour is. It is a quick paced & see all you can in a short time. Your lead teacher has to know some of the inner workings (like contacting other teachers and getting the names of recommended guides) and you really need to get a good tour guide. Both of them need to take the time and do honest reviews. Those things make a huge difference for your trip and for future trips for others.

Louise Emery

Tuesday 9th of July 2024

Thanks for your input! It always helps to have info from someone else who has experience from another perspective.

Friday 21st of June 2024

Our son's backpack is still standing in the corner, gathering dust. Like many people here, we were introduced to EF tours through our son's school, which gave them an air of credibility in our eyes. However, we will do the best we can to advise our school to never work with them again.

Like the author of the blog post, we were not told an exact date, but a timeframe for travel in the months ahead. In fact, they gladly took our money (more than $3,000) without feeling the need to communicate with us before our planned departure date. Because EF Tours is expensive, kids of only three families sought to participate. Within the week of departure we were told to pack and meet at the airport at a certain time on Saturday evening. Only, on Saturday, mere hours before we were going to drop off our son at the airport, the trip was called off.

It took days before our chaperone told us the reason why: she had her passport stolen and could not travel. This is an extenuating circumstance for the company, I understand, but also is no fault of the families. For nearly a month we heard little from the company itself other than they'd offer vouchers and refused to reimburse the families who could not go at other times during the summer.

Nearly a month later, we were offered a replacement trip of the exact length, places, and program of the original trip. This was planned to head out on July 7. We really were hoping our son got to go after all. However, EF Tours now asked for $800 more - not $80, but close to a third of the amount we already paid them and had not received anything for yet (not even the common courtesy that they would communicate with their paying customers). Only a month later, the same trip cost nearly 1/3 of the original price more, vouchers or no. How much more would we pay, even if we were still willing to send our son with them the following year?

There was no guarantee. In fact, when we reached out to EF Tours, they insisted on keeping our money in exchange for vouchers (for those who had other plans and could not travel at the later date) as well as the additional $800. They actually provided us with their law offices address.

We communicated our experience to the State's Attorney General office, the BBB, as well as the FTC and received note from the former two that they have taken up the case.

I would recommend to anyone considering traveling with EF Tours to either go with a different company or plan a trip for yourselves. Just like with people, the true character of a company shows when things do not go as planned. EF Tours is of a scam character to say the least.

Tuesday 25th of June 2024

Wow! $800 is a crazy amount to ask! I really hope you get a resolution soon.

Wednesday 29th of May 2024

We are the latest scapegoats of EF tours which is not worth 10$ for the time they make you wait doing round about trip for 40 hours for a travel worth 14 hours . THE most pathetic travel plan i have ever seen in my entire life. Instead of paying for this tour, I would have taken my entire family with much better planning saving time and money. JUST NOT worth it and am hoping to do something more than just commenting here to avoid atleast 1% of naive parents into signing up for future EF tours from school.PLEASE don't waste precious time

Tuesday 28th of May 2024

Hi Louise A great review, thank you. I am an EF tour director, though I only continue to lead tours where I have already worked with the Group Leaders (the teacher organizing). I won't defend EF, there's no getting around the fact it's heavily profit-driven and as such does not use resources on adequately training its staff, whether they are office based or TDs. They use the cheapest bus companies, negotiate the cheapest menus, the cheapest room rates but of course spend a huge budget on marketing and corporate BS - and it works, they are the biggest student tour operator out there not to mention all its other extensive enterprises. Everything is done last minute which hopefully gives some explanation as to why TDs are often beyond frazzled and they have to spend time away from the group, particularly in their hotel room each night emailing and sorting out things for the next day or next few days which should have been organized well in advance by the company. And given how early morning departures are and late finishes at hotels, you can see that they get very little sleep. More and more we complain that TDs are having to spend days and days in advance on admin to make the tour anything like acceptable - time when they are not being paid and think about it, they have chosen a job which is not office based but are being forced to do so much admin which any other company would handle in the office. We are either already on tour, so it is taking time away from our current group, or we have to spend less time with family when we are in between tours. Cheapest labor, in fact it is free labor! To say nothing of how late they pay us and even then they dispute a lot of payments so we have to wait even longer. Of course TDs should never be late, this is appalling. To play devil's avocate though, in my time I have bumped into colleagues along the way who are in floods of tears because of how their tour is going. Almost always to do with impossible itineraries, tickets not arriving and the company not supporting them, but also sadly, due to relations with travelers. The most likely is parents who have elected to travel on a student trip without understanding what they means for them (long days, staying in poor quality hotels, rushed meals etc.). And sometimes it just takes a bit longer to compose yourself before going back to meet the group. Often I have to be on a call and skip a visit that I was really looking forward to just to sort out some s*** so the tour goes well. Of course to maintain professionalism, I would never tell the group that I have been sorting out s***, they just assume I've been gorging on gelato. Sometimes we are not even provided with a ticket to go into a museum or theatre so we cannot join the group. All aspects of the job has got worse and worse over the years and many of the experienced TDs have jumped ship where they are better paid and generally treated more humanely. I think it is worth emphasizing the importance of strong leadership from the Group Leader. It s amazing that some are willing to travel with kids they have never met until they arrive at the airport. A good teacher will pick good chaperones and give them guidance to prepare for the tour. So free time can be very different between one group and the next. It may sound like kids are let lose, but it is almost always in a controlled environment and the teacher will have set up parameters the students have to keep to. Again the biggest trouble makers are typically parents who travel with the group. Regarding educational aspects of the tour, I would like to deliver more education and we certainly used to do more. But as hotels have got further and further from the centre, meaning longer and longer hours on the go with very little sleep, bus journeys means the students need to catch up on sleep. There are some EF tours which are more educational-focused such as STEM, WW2, And don't forget there is also the 'soft skills' element that should not be overlooked - for most students this is their first time travelling abroad, certainly without their families. So learning self-reliance, not losing their passport, budgeting their spending money, navigating teenage relations, meeting foreigners, starting to understand their own limitations and what they are willing to compromise on or not... there is so much that they are learning and absorbing which you will not find in a text book, but this is life learning and the most rewarding part of the job is to see the kids blossom. More often than not it is the students who are introverted, who make the biggest steps and make the most progress - starting to speak words in the local language, trying different foods, open their eyes wide. The confident kids often stick together and don't appear to grow as much. One of the biggest problems with this kind of tour is that the more things listed on the itinerary, the more people sign up. As an example. teachers often say that they offer a tour, get a few signing up, then they amend it to include Paris and boom, a full bus. Only the most experienced of travelers would look at the shiny marketing brochure and question how it is possible to pack everything in. But having everything in is what sells tours. Kind of a vicious circle. Versailles optional - this is a tricky one. It is overpriced, but is a bestseller and I would like to offer some perspectives. Don't forget to factor in the service you are getting - sure, go there alone, work out the route from which of the Versailles train stations you can work out you can get to and yes under 18s enter for free, work out how to get an adult ticket on your own, queue for a long time (just google the length of those lines), work out where the bathrooms are on your own, options to eat, what train to get back... There are more costs involved with a group. for this visit In order to skip those long queues, groups must pay for group reservation fee, whatever the age of the group. You have to pay for 2 guides if there is more than a certain number in the group, so they split the group in half and have 2 tours at the same time. The Whisper audio headsets have a fee. The bus has to have a separate fee and parking. So yes, it is very profitable, but perhaps not as much as you think. The travel business can be precarious, just look at the pandemic years. Imagine airlines going on strike or sudden weather changes. Tour companies need a little reserve to deal with emergencies and the profits from side trips like Versailles is useful for this. Of course when it is clear that this tour company makes a lot of money by being very cheap on meals, poor buses and hotels, this is hard to hear. Some side trips like the London Eye are absolutely a rip off and teachers should really be more wise to this. Now that I mainly work for companies that have a calmer itinerary, the difference is immeasurable. A good one for teachers and trip organizers to work with is Lingo Tours. Each tour is bespoke so you can bring them your itinerary ideas, they will work with you to come up with something that truly works. Meals are high quality and usually offer a choice and hotels are so much better quality and even if they are not very central, they are not far out like with EF. You will get sleep, you will get an experienced tour director (you can even bring your EF TD with you, we are all freelance after all), you won't pay more and you won't regret it! You won't feel like you are part of a factory product and you will have decisions explained to you so you know you are offering a quality product to people signing up. But, like your tour director, you need to have experience because taking students away on a tour is no easy task and it takes time to understand all that it involves. Another small company that will work with you to design your tour is Global Explorers LLC. ACIS is also good for brochure tour style, but generally works out more expensive, same with Passports. Explorica is the real rival to EF and has a similar set up and EF does not let TDs work for both companies. You have have to laugh, on the EF website it says "Reimagining student travel, one itinerary at a time". If reimagine means "providing a worse product and service than last year" then they have that written correctly. They certainly do not do one itinerary at a time, they do everything en masse and this is a problem - they never turn down business and have too many tours going at the peak season. Adjust expectations appropriately. I hope this comment helps some people to understand the challenges of student touring.

I am happy that I can be helpful. CHAOS and ADRENALINE is how these tours are run. It's a big pity, there is really enough money in the company for these to be great tours. The family who own EF are on the Forbes rich list. Their business school has a reputation like Trump's did! But the family are good at business themselves , very good. But at the end of the day, whether EF does a good job or not, we all need to understand that more people are traveling than ever and this has an impact on many aspects of trips, especially group trips.

Thank you SO much for this info! Having a TD perspective is really fantastic, and does give insight to how things are run. I especially appreciate the recommendations at the end!

Where we stay

We hand pick the best hotels and shared-rooming accommodations, always located in safe and convenient areas.

Ibis Styles Athens | Athens, Greece

Curated to the max

Treat yourself to the perks of Plus. Stay in hotel-style accommodations and room with just one other person. Designed for friends, couples, or anyone that just values their privacy, Plus combines an immersive itinerary with more space to unwind.

Anda Venice Hostel | Venice, Italy

The most bang for you bucket list

Essential is the budget-friendliest way to see the world. Bunk up with your travel BFFs in handpicked, shared accommodations with sweet common areas. Perfect for solo travelers and social butterflies.

Sample accommodations around the globe

Generator Paris

Rooftop & lobby bar

24-hour lounge

24-hour laundry

Free breakfast

Grocery store next door

Metro stops nearby: 3 stops within 5 minutes

Nearby highlights

Famed Montmartre neighborhood

Buttes Chaumont Parc

Picasso Museum

Sacre Coeur Cathedral

Cruising the Canal de St. Martin

Waman Inn Machu Picchu

English satellite television stations

Rooftop bar & lounge

Room service available

Subway stops: 3 within 5 minutes

The sprawling Inca ruins of Machu Picchu

Picturesque mountains and the Rio Vilcanota valley

Hotel Abril Seville

Restaurant on site

Free coffee daily

Sevilla historic site

Plaza de la Alameda for nightlife

Orizontes Hotel

Dry cleaning & laundry

Outdoor pool & jacuzzi

Restaurant on-site

Fira & Pyrgos Village

Great views of Santorini Island, Caldera and Volcano, Fira, Oia, Akrotiri, and Aegean sea

Athinios Port

TOC Hostel, Barcelona

Rooftop pool & lounge

Shared kitchen access for guests

Laundry service

Parc de la Ciutadella

Barcelona Cathedral

Arc de Triomf

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Traveling with EF Tours

In grade 12 I took a Europe trip with EF Tours and my high school. The trip brought us to  Italy, Switzerland and France  and was about 13 days long. This trip was by far a highlight of high school for me and opened my eyes even more to the world around me. Previous to this trip I had traveled as a kid, and I had went to Europe on an exchange in Spain, but this trip was my first big trip that allowed me to see multiple countries within Europe.

We landed in Zurich, Switzerland and then traveled to Lucerne where we spent a few days in a cute little hotel that was right in the mountains. I was actually terrified when our giant bus was trying to navigate up the mountain that had no guardrails on the roads. The hotel was very traditional and beautiful. While in Switzerland we also went up  Mount Pilatus  and even had the option to toboggan down part of the mountain. I don’t remember why I opted out of this, but I now wish I hadn’t!

After Switzerland we headed to  Venice, Italy . Our hotel was off the actual island and we took a ferry over to Venice for about a day. Each hotel we stayed in on this trip was really nice, especially now looking back on it and comparing them to the hostels I’ve stayed in since then. Most rooms were very spacious and hotels were traditional and cool. While in Venice aside from regular sightseeing we went to a glass blowing demonstration and a lace making factory.

We then hoped on a bus to travel to Rome. The one thing about this trip is we spent a lot of our time on buses, which for a short trip like this it would’ve gave us more time to fly or take trains. Within Rome we did the regular tourist attractions including the Vatican, which was probably the longest and most boring tour of the whole trip. I wish they had given us free time to explore on our own. Actually at a lot of the main attractions, shorter guided tours and more free time would’ve been ideal, so if you weren’t interested in the particular museum, etc. then you could spend less time there and more time somewhere you were interested in.

After Rome we headed to Florence which in comparison to other places we went wasn’t my highlight. When I had returned here years later I enjoyed it much more and that’s probably because we focused less on museums and more of actually seeing more of Florence on our own. Although being a high school tour I understand why they make us go to all these different museums and educational places. Florence was our last stop in Italy and we headed out to France after this.

Our first stop in France was the French Riviera which was absolutely, knock-your-socks-off beautiful. Visiting Eze and Monaco were by far my highlights of all the places I went. I would love to go back one day. We also visited a perfume factory in Eze, but for the most part we had much more free time in the French Rivera and less museums which made me a happy camper.

Following the French Riviera we headed out to  Paris  for a couple days. This was the smallest hotel we stayed in but we hardly ever were in our hotels. We went on both a night tour and day tour of Paris which was nice to see it both ways. We also went up the Eiffel Tower at night and on a river cruise. They gave us the option of doing the tours of Notre Dame and the Louvre in Paris which was great. Although I understand them making us do tours of everything, because high school kids probably would choose to sit around and see nothing, I liked having the option.

The only other downfall of this trip was the food. Since they fed us in bulk with many other schools on these tours, we didn’t get to experience the authentic food of these regions. Being Italian I was so excited to have REAL pasta, instead we got pasta made in bulk that didn’t taste much better than a microwavable dinner. It would’ve been great to have more authentic food experiences along the way. Luckily I’ve gone back to Italy and since then have had the chance to have real Italian food.

After Paris we departed back home to Canada. Overall the trip was amazing and probably is one of the trips that turned me into such a travel addict. I learned more on this trip then I ever would during those 13 days in class, and that’s the most amazing thing about EF Tours. Bringing travel to high school kids, and teaching kids about the world outside of the classroom.

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France & Spain: Paris, Bordeaux & Madrid

10 days   |   13 days with Madrid & Valencia extension

Take a bite of European cuisine and culture, served by two of the continent’s brightest lights.

Paris has its food. Madrid has its art. But the capitals of France and Spain are just an appetizer for all these countries have to offer. Using them as bookends, this tour will lead you through the wine country of Bordeaux, the Basque Country of Northern Spain, and the open country that superlatives simply can’t describe. Breathe in the coastal bliss of Biarritz, and cross paths with pintxo-hoppers and pilgrims in San Sebastián and Burgos. It’s all enough to fill your cup—but if you find yourself craving a little more of everything, tack on this trip’s three-night extension. One more day in Madrid, followed by two in the seaside city of Valencia? Olé.

Your tour package includes

• 8 nights in handpicked hotels
• 8 breakfasts
• 3 dinners with beer or wine
• 1 food tasting
• 5 sightseeing tours
• Expert Tour Director & local guides
• Private deluxe motor coach
• 1 train ride

Included highlights

• Eiffel Tower photo stop
• Hôtel des Invalides
• Bordeaux’s Port de la Lune
• French pastry tasting
• Biarritz’s Rocher de la Vierge
• San Sebastián
• Burgos Cathedral
• Madrid’s Prado Museum

Overnight Flight 1 night

Day 1: travel day.

Board your overnight flight to Paris today.

Paris 2 nights

Day 2: arrival in paris.

Included meal : Welcome dinner

Bonne arrivée! After clearing arrivals, transfer from the airport to your hotel to recharge. This evening, join your fellow travelers at a local restaurant for a welcome dinner, served with beer or wine, and let your first impression of Paris leave you enchanté.

Start planning today

Our travel experts are here to help.

We handpick every hotel to strike the balance of comfort, location, and local charm. Specific accommodations will vary based on your departure date, but these are frequently used hotels for this tour and we're confident you'll be satisfied.

Hôtel Mercure Paris Gare Montparnasse

This chic hotel is located in the heart of Paris’ Montparnasse neighborhood. Guests enjoy spacious rooms, a traditional streetside restaurant, and an on-site coffee house. Nearby, you’ll find the Luxembourg Gardens, the Rodin...

Hôtel Mercure Bordeaux Centre-Ville

This contemporary hotel is located in the center of Bordeaux. Guests enjoy a restaurant, on-site coffee house, and fitness center. Nearby, you’ll find the Old Town, the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and la Cité du Vin.

Silken Amara Plaza San Sebastián

This artsy hotel is located in the Amara neighborhood of San Sebastián. Guests enjoy bike rentals, a bar, and a library. Nearby, you’ll find the Estadio de Anoeta, Playa de La Concha, and Parque de Aiete.

Hotel NH Madrid Zurbano

This stylish hotel is located in Madrid’s Chamberí neighborhood. Guests enjoy spacious rooms, an on-site restaurant, and a relaxing bar. Nearby, you’ll find the Museo Sorolla, Museo del Prado, and the Gran Vía.

Silken Puerta Valencia

This modern hotel is located in Valencia’s Camins al Grau neighborhood. Guests enjoy bike rentals, a cafe, and a restaurant. Nearby, you’ll find the Palau de la Música, L’Oceanogràfic aquarium, and the Ciudad de las Artes y las...

Round-trip flights are one more thing we handle to make your journey as smooth as possible. Our team of travel experts will find the best flight itinerary for you at a competitive rate, thanks to our partnerships with top airlines.

Add our airfare and you’ll get:

• Round-trip flight for your tour
• Airport transfers at your destination
• A great price locked in today
• 24/7 support from our dedicated service team
• Options for arriving early, staying longer, or requesting an upgrade
• Flexible rebooking options if your tour itinerary changes

Find out more about flights

• This tour visits France and Spain. To enter these countries, U.S. and Canadian citizens need a valid passport with an expiration date extending at least six months beyond the date of reentry.
• We recommend having at least one blank passport page for entry stamps.
• Beginning in 2025, passport holders from visa-exempt countries like the U.S. and Canada will need to register for an ETIAS travel authorization to enter certain European countries. Even if you’ve previously traveled to any of these 30 countries without a visa, you’ll need to get ETIAS authorization to visit them again. If you’re traveling to multiple countries with this requirement, you’ll only need to complete the form once.
• All Go Ahead travelers will be responsible for obtaining their own ETIAS authorization before departure. For more details, please visit our Help Center .
• If you aren’t a U.S. or Canadian citizen, you must contact each country’s consulate for your specific entry requirements.
• You can see the most up-to-date entry requirements for the destination(s) you’ll visit on tour by going to goaheadtours.com/entry-requirements and searching the code FSP.
• Round-trip flights booked through Go Ahead Tours arrive in Paris and depart from Madrid (or from Valencia on the tour extension).
• Transfers to and from the airport at your destination are included for travelers who purchase their flights through Go Ahead Tours.
• When you arrive in Paris, a Go Ahead representative will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall with either a Go Ahead sign or one bearing your name. If you don’t see them immediately, please be patient and stay in the arrivals area. They may be assisting another traveler and will be back shortly.

Physical Activity Level

This is a moderate physical activity-level tour. You can expect casual walks and plenty of time to explore throughout your trip.

Tour Pacing

This is a steadily paced itinerary. Tour pacing considers how often you’ll switch hotels, what you’ll do each day, and how you’ll get from place to place. You can expect:

• Most transportation to be by motor coach.
• Occasional transfers by train.
• About 2–4 hours of bus time daily.

Walking, Terrain & Physical Considerations

• Travelers should be prepared to walk 2–3 miles each day on paved roads, along cobbled streets, and up stairs and hills. Please note: Adding optional excursions may increase the total amount of walking you do.
• Cobblestone streets and marble walkways may be slippery even when dry.
• Travelers should be healthy enough to participate in all included walks without assistance.
• In Paris, temperatures range from 40 F in winter to 80 F in summer, with occasional heatwaves during the latter season.
• Bordeaux experiences a Mediterranean climate: Temperatures range from the low 50s in winter to the low 80s in summer, with high humidity June–September.
• San Sebastián’s coastal location helps regulate temperatures. In the winter, the thermometer will rarely dip below 50 F during the day; in the summer, it’ll rarely spike above 75 F.
• Summers in Madrid get hot, with average highs close to 90 F. You can also expect heatwaves that push temperatures beyond that mark.

Physical Activity & Tour Pacing Questions

• Go Ahead Tours and the Tour Director who accompanies your group are unable to provide special mobility or luggage-handling assistance to travelers on tour. The responsibility of the Tour Director is to ensure the whole group enjoys a smooth and informative journey, and they can’t be relied on to provide individualized assistance to any one traveler.
• This tour moves at a reasonable pace to avoid missing scheduled stops. The group can’t miss any activities because of the needs of an individual.
• Due to the pace and physical activity level of this tour, wheelchairs and walkers will be difficult to use and aren’t recommended. Please notify Go Ahead Tours before your departure if you plan to bring any mobility aids with you.
• If you have mobility concerns or tour pacing questions, please visit our Help Center or send a message to our Customer Experience Team.
• This tour utilizes various modes of transportation, including trains and a private motor coach. To board them, you may have to climb raised platforms or steps. Often, there won’t be access to ramps or lifts.
• A train ride from Paris to Bordeaux is included in the price of your tour. The tour extension also includes a train ride from Madrid to Valencia.
• All other included transportation on this tour is by private motor coach.
• European train stations typically operate similarly to airports: Security measures, such as baggage and body scanners, are common. Additionally, platforms are often spread across large distances and require travelers to carry their luggage up and down escalators or stairs. Porterage services aren’t offered and storage space is extremely limited. Please keep in mind that trains may only stop at each station for a few minutes; quick boarding and deboarding may be imperative.
• Please note that our travelers are limited to one checked bag and one personal item each due to storage limitations on motor coaches and other transfers.
• Some airlines may impose additional charges if you exceed baggage size and weight restrictions. Be advised that you’re responsible for any baggage fees incurred.
• Contact your airline(s) for the baggage size and weight restrictions on your flights.
• Make sure you label your baggage and keep valuables, medication, and documents in your carry-on bag.
• Travelers must be able to manage their luggage throughout tour; porters aren’t guaranteed at hotels, airports, or train stations.
• We recommend packing lightweight, loose-fitting clothing that can be easily layered to accommodate varying temperatures, as well as a light jacket or rainwear.
• A sturdy pair of walking shoes or sneakers is recommended for sightseeing.
• You may want to pack dressier attire if you plan to visit a high-end restaurant or attend a special performance.
• It’s preferable not to visit churches or other religious sites with bare legs or shoulders. Entrance may be denied on this basis.
• We recommend packing a reusable water bottle to cut down on single-use plastic waste.
• We recommend packing a universal adapter, as well as a voltage converter if you plan on using a hairdryer or other device without a built-in converter.
• In case of emergencies, we also recommend packing your medical insurance card in your carry-on.
• Please note: Porterage isn’t included on train transfers, and storage space is extremely limited. You should feel comfortable lifting and carrying your bags over steps, onto platforms, and into storage. To make things easier, we recommend traveling with one suitcase and personal item (e.g. a backpack or purse) per person.
• Go Ahead handpicks every hotel you’ll stay at, striking a balance between comfort, location, and local charm.
• Specific properties will vary based on your departure date, but are typically three-to-four-star hotels; always include private bathrooms; and usually have in-room safes for valuables. Additionally, your hotels will have Wi-Fi, but access may be limited to common areas. There may also not be elevators.
• Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee that your accommodations will have laundry services or facilities. We recommend checking directly with your hotels once they’ve been confirmed, about 30 days prior to departure.
• Some hotels on this tour are situated on narrow streets; as such, our buses can’t drop you off right out front. In these instances, you’ll have to walk your luggage to the property, no more than a few blocks.
• Please be advised that the air conditioning in European hotels and buildings is often not as strong or cool as what you might be used to in the U.S. or Canada.
• All destinations visited on this tour operate on the European electrical standard of 220 volts and use Types C, E, or F plugs with two small, round pins.
• Excursions are available for purchase prior to departure, and most can be bought while on tour. While traveling, you can purchase them directly through your mobile app for an additional $10USD on the excursion’s price.
• We recommend purchasing excursions at least three days prior to your tour departure. Please note: Some excursions have advance booking deadlines, so check your itinerary for more information to ensure you don’t miss out.
• Optional excursions may be canceled on tour due to reasons like low enrollment, weather, or unexpected closures. If an excursion you signed up for is canceled by Go Ahead Tours, you’ll be refunded the full cost of the excursion. (It may take up to 60 days for your refund to be processed.)
• Your Tour Director may offer their own optional excursions, which can only be purchased on tour, in cash, in the local currency.
• At least 60 days prior to departure, check with your healthcare provider for the latest updates and entry requirements, or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at cdc.gov .
• If you have dietary restrictions and/or food allergies, please notify Go Ahead Tours at least 30 days prior to departure by logging in to your account and updating your traveler info. To update this information closer to your departure date, please contact our Customer Experience Team.
• If you have medication that you take daily, be sure you have enough for each day of your tour, as well as for any possible delays.
• Most of our itineraries include headsets that’re used during sightseeing tours so travelers can better hear their guides or Tour Director. If you use an assisted listening device, such as a hearing aid or cochlear implant, please contact our Customer Experience Team—we may be able to provide alternative solutions to best suit your needs. Please note that, due to supplier limitations, we can’t offer headsets on all our tours at this time.
• The water is safe to drink throughout your tour unless posted otherwise.
• This tour includes three dinners: They may be set menus; buffets; or family-style meals, depending on the location. Dinners also include one glass of beer, wine, or a soft drink, as well as water, coffee, and tea.
• A hotel breakfast is included each morning, and is typically a buffet-style meal with hot and cold options.
• For a picnic with French flair, stop at a small grocery store for cheeses, pâtés, cured meats, fresh-baked breads, and fruits. In the cities, sidewalk vendors are known for their steaming crepes, while mouthwatering pastries and hot café au lait beckon from cafes. In restaurants, the prix fixe option is a popular way to enjoy a set three- or four-course menu for a good price.
• Although lunch is generally served from noon until 2pm in France, dinner is served from 7:30pm onward. Those wishing to eat earlier can stop at a cafe, where light entrées and sandwiches are available throughout the afternoon and evening.
• In Spain, breakfast like a local with just a pastry and coffee. Then, tuck into a three-course lunch featuring Spanish staples like savory seafood paella or grilled meat and fried potatoes. Dinner is less hearty than lunch and is served late, between 9pm and midnight. Snack on small plates (tapas) any time of day.
• In the Basque Country, pintxos—small, tapa-style snacks that’re spiked to a piece of bread with a toothpick—are especially popular.
• At the conclusion of your tour, it’s customary to offer your Tour Director and driver a gratuity in local currency. Please keep current exchange rates in mind.
• We recommend tipping the equivalent of $10–$12USD per person, per day for your Tour Director and the equivalent of $3USD per person, per day for your driver.
• If applicable, we also recommend the equivalent of $2USD per local guide.
• Tips can only be paid in cash.
• If you’re traveling with the same Tour Director to multiple countries with different currencies, ask them what currency they prefer for their tip.
• The cost of porterage is included in your tour price; it isn’t necessary to tip baggage handlers.
• You’ll use the euro on this tour.
• Better rates of exchange are usually available overseas, although it’s worth ordering some currency from your local bank to use when you first arrive.
• We strongly advise that you take debit and credit cards, which can be used to withdraw cash at local banks as needed.
• You can use most cards at ATMs on the international networks Cirrus and Plus, but make sure to check with your home bank about withdrawal fees.
• International banks and businesses primarily accept debit and credit cards that work with the EMV chip system. If you don’t already have at least one card with a chip in it, we strongly recommend requesting one from your bank prior to your tour.
• Plan ahead and bring cash to tip your Tour Director, local guides, and bus drivers. We also recommend keeping coins in the local currency on hand, as some public bathrooms may charge a fee for use.
• To help you feel prepared before traveling on tour, we strongly recommend downloading the EF Go Ahead Tours mobile app. It’s free and provides information about important deadlines and entry requirements, as well as your detailed itinerary, packing tips, and more. You can also connect with fellow travelers through the app’s chat feature.
• Wi-Fi is available in most hotels, though some charges may apply.
• There is no Wi-Fi on any of the motor coaches.
• Please contact your mobile service provider for information on roaming charges.
• Your Tour Director will lead your group. You’ll have the same Tour Director for the duration of your tour.
• The role of the Tour Director is not only to provide information and context on the destinations you visit, but also to confirm services, coordinate inclusions, prepare each day’s activities, and support travelers while on tour. As such, they must focus on the success of the group, and can’t provide individualized assistance to any one traveler.
• One of the benefits of traveling with EF Go Ahead Tours is having access to our 24/7 Emergency Support Team.
• Our extensive network of global offices and our integration of ISO 31000 risk management guidelines help this dedicated team anticipate and address on-tour challenges in a flexible, iterative way.
• Using a combination of extensive training, simulations, incident response planning, and decades of experience, this team assists travelers and Tour Directors in case of emergencies—stepping in for everything from personal health concerns and injuries to major world events.
• Our On-Tour Support team can also provide additional support for travelers on tour, arranging assistance from outside specialists and liaising with local and international authorities as needed. And if there’s an emergency on the road or at home, the team will support and facilitate communication between travelers and their families.
• France and Spain are one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and six hours ahead of Eastern Time (ET).
• When it’s noon in New York, it’s 6pm in France and Spain.
• When you travel with Go Ahead Tours, you’ll make a positive impact on the places you visit and the people and animals you meet along the way. That’s because our three core Responsible Travel commitments—protecting the environment, supporting local communities, and promoting animal welfare—are at the heart of every tour we offer.
• Travel, when done responsibly, can have an enormous socioeconomic impact on communities. To maximize your impact, eat at locally owned restaurants and shop at small businesses. Ask your Tour Director to point out restaurants they recommend.
• Prepare for your trip: Be aware of monetary norms such as tipping and negotiating in a market; learn about the destination’s forms of etiquette; and take some time to learn a few words in the local language.
• When interacting with locals, make sure to ask people for permission before you take their picture, and approach cultural differences with empathy and an open mind.
• Go Ahead Tours encourages travelers to limit their waste while on the road, especially single-use plastics. You can cut back on generating plastic waste by packing your own toiletries, using electronic documents, and bringing a reusable water bottle and shopping bag. If you need to use plastics or paper, please recycle.

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The trip itinerary was excellent

The trip itinerary was excellent. Seeing all these iconic sites was amazing. Watching students reactions each time we arrived in a new town was very exciting. The hotels in Italy were great. Our tour leader was excellent. EF provided excellent support when it was needed. We can't wait to go on another tour. Thank you.

Date of experience : June 20, 2024

Belize Experience

My daughter and I enjoyed traveling to Belize. The tour guide was amazing, taking us from district to district. There should be activities for the teens to get to know one another upon arriving the first day. My daughter is shy and stayed by my side most of the time. It's hard when kids don’t know others from different parts of the world. The hotel rooms were for the most part neat and clean. There was one hotel (sea front inn) that wasn't well maintained with no hot water and huge bugs. Otherwise, our experience to Belize was awesome!

Date of experience : June 19, 2024

Reply from EF Educational Tours

We’re thrilled to hear you and your daughter enjoyed your trip to Belize and that your tour director was a great fit for your group! We appreciate your suggestion for activities to help teens get to know one another right from day one—it’s a great idea, especially for those who are a bit shy. We’re sorry to hear about the experience at the Sea Front Inn and will share this feedback with our team to help improve future stays. Overall, we’re glad you had an awesome experience, and we hope to welcome you on another adventure soon!

My daughter enjoyed the culture of…

My daughter enjoyed the culture of Ireland & Scotland. Since she is gluten free, she really appreciated the fact that all the restaurants had gluten free and vegan items noted on all menus. She loved the food on the trip. She also enjoyed the Titanic museum, the interaction with the Highland cows, visiting the castles. She also said the tour guide was charismatic.

Date of experience : August 01, 2024

We're so glad to hear your daughter enjoyed her tour in Ireland and Scotland! It's great to know she appreciated the gluten-free and vegan options at the restaurants, and we're happy she loved the food. Thank you for sharing her experience!

I am planning my first trip to Spain…

I am planning my first trip to Spain with middle schoolers. I have nothing but great things to say about my tour consultant, Ben, answering all my questions and providing great counsel on how to plan and proceed with the trip.

Date of experience : August 26, 2024

We’re so glad to hear that Ben has been incredibly helpful with your planning! It’s wonderful to know that you’ve had a positive experience and feel well-supported as you prepare for your trip to Spain with the middle schoolers. We aim to make this process as easy as possible so you can focus on the students. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Incredible experiences!

EF Tours does an amazing job. They make sure safety and enjoyment are top priorities. I took students on a DDay tour and it was a memorable lifetime experience. EF does everything possible to make it simple and fun. Thank you EF Tours.

Date of experience : September 02, 2024

Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that the D-Day tour was a memorable experience for you and your students. Thank you for sharing and for being part of the EF Tours family.

Mrs Andrea Bayird and her husband were…

Mrs Andrea Bayird and her husband were the best with me and my social anxiety on this trip. She was the host and I am forever grateful. There were some glitches. Like 12 hour layover that was horrible us and exspecially with anxiety. I feel there could have been better accomadatiins with that situation. We thank God for Mrs. B, and her husband he was very cool to help me find places to workout and decrease my anxiety level.

Date of experience : July 10, 2024

Thank you for sharing your experience! We're so glad to hear that Andrea and her husband provided such supportive and caring assistance during your trip. We understand that long layovers can be challenging, especially with social anxiety, and we’ll definitely take your feedback into consideration to improve future arrangements. We’re grateful for your kind words and hope to continue providing excellent support for all our travelers.

Since I have been with EF tours

Since I have been with EF tours, there has been a change of hands of who I’ve been working with. The first was great, the second I’m still waiting for emails to be answered. It’s very frustrating. I’m trying to plan a trip and not being able to Get my questions answered Is very frustrating.

Best gift ever!

My son had an excellent experience learning how life can be outside the US. The travel arrangements were taken care of. The guide was local and top notch. He raved about her. He learned the difference between metropolitan life and country life. Public transportation vs. car transportation. He learned how to get around and how best to spend his money. A great learning experience!

Date of experience : August 28, 2024

My daughter had a wonderful time

My daughter had a wonderful time. The tour guides were so nice when my daughter had forgotten her money for an extra excursion. She paid for it and my daughter repaid her. Great experience.

We’re thrilled to hear that your daughter had a wonderful time and that our tour guides were so accommodating and supportive. We know the difference having a great guide on tour can make, which is why we have the best! It’s great to know that the experience was positive and that everything worked out smoothly. Thank you for sharing - we hope to see you on another tour again soon!

Wonderful experience…

I love having a guide to show us around the cities/places. It’s always a fun time. I feel like there should be an ice breaker for the kids, so that they can get to know each other since they’ll be spending a lot of time together. It makes it hard when kids don’t venture out & try to talk to others from different places. They should be able to form friendships that may continue past the trip & into their lives. Some kids feel left out, especially if they didn’t come with a group or don’t anyone that’s there or they may just be a bit shy. There should be a day when they do something fun, unrelated to the trip.

Date of experience : July 03, 2024

We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed having the tour director—it really can make exploring new places so much more fun! We appreciate your feedback on the kids having an icebreaker activity. We’ll certainly share this suggestion with our team to see how we can incorporate more activities into the tours. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Lana was amazing

Lana was amazing. The tours were all excellent. Overall excellent experience. My only criticism was the cruise ship smelled terrible like sewage in our room and would recommend that buses for these long trips have outlets for charging and a bathroom.

Date of experience : August 24, 2024

Thank you for sharing your feedback, Jennifer! We're thrilled to hear that Lana was amazing and that you enjoyed the tours and had an overall excellent experience. We apologize for the unpleasant smell in your cruise ship rooms. We'll share your feedback with our team to improve future travel experiences. Thanks again for your insights, and we hope to see you on another adventure soon!

A Travel Experience

My children had an amazing time on their trip however, their return flight/trip was a nightmare. While this was in no way any fault of EF Tours, BUT as the booking agent, EF Tours should have provided some assistance but did not and left parents trying to figure things. Some parents have yet to receive any compensation from Air Canada. Air Canada is horrible and it is my recommendation to EF Tours to please find alternate travel routes such as via Atlanta for students travelling from Columbus, Ohio. It was delay after delay travelling with Air Canada and the return flight had to be cancelled, then the mayhem began. Some parents, including myself had to travel to Cleveland, OH to pick up our children due to flight issues with Air Canada. Can you imagine how stressful this was for the students, their chaperones and parents who were all waiting anxiously for our children to return? That large group of students and chaperones had to be separated on 2 different flights, and it was a nightmare to receive compensation from Air Canada when each of the students were told by Air Canada reps in Canada that they (each) was eligible for compensation. It was nightmare to get a response from AC but I eventually did. There are some parents who still, to date have heard nothing back from AC (this happened in June, and we are currently in September) and this is why I gave 4 stars...the trip was great, the students had the time of their lives but travelling with Air Canada is a horrible experience.

Date of experience : June 28, 2024

Middle School Japan August

8 night tour of Japan. Great split between Osaka & Tokyo. Great price Fast paced with typically 3 spots a day plus dinner. Pros Comfortable hotels / one with excellent breakfast the other with a great free happy hour. Wonderful guide Comfortable buses. Shrines and gardens were all amazing. Dinner were above expectations, only one that was bad. Drumming, Karoke, cup noodles museum great for kids and adults. Cons Not EF’s fault, but summer is brutally uncomfortable. However that made many of the outdoor gardens/ shrines uncrowded. Some activities could be skipped or decreased and increase times at historical areas. Namely the mall, the arcade.

Date of experience : August 19, 2024

We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the split between Osaka and Tokyo, the comfortable accommodations, and the immersive experiences like drumming and karaoke that were enjoyed by both kids and adults. We appreciate your note regarding the balance of activities. As a student tour, we aim to provide itineraries that capture the essence of local culture, reflecting both its historical significance and modern influences. This often includes a mix of traditional sites alongside contemporary experiences like malls and arcades. However, we understand that preferences vary, and your suggestion to adjust the focus more towards historical areas is helpful. We strive to create a well-rounded experience that resonates with students, and your insights will help us refine our offerings. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and we hope to welcome you on another tour soon!

Our Ireland and Scotland tour

Our Ireland and Scotland tour The trip experience itself was so excellent. We enjoyed traveling together to experience Ireland and Scotland. The memories we made together will be cherished for years to come.

We’re thrilled to hear that your Ireland and Scotland tour was such a memorable experience! Thank you for sharing your feedback, and we look forward to helping you plan more amazing trips in the future!

Hannah, my service rep. was open and honest about the process and guided me every step of the way.

Great mix of activities and add amazing host!

Walter, our guide, was simply amazing. He integrated education with fun activities. His passion for his country and environment assisted in engaging the group. Walter was also great at gauging state of group. He knew when to adjust schedule or activities based on state of group.

Incredibly happy parent!

The whole process was easy as a parent. Checklists and reminders were very comprehensive. Call center was able to ask my various questions. And Eduardo A. in Italy was an OUTSTANDING guide! He knew so much history and immersed us all into the culture and country. I cannot say enough great things about this program!

Date of experience : June 23, 2024

Overall the trip was great, a few hiccups

Overall the trip was great, customer service and ease of getting information was great. I will say the flight experience was pretty terrible (both ways) and some of the hotels from what my student said were horrific (bed bugs). Also we didn’t find out about the parent authorization form until a few weeks before the trip and for those students who don’t live with both parents that was stressful to get done.

Date of experience : August 23, 2024

We’re glad you enjoyed your tour overall. We’re sorry to hear about the flight experience and the issues with some of the hotels, as well as the stress regarding the parent authorization form. Your feedback is important, and we’ll use it to address these concerns and improve our processes. Thank you for sharing your experience with us!

Our trip was delayed TWO days due to…

Our trip was delayed TWO days due to EF's inability to reschedule our flights sufficiently to make sure that we arrived in Paris on time. We missed two full days of our 3-day experience in Paris. When we arrived it was after more than 24 HOURS WITHOUT SLEEP and we were then expected to hit the ground running and not quit until we arrived at our hotel in the evening. I was so sleep deprived that I don't even remember what the hotel room looked like. I have yet to be refunded for our missed trip to Versailles (for myself or my daughter, Janie).

Date of experience : July 25, 2024

We’re sorry to hear about the issues you faced with the flight delays. If the airlines are unable to reschedule, unfortunately, we’re also unable to make changes to the flights. We understand how frustrating this must have been. We encourage travelers with Global Travel Protection to file a claim for the missed days on tour. Thank you for sharing your experience. We aim to provide the best possible travel experience, and having an insurance plan is part of our efforts to cover unforeseen situations like this.

Get yourself to Japan!

Our tour guide, Ai, made this an incredible trip. She was a great source of information and inspirations. We had a private tour with a custom itinerary that gave us a mix of the big cities and the mountains. I have led student trips with EF since 2012, and this was the best overall trip in terms of the Tour Leader, food, accommodations and variety of experiences.

Date of experience : June 13, 2024