After I posted follow up negative review after no reply from "Abby" for a month, I miraculously got a call from her the next morning saying she'd been "out of town for a couple of weeks". It had been over a month since her initial call. Also, if she'd known she was going to be out of town for several weeks then why had she called in the first place and left me a message to contact her without mentioning that she'd be gone for over a month? Puhlease! read more

I am so very happy that I did not read the reviews on EF before signing up for the recent trip to Ireland. I cannot say enough nice things about the trip! I will not address the complaints about refunds in this review. However, I will say that I had to "push" two family members to next year's tour and had no problems. My daughter was the teacher in charge of this tour, although the tour is not sponsored through the school and she takes only seniors who have graduated. This is her second tour after leading a group to Spain a couple of years ago. Those folks who are critical of the teacher getting a "free trip" out of the tour don't have any idea what the leader is required to do and the work that occurs prior to and at the time of the tour. The leaders earn their spot! Our tour leader, Patricia, was perfect! She knew the history of Ireland and was a wealth of knowledge at every stop. I can't give enough compliments to her. Our driver, Gavin, was excellent! He was very careful to warn the kids about traffic, watched each time to make certain everyone was safe and went above and beyond with luggage. I had been warned several times about the food in Ireland by some who had traveled to Ireland previously. However, all of our meals were timely and delicious. We did have one meal that was not so good but otherwise all were acceptable. The rooms we stayed in were clean and comfortable. And while we were often outside the city center, by the time we were in our rooms after a full day of sight-seeing and adventure, most were only too happy to retire for the evening! I don't know what folks expect for the price of these tours. Many have complained about the cost. However, I didn't expect 4 star hotels and gourmet food for the price. Nor would I even begin to try and make all the arrangements for such a tour on my own. Our tour was able to experience many different towns, museums, cathedrals, stud farm, sheep shearing, a Picasso and a Monet, Moher Cliffs and more. I challenge anyone to make such arrangements on their own for the cost of an EF tour! I am signed up for the tour for the next 3 years and hope I live to take every one of them! Thanks EF for a memorable experience! Serieta G. Jaggers Kentucky read more

Do not travel with EF. I had to cancel my trip, as the trip organizers cancelled it-TWO years out. They kept $560 and I had only paid in $600 at the time of cancellation. When you call they refuse to get you to someone who can actually give you answers. They say you'll get a call and, surprise... no one calls. Avoid them. Go with Explorica. read more

Like many others, I booked a school tour for my daughter and have the misfortune that the District went through this horrible company. The tour has been cancelled due to COVID-19 and EF Tours is refusing to refund all our deposits. They only agreed to decrease the amount they fraudulently retain under the pressure of the Massachusetts AG who received hundreds of complaints (https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/consumer/nbc-boston-responds/mass-attorney-general-secures-1-4m-more-in-refunds-for-trips-scuttled-by-pandemic/2128762/). I am still out of $565 of my hard-earned money. This is also just bad business because they'll end ponying up the rest in the end as there is a class action lawsuit underway (https://www.classaction.org/news/education-first-tour-companies-refuse-to-issue-full-cash-refund-for-tours-canceled-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak-lawsuit-claims). This is especially disgusting since some students have worked so hard to fund and book these trips. Think long-term and do the right thing rather than feed the lawyers. read more

At my high school, we were given multiple chances to branch out and immerse ourselves into different cultures. One of the ways my high school does this is by offering a trip to a foreign country every two years. This year, through hard work and long hours I was able to afford a trip to Europe through EF Tours which the school has used ever since they began these trips. This trip would take me through Germany, France, and Spain, and was designed for students to engage in different parts of the world. EF tours provided smooth traveling, helpful employees, and a great chance to explore. Since my trip through EF Tours covered several countries, we had to take several different means of transportation. To travel from America to Europe, and back to America, our group flew with American Airlines, which was set up through EF Tours. This airline was accommodating, and there seemed to be no problems during the flight. When we arrived in Germany, there was a bus awaiting with our tour guide. For the next couple days in Germany, we travelled with the same bus and bus- driver. These buses were well- kept, but it was hard at times for the bus driver to take us directly into the city because of its' size, so we were frequently dropped off, and then forced to walk several blocks to arrive at our destination. When we arrived in France, our bus driver was with us for half the time, but once he left, we had to travel by metro. The metro was an experience to have, but none of us were used to that mode of transportation. Our group had about fifty people in it, so jumping on and off the metro was pretty stressful at most times. As well, it did not always feel safe or clean inside the metro, but in Europe that is one of their main ways of transportation, so it's not a complaint of mine that we had to use it. Our next mode of transportation was an AGV train that we used to travel from France to Spain. This was another situation where our group felt overwhelmed because of our size, and it felt like there was no one there to help us. The transportation situation was not ideal, but overall it went smoothly. For the duration of our trip, we had a tour guide named Joel, whose' role was to show us around all of Europe, and help us travel. He was in charge of our schedule, and making sure we had food to eat, and a place to stay. If there was something to complain about, Joel was not it. He always made sure we were taken care of whether it was making sure we had water, or just communicating with the people in Europe for us when we did not understand them. On top of doing his job, he went beyond that to personally interact with us and develop a relationship with us over the two weeks we were with him. Over those two weeks, there were many services provided from a bus driver, to a local expert tour guide, and even the servers at a number of different restaurants. Each of them provided a different experience, but EF always did their best to make sure their travelers were accommodated for. At times, situations were not ideal, but it had a lot more to do with the size of our group rather than EF's planning. As well, there was an obvious language barrier when we travelled, so at times that made it hard for us to communicate with others. This trip had a lasting impact on me because it was my first time travelling outside of the United States. The trip allowed me to visit places that I had only heard about, so that was super exciting for me. As well, I grew up in a small town, so it gave me the chance to explore other cultures which broadened my views. When it comes to the local area, I do not think our tour group left too much of an impact because it felt like there were a million other tourists around us, but we definitely provided them with more money at different hotels, stores, museums, and restaurants. read more

I put together two tours. One for Canada, I had eleven people going. And one for Barcelona, six people had already put deposits on. Go Ahead Tour had promised me that I would get free trips if I got six people to sign up. So, I would have gotten two free trips. I had spent a lot of time and money planning these trips. When I tried to get help on the Alaska trip no one would help me, a woman by the name of Robbin called me after I tried to get information for the travelers on the Alaska trip and just vented on me, throwing a fit about one of our travelers on a previous trip who had a problem with a girl from Go Ahead. She was saying that I should have controlled the situation. Then cancelled the Alaska trip, refused to let me talk to anyone else. I wrote a letter to Heidi who is her boss, that she intercepted. I tried to call several times, and every time they would send me directly to her. She was able to block me from contacting anyone else in the company other than her. When i did talk to her last she told me she was canceling the Barcelona trip and my travel group was no longer allowed to travel with Go Ahead tours. Many other people have told me they had the same experiences. I will not recommend to use go-ahead tours for travel. They're very unprofessional they run their company like a bunch of children. Have a terrible public relations department if you can call it that and Robin is power happy. read more

Please run as fast as you can away from this company. My son and I attended an EF Tours trip meeting at the beginning of the school year for an Austria, German & Switzerland tour that would depart June 1st 2016. Our family of 5 canceled a 10 day yearly cruise in order for our son to attend this trip since the dates partially overlapped. After we paid $250 initially, then another $500 on 11/3/15 the trip was changed to a departure date of June 9th. We were concerned about the change in departure dates, but still felt this trip was do-able with our summer schedules. On January 20, 2016, my son sent me a text that the departure date was now changed to June 30th 2016. My son can no longer attend this trip due to prior commitments in the month of July that cannot be changed. How a company can change a departure date twice and end up with a departure date that is 29 days later than the first date given 2 & 1/2 months after paying $750 is beyond my comprehension. We cannot get our original family vacation "back" and my son cannot attend this EF Tour. We would've NEVER paid a cent to this company if we knew that this was even possible. Summer plans for our entire family have been ruined. We will lose money in the process since EF tours gets to keep at least $250 of our $750. I don't understand how a company can operate in this manner. Don't pay this company a penny unless you know that 2 & 1/2 months after paying a sizeable amount that at any time they can change the dates to month later so your child cannot attend and keep whatever $$ they feel is appropriate. We've had no choice in the matter. 5 days ago I was promised a phone call and/or an email from a supervisor and none was received. After another phone call this AM, we'll see if I receive any refund whatsoever as well as the phone call I've requested from someone in management. read more

I am surprised how many people have negative reviews here. EF was one of the best things I've ever been introduced to. In my seventh grade in middle school, I visited NY and DC, next year, I went to Peru, and this summer I'm going to Japan. Al; the trips have been stunning and very educational. Hotel rooms were descent, meals were great, and one of the tour guides I had is still in touch with me. We've become friends. As a Freshman in high school, I realize what an amazing opportunity I had to see all these places with my friends and learn a lot about them. The trips are worth every penny. All I have to say is Thank you EF. read more

Wow. I am stunned at the negative reviews here. I have done EIGHT trips with EF and everyone of them has been amazing. My trips have included the US, Peru, Europe, and China. In my experience, EF is truly committed to their mission of student educational travel and making sure that everyone's experience is truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip. That is what it has been each time for me and my fellow travelers. We've already got trips planned with EF for the other three continents so that we will hit all seven continents...and all with EF! We wouldn't be doing that if we didn't have an incredible experience every time we travel. We love EF!!! read more

Lots to see and experience at a fast pace (for a 50+ gal), which i knew in advance, and i'd do it all again! Restroom breaks were few and far btwn & sometimes lunch didn't happen 'til late afternoon. With such a large group, it wasn't always easy to hear the main tour guide (when whispers weren't available), and it caused MY particular group to miss out on entering 1 place of interest, which was upsetting! It didn't help that the other adults told our guide we'd opted out and went shopping and that was untrue! My only real complaint is that High School groups should never be paired with Middle Schoolers (loud, obnoxious, and unruly, which i feel reflected badly on the entire U.S. group in both countries we visited!), and not parents that only care about what they want to see and do and drink alcohol every night without regard that the rest of us were also along for the trip! Night train was a nightmare (sardine can)...would have been beneficial to have been warned that we could get stopped at the border and each car searched with military in full-gear with dogs for 2 hours instead of being scared to death! Good motels! Overall, a great opportunity and i'd sign up to go again! read more

EF tours makes you plan the trip two years in advance which is understandable since they need to plan it out. What's incredibly disappointing is how they handle things when their plan is interrupted. My school's trip to Japan had its plane cancelled by the airline and instead of booking us flights or extending the period, they decided to just cut the trip short. So instead of a 10 day trip (2 days for travel, 8 days for exploring), it'll be a 8 day trip (2 days for travel, 6 days to explore). I am incredibly disappointed with how EF handled this and will NEVER do a trip with them again. If this trip was a last minute trip then I would be less heated by this but since they required us to plan it TWO YEARS in advance, it's incredibly frustrating. People who are considering EF, just keep in mind that they can and will shorten your trip if things out-of-your-control do occur. read more

I went on a trip to Costa Rica through EF tours in the spring of 2017 and It was one of the best experiences of my life. Along with a very well planned and exciting agenda we were met by one of the best tour guides, a Costa Rica native sharing countless amounts of information with us throughout our whole trip. There was not one hiccup or incident and I 100% got my money's worth with all of the excursions they had in store. I would go on another trip in a heartbeat and recommend It to everyone! read more

0 stars!!! My niece and I registered for a tour of Europe that was planned for June 2019. We signed up in the fall of 2017. We were placed on a payment plan and had made regular payments. We were told that there was a $95 non-refundable processing fee at the time we registered. We were also told that details of our flights, hotels and travel arrangments would be provided closer to our travel dates. In February 2019, we learned more details in regards to our travel arrangements; Our flight was planned to fly out of Philadelphia, which is 5 hours away from us, Pittsburgh is 1 hour away. EFTours would charge $150 fee to change our departure gate or we could pay $100 to use their bus that would take us from Pittsburgh airport to Philadelphia airport. Which makes no sense! My niece and I were not allowed to share a room without paying an additional $500-$700 each. I was scheduled to share a room with another adult female. My neice was scheduled to share a room with 3 other girls, which means 4 girls with 2 beds in one room! We were told this was the plan at the beginning of the agreement, but we were told we could request to share a room with eachother. And, we were not made aware of the fee!!! (which is not a small fee!!!) We were also told that we were going to be charged a $160 due to the fact that they had some other travelers drop out. A total of almost $1000 additional fees were going to be added within the next month as we finalizing the travel details. We decided to cancel, which is now 130 days prior to travel date. Upon cancellation we were then told that EFTours would withhold the $95 processing fee, AND $168 non-refundable travel insurance (that we never signed up for. we were told that is was mandatory and the decision to add this to our travel plan was made by our tour director), AND we were charged a $500 cancellation fee because it was 130 days prior to travel date! At this time, NONE of our final arrangements had been booked. Flights weren't being booked until 30 days later. Hotel and excursions were going to be booked 30 days prior to our travel date. EF Tours issued our refund within 2 days of us cancelling, but they did withhold almost $800 from each of us! That is a ton of money and we got NOTHING for it! They are non-negotiable and there is a ton of information that you are not given until you are within the time frame that they can charge a cancellation fee! Even when we asked questions multiple times, we were given conflicting answers from EF Tour representatives and their group leaders. FEELS LIKE WE WERE SCAMMED!!! read more

I have traveled with EF College/Ultimate Break in the past. Just did my most recent trip to Italy and had a great tour director that made the trip fun. On the other hand, getting back home was not fun. We had a layover in Paris and only had 1 hour for our connecting flight. The staff at the airport directed us in the wrong direction for our gate and we missed our flight. A one hour layover flight is NEVER enough for anyone to catch a connecting flight. Either you barely make it or you just don't make it all together. So we were stranded and Air France did not want to help us at all so we looked to EF to help us. We called the emergency number to have them help us with booking a new flight. The representative stated she did not wish to step on the airline's toes and proceeded to tell me that I should talk with them and that there was nothing she could do. That was real helpful! I expressed my disappointment in this to my tour director and he was nice enough to pass along the information to someone higher up in management. He called me and asked if he could help us rebook our flight. It was like a slap in the face when he offered to do that for us because we were just told that someone already told us you do not do help with rebooking flights. Either train your employees better or find someone who answers the 24.7 emergency number that feels like they can help us instead of making us feel like we inconvenienced you by calling the emergency number. So we ended up finding our own flight after 3 hours of trying to figure out what we were going to do. We had to stay in a hotel due to this and we asked the representative that is higher up in management if there was any way we could be comped for this hotel stay. He stated we would have to file paperwork/a claim and there's no guarantee it would be approved. After spending lots of money between the 2 trips I have done with them and referred 3 people to them who also booked a trip, I will not do another trip with them or refer anyone anymore to EF. I feel like since they got their money from me that they did not feel obligated to help me out anymore. Since there is nothing they can do for me then this is what they get - a negative review. My tour director was great and helped us to have a good time. Otherwise, the individuals who work at the corporate office ruined my experience when I needed help the most. I do not recommend traveling with them. Go off on your own and create your adventure! That way you can also ensure that you won't have short, one hour layovers with connecting flights! Good luck! read more

I registered my son and I to go on a tour in June 2017. Three weeks after enrolling, our circumstances changed so I called to cancel, expecting to pay the $95 cancellation fee x2. I was informed that the cancellation fee would be $550 per person. Rather than lose $1100, I offered to go on a different tour at another time and have my money applied towards that trip. I was informed there were no other trips in my area for me to join, they had done all they could do to assist me. Mind you, this was after I called three separate times in order to resolve the issue in a manner beneficial to both myself and the company. Twice I was told the manager would return my call to discuss, which never happened. The last representative I spoke with raised his voice to me when I pressed him to find an alternative tour. I was told EF tours has done all they can do, they are out of options, and there would be no refund. read more

I had a wonderful experience with EF Tours. We traveled through Europe with my son's high school trip. It was organized, and our tour director was wonderful. The hotels were good, not the best, the food was good and traditional to the country we were in. I would recommend this tour. The kids loved it and so did the adults. read more

Zero stars!! I paid for two educational travel itineraries to Costa Rica for my daughter's senior trip totaling over $5000. The trip tickets were for myself and my daughter and we were to travel with her school on a group tour in April 2020. Due to the impact of the coronavirus, the NYC governor canceled all international trips for NYC students for the remainder of the year and Costa Rica closed its borders to foreigners, so there is no option for entry into the country. We do not know how long this will continue for. When I contacted Copa Airlines to find out the status of my flight, I learned from Copa that the group reservation was never paid for in part or in full by EF. In fact, EF also already went ahead and canceled the entire group reservation. EF Education Tours does not want to honor my full refund. They stated that the best they could do was to offer a voucher for the full amount for future travels with another group in my area (not happening) or deduct $1000 per traveler for their personal fees. That is a total of $15,000 for a group trip (15 students), keeping money that wasn't spent for a trip that didn't happen. My daughter is a senior and will be moving on to a new school in a different borough from her classmates starting in September. I had trip insurance but they will not honor the request for a full refund although they were forced to cancel the tours by Costa Rican government. I have no desire to travel any time soon or ever with this company in the future simply because of the treatment that I am receiving now and I haven't even left the country yet. I simply want my money back since my trip was canceled on me by everyone else but me. This money could go towards her future college expenses. read more

Beware of hosting thru this program. Students choose it because it is one of the least expensive programs. Some of the students are great but then some are very entitled thinking. Some students feels that since they are paying EF that means you the host family. They are told money is going to the school they attend but that isn't accurate either. Some exchange programs do pay families but not this one. Therefore if you have a teenage boy, be prepared to spend an extra $200-300 a month for food expenses. They will immediately demand access to Internet and other things that we consider to be privileges. Consider the exchange rate from the other country. EF will tell you all the students are wealthy and have money. This isn't true. Some students may have means in their country but if their money is diluted due to exchange rates it makes them feel stressful. Definitely talk to the students and their parents before they arrive at your house. You need to assist them in enrolling in sports and classes before they get here. At least a month or two before school starts. One EF student near us obviously suffers from anorexia. EF and the family she was with didn't discover it until she got here. Our student did not agree with our household rules and broke them from the very beginning. Some countries are more relaxed and they treat their children as adults at an earlier age. This is problematic if you are trying to be responsible for someone else's child. Set your rules and be direct. If they break the rules immediately document it and contact a coordinator. Don't wait or cut any slack with the student or EF or they will continue to run over you. We had a local coordinator who was incredibly great to speak to, but those above her were ineffective, difficult to communicate with or employed avoidance. Once EF gets the student's money to participate in the program, they are keeping. All they will do is try to figure out ways to bandaid but not resolve. Our student requested a transfer to another area, another state in fact. We were left in the dark until a few days before the transfer was to take place. I had just bought tickets for a mini vacation. I was lucky I had bought something refundable. In this regard I blame EF not an imature student. I have since discovered from other Hosts families it is common for the EF program to keep things in secrecy from the host families. They will not follow up to talk with you despite their promises. Many host families feel used after an experience with this program. Beware. read more

Had a trip booked for this summer for my child. With the unprecedented events happening, one would hope companies would do the right thing, and most are, but EF Tours is keeping their total cancellation fee "because we have relationships with the airlines". That's great, but no flights had been booked when the trip cancelled in April and frankly their relationships are not our problem. We can't go over spring break 2021 (which is when they are offering to do the trip), and frankly have no idea if this or any other tour/travel company will be in business a year from now anyway (or weather European travel will be happening). It's unconscionable to hold back so much money from people who won't be travelling AND may be dealing with their own economic travails. When/if our child can make a trip to Europe it will be with ASICS who had a much more organized pre-travel routine when our other kid went to Europe. All in all I am glad to not be taking a trip with this company. read more

At this point, we haven't gone on the trip yet, but the trip has been cancelled and rebooked. Customer service is lacking and hold times are extremely long. i should have also booked our flights instead of them booking due to only red eyes being booked. And don't even think about trying to buy up your airline ticket, so you won't be exhausted when you land! They book the tickets so you can't do that, not even through the airline company. I hope the trip is actually worth all of the money we have spent and that my daughter has a good time. read more

This company decided to keep $565 per child for the trip they canceled due to Covid 19. I paid for two children to travel with them and they only refund a portion of my money. They were still taking payments from people after the pandemic started. Bottom line is this is a rip off and I don't encourage anyone to trust EF Tours to travel with. Parents all across the country are out of a lot of money because we trusted this company and it's not fair! No valid reason for keeping such large amounts of money other than they had to pay staff or tour groups How do you have to pay people when the trip never happened?! This trip was canceled well in advanced too! If you travel use another company!! I am so upset and disappointed that I paid this company in good faith and in the end I got ripped off. By the way insurance didn't the cover pandemic, so that was a waste. Bad company and bad business read more

Thankfully this did not happen to me but a friend I traveled with had her flight suspended by the airline and she was not on the flight. When calling EF emergency they made HER pay out of pocket for a new $5000 flight!!!! It was not her fault at all! She even had insurance. They do NOT care about their travelers. They wouldn't give her any money back that she had originally paid for to have her flight booked for the trip!! read more

I Booked a middle school trip with my nephew through his school. The trip was scheduled for April 2021. We started paying bi-weekly payments in December 2019. Recently, the school board decided it was not safe and ALL trips for this school year was canceled due to the Pandemic. When we called to get a refund, they will be keeping $500 ($95 non-refundable deposit, $165 global travel fee, and $240 fee for cancellation). The $240 fee I can attempt to get a refund through the travel insurance I had no choice in purchasing, EXCEPT the pandemic is not an acceptable reason. The only way I will get to keep mine and my nephews FULL refund is to schedule another trip through the company. Buyer beware and make sure that you read everything. I am currently in the process of reaching out to the BBB due to these unprecedented times. It's very sad and disheartening that companies are taking advantage of families. read more

I was in bournemouth with EF. I liked it a lot, a good experience. I hope to have the chance to leave with EF a second time!!

If I could give negative or zero stars I would. Very expensive and confusing. I got hit with 3 hidden feea that were over $100. Customer service was no help. Beware of the gouging. read more

Horrible, horrible, incompetent, and dishonest company. I was scheduled for a talk with Katie Francis on 4-15-20, I got ready 1/2 hour in advance, but only 3 minutes before our talk was I sent a link to use, a link that didn't work. The instructions on the link were accompanied by a screen snap that showed an icon that I was supposed to click on, but no such icon was on my computer screen! At the same time their software told me my microphone was turned off, but I turned it on, refreshed their screen, reclicked on their link, but the message wouldn't go away. I spent so much time struggling with this that Katie then sent me an e-mail where she said she was assuming I wasn't interested in talking with her. I sent her 2 e-mail responses (katie.francis@ef.com) but she never responded. I then contacted EF's main number by phone (800-457-1300) later that day, talked to Tricia twice, and was told someone would get back that day, but no one ever did. Several days later I called Tricia again, she told me there was no manager I could talk to, and nobody I could e-mail with my complaints! She steered me by phone to the Contracts Department, but of course nobody answered there, so I just left a voice mail to which I'm sure no one will respond. Insanely bad company! It is seriously starting to sound like a scam, with all these lies and evasions. It also sounds like it's staffed by a bunch of dingbats with no college education or sound logic. read more

My family and I hosted an exchange student from Italy for the 2019-20 school year through EF. We created a strong bond with our student and had a great experience with EF until March when they told us they would be sending students back home to their Home Counties due to COVID. Our girl is a lot safer here than going back to Italy where they had a lot of problems than we did. They said we could send a letter for extenuating circumstances and they would review it. She didn't want to go back and we certainly didn't want her to go back either. IT WAS ALL A BIG FAT LIE. No matter what anyone wrote, they were still in a rush to send everyone back not to mention that they even declined our letter. My thing is, if you were going to send her back anyway, why would you give the students and us host families false hope??? They wasted our time. Since they made a bad decision and handled all of this poorly, we won't be hosting through EF ever again. Because of this, I have lost a tremendous amount of respect for EF and I would not recommend them as they are now a horrible company! read more

I just completed a 14 (2 full days were travel) day trip to Spain, France and Italy with EF Tours (custom trip). My husband and I went with our 13 yo son. I will start with positives: tour guide IRIS was great and we were able to see so many places from Barcelona to Nice to Monoco, Assisi, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and Capri. Motor coach travel was comfortable. Entry into museums, etc was convenient - group entry was immediate with no wait. Negatives: Cost for family of 3 for 14 days (including 2 days of travel) was 14,400 U.S. dollars which would be fine if accommodations were better. Flight was economy. 9 hour flight in economy seating is uncomfortable at best. Travel was 24 hours each direction. Flight was from NO to Houston to Frankfort to Barcelona. Hotel information and final itinerary was not provided until one week prior to departure. First day of arrival, after 24 hours travel, we were not allowed to check into room, shower or even brush teeth. We were forced to walk a mile to a train station for a ride into Barcelona for a 1.5 hour walking tour then a walk back to the train station for return trip to hotel with another mile walk from train station to hotel. Dinner that night was stewed chicken with potatoes and water to drink. (Similar low budget menu for breakfast and evening meal each day) After @ 38 hours between travel and trip to Barcelona my initial reaction was to return home and not finish the trip. I was made to feel guilty and told stories about how much work was done to plan the trip. I'm sure that's the case but at what cost to the teachers? Did they have to pay full price for the trip? If not, how can they complain? How much you pay for something determines the value to you. In other words when you make a decision to purchase something you compare it to what you're giving up to make that purchase. If you're not giving anything up, how can you give an honest assessment? This goes for students as well, their parents are paying for the trip so they have no concept of the cost vs value. A few days into the trip we decided we needed to make the best of the situation. I am happy we were able to experience travel to Europe but if I knew before booking the trip what I know now, I never would have gone. I would have booked myself and hired a guide. (lesson learned). Hotels were mostly awful budget grade and 40 minutes or more from the destination city. As a result much time was spent in route to each destination for daily activities. Rooms varied in cleanliness (some really bad) and AC if they worked were not adequate for summer heat (105 degrees July 2015) Hotel information and final itinerary was not provided until one week prior to departure. Food provided included breakfast and evening meal. All were ok but inexpensive options with chicken, potatoes or pasta or Pizza. Wine and soda was extra cost. Best meal each day was lunch but this was paid by travelers so extra 800-1000 us dollars for 3 depending on your selection. Average was @ 20 per lunch per person. We walked an average of 7-8 miles per day which was difficult in heat (several people had fitbits and recorded steps and miles walked). We were rushed and not allowed a relaxed pace necessary to appreciate each location. I will return to Italy at some point but not with EF. Understand with a group tour your day is scheduled and you are not able to make any decisions regarding when you sleep, wake, when and what you eat (except lunch) where you stay or how you travel. With a group I understand the need for a schedule but there was no flexibility regardless of situation - even if feeling bad or ill. read more

My daughter was suppose to go to italy with her school this month then all international flights were canceled due to the coronavirus. I have spoke with several people with EF tours and they are refusing to refund me the money i paid in full for this trip because "act of god". they also said my daughter can use the voucher to go on another school trip or on her own. first of all not all schools offer these types of trips and she will not be at her current school next year, and second i will not send my underage child on a tour with strangers since the voucher is only good for one person. I do not have the funds to pay for another person to go on a trip. we also had a lot of donations given to us for this trip and with this trip being cancelled I am now responsible for paying these donations back but can not because they are refusing to refund me my money. they had me use their donation page to share with friends, family, and social media so I did but it states right on the donation page if for any reason the trip is cancelled the person is responsible for paying donations back. this is not acceptable especially since I did not cancel this trip the state officials the president of the united states the tour group themselves along with the school canceled the trip I did not break any contract policies nor did I cancel they are the ones that canceled so I shouldn't be screwed out of 3500.00 dollars plus what I am going to have to come up with to pay everyone back her donated for my daughter to be able to go on this trip. the school as well will not refund me my money back they say it is not their responsibility I have to take it up with EF tours and when I explained EF is refusing to do anything they said I'm sorry their is nothing we can do. read more

HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE! Same as everyone else is posting here. EF has no problem taking your money. But now if you want a refund? $1,000 less. I have had to cancel other trips and received 100% refunds from everyone else (Carnival Cruise, Delta Air, Alaska Air). I even asked EF for support for the $1,000 they want to keep and they just gave me a bunch of gibberish about cancellation fees. I said "fine. Just provide me some detail of your cancellation fees and I'll agree to them". Of course, they wouldn't provide me with any details or justification for the $1,000. They are a horrible company that is making horrible decisions that will haunt them for a long time. For those hanging on to vouchers, don't be surprised if this company files BK at some point. After the way they've handled this matter, who on earth would want to use them again. (I wish I could give a "0" star rating for them.) read more

EF changed my groups flight less than one week before departure adding on 12 hours travel time and an additional $500 fee. Their top priority is making money. The teacher "consultant" representatives do not have the authority to do anything for a teacher/group without contacting his/her supervisor. It takes days to get a non-responsive reply. To say that EF does not place a priority on student safety is an understantment. My groups return flight home was through New York with a one night layover. They booked my group of high school teenagers in a motel, far from the airport, that had no locks on the doors, broken windows, and drug dealers selling openingly in the loby. Additionally, students were not provided breakfast and I had to make arrangements to get 5 adult chaperons and 21 students to JFK airport at 5:30 in the morning. Because of time constraints, and EFs lack of planning, I purchased breakfast and lunch meals on the flight for everyone. I would give a "0" rating if possible. The memories of the countries we visited are positive but that has nothing to do with EF. The history and museum experiences for students was life changing but that is becuase of each country's history, not the travel company. The accommodations and food throughout the tour was substandard or not available and in two places we stayed, students had personal items stolen from their hotel rooms when we were not there even though the rooms were locked. I have lead several student tours and I will never use EF again. EF should be asshamed of their poor service but primarily their lack of care for young people. I will use their competitor in the future. read more

EF Tours is a scam! They make canceling and getting anything close to full refund impossible. We had to cancel my daughter's trip with her middle school 5 months prior to the trip. I paid in $800 and all they refunded me was $26. Beware! I would give them zero stars if possible. Don't think just because you pay the extra $179 for Anytime Protection Plan that your funds are protected. They're not. read more

If I could go lower on the stars, I would. We just got back from an EF Tour and were dismayed by the low class hotels and meals and the ridiculously overpacked schedules... In a typical scenario, we were dropped at a famous site in a European city by our temp-hire tour guide, told we had to find food and a bathroom (the guide knew of no local free restrooms) and "enjoy" the famous location - all in 15 minutes. We begged for 20, knowing that having never been there before, trying to get a meal and find a bathroom (we had been on the bus for over 2 hrs at this point with no restroom, and we're told not to expect one for several more hours) would be beyond our abilities. She agreed, but said we must all get our meals "take-away" to eat on the bus to stay on schedule. After running around desperately trying to fit in food and restroom break and get back in time for some pictures of the site, we arrived only to be told by the bus driver that no food was allowed on the bus. The ultimate irony is that, in order to maximize their profit, EF contracts for hotel rooms quite distant from the tourist locales, and meals just as far and usually in the opposite direction, so 3-4 hrs each day was spent in traveling by bus or rail to get to meals and hotels (which were UNIVERSALLY SUBSTANDARD), instead of using the time to see the sites. After our group leader for next year's trip said she had cancelled (yes, I stupidly committed to a second trip before experiencing the horror of the first), I called and found that EF intended to soak us for not just the $95 non-refundable fee, the $155 insurance payment, but for $300/person cancellation fee, even though the tour was cancelled by the group leader. Then they told me that since this was not an emergency, the insurance would not even refund the $300! So, $545 to cancel. Per person. And the group leader walks away unscathed, because of course, the trip was free for them from the get-go. read more

They are unreliable and dishonest. Our trip to NYC was overpriced, they changed the activities to less expensive ones without warning and did not communicate with us at all. I and our whole group feel victimized by them. Please stay away and keep your money safe. read more

Absolutely the worst company on the planet. They can't provide the service people paid for and instead of offering refunds like pretty much every other travel service in the nation, they're making it difficult to get any refund and all and once they do, they're keeping thousands of dollars from each person. Their insurance policy is nothing more than a piece of garbage and apparently, they even own that company! Huge conflict of interest. They lie to get you off the phone and will only answer your specific questions on the chat. God forbid they actually say, "here's what will work best." Oh, and every chat person seems to be named Emma so we can't even say who we've been talking to. I'm sick of this Emma slob. They're on their way to going under so I wouldn't entrust them with your money (or your child!--For all that is good in the world, do not give these people responsibility for your kid...you'll have to go read about other people's abandoned children for yourself). read more

Scam!! What a rip! The girl I hosted paid $4000 for her EF tour. So maybe her airfair was $1000. Air boat ride $20. Seaworld was a deal at $30. Suns game $10. They also had a bus to transport them to these events and destinations (Lets be generous at $500 per kid).. So the rest of the trip they went to free stuff...outlet mall in Orlando, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine ($10 for lighthouse), The welcome party was held at the beach in 100 degree weather. We were told to pack a lunch for our kid. Not really a party since nothing was provided (well they did have popsicles). Even the farewell party was provided with donations and host families. While the farewell party for the Chinese was catered by bbq the night before. They served left over ribs and beans to our Thanksgiving themed farewell party. During the party they let the food sit for two hours before we were allowed to eat. They did a crappy presentation...we should have been eating during the presentation. The organizer said they were exhausted after having a three hour party the night before (three whole hours) and that's why they weren't organized for our party. Anyway, where does the rest of their $4000 go. Seems like EF is pocketing several thousand dollars per student...while the host families foot the bill for food and entertainment for almost 4 weeks. I think this company is scamming these foreigners to come experience America. read more

Like many others on this site, I have been informed that EF Tours will not refund my money for a trip my son was supposed to take during the Corona Virus Pandemic. I have the option of a voucher that must be used during a certain time period, but I no longer trust this company and that is not good enough. EF claims they can't provide a refund because they plan and pay for tickets, lodging, etc. well in advance "and take these situations into consideration." They are missing the fact that families also plan well in advance for these trips and vouchers are not appropriate. When there is such a severe global issue, companies should present as more compassionate. I was forced by the school to pay for the insurance package...what does it get parents? There is actually a clause that offers a refund if the traveler is hijacked - not for a Global Pandemic, but if you are hijacked, you get a refund. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY PEOPLE PURCHASE INSURANCE! read more

I have been a Spanish teacher for 34 years and have taken hundreds of students on 32 EF Educational Tours to Spanish speaking countries. Does EF have an effect on students? Oh, my, YES! I have now taken parents that were students of mine along with their children on tours together. I have taken more sons and daughters of former students than I can count. Why? Well, they have all seen the impact on students that have returned to school and to our community. EF offers a glimpse into not only other cultures, but also into the students themselves. When a person is exposed to other cultures and another way of life, it opens their world like nothing else. EF and the teachers that travel with them are truly helping to build a global understanding that is desperately needed in today's world. Why EF? Simply put, no company can touch EF. They have only top notch tour consultants and team members that work non stop to make sure that their travelers have the best experiences. They are in country, on the ground, working side by side with the tour guides and travelers. They constantly update and upgrade the tours to ensure the best possible tour for all students. They have amazing student centered activities, safety policies and procedures, itineraries and prices. Anyone considering traveling with students should look at EF first. Call and talk to an EF travel consultant. You won't need to look further. They are simply the best! ---Ann Balfour Blaine, Washington read more

Safety is a prime concern for our children traveling in Europe at this time. The backpacks designed by EF have a LITERAL TARGET on the back of them. Why would they do this to our children? I believe how you do anything is how you do everything- nervous for my childs safety now. read more

I have never felt the desire or need to post a review...until now... I am also angry, disgusted, and horrified with EF Tours cancellation policy given the world-wide unrest, daily terrorist warnings, and the U.S. travel alert. While I wholeheartedly agree that there should be a cancellation fee, I do not believe the company should engage in price gouging during this time of tremendous upheaval in the world. I am sure their tours are great, as I have read many reviews to that fact. But I am not speaking to their tour practices, I am speaking about their business practices which seem to be highly driven by greed and the bottom line. If EF only understood that by waiving or lowering their mandatory fees during these extenuating circumstances, which by the way are in no way in line with other businesses, they would retain a very large and loyal customer base. Instead, they chose to take advantage of this tenuous situation and levy ridiculous fees for services not rendered. I have been in contact with several EF customer service personnel who have given conflicting information as well as continue to tow the party line by reading their scripted business policies. How about thinking about the families and students who have scrimped and saved for this trip of a lifetime only to have the trip dissolve because of violent acts of terrorism and their hard earned money taken by EF? Shame on you. Have a heart EF, have a heart read more