They are crooks. Do not book with them. Hidden fees everywhere!!!! If you need to cancel 190+ before trip, expect to lose $400-$500. They lie to get you to book. read more

This is a horrible company that refuses to issue a full refund for an 8th grade Boston/NY trip that is not taking place due to COVID-19. I paid for the insurance and they still want to keep $350 without any services being rendered. This is very unprofessional. Do Not Use this company. Also the customer service by phone/email is long waits, inaccurate, and totally unacceptable. Refund will take long to process. To get the $99 trip insurance refunded is a totally separate process. They wont be in business much longer I am sure. read more

BEWARE. I booked 3 trips through this fraudulent operation for over $8,000. EF decided to cancel our trips due to COVID-19, we did not cancel the trips. They also decided that they would KEEP ALL OF MY MONEY for their trouble. They are not a reputable company and I would strongly caution anyone about doing business with them. We even bought insurance that is supposed to give a full refund if your trip is cancelled sue to "quarantine". I filed claims weeks ago and have heard nothing from them. The supposed insurance company (Seven Corners Carmel, IN) won't even answer the phone! This company needs to be put down by the Federal Government. read more

They changed the "rules" to their policies and would not issue a refund. Horrible customer service that was rude, scripted and unhelpful. After paying over $1,600 they were only going to issue a $300 refund because I was not willing go against my religion and adhere to their "new" policy. Pathetic company. Find another option. read more

Their cancellation policy during this pandemic is sad and embarrassing. Every other business is helping their customers through this HEALTH and FINANCIAL crisis. Unfortunately, EF America is price gouging. Yes, charging us $750 for a trip that no one is going on due to a national emergency is them taking an unfair advantage of the situation. I know that their fees are being refunded because every other business actually cares about its consumers. EF America should not get to keep our money. $750 is almost 1/3 of the total cost. They should be ashamed of themselves. The way they are handling this situation says a lot about this shady company. Do not trust and support them in the future!!! Schools should boycott them. I'll be on the look out for a company that puts humanity over profits during this COVID 19 crisis for my son's future student travel. My son is disappointed about missing his trip, I am disappointed about EF America's cheating. If anyone knows a trustworthy and fair alternative to EF America please share it! I'm doing a search now and will share other student travel companies' cancellation policies during the pandemic. read more

Very disorganized trip. Had us staying in hotels not even close to our tour sites. Having us stay in a hotel that is 2 hours away from both our sites is ridiculous. You spent 2 hours on the way to hotel and same thing when going back to your tour sites. You couldn't even see what you were supposed to look at be looking at b/c we were so rushed. Also, the hotels left a lot to be desired. One place we stayed had a party going on until 2 a.m. The hotel management didn't care even though multiple parents complained about the noise. We had "reservations" at a couple of places to eat, but when our group gets there the restaurant has no idea who we are. I would never recommend this to anyone. For the price we paid I could have taken my family of 4 instead of just me and my child. Never will use EF again or recommend. read more

I'm only giving it a one star because I have to in order to leave a comment but they definitely do not deserve any stars. EF Explore America is a complete joke. The company are thieves. First they gave 1 week to sign up to get the discount, so you kinda feel rushed. Second they'll harass you for your payment but trying to get reimbursed is like asking for a miracle from God. Then they give you so silly excuses. Being that we are in these trying times of C***D-19 you think they'd be a little more understanding and flexible however they wrote a policy to steal your money knowing the constant changes in C***D-19. I nearly paid $4000 for the trip only to get reimbursed $300 for my students trip and $350 for my own. Leaving them with a little over $3000 for doing close to nothing. Why not flip it give me $3000 wnd they stay with the $750? I also attempted to leave comments on EF Explore America only to be filtered out... Don't waste your time and especially don't waste you money. read more

WARNING!!! We booked a trip to DC for this weekend through the school. EF Explore America canceled all trips and refunded all our money except $350 which they kept !! THEY canceled the trip and kept $350 from each student for their troubles!!!! read more

Give the families affected by Coronavirus a full refund for their trips that got cancelled!

This place is run extremely poorly. They can't answer simple questions yet they are more than happy to take your money!

Do not work with this company. It is poorly managed, makes changes to policy and then expects to keep money for a trip they cancel or mismanage. Just Awful. No customer service representatives available when you call. Disappointed that our school would contract with such an organization, don't make the same mistake. read more

Bait-and-switch, they keep walking off with handfuls of money without providing anything of value in return.

Our son was scheduled for a tour in Europe with his school through this company. After several months of payments, we had to back out for some very personal reasons. I was heartbroken for my kid and, moreover, expecting a huge chunk of our payments to be retained by this company for cancellation fees, etc. To my surprise, the representative I spoke with, named Alexa, was sympathetic to our plight and plugged in a replacement kid (who had just signed up) to take my child's place... thereby saving us money we really needed! She didn't need to do all that for us; I would never have been the wiser. But she did, and I am so grateful. read more

@EFExplore, horrible customer service. The trip isn't until June this year. We've been paying over $600 a month for my daughter, her dad and I to all go. They are now requiring vaccination for the trip. They are keeping $1050 and refunding the rest. When I asked what the money went toward she said reservations. Well, other people are still going on the trip, so no reservations are being cancelled. They aren't out any money. Scripted answers, no exceptions! Poor business model. Never using them again. read more

Attended Washington D.C./New York Tour with my son school. The 5 day tour was very fast paced and 8 miles a day of walking. Great experience for the kids to see. However I was disappointed in the fact that the African American Musuem was not included as well as the Holocaust either. There is more History to learn and see than what's being taught in mainstream media/textbooks. Enjoyed myself but my advice to parents would be to be well prepared and schedule time to do things with your child if your are traveling. In a short summary each day started at 7a.m. and ended at 10 p.m. For the amount of money I payed for my son and I the food venues selected wasn't that great, food court food. First time experiencing a tour like this but definitely would have done some things differently. The group size was a factor as well, along with numerous of other schools touring. read more

Not happy w this organization, purchased a ticket for my daughter and due to financial hardship cancelled but they kept $595 -- profitable organization read more

This is one business I hope goes out of business due to covid19, they deserve it. look at the many reviews of in the middle of the Covid19 pandemic, they are charging folks a $750 cancellation fee. some of these people are single parents who just lost their job and cant afford to hold their funds in a travel voucher. SHAME ON YOU. check their face book page, hundreds of comments about the same practice. THIEVES, GREEDY CORP who don't give a damn about their customers, or those who would have been customers. read more

My son's school NYC trip was pushed back twice from 2020 to now 2022. The company will refund minus $350. They expect to keep $350 for nothing. That is outrageous. The NYC AG office even had a fund for NY state residents to recoup the $350 from canceled trips, but won't extend it to other state residents. This is a RIP OFF. DO NOT USE EF. read more

You can add our name to this also! This company should not be in business ! We booked the trip as a school field trip and was for the school . After pandemic hit , We knew there was no way this trip would even happen with COVID-19 around so we cancelled, They held out of our refund a 600 cancellation fee! WTH! What company does this! We didn't take out the trip insurance she quoted.... I call BS! Do not book a school trip through these people! read more

EF Explore America - Statements! - Tours Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Do not, I repeat, do NOT utilize this organization. I had put money down for my daughter to go on a trip this summer and due to financial issues had to cancel today. They did not refund ANY of the money I had paid so far because I didn't not pay for additional trip insurance at the time I signed her up. I could understand if I was cancelling close to the time if the trip but it is still six months away. If you want to use them, make sure you read the fine print, have plenty of money to throw around, and pay extra for insurance. Or better yet, don't use them at all and the trip will cost half the price. read more

This was a great experience for our daughter! A group of around 25 students from her 8th grade class visited Boston and New York City over 6 days. Two teachers supervised. They had a wonderful time! The parents got updates every day, and we were even invited to participate in the group chat so we could follow along virtually! read more

Beware! This company advertises a Covid "Peace of mind" policy but they do not honor it. Their decision to require vaccinations - within the 45-110 day timeframe, even though few destinations on the itinerary would require it, left us no option but to cancel. Also, the "50% standard cancellation policy" netted us only 29% of what we actually paid. read more

They cancelled my sons 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. due to COVID-19. We were offered a voucher to travel in May 2021 to NYC but we have family in NYC and visit there at least once a year. Other option is to take a refund minus a hefty $350 fee. The customer service rep tried to tell me that they had already researched hotels and restaurants which I find hard to believe since it's 3 months away and wouldn't they just be using the same itinerary for all of their D.C. tours? Not to mention that $350 per cancelled child is a ridiculous amount to pay for a small amount of research done. Will never buy a trip from them again. read more

Unfortunately EF decided to monopolize on the pandemic and decided to steal money from families for events that are cancelled. They are keeping over $250 per student from our district totaling over $18,000 when they have zero costs. We spoke to the hotel claiming they are not charging any fees, to the bus company not charging. The tour guides are all 1099 and only get paid for work completed. DO NOT EVER BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY read more

Due to Covid-19, my daughters school canceled their June 2021 scheduled trip to New York. My daughter was heartbroken as she had never been to NY and was looking forward to this vacation. Her trip had been paid in full for months. And, yes we had the travelers insurance. Explore America refused to return all of our money and has deducted a $350 non refundable fee! I DO NOT recommend schools or parents to plan future trips through Explore America. They are victimizing children and profiting off of the pandemic. read more

The whole thing is a racket - even in the best of times. I agree with all the negative posts here. Although well intentioned, teachers that get to go on trips free of charge are their captive sales people in schools and get to travel free. You help pay for part of their trip. Had 2 older kids that went as 8th graders and had so-so experiences to DC and NYC/Boston. This is for you if you have money to piss away on an overpriced spring break trip for a younger kid that does not mind the inconveniences of middle school group travel. 3rd kid's trip in 2020 cancelled, but have no interest with sending him in high school on one of these. High schoolers are much less patient with putting up with group travel in 4 person rooms along with wait times at venues and bus rides. Recommend saving the money and taking your kid(s) to these cities yourself. read more

I was extremely disappointed with our trip. The buses broke down 4 times, our driver received 3 tickets and the other driver hit a pole. The interior of the bus had not been cleaned prior to our trip and smelt like raw sewage for 3 days... until it broke down and they replaced the bus. Planning could be improved - we did not return to our hotel every night until after 10 - with 4 students trying to take a shower every night, they were up very late. Our trip to New York was nerve wracking! Navigating over 50 14 year old students through the subway is not recommended - we almost lost a child when they tried to get off at the wrong stop. We missed several opportunities to see sites and exhibits - they had us scheduled for Independence Hall, but didn't have enough tickets for everyone - scheduled for the Constitution Center, but no tickets for anyone. read more

Germany Switzerland and Paris last year. New York this year so amazing I can't wait till our next trip. I was kind of disappointed when we went to New York cuz we were supposed to go for a week and we wanted to go on the business trip. But I guess we didn't have enough people in our group. So they paired us up with other groups. Which hopefully next time we go somewhere in the United States they group has up with the same age group then younger kids. we got to see the Opera and I really wish we could have spent our $60 on something different. And I would have loved to have more time in Central Park so big but not enough time to explore. The science building the mat building was amazing I liked both of them very much. They actually took 3 days away from us and we only got to go for days very disappointed. When we were in Europe we got to spend two weeks in Europe it was amazing all around everything that we see I could have stayed in Munich Germany a lot longer and Switzerland Alps beautiful gorgeous. Our tour guide Nails was very good in Europe and Sue's was awesome in New York just wish we had more time. People should go on these tours let the children see what other places have to offer the museum's the beauty and the sky and some of these places are just amazing. read more

My son got t-shirts and a bag. He loved his trip, but missed out on visiting two locations due to the behavior of other students from another school. The hotel room was ok. His favorite place to visit was the WW2 monument. Overall, his favorite part of the trip was the opportunity to socialize with his friends. read more

My daughter had the best time and now has some forever memories. I can't wait for her next trip

It was an amazing trip! Well organized and he had an unforgettable time. Tour guides did an incredible job! When a 14 year old boy gets excited about the guided tours and can't stop talking about how amazing they were....I think that says something! I'd do another trip through EF Explore anytime! read more

They charged me a $350 fee for a trip that was canceled due to COVID. So buyer beware! I wouldn't recommend them for any service.

My son just returned from DC. He had the best time ever. You can imagine a moms fesr sending him across the us we live in California. All details were worked out to a t. He raved on his tour bus driver. I definitely recommend EF tours. I didn't have to do anything but make monthly payments. They made it very convenient and affordable. read more

We took this trip as a family, our son, wife and myself. None of us had never been to N.Y.C. This trip was the way to go. Dennis our tour guide was wonderful. He was full of knowledge, including buildings and points of interest and how to efficiently navigate around the city. For a major city, this was the way to go. Didn't have to worry about a thing from the moment we arrived at the airport until we got home. Second most important fact was the cost. We could never have gone on this trip for the three of us for the price we paid EF. For the same money we would have gotten the airline and hotel only, never had a meal or saw the things we did. My wife never had a doubt we were in a safe environment. Never did we worry about our surroundings or the people around us. The way to go if you have the opportunity. read more

Our tour of Washington DC was amazing. We had a wonder tour guide from EF. Amy was amazing as we went on tour throughout DC. The extra details she paid attention to giving us was exceptional. I would definitely recommenced any parent to send their children on an EF tour. You will defiantly be pleased with the result and your children will get a more in depth understanding of what they already have learned in school. We got to tour the Smithsonian's, the Capital, see the White House, the monuments, the National Zoo, The National Cemetery, and also experience The Changing of the Guard. read more

Hotels and Flights are giving full refunds but EF Explore America is withholding $450 to cancel my sons trip. I do not recommend this company. read more

Well great, school says the trip (a month away) is cancelled. I have not received any information from the company. I tried calling today EF today and ALL phone numbers say they are no longer in service! I do have trip insurance, but from reading other reviews here it looks like we might be out of $1700! read more

My children's middle school was using EF Explore America for the annual East Coast 8th grade trip to NYC, DC and Boston, and I as the parent was attending as a chaperone. Obviously, due to COVID-19, the trip was cancelled and EF had the indecency to attempt to keep $750/person due to the trip being cancelled, of course at no fault of ours. With the assistance of the Asst. Superintendent of the school district, we were able to lower the amount EF kept to $450/person. This money was supposedly due to "fees" incurred while booking the trip. I have been unemployed since January and could have really used that money to pay my rent or buy groceries. They are a disgusting organization with no morals and hope they have to close their doors for good due to the pandemic. It would serve them right. I hope schools (ours or any other school in the US) never uses them again. They should be ashamed of themselves. read more

This is a horrible company! My 8th grade son had a trip to Washington DC, NY and Boston that was affected by the COVID-19. During this horrible national emergency and pandemic, the company is keeping $750 and will not refund the full amount. They offer a travel voucher to be used with them, a voucher that we have no use for! It is sad to see a company making a financial profit during this national emergency, when families are already struggling financially. Shame on Explore America! I hope the public and school see these actions and stop using this senseless colony in the future. read more

I asked for a refund and was told they would give me one but that they would take $350 from my payments( She not going on the trip so why keep my daughter money they aint right) and it can take up to 4 weeks to get my money. They also said she can put the money towards a future trip and I declined . So yea they scammed my daughter outta her hard working money to pay for the trip and she cancel and they punish her by taking $350 for what she aint going on the trip. Look you better off keeping your money and going on your own trip because this has scam shxt written all over. Please again do not give these people your money unless you know for a fact you going because they gonna get paid whether you cancel or not. DO NOT PUT YOUR MONEY INTO THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW FOR A FACT THEY GOING!!!. PLEASE give my daughter her $350 dollars back thieves!!! I'll be back to let yall know how long it take to receive my money. read more