EF Educational Tours

Don't even think to travel with this company. They have $12,000 of our money now for two years. We bought thier recommended , cancel for any reason" travel insurance as well. After trip was cancelled we asked for refund

Literally so many things to complain about it’s not even worth my time. But out of the worry for other people I type.Don’t give these people money you will never see it again. They lie. Half the things you pay for you’ll have to pay for again once you’re in that country. The hotel images they show are lies. The food was trash if they let you eat / even get you to a restaurant at all. ( I lost 15 lbs in 10 days on my trip. And lived on cup a soup and pizza delivery at the end of the day. And some nights they wouldn’t let us even order food to the hotel. )Over half the people on my trip got food poisoning more than once. We went to London, England, if you can’t find a place selling real food there you shouldn’t be giving tours.The tours were disorganized and the guides almost seemed to get lost.All the tourist locations you pay for ahead of time you have to pay for again at the location because the guide doesn’t do any of that stuff or tickets. Yet you paid for it all?They say you only need a couple hundred for spending money but you need well over that just to do the trip you already paid for !I wouldn’t trust this company with a fly swatter. You’re better off taking the whole family on a weekend vacation than sending your kid across an ocean for them to love the country but not get to experience any of it because the tour is so awful.

We had an excellent trip through Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary. The accommodations were sufficient, food at restaurants were delicious, the local guides were knowledgeable, and the students had a great time. Overall an excellent trip. If you are planning a group tour some things to consider are: 1) tip money for guides and bus drivers were not included in the cost the students paid. This means that teachers had to have a parent meeting and collect extra funds and travel with large amounts of money for tips. Other tour companies may take care of this added expense for easier travel. 2) We travelled with a number of students with allergies and/or alternative nutritional needs. Although we were accommodated students received meals of rice at every restaurant. They were hungry and needed to but other snacks or go to grocery stores after meals. 3) Although we had entertaining walking tours in each city, it would have been nice to have more scheduled activities such as museum tours. Students were able to tour museums on their leisure time but many were not aware that they needed extra money for museum admission or which museums were available in each city. As a supervising teacher, I found that I needed to research local places to suggest to students during leisure time. It would have been nice to be offered a list of sites with a map of locations.

I haven't been on my EF tours trip yet (it's coming up in May), however I have been planning one with students in my school over the last year and a half. So far, I have felt very supported through the process by the EF staff. They are always quick to respond to my questions and they make the process of planning a group trip pretty simple. I also appreciated the fact that one EF representative was able to come out to my rural school to speak at a recruitment meeting back in the beginning stages of planning. We are looking forward to travelling to Quebec City, Montreal, and Ottawa in a couple months!

I was so excited for our tour of the maritimes. until it actually started. We spent a 3rd of our time on the tour bus, when we did get the opportunity to tour" somewhere or anything

I have been planning student and personal trips every year through EF Tours since 2005. The tour consultants that help me plan the trips have always been there for me by phone or by email every time I have a question (and I tend to have a lot of questions).One of the best things about the EF trip experience for me and for my travelers is their tour directors (tour guides). They can make or break a trip and mine have been fantastic! The students fall in love with them on tour and are sad to say good-bye..During every trip, EF asks the group leader to fill in an evaluation of our experience and I know they read these and make changes and improvements every year. It is very nice to feel listened to.I can't say enough about how happy I am with EF tours. Every trip has been not only fun but also educational. Thank you EF for helping me and my students see the world in a very special way.

Our tour of Italy was amazing! Our tour leader Carola did everything possible to make our trip great. The sights were amazing.Was disappointed that even after the great cost of this trip we were faced with long lines, not having tickets purchased in advance and still extra expense to see suggested sights by our tour guide.Was a bit disappointed with the amount of traveling time spent on the bus and the some of the hotels need updating quite badly and were so far away from where we were touring which meant even more traveling time. We found ourselves back tracking to get to hotels when we could have avoided time on the bus by staying closer to our planned daily tour.

Don't support this company. Bought a ticket for a trip for March 2020, which was cancelled due to Covid-19. After contacted the company several, multiple times, they have refused to refund the $3300 amount. Rather instead, they provided a voucher for a future tip which expires in 2022. As someone who is no longer in high school I have no need or desires to travel with a tour group aimed towards secondary students. Especially in such tight financial times, where travelling anywhere is not encouraged, this large company should be doing better. Sad that this company values money over morals and their consumers well-being. Place your hard-earned money and trust elsewhere.

I took my first school group on a tour of Costa Rica with EF the summer of 2019. I was beyond pleased with every aspect of this trip. EF staff were professional, helpful, and made the trip fun for the kids. I was especially pleased with the level of safety and security that EF provided us. We experienced all aspects of life in Costa Rica, learned, and had memorable adventures. I am looking forward to sharing travel with more students through EF in the future.

TERRIBLE! Expect to loose at least $400 if booking cancelled due to COVID or any other reason out of your control. That is with the insurance claim refund. Not a company will ever recommend! Be aware, book at own risk and loss! For Better Business Bureau listed as EF Institute for Cultural Exchange Ltd. Reply to Company Response: Completely FALSE!!! No one has reached out, still not receiving 100% of the money!