EF Educational Tours Reviews

My daughter had a wonderful time on her trip, she got to try new things and mingle with the locals learning a lot about new countries.

I’d like to start out by saying that our guide, Andrea, was awesome. He was very knowledgeable, organized, and approachable. However, that is the only positive aside from the historical places we visited. Every hotel was garbage. Bugs in the beds, broken air conditioners, black mold/mildew, horribly stained carpets, holes punched in the room doors, phones that didn’t work, amenities promised but ended up being broken (hair dryers), power outages, etc. I felt gross sleeping in the beds at each hotel they provided for us. You sign up thinking the breakfasts and dinners they’re gonna provide you are going to be from an actual restaurant in the country you’re visiting, but you end up having hotel meals. Everyone gets the same thing. You don’t get to choose off of a menu. The food is bland and nothing special from the country you’re visiting. The breakfasts in Italy were the most disappointing. The hotel only provided stale, dry breads, packaged toasts, and hard boiled eggs. The coffee machines in our last hotel didn’t work and the milk was warm. Our last hotel (The Palace Inn) in Rome was gross. The shower flooded in several of our bathrooms and since there was only half of a glass partition, the water spilled out onto the floor. This is a problem that they’ve been having because the fake wood on the door was peeling up from all of the past flooding in the bathroom. The blankets were stained and every since hotel had dirt and marks all up and down the walls. I highly suggest EF choose better hotels for their guests. I’m not asking for much, but something clean and not broken would be nice. Also, the extreme fast pace push every day is exhausting and you don’t get to enjoy this beautiful country that you spent so much money for years to visit. We all averaged AT LEAST 8 miles a day walking and by the end of the day everyone was disgustingly sweaty and tired. It’s so fast paced and miserable that you can’t truly enjoy the awesome things you’re seeing because you’re just wanting it to be over so you can get back on the bus in AC or go back and shower.

Everything we encountered went very well. I accidently swapped two letters in my sons middle name for his passport info and they fixed it quick and painless. He really enjoyed his trip. Thank you very much.

Our traveler had a fantastic time. He wasn't really excited about the trip until the time I was helping him pack. He worried about traveling with his classmates. But the itinerary, flights, hotels and activities were well thought out and we're all glad he had the chance to participate.

My son had the time of his life, the tour guides did a great job

Costa Rica was great!

Tour overall was good. Need better food options/selections to try, too many buffets or limited menus. Also, terrible flights on the return home.

My daughter had a trip of a lifetime! Everything was very organized and communication was great!

When you plan a trip abroad you want the experience of a lifetime. EF Educational Tours will give you a phenomenal experience! I don't believe that you can plan and construct a better trip on your own. The entire trip is carefully and strategically planned out for you so that you get immersed in the culture of the countries visited. As a parent the number one concern is safety. My daughter's senior year, she traveled for her very first time to Europe with EF. This year she joined her sister and her brother who just finished his sophomore year to Japan! It is both his first time and his older sister's first time. Total confidence thanks to EF. They plan so beautifully that all travel whether it's by plane, bus, train or ferry it's taken care of by wonderful companies and tour guides. The price is fair and EF is accommodating with payment plans. It is so well done you only need to get your passport and pack! With EF I had total peace of mind. Their website is great you can manage your trip and they are always available to help you navigate. If it weren't for EF my children would not have the experiences of the world beyond our borders. They learned so much about people and cultures, even new friends, that have truly enriched their lives! Next year my son is going with EF to Germany and surrounding countries. He loves history and he's so excited especially since he encouraged a friend he met in school and his parents to join him! Become a world traveler and do it boldly with confidence and peace of mind. You will come away with feeling as though you have toured the entirety of the country and total immersion of a culture as if you were backpacking through the best time of your life! Everything is inclusive including breakfast and dinner. The inclusivety is something I truley appreciate. The experience of a lifetime awaits..Thank you EF Educational Tours!!

Very rushed. Meals were not very good. Probably had 3 good meals the 2 weeks we traveled. The first week we were served chicken and rice 3 times. I would rather skip a couple countries to experience the others more.

Audrey was EXCEPTIONAL! Eat all the seafood and try the Beamish!

Our guide was Noriko Ono. She was absolute amazing!! The experience was so memorable! Nori went above and beyond several times to make our group feel special. Not just by the daily activities but she ensured that any questions, interest, concerns were addressed with such care- she treated us more like family!!

This trip was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to take another.

This is the second kid we've sent on your trip overseas with EF. Both trips were an amazing experience, super well organized and we felt comfortable that every thing was handled and our kids were safe.

It was good but the California kids were loud, obnoxious and annoying. Everything else was organized well - there was one issue with a bedroom but it got fixed reasonably quickly.

We really enjoyed our trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos. Definitely a once in a lifetime trip that I’m so happy we went on. With that said, there is a ton of travel time. It feels like it could be streamlined better so that you aren’t spending so much time on a bus. Also, they set us up for flights home that had a 12 hour layover!

The trip overall was great. Tour Director Jackie is awesome. Lodging was hit or miss. Food was only average. Activities were awesome with good guides, informationand experiences. Rated 4 for food and a couple of the accommodations.

My son liked the way everything was well organized.

Our tour guide was wonderful. The tour choices, hotels ( for the most part) and transportation were excellent. Meals provided by hotel were very good for the most part, but group meals arranged by EF were not at all good both in taste as well as quality. While attempt was made to give a more local food experience, I’ve eaten much better Japanese food in the US. My child has multiple food allergies and though reassured by EF that he would be accommodated, he was not most of the time. A few meals were had at a 7-11, and one day he had nothing available to him until after 7 PM when he ate at a hotel restaurant - this included lack of breakfast accommodations at 2 of the 3 hotels. There was not enough time between tours for him to search for safe food. The tours felt quite rushed - not enough time to immerse self in the experiences. Gave 4 stars as this is not an experience we would have had without a tour group given language barrier. In spite of the food issues, my son enjoyed the experience very much.

Several big the hotels were not that nice and one was a hostel, which was unexpected. Trip was great, tour guides were wonderful but my daughter said it was very overpriced.