EF Educational Tours is a leading provider of student travel programs, specializing in educational tours designed to inspire and engage young learners. The company offers a variety of curated itineraries that focus on experiential learning, allowing students to explore new cultures and environments while participating in hands-on activities. With a commitment to safety and value, EF Educational Tours aims to make travel accessible to all students, enriching their educational experience beyond the classroom.
Targeting educators, parents, and students, EF Educational Tours collaborates with subject matter experts to create immersive travel experiences that align with educational goals. Their offerings include popular tours, STEM-focused itineraries, and new travel options that cater to diverse interests and learning objectives. Through their network of experienced professionals, the company ensures that each journey is not only safe but also transformative, unlocking new potentials for students as they discover the world.
EF Educational Tours has a positive customer experience.
EF Educational Tours receives high praise for its well-organized trips and exceptional tour guides, with many reviewers highlighting the enriching experiences their children had during various tours. Customers frequently commend the professionalism and knowledge of the guides, noting their ability to engage both students and adults effectively.
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However, some negative feedback emerges regarding specific trips, particularly concerning issues with accommodations and unexpected delays, such as a child spending 24 hours in an airport due to flight issues. Additionally, there are complaints about unclear charges and refund processes, particularly related to cruise experiences. Overall, while many people celebrate the quality of the tours and the support provided, concerns about logistics and customer service persist.
1,060 customer reviewsLatest review over a year ago
Where the score comes from
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
4.4
1,060
100%
● Medium
4.4 / 5 overall
=
1,060 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Aug 2025.
Last 3 months
4.4
12-month avg
4.4
All-time
4.4
Category avg
4.0
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Jun 25
4.4
271
Jul 25
4.4
729
Aug 25
4.3
60
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 500 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 424 positive reviews
Helpful support11%
46 mentions
Customer service7%
30 mentions
Easy to use7%
30 mentions
Fast & efficient4%
16 mentions
“Our tour guide made all the difference”
On “Helpful support” · Aug 29, 2025
Top complaintsof 39 negative reviews
Pricing31%
12 mentions
Payment issues26%
10 mentions
Refund15%
6 mentions
Cancellation10%
4 mentions
“Greece trip -buyer beware”
On “Pricing” · Aug 31, 2025
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Travel Agencies.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
Heidi and Eric were amazing. I cannot imagine driving that big bus on those roads, but Eric made it seem so easy. Heidi made sure we were all taken care of and passionately educated us about the country. I loved learning everything. I loved every adventure we took, but the bus ride was just as amazing, because we were always learning something new and interesting.
Very well planned. Felt very safe. Very educational. Interactions with locals were fantastic. Tour guide and bus driver were excellent, both went out of their way to make sure we were accommodated for all our needs.
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Extremely Disappointing Experience with EF Educational Tours - July/August 2025
As paying parents who joined our student on this tour, we feel obligated to warn other families about our terrible experience with EF Educational Tours. Our initial tour director was completely unprepared and unsafe. She walked without identifying markers, failed to ensure group safety crossing busy streets, consistently answered questions with "I don't know," and forced us to wait 30+ minutes at every hotel while she figured out room assignments. Parents had to step in and perform her duties throughout the first half of the trip. Despite premium pricing, we experienced holes in hotel walls, non-functioning AC, cold showers, hard beds, and insufficient amount of breakfast food. Meals were inadequate for hungry teenagers through out the trip- cheap, repetitive dishes with no options. After a 20,000-step Vatican/Colosseum day, "dinner" was iceberg lettuce, thin cheese pizza, and ice cream. Students regularly spent their own money on additional food. Two hours before boarding, while sitting at the beach with luggage loaded, we were told our cruise was canceled. EF provided no clear information about next steps, meals, or accommodations or refund opportunities but asked for us to make a decision quickly so they could start booking flights. Only through our group leader's persistent calls did we slowly get details about options and potential reimbursement. Consistent late hotel arrivals followed by very early departures left everyone exhausted. The group repeatedly requested hotel rest time instead of more rushed sightseeing, but requests were ignored. We did not get a full 8 hours rest until the 2nd to last day of the trip. EF booked a flight to Europe with 6-hour layover then added an "extra day" at the end of our trip causing many of the students to arrive back at 10PM the night before school started causing significant stress. Our second tour director, Stelios, was excellent - professional, safe, and educational. Unfortunately, by then we were still dealing with cruise cancellation aftermath and continued subpar accommodations. This experience made many students never want to travel internationally again. EF provided the absolute minimum - checking boxes for basic services without regard for quality, safety, or customer satisfaction. Students were exhausted most of the time and because of the constant moving to new hotels, getting on flights & subpar food, few of them enjoyed the educational excursions from the stressful experience. Even when paying premium prices, we were then asked for additional money for catacombs and Naples stops during the trip- it felt like we were being nickel and dimed. I will never recommend EF Educational Tours and will actively discourage other parents from risking their children's safety and travel enthusiasm with this company. For these prices, families deserve professional leadership, safe experiences, reasonable accommodations, and adequate food options. EF failed completely.
My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her first European trip. Her tour guide, Vlad was very personable, giving lots of information about the cities including rules and laws, made sure everyone was comfortable and were able to enjoy some free time. She is ready to go again
Overall, a great tour. Our tour director, Marton, was top-notch! Tour sites were amazing. The only reason to deduct a point was that some hotels were what I would consider subpar in comparison to most of the hotels we have experienced on previous tours. Also, dinners were mostly bland not to mention tiny.
Some of the museums and sites we were given 40 minutes to look around. Our time was so short at the colluesem. Our tour guide kept talking about her life and her boyfriend, instead I would want to here about Greece and Italy.
We got lots of good pictures just felt rushed in certain sites.
Amazing! We had such an incredible tour guide, language facilitator, and bus driver that all made this trip worth the money! I have no reservations recommending EF tours to everyone.
i havent been in an language course by ef, but ive had many experiences with their websites, ive called to the ef workers about the possible courses im thinking about, the worker was so friendly and kind, i also have many friends who have told me about their amazing courses, and also my dear sister who even told me her course was the best thing of her life. I really recommend!
Hardworking and well-studied tour guide and bus driver kept us en pointe. We gloriously focused on all the culture and fun with no logistical hassles. Our guide also brought in site-specific experts in particular regions to make the connections even richer. On our agricultural tour, we didn't just hear facts, but we did a little planting, milking and of course tasting of the harvests. Farmers distilled life wisdom, priceless for us all. Can't imagine experiencing Ireland in any better way.
This was a great experience for myself and my daughter. It was jam packed , very organized and very fast paced. We always felt safe and had a great tour guide (Dan) and bus driver (Mauricio.)
However, the hotels chosen by the company left much to be desired. Some of them didn’t have elevators and one of our rooms didn’t even have a window. We had one hotel room where we were told not to use the a/c because it would go out. Another hotel had absolutely terrible food. I feel like they just chose the cheapest hotels for the group.
Overall the trip was educational and a good experience.
Great experience learned the way people live a very cultural eye opener. Enjoyed the people places and monuments. I would definitely recommend EF for students and families.
Our EF Tour to Japan and South Korea was absolutely amazing. Every detail was carefully planned — from the itinerary to the hotels, transportation, and tour guides. We had a perfect balance of cultural experiences and fun activities. The trip exceeded our expectations, and we couldn’t be happier. Highly recommended!
EF Educational Tours is a leading provider of student travel programs, specializing in educational tours designed to inspire and engage young learners. The company offers a variety of curated itineraries that focus on experiential learning, allowing students to explore new cultures and environments while participating in hands-on activities. With a commitment to safety and value, EF Educational Tours aims to make travel accessible to all students, enriching their educational experience beyond the classroom.
Targeting educators, parents, and students, EF Educational Tours collaborates with subject matter experts to create immersive travel experiences that align with educational goals. Their offerings include popular tours, STEM-focused itineraries, and new travel options that cater to diverse interests and learning objectives. Through their network of experienced professionals, the company ensures that each journey is not only safe but also transformative, unlocking new potentials for students as they discover the world.
