go educational tours reviews

EF Tours Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Is EF Tours right for you?   

So your kid just came home from school with a gorgeous full color brochure about an upcoming trip to Europe with EF Tours that one of their teachers is leading.  He or she is super excited about all the cool things they get to do and is just begging you to let them go.  

It sounds great, but as a responsible parent, you want to know exactly what you’d be sending your child off to do, and how things would actually work on this trip.  

Well, lucky for you we took a 12 day visit to Europe with EF Tours, and have all the details to decide if taking an international trip with this company is right for you or your teenager.  

We’re going to start with the breakdown of how things work with EF and what to expect as a participant or a parent, and then move on to our specific experience with our tour.  

I always like to start my reviews by reminding you that I was not compensated in any way to write this post.  All opinions are my own, and all costs were paid out of our pocket for this experience.

What is EF Tours? 

EF Tours is a travel company that specializes in international tours for students.   

According to their website , EF Tours has been in operation since 1965 and offers trips for students and teachers designed to “provide immersive, life-changing education.”

Basically, EF Tours organizes international trips for students to a wide variety of destinations, promising “compelling itineraries” full of “experiential learning.”

They also promise to have the “lowest price on the market” for this type of travel.  

EF, as a company, offers may types of tours ranging from group trips for adults to organized gap years for high school graduates.  While these options are available, the bread and butter of the company is the basic high school student tour which is what we took.  

How do EF Tours work?

EF Tours have a pretty straightforward process during the sign up period, prior to departure and during your trip. 

Before we get into that, it must be said that EF Tours operate fully independently of the local school district, and are not endorsed or supported by them whatsoever.  

While this may seem like a school trip, it is not.  It is a trip run by a business who just happens to recruit participants through the school system.  Your local principals, school boards, etc. have zero control or influence on these trips.  The school is only involved in the process as far as whether they allow teachers to hand out information in schools or not. 

The EF in EF Tours stands for Education First.  According to their website, EF claims to “design tours to help educators teach, and so students can learn more—about tolerance, other perspectives, and themselves.”

The Sign Up Process

EF Tours are set up to be “hosted” by a local teacher who is then designated as the “group leader.”  Teachers are incentivized with free and reduced price travel to recruit students to join their tours.  

Tours are advertised by the group leader/teacher to students at their school and to their local community.  Interested students and parents are invited to attend informational meetings either in person or virtually where the group leader/teacher goes over the itinerary and any questions potential participants may have.  

Students and parents can then sign up directly through the EF Tours website, and submit all payments directly to the company.  

Trips are usually initially introduced about two years before the travel date so that participants can make smaller monthly payments to cover the cost of the trip.  Costs for these trips can range widely, depending on the destinations and length of the trip.  

EF has the group leader/teacher set up deadlines for signing up to go on the trip, sometimes including small discounts to encourage enrollment.  This tends to give a false sense of urgency to the sign up process. 

We found that participants can sign up just about any time before the trip departs.  We signed up about a year out from the trip, while another student who traveled with us signed up just a month or two before we left.  

Anyone was allowed to sign up for the trip.  We were encouraged to invite friends and family to join us on the tour, whether or not they were associated with our school or even local to our area.  

Adults did need to pass a background check in order to participate in the trip, since adult tour participants are traveling with minors.  

We were not given specific dates for our trip, but instead we were given a window of time during which the trip would occur.   Our dates were finally confirmed about two months before our departure.  

There are usually two or three optional excursions that can be added to any tour.  These usually include some special activity or visit to an additional landmark.  

Tour participants may also choose to upgrade the insurance for the tour. 

Before Your EF Tour

Once you’ve signed up for your EF Tour, you’ll be given access to a tour portal on the EF website where you can track your payments and what steps you need take next to participate in the trip.  They also provide a fundraising page, where friends and family can pay EF directly to offset the cost of your trip.  

Our group had a few in person meetings at a local restaurant prior to our trip where we discussed issues ranging from passports to packing for our trip to Europe , and got a chance to meet our fellow travelers.  This may or may not be true or all groups that are traveling with EF.  

Each participant in our tour was required to submit a copy of our passport to EF to insure that we had the proper documentation to travel.  

Information about our flights was not available until about a month before our departure, and information about our hotels was not available until we were about three weeks out from leaving.  

EF Tours uses a wide range of airlines, and travelers do not get to indicate a preference.  EF books all travelers in economy class seats for all transportation methods.  EF will book with whatever airline has space available for the lowest price for the group.  

As for hotels, travelers know very little about where they are staying ahead of time.  Per the website, tour participants are assured that “travelers can count on safe, clean and comfortable hotels with private bathrooms” but much beyond that the info is sparse.  

Students can expect to room with one to three other students, and possibly have to share beds.  Adults can expect to share a room with one other person.  For a fee, a single room can be requested for the tour. 

EF does indicate up front that hotels may have small rooms without air conditioning, television, or elevators, and that WiFi may not always be available.  

During an EF Tour

All transportation arrangements are made by EF Tours, including flights, buses, trains, etc.  They book all accommodations and attraction admissions for tour participants. 

Two meals a day are included in the cost of a trip with EF Tours.  Breakfast is provided each day at the hotel, usually continental style, but sometimes with hot offerings just depending on your hotel.  Dinners are are pre-arranged with a preset menu by EF at local restaurants.  EF will make accomodations for those with specific dietary needs, such as gluten free or dairy free meals.

While the teacher recruiting students is designated as your group leader, they don’t actually lead the tour once you start traveling.  EF provides a Tour Director to accompany your group through the entire trip.  

This Tour Director is supposed to handle just about everything on your tour, including all your pre-booked accommodations, meals, excursions, tickets, and transfers.  This person is there to direct the group and handle any problems with logistics you may encounter along the way.  

During the tour, your group will meet up with various local guides who will give you some sort of tour of the city or historic site that you’re visiting.  These tours are usually walking tours, but sometimes are bus tours, depending on the location.  

Tour participants are also given access to an EF Tours App, that just lists your daily itinerary for your trip.  

Our EF Tour Review

Our specific tour featured quite a daunting itinerary.  We toured Europe for 12 days, visiting sites in London, Paris, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and Capri, with no more than two nights in any destination.  

Our tour consisted of 26 travelers from our high school: three teachers, seven adults and 16 students.  We were combined with a group from upstate New York consisting of 14 travelers: one teacher, one adult, one child and 11 students.  There were a total of 40 people on our tour.  

What EF Tours Promised

Before our tour, the group leaded made sure every person who showed an interest in going on the trip got the glossy, full color brochure that outlined our itinerary and told us what to expect on the tour.  

The brochure promised that participants would be “surrounded by the people, the language, the food, and the way of life” of the destinations on our itinerary.  We were assured that our tour director would be “with us around the clock, handling local transportation, hotels, and meals while also providing their own insight into the local history and culture.”  

We would be spending time in three different countries, seeing some of the most beautiful and historic cities in Europe.

The brochure also claimed that students could earn educational credit while on tour, and that all tours feature “experiential learning activities.”

Our tour left some of these promises unfulfilled, but did give us a glimpse at some fantastic destinations in Europe and some amazing memories.  

Our hotels along the trip started out stellar but seemed to go downhill from there, unfortunately ending in truly unacceptable accommodations.  

Even though this wasn’t guaranteed, all of our accommodations had some sort of air conditioning, with some that functioned better than others, and all of them had WiFi.  

For the first four nights during our stays in London and Paris, we were sent to Hilton Hotels .  They both were on the higher end of what I expected based on the descriptions provided by EF Tours of what our hotels would be like.  

The rooms at these Hiltons were very new, immaculately clean and extremely comfortable.  They were both located about an hour outside of the city center, but that wasn’t too much of a problem.  

When we reached Italy, things changed a bit.  

For a quick overnight in Milan on our way to Florence, we stayed at and AS Hotel in Limbiate.  This hotel was a bit older than the Hiltons we’d stayed in, but it was clean, spacious, and comfortable.  

Between Florence and Rome, we spent the night at the Hotel Villa Ricci (not pictured).  This hotel was significantly older than the other three we had stayed at, but it was still clean and comfortable.  While the room wasn’t much to write home about, some members of our group lucked out and got spectacular balconies. 

Once we arrived in Rome, the Villa Aurelia was our home base for two nights.  We learned that this hotel had once housed men studying to join a monastery, which explained the doritory feel of the place.  Again, we found these rooms to be clean and pretty comfortable.  

On our way to Southern Italy, we spent the night in Sorrento at Sisters Hostel .  This was the only true hostel on our trip.  While they still stuck with four students to a room, several of the student rooms had enough beds to sleep up to 12 people. 

Though not quite as refined as the Hiltons, and a little slap-shot with the furniture, we found this place to be clean and welcoming.  While it wasn’t quite as comfortable as some of the other places we’d stayed, it was completely acceptable and had a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples from the rooftop terrace. 

Things took a turn for the worse on our last night of the tour, when we stayed at Hotel La Pergola in Rome.  This place was truly one of the worst hotels I’ve ever had the misfortune to stay at (and as a travel blogger, I’ve stayed at a LOT of hotels).  

Things started off badly when we discovered that the lights in all the hallways were not on, and that we had to hunt around with our cell phone flashlights to find our way to our rooms.  I asked the front desk to remedy this, but it was never addressed, and we had to repeat the blind search for our rooms every time we went up.  

Upon arrival in my room, I found it to be extremely dirty.  There was a layer of dusty film all over my bathroom and my pillow had an unidentified crusty stain on it.  My daughter’s room had the same layer of dirt in the bathroom, plus a shoe print from where someone killed a bug on the wall.  I checked our beds for bedbugs and thankfully did not find any. 

The front desk did not seem to care and we were told no one was available to come clean the bathrooms.

But the worst experience in this hotel went to a dad on our trip, who’s single room contained only a sofa.   Not a sleeper sofa, but just a hard couch.  There were no linens or towels available to him whatsoever. 

When he asked for these items at the front desk, he was told that we should have called earlier to request them since they were all locked up in a cabinet by the time we arrived at the hotel.   He ended up sleeping on a towel laid out on the sofa with a travel neck pillow, that had been provided to him by his daughter from her room.

The front desk attendant seemed more than annoyed anytime someone from our group would approach them, and insisted that we all leave our keys at the front desk when leaving the hotel for dinner that night.    

We weren’t left with much recourse, since this was a group trip and we were on our last night, so we decided to just grin and bear it, and did our best to get some sleep.  

Overall, I’d say that the hotels provided were quite good, with the exception of Hotel La Pergola.  For ten of the eleven nights of our trip, we were provided with clean, safe accommodations that lived up to what the EF Tours website told us to expect.  

At the time of this publication, EF Tours has been notified of this unacceptable hotel and has yet to respond.  

Meals on the tour ran the gamut from weird to stellar, but overall were not to bad.  Breakfast and dinner every day were included in what we paid for our tour.  

All breakfasts were served at our hotels.  Sometimes they were just continental breakfasts with cold offerings, and sometimes we were given hot breakfasts with eggs, bacon, and such.  Sometimes it was quite obvious where our group was supposed to go, and sometimes it wasn’t. 

Overall, breakfasts were adequate throughout the trip.  

Lunches were not included in the initial price of our trip and were paid out of pocket each day.   

Lunches were always a gamble.   It all depended on where we were and what was going on whether or not we’d get to select a restaurant on our own or if the group would be directed to eat at somewhere specific, and if we’d have lots of great choices or really limited options.  

For example, on our first full day of the trip, we visited the Tower of London.  We told to make sure we ate lunch after our tour, before rejoining the group to get on the bus.  The only options available to us were food trucks along the river right next to the Tower complex.  

It was the worst during our travel days.  We were frequently told we could just grab a bite to eat at the train station or the airport, only to be left with minimal time and very limited options.  

But some days lunch was great.  During our time in Rome, lunch came with some free time to wander, so we were able to go out and select the restaurant of our choice.  

Some days our tour guide would set up a lunch option for us, having arranged a preset menu and price with a local restaurant.  Those options were usually something like a burger, pizza or a cold sandwich.  

I’m not sure if the lunch situations were like this because of our tour guide or because of EF itself.  Sometimes it seemed inevitable, like when we were stuck in an airport or train station.  Other times it seemed like our guide might be creating these situations by not fully informing us what was available near by.  

All dinners were set up at local restaurants before our arrival.  We did not get to select from a menu and were all served the same thing each night, with the exception of those who had special dietary needs.  Each meal came with water, but we were allowed to order additional drinks at our own expense if we choose to do so.  

The worst dinners EF provided happened during the first few days of our trip.  During our entire time in London, we were not once served any traditional English food.  Our Tour Director said it was because “London is a melting pot of cultures,” but our group didn’t buy that.  

Our first group dinner in London was at a Korean restaurant where the group was served a hot stone bibimbap with chicken.  I’m normally a big fan of Korean food, but this wasn’t great. 

The next group dinner was at a Polish restaurant where the group was served a fried chicken patty and french fries.  

When it became apparent on the second night that we weren’t going to be getting any traditional English food, my daughter and I made arrangements to go get dinner on our own, and pay for it out of pocket.  Four other members of our group chose to join us.  

We simply got information from our Tour Guide when and where to meet up with the group after dinner and selected a nearby local pub so we could have a traditional English dining experience.  

Dinners seemed to improve when we got to France. During our first night there we had a lovely traditional French meal of chicken with mushroom sauce in the back room of a small picturesque cafe with a ton of ambiance.   On the second night we had a traditional Alsatian dish called Flammekueche, which was sort of like a pizza with a creamy sauce.  

In Italy, the dinners were quite good.  Of course we were served a lot of pasta, but we also had braised beef in tomato sauce, gnocchi, and pizza.  

According to the folks on our trip who had special dietary needs, the dinners were pretty good for the most part.  Although it did seem that everywhere we went in Italy, anyone who was gluten free or dairy free was served watermelon for dessert.  

Before we left on our trip, we were told by our group leader that we shouldn’t need more that $25 US dollars per person per day for lunches and snacks.  We found that that number was not quite accurate for us, especially if we ever wanted to stray from the planned meals that EF Tours had set up for us.  

We also found that we frequently needed to buy water to stay hydrated in the high temperatures of Italy during the summer, and at most of the locations we visited, water was marked up quite a bit.  

Overall, the meals on our trip were pretty good, but could definitely have been better.  

Our Itinerary

We knew going into this tour that our itinerary would be extremely hectic.  With no more than 48 hours in any location, we expected it to be jam packed.  It was kind of like a tasting menu, where you got a little bit of each destination.  

What we didn’t expect was the significant amount of wasted time and changes to our itinerary that happened on our tour.  

Things started off poorly when our tour guide was an hour late to meet us at baggage claim and then our bus was over another hour late to pick us up at the airport.  

While our tour guide was a very sweet, personable woman, she didn’t seem to understand how to manage the timing logistics for a group of 40 travelers.  

Our group was quite good about being on time to meet up locations with a couple of small exceptions that could not be helped.  No one wanted to be the person that made us late.  

Our tour guide didn’t seem to have this mentality.  She was frequently the last person downstairs at our hotels to meet our bus 15 to 20 minutes after the time she told us to meet her, and did not budget in adequate travel time to most of our destinations. 

For example, while we were driving across Italy, she had our driver stop at a large gas station for a bathroom stop.   She told us we only had five minutes to use the restroom and get back on the bus.  It’s completely impossible for 40 people to make use of just a handful of bathroom stalls in five minutes. 

We were late to our tours in London, Florence, and the Vatican.  We were late to our tour of the Colosseum in Rome.  We were late to our appointment at the Louvre.  We were so late to our tour of Pompeii.  This significantly hindered what we were able to see at our destinations, and made the whole tour seemed very rushed every day.  

Things like this happened over and over again throughout the trip.  This resulted in our group being habitually late to most of the tours we went on, and significantly cut into our time at some really important places.

The only times it seemed like we weren’t late was when we had to catch a flight, a train, or a ferry.  

There were also some pretty significant changes to our itinerary. 

Several items listed on our initial brochure were changed before the trip due to pandemic restrictions and travel challenges, which was fine.  We had ample notice and knew what to expect.    

But there were several instances where visits to certain locations were dropped off our itinerary completely, and visits to other non-advertised locations were added.  

Sometimes this was a good thing, but sometimes it was incredibly frustrating.  

In London, a walking tour of Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden and Leicester Square was replaced with “free time” at the British Museum, which we really didn’t mind. 

But in Florence, visits to San Miniato al Monte and Piazzale Michelangelo were dropped off the itinerary with no explanation.  

On our way to Rome, our guide added a stop in Ovierto, a beautiful small town with picturesque views, wonderful dining and great little shops which we enjoyed immensely. 

But in Paris, a visit to Montmartre was abandoned, even though our dinner restaurant was within a mile of the historic location.  

The best unexpected addition to our trip in my opinion was the opportunity to see a musical in the West End of London.  Our guide was able to secure tickets (for an extra fee) for those who wanted them to a performance of Wicked during our free evening.  It was absolutely fantastic.  

But in the most frustrating example, during our time in Paris a visit to the Frogonard Perfume Museum was added to our itinerary.   No one asked to go there, and most of us seemed annoyed that we were stopping.  We were assured that the stop there would only last 30 minutes, but it ended up taking three times that, leaving us only an hour and a half to visit the Louvre before we had to be back on the bus to catch a flight to Italy.  

These added stops almost always involved additional costs as well, which we were not informed of before leaving for our trip.  This caused problems for a few kids on our trip who weren’t expecting these costs, and they unfortunately had to miss out on some of the better additions. 

There also seemed to be major sites in some of these cities that were not ever even an option to visit or see, due to our limited time in each city.   We didn’t go to Westminster Abbey or St. Paul’s Cathedral while we were in London, and there were too many things to count in Paris that we didn’t even glimpse.  While we were aware of this upfront before the tour, it really did feel like they didn’t allow enough time in any location to really see the cities we were in.  

Despite these frustrations, the itinerary did take us to some fantastic places and we had some absolutely unforgettable experiences.  We had a fantastic time seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.  We enjoyed a truly magical and unexpected sunset under the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  We got to listen to an orchestra perform in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.  We were able to marvel at the unparalleled artwork inside St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.  We saw the stunningly beautiful sites of Capri from a private boat tour.  Those memories are truly priceless.  

During our trip there were extra excursions offered in any city we stayed in more than one night. 

In London, the excursion was a visit to the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel type ride that gives riders a birds eye view of the city.  In Paris, it was a trip to Versaille to tour the palace and the gardens.  In Rome, it was a tiramisu cooking class.  

We choose not to participate in the excursion in London because I’m not the biggest fan of heights, and in Paris because my daughter wanted the opportunity to spend some extra free time in the city.  

I’m extremely glad we made those decisions.   

While the London Eye excursion seemed to go well for those who went on it, it was over priced.  EF Tours charged each participant $60.  Tickets can be purchased individually at the ticket booth for just $42 USD or for groups ahead of time for just $24 USD.  I’m not sure what EF added to the experience to warrant that upcharge.  

By skipping the London Eye, we were able to have a bit more time to explore and plenty of time to enjoy our pub dinner that we mentioned earlier since the London Eye excursion was timed to happen right before dinner.  

In Paris, those who went to Versaille told us the experience was underwhelming because of the limited time available inside the palace, and the lack of lunch options available to those who went.  

The Versailles excursion seemed overpriced as well.  EF Tours charged $114 USD to each participant.  Tickets to the entire estate are free for those under 18 years old and cost under $30 USD for anyone else, and that’s without a group discount.  Even if every single person had to buy a ticket,  I can’t imagine that the cost for a group tour and the transportation to get the group there cost an additional $84 USD per person.  

The tiramisu cooking class in Rome was not optional for our group for some reason.  I think our group leader made that choice when she set up our trip.  We paid an extra $85 USD above and beyond the base tour price to experience it.  While I could not find information about individual class pricing, I highly doubt that EF paid that much per person for us to spend an hour making tiramisu. 

I will say that the class was a fun experience at a great location, and we all enjoyed the desserts we made together.  

Overall, unless an excursion is of special interest to you, I wouldn’t recommend participating in them, simply because they seem overpriced.  Having extra free time to see the sites of your choice seemed to be the best option during our tour.  

Education on an EF Tour

EF Tours makes a big deal out of their tours being focused on education.  We were promised “experiential learning activities” during the trip.  They even claim you can earn credit for going on these tour.  

We found that there wasn’t that much education attached to our tour.  

The local tour guides who showed us the sights of each city were the most informative folks on this trip, with extensive knowledge of the history and culture at each stop, but we were forced to use amplifying devices called Whispers in order to hear the guides.  These Whispers often had glitches or were garbled, making it very hard to understand our guides.  

Other than the local tour guides and maybe the tiramisu class, I wouldn’t call just visiting these historic places an “experiential learning activity.”  

We also learned that our high school would not give any credit to students who participated in these trips, even though much was made of the educational credit during the pitch to get us to join the tour.  

This isn’t to say that we didn’t learn anything on our trip.  We did have some great cultural experiences while we traveled.  But learning seemed to take a back seat to just being in another country in most circumstances.  

Safety with EF Tours

As a parent considering an EF Tour for my teenager, I know safety was a big concern for me.  

When my husband and I decided to send our daughter, we felt like one of us should go with her since she was only 15 at the time we went on the trip, and had not traveled internationally like this before.  

For the most part, I felt quite safe during our trip.  

Before our trip, our group leader did make sure to advise us about pickpocketing and theft at major tourist sites in Europe, and advised us to be prepared.  She did make sure we were always wary of our passports and where we were keeping them during our travels.  

While on tour, there was only one time that I felt like our group was taken to an unsafe area.  That was during our terrible last night in Rome when we had to walk from our hotel to our dinner restaurant through some pretty sketchy areas of the city.  

Although student were allowed to go out on their own during our free time, they were asked to go in groups of three or four and were left in pretty safe areas to spend their free time.  

The biggest problem I saw with safety was when our Tour Guide would take off walking at a breakneck speed, frequently leaving half our group stuck at crosswalks or a few turns behind.  She usually did a count to make sure everyone was there when we were ready to leave, but she did leave people behind at least twice during our trip and have to go back and get them.  

Most of the time we had no idea where we were headed when we were walking to different locations.  We were never given the names of the restaurants or addresses of where they would be unless we specifically asked for them.  I think communicating with the group more about where we’re going could have avoided some sticky situations that a few of our travelers found themselves in when they were left behind.  

We also didn’t have a way to contact our Tour Guide directly.  Only a couple of people were given her contact information, which made communication confusing and difficult during our free time, especially when she got delayed during our free evening in Paris and our meeting time had to be pushed back significantly.

Curfews and group rules were left up to our group leader, who didn’t set many boundaries for our students.  

Since the legal drinking age in the areas we visited was 18, student who met this requirement were allowed to drink alcohol on our trip, but were asked to limit it to one drink with dinner.  By and large, our students respected this request and did not take advantage of the lowered drinking age to go and party it up.  

Trips like this EF Tour require students to be pretty mature when it comes to safety.  We had a wonderful group of kids who took their personal safety pretty seriously, and didn’t take unnecessary risks that would put them in jeopardy.  Had it been a different group of personalities, I’m not sure how it would have gone.  

EF Tours:  Our Final Verdict

Would I travel with EF Tours again?  That seems to be the question at hand here.  

My EF Tours experience definitely taught me a lot about group travel.  As someone who travels pretty frequently , I usually make most of my own travel arrangements, from flights to hotel reservations to activities.  It was quite nice not to have to worry about any of that.  It really did take a lot of pressure off to just let someone else do all that work. 

But relinquishing that control does require a certain amount of trust.  There were some areas that I would definitely trust EF to arrange again, and other areas where I really think they could do better.  

For this trip it really came down to adjusting expectations once we were traveling.  I really did expect there to be more education involved in what we did while on our tour.  I really did expect to spend some quality time at these major historic sites. 

Once I realized that time would be much more limited at every destination than I expected it to be, the trip went much more smoothly.  

I think our experience would have been better with a more seasoned Tour Guide.  Ours just didn’t seem quite ready to handle all the pressures and logistics that are required for managing a group of 40 people for 12 days.  

EF Tours is definitely a budget tour company, and for the price, you do get a good experience.  

Did EF Tours create the trip of my dreams?  Not by a long shot. 

Did they create a good experience for students who haven’t done a lot of international traveling?  I’d say yes.  

Do I regret going on an EF Tour?  Absolutely not.  I had some incredible experiences in some amazing locations with my only daughter, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.  

Would I go on another EF Tour?  I think I would, but I would definitely choose a slower paced itinerary with more time in each destination.  

Do you have any questions about EF Tours that I didn’t answer?  Feel free to ask me in the comments!!

EF Tours Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Saturday 20th of July 2024

We just back from a Greece and Italy tour. Most of the issues you had we had as well. Education was limited and we didn’t have time to explore the areas we were with the guides. We had 1 to 4 hours of free time and we didn’t plan ahead because we didn’t get details ahead of time. One example was the night before we traveled we were told we will go to the beach so bring a towel. We were not in a hotel when we went to the beach so around 8:00 pm we had to walk around to find a store with beach towels. Once we left the beach we had to change into our clothes at a restaurant before we got on a ferry. On our schedule it indicated it was an overnight ride but that day we found out we would be on the ferry for 20 hours. I could write a blog on our experience on some of the hotels, the amount of travel times, the lack of information, and unexpected changes. We did enjoy seeing the areas we were exposed to and enjoyed the food that we bought.

Sunday 7th of July 2024

This is a very fair review of EF Tours. I think it gives great insight to what to expect on the basics for one of their tours. I am a teacher and I have "led" (organized) tours with EF since 1998. I'd like to share a little in response to some of the things you mentioned. Hopefully, the teacher who organized the trip you were on took the time and gave very honest reviews on each hotel, each dinner restaurant, & the tour guide. I know EF takes looks into those reviews. We were once joined at a dinner in London (by an EF worker from the London office)... when I asked why she was eating with us, she commented that the restaurant had gotten some negative reviews so she was there to check. I have even been encouraged by a tour guide to make sure I give an honest review and provide details when a hotel is subpar. It happens occasionally but is not the norm--maybe one hotel every other trip, depending on the location. (on a side note, I have never heard back from EF on any "complaint" review I have given.) The last hotel you mentioned should not be, and may not be now, used by EF. The leaving of the keys at the desk has been quite common on most of my trips. It's because of the number of people (students) who lose keys while they are out--so I have been told. We have had to do this in numerous countries throughout Europe. As for the meals, when I first starting traveling with EF, there was always a balance of trying to make sure kids ate and didn't leave dinner hungry but also trying to get students to experience local dishes. I was asked once what I wanted the group to have for dinner--spaghetti (again) or another dish and I chose the other dish. Well, that didn't go well as most of the students just looked at their plate (I thought it was pretty good and nice to have something different). Needless to say the restaurant owner didn't seem to happy either. Again, I think it is a tough balance. However, you shouldn't have been served chicken patty and French fries. (Again I hope the tour guide and teacher gave honest reviews). The overall outcome of the trip really comes down to the tour guide. Having a tour guide who is a GREAT COMMUNICATOR, very organized, manages time well, etc. can make a trip amazing. The tour guide makes or breaks the trip. My last trip in Rome, our guide had us up early (which we didn't like) but when we were standing in the Colosseum basically by ourselves, because we were the first ones in, made it worth it. I would day that most of my EF tour guides have been good...some have been great...a couple have been exceptional. You are definitely right on the next trip being fewer destinations. I have found that fewer countries & not selecting those costly excursions, allows for more free time. EF tried to pack in all they can in a short time. Your lead teacher has to choose trips wisely and know how to work in free time. Obviously I continue to travel with EF--they are a budget company which can attract more students--and your review was pretty spot on with what that budget tour is. It is a quick paced & see all you can in a short time. Your lead teacher has to know some of the inner workings (like contacting other teachers and getting the names of recommended guides) and you really need to get a good tour guide. Both of them need to take the time and do honest reviews. Those things make a huge difference for your trip and for future trips for others.

Louise Emery

Tuesday 9th of July 2024

Thanks for your input! It always helps to have info from someone else who has experience from another perspective.

Friday 21st of June 2024

Our son's backpack is still standing in the corner, gathering dust. Like many people here, we were introduced to EF tours through our son's school, which gave them an air of credibility in our eyes. However, we will do the best we can to advise our school to never work with them again.

Like the author of the blog post, we were not told an exact date, but a timeframe for travel in the months ahead. In fact, they gladly took our money (more than $3,000) without feeling the need to communicate with us before our planned departure date. Because EF Tours is expensive, kids of only three families sought to participate. Within the week of departure we were told to pack and meet at the airport at a certain time on Saturday evening. Only, on Saturday, mere hours before we were going to drop off our son at the airport, the trip was called off.

It took days before our chaperone told us the reason why: she had her passport stolen and could not travel. This is an extenuating circumstance for the company, I understand, but also is no fault of the families. For nearly a month we heard little from the company itself other than they'd offer vouchers and refused to reimburse the families who could not go at other times during the summer.

Nearly a month later, we were offered a replacement trip of the exact length, places, and program of the original trip. This was planned to head out on July 7. We really were hoping our son got to go after all. However, EF Tours now asked for $800 more - not $80, but close to a third of the amount we already paid them and had not received anything for yet (not even the common courtesy that they would communicate with their paying customers). Only a month later, the same trip cost nearly 1/3 of the original price more, vouchers or no. How much more would we pay, even if we were still willing to send our son with them the following year?

There was no guarantee. In fact, when we reached out to EF Tours, they insisted on keeping our money in exchange for vouchers (for those who had other plans and could not travel at the later date) as well as the additional $800. They actually provided us with their law offices address.

We communicated our experience to the State's Attorney General office, the BBB, as well as the FTC and received note from the former two that they have taken up the case.

I would recommend to anyone considering traveling with EF Tours to either go with a different company or plan a trip for yourselves. Just like with people, the true character of a company shows when things do not go as planned. EF Tours is of a scam character to say the least.

Tuesday 25th of June 2024

Wow! $800 is a crazy amount to ask! I really hope you get a resolution soon.

Wednesday 29th of May 2024

We are the latest scapegoats of EF tours which is not worth 10$ for the time they make you wait doing round about trip for 40 hours for a travel worth 14 hours . THE most pathetic travel plan i have ever seen in my entire life. Instead of paying for this tour, I would have taken my entire family with much better planning saving time and money. JUST NOT worth it and am hoping to do something more than just commenting here to avoid atleast 1% of naive parents into signing up for future EF tours from school.PLEASE don't waste precious time

Tuesday 28th of May 2024

Hi Louise A great review, thank you. I am an EF tour director, though I only continue to lead tours where I have already worked with the Group Leaders (the teacher organizing). I won't defend EF, there's no getting around the fact it's heavily profit-driven and as such does not use resources on adequately training its staff, whether they are office based or TDs. They use the cheapest bus companies, negotiate the cheapest menus, the cheapest room rates but of course spend a huge budget on marketing and corporate BS - and it works, they are the biggest student tour operator out there not to mention all its other extensive enterprises. Everything is done last minute which hopefully gives some explanation as to why TDs are often beyond frazzled and they have to spend time away from the group, particularly in their hotel room each night emailing and sorting out things for the next day or next few days which should have been organized well in advance by the company. And given how early morning departures are and late finishes at hotels, you can see that they get very little sleep. More and more we complain that TDs are having to spend days and days in advance on admin to make the tour anything like acceptable - time when they are not being paid and think about it, they have chosen a job which is not office based but are being forced to do so much admin which any other company would handle in the office. We are either already on tour, so it is taking time away from our current group, or we have to spend less time with family when we are in between tours. Cheapest labor, in fact it is free labor! To say nothing of how late they pay us and even then they dispute a lot of payments so we have to wait even longer. Of course TDs should never be late, this is appalling. To play devil's avocate though, in my time I have bumped into colleagues along the way who are in floods of tears because of how their tour is going. Almost always to do with impossible itineraries, tickets not arriving and the company not supporting them, but also sadly, due to relations with travelers. The most likely is parents who have elected to travel on a student trip without understanding what they means for them (long days, staying in poor quality hotels, rushed meals etc.). And sometimes it just takes a bit longer to compose yourself before going back to meet the group. Often I have to be on a call and skip a visit that I was really looking forward to just to sort out some s*** so the tour goes well. Of course to maintain professionalism, I would never tell the group that I have been sorting out s***, they just assume I've been gorging on gelato. Sometimes we are not even provided with a ticket to go into a museum or theatre so we cannot join the group. All aspects of the job has got worse and worse over the years and many of the experienced TDs have jumped ship where they are better paid and generally treated more humanely. I think it is worth emphasizing the importance of strong leadership from the Group Leader. It s amazing that some are willing to travel with kids they have never met until they arrive at the airport. A good teacher will pick good chaperones and give them guidance to prepare for the tour. So free time can be very different between one group and the next. It may sound like kids are let lose, but it is almost always in a controlled environment and the teacher will have set up parameters the students have to keep to. Again the biggest trouble makers are typically parents who travel with the group. Regarding educational aspects of the tour, I would like to deliver more education and we certainly used to do more. But as hotels have got further and further from the centre, meaning longer and longer hours on the go with very little sleep, bus journeys means the students need to catch up on sleep. There are some EF tours which are more educational-focused such as STEM, WW2, And don't forget there is also the 'soft skills' element that should not be overlooked - for most students this is their first time travelling abroad, certainly without their families. So learning self-reliance, not losing their passport, budgeting their spending money, navigating teenage relations, meeting foreigners, starting to understand their own limitations and what they are willing to compromise on or not... there is so much that they are learning and absorbing which you will not find in a text book, but this is life learning and the most rewarding part of the job is to see the kids blossom. More often than not it is the students who are introverted, who make the biggest steps and make the most progress - starting to speak words in the local language, trying different foods, open their eyes wide. The confident kids often stick together and don't appear to grow as much. One of the biggest problems with this kind of tour is that the more things listed on the itinerary, the more people sign up. As an example. teachers often say that they offer a tour, get a few signing up, then they amend it to include Paris and boom, a full bus. Only the most experienced of travelers would look at the shiny marketing brochure and question how it is possible to pack everything in. But having everything in is what sells tours. Kind of a vicious circle. Versailles optional - this is a tricky one. It is overpriced, but is a bestseller and I would like to offer some perspectives. Don't forget to factor in the service you are getting - sure, go there alone, work out the route from which of the Versailles train stations you can work out you can get to and yes under 18s enter for free, work out how to get an adult ticket on your own, queue for a long time (just google the length of those lines), work out where the bathrooms are on your own, options to eat, what train to get back... There are more costs involved with a group. for this visit In order to skip those long queues, groups must pay for group reservation fee, whatever the age of the group. You have to pay for 2 guides if there is more than a certain number in the group, so they split the group in half and have 2 tours at the same time. The Whisper audio headsets have a fee. The bus has to have a separate fee and parking. So yes, it is very profitable, but perhaps not as much as you think. The travel business can be precarious, just look at the pandemic years. Imagine airlines going on strike or sudden weather changes. Tour companies need a little reserve to deal with emergencies and the profits from side trips like Versailles is useful for this. Of course when it is clear that this tour company makes a lot of money by being very cheap on meals, poor buses and hotels, this is hard to hear. Some side trips like the London Eye are absolutely a rip off and teachers should really be more wise to this. Now that I mainly work for companies that have a calmer itinerary, the difference is immeasurable. A good one for teachers and trip organizers to work with is Lingo Tours. Each tour is bespoke so you can bring them your itinerary ideas, they will work with you to come up with something that truly works. Meals are high quality and usually offer a choice and hotels are so much better quality and even if they are not very central, they are not far out like with EF. You will get sleep, you will get an experienced tour director (you can even bring your EF TD with you, we are all freelance after all), you won't pay more and you won't regret it! You won't feel like you are part of a factory product and you will have decisions explained to you so you know you are offering a quality product to people signing up. But, like your tour director, you need to have experience because taking students away on a tour is no easy task and it takes time to understand all that it involves. Another small company that will work with you to design your tour is Global Explorers LLC. ACIS is also good for brochure tour style, but generally works out more expensive, same with Passports. Explorica is the real rival to EF and has a similar set up and EF does not let TDs work for both companies. You have have to laugh, on the EF website it says "Reimagining student travel, one itinerary at a time". If reimagine means "providing a worse product and service than last year" then they have that written correctly. They certainly do not do one itinerary at a time, they do everything en masse and this is a problem - they never turn down business and have too many tours going at the peak season. Adjust expectations appropriately. I hope this comment helps some people to understand the challenges of student touring.

I am happy that I can be helpful. CHAOS and ADRENALINE is how these tours are run. It's a big pity, there is really enough money in the company for these to be great tours. The family who own EF are on the Forbes rich list. Their business school has a reputation like Trump's did! But the family are good at business themselves , very good. But at the end of the day, whether EF does a good job or not, we all need to understand that more people are traveling than ever and this has an impact on many aspects of trips, especially group trips.

Thank you SO much for this info! Having a TD perspective is really fantastic, and does give insight to how things are run. I especially appreciate the recommendations at the end!

GO Educational Tours Review

Write a review.

We have used GO Educational tours for years for bo...

We have used GO Educational tours for years for both our elementary and high school. Our students have traveled with GO to Disney World, Williamsburg, and Italy. We couldn't be happier with the GO team!

Start collecting reviews today

Claim your business to immediately update business information, respond to reviews, and more, we had an eighth grade trip to dc that was planned....

We had an eighth grade trip to DC that was planned for April 20 that was cancelled due to Covid. Go Educational Tours kept all the money we paid even though they were unable to provide the service we paid for and agreed to and then they asked us to file an insurance claim with their insurance provider to receive reimbursement. Over a year later from originally paying $674 we have received zero back. Most of the families from this trip are in the same position our family is. We have all called and emailed countless times and gotten no where. This is disgusting. Do not use this company unless you like being ripped off.

After my previous travel company was bought out an...

After my previous travel company was bought out and quality diminished, I have been searching for the perfect company to replace them. I have finally found one. Everything went smoothly from the first contact to the final good-bye. Stefan is professional in involved every step of the way. The GO Leaders ensured the students were having fun and engaged. This will be my go-to company for future trips!

My middle school (Bradford Prep School in Charlott...

My middle school (Bradford Prep School in Charlotte, NC) used this travel company last school year to take students to DC. Gotta hand it to Go Educational Tours, they left quite the impression on me. We went to DC, and all I can think about now is going back. Hats off to Go Leader Michaela for the exciting tour of DC.

As the principal traveling with middle school stud...

As the principal traveling with middle school students every year, I cannot say enough wonderful and positive things about GO Educational Tours! We have been using them for our annual Spring trip every year for 7 years and the quality (and fun!) has not changed a bit. Stefan is responsive, professional, informative, efficient, patient, very pleasant, and always plans an amazing trip! Every aspect of the trip is planned with a hitch. I highly recommend GO Educational Tours...wouldn't travel with anyone else!

Well organized, fun, educational. This tour compa...

Well organized, fun, educational. This tour company is the best! I highly recommend using GO for your next school trip.

Our school cancelled our trip because of Covid 19....

Our school cancelled our trip because of Covid 19. The day before the schools were shut down in our state. Go Educational Tours will NOT refund our money. My daughter is a Senior. Her Senior year was ruined because of Covid and now we have pretty much lost money that we could use for college. I DO NOT recommend this company

Our trip to NYC was great - It was very well organ...

Our trip to NYC was great - It was very well organized and so much fun! We had the opportunity to do so many things and our tour guide Stefan was awesome! I highly recommend this company for any of your future trips!

Go Educational Tours is the best company to organi...

Go Educational Tours is the best company to organize your Class Trip to Washington DC, they always deliver a quality product and outstanding service to our groups. Well done Go Educational Tours.

We had an amazing trip to New York City. It was v...

We had an amazing trip to New York City. It was very well organized and we packed in a ton of activities in our few days..shopping, museums, subway rides, the rockette Christmas spectacular and Mean Girls Broadway show. I highly recommend GO Educational tours for your school trip.

Get 1000 High Domain Rating Links to Your Business

About go educational tours.

GO Educational Tours: The Ultimate Learning Experience Are you looking for an educational tour that will broaden your horizons, teach you new skills, and show you the world? Look no further than GO Educational Tours, a division of EF Education First – the world leader in international education since 1965. At GO Educational Tours, we offer a wide range of immersive educational experiences that cater to students of all ages and backgrounds. Whether you're a high school student looking to study abroad or a college professor seeking to take your class on an academic trip overseas, we have the perfect program for you. Our programs are designed to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities that go beyond traditional classroom settings. We believe that travel is one of the most effective ways to learn about different cultures and gain new perspectives on the world around us. That's why our tours are led by experienced educators who are passionate about teaching and travel. One of our most popular programs is our language immersion courses. We offer language courses in over 50 destinations worldwide, including France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan and many more. Our language schools provide students with an immersive experience where they can learn from native speakers while exploring local culture. In addition to language immersion courses, we also offer cultural exchange programs where students can live with host families while studying abroad. This provides an opportunity for students to fully immerse themselves in local culture while gaining valuable insights into daily life in another country. For those seeking academic credit or professional development opportunities abroad ,we have customized faculty-led trips which allow professors or teachers lead their own group overseas .We work closely with them from start-to-finish ensuring every detail is taken care off so they can focus on delivering quality education . At GO Educational Tours ,we understand that safety is paramount when it comes to traveling abroad .That’s why we have dedicated teams working around-the-clock ensuring every aspect of your trip runs smoothly .From arranging flights ,accommodation ,meals ,transportation & activities -we’ve got it covered . Our commitment towards providing exceptional service has earned us numerous accolades over the years including being named as one of Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity (2021) & Top Employers UK (2021). In conclusion if you’re looking for an unforgettable educational experience then look no further than GO Educational Tours .With over 55 years’ experience in international education & millions of satisfied customers worldwide -you’re guaranteed quality service at affordable prices .So what are you waiting for ? Contact us today !

Business transparency

• Did not verified company info
• Ask their customers for reviews
• Did not replied to negative reviews

Find out what customers think about GO Educational Tours

Trustburn is the best place to read candid reviews from real customers about go educational tours. get a comprehensive view of the company, from pricing and customer service to product quality and more., try our chrome extension, more companies.

GO Educational Tours

Go Ahead Tours vs EF Educational Tours

Tour companies compared.

Go Ahead Tours

4.9   Excellent  

150 reviews

EF Educational Tours

4.3   Great  

19,030 reviews

Sign in  to see which companies give additional savings to Travelstride Members (it’s free)

Reviews & Ratings

4.9   Excellent 150 reviews  

4.3   Great 19,030 reviews  

Recent Reviews

Will Refuse to Refund

I made a reservation last Thursday (11/16/2023) for a trip to Iceland from 12/02/2023-12/07/2023 and then I was told that I can’t have my refund back. When I called...

Deidra Jones

Needs more attention to detail..

I was impressed with all of the places we were able to visit as well as our tour guide and bus driver. However it was hard to plan our day (clothing, where to eat, ...

Operator Overview

Travelers age

global Company

Trip prices

Service level

Tour languages

• Group Tours
• Private Guided Trips
• Custom Itineraries

• North America
• Central America & Caribbean
• South America
• Australia & Pacific
• Middle East & North Africa
• Antarctica & the Arctic

Similar Companies

About Go Ahead Tours

We're a company of passionate adventurers dedicated to creating the best journey for every traveler. As a proud part of EF Education First, we draw on 50 years of expertise to continue to add meaningful travel experiences to our portfolio of more than 100 tours.  

GLOBAL EXPERTISE

About EF Educational Tours

Suggested companies

Ef educational tours, passports travel, worldstrides.

ACIS Educational Tours   Reviews

In the Tour Agency category

Visit this website

Company activity See all

Write a review

Reviews 4.6.

Most relevant

Another Memorable Experience!

This summer, I just completed my 16 th tour with ACIS. This particular trip, we went to the Canary Islands and Madrid! This was our first time with this itinerary and it didn't disappoint. The restaurants in Madrid were centrally located. Our 4 star hotels in the Canary Islands had all you could eat buffet which included everything you could possibly think of at a resort-like hotel. Our hotel in Madrid was a few blocks from Callao which made enjoying the evenings and the energy of Madrid after dinner. My tour consultant Jill was there for me from the beginning with discussing which trip would be best for our group until the very end! With ACIS, you even get a phone call from your tour consultant prior to departing as well as checking in during the trip to make sure everything is going well. Travelling with other companies at first had us at hotels further from the city center and dinners that had fewer options to choose from at the hotels (even when in the city center). I am already looking towards 2025!!

Date of experience : July 03, 2024

Reply from ACIS Educational Tours

Hi Scott, Thank you for writing such a nice review. Canary Islands!! ..I haven't been there yet but it sounds amazing! Time for your 17th trip! Hope to see you out on the road soon. Thank you, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Costa Rica coast to coast

ACIS continues to delight with this sustainable development / service minded adventure in Costa Rica. I love this trip because of the variety of experience. Our driver and guide were top-notch, helping us feel welcome in Costa Rica. I will continue to incorporate a service element of any future trip I lead with ACIS. I highly recommend leaders requesting a local school visit wherever they go! It was so special to connect in that way with Tico youth.

Date of experience : June 20, 2024

Hi Tamara, Costa Rica will always be one of my favorite places to visit. I love the fact that we can include sustainability and service element to any trip in Costa Rica. The bus drivers really become part of the trip. Hope you go back soon. Pura Vida, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Combined group - Best thing to have happened!

This was my first time as a teacher taking students abroad. My school had not done a trip overseas in some time due to travel restrictions. We managed to get together a small group (consisting of two chaperones, two parents, and eight students) which did not make the minimum for an independent group tour. By day two, the students from both my school and a school in North Carolina had become the best of friends. They were literally crying when they had to say goodbye on our last day! If you are hesitant about being combined with another group, trust me, it may just end up being the best part of the trip! :)

Date of experience : June 15, 2024

Hi Kiera, I am so happy to hear that your groups got along so well!! The purpose of these programs are to learn and change lives, sometimes it can be just by making new friends! Thank you for taking the time to write a review, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Since 1984....

I have been traveling with students and adults since 1984, ACIS/Encore tours is an amazing company providing the best in educational and performance tours.

Date of experience : July 20, 2024

Wow... 1984. Thank you so much for sticking with us. We are so lucky to have so many long standing partnerships. We truly appreciate you! Thank you, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Planning for a trip to Taiwan

Planning for a trip to Taiwan for Spring 2026 was effectively launched

Date of experience : July 23, 2024

Hi Joseph, Glad to hear about your new trip... we just had a group of teachers go there and they said it was amazing. Hope you have a great time! Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD ON THIS!!!

DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD ON THIS!!!! Horrible experience for my daughter. The trip is set up for students only. Then it says parents can also go. We assumed they would be looking out for our daughter since it was advertised that students can go alone. We paid $4800 and she was guaranteed a 7 day stay, 6 games played, a train ride, zip lining, snorkelling, and like I said we assumed she would be taken care of and watched by ACIS. Her flight Monday morning was cancelled. She was stuck in Miami over night and the only way she got a hotel room in Miami is because another parent signed for her to be able to get it since she is under 18. Her luggage was lost in Miami. ACIS didn’t but the other players parent that was with her tried her best to get it. She finally made it to the Dominican Republic Wednesday afternoon. She missed the first 3 days. She only played 4 games and 1 of those was against the other USA team. She missed the opening ceremonies. They didn’t go on a train ride. They didn’t zip line. It is very unsafe the way they have children going from airport to airport and hotels by themselves. It’s definitely not worth the $4800 that we raised and paid for.

Date of experience : July 29, 2024

Hi Sue, I know Liz Rees had reached out to you right after this review and your Facebook post. She wrote "Hi Sue Ellen, My name is Liz Rees and I am the SVP of International Programs at ACIS. I'm so sorry your daughter had this experience on her America's Team trip with ACIS. I would like to speak with you tomorrow to see if we can make things right." She gave you her direct line and then also left a message. Hopefully you were able to connect. I am so sorry for your daughters negative experience with her journey to Dominican Republic. Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Spain, France & Italy

Recently returned from my first trip with ACIS and I was thrilled with my experience!! We had excellent hotels, great food and our tour manager David really made the whole trip effortless. I absolutely plan on traveling with ACIS again and can’t wait to plan the next trip!

Date of experience : June 10, 2024

Hi Stephanie, Welcome back. So happy you have found ACIS and we will strive to make all your trips just as great in the future. Thank you. Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

This was my first trip with ACIS

This was my first trip with ACIS, but it will not be my last. It was an incredible experience starting with my Program Consultant, Beth. She answered my million questions and she always did so in a timely and respectful manner. When I hit the ground, I was nervous, but excited. Our tour manager, Francisco, was top notch. He was so much more than just a tour manager. He will be a lifelong friend. We were a large group of middle school students and our tour of Paris, Nice and Rome was perfect. We saw everything and were so tired, but it was 100% worth it. If you are considering this company, give them a try. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Date of experience : June 14, 2024

Hi Laura, Thank you for taking the time to write a review. I am glad your first trip went smoothly and we can't wait to plan many more with you. Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

35th ACIS trip!

I just finished my 35th trip with ACIS!! I previously did student trips and now that I have been retired for 12 years I now do adult trips to many different places all over the world! As always, our hotels, meals, tours, and tour managers are all top notch! I wouldn’t travel with any other company but ACIS! Many of my adults have been on 10 plus ACIS trips ! Next is Morocco this fall and Scandinavia next spring! Can’t wait !

Date of experience : April 11, 2024

Hi Dale, Thank you for writing such a nice review. We appreciate our long relationship with you!! Morocco trip looks great...very jealous it is on my bucket list for sure. Have a great time and keep traveling to all these great places!! Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

I just returned from the best 10 days…

I just returned from the best 10 days of my life with ACIS tours! Top-notch hotels, a fabulous tour guide, and delicious food throughout Italy and France..it really doesn't get any better than that! I am busy planning my next trip with them so that I am not so sad that I had to return home to reality!:)

Date of experience : June 06, 2024

Hi Beth, Thanks for writing a nice review. I am so happy to hear this was a great trip and wish you could have stayed in Europe forever!! We truly appreciate our relationships with fabulous Group Leaders like you, we are a team to make it great. Let's make next year just as great! Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

The Best Trip with ACIS Yet!!!

The Best Trip with ACIS Yet!!! Evan was the most fun and accommodating tour guide and Nina the most excellent local guide. She knew everything!!! We loved every minute of our full trip, the scenery, food and excursions were beyond expectation. We loved really getting to see Greece, experience the local life and in Evan, made a friend for life.

Date of experience : March 10, 2024

Hi Jenn, Thank you so much for writing a review. Our Tour Managers really make a difference in the trip. I am so glad this was the best ever and hope we can make your next trip the best ever too! Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

ACIS is top notch

ACIS is top notch. The whole trip was a success from planning and pre-departure; the support and customer service is outstanding, to our group sitting together on the plane, clean hotels in excellent locations, plenty of good food, an excellent tour manager, and a super nice and safe bus driver. I continue to have confidence in this company.

Date of experience : June 03, 2024

Hi Angie, Thank you so much for writing such a nice review. I am so happy that your trip when smoothly and we can't wait to plan another one with you. We truly appreciate that you took the extra time to come here to say nice things! Thanks, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

ACIS is THE best tour company

ACIS is THE best tour company. From start to finish, everyone is dedicated to making sure travelers have an amazing experience. Tour managers are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and dedicated, hotels convenient and high quality, and the food is part of the experience--fun, educational, and delicious!

Date of experience : April 13, 2024

Hi Elizabeth, We strive to be THE best...so thanks so much for taking the time to write nice things about us! Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Terrible Experience in Paris

We went to Paris with my son's class. We had three tour guides, didn't follow the agenda, and didn't even get to see sites such as The Louvre. I've tried contacting ACIS numerous times over the last month about my experience and received zero response.

Date of experience : March 28, 2024

Dear Maggie, I understand that our SVP of Sales Liz Rees did get back to you. I apologize for any delay in responding. We do understand there was a problem at the Louvre, and we are terribly sorry for that. The timed entrance was not available which resulted in a long wait to get in and we understand that took precious time in Paris. The fact that you had tickets but just needed to wait was not properly explained by the tour manager. Regarding the multiple tour managers, we sent a US Staff member who was on quality control in Paris to meet your group, as is our standard during peak travel times. When she realized that the relationship between the tour manager and the group was not positive, we made a quick change to have another Tour Manager take over. The US Staff member stayed with your group during the transition time. I am sorry that Paris wasn’t all smooth. I also understand that the weather wasn’t great which can but a damper on what should be a beautiful walkable city. I hope this clarifies a bit about the situation and I know that Liz wrote more detail in her response to you. Thank you, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

ACIS took care of every single detail

ACIS took care of every single detail, big and small. All we had to do was enjoy the learning and ride. 100% Recommend!

Date of experience : June 27, 2024

Hello Edna, Thank you so much for the review. I know Jill loves working with you. Thanks again, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

ACIS A+ Experience

This is my second time traveling with an ACIS tour group and I can't imagine trying to book all the venues and arranging travel to so many experiences on my own. For people wanting to maximize their experience abroad, I highly recommend the investment in touring abroad with an ACIS guide. There is no way I could have managed this on my own so seamlessly. Worth every penny.

Date of experience : March 08, 2024

Hi Jill, Thanks for the review! It is amazing how much you can see when it is all planned out. I truly appreciate our overseas team taking all the guess work out of it, so when you do have free time you can enjoy it! Thank you for taking your second tour...and I hope it is only second of many. Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

We just returned from our second trip…

We just returned from our second trip with ACIS. Our Regional Director was very information, made herself available to answer any questions, and guided us through the process as this was my first time leading a trip. Although both trips were incredibly different from one another (went to Italy last year and Japan this year), the trips were very organized. There is a lot to process, but we visited many important locations. I liked how the trips were catered to my content area, art. Even though I had photography, ceramics, and painting/drawing students, there were activities and events that was interesting to everyone. Make sure you make that clear to ACIS before you decide on your trip!

Date of experience : March 29, 2024

Hi Anita, I am so happy you had a great experience is two such different countries. ACIS does pride itself on being able to customize to what teachers really want on their overseas programs, so such great art content in both Japan and Italy. I am sure your students learned so much! Can't wait to see what you do next. Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

ACIS came to our rescue with diverted flight to Paris!

Our recent direct flight to Paris from SFO was diverted due to engine issues. With long hours at the airport, re-routing, and ticketing issues, ACIS stepped in and covered day hotel booking & reimbursement. ACIS also was available by emergency call to facilitate airline booking and hotel reservations. I felt reassured knowing what to do with ACIS when we had baggage issues and delays. If ACIS wasn't so supportive, I would have completely had a melt down.

Hi Rachel, I am so sorry that you had flight issues, that is always stressful but especially when you are leading a group. I am glad you felt supported when this was happening, we truly believe that our support system is the unknown extra something that makes ACIS what it is. We hope nobody ever has to use it....but when you need it we will be there! Thanks for talking about this experience in a review. Now that you know it is there hopefully you will never need to use it again! Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Amazing trip to France

Amazing trip to France! I used ACIS to plan a trip to France for a group of students ranging in age from 7th grade to high school seniors. We had a fantastic guide, great meals, centrally-located hotels, knowledgable guides, and exciting activities. It was a phenomenal trip and I will use them again in the future!

Hi Emily, Thank you for your review. What a range of ages, so happy that the activities were good for all. We can't wait to plan another trip for your school. Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

TWO of the BEST Trips Ever!

I toured Greece in June, and Scotland/Ireland in July and they were two of the BEST trips ever! Despite some chaos in the travel industry, ACIS made everything seamless and worry-free! Our Tour Managers, Edoardo D'Ardia and Stan Pretty, were kind, funny and incredibly adept at making things fun! Top notch hotels, centrally located, great food, and every moment just shone with fun and interest. Two wonderful groups of travelers, two amazing trips. Can't wait for next summer!

Date of experience : July 12, 2022

Hi Colleen, I am so happy to hear that you had TWO great trips!! Edo and Stan are fabulous...I will be sure to send along your review. We truly appreciate your partnership and look forward to making next summer even better! Thank you, Laura Smart SVP Customer Experience

Welcome to Son Tours

Tour Testimonials and Travel Reviews

Student testimonial:, parent testimonial:, fridley middle school’s 2023 trip to washington, dc:, bethlehem lutheran school testimonial, principal - bethlehem lutheran school, model middle school testimonial, jenny scoggins - model middle school, peachtree ridge high school testimonial, dean feldman - peachtree ridge high school, johnson middle school testimonial, j. crews - johnson middle school, florence middle school testimonial, jill j. - florence middle school, brookwood high school testimonial, leann hedrick - brookwood high school, contact us and let your adventure begin.

Son Tours, Inc. P.O. Box 1839, Duluth, GA 30096

Phone: (800) 416-8212

Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Saturday & Sunday: CLOSED

STUDENT TOURS

Useful links, customer service.

© 2024 by Son Tours, Inc. All rights reserved.

My question concerns an existing trip (required) --- Yes No Full Name (required)

Email (required)

School Name

Group Size --- 25-49 50-99 100-149 150-199 200+

Please leave this field empty.

Sign up for our Newsletter

We value your privacy. We promise not to sell or share your information with a third-party.

855-446-8687

• Plan A Trip

• [email protected]
• 1 (855) 446 8687

• WASHINGTON DC
• NEW YORK CITY
• PHILADELPHIA
• WILLIAMSBURG
• COLLEGE CAMPUS TOURS
• TALLAHASSEE
• SAN FRANCISCO
• QUÉBEC CITY
• Washington DC
• Presidential Inauguration DC 2021
• New York City
• Philadelphia
• Québec City
• Williamsburg
• Chattanooga
• Tallahassee
• Costa Rica, Pura Vida!
• Evening Parent Info-Session
• GO – Travel Scholarships
• School Trip Destination Posters
• Air & Space Museum Scavenger Hunt
• GO’s Report Card
• School Trip Packing List
• Trip Portal
• Travel Insurance Coverage
• Trip Cancellation
• Back To School Specials
• Destination Posters
• CFAR – Cancel For Any Reason Trip Coverage
• Travel Insurance
• Daily Safety Review
• We’re Hiring
• Vendor/Partners
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Liability Insurance
• Travel Documents
• Accommodations
• Motorcoach Safety

GO Travel Programs

Go offers domestic and international school trip destinations for all group types.

Explore our sample travel programs or customize your groups itinerary with our Educational Travel Specialist Team. GO Educational Tours is available to help you plan an optimal, memorable class trip for your travelers. From San Francisco, to Bergen, Norway, to Paris, France to New York City, New York…GO has an itinerary for every group adventure!

Start your journey here

USA Class Trips

• Customizable itineraries
• Leadership & Civics Programs
• STEM & Art focused trips
• Travel Scholars Activities
• College Campus Tours Visits

• Foreign Language trips
• Experience a new culture
• Favorable exchange rates
• Winter Carnival
• Nous parlons Français

International

• Discover Italy
• Paris to the beaches of Normandy
• Why is Norway the Happiest country?
• Spain en Espanol
• Pura Vida in Costa Rica

We have a young team of dedicated travelers ready to make your next class trip a memorable experience for you and your students. GO guides you through every step of the planning process. You can customize all or parts of your trip. Or simply choose one of our Pick,Click & GO trips, our most affordable trips if you wish for an economical and quick trip booking. Planning can be daunting but all our efforts are channeled to make it easier on you.

GET IN TOUCH

[email protected]