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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

Friday 12th of April 2024

I have gone on 4 EF tours (England and Scotland), (London and Paris), Rome, and one called Bell'Italia, which was basically a road trip through Italy. The meals are always meh, and the hotels were usually ok to good. I'm surprised at your lackluster tour guide. We have ALWAYS fallen in love with all 4 tour guides!!! They are all friends for life now. I wish you could have had that experience. The kids just adored them all. I did find the more jam packed the itinerary is, the more stressful the trip can be, but on the other hand, you get to see it all.

Thursday 14th of March 2024

Thank you so much for your insightful review! My daughter is headed to S. Korea in a few weeks and reading all these comments & your review...I'm just hoping for the best at this point. I wanted to ask about the tipping. Our group leader has requested $145 paid to her in cash, which I was completely caught off guard, considering the financial commitment of the trip itself, but reading this, it seems that it is quite normal. I contacted EF and the representative said that according to the tour itinerary, the total suggested guideline should be significantly less. Do you know what happens if there is a surplus or shortage with the tipping amount? I'm just wary about giving someone I don't even know (group leader) cash.

Saturday 13th of April 2024

@Louise Emery, I can't thank you enough for you review. My school is planning a trip to Rome, London, and Paris in June 2025. I've been honestly on the fence, and I still have time to cancel. I'm a teacher at the school, but not actually a chaperone. I have to pay the full cost for the trip, but I know I will likely still need to supervise the students during the day. I don't necessarily mind this, but I wonder if I'd be able to explore at night. What time did you typically get back to your hotel? I really hope we are not an hour away from the Rome, London, or Paris city centers. I would love to be able to go out for drinks on my own at night time once the students are in the hotels. Louise, do you think it might be better to plan my own trip to Rome, London, and/or Paris? I'm a single man with no kids hahah.

Louise Emery

Tuesday 2nd of April 2024

I really am not sure what would be done with a surplus. I would definitely ask the group leader about the discrepancy between their request and the recommendation of EF.

Melissa Levy

The parent in charge of the tour I’m about to go on is asking for $200 for tips from each parent going on the trip and $120 for each kid. Based on what I’ve read, this seems like a lot. What do you think?

I think it depends on where you're going and what you're doing. We paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 per person. We had a LOT of tours and there were many people to tip. My only concern is the different amount for parent vs student. I wonder why they are breaking it down that way.

Wednesday 21st of February 2024

Expectations make a difference!

Thanks for taking the time to go through all these details. My son did go on one of these trips in his junior year of HS and loved it. I can understand the concerns you mentioned and makes those points something to think about when scheduling a group tour. As an adult, I have been to Europe twice with groups (travel award from workd) I know EF Tours has groups for that as well, and have been apprehensive to just 'jump in". Trying to analyze what is the best option to finally get to the Grand Canyon. Thanks for your perspectives

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Travel is so much more than just planes and trains! Students will gain new perspectives, develop a sense of independence, and build skills for the future through this experience. Don’t forget to register for the meeting here: https://bit.ly/3vEUY50 for more details about the summer 2026 trip to South Korea and Japan.

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EF Tours England and Ireland Trip Informational Meeting

Audience: Class of 2025-2028 and their families Date: May 9th at 6:30 pm Registration Deadline: May 8th

Location: LGI–High School

Details: Dear families,

We’re going to Ireland and England in Summer 2025, and you’re invited!

We’re excited to tell you more about the trip we’re planning with EF Tours, our educational travel partner. Please be sure to register for this info session to be considered for this opportunity: https://bit.ly/4c2j0XZ

When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident. These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow, and we would love to have your student join us on this adventure.

In this info session, we’ll talk about: • How this opportunity will benefit your student • What we’ll see and do on our trip • Everything that’s included in this experience • How your child can earn academic credit • How we’re keeping this safe and affordable • How to enroll on this trip (before it fills up!) during EF’s risk-free enrollment period

There are limited spots on this trip, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

Thanks, Mrs. Opreska

Please note this is a non-school sponsored trip.

Click here to view the flyer.

Contact: Christin Opreska [email protected] 484.883.4347

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Dublin’s new Emerald High School, the county’s first new comprehensive high school in 50 years, will provide students with the latest facilities when it opens this summer. (Photo – Doug Jorgensen)

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Emerald High Founding Principal Francis Rojas helped lead a tour for media and staff last week of the new school. The facilities are slated to open to a freshmen and sophomore class this fall. (Photo – Doug Jorgensen)

Dublin School District Offers Tour of New Emerald High

• By Ruth Roberts
• Apr 25, 2024

Emerald High School will welcome the Class of 2027 onto its new campus this August, but media and school staff enjoyed a first look last week with a guided tour from Principal Francis Rojas.

Located on a 23-acre lot on Central Parkway in Dublin, the $374 million school is the first comprehensive high school built in Alameda County in over 50 years. Foothill High School in Pleasanton was the last one, which opened in 1973.

Between 2010 and 2020, enrollment at the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) grew 92%. Overcrowding at Dublin High School spurred the decision to build another high school.

“This community has needed a second high school for a long time,” said Rojas. “We want to make sure Emerald High School reflects the wants and needs of the community it serves.”

The excitement was tangible for staff and faculty who toured the campus. One teacher spotted her new classroom and ducked in for a closer look, while others explored the new labs and lecture halls — all freshly carpeted and painted. The weight room, outfitted with the latest in strength training equipment and workout gear, was on shiny display; the initials EH, for Emerald High, were prominently displayed on the machinery and free weights.

“The perks of building something from the ground up,” Lopez said, gesturing around the room, “is that you get to buy everything new. … I had never bought new weight room equipment before.”

Thomas Moore, assistant superintendent of facility planning and construction, has been one of the primary boots-on-the-ground supervisors of the project. For him, the first day of school will be a good one.

“I just can’t wait to see the hallways filled with kids,” he said.

The thoughtfulness and collaboration that went into the design of the new school were on display in the spacious student union, the 2,400-seat collegiate-level gymnasium and the multi-colored matching couches and furniture throughout.

“Two years ago, when we started all this,” said Jaime Roberts, a math teacher at Emerald, “I remember coming out here when they were just pushing dirt around, and then the steel beams came in … I remember thinking, ‘How are they going to get all this here?’ … And now, here we are.”

Oluwafunmilayo Minett, a freshman at Emerald High School and part of the design team for the new high school, also took the tour with the group.

“This is the fourth time I have been on this campus and every time it gets more and more surreal,” she said. “I try to get involved in Emerald every way I can. … I can’t wait to get here in August.”

Paid for with funding from Measures H and J and Proposition 51, the school is built around two, three-story academic towers and will be developed in three phases. The recently completed Phase 1 includes the administration building, student union, visual and performing arts center, the library, gym and locker rooms. Classroom Tower 1, a 137-seat lecture hall, eight tennis courts, and a sports field and track are ready for the first day of school as well.

“We have really built this to last in the next century,” said Lopez.

Phase 2 will feature an additional academic tower, a visual and performing arts extension, and 3,885 seat stadium bleachers. This phase is anticipated to be completed in 2025.

The final Phase 3 addition will include the 600-seat Catherine Kuo Performing Arts Center, named after the DUSD trustee who died in 2021. Anticipated completion is August 2026.

Emerald High School started this school year in portable classrooms at Dublin High School, but in August approximately 950 freshman and sophomores will open the new campus. Each following year, a new class will be added to the campus, ending the 2026-2027 school year with four full classes on site. The campus will eventually accommodate up to 2,500 students.

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Livermore Art Association held its annual Spring Art Show at the Bothwell Arts Center in Livermore. Paula DuVall examines an acrylic on copper work. (Photos by Doug Jorgensen)

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Students traveling with ef educational tours and ef explore america going cashless through partnership with till financial's fee-free app and debit card.

Partnership includes custom financial literacy resources for teachers, student travelers and their families, as well as a recent expansion beyond domestic student travel into international tours

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and NEW YORK , April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- EF Explore America , a leading educational travel company within the United States , and Till Financial , a leading family banking platform for kids and teens, have expanded their partnership to now service international trips with EF Educational Tours , providing the same cashless solution leveraged domestically for international student tour offerings.

EF Explore America and Till Financial began their partnership in 2022, to bring a safe and secure cashless solution to traveling students while incorporating financial learning moments and financial literacy. Till's debit card and app enables both parents and EF tour group leaders to easily transfer funds to students while on tour, managing their spending for meals, souvenirs, and other travel expenses.

After a successful first two years, EF and Till are now expanding their partnership to include EF Educational Tours , a leader in guided educational travel for students. EF Explore America and EF Educational Tours are both businesses that operate under the banner of EF Education First, with its North American headquarters in Cambridge, MA.

Till's debit card solution now enables EF student travelers to go cashless during both domestic U.S. and overseas international tours. As a benefit of the partnership with EF Educational Tours, Till is waiving foreign transaction fees for students using Till for the duration of their tour, as well as providing curated financial literacy resources to prepare students for spending abroad.

"Travel itself is one of the greatest educational moments a student can experience - learning more about the world around them and more about themselves as someone seeking to become a more confident, independent person. EF Education First is always looking for ways to innovate the travel and learning experience across all our businesses, seeking out new ways we can teach students real life skills, including financial management through this partnership with Till Financial," said Kate Berseth , Executive Vice President, EF Education First. "Our mission as a company is to open the world through education, which is also why we are so proud of the work we are doing to make financial literacy such an important part of the travel experience for these students."

"At Till, we combine traditional book learning with real-world experiences. By tailoring financial literacy content to key life milestones and delivering that content in a format that engages both parents and kids, we make the learning experience more positive and lasting for the entire family." said Taylor Burton , CEO, Till Financial . "We view this partnership as a natural fit. Pairing our fee-free app and debit card with EF's global youth tourism business removes one of the many stressors involved in traveling far from home, while providing kids with an invaluable learning experience and parents with insight into every transaction."

Financial Literacy

Not only has the partnership between Till and EF allowed trips to go cashless and solve historical pain points around accounting and money movement, Till also provides EF student travelers and their families with custom financial literacy resources, personalized for their trip experience. For many students, a trip with EF might be the first time they've managed money or used a debit card. The programming offered by Till teaches students about the spending realities they'll face while traveling, including essential tips around sales tax and tipping, dynamic currency conversion and understanding of international fees—with the goal of empowering students with the right financial skills and knowledge before, during, and long after their tour.

In addition to the financial literacy resources provided to students and their families before and after trips, Till and EF have partnered with  FitMoney , a philanthropic nonprofit providing free, unbiased K-12 financial education resources to educators and caregivers for classrooms of all kinds with flexible and asynchronous lesson plans to fit any schedule.

Do you know a teacher or student interested in an EF educational tour in the United States or abroad? Visit www.eftours.com or www.efexploreamerica.com to learn more.

Want to kickstart your kid's financial journey? Visit  www.tillfinancial.com  to learn more.

About EF Educational Tours EF Educational Tours  is a leading partner of teachers and families nationwide, helping students engage with new cultures, languages, and experiences via international educational travel opportunities. EF Tours' compelling itineraries expand students' perspectives and prepare them for success in an ever -evolving world. The product is part of the  EF Education First  family of companies. EF provides culturally immersive education through language, travel, cultural exchange, and academic programs in over 100 countries. With a mission to open the world through education, EF was founded in 1965.

About EF Explore America EF Explore America  is the domestic educational travel division of  EF Education First , a family-owned global education company. EF Explore America partners with educators and their communities to create supportive, long-term relationships and safe, memorable experiential learning opportunities. With a mission of opening the world through education, more than one million people experience EF Education First's programs every year.

About Till Financial Till Financial is dedicated to empowering kids to become smarter spenders and cultivate financial literacy among family members. By meeting families at critical points in their kids' development, Till makes financial literacy a seamless part of their everyday learning. With a real bank account, spending insights, real-time transaction alerts and goal-based savings, Till prepares young people for entry into the modern economy with the confidence and knowledge they need to be successful.

View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/students-traveling-with-ef-educational-tours-and-ef-explore-america-going-cashless-through-partnership-with-till-financials-fee-free-app-and-debit-card-302126893.html

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State superintendent tours CHS Industries, Mattoon LIFT

• Apr 25, 2024

MATTOON — Students at CHS Industries and Mattoon LIFT are getting educations in a variety of trades, and many of them also have been developing their public speaking skills in the process.

They put those skills into practice on Thursday as they gave presentations about their vocational programs to State Superintendent Tony Sanders during his site tours there, as well to as other visiting officials.

Mattoon High School senior Brodie Rentfro, who is enrolled in the Leadership Institute at LIFT , was among those leading presentations. Rentfro said he enrolled as someone who was shy and stammered while speaking. He said his experiences there, including job shadowing at the Coles County Courthouse, have since given him confidence and the desire to become a prosecutor.

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"LIFT has put my life in focus and helped pave the road for me," Rentfro said of this regional high school vocational training program, located in a renovated downtown office building.

The students spoke to Sanders, Illinois State Board of Education members, Regional Superintendent of Schools Kyle Thompson, state Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, and local business and government leaders. The LIFT tour group also included Sean Covey and other representatives of the FranklinCovey coaching company, from which the Leadership Institute there draws its curriculum.

State Superintendent Tony Sanders, second from the right, and FranklinCovey CEO Paul Walker speak with culinary arts students on Thursday while touring the Mattoon LIFT regional high school vocational training center. The students are Dante England, Bethany Pinnell, Logan Fitt and Ethan Freeman, all from Mattoon.

Thompson said that Sanders, who was previously superintendent of School District U-46 in Elgin, has made it a priority to try to visit a different school district every week since he was named as state superintendent in January 2023.

"His accessibility is fantastic," Thompson said.

During his visit to Charleston High School, Thompson met with CHS Industries vocational program students working in the Trojan Brew coffee shop and the Trojan Design center in the newly renovated 400 classroom section on the north side of the building.

Students in the adjacent Trojan A & M Center also spoke with Thompson. This expanded facility houses agriculture, construction, small engine mechanics, and other trades classroom and workshop spaces, plus a greenhouse.

"Thanks for letting the students lead the conversations. They did a great job," Thompson said afterward while speaking with administrators and teachers.

Senior Parker Pounds and junior Kaylin Nolte, who are interns in the Trojan A & M Center, gave presentations there. Nolte, who plans to major in an agriculture science-related field, said she loves studying and working at this center, particularly interacting with customers at the annual plant sale there.

Regional Superintendent of Schools Kyle Thompson, at left, and State Superintendent Tony Sanders speaks with Charleston High School junior Kaylin Nolte on Thursday in the small engine workshop area at the Trojan A & M Center. Nolte is serving as an intern in this facility.

Thompson said he also was impressed to hear that the Trojan A & M Center is hosting a geometry in construction class that is popular with students and is being expanded to offer a second session. 

"The geometry component with the construction trades is amazing. I wish more districts would do that," Thompson said.

At Mattoon LIFT, Thompson and the other visitors met with students representing the academic programs on each of the building's seven levels. Those programs consist of childcare, communications, culinary arts, HVAC/green energy/robotics, information technology, leadership, and manufacturing/architecture/construction.

Bianca Arguelles, a senior from Arcola, and Ash Allison, a junior from Mattoon, were among the presenters in the communication studios on the lower level of LIFT. They said the classes there focus on audio/video editing, music composition/songwriting, media production and digital sound design.

Allison said the communication program's internship opportunities include one where students can help operate the sound and light systems at the Little Theatre on the Square in Sullivan. She added that, "Those are fun internships!"

Noah Noble, a junior from Mattoon who is studying communications at LIFT, also discussed how instructors there help him and other students with personal budgeting. This prompted Thompson to ask about his plans to save for a car while working at the Freddy's restaurant in Mattoon and about his long-term career plans.

"I kind of have a big aspiration to own my own restaurant someday," Noble responded, adding that he plans to enroll in the culinary program next year at LIFT.

Charleston school board member Jessica Mertz, at left, picks up a cup of coffee on Feb. 22 from Charleston High School's Trojan Brew student-run coffee shop, which is operating out of its new space adjacent to the recently renovated media center. The travel mugs at the shop were created by the Trojan Design Center.

• ROB STROUD, JG-TC

Charleston High School agriculture teacher Emmalyn Walk leads members of the Illinois State Board of Education and other visitors on a tour of the Trojan Greenhouse on Feb. 22.

Charleston High School senior Parker Pounds, at center, helps lead members of the Illinois State Board of Education and other visitors on a tour of the Trojan A & M Center on Feb. 22. Pounds talked about the small engine repair and welding programs in this facility.

Charleston High School senior Lucas Neal, at left, points out posters created by the Trojan Design Center as junior Ayden Gossett works with their Variquest poster maker while leading members of the Illinois State Board of Education and other visitors on a tour on Feb. 22. The center is located in the newly renovated media center and 400 wing section of the school.

Regional Superintendent Kyle Thompson, at left, picks up pastries on Feb. 22 from Charleston High School's Trojan Brew student-run coffee shop, which is operating out of its new space adjacent to the recently renovated media center. Family and consumer science students made the pastries for the shop.

Charleston High School career and technical education business teacher Terrika Marucco, at center, and student Hannah Keefer and Joe Carter lead a tour of the T-shirt making section of the Trojan Design Center for members of the Illinois State Board of Education and other visitors on a tour on Feb. 22. The center is located in the newly renovated media center and 400 wing section of the school.

Photos: CHS Industries vocational programs tour

Members of the Illinois State Board of Education toured the CHS Industries vocation program area at Charleston High School on Feb. 22.

Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861.

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We put you in our Soviet van on an adventure you’ll never forget. Fun, great memories and Instagram worthy pictures guaranteed!

Moscow city-tour

Discover moscow onboard a soviet van, 2 in 1 banya excursion, sergiyev posad monastery and banya session in 1 day, moscow pub-crawl, party like a russian, moscow by night, tank tour & bazooka, only in russia, shooting tour, trigger happy…, jet fighter flights, top gun russia, an evening at the monastery, divine dining., luzhniki stadium visit, enter the legend of world cup 2018.

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Put-in tours

At Put-in tours, we put you in our classic Soviet vans to go explore Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Russian culture off the beaten path. Discover our Moscow city guided tour, visit Moscow by night, join our banya & Sergiyev Posad excursion, visit and dine in one of Moscow's oldest monastery or even Luzhniki stadium, before you party on our famous pubcrawl! Original and atypical tours : Shoot AK47 and a bazooka after riding on a tank with our tank & bazooka excursion ! Extreme tours: Fly a fighter jet in Moscow onboard a L-29 or L-39 aircraft!

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Lapwai, ID (83501)

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 49F. WSW winds shifting to ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 49F. WSW winds shifting to ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Updated: April 25, 2024 @ 2:54 pm

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Meetings/Agendas

• Apr 20, 2024
• Apr 20, 2024 Updated Apr 20, 2024
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WHITMAN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

9 a.m., Courthouse, Colfax

MOSCOW CITY COUNCIL ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

Meeting canceled

PALOUSE PRAIRIE SCHOOL BOARD

6 p.m., school building, Palouse Prairie Charter School

COLFAX SCHOOL BOARD

7 p.m. Room 102, Jennings Elementary

POTLATCH CITY COUNCIL

7 p.m., City Hall

LATAH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

11:15 a.m., Room 2B, Courthouse, Moscow

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO FACULTY SENATE

3:30 p.m., Zoom

LATAH COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES

4:30 p.m., Potlatch Library

ALBION TOWN COUNCIL

7 p.m., Town Hall

PALOUSE CITY COUNCIL

PULLMAN CITY COUNCIL

7 p.m., council chambers, City Hall

Update on downtown construction project.

NEILL PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD

3 p.m., Neill Public Library, Pullman

PULLMAN-MOSCOW REGIONAL AIRPORT BOARD

3 p.m., Airport Training Room

TROY CITY COUNCIL

5 p.m., City Hall

PULLMAN SCHOOL BOARD

6:30 p.m., Community Room, High School

MOSCOW PLANNING AND ZONING

MOSCOW SCHOOL BOARD

7 p.m., Paradise Creek Regional High School

PULLMAN PLANNING COMMISSION

7:30 p.m., City Hall

MOSCOW HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

4:30 p.m., Haddock Building, 504 S. Washington St.

MOSCOW PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION

5:15 p.m., Hamilton Indoor Recreation Center

MOSCOW BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

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