Tripadvisor staff removed this post at the original author's request.
What are forum guidelines?Tripadvisor staff removed this post at the original author's request.
What are forum guidelines?I told you so!!!
EF is a terrible company. I was quoted much lower on their website than by their representative. I brought this to their attention and they just blew me off. I even gave them a link with the lower price and it was still not good enough for them. If I could give any advise I would recommend to NOT DO BUSINESS WITH EF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After reading all of the negative reviews below I felt I should share my own experiences with this company.
I am a teacher who has been leading high school students to Europe for years with EF as a Tour Leader, and before that I was a chaperon. My school has been using EF tours for (literally) decades and I even went to Europe with them as a student when I was in high school.
I have nothing but good things to day about them, and the other people I know who have used them agree. I’m not sure why so many bad experiences are posted here - perhaps people who have had bad trips are more motivated to post than those who enjoyed themselves?
Overall I’ve found every aspect of the company to be reasonable. Yes, hotels are often outside of town, meals are basic, and some events aren’t covered by the trip fee, but those groups wishing for a more luxurious experience should know that more costly tour providers exist who would be happy to increase the star rating of the hotels. Service has been good, the trips well organized, and I’ve never felt unsafe. For those of you thinking about EF but scared off by the reviews below, I’d like to say three things:
1 – A lot of these posters are whiners. If you look at a hotel that is full of character, 100 years old, and run by a friendly old Italian couple who don’t speak English and think “rundown, old, with unhelpful staff” then stay home or go to Disney. Worse yet, if you say this out loud, pout, and complain to your students, how do you think they will view it? And yes, the food is standard, but some posters have said things like “we could not eat the food so we went to McDonalds.” If you are eating in McDonalds, you can’t offer an opinion on what is or is not good food. There are plenty of Big Macs in America, and it will not cost you $3,800 to eat one.
2 – People are not reading the contracts. Lots of posters here are complaining about cancellation fees or sites not included in the trip fee or the rating of hotels and resturants. Cancellation fees are severe, and not everything is included. All of that is spelled out for you in the agreement you sign. Yes, it is long and boring. No, it is not EF’s fault if you don’t read it.
3 – Some students should not travel to Europe, so don’t take them! I take between 30 and 40 high schoolers to Europe every year. In all that time how many have got drunk, embarrassed me, or caused offence to anybody? None. Not one. Ever. Students who come with me are pre-screened for attitude and interest. If they prefer nightclubs to museums they don’t get to come. They don’t try to lie and get into the trip because they know we have early wakeup calls and enforced lights out at 11. Acting up would (it has never actually happened) get a student suspended upon return. Chaperons are experienced teachers who know the kids, take their jobs seriously, and behave like (go figure) responsible adults. Students hold doors for other travelers, wait their turn in line, and emulate the respectful behaviour we model for them. If you have a positive attitude and only take kids who want to lean, you’ll have fun – if posters here had a bad time because their group or another group was drinking, swearing, being loud or complaining…well whose fault is that?
The bottom line is that EF provides groups with the chance to have a great trip, but the success of that trip depends on the people on it. If you are a whiny, unprepared, disinterested and ethnocentric group you will have a miserable time and should not waste your money.
Hello Halifax Traveler. I find it interesting that you joined TA today to dredge up an old post to glow about a company who's been getting a lot of bad press here.
To be honest, your post smacks of a response to a request by the company to come here and perform damage control for them.
Hello Happygoin,
I find interesting that you have deputized yourself as some sort of TripAdvisor detective. This thread is literally the first to appear when one uses Bing to search for "EF Tours trip reviews" so nothing was dredged up. I saw a series of reviews which focused on negative aspects of the company, so I thought I should offer my own review to round out the report - that's what Trip Advisor is for. Yes, this did mean creating an account - so what? You created an account, and you likely posted on your first day too.
To be honest, you don't know what you are talking about. Your post smacks of ill conceived conspiracy theories and lonely self importance. You make big leaps of logic with no supporting evidence. You accuse me of being in EF’s employ but can’t read for tone. What company would get a reviewer to post such harsh comments? If EF hired someone for damage control it would look like fake positive reviews, not attempts to mitigate previous negative ones.
You should hang up your Trip Advisor Detective’s badge, you are really bad at this.
Trav, you're not the first shill to pop up on TA and you won't be the last. Your kind is easy to spot a mile off. The smell of fake gives you away.
HappyGoin has been on this forum for years and has no alternative motive for saying anything good or bad about EF Tours.
.You on the other hand have already said that you in fact were at one time an employee of said company( you did say that you were in fact at one time a tour leader, so therefore a paid employee.
Who to trust ,, who to trust... reliable long time poster , posters with direct experiences they are relating( who you have now dismissed as being too lazy to read a contracts,, or better yet.. just "whiners",, or you.. hmm.. tough one.
Your personal attack on Happygoing has made your post worthless to many of us.
Edited: 10 years agoI have taken over 15 EF tours as a group leader taking students with me. I am very satisfied with this company. They have been very supportive to me as a group leader. I know they try to keep the costs down with hotels that may be of lesser quality than we are accustomed to in the US. But most hotels are not of the same quality. The trips are designed with kids in minds so food choices may not be what we adults would prefer but most of the time my kids found something they enjoyed as well as having the opportunity to try some local foods. Much depends upon the group leader or teacher as to how well he or she has prepared the group and laid out what to expect. Yes, I have seen poorly behaved students but I feel that was the responsibility of the teacher to prepare the students on how to be a good ambassador of our country. We also have to remember that the decline of the American dollar makes it difficult to travel in Europe on a budget price. I have never had any problem reaching someone to speak with at EF and if I did have to leave a message, someone called me back within 24 hours. I highly recommend this company.
Hi,
I'm a 16 year old student taking the European kaleidoscope tour this 2014 summer. I was very excited until I reached this website. I am a bit scared for my upcoming experience especially after reading the review of bugs and burns in the hotel rooms. Is that true? Are all these crappy remarks real? Or are they just snobs and whiners? I hope you may be able to clear this up for me. Also, my last question is about the free time listed in the schedule. How is that? Pretty lengthy in time or really no time at all?
We aren't the richest people and I actually felt special and extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to do this. My French teacher says the tours are worth it. But all these comments are killing the positive mood.
Edited: 10 years agoI am a group leader getting ready for my third EF tour to Europe. When we did end up having a bad experience and location for just one of our hotels in Paris, the company gave us on tour extras and perks for our trouble. When an independent tour guide at Versailles was horrible, EF refunded the whole optional excursion cost. Both my prior trips were amazing. It is budget travel for students and adults and they pack in the most for the money. You cannot touch their prices if you add in all things like entrances fees and travel throughout the countries. Getting ready for 2015 trip to Italy and already have 25 travelers signed up. I have as many adults as kids going on this tour and many are repeat travelers with me. They all loved their experiences.