Now on to what I did and didn't like while on the tour......
They have what they call 'optional excursions' during the tour. In lieu of free time you pay an extra fee to do something extra in the different countries (ie: Flamenco dancing, wine tasting, Monte Carlo night, a trip to Toledo, etc). My problem was that about 3 days before I was set to depart I got a call from EF saying 3 of the optionals I signed up for had been canceled....womp, womp. Naturally they were the ones I was most looking forward too--Rome cooking class, a side trip to Salamanca and a visit to the Monte-Carlo casino in Monaco. It pissed me off but hey, stuff happens. At the time I didn't know why but for two of the excursions not enough people had signed up and the Grand Prix was going on in Monaco at the time we were in France so the streets were blocked and the bus wouldn't have been able to drive us there.
The main thing I disliked on tour was the bus rides in between cities and countries. We had 8 and 10 hour days riding this big coach bus from Madrid to Barcelona to Cannes, etc. All together we spent over a day of our 15 day tour traveling. If I'm not mistaken there were two 10 hour days and two 8 hour days. 3-4 days if you count flying there and flying home. A lot of us felt it wasn't really fair to have travel time included as part of the days of our tour. The traveling also cut a lot of our time in certain cities like Cannes and Florence. We spent about 10 hours driving to France so it was evening when we got there (around 6-7p), then we had an outing the next day until 4p and the day after we were on the road again to Italy. The same thing happened in Florence. We were only there for two days and the majority of one was spent riding the bus there. I really felt cheated out of my time there (on the up side that's the perfect excuse to go back).
Another thing I didn't like was that I felt like I HAD to tip the bus driver and tour director. It's not that I really minded tipping them but I didn't like being told how much I should tip. We were told to tip the driver about 3-5 Euro per day of driving (at the end of the tour from France to Italy we had the same driver for everything). Then we were told to tip the tour director about 8-10 Euro per day of the tour. For 15 days that's 150 Euro. Umm, NOT gonna happen. As awesome as our tour director was (Marcello if you happen to go on an EF tour), there's no way I was giving him that much money.
Those are really the only negatives I have about EF and the tour itself. Overall I had a great time and would travel with them again. I'd also recommend them to others because the prices are pretty reasonable for what you get compared to other companies or planning a trip on your own (believe me I looked for cheaper before making a final decision). I felt there was a really good balance between the structured outings to museums, sites, etc and free time to do whatever you wanted. Honestly, you can do whatever you want on the tour just as long as you make it to the bus on time to go to the next city. Our tour director warned that in the past he's had to leave people behind who didn't make it to the bus on time. Can't say I blame him. There's no reason to throw the entire group off schedule just because a few people can't get out of bed.
Sorry this is kinda long but whatever. That's all for now. (Edited to add the video I made of my tour)
Disclaimer: This video was made prior to me having an iPhone and new digital camera....lol
68 comments:
really? this is interesting, I got a pop up from them (yes, I know you shouldn't click on pop ups!) but it seemed too good to be true and I'm dying to get some traveling under my belt.
Guess I will be going on a trip with them after all.
@Nana
You're gonna have a great time!
Thsnks for this review. I just found out about this today. I'm thinking of doing their london/paris program this winter. I'd be going by myself though. Do you recommend it if you travel on your own, or are the people in the tours already in their groups? I'm a female college grad (21) by the way. Thanks for your help.
Hey Tina,
On my tour there was a mix of people who traveled alone and some who were in small groups of just 2 people. I traveled alone and quickly made friends with my roommates (2 of whom knew each other before but I never felt left out). I was worried about going alone too but once you meet up with the group you're never really alone and everyone was nice and easy to get along with (except for 2 girls lol). I'm not the most outgoing or talkative person by any means but it was still fairly easy for me to make friends with people on my tour.
If you really want to go and can't find a friend to go with you, I say just do it anyway. It's a great opportunity and you'll have a good time. If you go on EF's facebook page you'll see a lot of people posting that they're traveling alone. It can be scary but in my opinion it's worth it for the experience. Happy travels! :)
Thanks Miss K!
Did you go the nightclubs on the tour with your group? I'm not really a clubbing person, so I fear most of the people in my group will go clubbing and I'll be left alone to wander at night lol. How was sharing the hotel/hostel rooms with roommates? Would it be worth paying extra to get my own room? And lastly, how did you pack, did you bring a suitcase or just a large backpack? Sorry for so many questions. I'm so excited and nervous about my trip. Yours is the only honest review I could find! Like you mention in the blog post, most are just biased reviews from Campus managers offering discounts.
No problem, I'm happy to help :)
I didn't go to any of the clubs with my group but a lot of people did. One night in Florence our tour director took the group to a local club there. I walked with the group but I didn't actually go inside. My roommates and I and a few other people decided to walk around the city instead. I'm sure you'll be able to find people like yourself who aren't really into clubbing. Sharing rooms was fine for me. We had 4 people in our room up until the last city when there was just two of us because the 4 person rooms had all been taken. Originally roommates were randomly assigned unless you made a request to room w/ certain people beforehand, afterwards our tour director let us pick roommates. I stayed with the same 3 girls the entire trip because we all got along and didn't want to room with anyone else.
If you're going alone, I wouldn't bother paying extra for a solo room just because from my experience, rooming with other people is how I made good friends to hang out with throughout the tour. If you don't get along with your roommates you can always ask your tour director if you can switch.
I packed a regular sized suitcase and a carry on. There were about 3-4 guys on my tour whose luggage was lost so make sure to put anything important or that you really like in your carry on. Make sure not to over pack. At a couple of hotels you had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the elevator and the elevators are small so only a couple of people can fit with their luggage. And we had to load our own luggage on and off the bus. Fortunately the guys on our tour were really good about that so the girls didn't have to worry much about it. I also found those space bags that you roll the air out of to be really helpful coming back because I did a good amount of shopping lol.
If you have more questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
What and how many outfits did you bring? When you went to Paris did you going the evening cruise and if so is the Paris evening cruise a formal thing? I don't know which outfits to bring. Also which excursions did you go to and did you find them worth it? I'm going on the Europe Road Trip next summer and/or Spain for winter 2014. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Hi Charlotte12,
I didn't go to Paris on my trip so I don't know about the cruise. On the Spain, France & Italy tour we went to the south of France to Cannes & Nice. My trip was in May/June so it was pretty hot, especially in Spain. I brought 2 pairs of jeans, a few pairs of shorts, t-shirts, tanks and summer dresses. I brought 1 pair of sneakers but mostly just wore flat shoes and flip flops. Riding the coach bus between cities was a little chilly for me so the jeans were good for that. Make sure to bring outfits you can mix and match.
The optionals I did were flamenco dancing, cava and wine tasting. I signed up for others but they were cancelled because not enough people signed up. All the optionals were worth it for me except the wine tasting in Rome but only because it was in another city so it was a long trip taking up most of the day and I would have rather spent that time exploring Rome more.
Hopefully that helps a little but if you have more questions let me know :)
Hey, thanks for the review, it's really helpful!!
What did you end up doing about the tips? Did you end up tipping less than 150 euros? (That is a lot for me, since I'd be paying for my own trip and everything)
How was the meal thing? Did you have an easy time finding inexpensive places?
What are some things that you think would be essential to pack that one wouldn't think of?
Thanks :P
Hi AF, glad I could help!
I definitely didn't tip 150 euros because I thought it was too much but I did tip. I can't remember how much. I found it pretty easy to find inexpensive meals. Near most of the hotels there were a lot of little restaurants nearby or you could ride the metro into the city/downtown area to find something. Also a lot of places have deals for lunch where you could get a 3 course meal for 15 euros or something like that.
As far as packing maybe those space bags to save room in your luggage, especially if you plan to shop. Also, water was surprisingly expensive so a few people had those Bobble water bottles with a built in filter that you can fill up at the sink and have fresh water. I wish I had one of those because an average size bottle of water was expensive in most places.
I'm not sure what else to tell you but if you have more questions feel free to ask :)
I forgot to ask - which trip did you go on? What was the name and how many days?
Thanks.
Nana,
I went on the Spain, France & Italy tour for 15 days. It started at the end of May and ended in the beginning of June.
hi! I'm just wondering what the average age of people on your trip was and was it drinking like ALL the time or was it a good mix of touring and drinking? thanks!
Hey, I think the average age on my tour was about 20/21 but there were definitely people older and younger too. People weren't drinking all the time on my tour. Those who wanted to drink did when they went out, etc but it wasn't like a booze tour or anything.
Hey Thanks for your review it really helped a lot! Im going in May and I was wondering about how nice the hotels were that you stayed in! and also I was wondering if the people on the tour were allowed to drink if they were under the age of 21 and the program stuck to US laws. I had previously done another program abroad and even though people were of age in the country for certain events we werent allowed to have a part in them.
Hey Simply Queen-B, I'm glad I could help. Most of the hotels we stayed in were pretty nice and clean but nothing too fancy. In Barcelona we were actually upgraded to a 4 star hotel but honestly the room was pretty basic I thought. Although the breakfast was more up to American standards instead of the typical European bread and coffee. Then in Rome there were issues with the lock on our door and the room wasn't as clean as the other hotels.
For our tour, if you met the drinking age for the country we were in you were fine. Our tour director never said anything about people under 21 not being able to drink. I don't even remember ever being carded when I ordered drinks so it shouldn't be a problem. If you have other questions feel free to ask :}
Hello! My name is Sarah and I am going on the same tour you did this summer. I have so many questions and you seemed to answer all the other ones pretty perfectly so I thought I'd give it a try! Ok so I know this might be dumb but I can't stop thinking of the movie taken..what are the chances of that happening? I choose to do land only, and purchase my flights, is that smart? Did you bring an outlet convertor? What did people do at night? Club, go out to eat etc..? Should I bring any pairs of heels? How much spending money did you bring..? Thats all for now :) Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah! I think as long as you don't go off by yourself and don't give too much info to strangers you shouldn't have to worry about a Taken situation happening. I'm not sure about doing land only because I just did everything through EF because it was easier. There were also a few people from my tour on the same flight who met up beforehand at the airport but I couldn't find them.
I brought a converter/adapter combo that I bought from Target and I'd recommend it because the outlets are different there. At night some people went out clubbing, to dinner or just walking around exploring the cities. If you bring heels make sure they're comfortable for walking to metro stations unless you plan on taking cabs to go out. I brought about 200-300 euro to start and went to the ATM a couple of times. Paying for lunch and dinner every night starts to add up plus other expenses like shopping or other activities you might want to do. I didn't go out to clubs but if you do some of the entrance fees are like 15-20 euro then there's drinks, etc.
I hope I answered everything but if you have more questions feel free to ask :)
Hi ms k! I was just wondering, do you have to be in college to o on these trips or is it just an age limit?
Hi Andrea! You don't have to be in college for the tours, there's just the age limit.
Thanks so much for your previous reviews. My son is 19 and was planning to do this alone on his own staying at hostels along the way which I wasn't feeling to secure about. From your previous posts appears flight, transportation and hotel are included in the price-what about meals? Glad to hear you're able to explore on your own if you want because he probably will want to. While I was happy to hear he was looking at a tour company vs going alone I was concerned about the legitamacy of the company, your review was quite helpful. Did you find most traveling with this tour are Americans?
Concerned Parent,
The only included meals are breakfast at the hotels, which in Europe isn't much compared to US hotels, mostly croissants/rolls, cereal and coffee. Also a welcome dinner and a farewell dinner are included. Other than that you're pretty much on your own for food. You do have the option with EF to book your own flights if you want but I think it's more convenient to just do everything through them.
And yes, I'm pretty sure everyone on this tour was American. I'm glad I could be of some help. If you have more questions feel free to ask.
Awesome blog Kat thanks for all the info. We're sending our daughter on the 25day Euro in May and were wondering what we should budget for food and also fun money to use on free days?
Thanks for your insights!
Hi NEW EF Dad,
Honestly I'm probably not the best person to ask about budget because I really didn't have a set amount in mind when I went on my trip lol. I did my best to keep track of how much I was spending each day so I wouldn't go overboard. I spent about $700-$800 dollars on my trip. It probably would have been more if I had gone out clubbing at night and things like that but I didn't.
Also, my trip was only 15 days so for 25 I would probably add at least couple hundred on to what I spent. I initially brought about 200 euro in cash to start and also made a couple of large ATM withdrawals because I remember the fees being pretty high.
Sorry I couldn't be more help but feel free to ask if you have other questions! :)
Hi, Miss K,
I see from reading your posts that you used cash. How useful would a credit card be?
Hi James,
I used cash most of the time to help keep track of my spending but I also had my debit card. I would be helpful to bring in case you run out of cash. Also, there were some places that would only take cash so I'd say it's good to have both.
Hi, Im planning to go at the same trip next year by myself, how much it cost you? Did you booked in advance?
Hi Jose,
I don't remember the exact cost but you can just check program prices on the website. I ended up spending about $700-$800 while on the trip. My trip was in May and I booked the October before. It's better to book as early as you can so the monthly payments won't be as much.
HI! You have a really great blog here. I'm a 22 yr old Black female looking to go to Europe as well, definitely Spain with EF. I also wanted to go during the winter. Do you think Europe would be less fun during the winter? Any other tips for me traveling alone? Thank you!!
Thanks Angie!
I think Europe could be just as fun in the winter. I've thought about doing one of the New Year's trips with EF because they seem like they'd be fun. My only concern would be the weather. I don't really have tips for traveling alone because even though I went on the tour alone once I met up with everyone I was never really alone and had people around all the time. All I can think of is just to be aware of your surroundings and don't give too much information to strangers. I hope that helps!
Has anyone been on the exotic thailand trip? Im a black female and thinking of going december 2014
Anonymous,
I have not been on the Thailand trip with EF but I met a girl on the EF trip that went. She told me she had a great time because she was able to see a lot and ride on a elephant. Which I think is really cool.
Miss K,
Is it really hot in the summer in Europe? I am going to the London, Paris, and Rome trip in July 2014. And I wanted to know what the weather is like in Rome because I heard that some places are close because its so hot.
Hi Jaimie,
My tour was during the last week of May into the first week of June and it was already really hot. I remember Spain being especially hot. I don't recall anything in Rome being closed because of the heat while I was there but I wouldn't be surprised. I think we were going through St. Peter's Basilica when a girl in our group nearly fainted because it was so hot and there were so many people.
Maybe they've changed by now but they didn't really put a cap on the number of people allowed to go through at one time so it was really cramped. You could barely even move without touching another person. That in addition to it already being hot was a problem for some people. Personally, I was okay. Make sure to bring a bottle of water.
Thank You!!! I will make sure to bring the water bottle.
Hello!
Thank you for posting this! I am a college student and I'm considering taking the Grand Tour of Europe for 30 days in July. I've never been out of the country and I'd like to take a structured trip my first time!
I do however have a bleeding disorder that causes random nosebleeds. I was wondering about restroom availability for these trips? that may seem like a silly question but I occasionally will need extra restroom breaks to control my nosebleeds when I don't have access to my med kit or if I run out of supplies. It is always worse in super hot weather but July may be the best time for me to go because of school..
I'm also curious as to the way you protected your valuables when you are among strangers and in different countries. Any tips? Also, would I need to buy and bring a charging adapter or do most of the hotels have accomodations for american plug ins?
Thank you so very much!!
Hi Catherine!
The only time you might have an issue is on bus rides between cities and countries because like I said they can be from 8-10 hours long. We did stop for bathroom and lunch breaks on the road but I don't remember how often. There was a bathroom on the bus but for some reason we weren't allowed to use it. Maybe they can make an exception if you tell them the circumstances.
I brought luggage locks with me and always made sure my valuables were locked in my suitcase when I was away from the room. I also made sure to hold tight to my purse in public. Especially on the metro and other crowded places. Pickpockets are literally everywhere. If by strangers you mean people on the tour I wasn't really worried about that. It wasn't an issue as far as I knew.
I'd definitely bring my own adapter if I were you. I'm not sure if hotels would have them available for travelers so better to be on the safe side because European outlets are different. I found a combination adapter/converter at Target.
I hope that helps! Anymore questions feel free to ask :)
Did you share a bed with a person on your tour?
Anonymous,
No, I didn't share a bed but some of the double beds were very close together so you were close to the other person.
Hi,
What's the gender ratio usually like? Do guys and girls ever become "extra-friendly" with each other?
Thanks!
I guess it depends. A few people on my tour were "extra-friendly" with each other. There were also a few couples on my tour. I think there were a few more girls than guys on my tour but it wasn't totally unbalanced.
Hi!,
first, I just want to say that I'm really glad and thank you for you're taking so much of your time to respond to all the questions! Your answers are really appreciated:)
second, Im only 18, so will the group assigned to me have people of all ages,18 to 26, or all they all going to be relatively close to your specified age? If not, does it get awkward having 18 year olds and 26 year olds in the same group?
I get a bit nervous around older student:/....
Hey,
You're welcome, I'm glad to help! To answer your question yes, your group will have all age ranges from 18 to 26. I was one of the older people on my tour so I was a little worried at first but it ended up being fine and I didn't think it was awkward at all. I think the average age on my tour was about 20-21 but there were people older and younger than that and everyone got along fine.
If you have more questions feel free to ask :)
Hi! Thank you for doing as well.
I am going to the 8-day London and Paris trip next year. I do have some concerns regarding this.
I'm a heavy-set girl, so will there be tons of walking? I feel like I'll be judged and whatnot.
I decided not to do any of the excursions, but just will be exploring the city at most. Any advice?
I am worried about the cash as well. I know forsure that I'll be shopping, clubbing, etc. Do they accept debit/credit cards? Visa or mastercard? Somehow, I feel like they only do cash. LOL.
Looking forward to your reply.
Hi Anna, sorry for the late reply. There was a good amount of walking for the "walking tours" of the city but it wasn't bad. A lot of us chose to walk around the city on our own afterwards to explore but you can always use public transportation.
Not everyone does all of the optional excursions so I'm sure you'll find people to explore with you if you want. Not sure if that's something you're worried about. I'd just say not to go off totally alone if that's what you decide to do.
If I remember correctly there were a few smaller places that didn't take cards but most do. I'd recommend having at least a little cash on hand just to be on the safe side. For shopping you should be fine with cards. Clubbing I'm not sure, I didn't go out clubbing on my tour but I'd imagine it's similar to US clubs with having a tab for the bar, etc.
I hope that helps! If you have more questions feel free to ask.
Thanks for replying!
For the cash, I'm still confused. Will US dollars be accepted in London and Paris? I'm guessing London=YES, Paris=NO.
I really, really appreciate this blog. Unfortunately, I did not see it before I booked and went on an EF college break tour myself starting May 2014.
It was such a terrible experience, I LEFT the 14 day tour on day 6!!! I have been trying to post a negative review somewhere, but I think the company does quite a good job at covering those up!
Reasons why I left the tour:
1. We spent ALL of our time on our bus! The bus driver couldn't leave before 10 am in the morning, meaning we spent all our daylight hours on the bus. We were supposed to have 2 days in Germany but instead arrived in Munich at 4:30 pm on Day 2. The entire group was furious. It was such a waste of time.
2. Our tour director did not arrange any of the plans himself - meaning, the coordination between what he thought we should do and what we were supposed to do was not there. There were miscommunications time after time again.
3. The site (and excursions) were marketed exceptionally well for what they actually are. Many of us signed up for a "Leisurely Bike ride through the dutch countryside." this thing was anything but leisurely. We ended up spending all our time biking through the downtown which was a NIGHTMARE. Imagine a group of 45 students with 1 guide trying to bike through the streets among frustrated locals trying to get to work.
4. They booked hostels WAY OUTSIDE the city centers. This made it very very challenging to go out at night (given most European public transportation ends at midnight) or go to-and-from the hostel during the day. The hostels they booked were non-conducive to meeting other travelers and were extremely poor choices given the other hostels available in those cities. For example, instead of booking a hostel in Munich, they ended up booking a hostel in Frankfurt (meaning we had to drive 4 hours the next morning to get into Munich and lost a day in the process because Frankfurt is a business center with nothing to do there).
5. There were 45 students (42 girls, 3 guys) on my trip to 1 tour director. This was the worst imbalance imaginable. The group was diverse, from all educational backgrounds and all parts of the country and did not click in the least. It was not easy to make new groups of friends, as 42 girls seem to hate each other from the start.
If you want to see some major sights in the cities they have listed, by all means, sign up for EF college breaks. But if you want to actually get to know the cities, their people, their cultures, and have the time of your life, don't be afraid to go backpacking to the hostels by yourself. Once I left the group, I had the time of my life and don't regret my decision in the least.
Anna,
US dollars will NOT be accepted in Europe, they use different currency. In France it's Euros. I'm not sure about London but I think they use Pounds. It's good to convert some cash with your bank beforehand so you don't have to worry about it once you arrive :).
Kristin,
I'm sorry you had a bad time on your tour and left early. That must suck. I had a similar experience with the bus. When we went to Nice and Florence a majority of our two days in each city were spent riding the bus there which sucked. I thought one tour director was standard, I'm not sure what other companies do. Sounds like you had a dud but our director Marcello was great about everything. Not leaving before 10am sounds strange. I think the latest we ever left was 8am. Our hotel in Florence was a bit out of the way but I didn't mind walking through the city to explore.
It's good that you eventually had a good time even though you left the tour.
Hi! I'm contemplating a trip right now. But I was just wondering, that Kristin girl said they stayed at hostels so I was wondering are you actually at hotels or hostels because I don't really feel comfortable with hostels. Did you find out the name of the places you were staying before you left? Do you think that for most people this was their first trip over seas? The trip I'm considering I've been to some of the places before, but really any excuse to get back works for me. I know it's gonna be a lot of the basic stuff, but you've explained before that you have time to do stuff and make your own decisions so I think I should be good.
Thank you btw for taking the time to do this. I've been searching online for every thing I can find about ef.
Hi Deanna!
On my tour, we stayed in hotels. Some of the rooms were smaller which isn't unexpected in Europe but they were definitely hotels and no hostels on my tour. Yes, a few weeks (or months?) before departure you get a list of hotels you'll be staying at with the names, addresses and phone numbers. I think you get those at the same time you get your flight info but I can't remember exactly. I think for most people in my group it was their first trip overseas but I can't be sure.
I hope that helps. Any other questions feel free to ask!
Hey Miss K,
I've read a few comments about how a majority of the time is spent on the bus, I knew that there would be a fair amount of time traveling on bus but didnt think it would be much of a problem until now. I'm 19 and I'm taking a gap year. I'm currently still living at home and was wondering if this would be the right tour to go on for the first time away from home? I would say I'm pretty low maintenance and am able to take care of myself but after reading a post about someone being left behind on their tour had me freaked out that my phone alarm wont go off and I'll miss the bus 0.0
Hi Hannah,
I wouldn't say a majority of time was spent on the bus but definitely more than I would have liked. It was mostly noticeable in the cities we only spent 2 days in and a lot of the first day was spent traveling there.
No one was left behind on my tour but our tour director told us it had happened before. You'll have roommates so it shouldn't be a problem if everyone has an alarm and you can trust them to wake you up if yours doesn't go off. I'm one of those people that sets multiple alarms because I'm always worried I won't wake up.
Everyone has a different experience but I don't think you should let a few bad stories stop you from going. I think this would be a good trip for your first time away from home. It was my first time out of the country and I had a great time.
Thanks for the info! also, was this more of a partying type tour? I'm not much of a partier and it is called college break so I was wondering if it would be like that.
No problem. No this wasn't a partying tour. Some people went out to clubs or whatever at night but that's it.
Hello,
So how much did you end up tipping your tour director and bus driver? I am going to Thailand in about a week and EF has been harassing me for months on how much they "strongly suggest" I tip them. Very unprofessional in my opinion.
Anonymous,
Yeah, that is unprofessional and annoying. It was a while ago so I don't remember the exact amount but probably about 10-15 euros for each of them. They suggested 3-5/day of the tour for the tour director but there's no way I was doing that.
Have fun on your trip!
hi! this may sound like a stupid question but what is the demographic of ppl who go? is it mostly white ppl or is it more diverse?
Hey Anonymous,
On my tour it was mostly white people. You can check out their Facebook page to get a general idea of who is going on upcoming tours.
Hi there. I'm considering doing the grand tour of Europe in through EF June, but I keeping finding all these negative reviews. Most of them are parent reviews of trips they booked for their children that were supposed to be educational and weren't, but they do comment on nasty hotels and say that the company charged more to their account than they were supposed to. Did you notice any of this? All of the reviews for the trips for college age students are positive, but I want to make sure I research this thing inside and out since the trip I am looking into is 30 days and I don't want to be screwed over or end up realizing it was a mistake to go when I am already over there.
Hi Stephanie,
It sounds like all the negative comments are coming from the high school trips. When I first started looking into this company I saw those too and was a little worried. But as you said, the trips for the 18-26 crowd has mostly positive reviews. I think at one point the price increased a bit and I did call to ask why and was told it had to do with the airline fuel prices going up. It wasn't anything major though so I didn't mind.
As far as hotels, all of them were pretty standard in my opinion. They weren't exactly 4 star but they weren't disgusting either. From what I can remember everything was pretty clean. The only real issue with hotels I had was in Rome when our door wouldn't lock from the outside and the staff were less than helpful in trying to accommodate us. Other than that, no issues with hotels that I can remember.
I don't blame you for being cautious before booking a 30 day trip. There's good and bad with everything and there's no way to tell for sure until you're there. I think you'll be fine. It sucks you don't get the hotel info until later so you can't even check the places out for reviews before hand. Maybe also go on their Facebook page and talk with past travelers if you haven't already for more recent reviews to get a better idea. If you do decide to book have fun! It's a great experience :)
Hi I am considering going on one of these trips and I just had a question that's gonna seem silly. How likely would it be for your luggage to get lost? Only because i don't want to loose clothes I have spent a lot of money on. Also how much did people bring? I wanted to bring one big suitcase a wear a backpack and bag on me but will that be too difficult to transport?
Hi Libby,
I'm not really sure about the luggage. If your flight is direct it's less likely that it'll be lost. There were a couple of guys on my tour whose bags were lost. I don't remember if they got them back or not. Most people brought one large suitcase and a carry on like a large handbag or backpack. I'm not sure how long of a tour you're considering but for 15 days that seemed like enough. The suitcase might be difficult to transport in some places. For example, when we were in Barcelona our hotel was at top of a hill on a narrow street and the bus couldn't get through so we all had to carry our stuff up and down. Also you may have a hotel with no elevator or very small elevators so think about that too. I think you'll be fine with suitcase and backpack. Hope that helps.
Thank you so much for being so kind and answering so many questions. This has been so helpful.
My main concern is freedom during the trip. I obviously want to sightsee but I really like idea of doing it at my own pace. I know you mentioned that you can opt out of things if you want, but do you believe that this could also be for people wanting to have their own experience? The deals are so great, and it's my first time going oversees so it seems like a good option. My next question is was their a curfew? I figure I can justify this by getting to walk around in the evening when we returned or in the mornings before I left. I don't really want to go to another country just to be drunk the entire time so drinking doesn't really amuse me, but I would like to maybe try to do more local things in the nighttime and tourist things during the day.
I've also never been on a plane, and I read what you mentioned about it not being a five star flight or anything but was it pretty smooth? A little nervous about that.
Last one, if you don't mind, I know you mentioned that you had a lock on your suitcase. Did anyone else experience anyone stealing their things within the group? I intend to get a lockable suitcase but I'm still a little paranoid. Thank you again so much.
Opps. Was there*
Hi Julia,
I'm not sure I understand your question about whether this option is good for people wanting to have their own experience. With this tour there are pre-planned outings so you can't fully do things at your own pace with that. But you also have free time in each city to explore. When we went to Barcelona we went to Guell Park as a group then on our free day my roommates and I went back to explore the park and surrounding area on our own. I'm not sure if that's what you mean or would be interested in?
No, there was no curfew on our trip. Stay out as late as you want as long as you make it to the bus on time in the morning for the next city or planned tour. And just FYI seeing things in the morning might be difficult because when we left it was pretty early in the day. When we had our scheduled tours we were also done pretty early in the day. I think the latest we were out was around 4p so you'll have plenty of time to explore on your own.
The flight was totally fine, no issues or anything. The airline we were on was Iberia. It wasn't anything special but there were no problems. Being nervous for your first flight is normal, especially an international one because it's so long but you should be fine. I pretty much slept the entire time.
As far as I know no one had anything stolen while on the tour. I bought locks mostly because of reading travel blogs about things being stolen by the people who load suitcases in the airports. I also kept my passport locked in my suitcase while I was out during the day just to be on the safe side. I roomed with the same three girls for the duration of my tour and had no issues with any of my belongings.
I hope this helps. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask :)
I appreciate all of the time you have taken to answer questions. As a parent, I am researching the Costa Rica trip for my daughter who is planning to go right after she turns 18 in August. She is quite capable and independent, but I was wondering if there is anything I should be concerned about since she will definitely be the youngest allowed on the trip. From your experience, would one of these trips be appropriate for an 18 year old who has just graduated from high school? Have you heard any reviews for the Costa Rica trip?
Thanks!
Hi Anonymous,
Sorry, I really haven't seen any reviews about the Costa Rica trip, that doesn't mean they aren't out there somewhere I've just never really looked. There's nothing I can think of that you should be worried about. Most of the others on the tour will only be a couple of years older than your daughter. I was one of the oldest on my tour so it was the opposite. I can't offhand remember if there was anyone fresh out of high school on my tour but I do think it would be appropriate for someone that age. If I had known about the company before I would have tried to go then. EF also has tours for high school students so there shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure the only real difference is the college break tours have a lot less supervision because everyone is technically an adult. I hope I helped a little. Anymore questions feel free to ask!
Hey! How were the rooming accommodations? I read about them on the website, but I was a little confused. Did you have to share a bed, or only a room. Also, overall is this trip really worth going on? Thank you so much for your post!
Hi Asia!
The rooms were fine. Not five star but they were nice, clean and pretty well located. Not sure if you're going with friends or not but you can always request to be roomed together. In my case I was alone but my roommates were cool so we requested to stay together the rest of the trip. We didn't have to share beds, only a room. And if you want I believe you can get a room to yourself for an extra fee unless they've changed the rules on that. I will say that at a couple of the hotels (Madrid and Florence) the beds were very close together to where there was no space between them (we stayed 4 to a room). I never had any issues though and it didn't feel like I was sharing a bed. Just different from what we're used to with US hotels. The trip was definitely worth it for me. Aside from a few minor things I had a great time. I wanted to book more trips with them but never got around to it and I'm a bit past 26 now lol.
Anymore questions feel free to ask! :)
Post a Comment