ef tours to go

The Scoop: What to Know About EF Go Ahead Tours

Affordable, experiential, and accessible tours are ef go ahead tours' focus..

The Scoop: What to Know About Trafalgar Tours

• Curious about EF Go Ahead Tours? Here’s our objective snapshot of what to expect from the tour company.
• I’ve updated it for 2024 and verified that all the info is current.

The tour company EF Go Ahead Tours is owned by EF Education First, a company that’s been offering language, academic, and cultural programs for more than 50 years. The tour arm of the company focuses on being an affordable, experiential, and accessible way for travelers to connect with the world. 

TourScoop Takeaways

• Countries: 87 countries on seven continents
• Tour size average: The standard group size is capped at 38 guests. EF Go Ahead Tours’ small group tours range in size from 10 to 22 people. Private tours can be arranged with seven or more people, and custom tours with 14 or more people.
• Tour type: Coach, ferries, trains, flights

Credibility Check

EF Go Ahead Tours is accredited by the Better Business Bureau has an A+ rating from the organization, though currently user ratings are low on the site. The company is an active member of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA). Note that there are many more ratings and reviews of EF Educational Tours (the branch of the organization that operates academic programs) than EF Go Ahead Tours, but that they are operated separately and for different audiences. 

Tour Destinations

EF Go Ahead Tours has itineraries in 87 countries on all seven continents. Some of its most popular destinations include Italy, Portugal, Kenya, Costa Rica, and Ireland.

EF Go Ahead Tours has many different tour types . On the more traditional end of tours are its multi-country and grand tours, which bundle multiple destinations into a single trip. There are also city stay tours, which give travelers the chance to go deep in a single European city for a week of guided excursions. There are also special event tours that focus on special access to major celebrations like Oktoberfest, New Year’s Eve, and St. Patrick’s Day. Additionally, the company has history tours; national park tours; religious and spiritual tours; tours geared to families; and tours for solo travelers.  

It also operates small group tours that range in size from 10 to 22 people and focus on adventure travel, food and wine, or safari and wildlife. 

Tour Guides

Tour leaders, known as tour directors, bring backgrounds in tourism, history, and/or education. Tour directors partner with local guides along the way to offer participants additional insights into specific destinations. Many tour directors have been with EF Go Ahead Tours for 20 years or longer. 

Inclusions/Extras

Itineraries are a mix of guided tours and group meals, plus free time so guests can explore at their own pace. Airfare isn’t part of the base rate, but EF Go Ahead Tours offers flight booking with airport transfers, plus help if flights are canceled. 

Typical Travelers

EF Go Ahead Tours guests tend to be 35 and older, with most tours attracting a mix of solo, couple, and group travelers. 

Communication 

Travelers who have booked a tour can download EF Go Ahead’s mobile app to access resources and pre-departure information. Within three months of tour, the company offers a pre-departure information session that’s also available on-demand. 

The company regularly updates its FAQ Hub with frequently asked questions. It also has a dedicated expert team for urgent issues that may arise before or during a tour.

Loyalty Program

EF Go Ahead Tours’ loyalty program, Club Go , allows guests to earn tour credits to put toward future trips, collectible moment and milestone badges, flexible rebooking benefits, and an online hub. 

Private Options

Any of the company’s 175+ itineraries can be packaged as a Private Tour . EF Go Ahead Tours allows groups of 14 or more to customize their experience on a custom tour, and offers private tours on existing itineraries for groups of seven or more. 

Sustainability Efforts

EF Go Ahead Tours has partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects to create and conserve forests to plant 3 million mangrove trees. The company has been carbon negative since 2021, with the goal is to be historically carbon neutral (dating back to 1965).

The company collaborates with the communities it travels to in an effort to preserve local cultures and encourage sustainability. It also works with travelers to share how thoughtful travel choices can leave a lasting, positive impact on destinations, people, and the environment.

Health and Safety Practices

EF Go Ahead Tours puts into place health and safety protocols with its Travel-Ready Approach . As part of this, it operates both a crisis response team and its EF Global Safety Network, which constantly reviews national and international travel guidelines. It also offers 24/7 on-call support,  50,000 EF staff on the ground in 50 countries, and more than half a century of traveler support. 

Family Companies

EF Go Ahead Tours parent company EF Education First focuses on programs for students and teachers. It has language programs, university programs, and gap year offerings.

More from TourScoop:

• Review: EF Go Ahead Tours’ Food and Wine: Piedmont & Tuscany Tour
• 14 Best Group Travel Companies for Guided Tours
• 9 Tips for Choosing the Best European Tour

It’s not too late: Here are 26 tours you can still book for summer 2024

Our running list of new-for-2025 tours

Solo Travel News: Road Scholar Debuts Exclusive Trips

What’s tourscoop.

Tour Scoop’s team of travel experts brings you in-depth tour company overviews, tour itinerary reviews, the latest tour news, and travel tips and advice written just for guided tour travelers like you.

More about us

Immersive tours that let you live like a local

Live like a local with an immersive tour.

The scoop: What to know about Abercrombie & Kent

Here's what you need to know about luxury tour company Abercrombie & Kent.

The scoop: What to know about Viking

Set your expectations high for these award-winning river, ocean, and expedition cruises.

The scoop: What to know about Smithsonian Journeys

Here's our comprehensive review of Smithsonian Journeys.

Find your tour

Have a dream destination in mind? Whether you want to follow your appetite to Tuscany or go wild in America’s greatest national parks, our guided tour packages will get you there.

August 2024

Showing 1–17 of 234 tours

London, Paris & Rome

11 days | 14 days with Madrid extension

4.8 out of 5 stars

U.S. National Parks: A Week in the Southwest

9 days | 11 days with Las Vegas extension

4.4 out of 5 stars

Save up to $400 by 8/28

Time’s ticking—lock in your best tour price before they increase after 8/28.† Your next adventure awaits.

Bali for Solo Travelers: Beaches, Temples & Culture

10 days | 12 days with Singapore extension

Greece, the Balkans & Croatia

14 days | 17 days with Korcula Island & Dubrovnik extension

4.5 out of 5 stars

Historic Germany: Berlin to Bavaria

12 days | 15 days with Vienna extension

4.7 out of 5 stars

Northern Lights of Norway: Oslo to Tromsø

10 days | 13 days with Flåm & Bergen extension

Grand Tour of Europe: London to Rome

16 days | 18 days with Florence extension

4.6 out of 5 stars

Amalfi Coast Walking Tour

9 days | 11 days with Naples extension

Grand Tour of Turkey

15 days | 17 days with Istanbul extension

The Greek Islands: Crete & Santorini

10 days | 13 days with Delphi & the Athens Riviera extension

Highlights of India & Nepal: Delhi, Agra & Kathmandu

13 days | 16 days with Mumbai extension

Highlights of Vietnam: Hanoi, Hạ Long Bay & Hô Chi Minh City

12 days | 15 days with Phú Quốc Island and Hô Chi Minh City extension

Portugal: Porto, the Algarve & Lisbon

9 days | 11 days with Lisbon extension

London, Paris & Rome for Solo Travelers

9 days | 11 days with Rome extension

4.2 out of 5 stars

The Greek Islands: Mykonos, Santorini & Crete

14 days | 16 days with Athens extension

Christmas Markets of Eastern Europe

15 days | 18 days with Berlin extension

Grand Tour of Great Britain: Scotland, England & Wales

15 days | 17 days with London extension

What to know before you go

WHERE WE TAKE YOU Our 200+ tours take you around the world in 80+ countries.

WE MAKE IT EASY When you travel with us, you won’t have to find flights, figure out where to stay, or worry about how to get from one place to the next. We’ll also secure priority admissions when we can and introduce you to locals where they live and work.

THE GO AHEAD DIFFERENCE Exclusive experiences, free time on your own to explore, expertly vetted amenities, local guides, and do-it-all Tour Directors combined with unrivaled safety and on-tour support.

UNIQUE EXPERIENCES ON TOUR Roll your own pasta in Rome, kick up your heels in a fiery flamenco class in Spain, stomp grapes for port wine in Portugal, rest up like a royal with a stay on castle grounds in England, and countless more forever memories.

Traveling with a group?

Bring 6+ friends with you, and your spot is free (including airfare)!

Combine your Club Go credits

Earn rewards for every trip with Club Go’s automatic, free membership.

Already booked? Add excursions!

Add handpicked experiences and stay longer on a tour extension.

Experiential travel made easy

You dream it. We'll take care of every last detail.

Pick your perfect trip

We offer 200+ immersive, guided tours around the world. Wherever you choose to go, you’ll enjoy lots of advantages that make traveling with us different.

Put just $99 down

That’s all it takes to secure a spot on one of our group tours when you sign up for AutoPay . Plus, you can pay in interest- free, monthly installments.

Prep your packing list

While you’re deciding what to take, we’ll be busy arranging your hotels, meals, tickets, and more tour essentials. That’s what going guided is all about.

Go far (and get rewarded)

Take off on your big adventure— but why stop there? Every trip you book with us earns rewards that you can use to keep expanding your horizons.

Not sure which tour is right for you? We’re here to help.

Chat online

Chat instantly with us during our normal hours, or leave a message and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

Schedule a call

Let us know your preferred time to chat and a travel expert will reach out.

We’re available every day from our Toronto office at 1-800-719-9805

What travelers are saying about our guided trips

Tips for planning tours & travel with us.

Here at Go Ahead, we make it easy to plan a tour. All you have to do is decide which of our travel packages excites you most, and when you’d like to travel. (A springtime escape to  Europe , anyone?) If you can’t decide, we’ll help you narrow down our vacation packages and find the perfect trip.

From there, we’ll take care of the rest. For travelers who book flights with us, our in-house team of travel experts will get to work finding flights with our trusted airline partners. And as you count down to tour, we’ll be busy booking clean, stylish, comfy hotels, planning meals at locally loved restaurants, and securing tickets to top museums, cultural sites, and, if it applies to your tour, special events.

Having our team of travel experts take care of every last logistical detail is one of  10 benefits of a guided tour versus independent travel .

How do I pick the right tour for me?

When browsing our 175-plus vacation packages, here are a few things to keep in mind to help you find the just-right tours for travel to the places you’ve been dreaming of visiting.

• Your travel style.  Are you into wildlife, adventure, or food and wine? Do you want to take a deep dive into a particular destination or religion?  Want to experience a special event, or explore with a small group? We offer escorted tours designed around these  travel styles  and others so that travelers can have the experience that suits them best.
• Where you want to go.  Whether you’ve long dreamed of exploring America’s national parks, Scotland’s pristine landscapes, or Thailand’s golden temples, you can do it on our guided tours. Some of our itineraries are designed to offer travelers a deeper dive into a single country. Others take travelers to multiple countries in a single trip (think Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, or Portugal, Spain, and Morocco).
• When you want to go.  Sure, there’s nothing like Paris in the springtime. But maybe seeing the City of Light against a backdrop of fiery fall foliage is more what you have in mind. We’ll make that happen. We offer dozens of departures per tour, and in the case of some trips, we offer departures all year round. And, we make tours available for booking up to two years in advance. Having more time to pay, and more departure dates to choose from, are among the  eight benefits of booking a trip years in advance .
• Special or seasonal events.  Have you always wanted to see cherry blossoms blooming in Japan? Or sip hot, mulled wine while wandering around a  European Christmas market ? Perhaps witnessing the Great Migration is at the top of your travel wish list. Events like these, and others, only happen during certain times of year, so be sure to check out tour packages for travel that occur at the same time.
• Duration.  Our tours range from six days to 22 days. Want to enjoy a quick break? Consider our shorter tours, which we offer in destinations such as Iceland, Spain, and Amsterdam. Have more time to spare? A  10-day trip to Scandinavia , or a  22-day tour of Australia and New Zealand , could be just the ticket.
• Who you want to travel with.  Many of our group trips are designed for groups of 15 to 38 travelers. (Think: more opportunities to make new friends.) If you prefer a more intimate experience, consider one of our Small Group Tours, which are designed for groups of 10 to 22 travelers. Want to explore solely with your friends or family? We happily craft  Private Tours and Customized Tours for groups of seven travelers or more.

Our trips are bookable directly through our website. (Putting  $99 down with AutoPay , our interest-free payment plan, is all it takes to secure your spot on tour.) If you have questions or can’t decide which tour is right for you, you can call us at  1-800-590-1161 . We’re here to help.

We offer more than 200 tour packages. They include:

• Guided group tours.  These trips are designed for groups of 15 to 38 travelers and include  Multi-Country Tours , single-country tours, and  City Stay Tours , which give travelers an opportunity to explore a particular city in depth.
• Small Group Tours.  A more intimate tour experience with a group size of just 10 to 22 travelers.  Small group travel styles  include Food & Wine Tours, Adventure Tours, and Safari & Wildlife Tours.  
• Special Event Tours.  Typically capped at 35 or 38 travelers, these trips are designed to capture the magic of special and/or seasonal events, such as Oktoberfest, Oberammergau, New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, Sakura (cherry blossom) season, fall foliage, Christmas markets of Europe, Halloween, and more. Find the perfect tour for you by browsing our  Special Event tours .
• Private and Customized Tours.  Have a particular interest you want to explore? We happily plan  Private and for groups of 10 or more travelers. Want to plan a Custom Tour ? Go custom with as few as 14 travelers. Enjoy everything you get on all of our tours (staff-vetted hotels, guided sightseeing, authentic meals), plus some pretty amazing extras.

The price of our trip packages includes:

• A specially trained [Tour Director](/about/tour-directors], who will accompany your group on tour, from the moment you touch down in your destination to the time you take off again for home
• Sightseeing tours with expert local guides
• Skip-the-line admission to all museums, cultural sites, and special events that are included in your itinerary
• Overnight stays in clean, stylish, well-located hotels that our own staffers have stayed in and vetted
• Transportation in your destination via private, luxury coach (depending on which tour you book, you may also travel by train, ferry, or airplane on tour )
• Daily breakfast at your hotel (a relaxed, convenient way to fuel up for a full day of exploring)
• Some lunches and dinners at local restaurants or hotels
• Free time to explore local restaurants, historical sites—anything that piques your interest—at your own pace
• Airport transfers for travelers who  book flights with us

5 out of 5 stars

1st-time traveler Traveler

Although I would have liked the hotels to have pools, this was my only “complaint” if you can even call it that. Marcellus was a great guide, so fun and cool to hang out with. I... Read more of Great Experience!

Traveled in Aug 2024 on A Week in Italy: Venice, Florence & Rome

2nd-time traveler Anonymous

Excellent trip.

Traveled in Jun 2024 on Highlights of England, Scotland & Ireland

1st-time traveler Anna

Our guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. My husband and I enjoyed our trip.

Traveled in Jul 2024 on A Week in Italy: Venice, Florence & Rome

1st-time traveler Judy

This trip was wonderful! Our tour director, Tom, was wonderful and full of fun information! The trip was well planned and organized. We were also able to add a couple of extra... Read more of England , Scotland, Ireland

Traveled in Aug 2024 on Highlights of England, Scotland & Ireland

EF Go Ahead Tours 12+

Plan. prep. go‪.‬, signum international ag, designed for ipad.

• 4.8 • 13.5K Ratings

Screenshots

Description.

Say hello to the essential app for travelers. The EF Go Ahead Tours app supports and connects our global community. (Love to travel? You’re in!) Here’s how we make world travel easy. PLAN - Browse over 200+ tours to 80+ countries and easily book your spot - Get inspired with the latest travel guides, tips, and stories from our team - Keep a travel log of your adventures - Make a personalized map of where you’ve been and where you want to go - Build your profile so your group can get to know you - Organize and manage tours as a Group Coordinator - View perks you’ve earned with our rewards programs PREP - See who’s going on your tour - Swap tips, ask questions, and chat with your group - Customize your trip with excursions (even while you’re on tour) - Make payments quickly and easily, plus manage your AutoPay plan - Receive helpful notifications and status updates as you get ready - Review entry requirements for countries on your tour - Sign pre-tour travel forms GO - View your flight, hotel, and itinerary details—even without WiFi - Stay connected to your group and Tour Director in the tour feed - Use the global currency converter while on-the-go - Get easy on-tour support access - Post photos to a shared group album - Complete your tour evaluation We're always dreaming up ways to give our (amazing) travel community an even better experience. Keep an eye out for updates as new features are released.

Version 2024.8.13

Thanks for using the Go Ahead app. This version includes updates to make getting ready for travel easier! Keep you app updated to be sure you're having the best possible experience.

Ratings and Reviews

13.5K Ratings

Amazing in all ways!

This tour was wonderful. It was the first organized tour I have taken and my first visit to Costa Rica. Saw much and learned a lot. It is impossible to pick one thing as my favorite. Our guide Alonso was fantastic. He was so knowledgeable. He shared info on environment and ecology, flora and fauna, history and culture, and the everyday life and philosophy of the Costa Rican people. It is all those things that makes it such an amazing country. He did a great job of making sure all went smoothly with a full schedule and 20 different personalities. Accommodations and food beautiful and plentiful. He also generously gave helpful suggestions to me and my friend for the days that we did a week of independent travel after the tour. He scheduled our COVID tests to accomodate our own travel dates making himself available to us as a “lifeline” even after the tour! Kudos also to Harold the bus driver. You couldn’t pay me enough to drive a bus through those narrow twisted steep roads and tight parking spaces! I strongly recommend this tour for seeing wildlife and some very amazing places in Costa Rica as well as having great first hand experiences to see and learn about many aspects of this unique country under the guidance of Alonso. Pura Vida!

GREAT trip so far!!! Tom is a fantastic tour guide!! Great weather, hotels, food, and just everything! Train had issues but Tom handled it well and helped us all to get where we needed to be. The local guides have been really good but the lady at Dublin was pretty dry. Saturday…another great day with great views. The meal at the hotel was good last night. The hotel has so much character! Tom is knowledgeable on every subject. All of our bus drivers have been fantastic…..glad they were driving and not me! I am so glad I took this tour! It was fabulous! I did miss air conditioning in the fanciest hotel but a fan made it bearable. Tom was the best tour guide ever!! Dan the bus driver was amazing at handling the Small roads! Thank you! The jaunty cars were an added plus! The flight was good but the 6-7 hour lay over in Atlanta is a bit much especially when tired already. By the time we drive the additional way home after flights we will have been up about 24 hours. Not sure if there is anything that could have even done but the 5:00 flight would sure have been better than the 8:30. Thanks

London/Paris/Rome

My first trip abroad was amazing and everything I had hoped for. Suzy, our Tour Director, was awesome. She is very knowledgeable in every aspect, including history of each country, languages spoken there and the culture. I don’t think she was ever stumped by any questions asked and there were a lot! My hotel rooms at each location were superior. The breakfasts each morning were good and the group dinners were also very good. I went on every excursion EF offered and was not disappointed. There were many moments of awe and wonder. I highly recommend this tour. The only reason I gave four stars was this: I am an active 68-year-old woman. When I signed up for the tour, I specifically asked what the activity level was. I was told “moderate” and “1-3 miles of walking per day”. I walk 2-3 miles four times per week on my treadmill or at the track field. I believe it should have been strongly emphasized that it is walking on cobblestones, very old walkways, stairs and uneven terrain. Also, there are many different modes of transportation and that was mentally taxing. I do not regret going on this tour, I absolutely loved it. I plan to book another European tour in 2025. But, beware of the “moderate activity” rating by EF Tours.

App Privacy

The developer, Signum International AG , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Financial Info
• Contact Info
• Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

• Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

More By This Developer

EF Traveler

English Learning: EF Hello ESL

EF Ultimate Break

EF English Live

EF Corporate Learning

EF Campus Connect

You Might Also Like

Viking Voyager

Rick Steves Audio Europe™

Allyz TravelSmart

ColletteCompass

Travel Leader EF Go Ahead Tours Opens Tour Dates Through 2023 and Sets Private Group Tour Threshold to Seven Travelers, Lowest in Industry

First tour operator to offer extended advance planning and cater to micro-groups; empowering travelers to book how and when they feel ready to travel again

BOSTON, Feb. 4, 2021 -- In response to strong consumer demand and new travel preferences emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, EF Go Ahead Tours (GAT) , a premier provider of culturally immersive travel experiences, announces significant flexibility, experiential, and value enhancements to its portfolio of travel offerings.

"Since the announcement of the vaccine this past November, we've seen a 30% increase in new reservations for future 2022 travel over the previous quarter," says Heidi Durflinger, President of EF Go Ahead Tours. "Whether you're looking forward to traveling this year, next year or in 2023, this allows you to plan for when the time is right for you. People really need something to look forward to and so we are seeing bookings coming in for the future at an unprecedented rate. Travel is truly a unique and special way to finally reconnect with family and friends."

Two Year Advance Booking – Tour Dates Now Open Through 2023 As of February 4th, all travelers – whether they're eager to get back on the road this year, waiting for 2022, or taking the long view to 2023 – will be able to view and book all tour dates through 2023 for all 175+ EF Go Ahead Tours itineraries to all seven continents.

Private and Customized Tours Start at Just Seven Travelers – Go with People You Know Another trend Go Ahead's recent sweep of enhancements addresses is the growing demand for travel in a "small pod" or "travel bubble." Keeping with its goal of making travel accessible to all, Go Ahead is now offering customized or private tours to groups as small as just seven travelers, the lowest in the industry. Perfect for family and friends looking to reconnect or for groups wanting to customize the experience to a specific passion or interest. Turn any of Go Ahead's 175+ itineraries into a Private Tour or dream up a new itinerary with a Customized Tour.

Responsive Travel Safety, On-The-Road Support and Flexible, Risk-Free Planning Go Ahead Tours takes a comprehensive approach to travel in the age of Covid-19, including new safety guidelines, ongoing 24-7 response, and EF's Covid Care Promise, worry-free on-the-road support. Flexible, risk-free planning is central to Go Ahead's promise to make travel accessible. Only $99 down to book and no payments for 60 days. Every itinerary has a window where it is fully refundable with no change fees.

EF Go Ahead Tours offers more than 175 guided trips across six continents. Each carefully planned, expertly led tour makes it easy for curious travelers of all ages to get to the heart of a destination. With a maximum group size well below the industry average, each trip has the perfect balance of planned sightseeing and free time to explore. EF Go Ahead Tours is a part of EF Education First, the world's largest international education company that was founded in 1965. With a mission of opening the world through education, EF Education First has 612 offices and schools in 50 countries.

EF Go Ahead Tours Review 2024: Are their guided tours worth it?

EF Go Ahead Tours is a world-leading guided tour company offering a comprehensive travel package with local guides and authentic travel experiences. You've likely heard of them before, but are they really worth it? What do they offer, and how do they stack up to other guided tours?

Guided tours are a great way to travel, make new friends, and enjoy new experiences without the hassle of planning the logistics of the trip. 

While guided tour companies boast of convenience, they tend to fall short when it comes to flexibility and customization. Hence, many travelers resort to planning their trips by themselves using helpful apps like  Pilot .

But, if you still prefer a guided tour with some level of flexibility, EF Go Ahead Tours is definitely a choice to consider. 

EF Go Ahead Tours is one of the world's largest tour companies that host small group tours with unique, authentic experiences. A great benefit of joining an EF Go Ahead Tour is that they allow travelers the benefits of hosting a free private tour with larger groups. 

However, are the experiences they're offering for you? What are the pros and cons? Here's our review of EF Go Ahead Tours! 

What is EF Go Ahead Tours?

EF Go Ahead Tours  is a brand under the EF Tours group that offers both guided and fully customizable tours to destinations worldwide. It caters to young and older travelers, admitting anyone from age six and above (under-age travelers accompanied by adults). The number of travelers in each group is capped at 14-38, and small group tours only admit 10-22 people. 

EF Go Ahead Tours aims to provide you with meaningful tours with flexibility and personalization. It also promotes responsible travel by supporting local communities and adopting sustainable practices.

EF Go Ahead Tours mobile app helps you easily manage your bookings and view tour details. It is available for both Android and iOS devices. 

What does EF Go Ahead Tours offer?

• Tour directors and local guides:  A tour director is assigned for each group to be in charge of all logistics of the trip. They will accompany you throughout, sharing insider knowledge and background information about places you visit.
• Accommodation:  3-4 star hotels that provide comfortable amenities while being located in close proximity to the city. 
• Meals:  Breakfast and some other meals are included in the pricing. Primarily, they focus on local food and beverage specialties. They will arrange meals meeting your dietary requirements if necessary.
• Transportation:  Transport between airport and hotels and other transportation required during the trip are included in the package. While flights are not included, you can get EF Go Ahead Tours to arrange them for you at an additional cost. 

How does EF Go Ahead Tours work?

You can browse for tours by  Destination  or  Travel Styles  on the website. Travel styles are further categorized as  Trip Type, Interests, Seasonal and Special Events , and  With Your Own Group . 

For example, all the related tours will appear if we pick Adventure Tours under travel styles. You can filter the results further by destination, dates, duration, price, and travel style. 

Check out its details, trip highlights, prices, reviews, etc. There's a list of FAQs below related to the trip and other similar tours for you to compare and choose from. 

What destinations does EF Go Ahead Tours cover?

EF Go Ahead Tours covers many of the popular destinations worldwide. Here's a list of where EF Go Ahead Tours covers:

• Europe:  Ireland, Italy, Greece, Iceland, England, France, and Germany 
• The Americas:  United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, and Belize 
• Africa & Middle East:  Egypt, Kenya, Israel, South Africa, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates
• Australia & Asia:  Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, India, and Thailand

Benefits of EF Go Ahead Tours

• Worry-free guarantee

If you cancel the booking within 60 days from the reservation date, you are entitled to a full refund. EF Go Ahead Tours also allows you to change the date of tour or destination up until your final payment day. It helps you book with confidence knowing there's ample time to make changes. 

In addition to covering many destinations worldwide, the tour company also offers a diverse range of tours. Group trips for solo travelers provide ample privacy while facilitating socialization. In addition, there are cruise tours, rail tours, food & wine tours, battlefield tours, winter tours, and many more!

• Fewer people 

The worrisome factor about large group tours is they can seem too crowded and noisy to have a quality experience. There's also less opportunity to get to know other travelers better. In this case, small group tours offer a more intimate travel experience. Guides can give individual attention and advice easily. Overall, it makes the trip more enjoyable and memorable. 

• Flexibility 

If you like to travel with friends but don't have the liberty to plan, get EF Go Ahead Tours to plan one for you. You can explain your requirements and get a whole new itinerary done or choose one they offer. Invite your friends and/or family, choose your travel dates, and enjoy. There's also the option of organizing faith-based tours!

Drawbacks of EF Go Ahead Tours

• Increase the number of tours 

While there's a variety of tours, different trip options under each category are quite limited compared to other guided tour companies like  G Adventures  or  Contiki . For example, there's only one tour option for India. They can also add more countries to their list of destinations. 

• Improve refund and cancellation issues

Customers had faced refund and cancellation issues for scheduled or booked tours during the pandemic. There were complaints of EF Go Ahead Tours not refunding the money as per its cancellation policy. But, it's a common problem that many tour companies dealt with their customers following the Covid outbreak. We hope they are resolved now. 

EF Go Ahead Tours vs. EF Ultimate Break

The most significant similarity between EF Go Ahead Tours and EF Ultimate Break is that they are managed by EF Education First Tours. This means that you'll most likely be getting a similar refund, cancellation, and customer service policies between the two tours.

EF Go Ahead Tours identifies itself as the 'older sibling' of EF Ultimate Break. Ultimate Break Tours is geared towards college students and folks aged 18-29, while Go Ahead Tours admits anyone 6 and above. So, the tours offered also tend to be different from each other. 

EF Go Ahead Tours has a wide variety of tours catering to all age ranges. It also provides both private and group tours. EF Ultimate Break only offers group tours and are tailored to suit youth's preferences. 

Read our  review of EF Ultimate Break  to learn more!

Is EF Go Ahead Tours worth it?

Yes! We came across great GoAheadTours reviews online about the unique and immersive experience EF Go Ahead Tours offers. Go Ahead tours are a great way to travel if you prefer to join a guided tour.

Like  Flash Pack , it's an excellent choice for older travelers looking for trips that involve activities beyond partying and drinking. Overall, the tours are ideal for anyone, really. 

Our Rating: 4.5/5

• Variety of tours
• Smaller groups 
• A limited number of tours 
• Refund and cancellation issues

Plan your own adventure!

Guided tours are great, but being able to plan your trip is even better! You get to choose your own stay, tailor your travel itinerary, and maximize your time so that none gets wasted.

Traditionally, planning a trip requires lots of coordination and effort, especially when traveling with friends. Let Pilot solve that problem and help you easily plan your next adventure!

Disclosure : Pilot is supported by our community. We may earn a small commission fee with affiliate links on our website. All reviews and recommendations are independent and do not reflect the official view of Pilot.

Satisfy your wanderlust

Get Pilot. The travel planner that takes fun and convenience to a whole other level. Try it out yourself.

Trending Travel Stories

Discover new places and be inspired by stories from our traveller community.

Related Travel Guides

Contiki Tours Europe: No regrets... except? [Latest Review]

Is EF Ultimate Break Legit & Worth It? A Full Review [2024]

Flash Pack in-depth review: A worthy group travel company?

ToursByLocals Review: Can You Trust Their Tour guides? [2024]

Trafalgar Tours Review [2024]: Are they worth it?

Viator Tours Review [2024]: Are Their Tours Any Good?

Make the most of every trip.

You won’t want to plan trips any other way!

The trip planner that puts everything in one place, making planning your trip easier, quicker, and more fun.

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

Is EF Tours right for you?   

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

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

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

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

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

What is EF Tours? 

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

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

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

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

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

How do EF Tours work?

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

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

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

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

The Sign Up Process

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Before Your EF Tour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

During an EF Tour

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our EF Tour Review

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

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

What EF Tours Promised

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When we reached Italy, things changed a bit.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overall, breakfasts were adequate throughout the trip.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our Itinerary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There were also some pretty significant changes to our itinerary. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’m extremely glad we made those decisions.   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Education on an EF Tour

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

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

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

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

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

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

Safety with EF Tours

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EF Tours:  Our Final Verdict

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday 20th of July 2024

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

Sunday 7th of July 2024

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

Louise Emery

Tuesday 9th of July 2024

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

Friday 21st of June 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday 25th of June 2024

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

Wednesday 29th of May 2024

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

Tuesday 28th of May 2024

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

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

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

The #1 way for college students to explore the world

🌸 Spring break

😎 Summer break

❄️ Winter break

🇬🇷 Greek life

We wrote the book on college travel

Relax, here are the CliffsNotes: We’ve got 120+ trips planned exclusively for solo travelers and groups. And we cover every detail with world-class customer service and rock star Tour Directors. Plus, we’ve got the most payment options, and every trip includes accommodations, breakfasts, guided tours, and way more.

Continents not classrooms

Greek life travel

This is gonna be your biggest rush since rush week.

Spring break trips

Take a hard pass on those clichéd destinations.

Summer break trips

“Where’d you go this summer?” Um, everywhere.

Winter break trips

Hit your new year’s resolution on day one.

Want to travel for free?

Trick question, of course you do. Earn your spot by getting your friends on board.

Be a Campus Ambassador

Spread the word about our amazing trips on your campus, pump up your resume, and earn free travel.

Greeks Go Global

Help write your chapter’s next chapter. We’ve got exclusive trips just for Greek life.

“Traveling with EF is the best way to travel in college because of how stress free it is! they plan the whole trip for you, but you also get some free time to explore. being able to travel with people your age without the pressure of planning everything makes it the perfect company to book with.”

—Haley, University of Missouri

“Traveling with EF has been a dream come true, their affordable trips and accommodations has helped me see the world and save money while doing so. I would definitely recommend college students to travel through EF Ultimate Break since they cover everything so there’s no hassle, just book your trip and get prepared to have the time of your life!”

—Davion, University of Central Florida

💚 your planet

Since it’s our job to travel the world, it’s also our job to help protect it.

If you’re traveling, we want to follow along. Mention @efultimatebreak with #thisisultimate when you post.

Greece tours discovery guide

Travel to a land where time stands still. Stand in awe at the foot of ancient ruins in Athens, walk through whitewashed coastal villages on Santorini, and island-hop along the Aegean. How many shades of blue will you discover in Greece?

What to know before you go

POPULATION More than 10 million people live in this island-rich nation. Did you know that Greece boasts more than 6,000 islands and islets throughout the Aegean and Ionian Seas?

CAPITAL Athens is Greece’s biggest city and one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world. Its history dates back more than 3,400 years.

CULTURAL QUICK TAKE Greeks are known for their warm hospitality and generosity—offering guests food and drink is a common practice.

WHAT TO GO FOR You could easily fill a vacation admiring ancient architecture, adventurously island-hopping, or delighting in fresh-off-the-boat seafood. What flavor of Greece travel entices you most?

ISLANDS YOU CAN VISIT ON TOUR There’s much more to the Greek Islands than Mykonos. Discover the unique character of Crete, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Rhodes, Symi, Kos, and, of course, Santorini.

Greek islands to explore beyond the shore

Bask in the bewitching beauty of the Greek Islands, where azure water kisses black sand beaches. Marvel at the kaleidoscope of culture, from Rhodes’ imposing medieval walls to Santorini’s watercolor sunsets. Wander quaint cliffside villages and discover paradise around every corner.

Essential Greek Islands: Athens, Santorini & Crete

Hit the highlights of awe-inspiring history and fresh local flavors.

Greece’s Ionian Islands: Athens, Kefalonia & Corfu

Get off the beaten path (and into clear, blue water) of six islands.

Greece’s Dodecanese Islands: Kos & Rhodes

Tantalize your senses in a land of wine, honey, sun, and sand.

Greece & Turkey Aegean Cruise

Sail the Greek Islands, then surrender to Istanbul’s iconic landmarks.

Plan your odyssey

Consider this your permission slip to go ahead and get out there, with advice on venturing beyond Santorini and venturing solo (or both).

6 can’t-miss Greek Islands

Whether you eat and drink your way from island to island or immerse yourself in the history of the tiny towns you visit along the way, there’s no wrong way to set your watch to island time.

6 reasons to visit Greece solo

Celebrating a milestone birthday or your newly minted MBA? Solo travel is the empowering, life-affirming, main-character-energy gift you give yourself.

Capture the essence of Ellada

Greece, officially known as the Hellenic Republic, also goes by Hellas or Ellada locally. No matter what you call it, it’s your launchpad to discovering the cradle of Western civilization and roots of democracy, philosophy, and art.

Grand Tour of Greece: Athens, Corfu & Santorini

Join this exploration of historic treasures and whitewashed villages.

A Week in Ancient Greece: Athens, Delphi & Olympia

Tour through the rugged beauty of ancient temples and cobbled streets.

Signature experiences for your memory vault. Why don’t you...

Take time to reflect

Follow a holy path to the sites where Paul the Apostle lived and preached on our Footsteps of St. Paul in Greece: Thessaloniki to Athens tour .

Plan an epicurean escape

Savor 11 delicious days, eating and drinking your way through Greece, from souvlaki to saganaki, on our Food & Wine: A Taste of Greece tour .

Join the action

Combine wine-tasting with gentle hiking, swimming, or snorkeling on our Greece’s Cyclades Islands: Naxos and Paros tour .

Go (way) back in time

Listen for the echoes of antiquity swirl around temples and excavated ruins on our A Week in Ancient Greece: Athens, Delphi & Olympia tour .

Experiential travel made easy

You dream it. We'll take care of every last detail.

Pick your perfect trip

We offer 200+ immersive, guided tours around the world. Wherever you choose to go, you’ll enjoy lots of advantages that make traveling with us different.

Put just $99 down

That’s all it takes to secure a spot on one of our group tours when you sign up for AutoPay . Plus, you can pay in interest- free, monthly installments.

Prep your packing list

While you’re deciding what to take, we’ll be busy arranging your hotels, meals, tickets, and more tour essentials. That’s what going guided is all about.

Go far (and get rewarded)

Take off on your big adventure— but why stop there? Every trip you book with us earns rewards that you can use to keep expanding your horizons.

What travelers are saying about our guided Greece trips

Even more tours to choose from.

Check out these itineraries to pair your Greece travel with more of Europe’s distinctive culture, scenery, history, and cuisine.

A Week in Greece: Athens, Mykonos & Santorini

9 days | 12 days with Rome extension

4.7 out of 5 stars

A Week in Italy: Venice, Florence & Rome

9 days | 11 days with Sorrento Peninsula extension

4.6 out of 5 stars

Save up to $400 by 8/28

Time’s ticking—lock in your best tour price before they increase after 8/28.† Your next adventure awaits.

London, Paris & Rome

11 days | 14 days with Madrid extension

4.8 out of 5 stars

Highlights of England, Scotland & Ireland

12 days | 14 days with London extension

The Greek Islands: Mykonos, Santorini & Crete

14 days | 16 days with Athens extension

A Week in Ireland: Dublin, Cork & Galway

8 days | 11 days with London extension

A Week in Switzerland, Germany & Austria

9 days | 11 days with Prague extension

Grand Tour of Italy

15 days | 17 days with Rome extension

Travel tips for Greece trips

From the snow-capped mountains of the north to the sandy beaches of the south, Greece has something to offer everyone. Ancient cities, picturesque islands, and a stunning coastline along the Aegean Sea await. Whether you’re looking for a place to explore history, dive into local culture, or relax on the shore, Greece offers tempting options for travelers. On our guided tours of Greece, you’ll find itineraries for travelers of all types, making it easy to find the one that fits your interests.

• Meteora, Athens, or Delphi.  Greece is home to some of the most important historical sites in the world, including the Acropolis, Parthenon, and Temple of Zeus. These sites offer a glimpse into the ancient world and its rich culture. If you’re a history buff, our  Week in Ancient Greece: Athens, Delphi & Olympia tour  is right up your alley.
• The Greek Islands or Pelion.  If sunshine and coastlines are more your style, island-hopping in the Aegean Sea is a good option for you. Take two weeks to explore all they have to offer on our  The Greek Islands: Mykonos, Santorini & Crete tour .
• Mykonos and Santorini.  For first-time visitors and those who only have a week to get away, our shorter Greece tours are a great way to go. Our  A Week in Greece: Athens, Mykonos & Santorini tour  introduces you to the highlights of each location—and leaves you with vacation days to spare.

A  Greek Islands tour  has something for every type of traveler—beach lovers, foodies, hikers, and history buffs. Here are five of the best islands to visit in Greece (you can learn more about them in  our guide to the Greek Islands ):

• Mykonos.  A favorite of jet setters, Mykonos has all the ingredients for a good time: gorgeous beaches, bohemian-chic restaurants, and lots of options for nightlife and entertainment.
• Santorini.  The beaches here are famous not for their golden sand, but for their black-and-red-rock sand. Head to the hilltop town of Oia at sunset for the quintessential Santorini experience.
• Paxos.  If you’re a beach lover, Paxos has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The sand is soft and white, and the water is clear, making it perfect for snorkeling or scuba diving.
• Naxos.  Looking for stunning beaches, lush vegetation, and traditional villages? Naxos offers it all. The village of Apiranthos is known for its whitewashed houses and cobbled streets.
• Crete.  The largest of the Greek Islands, Crete offers beautiful beaches, scenic hikes, and interesting history. It’s also considered the culinary hub of the islands.

There’s no question about it: This country always makes a great getaway. In recent years, especially, it’s become a clear favorite, with Greece travel packages in high demand. Summer is the most popular time for visitors, and the islands tend to become crowded with sun-seeking adventurers then.

If you have the flexibility to travel at other times of the year, the best time to visit Greece is in the off-season. When temperatures are cooler, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the true essence of the country. Check out one of our Greece guided tours,  A Week in Ancient Greece: Athens, Delphi & Olympia , which is specifically designed to make the most of the cooler months.

Certain islands aren’t accessible during the winter, but this time of year is excellent for visiting the mainland. Hop between Mykonos and Santorini in the fall and spring for the ultimate Greek getaway.

In a land of rich history, rugged ruins, and remarkable beauty, the must-see destinations on our trips to Greece focus heavily on ancient attractions. But it’s not all about history. The towns, cities, and islands where you’ll find the top attractions offer exciting venues to explore, both old and new.

• The Acropolis.  One of the most important archaeological sites in the world and a masterpiece of classical Greek architecture, the Acropolis is home to some of the most iconic landmarks in Greece, including the Parthenon, Erechtheion, and Temple of Athena Nike. Its museum houses more than 3,000 artifacts, from sculptures to jewelry, and offers stunning views of the Acropolis and the city of Athens.
• Ancient Agora.  Originally the center of political, social, and religious life in Athens, this site was home to significant buildings, including temples, stoas, and law courts (the trial of Socrates took place here). Today, it’s a popular tourist destination featuring museums, archaeological sites, shops, and restaurants.
• Temple of Olympian Zeus.  One of the largest temples in the ancient world, this colossal temple in Athens is dedicated to Zeus. While only 15 of the original 104 marble columns remain standing, the ruins are among the most impressive in Greece.
• Panathenaic Stadium.  The site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the 2004 Summer Olympics, this ancient stadium in Athens, made entirely of marble, was built in the fourth century B.C. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also a popular venue for concerts and other events.
• Acropolis of Lindos.  Set on a high cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea on the island of Rhodes, the Acropolis of Lindos is a beautiful and well-preserved archaeological site featuring a number of temples and other ruins.
• Palace of Knossos.  This ancient palace located on Crete, with its amazing frescoes and artifacts from the Minoan civilization, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece.
• Samariá Gorge.  A national park located on the island of Crete, Samariá Gorge is one of the longest gorges in Europe and a popular destination for hiking and camping.
• Meteora monasteries.  This group of monasteries, located in central Greece, is built on top of towering sandstone pillars and offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
• Santorini.  The island of Santorini is one of the most popular destinations on trips to Greece. It is known for its stunning caldera, whitewashed buildings, and blue-domed churches.

Want to know where to go in Greece?  Here are six Greek hotspots that belong on your bucket list .

This is a country that truly has something to offer everyone. On our tours of Greece, you’ll hit the highlights but also have the opportunity to enjoy some under-the-radar experiences—like these  five unique places to visit . On or off the beaten path, here are some unique experiences you can have in Greece:

• Travel to remote and charming villages, like Kalambaka in central Greece
• Take a cooking class and learn how to make traditional Greek dishes
• Go on a wine tasting tour of Santorini or another Greek island
• Hike to the top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece
• Kick back on one of  Greece’s beautiful beaches
• Visit a women’s co-op on Crete to support local women’s employment
• Step inside sky-high monasteries in Meteora
• Visit a family-owned farm on the island of Crete and sample local products
• Swim in the crystal-clear waters of the Aegean Sea

We recommend you spend at least six days in Greece. While our most popular Greece tours run for nine days or more, you can enjoy a shorter trip if you limit your tour to one or two cities or islands.

There are many popular activities to experience on our tours of Greece, considering the country’s rich history and culture. Some of the most popular things to do include:

• Visiting historical sites.  Greece is home to countless historical sites, such as Delphi and the ancient Acropolis, as well as Olympia, where the Olympic Games were born.
• Exploring the countryside.  Mountain villages, scenic peninsulas, and pine forests make Greece’s beautiful countryside a pleasure to discover.
• Enjoying the food.  Greek food is famous for its use of fresh, seasonal ingredients and simple yet flavorful cooking methods. Wine and food tasting excursions on our Greece tours allow you to sample the best of Greek food and wine.
• Visiting museums and galleries.  Greece’s museums and galleries are a testament to the country’s rich history and culture. You’ll find artifacts from Greece’s most important archaeological digs in the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum.
• Taking a cooking class.  Cooking classes are a hands-on way to learn about Greek cuisine and culture, and they’re also a lot of fun. Many of our Greece tour packages offer added excursions where you’ll learn how to make traditional foods and enjoy your creations.
• Tasting wines.  Produced in a variety of climates and settings—from the hot, dry climate of the Peloponnese peninsula to the cooler, wetter climate of the northern regions—Greek wines are known for their variety of styles, which include light and refreshing whites and full-bodied reds. On our  Food & Wine: A Taste of Greece tour , you can explore the country’s different varietals.
• Relaxing on the islands.  There are more than 6,000 Greek islands; the best are home to stunning scenery, delicious food, and beautiful beaches. If you’re planning a trip to this Mediterranean nation,  make sure you visit these six islands . (Our  Greek Islands tour  takes you to three of them!)

Greece has typical Mediterranean weather—usually mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. However, the weather can vary greatly depending on the region and time of year, so checking the forecast before traveling on any of our Greece tour packages is essential.

• Respect for traditions.  Greeks are very proud of their culture and history, so it is important to be respectful of their traditions. This includes dressing appropriately for visits to religious sites.
• Greeting people.  It is customary to greet people with a handshake and a kiss on the cheek. Of course, you can choose what feels comfortable for you.
• Dining.  While in some countries it is considered rude to not finish your meal, in Greece it is considered polite to leave some food on your plate at the end of a meal.
• Tipping.  It is customary to tip in Greece, but the amount is up to you. A tip of 10–15% is generally considered acceptable.
• Greek Orthodox Church holidays and festivals.  Pay attention to the calendar because many businesses are closed on these days.

Greek food is famous for its use of fresh, seasonal ingredients, its simple yet flavorful cooking methods, and its emphasis on healthy eating. Trips like our  Food & Wine: A Taste of Greece tour  are guaranteed to be full of meals featuring fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables. Some typical ingredients in Greek cuisine include olive oil and feta cheese, as well as grilled fish and meat. Some of the most popular dishes to try on Greece trips include:

• Souvlaki.  A grilled skewer of meat, usually lamb or pork, served with pita bread, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki.
• Gyros.  This is a similar dish to souvlaki, but the meat in gyros is cooked on a vertical rotisserie. You can find this popular street food all over the country.
• Moussaka.  A traditional Greek baked dish made with layers of eggplant, ground beef, béchamel sauce, and feta cheese.
• Spanakopita.  Served as an appetizer or main course, this savory pie is created with fresh spinach and feta cheese enclosed in crispy phyllo dough. Spanakopita is best enjoyed warm.
• Tzatziki.  On a hot day, this refreshing dip made from yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, and herbs hits the spot. Enjoy it served with pita bread, vegetables, or meats.
• Olives.  Olives are grown in many parts of Greece, but the Peloponnese region is the largest producer. The dark purple Kalamata olive, famous for its rich flavor, is one of the most well-known varieties of Greek olives.
• Feta cheese.  This traditional Greek cheese—salty, tangy, and crumbly—has been produced for centuries. Often used in salads, dips, and sauces, feta makes a delicious snack or appetizer.

Greek is the most widely spoken language in Greece; however, English is widely spoken in popular areas.

The euro. To stock up on local currency, order some euros from your bank before you go, or use your debit card at an ATM once you arrive. For tips on using the euro while on a trip to Greece,  check out our blog on currency exchange .

We recommend packing light for your trip to Greece. One suitcase and one carry-on per person is a good guideline to follow; you should feel comfortable managing your baggage at the airport. If you’re visiting the islands, you’ll likely have to bring your bag with you on the ferry, so make sure you’re comfortable carrying it. After you’ve booked one of our Greece tour packages, we’ll give you information about how to prepare for your particular trip and even share a packing list in our mobile app. 

• Sun protection.  For all our trips, especially during the summer months in Greece, we recommend bringing sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat to protect your face and the back of your neck from the sun.
• Layers.  We recommend packing lightweight, loose-fitting clothing that can be easily layered to accommodate varying temperatures, as well as a light jacket or rainwear.
• Comfortable walking shoes.  Since you’ll be exploring new destinations with local guides, a comfortable pair of walking shoes is essential to have with you. Those walking shoes will come in handy while exploring the rugged ruins of Ancient Greece or the volcanic shores of Santorini.
• Dressier attire.  If you plan to visit a high-end restaurant or attend a special performance on our trips to Greece, you may want to pack dressier attire.
• Full-coverage layers for religious sites.  On our Greece tours, it is preferable not to visit churches, temples, or other religious sites with bare legs or shoulders, and staff at these sites may deny entrance on this basis.
• A small day bag.  Many churches and museums will not allow you to bring in large backpacks for security purposes—you’ll need to check them at the door. However, you can wear a small day bag on your front, like a cross-body travel bag or stylish mini backpack.
• An RFID money belt or wallet.  Greece’s city streets can get busy, and like in any country with many tourists, you’ll want to be wary of pickpockets. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) can protect your credit card info from electronic theft, and a money belt will conceal your cash without ruining your outfit.

Once you’ve reserved one of our tour packages to Greece, we’ll send you detailed information about what to bring with you. Don’t forget to download the  Go Ahead app  before you take off, so you’ll have all the info you need about your trip right in your pocket.

August 2024

Showing 1–5 of 20 tours

Italy & Greece

11 days | 15 days with Santorini & Athens extension

Grand Tour of Italy & Greece

14 days | 18 days with Santorini & Athens extension

Greek Islands for Solo Travelers: Crete & Santorini

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 out of 5 stars

1st-time traveler Paul

The best trip we have taken, my wife and I! They took care of all our accommodations and we had zero let downs. Well planned and excellent guides- all! Marika was the best tour... Read more of Blessed

Traveled in Jul 2024 on A Week in Greece: Athens, Mykonos & Santorini

4th-time traveler Anonymous

This was a beautifully run, fantastic tour of Athens, Mykonos, Santorini & Crete. Our tour director, Eleftheria, was excellent. She got along with everyone and made it an... Read more of Excellent tour

Traveled in Jul 2024 on The Greek Islands: Mykonos, Santorini & Crete

Tour guide was fabulous accommodating help enjoyed her knowledge history and given us ideas fun differently would go back food music sites are gorgeous Christina thank you for a... Read more of Fantastic trip

1st-time traveler Jennifer

My daughters and I just completed our first EF Go Ahead Tour in Greece. We started in Athens then onto Mykonos and Santorini! We had a fabulous time. Our tour director, Aspacia,... Read more of Athens, Mykonos and Santorini

1st-time traveler Anonymous

We had a wonderful time. Since I am the person that makes sure we get to where we need to be, it was so nice to just show up! Flights taken care of, transportation taken care of,... Read more of Greece

1st-time traveler Taylor

This was the best trip I have ever been on. The food, the scenery, the people, the history, the beaches, the islands were all things I will never forget. This tour was well... Read more of Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, and Rome…Amazing!

1st-time traveler Hannah

Me and my mom went to Greece with EF for a girls trip we were going to remember forever. This trip certainly fit the bill for that. Artin was our guide and he made the trip. He... Read more of A trip to remember