The tour allowed for the students to not only experience history first hand, but through the experience, they have become worldly beyond measure and now have the confidence to explore other cultures with a newfound appreciation. Our tour guide taught them not only about the world beyond their small little town, but he taught them how to travel in a new place without the fear that they first had when they arrived in London and then in France. This experience was more than any classroom could have given them. show less

The England and France trip was beyond anything we could have expected. Our tour guide in St. Malo was amazing! The change of pace from bustling cities like London and Paris, to the humbling beaches of Normandy and the memorials are so amazing it is almost impossible to put into words. The hotels and food were exactly as described. The thing to remember is the portion sizes are normal not super sized so if you are a big eater you will learn some moderation on this trip. Also bring comfortable shoes and be prepared to be amazed. I would recommend this tour to anyone. show less

I love how structured this tour was. Being a first-time traveler to Europe, this was helpful and beneficial because I was able to see all of the things that the tour director thought was worthwhile and didn't waste any time wondering what to do. Will definitely be doing more trips with EF! show less

I am a vegetarian who was promised by my tour director that they would accommodate to my dietary needs and the he would make sure of it. I had brought this up many time to ensure I would be fed sufficient food but instead no restaurant that we went to was aware of my dietary need before arrival. So they would in turn just give me the side dishes that everyone else had in the same portions as everyone else. I would then have to find something to eat near our hotel or order food to be delivered. This caused me to basically spend double on my food because I payed for it theough my tour payments and my spending money on the trip. I am highly unhappy with the way my tour director treated me when I confronted him about my problem. He basically told me it wasn’t his fault I had dietary needs and it wasn’t his job to tell the restaurants. I was never apologized for and was only refunded for one meal after I was literally served a plate of green beans. And that was just the beginning of the problems with the tour. show less

There were many issues of our tour that would make it difficult for me to recommend the experience to others. Our tour got off on the wrong foot with a prolonged flight delay. This, of course, was not EF Tours’ fault. However, it brought into focus one of the main issues with the tour itself. There are so many sights to see that it is impossible to really “see” anything. We were unable to conduct a walking tour of London on the first day because of the late arrival. However, we went to see the London Eye. The students enjoyed the experience. The next day we went on a bus tour of the city. The hired tour guide pointed out the “greatest hits”, but we were unable to truly experience the city. For example, St. Paul’s Cathedral was on the itinerary, but it was only pointed out to us from 3-4 kilometers away. I have seen pictures of the Cathedral with more details than we were afforded. The other problem in London was the location of the hotel. While distance wise it was not far from the center of the city, the traffic made it a 50-60 minute ride each way. We seem to spend more time commuting rather than enjoying the city.

The food on our tour was simply abysmal. Almost all of the restaurants selected by EF Tours did not serve any regional cuisine to give anyone a real flavor of the countries we visited. I made the comment that the food was on par with mediocre college cafeteria food in the USA. Only when we were told to find restaurants did we get a taste of the local flavor. The tour director should have been able to recommend restaurants rather than having us hunt around.

The hotels were fine, although the hotel in Paris did not have functioning air conditioning. Since the days in Paris were well into the 30s Celsius (90s Fahrenheit), it made for an uncomfortable stay. The breakfast at this hotel was also pretty bad. The other 3 hotels were more comfortable and the breakfasts were good.

The Normandy and Paris portions of the tour were better than London. We did spend a little more time in places like Mont St. Michel, the D-Day sites, and Saint-Malo. We spent a lot of time walking in Paris, which is a good way to see the city. However, while we got to Notre Dame Cathedral, we did not get a tour inside. The Louvre and Versailles were so crowded, it was difficult to enjoy the experience. Again, the crowds are not EF Tours’ fault, but I wonder if this could be mitigated somewhat through better planning. After all, EF Tours are suppose to be experts in travel planning.

The students on our tour were well behaved and appreciative of the trip. However, I feel they did not get to really experience England or France. Instead they got a “greatest hits” tour that fails to deliver an authentic experience. It felt like going through EPCOT. The tour failed to deliver a true cultural immersion that could have piqued their interest for future travel in Europe or other places. show less

I was very disappointed that some things highlighted in the Overview of the Tour were not included to go into, such as St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, and other places, especially in London. For the price my students paid for the trip, it feels as if most of the money went to other expenses besides entrances into places. France was great, but England seemed to be very sparse with the entrances into places. We should have spent much less time at the Borough Market, and more time in the Tower of London area. show less

Very good experience show less

Start to finish an amazing learning experience for students. Practical learning in the cities, and a great deal of WWII history in Normandy and Amsterdam. Some of the best food and hotels I have experienced on EF tours. show less

The tour was great, but it always seemed like we were a bit rushed. More time in London would have made it perfect. show less

My daughter had a wonderful time. Only complaint was that the planned meals were almost entirely seafood places, and most of them were not big seafood eaters. Even the guide reflected on the poor xhoic s made & apologized. There are plenty of places to eat in Europe that offer a variety of dishes, so there is no reason for all seafood options. While trying new things is an important part of this experience, “trying & liking” don’t always go hand in hand, and kids with food issues might really
struggle without options on the menu. show less