<p>Anyone have a student go on a trip to Europe with EF tour company? What was good and/or bad? Our S has the chance to go to Italy and Germany for two weeks with his German high school class and really wants to go, but it is so expensive!</p>
<p>My D went on a trip to France and Italy on an school EF tour a couple of years ago. She really had a good time. The tour was well run, and the logistics all went smoothly. Tickets for attractions were purchased ahead of time, so they avoided long waits, which is a huge advantage. The trips do seem somewhat overpriced, based on her description of the hotels that they stayed in. In some cases, the hotels were very far away from the city centers, although quite convenient to public transit. I wondered if they had the stay outside of the city centers for reasons other than hotel cost, in order to discourage the kids from venturing out by themselves at night. </p>
<p>D went to London and Paris. We were pleased with how the trip was run, and are looking at sending S on a tour with EF. Could we have put together a cheaper trip on our own? Probably. However, we didn’t have financial resources to send other family members with her, so we were willing to pay some premium knowing she would be with an experienced group.</p>
<p>My kids went on these trips. They are overpriced, we could easily have put together a cheaper trip, but our goal was to send them without us, with a teacher and some friends, so we got what we wanted. </p>
<p>Trip was run fine. Kids were safe and saw the highlights. The value came with 1) being with peers and exploring new places and 2) a strong teacher leading them. She was awesome. The paid guide was just okay.</p>
<p>Our S went to Germany Austria and Switzerland on an EF Tour with his HS German teacher and others. As already said, yes, you can put together your own tour and pay less, but not for a HS student to do on their own/unaccompanied unless they are a savvy traveler used to traveling alone abroad. He enjoyed his trip a few years ago and is now headed to Germany spring semester for study abroad.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>My cousin, age 30, lives in Munich and is a tour director for EF and has been with EF for a few years. DH and I spent a weekend with him in Munich in May, and he is an incredible tour guide, including being a certified tour guide for Dachau. Note that the EF tour director is not the tour guide. I am willing to contact my cousin with specific questions. You can post here or PM me.</p>
<p>Add my voice to those whose child went on an EF tour and had a great time. D went to Greece and Italy and had a blast - I think part of her enjoyment was Greece/Italy and part was just being with new friends without her parents. Sure, I could have put together a cheaper trip, but on the down side, she’d have been stuck with her family… </p>
<p>It’s an experienced company, they have these trips down to a science. They ARE expensive. But I don’t believe they’re dramatically more than other similar programs. </p>
<p>I had two of my kids go with their AP Euro class, London, Paris, Florence and Rome. Yes it was expensive but EF is experienced and my kids had a memorable experiences…</p>