EF Educational Tours
Reviews and Complaints

We are having similar problems with EFtours right now. Our daughter was recruited and sold this tour by her teacher. Our daughter was very hesitant because the other students were all from a school in another state, the teachers former place of employment. But the teacher reassured both our daughter and us that she would be with her every step of the tour and available 24/7 if need be. So we signed up for the trip in the fall of 2015, for a trip to Italy and Greece June 2016. Yesterday our daughter came home and told us the teacher was no longer going due to "personal issues." With the conditions of the trip now radically changed, namely the teacher who had personally assured us she would be there for our daughter no longer participating, leaving our 15 year old daughter to travel with people she has never met before, we felt we should get a refund. Come to find out that all fees are non-refundable as is 50% of the actual fee cost. EFtours are citing their rules and treating this as a cancellation even though they changed the conditions of the contract, they say that they do not deal with oral agreements, we're unsure of how a company can just say that we don't agree with parts of contract law and therefore are not bound by it. They also claim that the teacher, who was the sole soliciting and sales agent for this tour, have no affiliation to them or there company. Again that seems impossible since she solicits and recruits students for their company in return for which she receives benefits. If she acts as an agent for them they also have to be responsible for her actions.

We are in the same mess with my daughters trip. Even the teacher going as a guide has dropped out!

Did they ever response to you? I am receiving the same treatment.

This company probably makes tons of money so why even think about keeping a single penney off your daughter's money. DESPICABLE..
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This company probably makes tons of money so why even think about keeping a single penney off your daughter's money. DESPICABLE..

I went through the same thing. My Daughter invested $1500. We canceled over 6 months in advance due to an unforeseen problem. However, it didn't fall into the "house burning down" category, and they stole my child's hard-earned money. They were heartless when I tried to explain the situation to them. My Daughter got an education in big business scams.

I agree with your frustration. I too cancelled the trip for my son to France. It is unacceptable that I stand to lose in excess of $1500.00. If you do not cancel within 24 hours of enrollment, you are pretty much unable to retrieve anything or nothing. This is a complete rip-off. They have no consideration for hard-working parents. However, I am a believer and the good lord above will handle this company accordingly. KARMA is worst than any post we could have put here!

My daughter signed up for a school trip with EF. Unfortunately the trip did not have the minimum number of travelers and was cancelled. I called the company to get a refund and I was told they were keeping $274 ($95 as a deposit and another $179 for the cancellation). I did not cancel the trip yet EF will not give me a refund and will not let my apply this money toward another trip. This (based on other reviews posted) seems to be very common with this company -- BEWARE! In fact, I discovered that EF continued to take money directly from my account AFTER the school notified them that the trip was canceled. EF was told the trip was not happening yet they continued to take money directly from my account. Seems like there should be a class action lawsuit against this company for all of this stolen money.

My grand daughter and I also scheduled a tour to Europe in June of 2016. We paid for the entire trip, plus the insurance and one time $95 registration fee. When the terror attacks in Paris happened, we were concerned, then the bombing at the airport and subway in Brussels and we decided that we did not feel comfortable or safe about going. The State Department has issued an ALERT, for American traveling to Europe between March 2015 and June 2015.
I emailed EF on March 24, 2015 and told them of our concerns and asked what would happen if we were to cancel at that time we were 73 days away from the start of our trip . I got no respondS! I sent an email to our group leader who is a teacher at Eaton High School, expressing our concerns. She was still waiting to hear back from someone named Maria for EF Tours, and promised to get back with me promptly. I then called EF Tours, where I was informed, that we would only get back 50% of the tour cost, less the non-refundable insurance fee, registration fee and the extras that we were charged. We paid almost $8, 500 for this trip and they will refund us at total of $4, 295 ! I too mentioned the safety of children traveling to that region, they went on to say it was just an Alert, not a Warning ... they said it was like a tornado warning verses a tornado watch ! They told me they wouldn't send children to places that had a Warning, but that an Alert just means that travelers should be alert of their surrounding while traveling. THIS COMPANY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE WELL BEING TO THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE THEIR TOURS! THEY DO NOT CARE HOW HARD THE STUDENTS OR THEIR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS WORK TO EARN MONEY FOR THESE TOURS, ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IT THE ALMIGHTY $$$$$. Perhaps it time someone starts a Class Action Suit against EF Tours. With the current situation in Europe and the threats for more bombings from ISIS, who would want to have their child in that region of the world!

My daughter was booked for March 2016, but after reading more on Costa Rica and the travel alert that came out March 2015, we decided not to send our daughter and cancel. We are the first of 4 families to cancel but kicker is, we were all told by guide teacher that we can cancel at anytime and receive all but our $95 registration fee. So we call eftours and to our surprise, with over 100 days left before travel, we were being charged $750 cancellation fee. The $95, the $155 insurance, and $500 cancellation fee. So we immediately call our guide teacher who once again says, "that's not right, you gonna get a full refund minus the $95." She calls who she booked trip with, EF tour rep Lindsey, and calls us back and breaks the bad news. Yeah, with over a 100 days before trip, we will lose $750 of the $1300 we paid. So that was yesterday. Today we get a call from eftours rep Leo, asking us if we wanna cancel because if we wait another 4 days, we lose all $1300. Lesson learned about EF tour companies, and guides.

I had a similar situation. My daughter enrolled to go to Italy June 2016. We paid the initial $250, which included a non-refundable $95 booking fee and the $155 travel insurance fee which was required. I signed up for the flexible payment plan option which came with no stipulations when we signed up online. I then receive a statement for another $500 and s $95 late fee. I called the 800 number and a gentleman told me that he would waive the $95 late fee, but that I needed to pay the $500 in two days. Reluctantly, I made the payment. Three weeks later my daughter started getting very nervous to travel abroad and told me to cancel. Again, I called the 800 number and the lady told me that I lost the original $250, which I understand, but she was also going to keep another $300 for canceling. Becoming furious, I asked her to show me proof my daughter actually had plane and hotel reservations booked, and she couldn't verify anything. She just assured me they put in a lot of hours of work on her reservation. Now I know why they pushed me to pay the additional $500 because right then, that covered the $300 cancellation fee that they will never return. There are stories of successful trips, but once they get your money they want to keep it all no matter what. I'm sure I am not the only parent whose teen at first thinks international travel is a great idea, and then becomes afraid of actually leaving the country. They count on this and make no provisions for this type of occurrence.

Yes, EF charges a cancellation fee. All the other companies do, as far as I know. You also lose the $95 enrollment fee, which is nonrefundable from the moment you enroll. But all of these terms are clearly spelled out in the Enrollment Handbook your son/daughter should bring home, and it's all clearly set forth on the EF Tours website when you enroll. If you or the teacher are able to find a student to serve as a replacement, you are not charged the $250 cancellation fee. As always, it's important to read the terms of any agreement if you're entering into a financial relationship with a company.

I just returned from a 8 day Costa Rica tour and had the worse experience of my life! The accommodations and meals were disgusting! We went to park after park because they were free. In the hotels, there were roaches, ants, animal feces, and cold water. The food was minimal and the choices were non-existent. For example, we were offered spaghetti with two toppings. No fruit, no vegetables, no bread. The server made fun of an overweight boy who asked for another helping. The tour guide offered "additional" excursions like a "walk to town" for $20 each. He also brought in his friend to teach us salsa dancing and told us we needed to pay his friend. I have lived in Turkey and taken 6 trips to underdeveloped countries. This was unreal. EF Tours is a BUSINESS! They are in the business of maximizing profits and minimizing costs. I saw it every single day that I was on that trip with my son, niece, and nephew. I will NEVER use them again and will tell everyone to research and choose a better tour company. I could go on an on about the trip, but feel that there is no need.

I'm not sure how recently you took this tour with EF but I have been taking tours for many years with my students and have never experienced anything like what you have mentioned. It seems that you may not have informed your tour director about your concerns so that your representatives could help you solve these problems, or you may be fabricating the depth of what you experienced. This is a company that caters to middle and high school students, and I'm confident in saying that you did not prepare yourself or your group well enough for the intricacies involved with traveling internationally. If this is your first time out of the country I would understand slightly, but if you have ever traveled before you should be aware of the need to go with the flow in the event that every mode of transport does not arrive on time.

My daughter is having the same experience! So disappointing! Tour group leaders go for free so they evidently don't care about a quality experience- ever! I love Paris, so I knew when this thing published the itinerary, the highlight would be the walking tour of Pigalle! Getting pics on FaceTime in real time. Absolutely despicable for the inexperienced or first-timers. Go to disney-Paris and move on to areas so isolated, they can't ruin it...unless u have issues with spending 1/3 of your vacation in an uncomfortable bus with kids who don't bathe? Ugh!

Hi Eric -

The original quote that you were provided with of $3, 146 is the correct price for the 13 day tour to Germany, Italy and Switzerland with Kristen Mackenzie. I sincerely apologize for the frustration you have experienced by being affected by the unfortunate system glitch we experienced last week. As Jean-Paul in our Customer Service Department explained, the issue that we experienced with our pricing system caused the total charges of your account to temporarily show as $2, 576 ($570 less than the total charges for Kristen Mackenzie’s tour). Once identified, this mistake was quickly fixed and your account immediately updated with the correct pricing. All individuals enrolling in this tour are subject to the current cost of $3, 146, therefore, while I understand your frustration with this temporary system issue, unfortunately we cannot offer you the $570 discount that you are requesting.

However, in an effort to keep your good faith with our company, I have increased your daughters Repeat Traveler discount to $100. I understand that this is not the resolution you have requested, but I hope that this gesture will reassure your confidence in our company. Please contact our Customer Service Department with any additional concerns or questions. -Katie from EF Tours

We paid in full and were sold a cancellation insurance policy for my son's trip through EF Explore who canceled the trips twice despite other people still traveling during this time. 2 years later my son no longer attends the school and EF only wants to offer a voucher for the full amount. They refunded all but $350 and told me directly that I would need to file a claim for all but the registration I paid them from Seven Corners and the policy amount for trip insurance for the $150. I filed a claim in early October. On October 20 I finally received a response they needed more information which was sent immediately. I did not get a response until I reached out on their Facebook post about their family game room with a ping pong table in mid January. They said Covid made things busy to promptly respond to claims (I think ping pong was the culprit) and they promptly denied they claim as fast as they took my money stating that the child no longer at the school qualified as a cancellation covered. They did not respond for months and when a review was left they responded with a denied claim and money not refunded is for work that we never received the benefits from. What I was told by EF was not what was sold to me. Between the coordinated effort between the two companies, they make the process as difficult as possible so you will give up. Do not use this company and save your money on the insurance.

I received the standard response back to a review requesting I send my info so they can explain the policy. They are ignoring that I was told one thing was covered when it is not. Both companies have received money for "work" and I have received ZERO benefit from it. We did not cancel the trip and this whole thing feels like a scam the Attorney General should review.

I have had a terrible experience with both Seven Corners and EF Tours. I have received the standard response for you to provide information for review and have already done that. I have already done that a couple of times and I will NOT be doing it again. I was sold a policy that was useless. We didn't cancel the trip. I will not be using either EF Tours or Seven Corners ever again.

This company is a RIP-OFF. My daughter's trip was cancelled to Puerto Rico, due to the situation going on. They are refusing to refund all of the money, they are keeping $750.00 dollars. Some parents and I, paid the insurance in which I don't mind losing but why keep $750.00 dollars. It's disgusting. I just read there's a Class Action Suit against this company. How can I get more information? Thank you.

Has anyone had any success via the legal arena against this company? Looking at small claims court need to know where to have them served. Thanks

Has anyone had any suggest via the legal arena against this company? Small claims court? Attorney Generals? Please let me know.

My Daughter worked hard and saved her own money, had $1500 already invested in the company. Due to an issue with our immigration, she was unable to go. We let them know way in advance. In spite of this, they only returned $200 of my daughter's money. She had an educational tour in how big business can freely rip you off, and feel nothing in doing so. I tried to talk to them, explain that my child was already broken-hearted for missing the event, begging them to at least give her back half of her money. They claimed the tickets for the plane were already purchased, but would not tell me what airline. We found out they had not purchased the tickets yet. Do NOT get taken in by these people. Save your cash and just take your child on an educational trip.

I will add my name to the list of scammed families by EF Tours. We booked our daughter's trip to Italy through EF Tours in November. The tour leader, teacher who seems to be disorganized at best, sent an email in January that they would need to get additional students to go or the price would go up. We said what happens if we are unwilling to pay additional cost? He said not to worry, we would surely get the students. Then just a few weeks ago we were sent an email with the "opportunity" to switch to a different tour with additional days for less money except different dates which our daughter was unavailable. We emailed the tour leader to tell him this. He changed to that tour anyway with EF Tours. When we called to tell them we had to cancel since the dates changed, we were told we still had to pay the cancellation fee because the tour leader is allowed to change the dates at will. We feel defrauded. We have traveled extensively and have never experienced a tour company with such unscrupulous ethics. We have filed a complaint with the BBB. I wish I had found this page before we booked this trip for our daughter, it would have saved us a ton of money and aggravation.. Do Not Use EF Tours!

I have traveled with EF Tours years ago and absolutely loved my trip to Egypt. Back in January my husband and I booked the Grand Tour of Ireland trip for this July. I can do nothing, but rave about EF tours customer service and how helpful they were, along with how amazing my past experience had been with them. Due to an unforeseen circumstance we had to cancel our trip. We were really disappointed and were looking forward to traveling with Ef tours in the future, however based upon the travel protection that is provided by Seven Corners we will no longer travel with EF Tours. We bought travel protection for nothing! The travel agency will not refund what we paid for the trip even though it is listed under what it "protects" you from. I am very disappointed, as I spoke very highly of Ef Tours and have recommended it to many people. Now our opinions have changed and that's a shame.

My son was schedule to go to Italy, Greece and France for his senior class trip and needless to say we feel it isn't safe for him to go anymore. I called today to cancel his trip and see about getting a refund for the money we've already invested (we used their payment plan) and they are penalizing us almost $1000! This company is excellent at scamming you out of your money and nothing else!

There seem to be a myriad or complaints on this forum about EF Tours. What many travelers do not realize is that the majority of the money you pay is for the flight. Flights to Europe are not cheap. Also, this is one of the cheapest companies to travel with to Europe. I took a trip last summer. There was a delay, but the company provided us with a hotel, breakfast, and transportation. We even got a $250 travel voucher from the airline. The meal were good and breakfast was always a buffet, unless we were traveling early to a different country. These trips are not designed for four star travel. You will pay much more for that kind of service in Europe. These trips are designed to be a gateway for travel. Once you become comfortable with travel abroad, pay more and go on your own. There are a number of travel companies who cater to traveling families and adults. These trips are for high school students and poor college students. You get what you pay for.

This tour company is a RIP　OFF ! Im going on the Europe tour and they originally said it was 3, 700 dollars and so i originally thought, okay not the worst they could charge us for but then the economic situation in Europe happened. 1 dollar US dollars used to convert to about .70 euros BUT NOW ONE DOLLAR IS EQUAL TO 0.97 EUROS AND YET THE TRIP IS STILL 3700! AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT MY HISTORY TEACHER IS COLLECTING AN EXTRA 200 DOLLARS TO PAY FOR "TIPS". 4000 DOLLARS FOR CRAPPY 2-3 STAR HOTELS, SUB PAR FOOD, AND THE TRIP IS SO RUSHED I CANT ENJOY ANYTHING! IF THATS NOT A RIP OFF I DONT KNOW WHAT IS! I ACTUALLY CALCULATED ALL THE THINGS THEY ARE PAYING FOR, AND GUESS WHAT, BASED ON WHAT THEY SAID THEY ARE GOING TO "GIVE " US IT WOULD ONLY COST 2, 132 DOLLARS. HOW MUCH ARE THEY SCAMMING OFF OF US. ALSO ALL THE PLACES THEY ARE GOING TO PAY FOR GUESS WHAT, IT FREE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 18. IM REALLY DISSAPOINTED AT EF TOURS

I completely agree with the hidden fees complaint and am planning to report EF tours to better business organizations myself. Hidden fees; unexplained increases due to ‘departure fees’ without any supporting evidence form the airlines; evasive, non-committal customer service; fees to change my childes name; ‘late payment’ fees posted BEFORE a late payment e-mail is sent; website updates not functioning… I am very disappointed with the entire experience as a parent. All about misrepresenting services and charging hidden unexplained (or vaguely explained and fees).

Hi there, I completely understand why you're upset. The price of fuel has continued to increase dramatically over recent weeks and is now approaching record highs. We cannot lock-in departure fees until 30 days before you leave for your tour. The airlines have just informed us that they are once again passing these additional charges on to travelers through increased departure fees. EF does not profit from these fees, and in the event that we experience a decrease in departure fees from the airlines, we will refund our travelers. If you have any other concerns, please reach out to our customer service department 800.665.5364. -Katie from EF Tours

That is horrible. That company EF Tours should be put out of business!

I was injured during an EF trip in 2010. I fell in a shower where there was no mat and hurt my hip and lower back. I told the tour guide but she refused to take me to urgent care. Instead, she said I would feel better once I was back on the bus. All I was offered was a tube of German "Bengay" ointment. When I returned home I went to my doctor who said that I had a contusion of the hip but thankfully, no broken bones. I was a 56 years old at the time. I was so disappointed and disgusted that they showed so little concern for my well-being that i will never travel with them again!

Seems EF has a lot of unhappy people. These complaints need to be on their FB page.

Hi, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter having to cancel and the trouble she had trying to reach us. Our refund policy depends on how far in advance a traveler cancels. You can read about it on the 4th page of our booking conditions here: http://www.eftours.com/bc. I’m unable to find your account but if you’d like to discuss further please call us at [protected] or send me a message with your contact info and we'll reach out to you. Thanks, Katie from EF Tours

@jiffytraveler I'm sorry to hear that! Our top priority is to make sure every group that wants to travel gets that opportunity. If something ever stands in that way, we always try to offer alternative options. I've sent you a private message to get your contact details so that we can discuss what happened with your group. -Katie from EF Tours

They have ripped us off too! I had a tour of fifteen people going this summer and suddenly they pulled the rug out from under us and cancelled our tour. I think they were afraid they would lose money on the group. Perhaps the EF tours is ready to go belly up!

BethOcomplaints, I am sorry for the confusion. As cseymore said, the discount you saw was for early bird enrollments on our 2012 tours. If you clicked through to read about the offer it clearly states that it is only valid for 2012 tours. We offer these discounts to travelers enrolling over a year in advance so that we can save them money by planning early. None of the travelers in your daughter’s group are paying $1000 less than you. In addition, this specific discount is not being offered to anyone in your daughter’s group, as EF representatives have explained to you. If you have any further questions, please feel free to give us a call at [protected]. -Katie from EF Tours

OK. Well maybe you're right and they can look back at the website. If it stated that on the website I am SURE they will give you the discount. This company sent $121 refund checks to 49 of my students 30 days after their tour ended because airline fees and surcharges went down a couple of weeks before we departed. I wasn't expecting the refund and neither were ANY of my parents. A number of them were shocked, saying things like "Why are we getting $121 in the mail from EF?" and "I had no idea. EF Tours could have kept that money and wouldn't have known the difference."

Point is, that's the way the company does business. The cost of airline security fees, airport surcharges and fuel costs went down and instead of padding their profits, they got that money back into the hands of the parents. They easily could have pocketed that money, but didn't. My parents were shocked and surprised, and extremely appreciative. And I know teachers in other states, friends of mine who take kids on tours, and they told me similar stories. In my experience, that's the way EF does business.

I had a number of parents enroll their students over the last 5 months for my 2011 tour and none of them expected or received the Early Bird discount. I'm on their website nearly every day and all I've seen is that the $150 discount is for 2012 tours. I'm literally on the site every day keeping track of my students and the multiple trips I am running for my students. If the teacher told you that you would get a $150 Early Bird discount if you enrolled recently for a 2011 tour then you were misinformed, unfortunately. I think it's great that EF gives out Early Bird discounts to parents who enroll their kids early; if they were forced to give the discount to everyone who enrolled they would probably have to stop doing the discount altogether. Again, it's the teacher's responsibility to be the liaison between the parents and the company. Did your teacher tell you that you would be receiving a $150 discount if you signed up recently? If he didn't, then that should tell you something, because when there's an actual discount that my students are eligible for, I make sure the parents know about it well in advance so that they can take advantage of it. EF Tours does a great job by providing the lowest prices in the educational travel industry, and they provide additional Early Bird discounts ON TOP of already low prices as an incentive for parents to enroll their kids early ... 15-24 months in advance of the trip's departure date.

Yeah, if you look at the advertisement on the website, it's very clear. The $150 Early Bird discount requires that you enroll prior to Feb. 28, 2011, and is for 2012 tours. So if the tour you enrolled on is a 2011 tour, I doubt there is anything Ms. Gerlach or anyone else will be able to do.

It's clear on the website that this discount applies to 2012 tours and not 2011 tours.

OK. It's not my website, and I don't work for EF. But I'll call my contact at EF and see if they can't get this sorted out for you. They're very good about making things right for students traveling on their tours and for the parents, especially when it comes to payments and discounts.

Again, if this was advertised by EF you need to call customer service and speak with the right people. Did the teacher at your child's school speak w/ you about this? Have him/her contact his tour consultant and EF and they will take care of this.