My son continues to love traveling Internationally!! Two straight years and each time was an experience he’ll never forget. Spain & Portugal by far was enjoyable as he learned the customs and was able to experience life; what goes on there.
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Our travel group had an incredible experience, I would recommend all students who are able to do this travel should take the once in a lifetime opportunity!!
This was an amazing experience, not just for the kids but for the adults that went along with them. I was very impressed at the attention to detail and coordination of the travel, rooms, dinners, and tours that were provided. Our guide Ewan also went above and beyond to ensure the quality of the experience and to make sure that the kids were well taken care of. Also, a shoutout to our friend and best bus-driver ever Pedro who also contributed to the overall positive experience of the trip.
Absolutely amazing!!! Very well organized and hope to revisit soon!
Portugal part of itinerary rushed. Too many pedestrian dinners, but lovely destination otherwise.
Reply from EF Educational Tours
Thank you for sharing your feedback on your Spain and Portugal trip, Jonathan. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the overall experience, but we're sorry to hear that you felt the Portugal part of the itinerary was rushed. We appreciate your input on the dinner arrangements as well, and we'll take this into consideration for future trips. We're committed to continuously improving our itineraries to provide the best possible experience for our travelers. Thank you for traveling with us, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you on another adventure in the future!
This was by far my favorite tour I have lead over the years. This had much to do with the travelers and the people I worked with to get it done. Our Tour Director (Ewan) was excellent; the Bus Driver (Pedro) was professional and friendly, and there were many informative Guides (Miguel Angel in particular offer comedic relief throughout his lessons). The itinerary was student/adult friendly and had a nice balance of structured and free time. It is history heavy so providing students with background information prior to the trip would help "bring it all together". Food could have been more authentic where the students would at least have an opportunity to try national dishes (ie: Paella). It was inconsistent and this is the reason I would not give it a 5 rating. Those dishes should not be left for students to try "own there own" during their lunch/free time. Tour leaders are provided a presentation where the food pictures look amazing. Needless to say in some cases it was an "Instagram vs reality" moment. We should promote what the travelers will actually get or not lead travelers into thinking that they will receive an true gastronomic experience.
Reply from EF Educational Tours
Thank you for your detailed feedback on your experience leading the Spain and Portugal tour. We're thrilled to hear that it was your favorite tour over the years and that you had such positive experiences with our Tour Director, Bus Driver, and Guides.
We appreciate your insights regarding the itinerary balance and the suggestion to provide background information to students prior to the trip. Your feedback about the food is valuable, and we understand the importance of providing authentic culinary experiences. We apologize for any inconsistencies and misaligned expectations regarding the meals. We'll take your comments into consideration to ensure that future travelers have a more accurate understanding of the dining experiences they can expect.
Thank you again for your feedback and for choosing EF Tours. We look forward to continuing to provide memorable experiences for you and your travelers in the future!
Spain & Portugal was wonderful. I think the Toledo excursion for Madrid should be made part of the Madrid tour. W/o it, leaves too much free time to explore on our own which leaves lack of structure. With 3 days in Madrid, Toledo needs to be a hard sell/recommended tour or automatic add-on (build it into the new price of the tour). Make sure future group leaders are aware of this. Soccer stadium: find a way to make that an excursion add-on for travels to tour a soccer stadium. The clothing style and fashion of soccer is so heavily influenced in Madrid (Portugal as well). Touring a soccer stadium will be a great excursion. FOOD: Please make sure there are more alternatives for people who don't eat meat and/or pork. Right now the only options tat exist are meat or vegetarian. My last day in Portugal I ordered and paid for a fish dish for my student because all week there were limited and very few options for her because she is pescatarian. Just because someone doesn't eat meat does not automatically mean vegetarian. A lot of the included meals lack cultural authenticity. Some of the meals felt like free lunch (cafeteria food) to the kids. If their parents are paying for an international experience, they should get that. With all that said, I still will recommend this tour and gladly go on it again.
Our tour was great!
I wish the experience had been more positive. The team director and group leaders from our tour were a big factor in why the moral and positive energy went missing in our experience. Many people have said it depends on who you get, I wish people would get vetted better so that one does not have to pay so much for a horrible experience.
Reply from EF Educational Tours
We apologize for the negative experience you had with the tour director and group leaders during your tour. We understand that their behavior and attitude can greatly impact the overall experience for travelers. We strive to ensure that all of our team members meet the highest standards of professionalism and provide a positive and enriching experience for our travelers.
If there are any specific incidents or concerns you would like to share with us, we encourage you to reach out directly so that we can address them and make necessary improvements at customer.feedback@ef.com. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to enhance our processes and ensure that future travelers have a more positive experience.
My daughter had a wonderful experience visiting Spain and Portugal. She enjoyed visiting tourist sites and listening to street musicians!
It was an absolutely fantastic trip! Thank you so much, EF!
Reply from EF Educational Tours
Amazing! We're glad you enjoyed your tour. Thanks for sharing your review, Maksym.
Fantastic time!! Gorgeous counties the places and cultures that was given to her was one of the best things that I could ask for.
My daughter LOVED this experience. She is 💯 glad she went on this trip
Our guide was AWESOME! I loved seeing the beauty of the countries and learning things about the area. Very much hoping to get there again sometime.
This was a fantastic experience for my 16 year old son. This trip significantly broadened his worldview and helped him make some important choices for his life.
Food was very bad esp vegeterian options. Kids had to struggle a lot and were hungry most of the time.
Reply from EF Educational Tours
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we apologize for the inconvenience and dissatisfaction regarding the food options, particularly for vegetarians. We understand the importance of providing suitable meals for all dietary preferences and requirements.
We strive to accommodate special meal requests, including vegetarian options, when notified in advance of the trip. We apologize if there was a lack of clarity or communication regarding this process. Your feedback will be shared with our team to ensure better coordination and provision of meals that meet the dietary needs of our travelers.
We value the well-being and satisfaction of our participants, and we will take steps to improve the food options and ensure a more enjoyable dining experience on future tours. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us in our ongoing efforts to enhance our services and meet the expectations of our customers.
Thank you for sharing your feedback, Nidhi.
The positives of this tour are that we were able to see Spain and Portugal, and it provided an opportunity for some students who do not typically travel outside of their country to see more areas. However, for our particular tour EF Tours seemed to miss many great opportunities to expose the students to more of the Spanish and Portuguese cultures. We were in Spain and Portugal during Holy Week and Easter, and EF Tours did not seem to take this into consideration ahead of time. We spent three days in Madrid, where we spent time each day in the same area of Madrid. The time we got to spend in the Prado Museum was significantly decreased due to having to stand in line for tickets for over an hour. There were multiple things on our itinerary, including several cathedrals we were supposed to tour and two monasteries, that we were not able to see because of the timing of the trip, and not taking Holy Week/Easter into account. It was as though it was a surprise to the company that it was Easter. Additionally, when looking closer at the hours of Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon they are never open on Mondays so it should have never been on our itinerary for Monday at all, but the company never made mention of that and it was posed as an Easter issue to the group. Just before the trip we were notified as a group by EF Tours that they were still working on solidifying our accommodations in Salamanca due to Easter business and hotels being full. These trips are planned way in advance, and there are plenty of things the tour group could have incorporated and notified the group of in advance. The fact that the company has the ability to let the group members know what is being served for dinner, but chose not to for the majority of the trip was another issue and resulted in several nights where chaperones were taking kids after dinner to get other food. If this information was provided to the group members ahead of time, they could eat a bigger lunch or buy food to have in their room ahead of time as needed. Also, when in Madrid, Spain we had a night where our bus never arrived claiming that they were not scheduled until the following day despite our tour leader confirming with them the previous night. This resulted in our regular bus driver having to come from our hotel 30 minutes away and our dinner being delayed by several hours. Having our dates change after the tour was already paid for and resulting in kids missing more school days and parents having to reschedule their time off was inconvenient, and seems avoidable with these being planned so far in advance. The number of local guides used throughout the tour seemed like a lot, and many of them seemed to have difficulty making it fun for the teenagers. While our tour leader did his best to make up for the issues, as a parent who was on the trip with my child, it was disappointing to experience.
Reply from EF Educational Tours
Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding your recent tour experience to Spain and Portugal. We appreciate your positive comments about the opportunity for students to explore new areas and cultures. However, we apologize for the missed opportunities mentioned in your review.
We understand your disappointment with the limited time spent in certain areas and the shortened visit to the Prado Museum. While we strive to optimize our itineraries, it's important to acknowledge that holidays and local celebrations can sometimes impact travel arrangements and access to attractions. We apologize for not fully anticipating the impact of Holy Week and Easter on the availability of certain attractions, which affected your experience. We value the opportunity for students to witness and understand the local celebrations and how they influence the culture and daily life of the countries we visit.
Additionally, we appreciate your feedback regarding the lack of information about dinner options. We strive to provide clear and comprehensive information to our travelers, including meal details, and we apologize for any confusion or inconvenience caused. We will review our communication practices to ensure that necessary information is provided in advance to better set expectations for our travelers.
We appreciate your comments about the local guides and their ability to engage teenagers. We continuously assess the performance of our guides to ensure they deliver informative and enjoyable experiences. Your feedback will be taken into consideration as we strive to provide the best possible tour experiences for our participants.
Thank you for taking the time to share your review. We will carefully review your comments and make the necessary adjustments to enhance our future tours. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the future.
The tour guide Alberto Rocked! The sites were great. The hotels and meals were good. The trip home sucked because they cancelled the flight leaving the class stuck for 2 plus days. Not EF's fault but the kids had nothing to do but sit in a hotel. The bus was gone and so was the tour guide.
Great time.
Great tour!