EF Tours to Italy?

Question

I am attending an EF tour to Italy for eight days in April. Any info about EF, how their tours work, or anything else helpful would be appreciated

Answer 1

I used EF Tours to lead a trip to Italy and they were terrible to work with.  They kept collecting money for things that should have been included in the tour.  

We went to Rome for Easter and were very clear that we would be at Church Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.  They scheduled meals for the times we would be in Church.  Our group said fine, we will go without.  Then we received a hard time for missing a meal.  

My son went on a Catholic school trip to Italy and Greece with EF Tours and they were told that they wouldn't be able to go to Church because it interfered with the tour schedule.  We found out later that each year the tour leader had to argue with the EF Tour guide about being able to take the students to Church.  

The point is that they do not really care about the group or its needs.  

If you go knowing this you can still have a great time in Italy.

Answer 2

i took an EF tour to italy. it was called the grand tour of italy.

well i can't say i would ever do anything with EF again. our tour guide was horrible, he didn't care about us and half the tiem he would fake that he didn't know english and he would never help up by translating, in the end we didn't even tip him because he was so bad.

they were also very sloppy with organization out itinerary was shuffled around many times and when we were finally in rome the colusium wasn't even open and because of somethign else they did we didn't get to see milan!!

i wish you luck with your EF tour.

Answer 3

I have never personally taken a tour with EF, but I have had other experiences with them. Currently I am an International Exchange Coordinator, meaning I work with foreign exchange students who come to the U.S. for a school year.  Prior to this I was a host family for 7 students who were with the EF program.  I do want to be honest with you - there are some issues I have with EF, but those are not related to the Tours section.  I have talked to many students and their parents who have taken the tours and they have never had anything negative to say - in fact, every one of them has thoroughly enjoyed the trip, said it was very informative and fun, and they would do it again.  The only somewhat negative thing I have heard was the cost of the trips - but having compared them to other tours I don't think they are overly expensive.  They have wonderful tour guides and make sure every detail is taken care of.

I'm sure you have gone to the EF Web site and read all about the tour, so there isn't much information I can give you regarding that portion of it.  But if you have any questions specifically about Italy or EF, please feel free to email me and I'll be happy to answer them as best I can!