Education First (EF) student travel has literally changed my life. I have seen amazing things that I never would have seen if it was not for this company. Ice skating inside the Eiffel Tower? I’ve done it! Great Wall of China? I’ve been there! Kissing the Blarney Stone? I tried! Tasty fresh termites? I just watched!
And the best part? My family and my students had the chance to see it all with me. Is EF for you? If you google EF reviews, you will find a wide variety of responses. Some people love it, some hate it. I’m going to be real with you here (the good, the bad, the ugly) and hopefully help you decide if EF tours is right for you. I have traveled with EF to France, China, New York, Puerto Rico, Spain, Ireland, Costa Rica, Belize, and the Dominican Republic. I also traveled with ACIS to England and Scotland, in additional to personal travel, so I have some comparison between different companies and experiences.
Are you a people person?
Filling the Bus
When you travel with EF, their goal is to fill the bus. This means that if your group is not large enough to fill the bus on its own, you will be paired with one or more other student groups from anywhere in the country. This is clearly outlined in EF’s policies, but I have learned over the years that parents don’t always read the fine print. You should definitely read the fine print before you sign up to participate in international travel. It’s a big deal!
Combining with other groups can be a blessing or a total drag! It all depends on your personality and what group(s) you are paired with. Students tend to absolutely love this aspect of EF tours. They make new friends that they never would have made otherwise. They get to learn about another part of the U.S. in addition to learning about a new part of the world. I have seen students make amazing connections that last long after the trip is done.
I love that EF connects the travel leaders before the trip departs. We get to learn where everyone is coming from. We can discuss any potential issues that need to be addressed before we leave. Combining with new people is a great way for students to come out of their shell if they are a little shy, but it can be very nerve-wracking for some. Group leaders and tour guides can help facilitate the process so that everyone feels comfortable.
Misbehavior
Some students might misbehave, in your own group or in other groups, and this is something that goes much smoother if the group leader is prepared. Did you know that EF gives group leaders the power to send students home early if they will not behave? That return trip is at the parents expense.
I, of course, would never do this unless a student was putting themselves or others in danger or just ruining the trip for others. EF gives group leaders strong support when it comes to discipline on tour. Each person is paying for the tour, and they deserve a great experience. No one wants their “once in a lifetime trip” to become a nightmare because of 1 or 2 people in the group who are disruptive. Thankfully, I never had to send anyone home. I did have to attend meetings while on tour to discuss situations where students in other groups were misbehaving.
Even if you don’t consider yourself “a people person,” you can have a great time with EF. You may decide meeting so many people was so amazing that it’s the only way you want to travel. There is also safety in numbers, and it’s a good feeling being with a group. However, if the thought of being with a bus full of people you don’t know makes you cringe, EF student travel is probably not for you.
Are you adventurous?
Hotels
If you want to stay in a fancy resort hotel for a week, you should do that. Don’t sign up for EF if your heart is set on a resort where you stay in one place and relax. With EF you will travel around the entire country you are visiting and you will have a schedule that is jam packed. I have seen the shock on the faces of airline attendents when I told them the places we went. They couldn’t believe we saw so much and went places Americans usually don’t go. Depending on where you are traveling, you will likely see very poor places. You will see real life with EF. Your hotels will be nice, but they are not always going to be the same as what you would have at a resort.
You may not always have hot water. Air conditioning? Don’t count on it – but cold Gatorade bottles on your head will help. You may have a lizard in your room or a bat in the screened in top of your hut. I can’t emphasize this enough because I have had a few travelers become overwhelmingly upset because the rooms did not meet their expectations. I have seen the most amazing rooms on EF trips. Some were like entire floors they were so big, but this is not the norm.
Adventures
EF is filled with amazing adventures, from white water rafting to ziplining to dancing. If you have limitations due to age or health, talk to EF. They will let you know exactly what they can and can’t do to help you experience travel. I have had travelers of all ages. Some have had physical limitations, like me when I was pregnant leading a trip to Costa Rica. The EF tour guides are very helpful. If there are any activities you don’t feel comfortable doing, you don’t have to.
Each group leader may have their own expectations about this, but know that it is the group leader’s responsibility to stay with students who choose not to participate in an activity. If a student gets sick on tour, the group leader also must stay with that student and designate someone to keep an eye on the other students doing activities. I emphasize this so that parents know their child should be well taken care of and so that group leaders realize they have to put students first, no matter how much they want to do the fun stuff. Part of the reason EF rewards group leaders is the fact that they are agreeing to do their absolute best to keep travelers safe, happy, and engaged on tour.
Do you handle stress well?
It’s important to remember that EF is a great company and has offices around the world to assist travelers. But even so, they cannot control the world. They don’t control the airlines, they don’t control other people’s actions, and they don’t control unforeseen emergencies. Travel always carries some risk. If you talk about this before your trip, you will handle disruptions more easily.
Emergencies on Tour
EF is always a phone call away, and they stay in touch with their guides and local partners. EF is proactive, and they keep group leaders up to date about what is going on. But, remember that an emergency can arise very quickly without warning. In Costa Rica, we were going down the steepest mountain I have ever been on in my life. The brakes went out. Then the tires popped and the bus started filling with smoke. Thank God our driver was excellent and coasted us down safely. The fire department came and we were transferred to another bus. It was very scary and some students were very rattled and wanted to go home early.
Also in Costa Rica I had a group of students get robbed – thank God I had their passports! I did complain to EF after these incidents, particularly about the location we were in when students were robbed. I think it’s a balance for EF between trying to include more parts of a country and maintaining safety. Showing a real place and culture and benefiting more local economies is great, but safety always has to be first. Ask questions before you go. I always research our hotels online. I can tell you that online can be shiny and nice and the reality is barbed wire when you arrive.
Adventures & Risk
I did not horseback ride in Costa Rica because I was pregnant. Most of my group did and had a wonderful experience. After our trip, EF stopped offering horseback rides because a student from another group was injured. Adventures are fun but they carry risk, whether you are with your own family or an EF tour group.
On my most recent trip to the Dominican Republic, I became sick for the first time ever during an EF tour. I had to take medicine daily to be able to ride on the bus. I prayed constantly that I would get better. One student in another group was so sick that she had to be taken to a clinic for treatment. I don’t know what made me sick. I think I may have ingested a small amount of sink water when I forgot to use bottled water to rinse my toothbrush off. Take any and all rules seriously when you are in another country. Remind each other so everyone in your group stays healthy.
Our return flight home was cancelled. We rebooked and then missed the connecting flight because the lines at the airport were insane. We had to stay overnight in a hotel and we were all tired and ready to be at home. But – and this is the really crucial factor – my group was composed of the most amazing people you could ever hope to be with and that made it okay.
Are you comfortable in uncomfortable situations?
Make sure you are traveling with people who will look out for you. If you are with a great group of people, you will have a great trip no matter what obstacles come along. I hope that you don’t have any uncomfortable situations, but it’s likely you will with international travel. Again, EF doesn’t control every person in every place in the world.
In China, one of my students was pulled back to a shopping booth by a Chinese lady desperate to make a sale. I also felt sure our tour guide was taking us to so many shops because she was getting kickbacks from the store owners. I loved her, but how many jade and pearl and silk shops do teenagers need to visit? Our tour guide in another country actually mentioned kickbacks directly to us. I also discussed this concern with EF.
In numerous countries, we have been approached by beggars. In France, multiple adult members of my group were pickpocketed. One lady lost everything – all her money and passport. Our group was followed for a while in the Dominican Republic, but we had police escorts to keep us safe. We were told that all females needed to dress appropriately (no short shorts) but all groups did not follow this rule. We quickly understood why it was advised.
The day before we left to go to Belize, an American was killed there. We had a choice to make. We decided to still go and had a fantastic trip. Life is complicated and if you really want to see another country, that’s going to be a little complicated too. Talk about it before you go to prepare for possible situations you might encounter.
Final Assessment
The Reality of a Place
Overall, I believe EF does a good job of coordinating so many intricate details that come along with travel. From traveling with them so many times, I have learned what to ask and what to look out for. One thing I can say for sure is that if you want to see a country, EF will show you. The whole country. The people and their differences. The reality of a place, not just a nice hotel room. Real, authentic food. I will never think of travel the same after my EF adventures.
When you go on an EF tour, you might end up sitting in someone’s living room hearing about their life through a translator. You might get your first meal that is incredibly delicious from a roadside shack. If you’re lucky, you might visit a school and get to play with local children. You might learn more about the country’s government in a week than you will ever learn by watching the news.
Lasting Memories in a Group Dynamic
EF cultivates unique, lasting memories within a group dynamic that is hard to match. EF is not perfect, but I am grateful for each trip I led with them. I saw students fly for the very first time, conquering their fear. I saw students see that the world was so much bigger than our little hometown, but that home was a pretty special place too. I’ll never forget seeing students kneel and pray at a church in Costa Rica.
My relationship with EF has been a good one. Every question, every complaint, every change, I can say that they have supported me. My first EF trip was when my oldest daughter was a toddler, and now she’s almost 14. She went on her very first EF trip last year to the Dominican Republic. You know if I took my daughter with me, I had no doubt EF would do their best to keep us safe. I had no doubt an EF trip would be that “once in a lifetime” that would show her another part of the world.
If an EF trip is for you and your child, call them and tell them I sent you! I hope this article gives you a few questions to ask for a successful journey. If you have traveled with EF already, I’d love to hear what you thought and where you went in the comments.