Daughter had a great trip, and I was surprised by the flight times on the way there. They departed early in the morning, and had a 9.5 hour layover prior to the overnight connecting flight to Iceland. There were multiple other options for a later initial departure, that would have shrunk the layover considerably. Taking one of these would have allowed the group to get a decent sleep prior to departure, and be more prepared for touring immediately following the overnight flight.

Our guide Silvia was a total gem… Spain has always been on my bucket list but she made it that much more special … she gets full marks plus bonus points! Down side-our hotel in Madrid was way too far out … losing 3 hours each day in travel to and from was too much .. lol and Barcelona customs and Lisbon airport weren’t great but that’s beyond your control … everything else was wonderful

Tour guide Sylvia was wonderful. Spain and Portugal were amazing to tour.

We had a great time. Our tour director was fantastic. He was able to work with some of our booked activites to accommodate our request for a change in itinerary.

Everything and everyone were exceptional!
knowledgeable and friendly!

My daughter was very dissapointed with the trip. If she could go back in time, she would choose to spend her money elsewhere. She felt simultaneously coddled and ignored by group leader and chaparones. Being a more mature student who has already had some solo travel experience, this was very frustrating. I had mentally prepared her for the normal annoyances of group travel. So, although she wasn't happy about it, she knew she'd be back at meeting points 5 min early and then have to wait for late comers. But we weren't prepared for the overly packed schedule that did not allow for rest or a chance to have some quiet time at the hotel. It's very uncomfortable to be stuck in a group from morning until after supper. People also need a break for noise and contant movement. As an adult I would not have enjoyed the pace, and I have more patience than the students. I've planned a lot of trips. There is no way that I would have planned such a packed schedule for arrival. Plus they wasted 3 hours that day "shopping" when everything was closed for Good Friday. Major ball drop, by organizers. I'd be embarrassed to make such an amature mistake. Similar thing happened with the marathon in Paris. It didn't seem like they planned a better travel route and they actually had to park far away and walk trough the marathon track. It might help to have a couple parents be chaparones. With them all being teachers, I see too much group think. They all come from a broken system with antiquated ideas. I was also hoping the chaparones would treat the students more like adult paying customers instead of dismissing their feedback as childish complaints. They seemed inconvenienced by student requests and often brushed them off. Many students complained of being tired. Did any chaparones pass along that feedback? Students were told "that's just how it is to fit everything in" and " You're young. You can handle it". But in today's world we need people to be problem solvers and continually improve processes. There are many things you could tweek to make the trip better, if chaparones were to pass along all the feedback they get, instead of brushing it off as just children whining. There was a missed opportunity to treat the students as adults. By grade 12 they are so tired of being treated like children at school. Some of them have jobs and have noticed they are treated with more respect in the world than they do at school. Some of these students paid for their own trip by working a job. They deserved to be treated like paying customers. Chaparones got a free trip. But still treated it like their own trip and went off on their own when there was free time, instead of hanging out and coaching students. (But they were all peopled out and tired too, so again, more breaks are needed. Not free time in a noisy busy place, but back at the hotel where they can get some quiet and be comfortable. ). They also explained things in childish ways. Such as, gulitling students into listening to them, because "they gave up their Easter Break" instead of giving them a real reason. Chaparones are there to keep them safe and help with problems. It's okay if a chaparone misses something to take an injured student to get their foot exrayed or to take a few students back to the hotel if they are wiped out. Their trip was free. So they have responsibilities in exchange. This trip didn't seem like it was for the students. So, I'm not sure who it is designed to serve. Very poor customer service!!! Poor value for the money. Luckily my daughter found some places she'd like to visit again on her own and knows some places she would definitely skip. An hour or so at the Louve was not nearly enough time. She was dissapointed, since it was a major selling point of the trip. So she will visit there again to get a chance to really enjoy it. Basically, the tradeoff between seeing as much as possible, and taking adequate breaks and actually be able to enjoy and delve deeper into the activities they do experience is way off. But could be easily tweeked to improve the experience. Chaparones need more training on how to speak respectfully to students to give them a more adult experience. They should act more like big brothers and sisters. They should be watching out for the mental health of the students and noticing if they are too run down, or all peopled out for the day. And to avoid group think, add in some parent or even older siblings as chaparones. The school system still needs to catch up to the outside world, where adequate rest and self care takes a bigger priority in supporting overall health. This trip was meant to be a reward to my daughter for all her hard work and Navigating a broken system for the past 4 years. Instead she was dragged around and uncomfortable most of the time. She stopped giving feedback as it was falling on deaf ears...0/10

EF was there with me from start to finish. The good and the almost bad. Never had any issues with anything. My tour consultant Holly is an absolutely amazing professional who is always a phone call away regardless of the the simplicity or the outrageousness of my queries.

Excellently run, have used them three times for my kids and nothing but good things to say

Très bon service, belle expérience voyage avec les élèves.

Every aspect of EF Tours Canada has been spectacular over 6 amazing trips! Support is top notch while planning, while on tour and even to the follow up meetings when home. They care and it shows in the quality of the tours and how they treat everyone like family. You owe it to yourself to give EF a chance with your trips as they make dreams come true and give unforgettable experiences of a lifetime for Students and Group Leaders!

Very well organized trip; my daughter had an amazing time. I relaxed a little knowing she would be in good hands.

Tour Guide was knowledgeable of the area and sites we visited were all very informative. Hotel Cabin was only downside to the experience, very busy and small rooms.

Great way to allow people to travel places that normally may be unattainable. Really enjoyed the trip and having everything planned out for us. The only reason I didn’t give a 5 star is some of the hotels chosen were hard to deal with and lied about their amenities.

Great sights, great accommodations, well organized

The tour went great. Tour guides did a great job. My son had a great time.

Excellent experience. The tour and connections ran without a hitch, the hotels were great. In addition, EF made all the arrangements when Lufthansa cancelled the return flights and the students had to stay an extra day. Fantastic experience!

My daughter did the 9 day tour of Greece from Saskatchewan, Canada. The two girls in the red EF Tour shirts that met us at the airport before leaving made me feel like she was already in safe hands. They were from Toronto and only there to see the tours off. They had Raluca as their tour guide and she was excellent. She took them to little local gems that they normally wouldn't have seen. Thank you for putting me at ease as my daughter was touring the other side of the world!

Pacing

I appreciated the pacing of the overall tour. Some days were heavy walking days, which was good when integrated with things like rides on the underground. Overall I feel the kids appreciated a bit more room in the schedule - sometimes an overpacked schedule can heighten the intensity of being away from home in an overpacked city. A little breathing room now and the throughout the day helps avoid overwhelm.