EF Explore America Omdömen 4 272

It was poorly organized. We had to wait at least an hour on each adventure we went on. At one point we had 3 hours with nothing to do. The kids slept on the bus. We spent more time sitting on the ground waiting than we did doing things. I expected more from this company.

The company handles every step along the way and is great at communicating. The tour director was knowledgeable and flexible.

I was not happy with the itinerary schedule. There was wasted time traveling that could have been spent in the museums. starting with flying into the wrong city to be bussed three hours for the start of our trip. Why not meet the bus closer to our destination. When in dc doubling back multiple times. It did not seem well thought out, like professionals handled the trip. It was with majority of 12–13-year-old kids when asking how long to the next stop the smart-ass response from the guild was rude. However, she did keep us on schedule and was a positive person to be around and her and the driver are the only reason I didn't give 1 star they made up where the company clearly falls short. So, I do want to thank them for the trip. I do not feel that I got my monies worth due to the holocaust museum, African American museums and Smithsonian museums having any time less than two hours robbed those kids of the experience and learning due to the speed we had to run through. and yes, we had to run at times.

Thank you for making it affordable for single parent families to be able to give their children this great opportunity to be able to travel and learn things of the world. This deal included flights, hotel, tours and food.

Impressive professionalism and attention to safety made this trip run smoothly, which was very comforting to parents. My daughter had the time of her life!

From my representative and her team, to our tour director and bus driver, the entire experience was exceptional. They truly made us feel like we were their only clients. My representative was always available to answer questions, and even while we were on tour, she remained in contact with both our tour director and me to ensure everything was running smoothly. The tours planned for our group were outstanding—our students were consistently engaged, and I appreciated how well the schedule kept them active and involved from morning until evening.

Our guide angeli and driver Ron were excellent!

Our son had a great time. The program was was well organized and he was able to experience the big attractions of NY in a safe and fun environment. Great learning experience for him.

The 8th grade East Coast trip was intense, busy, well-organized, with room for flexibility, memorable, and enjoyable. Time was not wasted with all the scheduled stops and valuable information that was shared. The tour guide and bus driver were phenomenal!

James Cannon was the most perfect tour guide managing our large group of 14 yr olds with sensitivity, intellect and grace. Thank you for an unforgettable tour!

Tour guide was great however for the cost of the trip it was way too expensive for 3 days. Also, to house 4 kids in one room and you charged us $2100 per child. The kids were rushed to get from place to place they did not really get to spend time looking at everything. Also, everything they went to see was free except for MT. Vernon. The places they went to eat were all fast food. Just highly disappointed.

My child had the best time ever and made life long friends

Our tour guide was very knowledgable and passionate about what he spoke about - the history and facts of the area. What I didn't like was how soft he spoke. His voice was monotone, and if he couldn't hold my own attention, I couldn't expect him to hold the attention of a bunch of teenagers excited to be across the country with their friends. I'm sure I could have learned something if I actually heard him, but his delivery was lacking. He was very nice though, and I appreciate his patience with a bunch of tired tens and chaperones.

The places we went to were great, I'm sure, under different circumstances. They really did pack as much as they could into every single day, which I appreciated because I guess it's nice to fit in as much as possible. From the moment we landed after a sleepless redeye with over 100 teenagers, we were go go go. They did give us an itinerary in the EF app, but I don't think they factored in any traffic because we were pretty much late to most things every day. I kept the star rating for the places we went to - they were great choices, but I think some things could have been removed from the itinerary because the kids didn't even care to walk around it. I do feel like they could have given us more time to soak in the Holocaust museum, the 9/11 memorial, the Smithsonian museums, and Time Square because our time there felt very rushed, whereas we spent too much time in places that didn't feel like it needed that much time. The visit at the Smithsonian was the worst of all the visits. We literally only had an hour and a half, but most of that time was spent going to the bathroom and in line for food and eating. We had no time whatsoever to see what they had to offer aside from the 2 bathroom locations I went to and the gift shop. This was such a waste.

The hotels we stayed at were...... lacking, except the last hotel. They provided security for each floor with kids. The last hotel did not have security on every floor, but had one security guard rotating from one floor to another. The first 2 hotels were over 30 minutes away from the major city. They were 2-3 stars on google, and that is very accurate. The rooms were clean, but the rest of the amenities were extremely lacking. First, there was no drinking water to refill our waters in the lobby, which is very inconvenient when going downstairs to heat up microwave food that requires water. In that case, you either wait a million minutes for the elevator to go back to your floor to get water, or to go the gym somewhere to get water. Second, the second hotel's ice machine was broken on every floor except 3 of them. I think there were 10 floors in this hotel? Imagine being so tired and walking up every floor just to be told you have to go to floor xyz just for ice.

Lastly, the food was the absolute worst part of this trip. If I'm spending this much money, I want to eat at least something unique to the area I'm visiting. Barely any of the kids were full after eating. With all the walking we did, these kids were STARVING by the time we got back to the hotel after 9pm. One restaurant EF booked served us cold Mac and cheese, THREE cold inedible chicken tenders, and cold French fries - a meal for a toddler that they expected teenagers and ADULTS to get full off of. Some kids did not eat that meal, and honestly they would have just gone to bed starving if we hadn't DoorDashed them food. Some of the restaurants required us to complete a google form picking from 2-4 choices. The only problem is that they submitted the answers, but we didn't get a copy of it so by the time we went to the restaurant, some people didn't get what they ordered because no one could remember what they chose. Overall, my money felt like I paid for an overpriced exhausting sleepover for my son, his friends, and myself. I would never do a trip like this again with a school tour group.

We had the most wonderful time. We saw so many sights and had a great experience. Our guide, Jenn and bus driver, Saul, were very knowledgeable about our destinations and made our safety a priority. Jenn was receptive to customizing our trip as able to meet the needs and preferences for members of our group. The hotels were clean and well-accommodating. We made great memories we will keep always.

We had a fantastic experience. The students were very enthusiastic and had an unforgettable time.

EF was highly organized. When we arrived at the airport, they were prepared for us, and the same level of readiness was evident upon our arrival at the hotel. On our way home, we faced issues with our flight and felt nervous about missing our connecting flight. I was very grateful to receive a text from an EF representative offering assistance if needed. EF coordinated with the airlines to ensure we wouldn't miss our connection. This was very reassuring, and fortunately, we made our flight.

My daughter had a fantastic time in Washington DC. She said he tour guide was amazing. There were no troubles at all. Thanks

Our tour guide, Jenn, was amazingly knowledgeable in early American history. She was always ready with a cool place to visit, a story to tell or a history fact to share. One of my students told me on Tuesday, "I do not feel like I had spring break, I just has a really intense and cool history class."

My daughter had the time of her life touring through Washington D.C. and New York with her 8th grade classmates and EF Explore America. It was a whirlwind 5 day trip, with a ton of experiences, sightseeing, and very full days. My daughter mentioned that there were a couple of stressful moments with the crowds in NY, trying to find chaperones and keep everyone together. She also complained about the exhaustion of going from a red-eye flight straight into a full day of nonstop activities, but overall, she said it was a lot of fun and worth the money spent.

Ron and Angeli were amazing. They made our trip more enjoyable and everything flowed nicely from day to day.

Had a great time. Got to see things never thought would see. Tour guide Mike was awesome.