I am very disappointed with my experience with EF Explore America. Communication has been unclear, especially regarding the cancellation policy, which feels like a complete mystery. When I called to ask questions about the cancellation policy and to add the $199 protection plan, I was refused. I was told that requesting the protection plan meant I was planning to cancel and that it could be considered "insurance fraud." I was simply asking questions and trying to understand my options. I was also informed that without purchasing the insurance protection, no refund would be provided under any circumstances, even in serious situations such as a child being hospitalized. This was extremely concerning and made me feel that families are not fully supported in difficult situations. Overall, the lack of transparency and the way my concerns were handled were very frustrating. I strongly encourage families to carefully review all policies and ask detailed questions before committing. read more

Please please do not even attempt to think about using this company for your child. We had our daughter signed up for a trip with set dates, they didn't get enough kids to sign up so they switched dates from October to March the following year. We have long standing family plans every spring break and my daughter can no longer make it. When we attempted to cancel they stated that we would incur a $514 fee for cancellation. This is absurd since they changed the date on us WITH OUT any input from us on what would work. DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY WITH YOUR CHILD!!!! This is super shady and money hungry, they have zero interest in the child at this point and ONLY want the money. read more

RUN, don't walk, from this company. My daughter was so excited about the tour, but we had to cancel as my daughter changed schools, after we'd already paid $1,000. Explore America said they would charge us the cancellation fee (understandable), but we'd have the refund within 4-6 weeks. Didn't happen. I called 6 times. Each time I got a different explanation of why my money hadn't been refunded. When they finally issued the refund almost 2 months later, it only because I would not stop calling. And guess what happened? They withdrew the refund amount from my account the same day they refunded it! I am not kidding. When I called yet again to address this latest screw-up, the manager, Lilly Beardsley, was totally blase about it all. Utterly insincere and unhelpful. And here I am STILL waiting for the refund. I give 2 stars instead of 1 because the employees (not the manager) tried to help, but it appears they were hampered by poor internal communication and a lack of leadership. Save yourself the heartache and hours of wasted time; there are better tour companies out there. read more

Im told its not bad if you can follow through on the trip however my senior did not get his trip as we had to move half way through the school year. When speaking with ef explore they gave us our only option was to cancel the trip. Now this trip is still a year away but we have already paid almost $700 of the cost. We have been informed that its not there fault that he cant attend so they canceled his trip and will not be issuing any type of refund. I understand a fee for cancelation but to keep it all is a total rip off and we will never particulate in any ef program again. read more

Excellent Customer attention, u errstood exactly what we were looking for, found the Best price available

They put four teenage boys in a hotel room costing approx $165/night (I called and checked and we know they are buying for even less than I could) with two beds. So one ends up on a sofa bed and another on the floor. Frankly, I wasn't going to post this (almost never post a negative review) but their customer service department was so bad when I called to provide feedback I thought I should warn others. Schools would be better off planning their own trip than using this company. read more

If organized tours are all like this, then the majority of people are morons to pay money for them. We went on a school tour back in 2018 to New York. We had to stay at a hotel in New Jersey that didn't even have a pool for the kids. Plus, it took us forever to get to NY every morning because of traffic. That was my first inkling that this trip was going to be bad. Our included meals were at the typical tourist traps that had horrible food. The last day we only had 45 minutes to spend at the MOMA because our very liberal and tone deaf tour guide just had to take us to the park where Stonewall Inn was. She then proceeded to tell us all about the LGBTQ history and also showed us a demonstration where sex workers were protesting. Then, she took us to a gay owned ice cream parlor to end things with a bang. The group of kids we took were 10-11 years old. Irresponsible doesn't even begin to describe the tour guide or EF tours. So yes.....I will never endorse this company because they are inadequate from start to finish. read more

Overcharges and preys on parents. Schools that choose this group have clearly no done their research. DO NOT USE. The PTA could plan a better trip for 1/3rd the cost EF charges. read more

BEWARE of this company! I booked an international trip for my son and a domestic trip for my daughter to DC and NYC. My son's trip went well and as planned. My daughter's trip was cancelled out of the blue for no given reason in April 2023 and no one informed me. I've been waiting for a refund for 5 months for over $2K and the kicker is they are not refunding me for the fees and insurance of a trip they cancelled. I didn't cancel the trip so why am I on the line for $514 for a trip that no one is taking. It's FRAUD! I could have taken my whole family on that same trip for that same amount of money. read more

AVOID THIS RIP OFF ! They did not inform me properly that they would try to invade my privacy with a background check to accompany my adult grandson until we had paid them thousands . I refused and they forced us to cancel. If it is so important why is it hidden in small print on page 3 ? So that you have already paid them and you are trapped. My rights are not for anyone to demand I give them up. I believe Thomas Jefferson said "The man who trades his rights for security deserves neither". We did not get a full refund. Please go to an honest company. You and your hard earned money deserve better. John Wolverton read more

EF tours won't ever see another cent from me, and I hope my honest review will save you from making the same mistake. My sons middle school booked a trip to Washington DC from Las Vegas in June of 2022. Prior to departure I found out my son would be in a room with 3 other boys. I asked them how that was possible and was told two boys to a bed. What? In 2020 putting teenagers in the same bed is ok? Whether they be two boys or two girls or boy girl it is simply not acceptable. They did offer a $150 charge per night to put him in a room with only 1 other boy, but i would have to find someone else to accept that offer as well. $3000 trip and my son has to share a double bed? You wouldn't put a boy in the same bed as a girl, for obvious reasons, those reasons now also apply to two teenagers of the same sex. Second point Prior to the trip we had to provide Covid documentation and being we have at risk people in the family this was a determining factor in allowing him to go on the trip. Required documents: Covid 19 Vaccination negative covid test within 72 hours of departure. Upon return from the trip we were notified that one parent and one student tested positive for Covid. My son got sick and we tested him and he was positive. All four of us living in the house got sick and tested positive. When I asked about the test and vaccines I was informed that NO ONE asked to see the documents prior to leaving. So in my eye this was simply FALSE ADVERTISING! Why list required documents that weren't required? How do i know that no one on this trip was positive when they left? EF Tours took NO steps toward ensuring the safety of my child and my family. Please stay away from this predatory tour company that cares nothing for our children's health and safety. read more

By the time you read this, it's probably too late, because chances are your school has already made the decision to run a trip with EF Tours. DON'T JOIN IT! This company has been a customer service nightmare. From the high-pressure sales pitch ("Last Chance! MUST BOOK NOW!") to the greasy feel of all their email correspondences, this company just feels dirty. Then once they had taken thousands from us (nope - no refunds whatsoever), they changed dates, raised prices and added random fees again and again. If you need to contact them to resolve one of the problems that they've created, emails won't be responded to (over 10 days and still waiting) and calling them on the phone requires more than an hour on hold. This company is broken, and doesn't seem interested in making changes. Unfortunately, they market themselves to teachers (trip organizers) and so the actual paying customers (parents) don't have much choice once a trip is being offered. Get out ahead of it. If your school program is considering a trip, talk to your kid's teacher/organizer early. Tell them to check out the yelp reviews. There are so many people who have had bad experiences with this company. If your school goes ahead with EF tours anyways - it's tough to keep your kid out of it - but I know we won't do another EF tours program. Crappy, crappy company. read more

Hidden fees for cancellation that are not discussed or easy to find when giving ample notice. When you call, no one is willing to assist and just quote the party line. You lose $450 when you give notice of more than 150 days. I would not recommend any friends families or kids to join these tours. read more

This company is NOT following CDC Guidelines. This company has you sign a contract and then does not follow it. They state "no additional cost to traveler" if you get covid, but require you pay your food, transportation to airport, transportation home and even for water. This company states they will provide you with Telehealth and DO NOT, prefer to send you home on an airplane day 3 into your quarantine, and are sure not to ask how you are doing.... They state if you get covid you will be refunded for the days not able to participate. They refuse to give you back anything. And ignore emails. I tested positive for Covid while on tour with a group of 43. When I tested their tour guide Erin texted me and let me know she can not make anyone test - contract states everyone will be tested and quarantined to prevent the spread to those who can not get sick. Our group was reduced to 23 people, because most did not want to test and they continued the tour. To places with Federal Employees - I have emailed one working on the rest. They do NOT clean the tour bus daily, do not even have wet wipes for the passengers too as we asked. They do not offer masks or hand sanitizer, and even think of using them after half the group starts testing positive. What they will do is put you in a room alone, and ignore you from that point on. Tell your 14 yr old child to not even look at your door or they are being sent home courtesy of the parents. When I ran out of seizure medication, instead of getting me the telehealth appt they state on their website and in their contract they placed me on a plane for 10 hours, day three into my quarantine, and I was one of those rare ones who fully vaccinated did get very sick. All I want is a refund for my tour, I am not asking for my daughters I am asking for mine. My trip was destroyed. I was denied WATER and Toilet Paper, and had to Door Dash them. I am beginning to contact groups after us as the tour guide joined one the day after. I am going to let everyone I possibly can know about this because the company has decided to just ignore me. Not even offer the refund they guarantee of the days I missed, the room fee I overpaid for and my costs lost. I am not even asking for the 10 days of PAY from my work I missed. Their employee was in the HOSPITAL the day she met up with us, atleast we all know where we got Covid From. Pictures: Erin our EF Tour Guide with the Employee from USS Constitution the morning we tested positive. Some screen shots of text messages back and forth with Erin and the EF Tours employee to get me home. Including one with the threat that my daughter could not stay back (even exposed) or it would force me to stay longer. A photo on Tuesday of the full group, and Friday the day we all tested positive in the morning. I have many more text conversations, emails etc.. showing the complexity of how this company is not following their contract, and failing to provide the basics of what we PAID FOR. If anyone is interested in a class action lawsuit please contact me, I am reaching out to lawyers and have been told we have a case after they reviewed the contract. read more

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Like many others here, I am giving the lowest rating because of the refund policy. I do understand the contract states some administration fees are non-refundable. And I do understand the company already paid some of their staff to work on booking logistics. Still it is unfathomable that this company believes it should be paid by customers who receive ZERO product because they are not providing the product as agreed on their end. Nevertheless we accepted the partial refund and while my child is of an age to be included on future school trips, which our district has primarily booked with EF, we will not be doing so in the future. They are relying on a rolling, ever changing list of potential consumers and for the unhappy to grow up and move along. read more

Same complaint as everyone else. They are crooks, and keeping unearned money. We had a full trip planned through a travel agency... airline, hotel and car. Everything was automatically refunded 100%. We didn't even have to call. EF is the worst trying to make their problems out problems. There is a class action law suit for us. Hopefully we will hear something this year. https://www.classaction.org/news/education-first-tour-companies-refuse-to-issue-full-cash-refund-for-tours-canceled-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak-lawsuit-claims read more

I needed to cancel my kids trip, over a year in advance, they kept all of my money, $340. They had never once contacted me about the trip. The organizer got fired from the school and no one from the school contacted us. It took weeks to figure out who was taking over. Bad experience from EF and the school. read more

This company is not For the American people when my son's seventh grade trip got canceled due to COVID-19 this company refuses to refund our FULL payment. They are withholding $450 which is 25% of the full cost of the trip. As of June 2020 there is a class action lawsuit for California residents ! Do not purchase any travel from this company read more

I just found out that Explore America is keeping $750 out of my $2389 payment..........! They are keeping 1/3 of my payment for not being able to go on a school trip for my 8th grade son that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus. A travel voucher, which is what they are offering, does not help me pay my bills or feed my kids. I was going on this trip as a chaperone for my son's school. This was not a vacation trip that was for me personally. The president of the United States has told the public that the airlines have to issue complete refunds because people are not able to fly. I guess Explore America feels that it is okay to exploit people during a pandemic crisis. I am literally astonished that this company would be this greedy during a national crisis. I would not recommend this company to anyone. Terrible business practices. read more

I'm so mad. I'm absolutely horrified. This company is not fully refunding the money we paid for our son's middle school trip to DC/NY. It's obviously been canceled due to the Covid-19 scare. Lots of travel is being canceled. But if you look around at all airlines, hotels, AirBnb, etc... EVERYONE is refunding money. But EF Explore America is not. (yes, you read that correctly). They are offering a voucher that expires in 2 years (which we can't use) or, if we want a refund, they are going to keep $750 our money. Think about that. $750. Not $75, but $750. Every family that paid is going to be donating $750 to this company. For what? Administrative work? Fine, take a $100 per kid or something, but $750 per kid? What they are doing is obviously wrong. Any idiot can see that. They're claiming the $750 (per kid) allows them to "partially cover costs for non-recoverable payments to our suppliers, our staff, and the investment we have always made and continue to make in itinerary, date and destination flexibility. LOL, "partially." And what "investment" are they referring to specifically? So basically they are insinuating that holding onto $750 per kid doesn't even their own costs. Like we should feel bad for them... they are being generous by only keeping $750 per kid. For a trip that is not happening whatsoever. That's like 1/4 of the total cost of the trip! And we all know you can get those refunds. No major airline/hotel company is going to tell middle school families that they must forfeit their money in the middle of a national medical emergency. Sounds like greed, pure and simple. This shady company will very likely get most/all of their money back from the airlines and hotels AND they are going to take another $750 per kid? Disgraceful. I am just beside myself with anger. Not only is our son's trip canceled but this company is trying to steal our money. I realize they are probably panicking. They have no way to make money moving forward, so they are attempting to hold onto as much of the money as they can. But I wonder how much it will cost them to deal with a class action lawsuit? Probably a lot more than $750 per kid. If/when these trips ever resume, RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. There are other companies who have provided the exact same service to date and are refunding 100% of the money families paid. If they can do it, EF Explore America can. read more

Just an update!! Just recieved and email from EF and my account show the travel voucher with the amount I paid but all of the payment history if gone. It just shows trip is cancelled. So all dates of payments you made are wiped away. If anyone here has Facebook there is a group of parents that are joining together it is called - EF class action. Pls join to get info and have any questions answered. *****EF just refund us our money******** read more

Parents, teachers and students BEWARE before booking any trip with EF Explore America. This company has absolutely ZERO regard for the safety and welfare of your children. For example, EF Explore America is refusing to postpone or even offer future travel vouchers for any domestic trips to areas in the U.S. that have already declared a state of emergency in response to the recent coronavirus outbreaks. Instead, EF Explore America expects parents to either (i) send their children to areas that have declared a state of emergency--with confirmed cases increasing exponentially--or (ii) forfeit the entire cost of the trip to EF Explore America (which typically averages several thousands of dollars). This is unacceptable and further demonstrates the fact that EF Explore America only sees your child as a dollar sign despite EF Explore America's claim that your child's safety is somehow their "priority." EF Educational Tours (also a subsidiary of EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc.) has recognized the risks and dangers of the recent coronavirus outbreak and has extended its Peace of Mind program to all travel groups regardless of their departure date and destination--thereby allowing these groups to postpone their trips to a future date. Despite these dangers, EF Explore America has made the conscious decision to continue domestic to areas directly impacted by the coronavirus. EF Explore America's in-house counsel needs a refresher course on willful negligence before a student or group leader is hospitalized from exposure or even worse results in a wrongful death lawsuit. read more

Had to cancel and they kept $550 of my money ... basically over 10%. I was fine with the $95 but kept the insurance - they are just not worth taking the risk and ripping people off that much money when an unforeseen event arises just creates more of a barrier to entry for those who struggle financially for their child to give them a better life. I recommend high school teachers look elsewhere especially after reading all the horrible reviews. read more

If I could give them no stars I would. I am surprised that the school district is still doing business with this company. They seem to be only in it for the money. I reserved a spot for a DC/Gettysburg trip that will take place in 2025. Well my daughter decided that she didn't want to go 24 hours after I have put down money to hold her spot. Called the company to cancel her spot and was informed that I could cancel but not receive the deposit back. WHY the charge hadn't even cleared the bank yet. I could see if I had waited months to cancel but it was 24 hours. This company is a rip off. Every school district out there should think long and hard before doing business with this company. read more

Pathetic organization. Horrible customer service. Being a travel company their hold times to get hold of an agent are ridiculous. on an average i have waited 40 mins to get an agent, and once they come on they are not very helpful. They just keep blaming the pandemic but its more that that...they just dont care about their customers. Not very helpful staff either. If you have a choice go somewhere else. read more

This company is the worst company you could do business with. First extremely expensive, second if you decide to cancel and you don't have insurance your money is gone... and I'm not talking about last minute cancelation I'm talking about months before cancelation, they still not honor you. and no one answers their phone!!! If you have insurance(wich is very expensive $279 per person) they still take you extra $95 no refundable fee and the cost of insurance. Total to cancel with insurance is $374 they take out per person. They are shady and dishonest. They dont tell you about the $95 clearly. They canceled on us due to Covid and they still charged us $350.00 each. They imposed vaccines for the kids now, months after we started paying and now again they want to charge $350.00 and we have insurance. run from this people if you don't want to loose money. read more

@EFExplore horrible company! 60 days before departure they decide everyone has to be vaccinated. 300 dollar refund on a 2000 dollar trip and you don't get to keep your flight! No later trips that it can be applied to. #CustomerService #neveragain #lostmybusiness read more

If zero stars were possible, they would get that.. Worst tour company ever. Terrible customer service, even worse refund policy when THEY cancel your trip. Buyer beware! Use someone else for your tour. read more

Please Please Please!!! May any and all parents read reviews before trusting this horrid company that hides behind children as an excuse to rob and steal from families. I among the other hundreds of thousands of parents nationwide fell victim to robbery from this company. I paid for the insurance to insure if anything were to happen we would receive our full money back, but that is another deceitful lie to take more of your money because it provides you with no security on your purchase. When I purchased my daughters trip it was in October 2020, 8 months after COVID and they were well aware of COVID conditions. They took our money than shortly after completely canceled the trip still using the excuse of COVID. But they took our money knowing COVID was an obstacle and ensuring our money was a safe investment. They used COVID and our kids hungry desire to socialize as a ploy to steal from families. We suffered financially but you do not have too! Please Please may no one trust this company and may they close this company down so no other victims fall privy to their theft! read more

Failed to return calls and emails regarding questions about accommodating a change in flight after they represented that a trip would be from April3-7 and then changed the dates to April 10-15 last minute. Further, they took over $2500 from me and would not refund even though they provided the wrong dates of the trip. Do NOT use this company! read more

EF Eplore does not like criticism. They will delete Facebook comments if they don't like the truth being told. They lied and told us refunds will be given if it has anything to do with Covid. This is a lie. Do not trust them with your money. Urge your school to use a different service. read more

Absolutely DO NOT trust this company with your child's well being. They only care about their bottom line and not your child's safety, health, or well being. They only respond when pressured (through BBB (check their ratings)) and customer service will refuse to help you. Be warned. Be wary. Look elsewhere for a company you can trust to take care of your most important asset. read more

I paid for my son's trip in full. The trip was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic. EF Explore America said it would take 5 weeks to refund the money AND they are keeping $350 for costs associated with planning for the trip. Wow, $350?? That is ridiculous for a trip that I didn't cancel!! read more

2 days before my trip I get a random email switching my flights to economy because they spelled my mother's name wrong by 1 letter and now I have to pay the price for it!!??? They are the ones that messed up and I am paying for it? Really? I was excited to take my mom on a first class trip as she has never experienced that and now they are taking that away from us! They are rude, uncaring, money-hungry, and unaccommodating. And on top of that they will not give me a refund or let me talk to a higher up!!!! Beware of this company, they deserve to be put under the bus just like they did to me! read more

This is the worst possible tour company you could go with. We cancelled months ahead of our trip due to the vaccine mandate, which they should have let us know about much earlier before we booked the trip. They are stealing money!!!!!!! They are cruel and are a scam. Worst customer service I have ever seen in my life!!!!! This company must go out of business. DON'T EVER GO ON A TRIP WITH EF TOURS!!! ‼SAVE YOURSELF‼ And it's not only me, scroll down to see all those other negative reviews....it goes on and on. read more

SHAME ON EF! The only communication you get is how to pay them. They sell this to you through teachers...direct marketing to your student. Way over-priced. They changed the trip twice without offering any word about how to cancel and when the deadline was. It took 1hour to reach someone on the phone. During Covid they should not be able to charge a cancellation fee. Very shady. read more

EF Explore America cancelled my son's trip twice and now refuses to refund the full amount we paid. How can they justify keeping $550??? What a rip! Nothing but greed! read more

Don't do it!!! This company is a scam, no customer service at all, they don't pickup the phone or return emails. THIS IS A SCAM - even though you school may have chosen them, and all the other kids are going...don't get shafted by these people. IT IS A SCAM! This is a bad company and you will be screwed.....PLEASE, PLEASE don't do it. read more

The first time THEY canceled the trip due to COVID-19 the fees were about $2024, I paid $1931, before THEY cancelled. They rescheduled and said that price wasn't going to change, however next time around fees were adding to $ 2281, I paid them almost all of them, except for $63 because We decided that Barbara was not going to make it due to her schedule conflict, and that is when I realized that now they want $233 more, Ridiculous!  And even though THEY were the ones that keeps canceling the trips, due to THEIR Suppliers inability to accommodate, they charged me the $ 350 cancelation fee. They are thives.   I hope you can help . read more

Total rip off. Booked and paid for a trip for Daughter in 2019 to DC for 2020 in the amount of $2250. The trip was bumped due to coved to 2021. The Trip was again bumped into 2022. They just charged me $350 to cancel the trip in 2022. They held on to our money for 2 years without interest and then are charging us $350 to get our cashback after multiple trip delays. They should be ashamed. Do not do business with this company. read more