"over nine hour wait on hold on the phone to talk to agency people is unacceptable. inaccurate and mis information. shows lack of training. ceo should be replaced."
"Fantastic experience--terrific planning, wonderful cities, fabulous food, great wine. Our Tour Director was the best. He ensured we were in the right place at the right time to experience the activity-packed agenda and made it all fun! The small towns were exciting to see with unique sites, warm people, and a lot of things to do. Our 5-nights in Termoli (city on the sea) was wonderful and the key to many wine tastings, olive oil tastings, cheese sampling, and three cooking classes. The trip had a lot of activities, some of which were very unique and an absolute joy for our entire group. This trip will not be "hidden" in the future."
"I have traveled quite a bit with different tour companies, however EF is by far the absolute best travel experience I have ever had. The tour director Simone was beyond amazing as well as all of the tour guides. Every little detail was well planned. I have found my the best tour company in EF and will not travel any other way. I truly cannot say enough about EF, I recommend them highly!! Thank you EF for the best travel experience I've ever had!!"
"I recently took a safari to Kenya with Go Ahead Tours. This was the most wonderful trip! Words and pictures can't begin to describe what we saw. You have to experience it yourself to believe it. Animals and birds galore. Sights such as a wildebeest migration across the river, a pride of lions feasting on a zebra in front of a nervous group of elephants, cheetahs relaxing in the shade, giraffes munching on treetop leaves, baby rhinos, elephants, antelopes nursing, and in Maasai Mara, seeing all kinds of animals clear to the horizon. Between Maasai Mara and Amboseli Nat. Park, we saw all the big 5 except a leopard. I didn't realize there were so many different types of antelopes. The scenery was superb = mountains, forest, bush, the prairie with swirling dust devils, and marshes with animals and birds feeding on the grasses. The visit to a Maasai village gave insight to their lives. We were greeted with a special dance and jumping competition. The variety of accommodations was diverse = glamping in a tent and an african hut, views of animals at a watering hole from the decks of the Ark, and a 5 star hotel in Nairobi. My favorite was at Lake Naivasha where you wake up to zebras grazing under your balcony & monkeys sitting on the railing. And I can't say enough good about the staff both on the safari and behind the scenes of Go Ahead Tours. I had a problem in the middle of the night at an airport when going to Nairobi. Go Ahead staff was only a phone call away to "save" me. The only suggestion I have is that the brochure said not to take a lot of cash - but some places would only take cash, not credit cards. I ran out of cash and had to use an ATM to get more.
I have great pictures to share, but couldn't find a place here in this review to put them."
"We recently returned from an African Safari in Kenya. It was an amazing trip. It often felt like we were in a National Geographic Documentary. Our guide Dennis was very knowledgeable and had an eagle eye -- he could see animals in the bush that we had no idea where there until he pointed them out. Accommodations were nice and the food was...edible. But that was okay because we went to see the animals, not a culinary trip. I highly recommend this trip.
Having said that—Here are the things that need improvement:
1) Communication, communication, communication. Possibly Covid (and staff working from home) is to blame but the communication with EF Tours was lacking. They took a long time (more than 2 weeks once) to respond to emails and getting them on the phone was impossible. This created a lot of undue stress before our trip.
2) EF Tours said they would arrange for Covid tests for our return to the US. While this is true, what they didn't tell us is that we have to pay for the tests. And we had to pay in CASH. This was at the end of the trip when our cash was getting low so it would have been nice if the tour company had told us before we left to have a certain amount of cash available for the Covid test.
3) bring lots of cash. For souvenirs and for tips. The recommended tip guide EF Tours post is not very helpful nor accurate. You will need more than you think.
4) on the subject of money --change your money to shillings at a bank before you go. EF Tours said everyone takes American dollars and while this is true, the exchange rate vacillates a lot and you are not getting a good rate with the vendors.
5) be prepared for a 'bush potty break' while on the day long game drive. I understand the need for this but I think we should have been told beforehand so we could be prepared. Which goes back to #1 -- more communication needed.
6) be prepared to pay (cash) when you visit the Maasai Village. They say it's free but there is intense pressure to give them cash for watching them dance and taking a tour of a house. You also have to go past booths of items for sale to even leave the village, and they have women and children using various tactics to coerce you into buying items.
Otherwise we had a great trip and will probably travel with EF Tours again, just keeping in mind the lessons we learned from this trip.
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"A few days after the tour Italy had 30 inches of rain in 12 hours followed by seven days of rain. "
"Our expert guide Warwick Driscoll made each day during our tour special. He added several points of interest to our tour which we thoroughly enjoyed. We went to so many wonderful places and soon developed friendship with each of the tour members. Our driver in the NS, NB, PEI excursion was Bob and he was an expert driver. The driver in NFLD also gave us a great tour. Our hotels and included dining experiences were highly appreciated with great accommodations. In the days of Covid we felt safe at all times. Each member of our tour had been given covid rapid test prior to the trip and again at entry into PEI. All sites and accommodations exceeded safety standards for covid measures. I recommend this vacation highly and was so pleased to have visited the four maritime provinces savouring the Atlantic experience."
"Chalk up another fabulous experience! What makes Go Ahead stand out is the level of expertise in tour directors. For Athens and Ancient Greece we were blessed with Rob who possessed a profound intellect, knowledge and passion for Greek history. Thank you Go Ahead for always staffing the best. "
"Iceland exceeded our expectations! It was such a beautiful country with such a diverse landscape. Our Tour Director, Fred, was very knowledgeable and fun! We must have seen 1000+ waterfalls driving around the country. Met wonderful people from across the US and enjoyed the excursions. "
"This tour was top of the line. Ty or tour guide was just incredible and made the trip even better. Our group was so nice as well as the transportation, hotels, food. I really feel like I saw Hawaii and know where I want to go back to and visit. I am already looking for my next Go Ahead tour!"
"Our guide, Rob, made the tour fantastic. His knowledge and stories were far beyond what we expected. He took very good care of each and every one of us and gave us a wealth of information about what we were to see. He made the tour fun and exciting."
"My first time in the beautiful country of Greece could not have been a better experience! Marie, our tour guide was a wealth of knowledge, wonderful to travel with, and super organized where the trip itinerary unfolded seamlessly! I am planning my next trip with EF Tours"
"The trip to Italy in September of 2021 could not have beeb better. Though there were people who decided not to go, those of us who did travel were rewarded in so many ways. Firstly, there were precautions taken before we left the U.S. and we all respected the guidelines for safe travel, i. e. masks, covid tests, presentation of vaccine proof. As a result all 14 tour people tested negative and traveled home safely.
From the minute we arrived in Naples and met the divine tour director, Linda Garofano, we really enjoyed 14 stress free days. The planning and execution of the many, many activities were flawless and she had backups for the backups. There were far too many special moments, visits, guest tour guides and meals to mention.
On a personal level it should be noted that I traveled with a 22 year old grandson and everyone made us feel special and welcomed. If there is any grandparent out there who is hesitant, grab your grandchild and go. It will be a never forgotten memory."
"Southern Italy is amazing "
"My tour with Go Ahead to Spain and Portugal took place from Sept. 2-18, 2021. I was first nervous about traveling due to Covid-19, but the pre-cautions that Go Ahead, the bus service, and the hotels took were first rate. I never once felt like I was being unduly subjected to sickness. With that out of the way, the trip was AMAZING! Our tour director, Manuel, was exceptional. He made sure to care for every traveler on the trip, anticipated our needs and was always there. He went above and beyond during our free time to spend time with us and show us little "extras". Needless to say, Spain and Portugal are beautiful countries where we got to see and have so many varied experiences; river cruise, port tasting, visiting cathedral of Seville, Alhambra Castle, La Sagrada Familia (and other Gaudi works), visiting an Olive grove with oil tasting, and going to Basque country . It was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend Go Ahead to anyone looking to explore an area of the world that they wouldn't otherwise visit!"