How to Travel When You Don’t Have Anyone to Travel with/ My Experience with EF Ultimate Break
Travel is one of life’s greatest joys and privileges- and also one of the best ways to grow. You’ll meet new people, explore new places, and see things you’ve never experienced before and languages you’ve never heard. That being said, it can be SCARY-especially if you’re alone. And most of the time it can be very difficult to travel abroad with friends simply due to differences in finances and schedule. So if you’re alone in your traveling dreams and not comfortable with literally flying solo, here is a solution: Group Travel! There are many companies out there that provide guided group tours- you choose a destination with a set itinerary, and basically all you have to do is show up and travel. That’s where EF Ultimate Break comes in.
I found EF Ultimate Break in 2019 when I was a sophomore in college. I was working part-time at Penn Station and a typical broke college student who desperately wanted to travel. I was looking up information for a trip to Greece when I found a website offering fun, affordable group trips- ‘the best way to travel young and fun’. Long story short ( for the full story of how I went to Greece for free with EF Ultimate Break, check out this post: ), I signed up as a sorority ambassador, and two years later (thanks, Covid), I went to Greece by myself. That is, until I arrived in Athens. I ended up meeting a couple of the people I’d be traveling with at the airport- they were so kind and friendly and I automatically knew that we’d be excellent friends. EF gives you a set meeting point for when you arrive at your destination- here, you’ll typically meet your tour director and some of the people you’ll be traveling with. From then, you’ll head to the hotel with everyone.
Once at the hotel on an EF trip, you’ll be given your room keys and head to your room with your assigned roommates. With a standard EF trip, you’ll be placed in a room with (typically) 2-3 roommates of the same gender. If you don’t want to be placed with random people on the trip, that’s totally okay! You can always purchase an upgrade for a room all to yourself. Additionally, if you are traveling with a friend or two, you can always request them to be your roommate(s) free of charge. My first trip I admit I was a little nervous about rooming with strangers, however I’ve been to now 6 countries with EF Ultimate Break and have had no problems at all with any of the roommates I’ve had- they’ve all been wonderful, amazing women that ended up being great friends!
Your first day (depending on your arrival time), you may have some free time to kill in your destination before the Welcome Dinner on night one. On my first trip in Greece I had just a few hours to kill- so myself and some of the other girls decided to hang out at the rooftop bar and pool in Athens. We had a drink, dipped our toes in the pool and got some awesome first photos of our time in Greece.
When I arrived for my second trip (European Road Trip) in London, I had nearly 6 hours to kill, which was incredible because myself, my sister, and a few others had the opportunity to explore the city before the tour even started. We decided to grab some British Starbucks and take the tube right into the heart of the city. We managed to see the Tower of London, walk across Tower Bridge, and grab a snack at Borough Market before heading back to North London via London Bridge.
The first day of the tour will always include a Welcome Dinner. The Welcome Dinner is included in the tour at no additional cost and is usually where you’ll meet everyone that will be on tour with you. The dinner starts with a picturesque walk through the city- your tour director will be guiding you along the way to the restaurant. Once at the restaurant, the group will have a designated room or tables and you can sit with anyone you like. You’ll typically order what meal you’ll get before you even leave for tour- typically it will include a delicious entree, dessert and a drink of your choice (alcoholic or not). Everyone has the opportunity to introduce themselves and bond as the trip starts, and it’s a really fun experience. When the Welcome Dinner is over, you have the choice to head back to the hotel (usually guided by your tour director) or head out into the city on your own. If you can spare the energy, I highly recommend venturing out with your new friends to explore more of the city- you won’t regret it. And don’t let not having your tour director with you scare you away from going on your own- you always have access to them via whatsapp or the EF Ultimate Break app.
After the first night of your trip usually comes a guided walking tour of the city with a local guide. I love these as it really gives you the chance to dive in deep and get to really familiarize yourself with your new surroundings. Afterwards, there may be an excursion (all of which are optional) or free time to explore as you wish. This is pretty much what the rest of the tour will look like- each day you’ll either have a guided tour and maybe some excursions, or an entire free day. Free days are wonderful and can be so much fun- your tour director is a great resource for ideas on what to do, or if you’re really into planning you can always book your own excursions months ahead of time. My friend did this for our free day in London- she booked a day trip and managed to see Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and Bath all in one day. If you’re interested in booking your own excursions for an EF trip, I highly recommend calling them and ensuring that you’ll have the time to do it (just to be sure!).
For the rest of your trip, you’ll experience A LOT. History, culture, incredible food and even better views. You’ll do some crazy, once-in-a-lifetime activities like bike riding in the Dutch countryside, sledding in the Swiss Alps, having afternoon tea on the River Thames in London, cliff-jumping in Greece and making pasta from scratch in Rome. And when the final night comes, you’ll have an amazing farewell dinner and reminisce on all that you’ve done in the past week (s) with your brand new friends.
I love EF Ultimate Break- they make travel extremely accessible for people ages 18-35. If it’s your first time traveling out of the country- they make you feel safe with a tour director, friends, and 24 hour support. If you don’t know where to stay in Europe or how to book the best flights, EF will do it for you. If you’re on a budget, EF allows you to pay for your trip on a monthly basis (with ZERO interest) . And if you don’t have anyone to travel with (but you want to), then group travel is the perfect solution. It’s also a great way to meet like-minded, adventurous people around your age- you’ll come together and create ideas for more fun activities to do while you’re on the trip. During free time on my European Road Trip, myself and several others decided to organize a morning trip to the Trocadero (in Paris) to see the Eiffel Tower at sunrise (and with no crowds). We all woke up around 4:45 am, headed to the metro at 5:30 and got to the Eiffel Tower around 6:00 am. It was a beautiful, fun experience that I will never forget (not to mention the incredible views)
If you’re interested in going on your own EF Ultimate break trip, I highly recommend it! My favorite trips are the Greek Islands and the European Road Trip. To browse trips (AND receive $100 off your first trip), check out my ambassador link below!
$100 off your first trip with EF Ultimate Break
Sooooo… where are you going?
