Is EF Ultimate Break Legit? A Full Review of EF Ultimate Break
If you’re reading this, you’re probably between the ages of 18-35, wanting to travel, and even potentially wanting to meet new people. You’ve possibly come across group travel as an option and have heard of the popular tour company EF Ultimate Break.. It’s becoming more and more popular, however, in a world of scams and over-priced services, you may be wondering: Is EF Ultimate Break legit? I’ve been on two trips with EF Ultimate Break and have definitely formed an opinion on this group travel company. Keep reading for a full review of EF Ultimate Break!
What is EF Ultimate Break?
EF Ultimate Break is a group travel company for people ages 18-35. They offer planned-for-you trips to over 65 destinations and even offer payment plans for the trips. All you need is $150 down (unless you’re booking a trip a few months out) to book; then you can choose to pay over time in either biweekly or monthly payments leading up to your trip departure- with zero interest.
There’s over 65 destinations that you can go to with EF Ultimate Break- all over the world. Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. No matter the destination, each trip is pre-planned and essentially booked for you. EF Ultimate Break will book your flights, hotels, most transportation, and more. They’ll even schedule tours and excursions for you to create the perfect itinerary for your dream trip. You can search for your perfect trip on their website in five different ways:
- by destination
- by popular trips
- length of trip
- college trips (scheduled during summer, winter, or spring break)
- by trip type (standard, plus, city experience, budget-friendly, New Years trips)
The Booking Process
You can also browse by deals, as EF Ultimate Break often does put trips on sale (from anywhere from $100 to $1200 off depending on the sale type). Booking a trip is an easy process. All you do is select your trip, then the trip date, whether you want to include flights or not, and add on any extras such as travel protection (more on this later) or excursions.
Then, hit ‘book now’ and you’re all set! All you have to do is add in your information that they’ll use to book your flights, hotels, and excursions. And if you’re not internet-savvy? No worries! You can book a trip with EF Ultimate Break over the phone with a representative as well.
What’s Included in an EF Ultimate Break Trip?
If you’re trying to determine: is EF Ultimate Break legit? You may be asking yourself, what’s included and how expensive are EF Ultimate Break trips? With over 120 trips to choose from, the cost and inclusions are definitely going to vary. Let’s start with what’s included on an EF Ultimate Break Tour:
What’s included on every EF Ultimate Break Trip:
- Flights (although recently they added the option to book any of their trips without paying for a flight- meaning you’ll have to book your own).
- All Lodging (mostly in shared rooms of the same gender)
- Transportation (between all scheduled cities)
- Metro Passes
- A Tour Director
- Tickets to popular attractions
- A city walk for each city you’ll visit to help you get to know it
- Guided sightseeing by a professional local guide
- A welcome dinner
- A farewell dinner
- Most breakfasts
- 24/7 support
Here’s things that are not always included or are optional for EF Ultimate Break trips (usually for an additional charge):
- Private rooms (you can pay to upgrade for your own room or to share with another person, a good option for couples!)
- Travel Protection (basically travel insurance for your trip)
- Excursions not listed in the actual itinerary
- Most meals
- Souvenirs
- Entertainment/Attractions not included in the itinerary
- Tips for tours and tour guide
While EF Ultimate Break is expensive and may not include all expenses on a trip, I think it’s still a great value for all of the things that are included. Additionally, the cost includes planning a full trip. So, you’ll actually be saving in terms of stress. Now that we’ve covered what an EF Ultimate Break Trip includes, let’s get into what an actual EF Ultimate Break trip is like!
What is an EF Ultimate Break Tour Like?
Generally, going on an EF Ultimate Break Tour is quite easy. Obviously the itinerary is planned, as well as flights and hotels booked for you. So what is the process like? We’ll break it down into two categories: pre-departure and on tour.
Pre-Departure
First, congratulations! You’ve booked your first EF Ultimate Break trip. What to do now? Download the EF Ultimate Break app. I’ve traveled with EF both before and after their app launch, and let me tell you- it’s a gamechanger. Though it’s not required to download, I highly recommend it. The EF Ultimate Break app allows you to easily manage, book, and pay for your trips! You’ll even be able to add excursions and get to know the people in your group! My favorite feature though? The trip countdown! The app keeps track of how many days until your trip is here- it’s so much fun to keep track of. You can also access a packing designed specifically for your trip, so you’ll know exactly what to bring and what to leave behind.
Until it’s time to depart, you can sit back and relax because EF Ultimate Break handles everything for you. When you’re closer to departure (30-60 days), you’ll receive your flight information. I recommend double-checking to make sure your information is correct, and you’re good to go! Lastly for pre-departure, just show up for the flight that EF books you on. Then it’s time for your EF Ultimate Break Trip!
On Tour
Finally, you start your first EF Ultimate Break Tour! First, head straight to the airport and check in as usual. Your flights will be in your name and you’ll fly as you normally would. Prior to arriving in your destination, you’ll receive instructions on where to go to be picked up once you get there. You’ll be met by either your tour guide or an appointed representative (and probably some of your tour-mates!). Next, the tour officially begins and you’ll be transported to your hotel. Once there, you’ll check in with your tour guide and meet them if you haven’t already.
Depending on the time that you arrive (since obviously not everyone will be arriving on time), you may not be able to go to your room yet. This happened to me on both tours I’ve been on with EF Ultimate Break: on my first one, the Greek Islands Tour, and my second, European Road Trip. However, it wasn’t a problem either time! Upon my arrival in Athens for The Greek Islands Trip, they hotel had a safe area to store our luggage for the few hours before we could check in- and same thing for when I arrived in London for the European Road Trip.
Pre-Check-in
So what happens then? Anything you’d like, you can do! In Athens, myself and my tourmates went to the rooftop bar and pool to get drinks and get to know each other. The rooftop had pictures of the Acropolis, so we even got to take pictures! It was a fancy and fun start to this tour. In London, we changed clothes, grabbed coffee, and headed straight into central London to walk around the city until check-in time. We managed to see the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Borough Market, London Bridge, and more before it was time to check in. Plus, we got tons of photos!
Rooming Situation
When it’s time to check in, your tour director will assign you your rooms (and if applicable, roommates). When wondering if EF Ultimate Break is legit, you may be concerned about roommates (which can definitely be worrisome). Will you get a bad roommate? Will it be awkward sharing a room with someone you just met? Honestly, it has never been a problem (and I’ve had a month’s worth of traveling with EF).
Think about it this way: Everyone on tour has paid a good chunk of money to be there- they wouldn’t jeopardize it by being a bad roomy (because yes, you can get sent home from an EF Ultimate Break Tour for bad behavior). Your tour director will assign you roommates (standard, essential trips can have anywhere from 2-6 in a room) and will rotate them with every new hotel in the tour. If you really love being roomies with someone, you can certainly request to have them as your roommate again.
And if rooming isn’t for you, or if you’re a couple? Not a problem! When you first book your trip, you can upgrade to a single room for just you or for you and another person. Back to the tour, once you check in it’s time to head to your room and get ready for a brief walking tour around the city and your welcome dinner!
Walking Tour/Welcome Dinner
This is one of my favorite parts of EF Tours; you’ll get to know your new trip-mates as well as the city you’re in. You’ll go over tour guidelines, scheduling, and how the tour will work. Dinner is always at a nice restaurant, and you’ll usually choose your meal a few weeks before you leave (your tour director will be sending you everything leading up to departure!).
After sightseeing and a good dinner, you’ll have complete freedom; you can either head back to your hotel or head out on your own. I highly recommend seeing as much as possible and venturing out after dinner if you’re not overly tired. It can be scary going out with your tour guide (at least that’s how I felt), but it’s so worth it! Plus, you’ll have new friends to explore with and 24/7 support from EF and your tour guide, so you’ll be in good hands.
The Rest of the Tour
You’ll find that EF Ultimate Break trips are pretty routine and easy to keep up with. They closely follow the schedule provided to you pre-departure, and you’ll soon get into the routine of things. A usual day on tour will look something like this:
- Breakfast (included, typically at your hotel)
- Guided tour or excursion
- Free time
- Guided Tour/Excursion
- Dinner
- Free Time
Additionally, your tour will include a few free days (depending on how long the tour is), so a day could also look like this:
- Breakfast
- Free time
The Farewell Dinner
The final day of every EF Ultimate Break trip ends with a farewell dinner (included in the cost of your tour). Farewell dinners are one of my favorite parts of the tour. You’ll eat some incredible food and have drinks, listen to live music in some cases, and reminisce on the tour you just had. You’ll also have the opportunity to tip your Tour Guide (please do this if you had an excellent tour director!). After enjoying the final meal of the trip, you’ll head back to the hotel to pack up and get ready for your flights in the morning.
Since everyone will be on different schedules/flights, your tour guide will put you into departure groups. You’ll be given a time in which you’ll be picked up and taken to the airport for departure. Usually, you’ll be with other people on your tour. And that’s it!
Is EF Ultimate Break Worth It?
Now that you’ve read all about how an EF Ultimate Break Trip works, you may be wondering: Is EF Ultimate Break legit? And if so, is EF Ultimate Break worth it?
My thoughts on if EF Ultimate Break is legit? Yes! I think that overall, EF Ultimate Break provides a great, safe, and easy way to travel, especially if you’re new to traveling or are not wanting to travel solo. It is certainly expensive and has drawbacks (such as having roommates), however I think the ease of simply booking a trip and not having to do anything else except go outweighs the extra costs. I’ve been on two trips now with EF and they have been some of the best of my life.
My first international trip was with EF Ultimate Break- I had no one to go with and would have never went solo, so EF was a perfect solution for me. It has made me more confident in traveling on my own as well! So if you’re still wondering if EF Ultimate Break is legit, take my word for it. I think it’s definitely worth a shot at least once.
If you’re interested in booking a trip with EF Ultimate Break, I highly recommend it. EF Ultimate Break regularly runs sales on trips; but you can also use my link http://www.efultimatebreak.com/?ba=UAHannahW100 to book your trip to get $100 off your first trip with EF. I hope this article was helpful- will you be booking an EF Ultimate Break trip anytime soon? Let me know in the comments!
Looking for more on EF Ultimate Break? check out this post!
