studentsineurope

Traveling With EF Tours

Our group in front of the Olympic Stadium

I’m sure there are plenty of you students out there that will scoff at the idea of taking an organized tour around Europe, preferring to go at it on your own, and have a real backpacking adventure. I won’t lie, and was with you at one point, at least until I finally went on an organized tour.

This is not to say that an organized tour is the way to go every time, as going out on your own affords you a totally different, more liberating kind of experience – during which you will probably learn a lot more about yourself rather than the sites you are seeing. It really just depends on what you’re looking for in a trip, and actually, a LOT on where you’re going.

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of going to Greece along with my grandmother and a group of her students on a trip led by EF Tours. It was a 14-day trip that started in Athens and covered quite a bit of the mainland of Greece, a tour of the islands, and even had a stop in Kusadasi (Turkey). Everything was planned down to the wire; we just needed to be there. Which was actually a nice change of pace, for once not having to worry about the next train to take, or how much money to spend on food, it was all already taken care of.

Now, I can tell you honestly (and a bit shamefully), that had I taken a trip to Greece by myself, it would have most likely included Athens, and of course, the islands. It probably would have been much more of a party trip than anything else, and one that would have had me missing out on some of the most amazing sites ever. For example, driving to Delphi to visit the site of the ancient oracle? Never would have seen the amazing ruins perched on the hillside overlooking the Corinthian Gulf. Getting to walk in the clouds while visiting the ancient Eastern Orthodox monasteries of Metéora? Excuse me, who even knew those existed? It was those eye-opening experiences that really made me appreciate the fact that someone else had made a detailed schedule to visit the most important historical sites throughout Greece.

EF Tours emphasis is on education, so you’re guide will be pumping you full of history until you are in blue in the face, but only in the best of ways. Besides, in a place like Greece, would you really want to experience it any other way?

While these trips aren’t exactly for the budgeting traveler, they are for those who are interested in gaining an in-depth lesson in history. So unfortunately, while a lot of free time might not be on the list, you can rest assured that you’ll be milking the most information out of the trip as possible. Besides, all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let someone else do all the grunt work for you. So if you’ve got the funds, give a tour a shot. After all, you can’t really lose.