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Niklas Åström

Thomas Torsson

Daniel Öhman

Erik Gustafsson

Emanuel Ohlsson

It all started in Gothenburg, Sweden back in 2003: the EF-embryo had already been active for a while, but when new members joined the group, the distorted guitar riffs and heavy drumming gave way to a more dynamic sound rich with haunting melodies and harmonies… EF was born!

The band started to tour all over Europe and quickly built up a steady fan base… somewhere along the line, people started calling their approach to music „post rock“. Over the years, EF played bigger and bigger venues and shared the stage with bands like Red Sparrows , The Album Leaf , 65daysofstatic , This Will Destroy You and many others. The band also started playing festivals and moved a further few steps up the ladder.

Although the sound of the band has evolved away from the core-ish tunes of the early days, EF have always kept the hardcore ethics alive: over the years, they have proven that the DIY‐ethic is very much for real by getting worldwide distribution sorted, and by selling thousands of records without even being signed to a record company!

2010 became a busy year: EF released their critically acclaimed third album “Mourning golden morning” – recorded and produced by Magnus Lindberg from Swedish post metal legends Cult of Luna. This album displayed a great deal of progression: There were still the typical EF – melodies and harmonies, carried by heavy drumming and dispersing into vast sonic eruptions… but the sound had grown and become somehow more focused, yet more intricate at the same time.

“Mourning golden morning” was critically acclaimed by media all over the globe. The band supported the release with extensive touring throughout Europe and Asia. The experience and confidence gained from 16 (!) tours to date has made the band become an explosive, energetic and extremely tight live band.

One of the amazing things about EF is that they are sweet and heavy at the same time; that they can convince an indie or post-rock crowd as much as a metal crowd. And unlike a lot of their fellow post rock band colleagues suffering from delusions of grandeur , EF know how to party! A wasteful backstage wingding in St Petersburg in February 2012, including several members of EF and The Ocean, resulted in the commitment to release this record on Pelagic.

The 25 minutes of music on this 10“ record were recorded at the legendary Svenska Grammofonstudion in Göteborg by Oskar Lindberg ( Soundtrack of our lives , Jeniferever , I’m from Barcelona ) and once again mixed and mastered by Magnus Lindberg of Cult of Luna fame.

We have no delusions of grandeur when we say that these tunes are going to be groundbreaking for the band.

efmusic.se facebook.com/efmusic

Booking Enquiries

niklas[at]andthesound.se

Album Promotion

Germany / Austria / Switzerland: Robin Staps press[at]pelagic-records.com

Rest of Europe: Jona Nido jona[at]kickstartmyband.com

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Concerts and tour dates of Ef

Ef is a post-rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Using little vocals, they feature a wide variety of instruments. Their debut album Give me beauty... Or give me death! was released in May 2006. They had several tours with shows in various European countries. In February 2008 the band released their second album I Am Responsible, with a tour through The Netherlands and Germany, starting March. On March 21, it was announced on their website that bass player Mikael Hillergård had left the band

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EF Educational Tours   Reviews

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Reviews 4.4.

19,083 total

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This is my first time planning a trip…

This is my first time planning a trip with EF tours. My tour consultant, RJ, has been so incredibly helpful and guides me every step of the way. He is quick to answer my questions and extremely accessible. I feel a lot more comfortable planning a trip because I know that he will be there to assist in any way possible.

Date of experience : September 16, 2024

Super Supportive

My program guide Mariah was so knowledgeable about the programs. She asked great questions that helped narrow down choices for our next adventure. In addition, she was with me every step of the way building my program. She was encouraging and a great cheerleader in my corner.

Date of experience : September 09, 2024

EF + Hailey W

Working with Hailey W. has been a great experience. She is flexible, knowledgeable, and positive. I also love the numerous resources that EF provides. It has been great since this is my very 1st solo trip as the Group Leader.

Date of experience : September 15, 2024

They've been great for years, but...

The tours offered are great and always well planned. In the past, they've been very supportive and accommodating with the group leaders. The reason for the missing star is because of a change in policies. They used to be really flexible and adaptable when it came to helping group leaders promote tours. For example, to help lower socioeconomic groups, extending the promotional discount by a week was not a big deal because it would help us get more travelers. Now, not so much. I've been told that going forward, it will only be a week. Getting promotional materials had been harder than before. We even made and bought our own posters on our own dime because the ones they sent us to promote to middle school kids were pathetic. Eight posters costed us $116. The kids we sell to don't know specific towns and they could care less. They want to see places and famous architecture they've heard or seen about in school and movies. It's shaken our trust a bit in EF due to the apparent lack of support at least when it comes to promoting. Is this going to affect their global protection plan? Is this going to affect how helpful they going to be with any other of their services? We'll see if anything else appears to have changed for the worse as time goes on.

Learning about the history and dynamic…

Learning about the history and dynamic of the operations of EF tours, such as being the world second largest purchaser of airline tickets. Understanding that we are providing a life changing experiences not just a trip.

Expert help

Expert help. Scott met with us prior and provided all of the resources necessary for an effective presentation.

They are a terrible company

They are a terrible company. All they care about is getting the money from you. Once they have it, they will disregard you in every way possible, not even answer your emails. My daughter could not fly due to strikes initiated by Canadian airlines and they would not even consider working with me to find a way around it, to find another flight for her, or any other possible solution. They got more than $6,000 from me and she did not go on her trip with her classmates. I would really discourage people from using the services of this company. If I had read the reviews this company has, I would not have chosen it. The problem is that they come as part of the schools our kids attend. And you believe that schools have checked their credibility, so you don't do due diligence. Even one star is too much for this company.

Date of experience : September 10, 2023

Belize Experience

My daughter and I enjoyed traveling to Belize. The tour guide was amazing, taking us from district to district. There should be activities for the teens to get to know one another upon arriving the first day. My daughter is shy and stayed by my side most of the time. It's hard when kids don’t know others from different parts of the world. The hotel rooms were for the most part neat and clean. There was one hotel (sea front inn) that wasn't well maintained with no hot water and huge bugs. Otherwise, our experience to Belize was awesome!

Date of experience : June 19, 2024

Reply from EF Educational Tours

We’re thrilled to hear you and your daughter enjoyed your trip to Belize and that your tour director was a great fit for your group! We appreciate your suggestion for activities to help teens get to know one another right from day one—it’s a great idea, especially for those who are a bit shy. We’re sorry to hear about the experience at the Sea Front Inn and will share this feedback with our team to help improve future stays. Overall, we’re glad you had an awesome experience, and we hope to welcome you on another adventure soon!

The trip itinerary was excellent

The trip itinerary was excellent. Seeing all these iconic sites was amazing. Watching students reactions each time we arrived in a new town was very exciting. The hotels in Italy were great. Our tour leader was excellent. EF provided excellent support when it was needed. We can't wait to go on another tour. Thank you.

Date of experience : June 20, 2024

Thank you for sharing such wonderful feedback! We're glad to hear that the itinerary, hotels, and our support met your expectations and that your group had such a memorable experience. Watching students' excitement and hearing about how much fun they had is truly one of the best parts of what we do. We can't wait to help plan your next adventure!

A trip to remember

The planning process with my tour consultant and my experience specialist was very easy and both were very personable. They were always quick to respond to questions that I had leading to departure date and when we had a situation that I had never encountered before while on tour, they were very responsive to our needs. Our tour director, Hiro, was amazing and was very knowledgeable. He was receptive to everything that we needed and made connections with our group that will last forever. The itinerary as a whole was pretty fast-paced and we got to see a lot of Japan in 10 days. If you've ever wondered about Hiroshima, add the extension to Japan: Land of the Rising Sun. It is worth the experience and time.

Date of experience : September 02, 2024

Tour itineraries were very well planned…

Tour itineraries were very well planned for both students and adults and we had excellent Tour Directors on each tour that gave wonderful insights on each location we visited.

I have enjoyed getting this trip off…

I have enjoyed getting this trip off the ground. I haven't gone on the trip yet - looking forward to it.

My daughter enjoyed the culture of…

My daughter enjoyed the culture of Ireland & Scotland. Since she is gluten free, she really appreciated the fact that all the restaurants had gluten free and vegan items noted on all menus. She loved the food on the trip. She also enjoyed the Titanic museum, the interaction with the Highland cows, visiting the castles. She also said the tour guide was charismatic.

Date of experience : August 01, 2024

We're so glad to hear your daughter enjoyed her tour in Ireland and Scotland! It's great to know she appreciated the gluten-free and vegan options at the restaurants, and we're happy she loved the food. Thank you for sharing her experience!

Wonderful experience…

I love having a guide to show us around the cities/places. It’s always a fun time. I feel like there should be an ice breaker for the kids, so that they can get to know each other since they’ll be spending a lot of time together. It makes it hard when kids don’t venture out & try to talk to others from different places. They should be able to form friendships that may continue past the trip & into their lives. Some kids feel left out, especially if they didn’t come with a group or don’t anyone that’s there or they may just be a bit shy. There should be a day when they do something fun, unrelated to the trip.

Date of experience : July 03, 2024

We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed having the tour director—it really can make exploring new places so much more fun! We appreciate your feedback on the kids having an icebreaker activity. We’ll certainly share this suggestion with our team to see how we can incorporate more activities into the tours. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Jace has been a real asset and…

Jace has been a real asset and fantastic support and sounding board as we prepared for our fall kick off event.

Middle School Japan August

8 night tour of Japan. Great split between Osaka & Tokyo. Great price Fast paced with typically 3 spots a day plus dinner. Pros Comfortable hotels / one with excellent breakfast the other with a great free happy hour. Wonderful guide Comfortable buses. Shrines and gardens were all amazing. Dinner were above expectations, only one that was bad. Drumming, Karoke, cup noodles museum great for kids and adults. Cons Not EF’s fault, but summer is brutally uncomfortable. However that made many of the outdoor gardens/ shrines uncrowded. Some activities could be skipped or decreased and increase times at historical areas. Namely the mall, the arcade.

Date of experience : August 19, 2024

We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the split between Osaka and Tokyo, the comfortable accommodations, and the immersive experiences like drumming and karaoke that were enjoyed by both kids and adults. We appreciate your note regarding the balance of activities. As a student tour, we aim to provide itineraries that capture the essence of local culture, reflecting both its historical significance and modern influences. This often includes a mix of traditional sites alongside contemporary experiences like malls and arcades. However, we understand that preferences vary, and your suggestion to adjust the focus more towards historical areas is helpful. We strive to create a well-rounded experience that resonates with students, and your insights will help us refine our offerings. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and we hope to welcome you on another tour soon!

Best gift ever!

My son had an excellent experience learning how life can be outside the US. The travel arrangements were taken care of. The guide was local and top notch. He raved about her. He learned the difference between metropolitan life and country life. Public transportation vs. car transportation. He learned how to get around and how best to spend his money. A great learning experience!

Date of experience : August 28, 2024

We're so happy to hear your son had a great time on tour! We're glad our tour director made the trip even better. They are there to help offer local recommendations, share about the local history and make sure the group makes the most of their tour. Thanks for sharing and for being part of the EF Tours family!

Our trip was delayed TWO days due to…

Our trip was delayed TWO days due to EF's inability to reschedule our flights sufficiently to make sure that we arrived in Paris on time. We missed two full days of our 3-day experience in Paris. When we arrived it was after more than 24 HOURS WITHOUT SLEEP and we were then expected to hit the ground running and not quit until we arrived at our hotel in the evening. I was so sleep deprived that I don't even remember what the hotel room looked like. I have yet to be refunded for our missed trip to Versailles (for myself or my daughter, Janie).

Date of experience : July 25, 2024

We’re sorry to hear about the issues you faced with the flight delays. If the airlines are unable to reschedule, unfortunately, we’re also unable to make changes to the flights. We understand how frustrating this must have been. We encourage travelers with Global Travel Protection to file a claim for the missed days on tour. Thank you for sharing your experience. We aim to provide the best possible travel experience, and having an insurance plan is part of our efforts to cover unforeseen situations like this.

Lana was amazing

Lana was amazing. The tours were all excellent. Overall excellent experience. My only criticism was the cruise ship smelled terrible like sewage in our room and would recommend that buses for these long trips have outlets for charging and a bathroom.

Date of experience : August 24, 2024

Thank you for sharing your feedback, Jennifer! We're thrilled to hear that Lana was amazing and that you enjoyed the tours and had an overall excellent experience. We apologize for the unpleasant smell in your cruise ship rooms. We'll share your feedback with our team to improve future travel experiences. Thanks again for your insights, and we hope to see you on another adventure soon!

Since I have been with EF tours

Since I have been with EF tours, there has been a change of hands of who I’ve been working with. The first was great, the second I’m still waiting for emails to be answered. It’s very frustrating. I’m trying to plan a trip and not being able to Get my questions answered Is very frustrating.

Hi Candace, thank you for your comments. We apologize for this experience and we truly do appreciate your patience. We understand planning a trip can be tough, so please give our traveler support team a call if you ever need. You can also direct your parents over to us as well. Give us a call at 800-665-5364.

Ultimate Earth

57 days ,   21 cities   |   Loading prices

4.9 out of 5 stars

This is the trip your bucket list puts on its bucket list. It’s a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime, best of the best adventure around the world. After five continents in two months, you will have quite literally seen it all. It doesn’t get more ultimate than this.

What you'll get

• Round-trip flights & airport transfers (or book 'em yourself)
• 53 nights in handpicked accommodations
• 53 breakfasts
• Expert Tour Director
• 24/7 support
• 12 insider tours with local guides
• 3 game drives in Kenya
• Desert Safari in Dubai
• Admission to Seine River cruise, the Acropolis, Grand Palace, and so much more

Picture yourself

• Hiking above the clouds at Machu Picchu
• Picnicking by the Eiffel Tower, sipping champagne
• Yodeling from atop the majestic Swiss Alps
• Capturing photos of wild animals you never dreamed of seeing
• Exploring the busy streets of Bangkok, searching for the city’s best noodles

Day 1: Board Your Overnight Flight to Peru

Hop on your flight to your first stop: Lima, Peru, once the center of the “New World” and now a bustling metropolis. Say goodbye to your old self, because in less than two months, you’re going to be a new person.

This tour requires a visa for U.S. citizens. Check entry requirements or call us with questions at 800-766-2645.

Days 2-9: Peru

Up the altitude and dive into jungles, cities and ancient ruins During this eight-day stretch, you’ll live like a local in Lima, journey to vibrant Cuzco, and hike around the always enchanting Machu Picchu, where you can learn about its mysterious past, watch the sunrise, and feast your eyes on a real-life llama.

Peruvian Pisco Sour Workshop

From $45 per person

Return to Machu Picchu

From $100 per person

• Land in Lima, head to your accommodation, and meet your fellow travelers as they arrive.
• Walk through Cuzco, a modern city at a staggering elevation of 11,150 feet.
• Explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas, rich in Peruvian tradition.
• Visit several Incan archaeological sites, including the fortress at Ollantaytambo.

Chat with a Trip Expert!

1-800-766-2645 Monday–Thursday 9am–7pm ET Friday 9am–5:30pm ET

Traveler photos

Select trip date.

Overall rating based on 16 traveler reviews

Showing 1 - 6 of 16 traveler reviews

5 out of 5 stars

Traveler Cassidy, traveled in May 2024

This trip fulfilled all my dreams and changed my life!! I’m so so glad I booked it. If you are hesitating, and you love to travel, let this be your sign to do it, you won’t regret it!

Traveler Kalley, traveled in May 2024

Truly the time of my life! Everywhere was incredible! Highlights for me were Machu Picchu, Santorini, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, game drives in Kenya, Koh Samui, and all of Sydney! It’s a marathon not a sprint but honestly not too exhausting. Free time is well balanced with planned... Read more of Best decision I’ve ever made! 😍

Traveler Samantha, traveled in May 2022

It was quite literally the best 57 days of my life. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Traveler Abigail, traveled in May 2023

This was seriously the best two months of my life. I met some of the most amazing people who I will continue to see and travel with in the future. Jos led our tour and he was the most amazing tour leader that we could have asked for. I cannot reccomend this trip enough!

Traveler Anneke, traveled in Jun 2023

Everything about this trip was incredible. The tour guide Alejandro was amazing, I saw and did so many cool things and I made friends I'll have forever.

Traveler Grace, traveled in Jun 2023

This trip was amazing. Going on a trip with strangers can be extremely intimidating. But I took the chance and ended up meeting people that changed my life. Not only that, but I got to see once-in-a-lifetime places for 57 days. I will look back on this trip and reminisce on... Read more of Once in a lifetime places, with once in a lifetime people

EF Tours Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Is EF Tours right for you?   

So your kid just came home from school with a gorgeous full color brochure about an upcoming trip to Europe with EF Tours that one of their teachers is leading.  He or she is super excited about all the cool things they get to do and is just begging you to let them go.  

It sounds great, but as a responsible parent, you want to know exactly what you’d be sending your child off to do, and how things would actually work on this trip.  

Well, lucky for you we took a 12 day visit to Europe with EF Tours, and have all the details to decide if taking an international trip with this company is right for you or your teenager.  

We’re going to start with the breakdown of how things work with EF and what to expect as a participant or a parent, and then move on to our specific experience with our tour.  

I always like to start my reviews by reminding you that I was not compensated in any way to write this post.  All opinions are my own, and all costs were paid out of our pocket for this experience.

What is EF Tours? 

EF Tours is a travel company that specializes in international tours for students.   

According to their website , EF Tours has been in operation since 1965 and offers trips for students and teachers designed to “provide immersive, life-changing education.”

Basically, EF Tours organizes international trips for students to a wide variety of destinations, promising “compelling itineraries” full of “experiential learning.”

They also promise to have the “lowest price on the market” for this type of travel.  

EF, as a company, offers may types of tours ranging from group trips for adults to organized gap years for high school graduates.  While these options are available, the bread and butter of the company is the basic high school student tour which is what we took.  

How do EF Tours work?

EF Tours have a pretty straightforward process during the sign up period, prior to departure and during your trip. 

Before we get into that, it must be said that EF Tours operate fully independently of the local school district, and are not endorsed or supported by them whatsoever.  

While this may seem like a school trip, it is not.  It is a trip run by a business who just happens to recruit participants through the school system.  Your local principals, school boards, etc. have zero control or influence on these trips.  The school is only involved in the process as far as whether they allow teachers to hand out information in schools or not. 

The EF in EF Tours stands for Education First.  According to their website, EF claims to “design tours to help educators teach, and so students can learn more—about tolerance, other perspectives, and themselves.”

The Sign Up Process

EF Tours are set up to be “hosted” by a local teacher who is then designated as the “group leader.”  Teachers are incentivized with free and reduced price travel to recruit students to join their tours.  

Tours are advertised by the group leader/teacher to students at their school and to their local community.  Interested students and parents are invited to attend informational meetings either in person or virtually where the group leader/teacher goes over the itinerary and any questions potential participants may have.  

Students and parents can then sign up directly through the EF Tours website, and submit all payments directly to the company.  

Trips are usually initially introduced about two years before the travel date so that participants can make smaller monthly payments to cover the cost of the trip.  Costs for these trips can range widely, depending on the destinations and length of the trip.  

EF has the group leader/teacher set up deadlines for signing up to go on the trip, sometimes including small discounts to encourage enrollment.  This tends to give a false sense of urgency to the sign up process. 

We found that participants can sign up just about any time before the trip departs.  We signed up about a year out from the trip, while another student who traveled with us signed up just a month or two before we left.  

Anyone was allowed to sign up for the trip.  We were encouraged to invite friends and family to join us on the tour, whether or not they were associated with our school or even local to our area.  

Adults did need to pass a background check in order to participate in the trip, since adult tour participants are traveling with minors.  

We were not given specific dates for our trip, but instead we were given a window of time during which the trip would occur.   Our dates were finally confirmed about two months before our departure.  

There are usually two or three optional excursions that can be added to any tour.  These usually include some special activity or visit to an additional landmark.  

Tour participants may also choose to upgrade the insurance for the tour. 

Before Your EF Tour

Once you’ve signed up for your EF Tour, you’ll be given access to a tour portal on the EF website where you can track your payments and what steps you need take next to participate in the trip.  They also provide a fundraising page, where friends and family can pay EF directly to offset the cost of your trip.  

Our group had a few in person meetings at a local restaurant prior to our trip where we discussed issues ranging from passports to packing for our trip to Europe , and got a chance to meet our fellow travelers.  This may or may not be true or all groups that are traveling with EF.  

Each participant in our tour was required to submit a copy of our passport to EF to insure that we had the proper documentation to travel.  

Information about our flights was not available until about a month before our departure, and information about our hotels was not available until we were about three weeks out from leaving.  

EF Tours uses a wide range of airlines, and travelers do not get to indicate a preference.  EF books all travelers in economy class seats for all transportation methods.  EF will book with whatever airline has space available for the lowest price for the group.  

As for hotels, travelers know very little about where they are staying ahead of time.  Per the website, tour participants are assured that “travelers can count on safe, clean and comfortable hotels with private bathrooms” but much beyond that the info is sparse.  

Students can expect to room with one to three other students, and possibly have to share beds.  Adults can expect to share a room with one other person.  For a fee, a single room can be requested for the tour. 

EF does indicate up front that hotels may have small rooms without air conditioning, television, or elevators, and that WiFi may not always be available.  

During an EF Tour

All transportation arrangements are made by EF Tours, including flights, buses, trains, etc.  They book all accommodations and attraction admissions for tour participants. 

Two meals a day are included in the cost of a trip with EF Tours.  Breakfast is provided each day at the hotel, usually continental style, but sometimes with hot offerings just depending on your hotel.  Dinners are are pre-arranged with a preset menu by EF at local restaurants.  EF will make accomodations for those with specific dietary needs, such as gluten free or dairy free meals.

While the teacher recruiting students is designated as your group leader, they don’t actually lead the tour once you start traveling.  EF provides a Tour Director to accompany your group through the entire trip.  

This Tour Director is supposed to handle just about everything on your tour, including all your pre-booked accommodations, meals, excursions, tickets, and transfers.  This person is there to direct the group and handle any problems with logistics you may encounter along the way.  

During the tour, your group will meet up with various local guides who will give you some sort of tour of the city or historic site that you’re visiting.  These tours are usually walking tours, but sometimes are bus tours, depending on the location.  

Tour participants are also given access to an EF Tours App, that just lists your daily itinerary for your trip.  

Our EF Tour Review

Our specific tour featured quite a daunting itinerary.  We toured Europe for 12 days, visiting sites in London, Paris, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and Capri, with no more than two nights in any destination.  

Our tour consisted of 26 travelers from our high school: three teachers, seven adults and 16 students.  We were combined with a group from upstate New York consisting of 14 travelers: one teacher, one adult, one child and 11 students.  There were a total of 40 people on our tour.  

What EF Tours Promised

Before our tour, the group leaded made sure every person who showed an interest in going on the trip got the glossy, full color brochure that outlined our itinerary and told us what to expect on the tour.  

The brochure promised that participants would be “surrounded by the people, the language, the food, and the way of life” of the destinations on our itinerary.  We were assured that our tour director would be “with us around the clock, handling local transportation, hotels, and meals while also providing their own insight into the local history and culture.”  

We would be spending time in three different countries, seeing some of the most beautiful and historic cities in Europe.

The brochure also claimed that students could earn educational credit while on tour, and that all tours feature “experiential learning activities.”

Our tour left some of these promises unfulfilled, but did give us a glimpse at some fantastic destinations in Europe and some amazing memories.  

Our hotels along the trip started out stellar but seemed to go downhill from there, unfortunately ending in truly unacceptable accommodations.  

Even though this wasn’t guaranteed, all of our accommodations had some sort of air conditioning, with some that functioned better than others, and all of them had WiFi.  

For the first four nights during our stays in London and Paris, we were sent to Hilton Hotels .  They both were on the higher end of what I expected based on the descriptions provided by EF Tours of what our hotels would be like.  

The rooms at these Hiltons were very new, immaculately clean and extremely comfortable.  They were both located about an hour outside of the city center, but that wasn’t too much of a problem.  

When we reached Italy, things changed a bit.  

For a quick overnight in Milan on our way to Florence, we stayed at and AS Hotel in Limbiate.  This hotel was a bit older than the Hiltons we’d stayed in, but it was clean, spacious, and comfortable.  

Between Florence and Rome, we spent the night at the Hotel Villa Ricci (not pictured).  This hotel was significantly older than the other three we had stayed at, but it was still clean and comfortable.  While the room wasn’t much to write home about, some members of our group lucked out and got spectacular balconies. 

Once we arrived in Rome, the Villa Aurelia was our home base for two nights.  We learned that this hotel had once housed men studying to join a monastery, which explained the doritory feel of the place.  Again, we found these rooms to be clean and pretty comfortable.  

On our way to Southern Italy, we spent the night in Sorrento at Sisters Hostel .  This was the only true hostel on our trip.  While they still stuck with four students to a room, several of the student rooms had enough beds to sleep up to 12 people. 

Though not quite as refined as the Hiltons, and a little slap-shot with the furniture, we found this place to be clean and welcoming.  While it wasn’t quite as comfortable as some of the other places we’d stayed, it was completely acceptable and had a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples from the rooftop terrace. 

Things took a turn for the worse on our last night of the tour, when we stayed at Hotel La Pergola in Rome.  This place was truly one of the worst hotels I’ve ever had the misfortune to stay at (and as a travel blogger, I’ve stayed at a LOT of hotels).  

Things started off badly when we discovered that the lights in all the hallways were not on, and that we had to hunt around with our cell phone flashlights to find our way to our rooms.  I asked the front desk to remedy this, but it was never addressed, and we had to repeat the blind search for our rooms every time we went up.  

Upon arrival in my room, I found it to be extremely dirty.  There was a layer of dusty film all over my bathroom and my pillow had an unidentified crusty stain on it.  My daughter’s room had the same layer of dirt in the bathroom, plus a shoe print from where someone killed a bug on the wall.  I checked our beds for bedbugs and thankfully did not find any. 

The front desk did not seem to care and we were told no one was available to come clean the bathrooms.

But the worst experience in this hotel went to a dad on our trip, who’s single room contained only a sofa.   Not a sleeper sofa, but just a hard couch.  There were no linens or towels available to him whatsoever. 

When he asked for these items at the front desk, he was told that we should have called earlier to request them since they were all locked up in a cabinet by the time we arrived at the hotel.   He ended up sleeping on a towel laid out on the sofa with a travel neck pillow, that had been provided to him by his daughter from her room.

The front desk attendant seemed more than annoyed anytime someone from our group would approach them, and insisted that we all leave our keys at the front desk when leaving the hotel for dinner that night.    

We weren’t left with much recourse, since this was a group trip and we were on our last night, so we decided to just grin and bear it, and did our best to get some sleep.  

Overall, I’d say that the hotels provided were quite good, with the exception of Hotel La Pergola.  For ten of the eleven nights of our trip, we were provided with clean, safe accommodations that lived up to what the EF Tours website told us to expect.  

At the time of this publication, EF Tours has been notified of this unacceptable hotel and has yet to respond.  

Meals on the tour ran the gamut from weird to stellar, but overall were not to bad.  Breakfast and dinner every day were included in what we paid for our tour.  

All breakfasts were served at our hotels.  Sometimes they were just continental breakfasts with cold offerings, and sometimes we were given hot breakfasts with eggs, bacon, and such.  Sometimes it was quite obvious where our group was supposed to go, and sometimes it wasn’t. 

Overall, breakfasts were adequate throughout the trip.  

Lunches were not included in the initial price of our trip and were paid out of pocket each day.   

Lunches were always a gamble.   It all depended on where we were and what was going on whether or not we’d get to select a restaurant on our own or if the group would be directed to eat at somewhere specific, and if we’d have lots of great choices or really limited options.  

For example, on our first full day of the trip, we visited the Tower of London.  We told to make sure we ate lunch after our tour, before rejoining the group to get on the bus.  The only options available to us were food trucks along the river right next to the Tower complex.  

It was the worst during our travel days.  We were frequently told we could just grab a bite to eat at the train station or the airport, only to be left with minimal time and very limited options.  

But some days lunch was great.  During our time in Rome, lunch came with some free time to wander, so we were able to go out and select the restaurant of our choice.  

Some days our tour guide would set up a lunch option for us, having arranged a preset menu and price with a local restaurant.  Those options were usually something like a burger, pizza or a cold sandwich.  

I’m not sure if the lunch situations were like this because of our tour guide or because of EF itself.  Sometimes it seemed inevitable, like when we were stuck in an airport or train station.  Other times it seemed like our guide might be creating these situations by not fully informing us what was available near by.  

All dinners were set up at local restaurants before our arrival.  We did not get to select from a menu and were all served the same thing each night, with the exception of those who had special dietary needs.  Each meal came with water, but we were allowed to order additional drinks at our own expense if we choose to do so.  

The worst dinners EF provided happened during the first few days of our trip.  During our entire time in London, we were not once served any traditional English food.  Our Tour Director said it was because “London is a melting pot of cultures,” but our group didn’t buy that.  

Our first group dinner in London was at a Korean restaurant where the group was served a hot stone bibimbap with chicken.  I’m normally a big fan of Korean food, but this wasn’t great. 

The next group dinner was at a Polish restaurant where the group was served a fried chicken patty and french fries.  

When it became apparent on the second night that we weren’t going to be getting any traditional English food, my daughter and I made arrangements to go get dinner on our own, and pay for it out of pocket.  Four other members of our group chose to join us.  

We simply got information from our Tour Guide when and where to meet up with the group after dinner and selected a nearby local pub so we could have a traditional English dining experience.  

Dinners seemed to improve when we got to France. During our first night there we had a lovely traditional French meal of chicken with mushroom sauce in the back room of a small picturesque cafe with a ton of ambiance.   On the second night we had a traditional Alsatian dish called Flammekueche, which was sort of like a pizza with a creamy sauce.  

In Italy, the dinners were quite good.  Of course we were served a lot of pasta, but we also had braised beef in tomato sauce, gnocchi, and pizza.  

According to the folks on our trip who had special dietary needs, the dinners were pretty good for the most part.  Although it did seem that everywhere we went in Italy, anyone who was gluten free or dairy free was served watermelon for dessert.  

Before we left on our trip, we were told by our group leader that we shouldn’t need more that $25 US dollars per person per day for lunches and snacks.  We found that that number was not quite accurate for us, especially if we ever wanted to stray from the planned meals that EF Tours had set up for us.  

We also found that we frequently needed to buy water to stay hydrated in the high temperatures of Italy during the summer, and at most of the locations we visited, water was marked up quite a bit.  

Overall, the meals on our trip were pretty good, but could definitely have been better.  

Our Itinerary

We knew going into this tour that our itinerary would be extremely hectic.  With no more than 48 hours in any location, we expected it to be jam packed.  It was kind of like a tasting menu, where you got a little bit of each destination.  

What we didn’t expect was the significant amount of wasted time and changes to our itinerary that happened on our tour.  

Things started off poorly when our tour guide was an hour late to meet us at baggage claim and then our bus was over another hour late to pick us up at the airport.  

While our tour guide was a very sweet, personable woman, she didn’t seem to understand how to manage the timing logistics for a group of 40 travelers.  

Our group was quite good about being on time to meet up locations with a couple of small exceptions that could not be helped.  No one wanted to be the person that made us late.  

Our tour guide didn’t seem to have this mentality.  She was frequently the last person downstairs at our hotels to meet our bus 15 to 20 minutes after the time she told us to meet her, and did not budget in adequate travel time to most of our destinations. 

For example, while we were driving across Italy, she had our driver stop at a large gas station for a bathroom stop.   She told us we only had five minutes to use the restroom and get back on the bus.  It’s completely impossible for 40 people to make use of just a handful of bathroom stalls in five minutes. 

We were late to our tours in London, Florence, and the Vatican.  We were late to our tour of the Colosseum in Rome.  We were late to our appointment at the Louvre.  We were so late to our tour of Pompeii.  This significantly hindered what we were able to see at our destinations, and made the whole tour seemed very rushed every day.  

Things like this happened over and over again throughout the trip.  This resulted in our group being habitually late to most of the tours we went on, and significantly cut into our time at some really important places.

The only times it seemed like we weren’t late was when we had to catch a flight, a train, or a ferry.  

There were also some pretty significant changes to our itinerary. 

Several items listed on our initial brochure were changed before the trip due to pandemic restrictions and travel challenges, which was fine.  We had ample notice and knew what to expect.    

But there were several instances where visits to certain locations were dropped off our itinerary completely, and visits to other non-advertised locations were added.  

Sometimes this was a good thing, but sometimes it was incredibly frustrating.  

In London, a walking tour of Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden and Leicester Square was replaced with “free time” at the British Museum, which we really didn’t mind. 

But in Florence, visits to San Miniato al Monte and Piazzale Michelangelo were dropped off the itinerary with no explanation.  

On our way to Rome, our guide added a stop in Ovierto, a beautiful small town with picturesque views, wonderful dining and great little shops which we enjoyed immensely. 

But in Paris, a visit to Montmartre was abandoned, even though our dinner restaurant was within a mile of the historic location.  

The best unexpected addition to our trip in my opinion was the opportunity to see a musical in the West End of London.  Our guide was able to secure tickets (for an extra fee) for those who wanted them to a performance of Wicked during our free evening.  It was absolutely fantastic.  

But in the most frustrating example, during our time in Paris a visit to the Frogonard Perfume Museum was added to our itinerary.   No one asked to go there, and most of us seemed annoyed that we were stopping.  We were assured that the stop there would only last 30 minutes, but it ended up taking three times that, leaving us only an hour and a half to visit the Louvre before we had to be back on the bus to catch a flight to Italy.  

These added stops almost always involved additional costs as well, which we were not informed of before leaving for our trip.  This caused problems for a few kids on our trip who weren’t expecting these costs, and they unfortunately had to miss out on some of the better additions. 

There also seemed to be major sites in some of these cities that were not ever even an option to visit or see, due to our limited time in each city.   We didn’t go to Westminster Abbey or St. Paul’s Cathedral while we were in London, and there were too many things to count in Paris that we didn’t even glimpse.  While we were aware of this upfront before the tour, it really did feel like they didn’t allow enough time in any location to really see the cities we were in.  

Despite these frustrations, the itinerary did take us to some fantastic places and we had some absolutely unforgettable experiences.  We had a fantastic time seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.  We enjoyed a truly magical and unexpected sunset under the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  We got to listen to an orchestra perform in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.  We were able to marvel at the unparalleled artwork inside St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.  We saw the stunningly beautiful sites of Capri from a private boat tour.  Those memories are truly priceless.  

During our trip there were extra excursions offered in any city we stayed in more than one night. 

In London, the excursion was a visit to the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel type ride that gives riders a birds eye view of the city.  In Paris, it was a trip to Versaille to tour the palace and the gardens.  In Rome, it was a tiramisu cooking class.  

We choose not to participate in the excursion in London because I’m not the biggest fan of heights, and in Paris because my daughter wanted the opportunity to spend some extra free time in the city.  

I’m extremely glad we made those decisions.   

While the London Eye excursion seemed to go well for those who went on it, it was over priced.  EF Tours charged each participant $60.  Tickets can be purchased individually at the ticket booth for just $42 USD or for groups ahead of time for just $24 USD.  I’m not sure what EF added to the experience to warrant that upcharge.  

By skipping the London Eye, we were able to have a bit more time to explore and plenty of time to enjoy our pub dinner that we mentioned earlier since the London Eye excursion was timed to happen right before dinner.  

In Paris, those who went to Versaille told us the experience was underwhelming because of the limited time available inside the palace, and the lack of lunch options available to those who went.  

The Versailles excursion seemed overpriced as well.  EF Tours charged $114 USD to each participant.  Tickets to the entire estate are free for those under 18 years old and cost under $30 USD for anyone else, and that’s without a group discount.  Even if every single person had to buy a ticket,  I can’t imagine that the cost for a group tour and the transportation to get the group there cost an additional $84 USD per person.  

The tiramisu cooking class in Rome was not optional for our group for some reason.  I think our group leader made that choice when she set up our trip.  We paid an extra $85 USD above and beyond the base tour price to experience it.  While I could not find information about individual class pricing, I highly doubt that EF paid that much per person for us to spend an hour making tiramisu. 

I will say that the class was a fun experience at a great location, and we all enjoyed the desserts we made together.  

Overall, unless an excursion is of special interest to you, I wouldn’t recommend participating in them, simply because they seem overpriced.  Having extra free time to see the sites of your choice seemed to be the best option during our tour.  

Education on an EF Tour

EF Tours makes a big deal out of their tours being focused on education.  We were promised “experiential learning activities” during the trip.  They even claim you can earn credit for going on these tour.  

We found that there wasn’t that much education attached to our tour.  

The local tour guides who showed us the sights of each city were the most informative folks on this trip, with extensive knowledge of the history and culture at each stop, but we were forced to use amplifying devices called Whispers in order to hear the guides.  These Whispers often had glitches or were garbled, making it very hard to understand our guides.  

Other than the local tour guides and maybe the tiramisu class, I wouldn’t call just visiting these historic places an “experiential learning activity.”  

We also learned that our high school would not give any credit to students who participated in these trips, even though much was made of the educational credit during the pitch to get us to join the tour.  

This isn’t to say that we didn’t learn anything on our trip.  We did have some great cultural experiences while we traveled.  But learning seemed to take a back seat to just being in another country in most circumstances.  

Safety with EF Tours

As a parent considering an EF Tour for my teenager, I know safety was a big concern for me.  

When my husband and I decided to send our daughter, we felt like one of us should go with her since she was only 15 at the time we went on the trip, and had not traveled internationally like this before.  

For the most part, I felt quite safe during our trip.  

Before our trip, our group leader did make sure to advise us about pickpocketing and theft at major tourist sites in Europe, and advised us to be prepared.  She did make sure we were always wary of our passports and where we were keeping them during our travels.  

While on tour, there was only one time that I felt like our group was taken to an unsafe area.  That was during our terrible last night in Rome when we had to walk from our hotel to our dinner restaurant through some pretty sketchy areas of the city.  

Although student were allowed to go out on their own during our free time, they were asked to go in groups of three or four and were left in pretty safe areas to spend their free time.  

The biggest problem I saw with safety was when our Tour Guide would take off walking at a breakneck speed, frequently leaving half our group stuck at crosswalks or a few turns behind.  She usually did a count to make sure everyone was there when we were ready to leave, but she did leave people behind at least twice during our trip and have to go back and get them.  

Most of the time we had no idea where we were headed when we were walking to different locations.  We were never given the names of the restaurants or addresses of where they would be unless we specifically asked for them.  I think communicating with the group more about where we’re going could have avoided some sticky situations that a few of our travelers found themselves in when they were left behind.  

We also didn’t have a way to contact our Tour Guide directly.  Only a couple of people were given her contact information, which made communication confusing and difficult during our free time, especially when she got delayed during our free evening in Paris and our meeting time had to be pushed back significantly.

Curfews and group rules were left up to our group leader, who didn’t set many boundaries for our students.  

Since the legal drinking age in the areas we visited was 18, student who met this requirement were allowed to drink alcohol on our trip, but were asked to limit it to one drink with dinner.  By and large, our students respected this request and did not take advantage of the lowered drinking age to go and party it up.  

Trips like this EF Tour require students to be pretty mature when it comes to safety.  We had a wonderful group of kids who took their personal safety pretty seriously, and didn’t take unnecessary risks that would put them in jeopardy.  Had it been a different group of personalities, I’m not sure how it would have gone.  

EF Tours:  Our Final Verdict

Would I travel with EF Tours again?  That seems to be the question at hand here.  

My EF Tours experience definitely taught me a lot about group travel.  As someone who travels pretty frequently , I usually make most of my own travel arrangements, from flights to hotel reservations to activities.  It was quite nice not to have to worry about any of that.  It really did take a lot of pressure off to just let someone else do all that work. 

But relinquishing that control does require a certain amount of trust.  There were some areas that I would definitely trust EF to arrange again, and other areas where I really think they could do better.  

For this trip it really came down to adjusting expectations once we were traveling.  I really did expect there to be more education involved in what we did while on our tour.  I really did expect to spend some quality time at these major historic sites. 

Once I realized that time would be much more limited at every destination than I expected it to be, the trip went much more smoothly.  

I think our experience would have been better with a more seasoned Tour Guide.  Ours just didn’t seem quite ready to handle all the pressures and logistics that are required for managing a group of 40 people for 12 days.  

EF Tours is definitely a budget tour company, and for the price, you do get a good experience.  

Did EF Tours create the trip of my dreams?  Not by a long shot. 

Did they create a good experience for students who haven’t done a lot of international traveling?  I’d say yes.  

Do I regret going on an EF Tour?  Absolutely not.  I had some incredible experiences in some amazing locations with my only daughter, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.  

Would I go on another EF Tour?  I think I would, but I would definitely choose a slower paced itinerary with more time in each destination.  

Do you have any questions about EF Tours that I didn’t answer?  Feel free to ask me in the comments!!

EF Tours Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Wednesday 11th of September 2024

Hi. Thank you so much for taking your time and leaving this feedback. You answered so many of my questions. I have a few more questions. Would you please send me an email so I can ask them? [email protected] If that’s too much to ask, no worries. I’m still thankful for your review!

Louise Emery

You're welcome to leave your questions here. I prefer posting answers here so others can gain from the knowledge.

Saturday 20th of July 2024

We just back from a Greece and Italy tour. Most of the issues you had we had as well. Education was limited and we didn’t have time to explore the areas we were with the guides. We had 1 to 4 hours of free time and we didn’t plan ahead because we didn’t get details ahead of time. One example was the night before we traveled we were told we will go to the beach so bring a towel. We were not in a hotel when we went to the beach so around 8:00 pm we had to walk around to find a store with beach towels. Once we left the beach we had to change into our clothes at a restaurant before we got on a ferry. On our schedule it indicated it was an overnight ride but that day we found out we would be on the ferry for 20 hours. I could write a blog on our experience on some of the hotels, the amount of travel times, the lack of information, and unexpected changes. We did enjoy seeing the areas we were exposed to and enjoyed the food that we bought.

Sunday 7th of July 2024

This is a very fair review of EF Tours. I think it gives great insight to what to expect on the basics for one of their tours. I am a teacher and I have "led" (organized) tours with EF since 1998. I'd like to share a little in response to some of the things you mentioned. Hopefully, the teacher who organized the trip you were on took the time and gave very honest reviews on each hotel, each dinner restaurant, & the tour guide. I know EF takes looks into those reviews. We were once joined at a dinner in London (by an EF worker from the London office)... when I asked why she was eating with us, she commented that the restaurant had gotten some negative reviews so she was there to check. I have even been encouraged by a tour guide to make sure I give an honest review and provide details when a hotel is subpar. It happens occasionally but is not the norm--maybe one hotel every other trip, depending on the location. (on a side note, I have never heard back from EF on any "complaint" review I have given.) The last hotel you mentioned should not be, and may not be now, used by EF. The leaving of the keys at the desk has been quite common on most of my trips. It's because of the number of people (students) who lose keys while they are out--so I have been told. We have had to do this in numerous countries throughout Europe. As for the meals, when I first starting traveling with EF, there was always a balance of trying to make sure kids ate and didn't leave dinner hungry but also trying to get students to experience local dishes. I was asked once what I wanted the group to have for dinner--spaghetti (again) or another dish and I chose the other dish. Well, that didn't go well as most of the students just looked at their plate (I thought it was pretty good and nice to have something different). Needless to say the restaurant owner didn't seem to happy either. Again, I think it is a tough balance. However, you shouldn't have been served chicken patty and French fries. (Again I hope the tour guide and teacher gave honest reviews). The overall outcome of the trip really comes down to the tour guide. Having a tour guide who is a GREAT COMMUNICATOR, very organized, manages time well, etc. can make a trip amazing. The tour guide makes or breaks the trip. My last trip in Rome, our guide had us up early (which we didn't like) but when we were standing in the Colosseum basically by ourselves, because we were the first ones in, made it worth it. I would day that most of my EF tour guides have been good...some have been great...a couple have been exceptional. You are definitely right on the next trip being fewer destinations. I have found that fewer countries & not selecting those costly excursions, allows for more free time. EF tried to pack in all they can in a short time. Your lead teacher has to choose trips wisely and know how to work in free time. Obviously I continue to travel with EF--they are a budget company which can attract more students--and your review was pretty spot on with what that budget tour is. It is a quick paced & see all you can in a short time. Your lead teacher has to know some of the inner workings (like contacting other teachers and getting the names of recommended guides) and you really need to get a good tour guide. Both of them need to take the time and do honest reviews. Those things make a huge difference for your trip and for future trips for others.

Tuesday 9th of July 2024

Thanks for your input! It always helps to have info from someone else who has experience from another perspective.

Friday 21st of June 2024

Our son's backpack is still standing in the corner, gathering dust. Like many people here, we were introduced to EF tours through our son's school, which gave them an air of credibility in our eyes. However, we will do the best we can to advise our school to never work with them again.

Like the author of the blog post, we were not told an exact date, but a timeframe for travel in the months ahead. In fact, they gladly took our money (more than $3,000) without feeling the need to communicate with us before our planned departure date. Because EF Tours is expensive, kids of only three families sought to participate. Within the week of departure we were told to pack and meet at the airport at a certain time on Saturday evening. Only, on Saturday, mere hours before we were going to drop off our son at the airport, the trip was called off.

It took days before our chaperone told us the reason why: she had her passport stolen and could not travel. This is an extenuating circumstance for the company, I understand, but also is no fault of the families. For nearly a month we heard little from the company itself other than they'd offer vouchers and refused to reimburse the families who could not go at other times during the summer.

Nearly a month later, we were offered a replacement trip of the exact length, places, and program of the original trip. This was planned to head out on July 7. We really were hoping our son got to go after all. However, EF Tours now asked for $800 more - not $80, but close to a third of the amount we already paid them and had not received anything for yet (not even the common courtesy that they would communicate with their paying customers). Only a month later, the same trip cost nearly 1/3 of the original price more, vouchers or no. How much more would we pay, even if we were still willing to send our son with them the following year?

There was no guarantee. In fact, when we reached out to EF Tours, they insisted on keeping our money in exchange for vouchers (for those who had other plans and could not travel at the later date) as well as the additional $800. They actually provided us with their law offices address.

We communicated our experience to the State's Attorney General office, the BBB, as well as the FTC and received note from the former two that they have taken up the case.

I would recommend to anyone considering traveling with EF Tours to either go with a different company or plan a trip for yourselves. Just like with people, the true character of a company shows when things do not go as planned. EF Tours is of a scam character to say the least.

Tuesday 25th of June 2024

Wow! $800 is a crazy amount to ask! I really hope you get a resolution soon.

Wednesday 29th of May 2024

We are the latest scapegoats of EF tours which is not worth 10$ for the time they make you wait doing round about trip for 40 hours for a travel worth 14 hours . THE most pathetic travel plan i have ever seen in my entire life. Instead of paying for this tour, I would have taken my entire family with much better planning saving time and money. JUST NOT worth it and am hoping to do something more than just commenting here to avoid atleast 1% of naive parents into signing up for future EF tours from school.PLEASE don't waste precious time

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REO Speedwagon to quit touring due to 'complex situation'

The band has 19 dates left on their tour, starting with rancho mirage, california, on sept 27 and ending on nov 23 in lexington, kentucky.

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REO Speedwagon has come to a stop. 

The band, which formed in 1967, announced on Monday that as of January, they plan to cease touring, with their last stop on their current tour being Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 23. 

The group detailed their reasons in a lengthy Facebook post that cited "irreconcilable differences," a term usually cited in divorce cases. 

"To our fans: Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour… but it's not up to just him," the band wrote on its Facebook page, referencing bassist Bruce Hall, who recently underwent back surgery.

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The last stop on REO Speedwagon's current tour is in November. (Weston Rich/Billboard via Getty Images)

The band’s statement continued, "The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect. Bruce respected that opinion and is grateful that Matt has been around to keep the Wagon rolling through the summer tour. Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years."

Bassist Matt Bissonette, who has played with musicians like Ringo Starr and Elton John, began filling in for Hall last year when he underwent surgery. 

"Never ever thought it would end like this and I'm heartbroken. Please know Neal and I did everything in our power to try and keep the Wagon rolling. I am so appreciative of ALL the amazing love & support. You guys have been very vocal and clear in your wishes for me to return to the stage. Trust me...that's all I wanted too. We all deserved a farewell tour." — Bruce Hall

Last year, Hall told Ultimate Classic Rock that the "consensus" was he was "healthy" enough to return to touring, but he did not have "good enough posture to perform at the level expected by our fans."

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The band’s statement added, "For Kevin’s part, he too has never had any intention of leaving the band, and the fans and crew mean the world to him, as well."

REO Speedwagon performs at the Summerfest Music Festival 2024 in Milwaukee on June 28. (Weston Rich/Billboard via Getty Images)

Kevin Cronin, 71, is the band’s lead singer who joined the group in 1971. 

"Due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin," the statement continued. "So, it is with great sadness that we announce REO Speedwagon will cease touring effective January 1, 2025. Neal, Kevin, and Bruce thank their fans for all their years of loyal support and for giving back to the band such wonderful memories that will remain with each of them forever."

Keyboardist Neal Doughty, 78, is a founding member of the band. 

Hall said he was "heartbroken" over the decision in his own Facebook post. 

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From left: REO Speedwagon bass guitarist Bruce Hall, lead guitarist Gary Richrath (1949-2015), rhythm guitarist and lead singer Kevin Cronin, keyboardist Neal Doughty and drummer Alan Gratzer pose for a portrait backstage at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on March 27, 1981. (Ross Marino/Getty Images)

"Never ever thought it would end like this and I'm heartbroken," he told fans. "Please know Neal and I did everything in our power to try and keep the Wagon rolling. I am so appreciative of ALL the amazing love & support. You guys have been very vocal and clear in your wishes for me to return to the stage. Trust me...that's all I wanted too."

Hall added, "We all deserved a farewell tour."

Hall said that he had wanted the band to continue to tour with the "lineup of Kevin, myself, Dave [Amato], Bryan [Hitt] and Derek [Hilland]. Just as it was prior to my necessary, planned and successful back surgery."

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"I love and will miss you all," he added. 

Kevin Cronin, right, and Bruce Hall perform in 2022. (Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, the band canceled shows in Chula Vista in San Diego County and Phoenix after Cronin fell ill.

The band has 19 dates left on their tour, starting with Rancho Mirage, California, on Sept. 27.  

Along with Doughty, REO Speedwagon was formed by Alan Gratzer, Mike Blair and Joe Matt at the University of Illinois. 

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REO Speedwagon has released a number of successful albums, including "Hi Infidelity," which has sold 10 million copies in the U.S. Their hits include "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Keep on Loving You" and "Take it on the Run." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Liam Gallagher says “there could be a few new faces” in Oasis reunion tour band 

Rumours have already been circulating around Bonehead, Alan White, Gem Archer and more

Liam Gallagher has suggested that “there could be a few new faces” performing with Oasis as part of their 2025 reunion shows.

• READ MORE: Stand by me: all the players who could be in the Oasis line-up in 2025

The Britpop legends recently announced news of their long-awaited reformation, and took the world by storm by announcing 2025 live shows .

Since the news broke that Liam and Noel Gallagher would be coming together once again, speculation arose about who else would be joining them on the tour.

Now, after a fan reached out on X/Twitter to ask about the other musicians joining on tour, Liam shared the response: “Good question, there could be a few new faces just to freshen things up”.

Good question there could be a few new faces just to freshen things up — Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 17, 2024

Initially, reports claimed “no other original Oasis member were expected to join the reunion” , and that the members of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds would be stepping in for the rest of the band.

However, many began speculating that Oasis co-founder and original guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, would be coming along for the tour dates .

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It comes after the guitarist has kept close with Liam, and already joined him for a number of his many solo tour dates. Last month, The Sun reported that a source said: “Bonehead is confirmed. They both wanted him in the fold and he was one of the drivers of the reunion. Noel has brought in some of his band too.

“The Oasis family has really come back together. Bonehead is ecstatic.”

Bonehead has expressed interest in a tour with Oasis before too. Last year, he was asked whether or not he’d be up to join the Gallaghers for a reunion , to which he responded: “I’m ready, got me dancing shoes”.

Shortly afterwards, drummer Alan White got fans talking after he posted an image of his drum kit with a swirling Union Jack design . The design was seen on the bass drum skin, and was the same artwork that appeared on Oasis’ first demo tape.

The percussionist was the longest-serving drummer in the Britpop band, and was part of the line-up between 1995 and 2004.

Many further reports have been shared that White is joining the tour, however, NME believes that rumours surrounding Alan White are untrue”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alan White (@alanwhiteofficial)

Another member whose name has been thrown into the mix is the band’s original drummer Tony McCarroll . The percussionist was a founding member of Oasis, but would later go on to take legal action against the members in 1998 following his dismissal.

When asked previously if he’d be taking part in the reunion, he told the Daily Mail : “They haven’t reached out yet and to be honest I’m not holding my breath.”

He also added that if the band were to reach out, he wasn’t sure if he’d say yes to the opportunity. “At the end of the day I’m not the only ex-member left behind, so I’ll just crack on,” he told the outlet.

More recently, reports arose that guitarist Gem Archer was reportedly set to join the line-up for the band’s 2025 reunion tour. Gem joined Oasis in 1999 after replacing Arthurs and played with the band until they split in 2009. He also performed with Beady Eye before he joined Noel Gallagher in 2017.

“None of the band is 100 per cent confirmed yet, but Gem is looking very likely along with Bonehead,” one source told The Mirror. “The key is getting people who both brothers get on with and also respect and ideally of course they would also have been in the band before too.

“Gem ticks all those boxes and he also contributed to the writing of some Oasis songs. He is an obvious target and it would be a huge shock if he was not on the stage for the UK tour. He knows the songs, he knows the band inside out and he has been on tour with the Gallaghers before and so he knows what he would be signing up for.”

Already, the ‘Oasis Live 25’ world tour has sold out all of its initially shared 14 stadium dates – set to take place between Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin next summer. Two extra shows in London have since been announced for September 2025, and tickets were available to fans who were unsuccessful the first time around.

So far, there have been no other members of the band confirmed other than Noel and Liam, and the band have yet to announce any of the artists who will be joining them for the shows .

Artists rumoured to be joining the band include Blossoms , Manic Street Preachers and Kasabian , although Liam recently dismissed reports that Oasis already had some artists locked in, saying that “most of them are proper zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”.

Upon tickets going on sale at the end of last month, many fans were left feeling frustrated after several issues cropped up.

Not only were eager fans left contending with huge queues, but dynamic pricing was also used ; a process which sees prices hiked up due to high demand.

After widespread backlash, the controversial use of ‘surge pricing’ was then investigated by the CMA , and lawmakers said they were looking to introduce new legislation in the Republic of Ireland that would ban dynamic pricing .

Tickets were then released for the two extra shows, although prices were capped and they were only made available to fans who were unsuccessful the first time around . Unsurprisingly, tickets soon sold out, and fans were left divided over the private ballot sale .

The Gallagher brothers distanced themselves from the price hikes and Liam divided fans by returning to Twitter/X to joke about the ticket controversy by saying: “Oasis are back, I hear their attitude STINKS” .

Elsewhere on the app, he addressed rumours that Richard Ashcroft could support Oasis on their reunion tour next year , responded to rumours they would be joining Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl , and teased fans with the hopes of a new album – saying: “It’s already finished”.

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• Live Music News
• Noel Gallagher

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“You can rehearse until you're blue in the face, but once you hit the stage and the lights go out, all bets are off”: Steve Vai and Adrian Belew tackle King Crimson classics as their much-anticipated Beat tour kicks off

The pair have joined forces with Tony Levin and Danny Carey to perform King Crimson’s 1980s albums across a sprawling 65-date tour

Steve Vai and Adrian Belew have finally kicked off one of 2024’s most anticipated live acts with the opening night of the Beat tour.

The pair formed Beat – a supergroup whose name was coined by Robert Fripp – for a tour that will see them play King Crimson’s trilogy of 1980s albums: Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair .

They’ve been joined by King Crimson alumni Tony Levin on bass and Tool drummer Danny Carey for the shows. Vai says he has been working “feverishly” to be stage-ready over the past five months.

The 65-date tour began in San Jose last Thursday (September 12), with the band delivering a 19-song show across two sets.

“The first show of a tour can be like a gauntlet,” Vai reflected on social media afterward. “You can rehearse until you're blue in the face, but once you hit the stage the lights go out and there’s a live audience eager to be entertained, all bets are off as to what it’s like in rehearsal. But the band delivered well and we were all relieved to get through a good first show.

“I’ve been fronting my band for the last 35 years and I discovered a very comfortable place on the Beat stage with master of ceremonies, Brother Adrian Belew at the helm. It is so enjoyable to play this historical music for such a passionate fan base. I discovered the sincere devotion of the audience for this music and the whole band felt their firm support.”

Indeed, a big part of Vai’s prep for the shows focussed on finding that balance between playing like himself and playing like Robert Fripp, who he is essentially replacing.

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Speaking to Guitar World , Adrian Belew, who spent just shy of two decades as the band’s co-guitarist alongside Fripp, had previously theorized about how the two guitar partnerships would compare.

“It really came to the point where Robert and I had separated into our own worlds,” he said. ”But I always said the perfect analogy was like two sides of the same coin. Because Robert has his approach, and I had my approach.

“I suspect Steve and I will end up being the same as Robert and me – a different version of it, of course, but two sides of the same coin.”

Footage from the opening night shows the band working through Man With An Open Heart , a song rich with chiming-yet-biting clean guitars, driven by Belew. But when it comes to the leads, there's a distinctly Vai-like flavor to the way they are delivered, complete with some subtle whammy bar wavers.

That trend continues on Heartbeat , with some overdriven volume swells and swish cleans coming from Vai's Ibanez signature guitar . It feels like a very natural marriage between the Fripp and Vai styles – something that will surely excite fans of both world-class players.

Of course, this is Steve Vai, who can make even the most finger-breaking shred look as simple as brushing your teeth. But in the five months leading up to the show, Vai wrestled with his abilities and his physical limitations in the wake of undergoing shoulder surgery.

A post shared by Steve Vai (@stevevaihimself) A photo posted by on

That surgery meant wielding his ridiculous Hydra guitar became a challenge. It also meant living up to Fripp's endurance and “the absolute relentlessness of what he does” made Vai's task all the more tricky.

“I am looking so forward to the roll out of this tour and being on stage with such seasoned and immensely talented bandmates,” Vai’s post concludes. “Not to mention they are all outstanding people that I enjoy being with. Thanks so sincerely to our San Jose audience for making this first show such an enjoyable experience.”

Head to Beat for details regarding the rest of the tour.

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A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog , Guitar World , and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis , in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.

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Review: EF Go Ahead Tours’ Highlights of England, Scotland, and Ireland

We’ve traveled a few times on guided group tours, I’ve gone with some girlfriends on EF Ultimate Break tours and Rick and I did a guided tour with Go Ahead back in 2018 on our Barcelona, Southern France, and the Italian Riviera tour .

We enjoyed that tour way back when and when we got home we got a travel credit of $100 and we put that toward the Highlights of England, Scotland, and Ireland tour with the plan to go in June 2020…

I’m sure you can guess that that did not work out as planned.

We decided to get a voucher for the amount we’d paid and we could use that for a future trip which ended up being the same itinerary just in September 2023 instead.

I’m happy to report we’ve finally crossed Scotland and Ireland off our travel bucket list and finally did this tour that we’ve been waiting to go on since before we were married five years ago!

Why group tours?

Just like any form of travel, group tours are not for everyone but they can also be great options for travelers!

One reason I like booking group tours is when we’re doing multi-country tours and I’m not in the mood to figure out trains, planes, and automobiles on our own. Most of the trips we’ve done with groups have been to several countries as it just makes it easy to hop on a bus and be taken to a new destination.

We also are planning a group tour to Japan in 2024 as it’ll be both of our first times visiting Asia and I’d prefer to have a guide. Otherwise, we’ve started to discuss unless we’re doing multi-country tours, we can navigate these trips on our own in the future.

Some benefits of booking a group tour:

• Organized transport: Like I said, there are some destinations that I’d rather just let someone else figure out how to get us from Point A to Point B and I can just enjoy the ride.
• Off the beaten path places: Another thing Rick and I agree on with these types of tours are that we have stops in small towns or places we wouldn’t normally plan to visit on our own. Like on this tour we stopped in Kendal in Cumbria, which we probably wouldn’t have gone out of our way to visit if we were on our own. But it’s definitely neat to visit some of these smaller stops.
• Mix of free time and organized activities: I also like that these tours know why people are visiting the cities we do and make sure to include stops to the important sightseeing stops or attractions while also giving us free time to explore on our own. Like this tour included Edinburgh Castle, Blarney Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, and so on, but also gave us time to do our own thing. I like the inclusion of the major sites as I don’t have to worry about buying tickets and getting the timing just right as so many attractions are moving to a timed entry system.
• The tour director: Lastly, it’s always nice having a tour director who organizes everything and takes charge of the day’s plans. Plus, the directors know what to recommend and what to skip so you’re not wasting your precious time in each stop along the tour.

The Go Ahead tour review

We chose this tour due to its itinerary as we wanted to see a variety of places in Ireland without worrying about figuring out how to get to all these places on our own.

The Highlights of England, Scotland, & Ireland itinerary:

• Day 1: Overnight flight
• Day 2: London (2 nights)
• Day 3: London (sightseeing tour & free afternoon or paid excursion)
• Day 4: Train to Edinburgh (2 nights) and included dinner
• Day 5: Edinburgh (sightseeing tour & free afternoon)
• Day 6: Liverpool (1 night)
• Day 7: Ferry to Dublin (2 nights)
• Day 8: Dublin (sightseeing tour in the morning and free evening or paid excursion)
• Day 9: County Kerry (2 nights) & a stop at Blarney Castle
• Day 10: Sightseeing tour of the Ring of Kerry
• Day 11: Dublin & the Cliffs of Moher
• Day 12: Flight home

So, we did change the itinerary just a bit! The tour officially started on Monday, September 4 and we figured we should fly out early to acclimate to the time change and add on a stop to our tour. I know, we were very ambitious.

We contacted Go Ahead and asked instead of flying us to London on Monday, could they fly us out to Paris on Friday instead? We just had to pay for the change in airfare otherwise it wasn’t a problem. We also obviously had to pay for our own accommodations in Paris and then get ourselves to London to join our tour group. No problem!

It worked out really well for us as I could finally get Rick to Paris for a weekend and then the Eurostar to London is super easy to navigate.

I was so excited for this tour’s itinerary as we got to go back to London but then see all new places in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Again, I like this style of travel when we’re visiting multiple countries.

I’ve had my eye on Edinburgh for a while now and Rick has always wanted to see Ireland so this itinerary was the perfect compromise. We got a taste of Scotland and now know we have to go back and we got to see quite a bit of Ireland!

What we did on our tour

Here’s a high-level breakdown of each day of our Go Ahead tour, with our included activities and our use of our free time.

We started our tour in Paris on our own and planned to arrive on Tuesday, Sept. 5 in London to meet up with our group. Day one of these tours is always a travel day with an overnight flight so most people were arriving on Tuesday in the mid-morning or early afternoon.

Some in our group did the tour extension so they arrived in London on Saturday. We got into London around 1:30 and bought our oyster cards so we could take the tube to our hotel in Kensington.

We had some free time to freshen up before our welcome drinks and dinner that night. We met in the hotel bar and got a complimentary drink as Colin, our tour director, introduced himself and discussed some housekeeping items and went over the itinerary for the trip.

He handed out printed itineraries (we could also use the Go Ahead app to track our day-by-day activities), and our Vox boxes and headphones so we could hear the local tour guides while on our walking tours.

Then it was off to our included dinner at a nearby pub where we could get to know our fellow travelers. After dinner, Rick and I went out to another pub as it was a lovely night.

On our full day in London we started off at 8:30 a.m. with a guided tour of London by bus and got off at Westminster Abbey (the tour does not include going inside the abbey) and then walked through a park to get a spot to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Then, we had a free afternoon or London or we could have done the excursion to Hampton Court Palace (11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Rick and I were fine skipping the palace and just enjoying London on our own.

We collected our stuff from the bus and made our way toward a pub for a lunch of fish and chips and beer while we planned the rest of our day. We had seen posters for the Back to the Future: The Musical show while on the tube and then passed the theater on our guided tour that morning and found there were tickets available that night!

We had originally planned to do a Jack the Ripper tour, but we can do that anytime we return to London so we canceled our tour and booked tickets for the show. I mean, our blog’s name is in honor of that amazing trilogy, we had to go!!

But, we had some time to kill between lunch and our show. I’ve always wanted to visit the Shard and saw some spots open for afternoon tea. So, we booked a tea time for two hours later!

We then rushed back to our hotel to change for the evening and grab our portable chargers and anything we needed for the night.

We then hopped back on the tube back to the Shard for our afternoon tea at Aqua Shard. They had a Peter Pan-themed set menu and it was fabulous. We both added a glass of sparkling rose to our order!

My favorite savory item was the sausage roll though the cucumber sandwich was also very tasty. The desserts were delicious and we had a chocolate cake, raspberry mousse and a shortbread cookie, a coconut cake, and super yummy scones!

After our tea, we walked across Tower Bridge where I snapped 100 photos and went to visit a magic shop Rick likes.

Then we strolled through London back to the theater district to see the show.

It was an amazing performance and they adapted it to the stage so well! I’m so glad we skipped our Jack the Ripper tour to see this show as it doesn’t look like it’s coming to Denver anytime soon.

It truly was a fabulous performance for us Back to the Future nerds and the special effects were mind-blowing. There were a few changes to the story but Rick and I both agreed they still work within the movie’s original canon and made sense as to why they were changed.

The rest of our group also went to the theater that night as our tour director had scored a deal on some tickets to Wicked.

Afterward we hopped back on the tube back to Kensington as we had to pack up for our train ride to Scotland in the morning.

The next morning it was time to eat before boarding our train at King’s Cross to take us to Edinburgh! Of course we stopped for a photo opp at Platform 9 3/4.

We had to have our bags ready at 8:15 a.m. and our train departed at 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Edinburgh at 3:15 p.m.

We took the LNER train to Edinburgh and arrived mid-afternoon. We got checked into our hotel and then we joined Colin on his guided walk of Edinburgh which ended with a hike up Calton Hill to take in the amazing view over the city – and to try some typical Scottish snacks and drinks.

Colin lives in Edinburgh so it was great to get his perspective on what to do in the city and he gave us recommendations of pubs and restaurants to check out while we were in the city.

That night we had an included group dinner at Indigo Yard at 7:15 p.m. After dinner, Rick and I checked out our neighborhood and went to one of Colin’s recommendations, Pickles, the wine bar. It was a cute spot and we each had two glasses of red wine.

The next day we had a free morning in the city as we opted not to do the excursion to Abbotsford House and Melrose Abbey (8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.). I do think the abbey would have been neat to see, but Rick and I also just enjoy wandering through cities and seeing what we see as we stroll.

We took the time and wandered over to Dean Village for the picturesque views, then up toward Edinburgh Castle, and then down the Royal Mile while popping into some souvenir shops along the way as I was not leaving Scotland without some shortbread biscuits!

After walking along the Royal Mile, listening to the locals play the bagpipes and buying some Scottish souvenirs, we made our way to the end of the road to have lunch at The World’s End pub, where we dined on the traditional dish of haggis!

As soon as we had driven past The World’s End pub we knew we were going to be eating there at some point as I’m a huge Simon Pegg fan!

After lunch, we met back at our hotel to join our group for a guided tour of the city that ended at Edinburgh Castle. We had to be back at 2 p.m. as the bus was getting us at 2:15 p.m.

Our guided sightseeing tour was by bus and we drove around the city while learning about Edinburgh’s history before being dropped off at the Castle and walking around the grounds. We got some time to visit the castle, enjoy the views, and see the Crown Jewels.

I do wish we had had a bit more time to explore the grounds as I think we had an hour of free time there, but it goes by very quickly when waiting in line to see things or get into certain buildings.

After our tour of Edinburgh Castle we jumped back on our coach to go back to the hotel to change, get some more cash, and our chargers so we could head out for our ghost tour! The activity I was super excited about in Edinburgh as the city is supposed to be extremely haunted.

We didn’t have time for dinner as we were done at the castle around 4:30/5 and our ghost tour was at 6:30 p.m., but it was fine as we were sooooo full from our giant lunch.

So, we made our way back to the Royal Mile to meet up with our ghost tour guide and group.

On our ghost tour of Edinburgh we got to explore the Blair Street Vaults and Canongate Cemetery.

Some of the highlights from our Edinburgh ghost tour include:

• The grave in a parking lot that’s used today
• The story of half-hanged Maggie
• The story of William Barton and his deal with the devil
• The Blair Street Underground Vaults and the ghosts that reside there, including Jack, the cobbler, and Mr. Boots (AKA The Watcher)
• A visit to Canongate graveyard
• The story of Burke and Hare, the Edinburgh body snatchers and murderers

After our great ghost tour we made our way to Greyfriars Kirkyard to recognize some names from Harry Potter. We weren’t ready to turn in yet so we walked back up Calton Hill to see the view over Edinburgh at night.

We ended our evening at Keller which was just around the corner from our hotel and got a charcuterie board and some beers.

The next morning, we packed up everything on the bus by 7:45 a.m. and made our way toward Liverpool by way of some smaller stops for bathroom breaks, such as a stop in Kendal in Cumbria, which is famous for its mint cakes.

Most of the people in our group opted to do the Beatles museum while in Liverpool but Rick and I weren’t that interested so we just decided to Google what to do in Liverpool not Beatles-related.

We ended up booking a cruise on the River Mersey while learning about the history of Liverpool. The cruise afforded amazing views of the city, but the voice over was pretty rough and hard to hear.

So we mostly enjoyed our drinks and the views as we cruised the river for 50 minutes. The river cruise was only £12, so worth it even if we couldn’t hear the commentary.

After that we went for a ride on the ferris wheel that also gave us great views over Liverpool and the river we were just on.

After our ride on the Wheel of Liverpool, which was also £12 per person, we crossed the street to Royal Albert Dock and found this great wine and tapas bar and dug into some of our favorite foods from Spain!

To be honest, we were both a bit fish and chipped and beer’d out at that time.

So we gorged ourselves on sangria, croquetas, sardines, meatballs, and paella. It was amazing.

We had about five hours total in Liverpool before we had to be back on the bus to head to Chester, where we were spending the night.

Our hotel in Chester was gorgeous and had a lively bar scene, so we dropped off our suitcases in our room and went downstairs to be social with the other travelers in our group.

We couldn’t stay up too late though as we had to pack up and get ready for the ferry ride to Dublin! We loaded up our luggage on the bus at 8:15 a.m. and made our way to Holyhead to climb aboard the ferry over to Ireland.

On our way, we stopped at the seaside village of Llandudno to stretch our legs, get a snack, and use the restrooms.

After that stop we were back on the bus to continue our drive through Wales toward Holyhead.

But, before we got there, we had one more stop to make just for the photos alone! A stop at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch! It’s the Welsh village with the longest name in Britain!

As you can see, the English translation is below which is “The Church of Mary in the Hollow of the White hazel near the fierce Whirlpool and the Church of Tysilio by the Red Cave.”

That’s a name right there.

After that stop it was onto the ferry to head over to Ireland! The Stena Line ferry took about three hours and I was glad I brought a few books with me. The ferry is large but there aren’t many that many communal spots. We first had to snag seats in the theater but finally we made another lap by the bar and found a table to sit at.

I can get seasick when we travel by water but this ferry is so slow that I didn’t feel a thing while onboard. All in it was an easy journey. Good to know if you want to pay in cash on board it was euros, not pounds.

We got into Dublin around 6 p.m. and got picked up by a new bus and new driver, Declan, who took us to our hotel in Dublin. Luckily our hotel had a restaurant inside so we could eat when we got there.

After dinner, it was time to check out Dublin’s nightlife and we headed off to the Templebar district for some beers and live music!

We found a great spot where a musician was playing a fantastic mix of ’90s and early ’00s jams as well as some traditional Irish pub music.

Of course we got ourselves some Guinness and sang along – at least along with the songs we knew! It was exactly what we were expecting on our first night in Dublin.

We also did go out on a night when Ireland was playing football against the Netherlands, and unfortunately lost, but we were in our green cheering them on anyway!

The next day, our full day in Dublin, we started at 8:30 a.m. with a guided tour of Phoenix Park before a guided tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

We had time to get off the bus at the park, though it was raining so most of us just snapped some pics and got back on the bus. Then we drove over to St. Patrick’s and had time to explore inside the church and take our photographs.

After the Cathedral, we took a little walk to visit the Molly Malone statue. Poor Molly has been fondled for almost ten years as tourists will rub her bosom for “good luck.”

Next up on our itinerary was a stop at the Guinness Storehouse at 11:30 a.m.! We had to go and get a perfectly poured pint at the Gravity Bar!

The tour was interesting and really went in-depth on Guinness’ history, production, and marketing for the brand. The storehouse is a museum meets tasting room meets restaurant venue. Rick and I have been to Coors over in Golden, CO and the Guinness experience blew the Coors one out of the water. It was just floor after floor of beer history and information.

Of course we made a stop at the tasting room where we could smell the different ingredients that gives Guinness its flavor and ruby red (yes, ruby red) color. Then we learned how to taste the beer, much like doing a wine tasting.

We continued our exploration a bit and went to get our free beer up at the bar located on top of the building and then we headed back down for lunch. We stopped at the 1837 Bar & Brasserie where Rick tried a different beer and I opted for a black velvet cocktail which was a Guinness stout mixed with prosecco. Not going to lie, it was damn good!

Of course we also got Irish coffees at the end of our meal. It was still raining out so we needed something to warm us up before heading back out into Dublin!

We decided to take one of the carriages back into town and that was a mistake. They told us one price and then asked us for something different at the end, so I would not recommend going with them no matter how fun the ride looks.

I was also dumb and didn’t realize we would need tickets to see the Trinity College library, and we’d been dropped off there. So we walked the campus a bit but then headed back to our hotel to rest up and freshen up before our dinner that evening.

That night we were booked for the Go Ahead excursion of a Traditional Irish Dinner & Show at The Merry Ploughboy pub, from 6-10 p.m.

This was really fun as we got both live music, singing, and dancing! The dinner was a set menu and I opted for the cheese plate starter, the fish for my main, and the apple pie for dessert. Rick got the seafood chowder to start, chicken, and he also had apple pie.

The food was good but you’re really going for the entertainment and these guys and gals are true performers. They encourage audience participation for some songs and are all extremely talented.

Killarney + County Kerry

The next morning we were back on the bus at 8:30 a.m. and heading off to Blarney Castle, where yes, we did kiss the Blarney Stone!

I want to say we had two or three hours at the castle grounds so we had time to get in line to kiss the stone, check out the rooms of the castle (including the murder hole room), and walk the grounds and poison garden. We also had time for a little shopping and to pick up some lunch before getting back on the bus and heading off to Killarney for the night.

That night we had a group dinner near our hotel after getting checked in.

On our second day, we took a bus ride along the Ring of Kerry and made various photo stops as well as just enjoyed the stunningly beautiful scenery and many, many sheep sightings.

We checked out the Kerry Bog Village, had a stop for some shopping and complimentary Irish coffees, visited Sneem, and a few other coastal stops.

Our day included a stop at a restaurant with Ireland’s best known view (fog permitting). You be the judge:

I decided to try a seafood pie and Rick got a sandwich and some chips. We both got salads too as we were all set in the carbs department!

We explored a few more stops and enjoyed the rolling green hills before heading back to our hotel in Killarney.

Even though we had done the Irish Dinner & Show, Colin was also organizing a group in Killarney to see the Celtic Steps at 7:30 p.m. It doesn’t take much convincing to get me to a show, especially one that’s about dance, so we obviously asked for tickets.

The dancers at Merry Ploughboy were good, but the dancers at the Celtic Steps were another level. It was a fabulous show and makes me wish I was just as talented as those dancers!

After the show, Rick and I wanted to check out the nightlife there in Killarney and got dropped off in the city before the bus took everyone else back to the hotel.

We found a nice pub with live music and thought what the hell, we haven’t had enough Guinness yet in Ireland! We were at the pub for an hour to hour and a half before it was closing time and walked back to our hotel.

Killarney was very walkable! Again, I think our hotels were all pretty centrally located for anything we wanted to do with our free time and not needing public transportation or a taxi to get us there.

Cliffs of Moher + Dublin

On our last day of the trip we finally made it to the Cliffs of Moher!

We had about three hours to explore the beautiful work of nature and it wasn’t enough for me! I loved being able to walk the cliffside trails and we got extremely fortunate with our weather that day as it was sunny.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, that I’ve talked to who has been to the Cliffs of Moher warned me it would be windy, it would be cloudy, it would be rainy. It was none of those things when we were there the second week of September!

In fact, it was so warm I ended up getting some ice cream from the shop!

Afterward, it was time to head back to Dublin for the night before departing for home. We had our farewell dinner at the hotel which was ideal as we had a 5 a.m. alarm set the next morning for our flight to Zurich and then on to Denver.

It was hard saying goodbye to our fellow travelers! You would really have to go out of your way to not make friends on these types of tours.

Go Ahead also offers extra excursions at a cost during the tour. We ended up only booking one on this itinerary compared to our last trip where I think we ended up doing all of those add-on excursions. The only one that caught our attention was the traditional Irish dinner, music, and dancing show.

Our time in London and Edinburgh were too short to want to do excursions when we had our own list of things we wanted to see and do, such as afternoon tea, the theater, and a ghost tour.

The tour director

Our tour director was Colin and he was fantastic. Truly fantastic! He was always engaging, friendly, and knowledgeable. He was also very communicative, even when the group was having technical difficulties with WhatsApp. Like Rick and I apparently went against their terms of service, as did a bunch of people on our tour (I still never got a real answer from stupid Meta what that was about), but Colin just made sure to communicate through the Go Ahead app as well.

He even added his own excursions to the itinerary (we just paid him in cash for his add-ons), and it worked out well as some of his picks were things we wanted to do anyway!

Some of Colin’s excursions:

• A ticket to Wicked in London (we actually did end up going to the theater that night but opted to see Back to the Future: The Musical instead!)
• A walking tour of Edinburgh & hike up Calton Hill (he’s an Edinburgh local!)
• The Guinness Storehouse & Gravity Bar
• The Celtic Steps in Killarney

He also offered a few other excursions that unfortunately didn’t pan out due to low enrollment, such as the seaweed hot tub on our Ring of Kerry day and the Cliffs of Moher cruise due to weather.

Colin was always on time, energetic, and ready for whatever. He was a great guide and really made sure everything on our tour went as well as it could.

Accommodations

I did notice a change on this tour compared to our Spain, France, and Italy tour with Go Ahead. This time we stayed in more chain hotels, like Holiday Inns. It was fine, I just felt like our last trip we stayed at more boutique or locally-owned hotels.

Though, this change might be due to some of the travelers as people in our group complained in Dublin that the hotel didn’t have AC. Which the weather in Dublin wasn’t warranting the need of AC, at least in Rick’s and my opinion.

The hotels we stayed at:

• London: Holiday Inn Kensington High Street
• Edinburgh: Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh City Centre GAT
• Chester (Liverpool day): Indigo Chester Hotel
• Dublin: Cassidys Hotel
• Killarney: Earls Court House Hotel
• Dublin: Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport

All of our hotels offered breakfast each morning with most serving up a breakfast buffet or a continental breakfast with a limited menu for made-to-order eggs or pancakes. Most of the breakfasts also featured the standard hot coffee station that had americanos or lattes, so don’t expect our typical American drip coffee.

I really enjoyed the breakfasts at our hotels as I could make full English or Scottish breakfasts with beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs, and bacon, and even black pudding at some hotels.

We were booked in a double room, so we often had the two beds pushed together in our rooms, and all of our accommodations were comfortable and provided what we needed. Minus one very important thing for me. For the life of me I cannot understand why only one of our hotels had both shampoo and conditioner.

This was a lesson learned for me as I was trying to travel light and did not bring my own shampoo, conditioner, and soap as every hotel we’ve been to offers those things. Every hotel we stayed at had soap. But there was at least one hotel that didn’t have shampoo in our shower. So, lesson learned that I need to bring my own conditioner next time we’re traveling through Europe!

I realize this is a total first-world problem, but it was something I just didn’t expect.

But, all the hotels were very nice and most were very centrally located. We never had a problem walking back to our hotels after a night out, especially in Edinburgh and Dublin. The only one that wasn’t in walking distance of much was our hotel in London, but the tube is easy enough to manage.

Transportation

The transportation between all of our travel destinations was handled all by Go Ahead.

Our flights to and from Denver were fine, though they are booking us on cheaper flights as I know there are direct flights from DIA to Paris, but they booked us on a flight that had a layover in Munich, which was fine honestly. We flew out from DIA at about 4 p.m. on Friday and arrived in Paris at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

But our flight home from Dublin made no sense. We flew Dublin to Zurich and then back all the way to Denver. So we left Dublin at 8 a.m., changed planes in Zurich, and landed in Denver around 4:30 p.m.

Go Ahead is willing to take any accommodations you have into account if you’re willing to pay for those changes, like seat upgrades or when we switched from flying into London to flying into Paris. You just have to call the customer service line and make those requests.

The reason we do book flights with Go Ahead is in case anything goes wrong, their customer service will handle our rebookings and getting us where we need to be. Especially with so many flight delays and cancelations happening across the board, I’d rather know we have someone in our corner who can take care of the airlines should something go wrong instead of stressing out about it ourselves.

Airport transfers

If you book flights with Go Ahead, transportation to and from the airport is included with that fee. You can also add on airport pick up and drop off. I want to say it was around $25 when we looked at it for our Barcelona trip.

The majority of the transportation on this trip is by bus, but that wasn’t a problem for us. Most of our buses had giant windows so you could see everything, snap some pictures, and just enjoy the ride.

All the bus drivers we had were great drivers, friendly, and funny. They also do a lot of work in getting our luggage stowed away when it’s time to drive to a new hotel.

I am just truly amazed at how skilled our bus drivers are at navigating these small streets with super tight turns, but they all do it like it’s nothing!

Do note that it’s a toss up if your bus’ bathroom will be unlocked and available to you. On some we could use the on-board facilities and some we couldn’t or it was difficult to unlock the door. But, the itinerary allows for quite a few bathroom breaks on bus-heavy days so it wasn’t really a problem.

This trip did include a train ride from London to Edinburgh. You are responsible for getting your own luggage on and off the train though our tour director knew someone who worked for the train and gave him a tip to help us with our bags. Colin had all the connections!

Pace of tour

This tour is very fast-paced as you have a lot to see in two weeks! We were so, so glad we packed in carry-ons for this trip as we were changing hotels a lot. But, that’s to be expected when visiting four countries and cramming a lot of sightseeing in.

If the idea of spending one or two nights in a city before moving onto the next sounds too chaotic or challenging, this itinerary might not be for you. We were on the move a lot, but that’s what Rick and I were expecting. We’ll often use these types of tours to get a taste a place and see if we need to come back, like we realized with Edinburgh!

We knew we’d be moving around a lot on this tour and prepared accordingly by packing light and being able to pack up our room quickly.

Price of tour

Take our price of the tour with a grain of salt as we originally booked this tour in 2018.

Tour cost (per person):

• Tour: $3,659
• Flights (from Denver): $1,345
• Trip insurance: $329

Go Ahead does offer other excursions and add-ons, though we only did one, the Irish Dinner and Show. Here are the excursions offered on this itinerary and their costs per person:

• Windsor Castle: $119
• Abbotsford House & Melrose Abbey: $99
• The Beatles: History & Story Museum: $99
• Traditional Irish Dinner & Show: $109

We did apply a few discounts, such as an online promo ($200 off) and our Club Go rewards ($100).

Inclusions: Group dinners

Some nights of the tour do also include group dinners, which can be great especially after a long day of traveling, we didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to eat.

Colin was great on these nights as I do have a food allergy and he always made sure to pop over and let me know if I had to avoid any dishes on the menu due to my allergy.

I will say that we heard some complaints about these included dinners from other travelers. Were these dinner like eating at a Michelin-star restaurant? No. Were they fast food dinners? Also no! I’d compare these dinners to conference or wedding catering.

It was typically a set menu with three or four options for mains, sometimes a starter, always a dessert served with tea or coffee, and a complimentary drink, such as white or red wine, beer, or cider. You could get more drinks with your dinner out of pocket.

Here’s what Rick and I had during our included group dinners:

• London: We both had the steak pie, London Pride (beer), and brownie with ice cream
• Edinburgh: We both opted for a beer and both got the same soup starter, then I had the shrimp pasta, Rick had the cheeseburger and fries, and we both got sticky toffee pudding for dessert
• Killarney: I started with a meat and cheese plate, then had the bacon and mash, and dessert was a coconut chocolate tart. Rick had the lemon sorbet, beef stew, and the same dessert. Rick had red wine and I had a cider.
• Dublin (farewell dinner at the hotel): I had the cod, a cider, and salted caramel cake for dessert. Rick opted for the chicken and same dessert as it sounded fantastic, and it was!

Overall thoughts

Rick and I were able to check off most items on our bingo card of what the other travelers would say to us as we were the youngest couple on the tour. These tours tend to have travelers from the 50+ age demographic, but we also don’t mind being the youngsters. You’ll still make friends and many of the people in your group are excited to be there and enjoy traveling.

We’re booked on another Go Ahead trip in March to Japan and we’ve got our eye on a food and wine tour of Spain with Go Ahead that might be put on the schedule for 2025.

Like I said, group tours are not for everyone. But, we’ve enjoyed the ones we’ve done with Go Ahead and would (and will) travel with them again in the future.

We really enjoyed this itinerary as it was just what we were looking for in a guided experience and we packed a lot in during our two weeks in Europe, which is exactly what we wanted.

If you’ve got recommendations of other group tour companies we should check out, please let us know in the comments!

Hey, I'm Stephanie! I'm a copywriter living in beautiful Denver with my husband Rick, and our dog Rocco. I love traveling, writing, reading, and being outside as much as possible - unless I'm on the couch binge watching Stranger Things with a glass of wine! Thanks for reading and being a part of the adventure with Back to the Passport! ❤️

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Metallica bringing M72 World Tour to Nashville in 2025 with two 'No Repeat' nights at Nissan Stadium. Details

'no repeat weekend' format features two different set lists with different opening bands each night..

Rock band Metallica has extended its M72 World Tour into 2025 and will bring its "No Repeat Weekend" format of two shows with two different set lists and different opening bands to Nashville's Nissan Stadium May 1 and 3, 2025.

Opening acts for the May 1 show will be Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies. The May 3 show will feature Ice Nine Kills and Limp Bizkit .

The M72 tour, which is extending into its third year, features an in-the-round format allowing some lucky ticket holders to experience the show from the middle of the "Snake Pit" round stage. The band has added 21 North American shows beginning in April and running through June of 2025.

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No Repeat Weekend two-day discounted tickets and cities with single shows only will go on sale on Fri., Sept. 27 at metallica.com/tour . Fan Club presales, including 2-Day Sonic Temple passes, start Mon., Sept. 23. Additional presales will happen throughout that week. Single-day tickets to shows will be available beginning Jan. 17, 2025.

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A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will go to local charities via the band’s foundation, All Within My Hands. Established in 2017 as a way to give back to communities that have supported Metallica over the years, All Within My Hands has raised more than $15 million, providing $8.2 million in grants to career and technical education programs, including the ground-breaking Metallica Scholars Initiative, now in its sixth year, over $3.6 million to combat food insecurity, and more than $3.5 million to disaster relief efforts.

Metallica's 2025 M72 World Tour dates:

• Apr 12 - Las Vegas, NV, Sick New World Festival
• Apr 19* - Syracuse, NY, JMA Wireless Dome
• Apr 24* & 26ˣ - Toronto, ON, Rogers Centre
• May 1* & 3ˣ - Nashville, TN, Nissan Stadium
• May 7 - Blacksburg, VA, Lane Stadium
• May 9 & 11 - Columbus, OH, Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
• May 23ˣ & 25* - Philadelphia, PA, Lincoln Financial Field
• May 28* - Landover, MD, Northwest Stadium
• May 31* - Charlotte, NC, Bank of America Stadium
• Jun 3* - Atlanta, GA, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Jun 6ˣ & 8* - Tampa, FL, Raymond James Stadium
• Jun 14ˣ - Houston, TX, NRG Stadium
• Jun 20ˣ & 22* - Santa Clara, CA, Levi's Stadium
• Jun 27ˣ & 29* - Denver, CO, Empower Field at Mile High

*Support: Pantera & Suicidal TendenciesˣSupport: Limp Bizkit & Ice Nine Kills