<p>11th grade son has the opportunty to travel to Rome with Latin class thru EF Tours during Holy Week. This trip only developed in the last month. We need to make payment by 10/31.</p>
<p>I'm a planner and research crazed person. I also don't have the cash laying around. Ideal circumstances would have been a year notice. </p>
<p>When son first learned of trip the price for 8 days was to be around $2,000. The actual price is close to $3,000 (plus passport which he doesn't have). Extended family memebers offered him financial assistance and help finding a job. I have several issues with that -- Past experience with other family members left us with a hefty bill in the past. A job for a non-driver who has many other responsibilities = more stress for me. The effect this will have on our families FA at private day school. So many reasons to just say no. But, I can't seem to bring myself to shut the door on this yet. I will be attending a meeting tonight with the EF rep.</p>
<p>Son wants to go of course, but he is not pushing anything. Our finances have always been very open. Our family has some large medical expenses. He knows it isn't a matter of giving up a family vacation or something simple to afford this.</p>
<p>The EF tour group will only include my son's small school. Max if all eligible go is 25 kids. The teacher is great and has contacts that would get them some tours of the beaten path of Vatican City/Coleseum/etc. </p>
<p>Anyone have experience with EF?</p>
<p>Anyone have opinions?</p>
<p>How much can you get out of essentially 6 days besides a good vacation?</p>
<p>Any questions I should be sure to ask tonight?</p>
<p>My D went on an EF tour to London and France when she was in HS. She had a wonderful time and it was a great experience. EF puts together excellent trip with a lot packed into each day. This experience made her more worldly and excited about study abroad in college.</p>
<p>However, I wouldn’t call this a once in a lifetime experience. If the cost is prohibitive, I’d save those $$ for other things.</p>
<p>My D2 went on a EF Tour with middle school to Germany last year. She had a blast and everything went very smoothly. I thought the cost was reasonable- but we had more than 9 months to plan.</p>
<p>My understanding if EF puts together excellent trips. (they are the recommended International tour coordinator for Girl Scouts. GS does not recommend vendors lightly). Airfare to Europe has jumped quite a bit in the past year, as carriers have drastically cut capacity. Despite the Euro-zone economic crisis, the Euro has remained stubbornly high, which another reason the costs are higher than originally expected. </p>
<p>It does sound like money is a big issue for you, so I would pass until there’s a better time.</p>
<p>Money is certainly an issue. We aren’t in the poor house and could swing it with longer notice. It is the short notice and the short period of the trip that complicates it all. </p>
<p>The jump in price was due to airfare jump. The school limiting the trip to spring break week (aka Holy Week) is also a factor. </p>
<p>Welcome more opinions. The more info I can gather, the better I feel no matter which decision we come to.</p>
<p>My kids had a few opportunities in HS to travel abroad but we decided to wait until they could do a study abroad in college for the same cost and much more time. I’m glad we did. Both are very well traveled young adults. We did do a trip to China with our youngest son to visit his older sister who was then living in China and the cost of that trip for all three of us was probably $4,000.</p>
<p>My daughter went on an EF tour to Italy and loved it. But – what’s not to love – she was with friends touring Italy! They do pack a lot into the days. Some of the kids got carsick during the long bus rides. The kids are stuffed four or more to a room into not-the-nicest hotels but if they’re with friends, it’s all part of the adventure. The meals that were provided by EF did not sound very good – my daughter is a vegetarian and there wasn’t much for her to eat. (I think EF provided dinners but the kids purchased their own lunches during free times.) Anyway, she loved it and had a lot of fun, but as much for the social aspects as for anything else.</p>
<p>Son went on an EF tour to England and France with a small group from his HS last spring and really enjoyed it. Only you can decide whether the finances work for your family, but it was a great experience for our son. No complaints about EF. I know the teacher that organized the group has used them for several years because he is always pleased with the tours.</p>
<p>3K is tuition for a semester of public university.
He will feel sad and left out the weeks leading up to the trip, during and maybe a few weeks after.
But it will not damage his psyche in anyway.
He will not be the only one not going.</p>
<p>My S1 also did an EF tour in h.s. to Spain. The EF tours are fine…but the issue is whether or not you can afford it…it’s really an expensive thing and My S went only for one week. The price is usually dependent on the amount of kids going…more kids, less money per kid.</p>
<p>We arranged to pay half and my S1 paid the other half from his summer jobs and tutoring money. It was an opportunity for him to go with his best h.s. buddies and to cement his love of Spanish, which he is continuing to study in college and also wants to go back for a semester abroad program.</p>
<p>I’m not sure any of us can tell you what would be right for your S and your family situation. For us, it worked out better when we asked him to pay for half, this way he took a bit of the ownership and responsibility.</p>
<p>When S2 comes along with an opportunity, we will treat it more or less the same by arranging to have him pay half, if that’s what he wants to use his money for.</p>
<p>I went on a 10 day (really was only 8 b/c of travel days) tour of Rome, Pompeii, and Capri with EF tours this summer. My group (from philly) was paired up with other groups so we had ~25 people. If you have any questions I’ll be willing to answer.</p>
<p>Batllo – I don’t know where you live, but $3,000 is the COA/semester for our Community College. Our state directional colleges are just under $10K COA for a semester.</p>
<p>ArKhAik – Thanks for the offer! I may pm you after the meeting when I hear more details.</p>
<p>My co-worker just informed me her son’s senior class trip to Disney World is $1,800 for 5 nights. That gives me some perspective. Makes Italy look like a bargain to me.</p>
<p>chocchip – My son is willing to get a job, however, I’m reluctant to have him do that since 1. he must rely on me for transportation and 2. I need to commit by 10/31. Not exactly enough time to secure a job. </p>
<p>I really appreciate all your responses. You all have helped me determine that EF is a good group.</p>
<p>How badly does he want to go on the trip? That may determine your course of action. My S had money in his bank account already saved up from part time jobs and a tutoring business he had for three years in h.s.</p>
<p>If he really wants to go, then perhaps there would be a way for him to pay you back, if you are able to lay out the money, or he can start to save now to go on a future trip either in h.s. or in college or even with the family!</p>
<p>You say he’s a junior, you might want to ask if there is another type of trip next year that he could save for now.</p>
<p>Btw: We all make choices and no one choice is the best. I’m sure your S will do what’s best for your family’s situation.</p>
<p>Another point of reference - we almost booked a 7 night Caribbean cruise last July for our Girl Scout troop for ~$1500pp, which included R/T airfare to Tampa, $350 allowance for shore trips, and an outside cabin, however 4 per cabin. (in the end we couldn’t agree on dates that would work for everyone, so it didn’t happen). </p>
<p>I think you are also paying a premium for Holy Week. It will be a zoo in Italy at that time. Have they said how much will be open that week? It’s a religious country, so there might be holiday hours at some places.</p>
<p>I would not want to travel during Holy Week . Everything is at peak prices , and you will waste alot of time in the Vatican due to peak crowds .</p>
<p>Longhaul, you said you were on FA at the private school. Is there any assistance offered for trips like this? Our private does give assistance to the trips they offer, not guaranteed, but families can apply for some help.</p>
<p>A few years back our school offered a trip to Rome etc during holy week (our school break also) for middle school Latin students. I don’t think it was EF. The trip packed so much into the days, it seemed too much to be age appropriate when these kids would have enjoyed some down time at a pool rather than another museum. We opted not to send our D on that trip, she was not the only one who didn’t go. I remember they needed to change order of some of the stops because of attraction closings because of holy week.</p>
<p>Our school has about 6 trips per year geared to various age groups and niches. Some kids do something every year with an endless supply of money. Some never attend. Our older daughter did a 2+ week trip to China when she was studying Manderin, and it wasn’t just sight seeing, it was service and staying at a school and homestay also. That I would consider a once in a lifetime event, a trip which is just touring could happen at another time when finances are better.</p>
<p>When D was a senior she did an EF to Spain in April. She paid for the whole thing, drained her savings to do it because all her friends were going. I think it was about $2700 for a week. We had just paid for her to study abroad her junior summer to Costa Rica through LPI, about $3200, but for a whole month. Much more for your money and she had some good college essay experiences. I would not encourage EF tours for students, unless they truly have no way to travel any other time. The trips are just a long distance field trip.</p>
<p>Meeting went fine but I didn’t learn much more than I already knew from the EF site and letter from teacher. I won’t make the decision on peer pressure, but he truly is the only one from his class not signed up. Trip sounds like a blast. I love and trust the teacher chaperons who are going. But still don’t think it is in our family’s best interest. I have another week to think on it.</p>
<p>I’m a senior in high school and I went on a EF tour this spring to Spain and I enjoyed it. I know most parents are iffy about letting their child go and the cost of the tour, but I felt that I really experienced the culture. I learned a lot traveling by becoming more independent and learning how to take care of myself and not rely on my parents. Going away on a trip without your parent is eye opening and fun with your friends. I think that it was worth the price because you never know if a chance like this will ever pop up and you can write about what you experienced on a college essay. For the price R/T ticket, breakfast, dinner, hotels (usually range from 3-5 stars), and tours are included in the price. Best of Luck!</p>
<p>I would echo simpkin’s post #7 upthread. Our D had same experience–3 or 4 to a room, marginal food, etc. and loved every minute of it. </p>
<p>Logically, we could have gone as a family of four, used H’s airline and hotel miles for less than the cost…and the hotels would have been better and flight times better.</p>
<p>But D saw and did many things, loved the travel with friends and the independence…and when she went abroad for a semester in college, she did not hesitate in the least to explore Europe more. </p>
<p>Other than cost, EF was a quality outfit to work with. But it is a hefty bill. Tough decision either way…</p>