Go Ahead ToursReviews of goaheadtours.com

EF GoAhead Tours Arsheya Devitra, SVP Sales Emily Mantell, VP Customer Service I would like to share some thoughts describing my recent trip with you. The trip to Hawaii was disappointing in many ways. The website sold a trip beginning on 10/4/26 and ending on 10/11/26. The tour booklet handed out on arrival showed the end date as 10/10/2026. No reservation was made for me on the 10th. I asked John Stallman the tour director about it on Sunday night 10/04/26. He told me that was not his job and to call your 24 hour service. He never asked me about it again. Your representatives, both local and in Massachusetts, left me feeling ignored, uncared for and vulnerable in a place far from home. No booking was made for four more days . By Friday I was frightened and struggled unsuccessfully to get a Saturday booking. From my Monday morning call until my very upset 6am call on Friday 10/09 no reservation was made for the 10th. I texted John on Friday morning. He did not respond other than to ask not to use group chat. My phone shows 17 calls and many texts between Monday and Friday (Asha,Alec). I was told "almost done" all week. I spent much of my trip following up on reservation promises that never materialized. Alec told me what calls he thought I should make. John told me to change my flight. Later Friday Alec told me a reservation had been made. The hotel was nearby and I could walk there they said. I asked for transport and was repeatedly told to walk . I'm 78 and have two pieces of luggage. Where was the hotel was exactly? No one said. Now I know. It's 1/2 mile from the Sonesta. There were other surprises as well. The Twin Fin is not clean nor well appointed. The safe didn't work. The coffee pot didn't work. Starting with the welcoming dinner three meals were preordered and institutional. They were poor quality. Breading, fat, sugar, sodium, sauce. Nothing fresh. The others reported that John didn't accompany the group to Pearl Harbor. He did not supply breakfast. An entire day, Wednesday, was spent on a short flight from Oahu to Kauai. Buses were sometimes shared. Not as promised in the literature. Communication was insufficient. In my view this constitutes absence of value for consideration rendered. I did not get what I paid for Most important the EF staff didn't show genuine concern for my welfare, my feelings, safety or comfort. That is the real failure. That speaks for itself. Ladies, your staff has declined to supply your mailing addresses, both email and office. I'm copying this to a text number. Perhaps you will see it. With best intentions, Francine Blum

We booked a tour including flights with EF Go Ahead Tours. We were told by EF that we could check in online and book our seats. Our flight from Toronto to Dublin this could not be done according to the airline. We contacted EF while on tour and were told that we needed to deal directly with the airline and we should be able to check in online and book our seats for our return flight. There was no further assistance from EF as to give us support should we have an issue, this is all in an email from EF. Of course again we could not check in online or book our seats. Again the seats assigned were in the last row of the plane! I confirmed with 2 employees at check in and on the airline web site and both clearly stated that any flights booked by EF the individual could not check in online or book their seats. this is in PRINT!! Yet EF continue to tell us this is not the case, unbelievable that they cannot admit this. Also I am told there is nothing EF can do as it is AFTER the tour. Wow, I will never use this company again. They cannot stand behind their customers and do not offer proper customer support

no response from their office on questions

I am extremely disappointed with how EF Go Ahead Tours handled a refund associated with a trip to France that I booked with a friend. Unfortunately, my travel companion had to withdraw from the trip due to unforeseen circumstances. We fully understood and accepted that certain deposits and insurance costs would be non-refundable. That is not the issue. The issue involves a $1,000 payment my husband made toward my trip as a birthday gift using his credit card. This amount was refundable. However, instead of returning the $1,000 to the card used to make the payment, Go Ahead Tours credited the funds to my travel companion’s credit card. This has now placed both of us in an unnecessary and uncomfortable situation. My friend has contacted Go Ahead Tours and specifically asked them to reverse the incorrect credit and return the funds to the appropriate payer. Despite this, the company has declined to correct the transaction and has effectively left it to us to resolve their error privately. Transferring the funds back to us may also result in additional fees, despite neither of us being responsible for the original error. As a business owner myself, I find this handling of a customer’s payment concerning. When a payment is made by one individual using a specific credit card, I would expect any applicable refund to be handled according to the company's payment and refund policies, with clear authorization and appropriate safeguards. I am also concerned about the privacy and financial-account implications of directing a refund associated with one person's payment to another individual's account. What has been particularly disappointing is the response after the issue was identified. There have been several emails back and forth, yet I have not received a meaningful resolution or a direct call from a manager or appropriate finance representative who can take ownership of the situation. I am simply asking EF Go Ahead Tours to correct the $1,000 refund and ensure the funds are returned appropriately, without requiring customers to absorb additional costs or resolve the company's payment error between themselves. Based on this experience, I would be very cautious about booking a shared trip with another traveller through this company, particularly when different individuals are making payments toward the booking. Customers should have confidence that their payments and refunds will be handled accurately. I have travelled with a variety of companies over the years, and unfortunately, this experience has significantly affected my confidence in Go Ahead Tours. Unless this issue is properly resolved, I will return to travel companies I have previously used and trusted. I hope Go Ahead Tours will review this situation, take responsibility for correcting it, and improve its refund procedures so another customer does not have the same experience.

If I had all day I couldn't say enough about how bad this company is. Put simply, I travelled twice with them. 1st time was not great. Second time went on a group tour and it was disastrous. Can't get any resolutions. Had to double pay just to fly home. DON'T USE THEM. GO ELSEWHERE

EF Go Ahead Tours did not deliver the hotel experience that was represented on our Africa tour. Our stay at The Boma Nairobi had no hot water and poor food quality, and the accommodations fell well below expectations. We ultimately paid out of pocket to move to the JW Marriott Nairobi. What disappointed us most was not only the hotel itself, but EF’s response afterward. Despite acknowledging our concerns and requesting receipts, the company ultimately declined meaningful compensation. Travelers should carefully verify accommodations before booking.

TERRIBLE!!! I just wrote a long narrative and it got deleted so I will write it again at a later date. Avoid this company at all costs!! I'm shocked they are still in business!!! There needs to be a class action lawsuit against them. There is actually a facebook group called EF GO AHEAD TOURS NIGHTMARE STORIES or something to that effect. I urge everyone to check that out before you ever consider using them to travel.

I booked the London, Paris Rome tour in November 2025. This tour is very overpriced. There is a lot of "Free time" on this tour. The hotels were changed after booking. This information was provided in the tour description, but the substitutions were not comparable to the advertised hotels. The hotel locations left a lot to be desired. One location seemed to be in a residential area. The breakfast at two of the three hotels was horrible. After two of the three provided tours we were "dropped off" and had to get back to the hotel (or other destinations) on our own. I travel solo and I usually feel safe traveling in a group, however I felt very unsafe during this tour. From my view, our tour director was incompetent and uncompassionate.