Summer in the Alps with EF Go Ahead Tours

When I started traveling solo, I had no desire to visit Europe. With so much of the world to still see, it just didn’t appeal to me. All that changed when I got back from Thailand and started to plan my next trip.

While browsing EF Go Ahead Tours’ website, I found myself scrolling through their European tours. After looking at the pictures and reading reviews, I warmed up to the idea of Europe, but I didn’t want to go to anywhere I previously visited.

I’ve always wanted to visit Germany and Austria. It ultimately came down to two tours: the Central Europe for Solo Travelers and Jewels of Alpine Europe. You can probably guess which one won.

With a 4.6 star rating based on 344 reviews, I had really high hopes for the Jewels of Alpine Europe. So, did it live up to the hype? And more importantly, was it worth the price tag?

Jump to:
Jewels of Alpine Europe Overview
Jewels of Alpine Europe Itinerary
Hand-Picked Hotels
Meals on Tour
Jewels of Alpine Europe Pros & Cons
Jewels of Alpine Europe FAQs

The views and opinions expressed in this article are based on my own experience. I was not compensated by EF Go Ahead Tours or receive anything in exchange for writing this review.

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A Brief Overview of the Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour

The EF Go Ahead Tours Jewels of Alpine is a fully guided group tour that takes you through the Swiss Alps, the French Alps and Austrian Alps, as well as Northern Italy and Bavaria. In total, you visit 5 countries and one principality over the course of 13 days (or 15 days if you opt for the the Salzburg extension). If you want to see as much as possible ini a short amount of time, the Jewels of Alpine Europe tour will meet those expectations.

EF Go Ahead Tours Jewels of Alpine Europe Itinerary

Day 1: Travel Day

Day 1 is always counted as a travel day. Instead of adding the optional Salzburg extension, I did it myself. I arrived in Europe three days early to live out my Sound of Music dreams. I flew into Munich (München in Deutsch) and took a two hour train ride into Salzburg.

Day 2: Arrive in Lucerne

After two amazing days in Austria, I took a five hour train ride to Zurich and a shorter train to Lucerne. This is where the tour started.

Learn from my rookie mistake! Unless you want to play musical chairs on the train, make sure you reserve a seat with an actual number. I was surprised when a gentleman came up to me at the Innsbruck stop and told me I was sitting in his seat. I ended up finding a seat in one of the last cars that was “reserved” for people traveling with bicycles.

My train arrived late to Zurich (so much for the Swiss being punctual!), and caused me to miss my connection to Lucerne. Since it wasn’t my fault, I was able to take the next train without any issues.

That night we had an orientation meeting with our very type A tour director. (More on that later.) A welcome drink and group dinner was also included.

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Day 3: Sightseeing Tour of Lucerne

Our first full day of the tour started with a sightseeing tour with a local guide in Lucerne. Highlights included: Lion’s Monument, Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) and the Jesuit Church.

Lucerne isn’t very big, which meant we had lots of free time to walk around and get lunch after our guided tour.

The optional Mount Pilatus excursion was in the afternoon. It started with an hour and a half cruise on Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad. Unfortunately, the cogwheel train (the steepest in the world, btw) was broken so we had to take the gondolas up. 

It was so peaceful and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. There was also a moment where we completely disappeared into the clouds.

There isn’t a whole lot to do at the top of Pilatus. The highlight for me, other than seeing cows and hearing their bells in the distance, was watching two paragliders launch themselves off the side of the mountain.

After about an hour or so, we were able to take the cogwheel train down which was a wild experience. There are times where we were literally inches from the sides of the mountain.

Once we got back to the hotel, we were on our own for dinner.

Day 4: Interlaken, Bern and Megéve

Today we started our journey into the alps. We had a brief stop in Interlaken to go to the bathroom and take photos of Jungfraujoch before arriving in Bern.

Bern had the biggest surprise of the entire tour: live bears! I guess I shouldn’t have been that surprised since Bern is named after bears. There was also a bear pit at the entry of the city, but I thought it was old. (I have mixed feelings about the bears being in captivity. It does sound like they’re well taken care of.)

Our tour director acted as our tour guide in Bern; I wish we had a local guide. The “tour” was mostly her walking us down the main street and telling us some facts. When we got to the Einstein Museum she read off “The Top 10 Einstein Quotes” from the internet.

We were then on our own for lunch before getting back on the bus. We arrived at our hotel in Megéve by late afternoon and we were on our own for the rest of the night.

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Day 5: Sightseeing Tour in Annecy

Today I channeled my inner Francophile for our trip to Annecy. I saw lots of pictures of this town before my trip, but nothing prepared me for how beautiful the water would be. It was truly breathtaking.
 
Our local guide, Odile, was my favorite from the entire tour. You could tell she was really passionate about telling the history of Annecy and loved her job. Annecy is another small town, so the tour was only about an hour long.

Afterwards we had nearly 3 hours of free time, which was way too much. I couldn’t believe some people on the tour wanted to stay later.

I spent most of my time after lunch walking around the lake, but after about an hour it got a little old. As the day went on, it got very crowded.

This is also a PSA to consider always packing some spare toilet paper in your bag while traveling. The free toilets in Annecy were the hole-in-the-floor types that required thighs of steel to squat. And yes, the toilet paper was non-existent.

On our way back to the hotel, we had a castle photo op stop. We also pulled into this tiny town where there was a beautiful view of Mont Blanc. The most chaotic animal crossing I’ve seen in my life overshadowed that. 

Our tour guide also bought a bottle of Génépi, a traditional herbed liquor popular in the Alps. I don’t drink, but judging from everyone else’s reactions, it’s an acquired taste.

That night I made a 10 minute walk to Luge 4S, a toboggan that runs during the summer. Best 8.50€ I spent.

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Day 6: Chamonix, Aosta and Como

This day, which just so happened to be my birthday, was a travel day. We had two stops on our way to Como: Chamonix and Aosta.

Like Megéve, Chamonix is a small, but beautiful ski town. We spent over 2 hours here, which was entirely too long. There was a cable car, but our tour director said we wouldn’t have enough time. 

There should be more to do than walking around, shopping or sitting at a cafe at a designated stop. Or at least give us enough time to do an activity.

Once we crossed into Italy, we stopped in the small town of Aosta for lunch. This was a quintessential small Italian town. Roman ruins surrounded the city, which were really cool to see.

We arrived in Como in the evening and enjoyed an included dinner at a family-owned restaurant.

Day 7: Lake Como and Bellagio

Our day in Lake Como started at Villa Carlotta, a museum and botanical garden. The gardens were pretty, but the heat made it unbearable pretty quickly. Once again, we were given too much time at this location.

We then took a 45 minute cruise around the lake before docking in Bellagio for the afternoon. There were A LOT of people at Bellagio. It was also August, which meant it was uncomfortably hot. I’m talking sweat dripping down your back and going into your butt crack hot.

I spent the majority of my afternoon eating lunch at a very expensive hotel restaurant. I mostly did it for the clean bathrooms, and it was also away from the crowds.

I left Lake Como not understanding the hype and thinking I would need to go back. When I got home, I read suggested Lake Como itineraries on various travel blogs. I think EF Go Ahead Tours needs to read them. 

There’s so much to see, certainly not enough to do in a single day. However, there were a lot more interesting places we could have gone than Bellagio. If I do go back to Lake Como, it will most certainly not be during the summer.

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Day 8: Tirano and St. Moritz

This morning we said “Arrividerci” to Lake Como and “Buongiorno” to Tirano. We made a brief stop at the Santuario della Madonna di Tirano before getting off the bus at the Bernina Express train station.

The Bernina Express was a very unique experience and a great way to see the beautiful alps and glaciers. It’s amazing how much the weather can change in just a few miles. (Personally, I was happy to be in cooler weather.)

The entire trip took around 2 hours. That included a stop at the Ospizio Bernina, the highest point reached by the train at 7,500 feet.

Tonight included dinner at the hotel. I’m guessing because there was nowhere else to go since we were pretty far from downtown St. Moritz. I was very impressed with the vegan meal they prepared, a vegetable grain bowl, and a vegan flan.

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Day 9: Liechtenstein and Innsbruck

After one night in Samedan we were on the road bright and early for Innsbruck. This included a stop in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. (I had no idea this principality existed until I booked this trip.)

When I say stop, that’s all it was. We were in Liechtenstein for a total of 45 minutes. Enough to pee at the free toilets, get your passport stamped and check out the souvenir shop.

The castle, in my opinion, is the biggest attraction in Vaduz. But it was at least a 20-minute walk UP HILL. (I attempted it, but quickly gave up because I was battling bronchitis.) It would take another 20 minutes to get back down. I’m not a mathematician, but that gives you less than five minutes to take photos or walk around.

Since the castle isn’t open to the public, you’re limited to what you can do. However, they could have at least stopped somewhere for a photo op with the castle in the background. Or maybe they’d be better off not stopping there at all since there isn’t much to do in Liechtenstein.

In the afternoon we arrived in Innsbruck and immediately went on a guided walking tour. Our tour guide was fabulous! (A woman on this tour, who went on the same tour a few years earlier, raved about him and he lived up to the hype.)

After our tour, we had free time (a little too much free time) before an included dinner at Bierstindl, a traditional gasthaus that served Austrian food.

Day 10: Neuschwanstein Castle Excursion

The day I had been waiting for was finally here: Neuschwanstein Castle Day! As someone who grew up going to Disneyland, seeing the real-life inspiration was straight out of a fairytale.

Getting to the castle was an adventure in itself. First, we had to wait in a long line for a bus. (Apparently there were only two running, which just seems like terrible planning.) Then we took the bus, which was packed tighter than a can of sardines with visitors, to another long line.

The castle is very anal about entry times. If you aren’t there for your reservation, you don’t get in. So, we ended up skipping the castle bridge line and walking right up to the main entry. The ticket included a guided audio tour and climbing lots of spiral staircases. 

Unfortunately, they don’t allow photos inside, but King Ludwig was gaudy as hell and I love him for it. Everything was gold, bedazzled, ornately carved or intricately painted. And, as expected, swan decor was everywhere. I would go back to Neuschwanstein Castle in a heartbeat. It was absolutely magical.

Since no one invited me to move into Neuschwanstein, I had no other choice but to join the group for a late lunch on the patio of Schlossbrauhaus Schwangau. I was hangry by this point and not in a good mood. Thankfully, the food was delicious and I had never been so happy to see beetroot hummus in my life.

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Day 11: Sightseeing in Munich

Today we said farewell to Austria and hello to Germany! We arrived in Munich in time to watch the Glockenspiel go off at 12:00 p.m. It’s a must-see!

Afterwards, I stopped at the Apotheke (pharmacy) and wandered around the Viktualienmarkt. I was excited to find vegan Mandelhörnchen (almond horns) and vegan croissants at a bakery.

In the afternoon a local guide joined us on the bus. (I’m not sure why she didn’t walk us around Altstadt.) I don’t think a bus tour was the best way to see the city, but considering how hot it was, it was fine.

We also stopped at the BMW Experience. (Not to be confused with the BMW Museum which would have been way more interesting.). This was not my vibe. I couldn’t care less about looking at cars way out of my price range. I would have much rather spent time anywhere else.

Nymphenburg Palace was the final stop of the tour. Our guide did a great job taking us through and telling us the history. We had time after to walk around the gardens and admire the many many geese. (OK, maybe I was the only one admiring the geese.)

The day ended with us checking into our hotel and a free evening in Munich.

Day 12: Free Day in Munich

The last full day in Munich was a free day. You could either take the optional excursion to Dachau or choose your own adventure.

Only 13 people, including myself, went to Dachau. I understand that visiting a concentration camp isn’t a “happy” or “fun” thing to do. But it’s important to visit these places to make sure the atrocities that took place don’t happen again.

If you find yourself in Munich, I highly recommend you go. I’m not going to lie, it was a very heavy experience. As soon as I walked through the iron gate inscribed with the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Works sets you free), I cried. And walking into the gas chambers and crematorium is something I will never forget.

This excursion cost $40 and I’m not sure why since tickets are €4.00. Our tour director made it sound like tour guides weren’t allowed, but most of the groups had a dedicated tour guide. Given that this excursion costs extra, a tour guide should have been included. I’m still glad I went, but they should rethink this experience.

When we returned from Dachau, we had a couple of hours until our goodbye dinner. I spent it at a vegan cat cafe, which I also recommend.

Dinner was at Augustiner Schützengarten, a beer garden right down the street. The meal was actually really good. I got a vegan burger and a dessert that wasn’t fruit salad.

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Day 13: Flight Home

After nearly two weeks in Europe, it was time to say “Auf Wiedersehen” to the group. There were only a handful of us that didn’t opt to do the excursion in Salzburg.

Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour Hotels

We stayed at 6 hotels during this tour. I’ve provided a brief review for each one. One thing they all had in common: they weren’t centrally located to any of the cities on the tour.

For example, if you wanted to do something at night, you’re limited to what was within walking distance. Sure, you could arrange your own transportation or take public transportation. However, on a tour like this, you’re relying on the company to choose hotels that are close to the city you’re visiting.

(Note: EF Go Ahead Tours has updated their hotels for this tour. Like their website says, accommodations may vary depending on tour dates.)

Grand Hotel Europe

The Grand Hotel Europe is pretty far from the center of Lucerne. It also didn’t have air conditioning. Not ideal in August. They did provide a fan, which was better than nothing. The hotel itself seemed kind of old, but the room was nice. 

I did have a brief panic moment while I was sitting in my room and the door opened. I didn’t think it was a malicious incident, but I told the front desk what happened. They looked into the card swipes and confirmed it was someone from the staff. They were very apologetic.

The included dinner and breakfast buffet were OK.

Novotel Megéve Mont-Blanc

This hotel was probably the best hotel of the entire tour. The Novotel Megéve Mont-Blanc had an amazing breakfast buffet (thank you, France!) and I felt like a rich person on vacation.

Despite the luxe accommodations, I do have two complaints. Megéve is nowhere near Chamonix or Annecy. So if you wanted to do some extra sightseeing on your own time, you couldn’t. Megéve is also a small ski resort town, which means limited dining options, especially for a vegan.

This hotel is no longer featured on the Jewels of Alpine Europe tour page. As of this writing, the preferred hotel is in Chamonix.

Hotel Albergo Le Due Corti

Of all the hotels we stayed at, the Hotel Albergo Le Due Corti was the absolute worst. I’m not sure why EF Go Ahead Tours thought this hotel would be acceptable. Not only was it far from anything you’d want to see in the Como region, the rooms were dirty and the showers were terrible.

They did gain some points for labeling the allergens for every food on the breakfast buffet. They had a vegan tart and there was even a dedicated section for gluten-free foods.

This hotel is no longer featured on their tour page. As of this writing, the preferred hotel is a more updated hotel.

Hotel Bernina 1865

The Hotel Bernina 1865 in Samedan was also not great. “Rustic” is the best way I could describe it. And I think they were in the riddle of renovations. 

My room was actually really nice, and it was the best shower of the tour. However, it wasn’t near anything. If you wanted to go to downtown St. Moritz, you’d have to take a cab. (And I’m not sure those were even available.)

This hotel is no longer featured on their tour page. As of this writing, a more centrally-located hotel is now offered in St. Moritz.

Harry’s Home Telfs

Harry’s Home Telfs was the hotel for our Innsbruck stop. Like most of the hotels, it was incredibly far from anything. And if you didn’t go on the excursion to Neuschwanstein Castle, I’m not sure what you would do. There were frequent issues with the key cards, as in they didn’t work, and the air conditioning was not great. The breakfast buffet was also seriously lacking.

This hotel is no longer featured on their tour page.

NYX Hotel Munich

Our final hotel was the NYX Hotel Munich. Again, not a bad hotel, but it was at least 20 minutes away from Munich city center.

This hotel is no longer featured on their tour page. A more centrally located hotel is now offered in Munich.

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What We Ate on the Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour

The EF Go Ahead Tours Jewels of Alpine Europe included five dinners:

• Welcome Dinner at Grand Europe Hotel in Lucerne
• Dinner at il Solito Posto in Como
• Dinner at Hotel Bernina 1865 in Samedan
• Dinner at Bierstindl in Innsbruck 
• Farewell Dinner in Munich at Augustiner Schützengarten

The Neuschwanstein Castle excursion included lunch at Schlossbrauhaus Schwangau. Each hotel included breakfast.

Other than the Welcome Dinner on the first night, there were no included meals in Switzerland. I can only assume that’s because Switzerland is so damn expensive, and I say that as someone who lives in LA.

From a strictly vegan standpoint, the best meals were at the Bierstindl, Schlossbrauhaus Schwangau and Augustiner Schützengarten.

I do wish there was an included meal in Megéve, especially since the town was so small and the options were limited. Our tour director wasn’t very helpful with restaurant recommendations, which I thought was kind of odd.

When it came to finding a place to eat for lunch or dinner, I relied heavily on Happy Cow. It helped me find:

• Swing Kitchen in Bern
• Granny Smith in Annecy
• The best french fries ever at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio
• Semi di Sesamo in Aosta
• Moro Burger in Tirano
• Katzentempel in Munich

I also packed a lot of snacks, which came in handy when I was feeling lazy and didn’t feel like finding somewhere to eat.

Transportation

If you don’t like tour buses or get car sick, you’re not going to like the Jewel of Alpine Europe tour. Minus the Bernina Express, the bus was our only mode of transportation for the entire trip. 

Both of our bus drivers were fantastic — they know how to navigate the small, windy roads of the alps! Our bus was also new. It even had that new bus smell. Because of that, our Tour Director was pretty anal about us not spilling.

Our Tour Director had a weird “seat cycling” rule. For example, if you sat in the front one day, you should sit in the middle or the back the next day. After about three days of this, people sat in their preferred seat and didn’t really move for the rest of the trip. I don’t think anyone cared.

A Note About Airport Transfers

Airport transfers are my biggest transportation complaint. I had no issues booking airport transfers for Thailand two weeks before arriving in Bangkok. I didn’t have the same experience with Jewels of Alpine Europe.

When I tried to book an airport transfer for this tour, the EF Go Ahead Tours representative told me I had to request it ONE MONTH in advance. (Keep in mind I only needed to get to the airport in Munich.) Someone else on the tour got a completely different answer.

I was fully prepared to take an Uber to the airport. Since other travelers were taking the tour bus to the airport in the morning, our tour director said I could pay cash. It cost 25€, which was much cheaper than a cab. (Our hotel was at least 40 minutes from the airport, and that was around 5:00 a.m.)

If you end up traveling with EF Go Ahead Tours, I would ask at the time of booking what their policy is.

The Tour Director

The biggest disappointment of the entire tour? The tour director. The general consensus amongst the group was no one liked her or thought she did a particularly good job. And I would agree.

When our tour director was assigned, I went to the EF Go Ahead Tours website to see if she was mentioned in any reviews. I couldn’t find any, which should have been my first clue.

To me, a tour director is well-informed and knows facts about the places we’re visiting. Many times she read straight from the Wikipedia page. This made me wonder if this was her first time doing this particular tour.

She also recruited one of the travelers to be a translator during our Lake Como cruise. That included pointing out famous houses on the lake.

She was definitely well organized and made sure we got to each location, but she wasn’t very friendly. (She did warn us that she is more direct, but I don’t think that’s an excuse for not being pleasant.)

There were also times where she treated the group like children. For example, she gave directors while her back was turned to people in the group, which made it hard to hear. When a woman asked her to repeat herself, she was incredibly rude.

One of the women who lost their luggage called the tour director on her cell phone. They needed help figuring out how to get their luggage delivered. (While not an emergency, it was time sensitive.) She told them she was bust and hung up.

Unfortunately, travelers don’t have any say in who their tour director is. It makes me wonder what this trip would have been like with one of the tour directors mentioned in the reviews.

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Jewels of Alpine Europe Pros

Here’s what I thought EF Go Ahead Tours did well:

• Our tour director posted a very detailed schedule to the group chat the night before. This spoke to my type A, detail-oriented heart.
• All the excursions were great and worth the cost.
• The local guides were, for the most part, outstanding.
• The group of people on the tour were all great. I felt like I was traveling with 10 groups of parents, and they all were looking after me.
• They accommodated my vegan diet at every included meal
• There were plenty of potty breaks
• Our bus drivers were incredible. Driving a giant bus through the alps is not easy, but they made it look like it was!

Jewels of Alpine Europe Cons

And here’s what I thought EF Go Ahead Tours could do better:

• Our tour director left a lot to be desired.
• The amount of time we spent at each stop. It was either too much time with not enough activities or it wasn’t enough time to do anything worth seeing. There was no in between. I’m starting to realize I need to do a lot more research before going on these tours so I can fill my free time with things I’d like to do.
• I would have liked more guided tours or excursions in Munich and Como.
• The hotel locations and some of the hotels
• The extra $600 to have my own room seems excessive
• EF Go Ahead Tours did a massive website overhaul that took weeks to complete. This affected how you could pay for excursions. The app also had a bug. It made it look like you were missing health information, which included dietary restrictions. I emailed them to make sure they had that information. They didn’t email me back until August 3, the day our tour started.

EF Go Ahead Tours Jewels of Alpine Europe FAQs

You have questions? I have answers!

How much does the Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour cost?

Short answer: It’s not cheap, especially when you compare it to my Thailand trip. (Thailand is a cheaper destination than Europe.)

Here’s a cost breakdown of my entire trip:

• Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour: $4158
• Optional excursions: $330
• Airport transfers: $28 (converted to USD)
• Flights: $0 (I used points)
• Misc expenses (e.g. tips, food): $350
• Total: $4866

I purchased the Jewels of Alpine Europe during a Black Friday Flash Sale. And it’s also the main reason why I chose this tour over the solo tour. I also had $200 in my travel bank from my previous tour, which helped lower the price even more.

What’s included on the EF Go Ahead Tours Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour?

Here’s what’s included (and what’s not included) in EF Go Ahead Jewels of Alpine Europe tour package:

• 11 nights in handpicked hotels
• 11 breakfasts
• 5 dinners with beer or wine
• 7 sightseeing tours
• Expert Tour Director & local guides
• Private deluxe motor coach
• 1 train ride

What’s not included on the EF Go Ahead Tours Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour?

And here’s everything that’s an additional fee:

• Flights
• Optional excursions
• Additional meals and beverages
• Tipping (tour director, bus drivers, local guides)
• Extension to Salzburg
• Airport transfers (if you book your own flights)

What optional excursions are available on the Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour?

The Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour had three optional excursions. (The excursions featured on the Salzburg extension are not included since I didn’t go.)

• Mount Pilatus (Lucerne) – $135*
• Bavarian Castle and Lunch (Innsbruck) – $125*
• Dachau (Munich) – $40*

*I paid $330 for the excursions on my tour, which makes me think EF Go Ahead Tours has reduced the cost.

Nearly everyone on the tour went to Mount Pilatus and Neuschwanstein Castle. Less than half went to Dachau. 

I thought all the excursions were great. The one area where EF Go Ahead Tours can improve is communicating when the booking deadline is.

I booked all the excursions on July 28. I even called EF Go Ahead Tours to double check if booking them so close to the August 3 tour start would be an issue. (They will happily charge you, but won’t confirm if you actually have a spot on the excursions until days later.)

The representative I talked to said it shouldn’t be an issue. The only excursion that may not have availability is Dachau. They usually have to reserve tickets months in advance. I received an email on July 31 saying they were unable to confirm all the excursions. To say I was irritated would be an understatement.

Our tour director said in the app chat there were enough tickets available for everyone to go to Neuschwanstein. When I arrived in Lucerne, she said going on the excursions wouldn’t be an issue.

My suggestion: Book your excursions as early as possible. If you want to wait, I would book them no later than three months before your trip.

What’s the difference between EF Go Ahead Tours Jewels of Alpine Europe and Central Europe for Solo Travelers?

As a solo traveler, the Central Europe for Solo Travelers really appealed to me. I was ready to lock in a March 2024 tour date during their Black Friday Sale. But then I received an email about a flash sale for the Jewels of Alpine Europe tour in August 2024.

Here’s how the two tours compare:

The biggest difference for solo travelers is the “single supplement.” I had to pay over $600 to have a private room. (I double checked the current cost while writing this post. For an August 2, 2025 tour, a solo room would be an additional $800.)

I don’t completely understand why this is a thing since it’s the same as a room with double occupancy. Even with the extra cost, the Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour was comparable to the Central Europe for Solo Travelers Tour.

I also thought the Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour looked like a better value since I got to visit more countries.

Should you book your flights through EF Go Ahead Tours?

As I mentioned in my Thailand for Solo Travelers review, there are many reasons why you shouldn’t book your flights with EF Go Ahead Tours. Those reasons were confirmed during this tour. 

At least 10 travelers on this tour had their flights canceled or delayed due to weather. (There was a massive storm on the east coast right before the tour started.) This caused some of them to miss the welcome dinner (not that big of a deal) and part of the first day in Lucerne.

Two women even lost their luggage and they weren’t reunited with them until 2 days before the tour ended. (I told them they sounded like great candidates for Apple Air Tags.)

Because they booked their flights through EF Go Ahead Tours, they couldn’t rebook their flights. They had to call Go Ahead. Based on what those travelers said, the company provided awful customer service and support.

My suggestion: Do not book your flight through EF Go Ahead Tours.

What was the group size on the Jewels of Alpine EuropeTour?

There were around 35 people on this tour. Most of the travelers were retired couples, and many of them had traveled with EF Go Ahead before. (This was the fifth tour for one couple!) A lot of couples were also traveling with friends or other couples they met while traveling.

Much to my surprise, I wasn’t the youngest traveler on the tour. That title went to a 14 year old traveling with his mom and two siblings.

There was only one other solo traveler on the tour. However, there was a group of women traveling together. Many of them were traveling without a friend or relative.

What’s the activity level on the Jewels of Alpine Europe Tour?

Jewels of Alpine Europe is a high physical activity-level tour. EF Go Ahead Tours has an entire section on the tour page that says travelers can expect to walk 2-3 miles per day. A lot of people missed that when booking the tour. I don’t know what they were expecting; it’s Europe.

As expected, this tour had a lot of walking and a lot of stairs. For example, Neuschwanstein Castle required a lot of walking to get to the castle. There were also multiple spiral staircases inside. The tour director suggested those with limited mobility should sit this one out.

Would I Take Another Group Tour with EF Go Ahead Tours?

Another reason I chose this tour was to see if I would like a traditional group tour. While I think each travel style has its pros and cons, my next trip with EF Go Ahead Tours will most likely be a solo traveler tour. 

Despite the (valid) critiques about the Jewels of Alpine Europe tour, I had an amazing trip. I think it’s more difficult to make connections and socialize as a solo traveler on a group tour. 

The best way I could describe it is feeling like a third wheel, mostly when it came to going out to eat when a meal wasn’t included. Maybe asking if I can join is something for me to work on.

Solo travelers who are traveling together are more motivated to do things with people they don’t know versus those who have friends on the tour. And that’s OK!