New Year’s in Amsterdam: European Road Trip with EF Ultimate Break Trip Review

Happy Friday everyone! Ever heard of EF Ultimate Break?
If you haven’t, it’s a group travel company for young adults aged 18-35. The company offers just over 100 different trips across six continents, so chances are that they have an itinerary fit for you.

This past winter break, I took a leap of faith and traveled solo with EF Ultimate Break across Europe for 17 days. The itinerary included London, Amsterdam, Paris, Lucerne/Swiss Alps, Venice, Florence, and Rome plus lunch stops at Lake Como and Orvieto. I had never traveled internationally prior to this trip and I had also never traveled solo, so this was a big first-time-for-everything-type experience.

Click here to view the trip on EF Ultimate Break!

If you’re interested in knowing specifically what I did on the trip day-to-day, come back next week for a deep dive into each city I visited. I’ll be sharing what was on the itinerary specific to my trip, my ratings of the accommodations EF arranged, and some extra tips for if you plan to take this trip (or a similar one with EF) in the future!

Why choose to travel with EF Ultimate Break?

The biggest reason that I chose to travel with EF Ultimate Break was because I was ready to see the world even though none of my friends or family were on that same page. On that note, contributing factors to my decision were:

Peace of mind relating to my safety. The idea of traveling alone as a woman is daunting- especially for a woman who has never been outside of the country for longer than the duration of a cruise port of call. I'm very used to always having someone by my side in unfamiliar places, whether it be a weekend trip to Houston with my boyfriend or a resort stay in Phoenix with my family. With EF, I was able to make friends within my travel group and I always had access to my tour guide as a resource.

Paying for the trip was easy. I booked my trip just over a year in advance on Christmas Day of 2021. When I booked, all that EF required was a $150 downpayment. There are multiple options available like monthly payment plans and paying custom amounts. I chose to make a large payment of $1,500 within the first month, which brought down my monthly payments to under $300. It sounds expensive (and it was), but the next selling point for EF explains why.

There are lots of moving parts, all taken care of for you. Simply put, I would've never been able to plan this trip on my own. My lack of travel experience would've limited what I felt comfortable planning independently and the price tag for a 17-day trip probably would've ended up being higher. EF coordinates your flights, airport transfers, accommodations with free breakfast, transportation in each city and from country to country, and activities/optional excursions in each country.

Getting outside of my comfort zone. EF Ultimate Break felt like a safe environment to meet new people and was an easy way to make new friends. Just flying internationally for the first time was scary, especially since I was on my own. It was nice to know that the company offers 24/7 support and can help in the event of a canceled flight or airport delays changing your flight itinerary.

Why did I choose European Road Trip?

Amsterdam was the city that's been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I had this very specific dream of drinking champagne in Amsterdam at a local restaurant and wandering around the canals, seeing the colorful houses on both sides of me. When I saw that EF Ultimate Break offered a special departure trip for celebrating New Year's Eve in Amsterdam, I was sold. What better way to enjoy a glass of champagne in Amsterdam than to do it while ringing in 2023?

I also was drawn to the length of the trip. When I booked my trip, two and a half weeks seemed like an ideal amount of time in Europe to make the long-haul flights each way worth it. This itinerary checked off the boxes of London, Paris, and Italy for me as well. Experiencing Switzerland hadn't necessarily been on my bucket list prior, but it ended up being the best bonus.

What to expect:

If you're traveling with EF for a longer trip, expect the pace to be very fast. With the majority of stops being two days, you'll want to make the most of all your time. For the most part, the structure of this trip was to wake up in one city, take a bus or train to another new city/country, spend the afternoon/evening there, have one full day of exploring, and then repeat the process.

You should expect to have lots of early mornings and a fair share of late nights. Embracing the pace of the trip is the best way to get your money's worth. Obviously, you can choose to go to sleep at a reasonable time every night, but realistically I got five or six hours of sleep a night. On this road trip, bus and train rides ranged from about two to six hours which provided great opportunities to nap.

Something else important to consider before leaving is the people factor. My trip's accommodations were considered standard, which meant that I stayed at a variety of hotels and hostels. Be prepared to room with another person in a hotel and up to five other people in a hostel. You'll always have your own bed and a shared bathroom in the room. If you don't have much of a social battery or are particular about privacy, opting to upgrade your accommodations may be smart. Otherwise, expect to always have people around the hotel/hostel room and to have limited privacy. This isn't a negative at all, it made making friends so much easier! Sharing a space can help you learn who you click with. In my group's case, our tour director allowed us to provide input on roommates- and I loved mine. I ended up rooming with the same three girls in every city after London which allowed us to become closer. Planning what we wanted to do with our free time and packing our bags together at the end of our stay in each city was a unique bonding experience.

As far as the trip itself goes, you can expect to receive support from your tour director throughout. I was lucky enough to have an amazing tour director who gave me the tools I needed in order to navigate through new cities on my own, made me aware of potential threats (like pickpocketing), organized extra optional activities, and had lots of local knowledge everywhere we went. Our tour director went above and beyond to create special moments, like meeting us after our Seine river cruise with champagne so we could sip and watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle. My tour group was made up of 21 people. We had three couples, a pair of best friends, a brother and sister duo, and 11 solo travelers. By the end of the trip, my group felt like a little family and we all absolutely loved the environment our tour director created for us throughout.

Overall, is it worth it?

To answer this briefly: yes, I do believe this trip is worth the money.

My expectations were limited when I left for Europe. I looked over the EF website's itinerary every time I was excited or nervous about the trip before leaving, and I can honestly say that the trip matched the description pretty closely. If I'm really combing through the details, there were some things listed on the website as highlights that didn't happen, like watching the Changing of the Guards in London or seeing Montemarte in Paris. You can definitely work these smaller things into free-time activities (and some people did), but it wasn't done during the structured tour time.

The included meals were at restaurants with local charm and good food, which was a plus. Breakfast was included at the hotel every morning which was convenient. It was definitely hotel-quality breakfast, but there was always a croissant (or toast in Switzerland's case) and coffee available if nothing else.

A true highlight of traveling with EF that I wouldn't have coordinated on my own was the walking tour in each city. A local guide met up with our group to share local knowledge, point out all the tourist sights, and give local recommendations. Most of the walking tours lastest a few hours and were super informative and engaging. It was a great, efficient way to explore a new city and check off the must-see bucket list items (think the Trevi Fountain and Big Ben).

I also booked a few of EF's add-on excursions. The biggest tip I can give you is that if you think you want to do the excursion, book it ahead of time. I tried adding Versailles to my trip while I was abroad, which led to a headache with billing. I can honestly say that every excursion I did (London Eye & Tea, Versailles, Swiss Alps, and the Vatican) was well worth the extra money. Skipping the lines with a group instead of trying to do to London Eye and a high tea river cruise was the way to go given the swarms of tourists in that area. Having local guides and included transportation for Versailles and the Vatican was amazing. The true star of the entire trip was my day in the Swiss Alps, though. From the gondola ride up Mount Titlis to the suspension bridge and the glacier cave to the breathtaking scenery, I have never felt more alive.

If you're someone like me who is young, wants to see the world, doesn't have someone to travel with, or doesn't want to plan a multi-stop trip, EF Ultimate Break is worth the price tag. If you're a more experienced traveler and/or have been around Europe before, you can probably plan a variation of this European Road Trip for cheaper. Several couples were on my trip (we had an engagement and a honeymoon) and they enjoyed their time just as much as all the solo travelers did.

What I wish I knew:

When people say to pack light, they aren't kidding. I definitely overpacked and could have gotten by with two-thirds of what I actually brought. Some bulky items were worth toting around, but understand that you are responsible for your own luggage. I brought a large checked suitcase, a carry-on-sized suitcase, and a Beis travel backpack. I should've packed the medium suitcase and carry-on as opposed to the larger suitcase. I never used the expander and it would've been way easier to manage and maneuver a smaller bag around train stations and walking down cobblestone streets. In another post, I'll share what I bought prior to my trip, what was actually worth bringing, and what I could've left at home.

Your Discover card won't work. Going into the trip, my plan was to use my Discover card as much as humanly possible because it has no international fees. My PNC Visa debit card, however, charged 3% foreign transaction fees. It may not sound like much, but it really really adds up. The only country to accept my Discover card widely was Switzerland.

Take out local currency with your bank before leaving the country. ATM fees were horrible. Switching between multiple currencies on the trip, it was impossible not to take out cash for various tips and spending. Between international fees and my luck with foreign ATMs, I lost about $400 to poor planning.

Have multiple mobile payment services downloaded and ready to use, like Venmo, PayPal, and CashApp. In Europe, it isn't customary to split the check at restaurants, so have a variety of payment apps ready to go on your phone to make this process easier. I even tipped my tour director via PayPal (after he gave his okay to) because it cost me less fees to use an app versus an ATM. At home, I always use CashApp, so my other apps needed an updated payment method. Keep in mind that people will be from different places and that different regions use different apps, so already having a variety ready to use will make your life easier.

Don't be afraid to plan activities and think about what you want to do in each city. I thought that since I was traveling solo, having a go-with-the-flow mentality would serve me better than planning my own free time activities and being let down if no one wanted to join. Take the time to do some research before your trip. Make a list of things you're interested in, like local museums, restaurants, activities, sights, and more. Being more aware of myself as an individual would have enhanced my trip. By Paris, I was becoming more confident in my abilities and probably could have wandered the city on my own (safely) and managed to make it back to the hotel. I spent my last day of the trip in Rome exploring the city alone and it was one of the most empowering experiences of my life.

17 days is a long time. Because of how fast-paced the EF is, I was pretty worn out by the time we were in Venice (day 11). I was feeling a little bit exhausted and homesick around that point, but after some rest and a call home, I was ready to take on the rest of Italy. I think the sweet spot in length for an EF trip (or any physically demanding trip) is nine to 12 days. I still loved every minute of my trip and would do it over again in a heartbeat, but be mindful of the length. Some friends I made while traveling had done different EF trips previously and shared their thoughts as well and the consensus is that the pace is no joke. Be prepared, pack smart, listen to your body, and you'll have a blast!

Final Thoughts

I truly had the time of my life while abroad and I can't recommend EF Ultimate Break enough to people with a similar mindset to me. If you're on the fence and have the financial means all that I have to say is book the trip! The memories will last a lifetime and you're only young once. For me, it's not a question of if I'll travel with EF Ultimate Break again, but when. The question is just what trip...

If you like how EF Ultimate Break sounds but European Road Trip isn't for you, check out some of these other insane destinations:

Take On the World

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