EF Ultimate Break London & Paris Escape (NYE Edition): A Complete Review
Are you new to traveling and looking for a great way to dip your toes in? A London & Paris trip with EF Ultimate Break is a great introduction to travel and one of the most trusted brands I partner with. I recently went on the London & Paris Escape NYE trip, and I am providing you with a full review to help you make the most informed booking decision.
For context, I began traveling with EF when I was 16 with their high school program, and my experience was so positive it led me to be the full-time travel writer I am today.
While this was a brand ambassador/content creation trip, as always, all opinions are my own.
Itinerary
You can view the full itinerary for the London & Paris Escape here. As mentioned, I went during New Year's, so there were a few minor adjustments, but overall the itinerary was the same.
EF Ultimate Break does a great job of getting you to the main sights of London and Paris without jam-packing your schedule. You'll easily see the Eiffel Tower sparkle, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and more iconic spots.
Something I appreciated about this tour was the copious amounts of free time. There were scheduled activities, but also lots of time for me to explore on my own.
EF covers your transportation, so they provide you with a Metro/Underground card to explore the city on your own. The guides are super great at breaking down how the public transit system works in each city, so if you're not a city person – don't fret! You'll be a pro by the end of the week.
In addition to what you see online, your tour guide will generally offer up additional activities you can choose to go on. For example, in Paris, our wonderful tour guide Yorgos organized a traditional French dinner with music and wine. It turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip!
Plus, if you feel like you need more time on your trip, you can request a "go ahead" or "stay behind," where EF adjusts your flights home to allow you to explore on your own. Just remember you're then responsible for your own hotels/transportation before/after the tour officially beings/ends.
Hotels
You don't spend a lot of time in your hotels, and I had mixed reviews on mine. Generally, I choose Ultimate Plus trips because I like staying in *only* hotels and having one roommate. However, this trip was standard, so I did share a room with four other girls in France.
We stayed at the Crowne London Hotel in London (obviously). I liked this hotel; it was modern and clean. Plus, easy access to public transport. Some folks on tour said they stayed in the older part of the hotel and didn't like it as much, but I was on the modern side and thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus, the hotel has a restaurant and bar.
Paris, on the other hand, I wasn't a huge fan of it. We stayed at JO&JOE Gentily. The location was great and super accessible to the public transit system. I liked the social vibe of the lobby and public workspaces. However, our room just wasn't my favorite. It was rather hot and cramped. That being said, I loved my roommates, so it was like one giant sleepover, and we ended up having an absolute blast despite everything. I have a feeling EF probably won't continue to use this hotel, though.
Excursions
There are two optional excursions on this tour. A ride on the London Eye & High Tea and a half-day trip to Versailles. Unfortunately, with the timing of my trip being New Year's, the London Eye was closed, so I did not get to go on this. Some of my pals went on the Versailles trip and said it was great! I went to Versaille a couple of months before, so I spent the afternoon trying out new restaurants and cafes like Big Love (the sister restaurant of the TikTok famous Pink Mama).
Meals
Breakfast is always included in your tour, as well as a few dinners. On my tour, a welcome, New Year's Eve, and farewell dinner were included. We pre-selected food from a menu our tour guide sent us in advance, and then each meal came with two alcoholic beverages. Overall, I thought the restaurants were solid choices, and the food was great.
Group
My trip was only 14 people, which was delightful. Almost everyone on the tour came as solo travelers and ended up like family at the end. One of my favorite parts of EF is how you can travel by yourself and leave with a family. I am already planning trips with some of the ladies I roomed with in Paris.
Note: There was another EF group staying at out hotel, and their group was 30+ people.
Tour Guide
As always our tour guide, Yorogos, was incredible. He was truly a kind human being who truly went out of his way to make us feel welcome. He even walked 30 minutes to pick us all up some fresh macarons in Paris! The guides that EF works with are absolutely incredible and truly one of my favorite parts of the tour.
Overall, this tour was so much fun, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to visit London & Paris.