An Honest EF Ultimate Break Review

Are you looking for a completely honest EF Ultimate Break review before entering your credit card information? You’ve come to the right page.

If you’re anything like me, you have a loooong list of places you want to see. However, it can certainly be difficult to find friends to tag along. Sarah is saving for her wedding, Jen and her husband just bought their first house, and Jimmy’s car broke down. Nobody can blame you for putting your travel dreams on hold because traveling by yourself in daunting. Not only do you have to pay for everything yourself, but you also have to plan everything too. Ugh!

Then, you remember hearing about this trip service called EF Ultimate Break and decide to look into it. Now you’re wondering, what will I see? Did they really earn all those five star reviews? Is it worth the money?

The answer is 100% yes. Keep reading for a full EF Ultimate Break review.

Active Ireland

I have been wanting to visit Ireland for as long as I can remember, like at least a decade but probably longer. I’ve had several friends, family members, and random Instagram peeps that have visited and had nothing but positive feedback. Everyone exclaimed how beautiful the country is, how friendly the people are, and how much they would like to return. How could you not want to visit after hearing all that!?

Unfortunately, I was in the above situation where there was nobody to go with me. I was prepared to go myself but being alone in a foreign country where I didn’t know the culture or any people didn’t sound fun to me (not to mention having to drive on the opposite side of the road). Luckily, I had a friend refer me to EF Ultimate Break.

What exactly is EF Ultimate Break? It is a group travel service that specifically caters to those between the ages of 18-32. There is an array of trips available where they will handle your itinerary, lodging, and airfare. This is a great way to be introduced to a new area while also being surround by like-minded individuals who share the same goal as you.

My specific group only contained 13 total people, but according to our guide, this was quite small. Groups can grow as big as 40 people on some of these trips! Even with our small group of 13, I noticed that we all found our people and created small clusters to stick with. So, don’t think that you will always have to stick with your large group for every activity!

EF Ultimate Break offers several Ireland trips, but I settled on Active Ireland because well, I love being active. This is a physically demanding tour that allows you to see parts of Ireland that no Google search would ever accomplish. There is nothing quite like conquering a grueling hike only to be rewarded with a sneaky pint and live music in one of Ireland’s many welcoming pubs.

This EF Ultimate Break review will be based on my Active Ireland trip. However, all of their trips are highly rated, so I promise you won’t regret any of them.

If you are trying to figure out a way to start saving for your EF Ultimate Break Trip, check out my guide on frugal living for beginners.

Hiking

The main reason that I chose the Active Ireland tour is because I love hiking and being active. The second reason, or maybe a competing reason, is because I did not want to stand in long lines waiting to mark off all the “tourist traps”. I wanted to immerse myself in the culture and in the land.

While there is a time and a place for manmade beauty, I truly believe that there is nothing we can create that will match the beauty that mother nature has given us. That’s what I want to see when visiting a new area. Y’all, that’s exactly what I got.

The Active Ireland tour is ten full days in Ireland and for us, we got four full days of hiking. In between hiking days, we did cross off some popular locations, including Cliffs of Moher, Giant’s Causeway, and the Titanic Museum. On other days, we crossed off not so popular locations such as The Burren, The Great Western Greenway, and several castle ruins.

I bet you’re curious about the hikes we actually did conquer, right? I knew it.

• Carrauntoohil – County Kerry. Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland, at just over 3400 ft (1038 m). During this hike, we were encouraged, and maybe a bit tortured, by three guides that lead us swiftly up the Devil’s Ladder Trail. This trail is a gully that is filled with loose rock, which means that you can never hike this trail the same way twice due to the never-ending Ireland rain that causes the rocks and boulders to shift. At the very tippy top, make sure you touch the cross to signify that you actually made it. If you don’t touch the cross, it doesn’t actually count, then you have to do it again (pics or it didn’t happen).

• Diamond Hill – Connemara National Park. Diamond Hill is much more predictable and user friendly. The path to the top is marked by natural rock steps that won’t change. The loop is still challenging, especially if you’ve been skipping the stair climber at the gym, but you don’t have to be as creative as you would be at Carrauntoohil. The views from the top are still breathtaking as you take in the lush emerald grass, the crystal blue lakes, and the kaleidoscope of sheep.

• Slieve League – County Donegal. If I had to pick my favorite view, Slieve League would definitely be it. If I had to pick the hike that made me hyperventilate the most, this would also be it. At almost 2,000 ft (609m), these cliffs are three times higher than the Cliffs of Moher. As I (very) slowly conquered One Man’s Pass while making my way up the Pilgram’s Path, conquering my fear of heights was rewarded with a once in a lifetime view of the expansive Atlantic Ocean. As you make your way down the mountain and end at the main viewing area, you are quickly filled with a feeling of accomplishment as you take in the phenomenal and unforgiving cliffs you were just standing on top of.

• The Wormhole – Inis Mor, Aran Islands. The Wormhole isn’t so much a hike as it is a careful walk. You’ll be traversing over uneven boulders and avoiding puddles on the way there. I would highly suggest waterproof shoes. If you get all the way to the Wormhole and manage to look at it for more than thirty seconds, I applaud you. The views surrounding the wormhole are borrowed straight from an Irish folklore story. Take some time to put your phone down (not that you have service anyway) to take in the warmth of the sun while listening to the water crashing against the cliffs. Notice the ever-changing colors of the cliffs and appreciate the expansive foliage growing inside each puddle. Pro tip: if you want to go swimming, just wait until you get back to the beach. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Keep in mind that this is Ireland. To my US friends, it’s like Florida only in the fact that it rains every day for somewhere between five and fifteen minutes. Rain gear is an absolute must. While we did get completely rained out of hiking Cliffs of Moher, we only encountered sprinkles on the rest of our hikes. You just put on your rain gear and keep moving. That’s how the Irish do.

Not Hiking

We were extremely fortunate to get four good days of hiking, but that leaves six days that we didn’t hike. So, what did we do on those days to occupy our time?

• The Great Western Greenway – County Mayo. On the way from Galway to Sligo, we traded our hiking boots for bicycles to ride The Great Western Greenway, Ireland’s first greenway. If the season allows, make sure to stop along the way to appreciate the array of medicinal herbs as well as snack on some scrumptious blackberries. At the end of the ride, while being reminded that your rear end does indeed have muscles, take a break to soak in the view of the cottages that line the shore of the Wild Atlantic Way. I’ll promise you what our guide promised us, it’s totally flat *cough cough*.

• Abbeys/Castles – Everywhere. The Irish are very proud of their history, good and bad. No matter what county or town you find yourself in, you are sure to stumble across an abandoned Abbey or castle. Each one will have its own history, some dating back to the 1100’s. The Irish are strong believers in preservation and education.

• The Titantic Museum – Belfast. Directly adjacent to the location where Titantic was built is The Titantic Museum, which tracks the creation and demise of the Titanic. There is also detailed explanations of the industries in Belfast history, including the company that built the Titanic. Be sure to intentionally make your way through this piece of history (and don’t forget the gondola ride!)

• Cliffs of Moher – We had originally set out to hike the Cliffs of Moher, but mother nature had other ideas. Due to the luck of the Irish, this is the only hike we did get rained out of. However, we still spent a few hours taking in the beauty of this well-known wonder. As a fellow Harry Potter nerd, I had a full blown geek moment seeing the cave from Half Blood Prince!

In between all the hiking and not hiking, there is so much to see as long as you keep your eyes open. When riding through Ireland, keep your eyes on the landscape, the architecture, and the animals. You’re sure to note some stark differences and some comforting similarities from where you call home.

Disclaimer: These were the activities that we did on this particular tour. Every tour is different so your Active Ireland itinerary may be very different from mine.

Transportation

I think an important part of this EF Ultimate Break review it to note that they handle all your transportation around the country. We had a big coach bus and a driver that drove us from one town to the next. Shoutout to Frank and Gerry for getting us everywhere safely!

Since you were on the bus for anywhere from one to four hours a day, you have plenty of time to catch up on all your reading or scroll through your phone and decide which picture you wanted to keep out of the 74 you took of the exact same scene.

While you lack some freedom compared to having your own vehicle, there are a lot of positives to be chauffeured around. The biggest benefit for me was not having to remember how to drive a manual, from the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road. You also have plenty of time to appreciate all the different landscape and small villages along your drive.

Our group spent a lot of time on the bus getting to know each other, talking about all the things we wanted to do on this lovely island, and learning a lot of history from our tour guide. Sometimes, it is really nice to just let someone take the wheel (pun intended).

Your Guide

EF Ultimate Break assigns you a guide for the length of your trip. This is the person that picks you up from the airport, checks you in to all the hotels, assigns you a room, gives you a tour of each town you land in, and also gives you suggestions along the way.

They can tell you which restaurants to eat at, where you can buy quality souvenirs to take home, and which popular locations are worth seeing.

Our guide, Tom (a.k.a T. Diz), was born and raised in Cork, not far from one of our stops in Killarney. Not only did he give us great suggestions on restaurants and tattoo shops, he also taught us some interesting history along the way. He’d probably deny under oath, but I think he even started to like us towards the end.

Or maybe the Irish are just friendly like that. The world may never know.

Accommodations

Your accommodations are also chosen for you. With that information, you would think you’d be sharing a room with the cockroaches, but you’d definitely be wrong. You will stay in a mix of hostels and hotels, but each room was clean and comfortable. In reality, you aren’t going to spend much time there anyway.

The description for the trip warns you that you will be sharing a room with 3-6 people of the same gender each night. Who you are bunking with will change with each new location, but you will only bunk with people that are on your trip.

Since I’d never stayed in a hostel before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All the hostels we stayed in were clean, friendly, and mostly quiet. Maybe it’s just the luck of the Irish but every woman I roomed with was also considerate and an overall good roommate.

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Dining

Included in your trip is a welcome dinner on the first night as well as a farewell dinner on the last night. The welcome dinner is so you can get to know each other and I’m pretty sure the farewell dinner is so you can cry.

Each of our hotels/hostels had breakfast included. Some hotels offered a continental breakfast and some were just short of a four-course meal. The best news is, if you didn’t like what was available, you were close enough to town that there was a small breakfast cafe or a Caffe Nero nearby.

On some hiking days, we had to eat lunch at the top of the mountain. On those days, we stopped at a gas station on the way there to pick up packable, cold lunches. How tragic that we had to eat lunch while looking out at some of the best views Ireland has to offer.

If we didn’t eat on the mountain, we stopped for lunch on the way out at a predetermined location.

The cost of lunch and dinner, outside of the welcome and farewell dinner, was your own responsibility. This gave you an opportunity to try all the local cuisine.

Cost

This is what it all comes down to, isn’t it?

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably saw my initial cost breakdown BEFORE I left for the trip. That was speculation based on Google. Now that I’ve actually had the experience, I can say with 100% certainty that the cost of this EF Ultimate Break trip was Frugal Dreamer approved.

So, what all was included in the cost of your trip?

• Transportation
• Main tour guide as well as guides for all hikes
• Bike rental and guides for biking The Great Western Greenway
• Accommodations
• Tickets to various activities such as Cliffs of Moher, Giant’s Causeway, and the Titanic Museum
• History guide for the city of Belfast
• Welcome and farewell dinner

In case you don’t want to take my word for it, I decided to do a cost breakdown as if I had decided to book the flight, hotel, and tickets for all activities myself.

Not including the cost of transportation and other various costs that would be very difficult for me to locate, we’re already close to $3,500 for our entire trip.

What did I pay? I caught a Black Friday deal where I saved $400 and paid only $2,900 for the trip. One of the great features of EF Ultimate Break is that they allow you to pay monthly without interest. I paid $300 each month until the entire balance was paid off. Hopefully I’m stating the obvious here but the longer you book your trip in advance, the longer you will have to pay it off and therefore, the lower your monthly payments will be.

If you need to learn how to budget for your trip, check out my guide on how to build a budget.

Because I always track my spending, I tracked everything I spent on food, drinks, and souvenirs. Since this was a once in a lifetime trip, I spared no expense. I’ve been wanting to visit Ireland for years, so I spent what I wanted, when I wanted in order to have a good time and make great memories. Everything else costs me just under $950, including around $200 in souvenirs.

Overall, I spent under $4,000 for 10 days in Ireland. If I really wanted to, I could have done it cheaper. But, I could have also spent more. The pendulum swings both ways.

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Final Thoughts for my EF Ultimate Break Review

There are both positive and negatives to booking a trip with EF Ultimate Break. If you are looking for complete and total freedom to do and see whatever your heart desires, this is not the style of trip you want to be on. If you want to travel with a group of like-minded individuals, be chauffeured around, and take advantage of a local’s knowledge, then this is the trip for you!

Ireland has been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember. Thanks to EF Ultimate Break, going alone was not a deterrent. I didn’t have to plan anything, worry about car rentals, or scour Google reviews for the best accommodations. I also met so many different people from all four corners of the United States. These interactions also sparked interest in new travel destinations, like my week long trip to Arizona.

In my humble opinion, choosing an EF Ultimate Break trip was the best way I could have seen Ireland for the first time.

I can certainly tell you it won’t be my last time though. I’ll be seeing you again Emerald Isle.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you enjoyed most about your EF Ultimate Break trip!

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