Packing
5 Gift Ideas for Travelers
With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, people are beginning to prepare their Christmas wish lists and also looking to get a head start on buying gifts. We all know how difficult it can be to come up with gifts that people will surely like or even use. Sometimes it just makes sense Read more…
Top 10 Travel Snacks
In 2011, I flew to Washington, D.C., in late January to make a presentation on behalf of the National History Day program at a Congressional briefing. I landed at Dulles International Airport right before a snowstorm shut down the city. I spent several harrowing hours riding in a shuttle van and watching the cars spin Read more…
7 Miscellaneous Travel Toiletries
I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to my toiletries at home and especially when I travel. I try to pack everything I need in the TSA-required quart-size plastic bag. I will also pack some miscellaneous travel toiletries that can come in handy on a tour. 1. Dryer Sheets: Packing a couple of Read more…
5 “Must Have” Items for Day Trips
Most days on tour start the same. The alarm goes off early. Everybody takes turns showering and getting ready. People start heading down for breakfast. After some morning conversation and food, everybody returns to their rooms. With a few minutes to spare before the bus departs, students and chaperones alike pack their backpacks for a Read more…
10 Non-Essential, Non-Electronic Travel Items
On my summer tour of Ireland, I sat in the back of the tour bus with an older woman who was a veteran traveler and tour group organizer. Not only was I amazed at her vast travel experience, I was in awe of everything she managed to pack in her single suitcase and carry-on. Anything Read more…
Travel Interview with Greg Watts
Time once again to hear from one of the EF family and I am delighted to welcome Greg Watts to the stage to take the Independent newspaper’s travel survey. Greg is someone I was very lucky to work with on some projects a few years back and I was very unlucky that we didn’t get Read more…
7 Tips for Flying Internationally
Most of my students who go on tour with me are first-time fliers and it’s my job as a group leader to introduce them to the joys of flying. Flying internationally is one of the most important topics I cover at my pre-departure meetings. At one of my pre-departure meetings in March, I arranged the Read more…
The Significance of Packing Lightly
During my spring break tour one evening, my group and I were returning to our hotel by the London Underground (or tube). At one station, we were faced with a “dead” escalator. Some of my students claimed we had to climb over 100 stairs to get to the top. As my group made the arduous Read more…
A Travel Interview with Pam Farmer
Once again I have been able to get someone in the EF family to take on the Independent newspaper’s travel survey. Pam Farmer is a Spanish teacher and Group Leader as well as a Global Education Ambassador. She started leading groups with EF in 1982 (that’s right, Eighty-Two!) and has travelled almost every year since. Read more…
Arranging EF Optionals and Other Details for Tour
I feel confident in suggesting that if were you to ask most Tour Directors (TDs) how our job has changed over the years then two things would stand out; Teachers are getting younger and pre tour contact has made a huge difference to our ability to run a smoother tour. Last week I introduced some Read more…
