Educational Opportunities Tours
reviews and complaints

We went on a trip with our church deacon to tour the Holy Land. EO sold us trip insurance through Trip Mate, which had a "Cancel For Any Reason" policy. We canceled in February because of the coronavirus, and used the Cancel for any Reason. (The tour returned after only 2 days due to CV. It was probably not a good idea to go ahead with the trip.) The insurance company took over 4 months to respond, and now says our claim is denied, without giving us a reason, so we have to appeal. EO won't help us since we filed an insurance claim, so we lost $8000. We won't book with a small organization again. It's hard to believe they call themselves "Christian".

Me and my mom went with EO to Egypt and Jordan. They took too many people, so we had to wake up at 2 and 3 am in the morning. It was tiring, but we could handle it. But when it was time to go back, our flight was cancelled. EO left me and my 78 year old mom in Ammon Jordan and said it was the airline's job to get us home. They wouldn't book us on another airline or call the airline for us. One EO worker even said that "my day couldn't be worse than hers since she was answering calls from travelers." They never said sorry for the bad customer service and lack of help. Mr. never replied to any messages. If you want a tour group that will help you, don't go with this one. Look somewhere else.

I went on a trip to Israel with Educational Opportunities through our church about 8 years ago and it was pretty good. However, I had a lot of problems on my trip to Italy in the summer of 2022. I want to complain about the hotel room we stayed in during our time in Italy. The first room they gave us was really small and didn't have much space to put our clothes. But the worst part was the bathtub, which was really dangerous and had no handholds. I was really worried about falling and hurting myself. The second room they gave us was a little better, but still not as good as the rooms that other people on the tour got. We all paid the same amount of money, so I don't understand why we got such a bad room. I think they might have been discriminating against us because we're older. When we complained to EO, they didn't do anything to help us. We asked for a refund, but they wouldn't even talk to us about it. We tried emailing them, leaving phone messages, and even going to their office in person, but they just ignored us. The new president of the company seemed to be hiding from us. Our church uses this company for a lot of tours, but I can't recommend them anymore. I'll have to tell people to avoid them.

Educational Opportunities Tours, Inc. has been holding onto our cash since 2019. We were supposed to go on a trip, but it got cancelled. The CEO, James R, said we would only get 75% of our money back. We finally got a check on 4/29, but it was only for 75% of the total cost of $9,992. Mr. R said we would get the rest "BY THE END OF 2020," but we're still waiting. We're tired of waiting for our money. We paid for a service and got nothing in return. We feel like we got ripped off and the company is not trustworthy. They keep giving us excuses and we're still out $2,498.00.

Educational Opportunities Tours didn't give us back all our money ($5846.00) for a tour they cancelled. The problem happened on April 1st. The tour operator was Educational Opportunities Tours and our tour ID was SW20 with passenger IDs ***. My wife and I paid $5846.00 to EO for a tour of Germany and Switzerland that included the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. The tour was supposed to happen from September 9th to 18th, 2020. Because of the Corona virus, the Passion Play was cancelled and then EO cancelled the whole tour. EO sent us an email offering a refund, but they wanted to keep a cancellation fee of "between $250 and $750" each, which means a total cancellation fee of between $500 and $1500. I sent an email to EO saying that we didn't accept this refund option and that we wanted all our money back. EO didn't reply to us and we couldn't contact them. I checked the tour terms in the tour booklet and there was no mention of cancellation fees when EO cancels the tour.

Me and my wife went on a trip with Education Opportunity Travel Inc. to the Holy Land on 2/18/25. My wife works for the government and I'm retired. We checked the Department of State travel advisories before booking and there were no restrictions. But later we found out that there was a travel restriction to Israel. We checked the Department of State travel advisory website and found out that "U.S. government employees and their family members are NOT permitted until further notice". So we had to cancel the trip. Now, there's a pandemic going on and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. We paid $7,490 for the trip and $698 for trip insurance through TripMate. But both of them refused to refund our money. I can't travel now because of my compromised immune system due to cancer treatment.

Educational Opportunities Tours ain't giving us our money back for the tour we had to cancel. We was supposed to go to the Holy Land on April 15, but they cancelled it on March 23. They said we couldn't get a refund for the airline part of the trip 'cause the airline was charging a big penalty of $1,398.00 per person. I got trip insurance to cover it, but EO ain't giving me the info I need to file a claim. I think it's fishy that the airline bought our tickets after March 9, when Israel said everyone had to quarantine for 14 days and get a special permit. If they bought 'em before March 2, we could get vouchers and refunds, but that ain't what happened. I think they're holding us hostage for the ticket value. I still wanna go on the trip, but EO's business practices need to be looked at.

Educational Opportunities Tours ain't given me back the $1500 I paid 'em for a round trip ticket to Israel from Newark, N.J. They got the tickets from United Airlines for my flights on March 23 and April 06. I paid E.O. with a credit card and Pay Pal. They sent me a paper flight confirmation letter with Conf# H3FH6Y for flights 90 and 85. I couldn't go on those dates 'cause the United States Health Department told seniors not to travel out of the country. United Airlines told me to talk to E.O. Tours for a refund. E.O. said United Airlines wouldn't give 'em the money back. I tried to contact E.O. by phone and certified letters to Amy K who gave me an airline reservation quote; Bill L was the tour host assistant; and J.E. R, CEO. But they didn't respond. United Airlines told me to talk to the travel agency 'cause they got all the purchase info. I been waiting for a while now and hoping the ComplaintsBoard.com can help me out with this problem.

Educational Opportunities Tours cancelled my trip and charged me $750. I booked a Passion Play/river cruise with them for July 1-12, 2020. The trip cost $7,596 and I paid it all between August to December . They cancelled the trip in April and refunded 80% of my payment at the end of May. They still held 20% of the cost. I waited for the remaining payment, but they took a long time. In December, they sent me a check but took $750 (about 10% of the total cost) from my payment. They said it was a fee they couldn't recover from their vendors who went out of business and didn't return their deposits. I think it's not fair that they're holding my money and charging me whatever they want. My contract was with EO Travel, not their vendors. They should treat it as part of the costs of doing business and take it as a tax write-off. They shouldn't pass on their costs/loss to the customers when the trip cancellation wasn't caused by us. As a side note, I booked another land/river cruise with Affordable Tours right after the Passion Play Tour. When they cancelled the tour, they gave me a full refund, including the registration fee. I think some companies value customer relationships beyond their profits.

I was supposed to go on a trip to the Holy Land with Educational Opportunities Tours Inc. on March 23 - April 2, but it got canceled because of Covid-19. I paid $3598.00 for the trip, and E.O. was in charge of everything, like hotels, meals, and transportation, which cost $1603.00, and they gave me a refund for that on July 17. E.O. picked United Airlines for the flights, which cost $1995.00, and I didn't choose them myself. I've been trying to get a refund for the flights for six months, but E.O. and United Airlines keep blaming each other and won't give me my money back. I'm 72 years old, retired, and have cancer, so I need the refund for medical expenses. I don't understand why I'm not protected by the law as a senior citizen. I just want my money back, and I hope someone can help me.

In December , I paid $7846 for a river cruise scheduled for September . However, in April , I received an email cancelling the trip with only four options, none of which were viable for me, especially after my mother's death. I spoke with two representatives, Claudia and Paula, on April 21, expressing my dissatisfaction with their explanations and confusion about the options. They offered me three future trips or to maintain 25% of my payment until December 31. I desired a full refund, but CEO James R's administrative assistant, Amanda, informed me on May 12 that they would not honor my request. On May 8 and 14, representatives Armond and Tracy called me, pressuring me to take an option. I declined all options and requested a full refund. Tracy said she would put my account on standby, and on May 26, I received a refund check for $7596, which is not a full refund. The company is still holding $250 of my payment for a service not rendered. I believe paying me $250 would be a just resolution to this problem.

I had trip insurance with a "for any reason" clause, but my trip to Israel in December was delayed by weather and I lost over 2 days of my 7 day tour. I purchased trip insurance through a 3rd party, TripMate, as specified by EO. I have pursued the insurance claim through the entire process, including appeals, but have only received around $1000 for the $10,000 I paid for the trip. EO said they are unable to reimburse me because the tour still operated and was not cancelled by them or the airlines. The only reimbursement I am eligible to receive is through TripMate, but I have already been in contact with them. I am disappointed and hope to travel with EO in the future.

EO Travel cancelled our tour and won't give us our full money back. We paid $11,240 for the tour and personal expenses. They cancelled it, not us. They're only offering a 75% refund with a cancellation fee of $500-$1500. They can't tell us the exact amount. We don't think it's fair for them to charge us a fee or keep 25% of our money until the end of the year. We don't know if they'll still be around then. They won't tell us what the fees are for or show us proof they paid for the items they claim they did. We asked to speak to a supervisor, but they said no. EO Travel is not keeping their end of the contract. They owe us $11,240.

I planned a trip to Israel with my friends through Educational Opportunities Tours Inc. We had to deal with a lot of changes and requirements due to Covid vaccines, boosters, and testing fees. A few weeks before our trip, Elissa sent an email saying she was canceling our trip due to nonpayment. I called her and explained that our account was paid in full and we had an overpayment. She investigated and found that the monies were posted at the group level instead of individual. Then we got a bill for Covid testing fees, which we paid. Two weeks before our departure, Israel closed its borders. They agreed to a total refund without penalty, but it took a while to receive it. Elissa left the company, and I was worried about not receiving our refunds yet. I followed up, and they said they were waiting for addresses to mail checks instead of returning funds to cc. Finally, we received the checks, but the refunds were wrong. They refunded based on individual instead of account level, which shorted our group almost $1000. One of the girls alone was shorted over $400.