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EF Go Ahead Tours Review 2024: Are their guided tours worth it?

EF Go Ahead Tours is a world-leading guided tour company offering a comprehensive travel package with local guides and authentic travel experiences. You've likely heard of them before, but are they really worth it? What do they offer, and how do they stack up to other guided tours?

Guided tours are a great way to travel, make new friends, and enjoy new experiences without the hassle of planning the logistics of the trip. 

While guided tour companies boast of convenience, they tend to fall short when it comes to flexibility and customization. Hence, many travelers resort to planning their trips by themselves using helpful apps like  Pilot .

But, if you still prefer a guided tour with some level of flexibility, EF Go Ahead Tours is definitely a choice to consider. 

EF Go Ahead Tours is one of the world's largest tour companies that host small group tours with unique, authentic experiences. A great benefit of joining an EF Go Ahead Tour is that they allow travelers the benefits of hosting a free private tour with larger groups. 

However, are the experiences they're offering for you? What are the pros and cons? Here's our review of EF Go Ahead Tours! 

What is EF Go Ahead Tours?

EF Go Ahead Tours  is a brand under the EF Tours group that offers both guided and fully customizable tours to destinations worldwide. It caters to young and older travelers, admitting anyone from age six and above (under-age travelers accompanied by adults). The number of travelers in each group is capped at 14-38, and small group tours only admit 10-22 people. 

EF Go Ahead Tours aims to provide you with meaningful tours with flexibility and personalization. It also promotes responsible travel by supporting local communities and adopting sustainable practices.

EF Go Ahead Tours mobile app helps you easily manage your bookings and view tour details. It is available for both Android and iOS devices. 

What does EF Go Ahead Tours offer?

• Tour directors and local guides:  A tour director is assigned for each group to be in charge of all logistics of the trip. They will accompany you throughout, sharing insider knowledge and background information about places you visit.
• Accommodation:  3-4 star hotels that provide comfortable amenities while being located in close proximity to the city. 
• Meals:  Breakfast and some other meals are included in the pricing. Primarily, they focus on local food and beverage specialties. They will arrange meals meeting your dietary requirements if necessary.
• Transportation:  Transport between airport and hotels and other transportation required during the trip are included in the package. While flights are not included, you can get EF Go Ahead Tours to arrange them for you at an additional cost. 

How does EF Go Ahead Tours work?

You can browse for tours by  Destination  or  Travel Styles  on the website. Travel styles are further categorized as  Trip Type, Interests, Seasonal and Special Events , and  With Your Own Group . 

For example, all the related tours will appear if we pick Adventure Tours under travel styles. You can filter the results further by destination, dates, duration, price, and travel style. 

Check out its details, trip highlights, prices, reviews, etc. There's a list of FAQs below related to the trip and other similar tours for you to compare and choose from. 

What destinations does EF Go Ahead Tours cover?

EF Go Ahead Tours covers many of the popular destinations worldwide. Here's a list of where EF Go Ahead Tours covers:

• Europe:  Ireland, Italy, Greece, Iceland, England, France, and Germany 
• The Americas:  United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, and Belize 
• Africa & Middle East:  Egypt, Kenya, Israel, South Africa, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates
• Australia & Asia:  Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, India, and Thailand

Benefits of EF Go Ahead Tours

• Worry-free guarantee

If you cancel the booking within 60 days from the reservation date, you are entitled to a full refund. EF Go Ahead Tours also allows you to change the date of tour or destination up until your final payment day. It helps you book with confidence knowing there's ample time to make changes. 

In addition to covering many destinations worldwide, the tour company also offers a diverse range of tours. Group trips for solo travelers provide ample privacy while facilitating socialization. In addition, there are cruise tours, rail tours, food & wine tours, battlefield tours, winter tours, and many more!

• Fewer people 

The worrisome factor about large group tours is they can seem too crowded and noisy to have a quality experience. There's also less opportunity to get to know other travelers better. In this case, small group tours offer a more intimate travel experience. Guides can give individual attention and advice easily. Overall, it makes the trip more enjoyable and memorable. 

• Flexibility 

If you like to travel with friends but don't have the liberty to plan, get EF Go Ahead Tours to plan one for you. You can explain your requirements and get a whole new itinerary done or choose one they offer. Invite your friends and/or family, choose your travel dates, and enjoy. There's also the option of organizing faith-based tours!

Drawbacks of EF Go Ahead Tours

• Increase the number of tours 

While there's a variety of tours, different trip options under each category are quite limited compared to other guided tour companies like  G Adventures  or  Contiki . For example, there's only one tour option for India. They can also add more countries to their list of destinations. 

• Improve refund and cancellation issues

Customers had faced refund and cancellation issues for scheduled or booked tours during the pandemic. There were complaints of EF Go Ahead Tours not refunding the money as per its cancellation policy. But, it's a common problem that many tour companies dealt with their customers following the Covid outbreak. We hope they are resolved now. 

EF Go Ahead Tours vs. EF Ultimate Break

The most significant similarity between EF Go Ahead Tours and EF Ultimate Break is that they are managed by EF Education First Tours. This means that you'll most likely be getting a similar refund, cancellation, and customer service policies between the two tours.

EF Go Ahead Tours identifies itself as the 'older sibling' of EF Ultimate Break. Ultimate Break Tours is geared towards college students and folks aged 18-29, while Go Ahead Tours admits anyone 6 and above. So, the tours offered also tend to be different from each other. 

EF Go Ahead Tours has a wide variety of tours catering to all age ranges. It also provides both private and group tours. EF Ultimate Break only offers group tours and are tailored to suit youth's preferences. 

Read our  review of EF Ultimate Break  to learn more!

Is EF Go Ahead Tours worth it?

Yes! We came across great GoAheadTours reviews online about the unique and immersive experience EF Go Ahead Tours offers. Go Ahead tours are a great way to travel if you prefer to join a guided tour.

Like  Flash Pack , it's an excellent choice for older travelers looking for trips that involve activities beyond partying and drinking. Overall, the tours are ideal for anyone, really. 

Our Rating: 4.5/5

• Variety of tours
• Smaller groups 
• A limited number of tours 
• Refund and cancellation issues

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The Scoop: What to Know About EF Go Ahead Tours

Affordable, experiential, and accessible tours are ef go ahead tours' focus..

The Scoop: What to Know About Trafalgar Tours

• Curious about EF Go Ahead Tours? Here’s our objective snapshot of what to expect from the tour company.
• I’ve updated it for 2024 and verified that all the info is current.

The tour company EF Go Ahead Tours is owned by EF Education First, a company that’s been offering language, academic, and cultural programs for more than 50 years. The tour arm of the company focuses on being an affordable, experiential, and accessible way for travelers to connect with the world. 

TourScoop Takeaways

• Countries: 87 countries on seven continents
• Tour size average: The standard group size is capped at 38 guests. EF Go Ahead Tours’ small group tours range in size from 10 to 22 people. Private tours can be arranged with seven or more people, and custom tours with 14 or more people.
• Tour type: Coach, ferries, trains, flights

Credibility Check

EF Go Ahead Tours is accredited by the Better Business Bureau has an A+ rating from the organization, though currently user ratings are low on the site. The company is an active member of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA). Note that there are many more ratings and reviews of EF Educational Tours (the branch of the organization that operates academic programs) than EF Go Ahead Tours, but that they are operated separately and for different audiences. 

Tour Destinations

EF Go Ahead Tours has itineraries in 87 countries on all seven continents. Some of its most popular destinations include Italy, Portugal, Kenya, Costa Rica, and Ireland.

EF Go Ahead Tours has many different tour types . On the more traditional end of tours are its multi-country and grand tours, which bundle multiple destinations into a single trip. There are also city stay tours, which give travelers the chance to go deep in a single European city for a week of guided excursions. There are also special event tours that focus on special access to major celebrations like Oktoberfest, New Year’s Eve, and St. Patrick’s Day. Additionally, the company has history tours; national park tours; religious and spiritual tours; tours geared to families; and tours for solo travelers.  

It also operates small group tours that range in size from 10 to 22 people and focus on adventure travel, food and wine, or safari and wildlife. 

Tour Guides

Tour leaders, known as tour directors, bring backgrounds in tourism, history, and/or education. Tour directors partner with local guides along the way to offer participants additional insights into specific destinations. Many tour directors have been with EF Go Ahead Tours for 20 years or longer. 

Inclusions/Extras

Itineraries are a mix of guided tours and group meals, plus free time so guests can explore at their own pace. Airfare isn’t part of the base rate, but EF Go Ahead Tours offers flight booking with airport transfers, plus help if flights are canceled. 

Typical Travelers

EF Go Ahead Tours guests tend to be 35 and older, with most tours attracting a mix of solo, couple, and group travelers. 

Communication 

Travelers who have booked a tour can download EF Go Ahead’s mobile app to access resources and pre-departure information. Within three months of tour, the company offers a pre-departure information session that’s also available on-demand. 

The company regularly updates its FAQ Hub with frequently asked questions. It also has a dedicated expert team for urgent issues that may arise before or during a tour.

Loyalty Program

EF Go Ahead Tours’ loyalty program, Club Go , allows guests to earn tour credits to put toward future trips, collectible moment and milestone badges, flexible rebooking benefits, and an online hub. 

Private Options

Any of the company’s 175+ itineraries can be packaged as a Private Tour . EF Go Ahead Tours allows groups of 14 or more to customize their experience on a custom tour, and offers private tours on existing itineraries for groups of seven or more. 

Sustainability Efforts

EF Go Ahead Tours has partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects to create and conserve forests to plant 3 million mangrove trees. The company has been carbon negative since 2021, with the goal is to be historically carbon neutral (dating back to 1965).

The company collaborates with the communities it travels to in an effort to preserve local cultures and encourage sustainability. It also works with travelers to share how thoughtful travel choices can leave a lasting, positive impact on destinations, people, and the environment.

Health and Safety Practices

EF Go Ahead Tours puts into place health and safety protocols with its Travel-Ready Approach . As part of this, it operates both a crisis response team and its EF Global Safety Network, which constantly reviews national and international travel guidelines. It also offers 24/7 on-call support,  50,000 EF staff on the ground in 50 countries, and more than half a century of traveler support. 

Family Companies

EF Go Ahead Tours parent company EF Education First focuses on programs for students and teachers. It has language programs, university programs, and gap year offerings.

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Review: EF Go Ahead Tours’ Highlights of England, Scotland, and Ireland

We’ve traveled a few times on guided group tours, I’ve gone with some girlfriends on EF Ultimate Break tours and Rick and I did a guided tour with Go Ahead back in 2018 on our Barcelona, Southern France, and the Italian Riviera tour .

We enjoyed that tour way back when and when we got home we got a travel credit of $100 and we put that toward the Highlights of England, Scotland, and Ireland tour with the plan to go in June 2020…

I’m sure you can guess that that did not work out as planned.

We decided to get a voucher for the amount we’d paid and we could use that for a future trip which ended up being the same itinerary just in September 2023 instead.

I’m happy to report we’ve finally crossed Scotland and Ireland off our travel bucket list and finally did this tour that we’ve been waiting to go on since before we were married five years ago!

Why group tours?

Just like any form of travel, group tours are not for everyone but they can also be great options for travelers!

One reason I like booking group tours is when we’re doing multi-country tours and I’m not in the mood to figure out trains, planes, and automobiles on our own. Most of the trips we’ve done with groups have been to several countries as it just makes it easy to hop on a bus and be taken to a new destination.

We also are planning a group tour to Japan in 2024 as it’ll be both of our first times visiting Asia and I’d prefer to have a guide. Otherwise, we’ve started to discuss unless we’re doing multi-country tours, we can navigate these trips on our own in the future.

Some benefits of booking a group tour:

• Organized transport: Like I said, there are some destinations that I’d rather just let someone else figure out how to get us from Point A to Point B and I can just enjoy the ride.
• Off the beaten path places: Another thing Rick and I agree on with these types of tours are that we have stops in small towns or places we wouldn’t normally plan to visit on our own. Like on this tour we stopped in Kendal in Cumbria, which we probably wouldn’t have gone out of our way to visit if we were on our own. But it’s definitely neat to visit some of these smaller stops.
• Mix of free time and organized activities: I also like that these tours know why people are visiting the cities we do and make sure to include stops to the important sightseeing stops or attractions while also giving us free time to explore on our own. Like this tour included Edinburgh Castle, Blarney Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, and so on, but also gave us time to do our own thing. I like the inclusion of the major sites as I don’t have to worry about buying tickets and getting the timing just right as so many attractions are moving to a timed entry system.
• The tour director: Lastly, it’s always nice having a tour director who organizes everything and takes charge of the day’s plans. Plus, the directors know what to recommend and what to skip so you’re not wasting your precious time in each stop along the tour.

The Go Ahead tour review

We chose this tour due to its itinerary as we wanted to see a variety of places in Ireland without worrying about figuring out how to get to all these places on our own.

The Highlights of England, Scotland, & Ireland itinerary:

• Day 1: Overnight flight
• Day 2: London (2 nights)
• Day 3: London (sightseeing tour & free afternoon or paid excursion)
• Day 4: Train to Edinburgh (2 nights) and included dinner
• Day 5: Edinburgh (sightseeing tour & free afternoon)
• Day 6: Liverpool (1 night)
• Day 7: Ferry to Dublin (2 nights)
• Day 8: Dublin (sightseeing tour in the morning and free evening or paid excursion)
• Day 9: County Kerry (2 nights) & a stop at Blarney Castle
• Day 10: Sightseeing tour of the Ring of Kerry
• Day 11: Dublin & the Cliffs of Moher
• Day 12: Flight home

So, we did change the itinerary just a bit! The tour officially started on Monday, September 4 and we figured we should fly out early to acclimate to the time change and add on a stop to our tour. I know, we were very ambitious.

We contacted Go Ahead and asked instead of flying us to London on Monday, could they fly us out to Paris on Friday instead? We just had to pay for the change in airfare otherwise it wasn’t a problem. We also obviously had to pay for our own accommodations in Paris and then get ourselves to London to join our tour group. No problem!

It worked out really well for us as I could finally get Rick to Paris for a weekend and then the Eurostar to London is super easy to navigate.

I was so excited for this tour’s itinerary as we got to go back to London but then see all new places in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Again, I like this style of travel when we’re visiting multiple countries.

I’ve had my eye on Edinburgh for a while now and Rick has always wanted to see Ireland so this itinerary was the perfect compromise. We got a taste of Scotland and now know we have to go back and we got to see quite a bit of Ireland!

What we did on our tour

Here’s a high-level breakdown of each day of our Go Ahead tour, with our included activities and our use of our free time.

We started our tour in Paris on our own and planned to arrive on Tuesday, Sept. 5 in London to meet up with our group. Day one of these tours is always a travel day with an overnight flight so most people were arriving on Tuesday in the mid-morning or early afternoon.

Some in our group did the tour extension so they arrived in London on Saturday. We got into London around 1:30 and bought our oyster cards so we could take the tube to our hotel in Kensington.

We had some free time to freshen up before our welcome drinks and dinner that night. We met in the hotel bar and got a complimentary drink as Colin, our tour director, introduced himself and discussed some housekeeping items and went over the itinerary for the trip.

He handed out printed itineraries (we could also use the Go Ahead app to track our day-by-day activities), and our Vox boxes and headphones so we could hear the local tour guides while on our walking tours.

Then it was off to our included dinner at a nearby pub where we could get to know our fellow travelers. After dinner, Rick and I went out to another pub as it was a lovely night.

On our full day in London we started off at 8:30 a.m. with a guided tour of London by bus and got off at Westminster Abbey (the tour does not include going inside the abbey) and then walked through a park to get a spot to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Then, we had a free afternoon or London or we could have done the excursion to Hampton Court Palace (11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Rick and I were fine skipping the palace and just enjoying London on our own.

We collected our stuff from the bus and made our way toward a pub for a lunch of fish and chips and beer while we planned the rest of our day. We had seen posters for the Back to the Future: The Musical show while on the tube and then passed the theater on our guided tour that morning and found there were tickets available that night!

We had originally planned to do a Jack the Ripper tour, but we can do that anytime we return to London so we canceled our tour and booked tickets for the show. I mean, our blog’s name is in honor of that amazing trilogy, we had to go!!

But, we had some time to kill between lunch and our show. I’ve always wanted to visit the Shard and saw some spots open for afternoon tea. So, we booked a tea time for two hours later!

We then rushed back to our hotel to change for the evening and grab our portable chargers and anything we needed for the night.

We then hopped back on the tube back to the Shard for our afternoon tea at Aqua Shard. They had a Peter Pan-themed set menu and it was fabulous. We both added a glass of sparkling rose to our order!

My favorite savory item was the sausage roll though the cucumber sandwich was also very tasty. The desserts were delicious and we had a chocolate cake, raspberry mousse and a shortbread cookie, a coconut cake, and super yummy scones!

After our tea, we walked across Tower Bridge where I snapped 100 photos and went to visit a magic shop Rick likes.

Then we strolled through London back to the theater district to see the show.

It was an amazing performance and they adapted it to the stage so well! I’m so glad we skipped our Jack the Ripper tour to see this show as it doesn’t look like it’s coming to Denver anytime soon.

It truly was a fabulous performance for us Back to the Future nerds and the special effects were mind-blowing. There were a few changes to the story but Rick and I both agreed they still work within the movie’s original canon and made sense as to why they were changed.

The rest of our group also went to the theater that night as our tour director had scored a deal on some tickets to Wicked.

Afterward we hopped back on the tube back to Kensington as we had to pack up for our train ride to Scotland in the morning.

The next morning it was time to eat before boarding our train at King’s Cross to take us to Edinburgh! Of course we stopped for a photo opp at Platform 9 3/4.

We had to have our bags ready at 8:15 a.m. and our train departed at 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Edinburgh at 3:15 p.m.

We took the LNER train to Edinburgh and arrived mid-afternoon. We got checked into our hotel and then we joined Colin on his guided walk of Edinburgh which ended with a hike up Calton Hill to take in the amazing view over the city – and to try some typical Scottish snacks and drinks.

Colin lives in Edinburgh so it was great to get his perspective on what to do in the city and he gave us recommendations of pubs and restaurants to check out while we were in the city.

That night we had an included group dinner at Indigo Yard at 7:15 p.m. After dinner, Rick and I checked out our neighborhood and went to one of Colin’s recommendations, Pickles, the wine bar. It was a cute spot and we each had two glasses of red wine.

The next day we had a free morning in the city as we opted not to do the excursion to Abbotsford House and Melrose Abbey (8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.). I do think the abbey would have been neat to see, but Rick and I also just enjoy wandering through cities and seeing what we see as we stroll.

We took the time and wandered over to Dean Village for the picturesque views, then up toward Edinburgh Castle, and then down the Royal Mile while popping into some souvenir shops along the way as I was not leaving Scotland without some shortbread biscuits!

After walking along the Royal Mile, listening to the locals play the bagpipes and buying some Scottish souvenirs, we made our way to the end of the road to have lunch at The World’s End pub, where we dined on the traditional dish of haggis!

As soon as we had driven past The World’s End pub we knew we were going to be eating there at some point as I’m a huge Simon Pegg fan!

After lunch, we met back at our hotel to join our group for a guided tour of the city that ended at Edinburgh Castle. We had to be back at 2 p.m. as the bus was getting us at 2:15 p.m.

Our guided sightseeing tour was by bus and we drove around the city while learning about Edinburgh’s history before being dropped off at the Castle and walking around the grounds. We got some time to visit the castle, enjoy the views, and see the Crown Jewels.

I do wish we had had a bit more time to explore the grounds as I think we had an hour of free time there, but it goes by very quickly when waiting in line to see things or get into certain buildings.

After our tour of Edinburgh Castle we jumped back on our coach to go back to the hotel to change, get some more cash, and our chargers so we could head out for our ghost tour! The activity I was super excited about in Edinburgh as the city is supposed to be extremely haunted.

We didn’t have time for dinner as we were done at the castle around 4:30/5 and our ghost tour was at 6:30 p.m., but it was fine as we were sooooo full from our giant lunch.

So, we made our way back to the Royal Mile to meet up with our ghost tour guide and group.

On our ghost tour of Edinburgh we got to explore the Blair Street Vaults and Canongate Cemetery.

Some of the highlights from our Edinburgh ghost tour include:

• The grave in a parking lot that’s used today
• The story of half-hanged Maggie
• The story of William Barton and his deal with the devil
• The Blair Street Underground Vaults and the ghosts that reside there, including Jack, the cobbler, and Mr. Boots (AKA The Watcher)
• A visit to Canongate graveyard
• The story of Burke and Hare, the Edinburgh body snatchers and murderers

After our great ghost tour we made our way to Greyfriars Kirkyard to recognize some names from Harry Potter. We weren’t ready to turn in yet so we walked back up Calton Hill to see the view over Edinburgh at night.

We ended our evening at Keller which was just around the corner from our hotel and got a charcuterie board and some beers.

The next morning, we packed up everything on the bus by 7:45 a.m. and made our way toward Liverpool by way of some smaller stops for bathroom breaks, such as a stop in Kendal in Cumbria, which is famous for its mint cakes.

Most of the people in our group opted to do the Beatles museum while in Liverpool but Rick and I weren’t that interested so we just decided to Google what to do in Liverpool not Beatles-related.

We ended up booking a cruise on the River Mersey while learning about the history of Liverpool. The cruise afforded amazing views of the city, but the voice over was pretty rough and hard to hear.

So we mostly enjoyed our drinks and the views as we cruised the river for 50 minutes. The river cruise was only £12, so worth it even if we couldn’t hear the commentary.

After that we went for a ride on the ferris wheel that also gave us great views over Liverpool and the river we were just on.

After our ride on the Wheel of Liverpool, which was also £12 per person, we crossed the street to Royal Albert Dock and found this great wine and tapas bar and dug into some of our favorite foods from Spain!

To be honest, we were both a bit fish and chipped and beer’d out at that time.

So we gorged ourselves on sangria, croquetas, sardines, meatballs, and paella. It was amazing.

We had about five hours total in Liverpool before we had to be back on the bus to head to Chester, where we were spending the night.

Our hotel in Chester was gorgeous and had a lively bar scene, so we dropped off our suitcases in our room and went downstairs to be social with the other travelers in our group.

We couldn’t stay up too late though as we had to pack up and get ready for the ferry ride to Dublin! We loaded up our luggage on the bus at 8:15 a.m. and made our way to Holyhead to climb aboard the ferry over to Ireland.

On our way, we stopped at the seaside village of Llandudno to stretch our legs, get a snack, and use the restrooms.

After that stop we were back on the bus to continue our drive through Wales toward Holyhead.

But, before we got there, we had one more stop to make just for the photos alone! A stop at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch! It’s the Welsh village with the longest name in Britain!

As you can see, the English translation is below which is “The Church of Mary in the Hollow of the White hazel near the fierce Whirlpool and the Church of Tysilio by the Red Cave.”

That’s a name right there.

After that stop it was onto the ferry to head over to Ireland! The Stena Line ferry took about three hours and I was glad I brought a few books with me. The ferry is large but there aren’t many that many communal spots. We first had to snag seats in the theater but finally we made another lap by the bar and found a table to sit at.

I can get seasick when we travel by water but this ferry is so slow that I didn’t feel a thing while onboard. All in it was an easy journey. Good to know if you want to pay in cash on board it was euros, not pounds.

We got into Dublin around 6 p.m. and got picked up by a new bus and new driver, Declan, who took us to our hotel in Dublin. Luckily our hotel had a restaurant inside so we could eat when we got there.

After dinner, it was time to check out Dublin’s nightlife and we headed off to the Templebar district for some beers and live music!

We found a great spot where a musician was playing a fantastic mix of ’90s and early ’00s jams as well as some traditional Irish pub music.

Of course we got ourselves some Guinness and sang along – at least along with the songs we knew! It was exactly what we were expecting on our first night in Dublin.

We also did go out on a night when Ireland was playing football against the Netherlands, and unfortunately lost, but we were in our green cheering them on anyway!

The next day, our full day in Dublin, we started at 8:30 a.m. with a guided tour of Phoenix Park before a guided tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

We had time to get off the bus at the park, though it was raining so most of us just snapped some pics and got back on the bus. Then we drove over to St. Patrick’s and had time to explore inside the church and take our photographs.

After the Cathedral, we took a little walk to visit the Molly Malone statue. Poor Molly has been fondled for almost ten years as tourists will rub her bosom for “good luck.”

Next up on our itinerary was a stop at the Guinness Storehouse at 11:30 a.m.! We had to go and get a perfectly poured pint at the Gravity Bar!

The tour was interesting and really went in-depth on Guinness’ history, production, and marketing for the brand. The storehouse is a museum meets tasting room meets restaurant venue. Rick and I have been to Coors over in Golden, CO and the Guinness experience blew the Coors one out of the water. It was just floor after floor of beer history and information.

Of course we made a stop at the tasting room where we could smell the different ingredients that gives Guinness its flavor and ruby red (yes, ruby red) color. Then we learned how to taste the beer, much like doing a wine tasting.

We continued our exploration a bit and went to get our free beer up at the bar located on top of the building and then we headed back down for lunch. We stopped at the 1837 Bar & Brasserie where Rick tried a different beer and I opted for a black velvet cocktail which was a Guinness stout mixed with prosecco. Not going to lie, it was damn good!

Of course we also got Irish coffees at the end of our meal. It was still raining out so we needed something to warm us up before heading back out into Dublin!

We decided to take one of the carriages back into town and that was a mistake. They told us one price and then asked us for something different at the end, so I would not recommend going with them no matter how fun the ride looks.

I was also dumb and didn’t realize we would need tickets to see the Trinity College library, and we’d been dropped off there. So we walked the campus a bit but then headed back to our hotel to rest up and freshen up before our dinner that evening.

That night we were booked for the Go Ahead excursion of a Traditional Irish Dinner & Show at The Merry Ploughboy pub, from 6-10 p.m.

This was really fun as we got both live music, singing, and dancing! The dinner was a set menu and I opted for the cheese plate starter, the fish for my main, and the apple pie for dessert. Rick got the seafood chowder to start, chicken, and he also had apple pie.

The food was good but you’re really going for the entertainment and these guys and gals are true performers. They encourage audience participation for some songs and are all extremely talented.

Killarney + County Kerry

The next morning we were back on the bus at 8:30 a.m. and heading off to Blarney Castle, where yes, we did kiss the Blarney Stone!

I want to say we had two or three hours at the castle grounds so we had time to get in line to kiss the stone, check out the rooms of the castle (including the murder hole room), and walk the grounds and poison garden. We also had time for a little shopping and to pick up some lunch before getting back on the bus and heading off to Killarney for the night.

That night we had a group dinner near our hotel after getting checked in.

On our second day, we took a bus ride along the Ring of Kerry and made various photo stops as well as just enjoyed the stunningly beautiful scenery and many, many sheep sightings.

We checked out the Kerry Bog Village, had a stop for some shopping and complimentary Irish coffees, visited Sneem, and a few other coastal stops.

Our day included a stop at a restaurant with Ireland’s best known view (fog permitting). You be the judge:

I decided to try a seafood pie and Rick got a sandwich and some chips. We both got salads too as we were all set in the carbs department!

We explored a few more stops and enjoyed the rolling green hills before heading back to our hotel in Killarney.

Even though we had done the Irish Dinner & Show, Colin was also organizing a group in Killarney to see the Celtic Steps at 7:30 p.m. It doesn’t take much convincing to get me to a show, especially one that’s about dance, so we obviously asked for tickets.

The dancers at Merry Ploughboy were good, but the dancers at the Celtic Steps were another level. It was a fabulous show and makes me wish I was just as talented as those dancers!

After the show, Rick and I wanted to check out the nightlife there in Killarney and got dropped off in the city before the bus took everyone else back to the hotel.

We found a nice pub with live music and thought what the hell, we haven’t had enough Guinness yet in Ireland! We were at the pub for an hour to hour and a half before it was closing time and walked back to our hotel.

Killarney was very walkable! Again, I think our hotels were all pretty centrally located for anything we wanted to do with our free time and not needing public transportation or a taxi to get us there.

Cliffs of Moher + Dublin

On our last day of the trip we finally made it to the Cliffs of Moher!

We had about three hours to explore the beautiful work of nature and it wasn’t enough for me! I loved being able to walk the cliffside trails and we got extremely fortunate with our weather that day as it was sunny.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, that I’ve talked to who has been to the Cliffs of Moher warned me it would be windy, it would be cloudy, it would be rainy. It was none of those things when we were there the second week of September!

In fact, it was so warm I ended up getting some ice cream from the shop!

Afterward, it was time to head back to Dublin for the night before departing for home. We had our farewell dinner at the hotel which was ideal as we had a 5 a.m. alarm set the next morning for our flight to Zurich and then on to Denver.

It was hard saying goodbye to our fellow travelers! You would really have to go out of your way to not make friends on these types of tours.

Go Ahead also offers extra excursions at a cost during the tour. We ended up only booking one on this itinerary compared to our last trip where I think we ended up doing all of those add-on excursions. The only one that caught our attention was the traditional Irish dinner, music, and dancing show.

Our time in London and Edinburgh were too short to want to do excursions when we had our own list of things we wanted to see and do, such as afternoon tea, the theater, and a ghost tour.

The tour director

Our tour director was Colin and he was fantastic. Truly fantastic! He was always engaging, friendly, and knowledgeable. He was also very communicative, even when the group was having technical difficulties with WhatsApp. Like Rick and I apparently went against their terms of service, as did a bunch of people on our tour (I still never got a real answer from stupid Meta what that was about), but Colin just made sure to communicate through the Go Ahead app as well.

He even added his own excursions to the itinerary (we just paid him in cash for his add-ons), and it worked out well as some of his picks were things we wanted to do anyway!

Some of Colin’s excursions:

• A ticket to Wicked in London (we actually did end up going to the theater that night but opted to see Back to the Future: The Musical instead!)
• A walking tour of Edinburgh & hike up Calton Hill (he’s an Edinburgh local!)
• The Guinness Storehouse & Gravity Bar
• The Celtic Steps in Killarney

He also offered a few other excursions that unfortunately didn’t pan out due to low enrollment, such as the seaweed hot tub on our Ring of Kerry day and the Cliffs of Moher cruise due to weather.

Colin was always on time, energetic, and ready for whatever. He was a great guide and really made sure everything on our tour went as well as it could.

Accommodations

I did notice a change on this tour compared to our Spain, France, and Italy tour with Go Ahead. This time we stayed in more chain hotels, like Holiday Inns. It was fine, I just felt like our last trip we stayed at more boutique or locally-owned hotels.

Though, this change might be due to some of the travelers as people in our group complained in Dublin that the hotel didn’t have AC. Which the weather in Dublin wasn’t warranting the need of AC, at least in Rick’s and my opinion.

The hotels we stayed at:

• London: Holiday Inn Kensington High Street
• Edinburgh: Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh City Centre GAT
• Chester (Liverpool day): Indigo Chester Hotel
• Dublin: Cassidys Hotel
• Killarney: Earls Court House Hotel
• Dublin: Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport

All of our hotels offered breakfast each morning with most serving up a breakfast buffet or a continental breakfast with a limited menu for made-to-order eggs or pancakes. Most of the breakfasts also featured the standard hot coffee station that had americanos or lattes, so don’t expect our typical American drip coffee.

I really enjoyed the breakfasts at our hotels as I could make full English or Scottish breakfasts with beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs, and bacon, and even black pudding at some hotels.

We were booked in a double room, so we often had the two beds pushed together in our rooms, and all of our accommodations were comfortable and provided what we needed. Minus one very important thing for me. For the life of me I cannot understand why only one of our hotels had both shampoo and conditioner.

This was a lesson learned for me as I was trying to travel light and did not bring my own shampoo, conditioner, and soap as every hotel we’ve been to offers those things. Every hotel we stayed at had soap. But there was at least one hotel that didn’t have shampoo in our shower. So, lesson learned that I need to bring my own conditioner next time we’re traveling through Europe!

I realize this is a total first-world problem, but it was something I just didn’t expect.

But, all the hotels were very nice and most were very centrally located. We never had a problem walking back to our hotels after a night out, especially in Edinburgh and Dublin. The only one that wasn’t in walking distance of much was our hotel in London, but the tube is easy enough to manage.

Transportation

The transportation between all of our travel destinations was handled all by Go Ahead.

Our flights to and from Denver were fine, though they are booking us on cheaper flights as I know there are direct flights from DIA to Paris, but they booked us on a flight that had a layover in Munich, which was fine honestly. We flew out from DIA at about 4 p.m. on Friday and arrived in Paris at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

But our flight home from Dublin made no sense. We flew Dublin to Zurich and then back all the way to Denver. So we left Dublin at 8 a.m., changed planes in Zurich, and landed in Denver around 4:30 p.m.

Go Ahead is willing to take any accommodations you have into account if you’re willing to pay for those changes, like seat upgrades or when we switched from flying into London to flying into Paris. You just have to call the customer service line and make those requests.

The reason we do book flights with Go Ahead is in case anything goes wrong, their customer service will handle our rebookings and getting us where we need to be. Especially with so many flight delays and cancelations happening across the board, I’d rather know we have someone in our corner who can take care of the airlines should something go wrong instead of stressing out about it ourselves.

Airport transfers

If you book flights with Go Ahead, transportation to and from the airport is included with that fee. You can also add on airport pick up and drop off. I want to say it was around $25 when we looked at it for our Barcelona trip.

The majority of the transportation on this trip is by bus, but that wasn’t a problem for us. Most of our buses had giant windows so you could see everything, snap some pictures, and just enjoy the ride.

All the bus drivers we had were great drivers, friendly, and funny. They also do a lot of work in getting our luggage stowed away when it’s time to drive to a new hotel.

I am just truly amazed at how skilled our bus drivers are at navigating these small streets with super tight turns, but they all do it like it’s nothing!

Do note that it’s a toss up if your bus’ bathroom will be unlocked and available to you. On some we could use the on-board facilities and some we couldn’t or it was difficult to unlock the door. But, the itinerary allows for quite a few bathroom breaks on bus-heavy days so it wasn’t really a problem.

This trip did include a train ride from London to Edinburgh. You are responsible for getting your own luggage on and off the train though our tour director knew someone who worked for the train and gave him a tip to help us with our bags. Colin had all the connections!

Pace of tour

This tour is very fast-paced as you have a lot to see in two weeks! We were so, so glad we packed in carry-ons for this trip as we were changing hotels a lot. But, that’s to be expected when visiting four countries and cramming a lot of sightseeing in.

If the idea of spending one or two nights in a city before moving onto the next sounds too chaotic or challenging, this itinerary might not be for you. We were on the move a lot, but that’s what Rick and I were expecting. We’ll often use these types of tours to get a taste a place and see if we need to come back, like we realized with Edinburgh!

We knew we’d be moving around a lot on this tour and prepared accordingly by packing light and being able to pack up our room quickly.

Price of tour

Take our price of the tour with a grain of salt as we originally booked this tour in 2018.

Tour cost (per person):

• Tour: $3,659
• Flights (from Denver): $1,345
• Trip insurance: $329

Go Ahead does offer other excursions and add-ons, though we only did one, the Irish Dinner and Show. Here are the excursions offered on this itinerary and their costs per person:

• Windsor Castle: $119
• Abbotsford House & Melrose Abbey: $99
• The Beatles: History & Story Museum: $99
• Traditional Irish Dinner & Show: $109

We did apply a few discounts, such as an online promo ($200 off) and our Club Go rewards ($100).

Inclusions: Group dinners

Some nights of the tour do also include group dinners, which can be great especially after a long day of traveling, we didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to eat.

Colin was great on these nights as I do have a food allergy and he always made sure to pop over and let me know if I had to avoid any dishes on the menu due to my allergy.

I will say that we heard some complaints about these included dinners from other travelers. Were these dinner like eating at a Michelin-star restaurant? No. Were they fast food dinners? Also no! I’d compare these dinners to conference or wedding catering.

It was typically a set menu with three or four options for mains, sometimes a starter, always a dessert served with tea or coffee, and a complimentary drink, such as white or red wine, beer, or cider. You could get more drinks with your dinner out of pocket.

Here’s what Rick and I had during our included group dinners:

• London: We both had the steak pie, London Pride (beer), and brownie with ice cream
• Edinburgh: We both opted for a beer and both got the same soup starter, then I had the shrimp pasta, Rick had the cheeseburger and fries, and we both got sticky toffee pudding for dessert
• Killarney: I started with a meat and cheese plate, then had the bacon and mash, and dessert was a coconut chocolate tart. Rick had the lemon sorbet, beef stew, and the same dessert. Rick had red wine and I had a cider.
• Dublin (farewell dinner at the hotel): I had the cod, a cider, and salted caramel cake for dessert. Rick opted for the chicken and same dessert as it sounded fantastic, and it was!

Overall thoughts

Rick and I were able to check off most items on our bingo card of what the other travelers would say to us as we were the youngest couple on the tour. These tours tend to have travelers from the 50+ age demographic, but we also don’t mind being the youngsters. You’ll still make friends and many of the people in your group are excited to be there and enjoy traveling.

We’re booked on another Go Ahead trip in March to Japan and we’ve got our eye on a food and wine tour of Spain with Go Ahead that might be put on the schedule for 2025.

Like I said, group tours are not for everyone. But, we’ve enjoyed the ones we’ve done with Go Ahead and would (and will) travel with them again in the future.

We really enjoyed this itinerary as it was just what we were looking for in a guided experience and we packed a lot in during our two weeks in Europe, which is exactly what we wanted.

If you’ve got recommendations of other group tour companies we should check out, please let us know in the comments!

Hey, I'm Stephanie! I'm a copywriter living in beautiful Denver with my husband Rick, and our dog Rocco. I love traveling, writing, reading, and being outside as much as possible - unless I'm on the couch binge watching Stranger Things with a glass of wine! Thanks for reading and being a part of the adventure with Back to the Passport! ❤️

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Age Range: All ages

Average Tour Price:  $2,000-$4,000

Average Tour Duration: 8-18 days

Travel Style: Cultural immersion and education with active experiences.

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Go ahead tours reviews & ratings, will refuse to refund.

I made a reservation last Thursday (11/16/2023) for a trip to Iceland from 12/02/2023-12/07/2023 and then I was told that I can’t have my refund back. When I called...

Greedy Unethical Company Keeps Your Money When They Cancel Trips

Stay Away - Class Action lawsuit for ripping off children

This greedy and unethical company is being sued for keeping money from school children and their parents after the company canceled trips due to Coronavirus. They ...

Lousy Customer Service

Wouldn't Refund Full Payment of Tour They Cancelled

Our trip was to be in May 2020 and was cancelled by Go Ahead due to the Coronavirus after we had paid the full cost of the trip for two. When contacted about a refu...

Amazing trip of a lifetime!

My husband and I went on this tour for our five year anniversary. It was both of our first trips to Europe and it was WONDERFUL! Our tour guide, Alessandra, was fant...

By far the BEST Trip EVER

WOW. That’s the best word to summarize this tour. 1st class everything, from the private chauffeur upon arrival to the 5 star hotels to the fancy restaurants, but th...

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Go ahead quick facts.

Average Tour Price:   $2,000-$4,000

The world’s largest private education travel company, Go Ahead tours are designed for curious, adventurous travelers . Their itineraries balance planned activities and free time to quench your curiosity and specific interests.

What Makes Go Ahead Stand Out?

• Dedicated tour directors
• Local guides
• Flexibility

Go Ahead has dedicated tour directors that you can trust to help you have the best travel experience. They have years of experience and regional knowledge of culture and history that they are eager to share. These travel directors will be with you every step of the way, a friend to show you around one of their favorite destinations. Sit back and enjoy your trip, they’ll handle all the logistics.

Local guides are also a big part of Go Ahead. These guides will join you and your tour director to provide an even deeper knowledge of the region. They will help immerse you in cities, rustic villages, countrysides and cultural hot spots. Go ahead wants the right people to help you learn and explore the world.

Go Ahead tours are designed to be authentic, providing unique local experiences, and a certain amount of flexibility for travelers who like some independence during the tour. Typically, tours are run in small groups with a max of 38, which means your small group may not always be extemely intimate as 38 is still a lot of people.

Who Will Enjoy Traveling with Go Ahead?

• Cultural enthusiasts
• Adventure travelers
• Wildlife lovers

Go Ahead travelers love sightseeing but they greatly enjoy traveling off the beaten path. These travelers are curious about the world and are eager to learn about the local culture , cuisine and people. Go Ahead is perfect for the traveler who wants to really get to the heart of a destination.

Adventure is a big part of curiosity. Go Ahead travelers aren’t afraid to venture off a typical tourist sightseeing plan. They enjoy the freedom to explore on their own as well as picking the brain of their local guides to learn incite into the cities, rustic villages and countrysides they are visiting. These travelers enjoy seeing the destination through cultural immersion and active experiences.

Witnessing wildlife is a big part of Go Ahead tours. Travelers will get the opportunity to witness and learn about the luscious natural landscapes and the creatures that inhabit it. Seeing the Big Five and going on a safari through the plains of Africa is on the bucket lists of Go Ahead travelers.

Top Destinations

Go Ahead tours send travelers all over the world with trips going to Europe , US , Canada , Central America , Africa , Australia , New Zealand , Middle East , Asia and Antarctica .

Go Ahead Travel Style

Go Ahead is greatly focused on personalization and small group experiences . Each traveler will get the opportunity to personalize their trips when their itineraries are being crafted. There are additional excursions, tour extensions and any number of days that travelers can add to their trip.

Groups remain small, capped at 14 to 38 travelers. This small group experience allows travelers to really immerse themselves in the culture of a destination. Their experiences will be intimate both with their local guides and the local people.

Hotels are selected based on your comfort desires and location. You can rest assured that you’ll be staying in a safe, comfortable accommodation as the Go Ahead team personally goes to each property on the ground. 

Go Ahead, due to their relationship with EF network, are able to offer a wide range of flight options. Once in your destination, they will also handle all internal travel from motor coaches to additional flights. Go Ahead takes care of all the stressful logistics so you don’t have to.

Why Go Ahead?

If you are eager to explore and learn about the world through cultural immersion , wildlife watching and active experiences, Go Ahead is for you. No matter your luxury level whether it be high luxur y or budget or what your interests are, Go Ahead can help personalize your experience to create the perfect trip for you.

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About the company.

We're a company of passionate adventurers dedicated to creating the best journey for every traveler. As a proud part of EF Education First, we draw on 50 years of expertise to continue to add meaningful travel experiences to our portfolio of more than 100 tours.  

GLOBAL EXPERTISE

Thanks to the global EF network, we have offices all over the world—you can count on expert support everywhere you go. And since we help thousands of people see the world each year, we’re able to negotiate the best rates with our partners.

A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY

Our team carefully considers the details of every itinerary and reads every review we receive to ensure that we're offering you the best possible travel experience. Our tour groups are always capped at between 14 to 35 travelers—well below the industry average.

UNMATCHED SERVICE

Your own expertly trained Tour Consultant will help with every step of the planning process. Then, once you’re on tour, your Tour Director will give you an inside look at all the best sights and hidden local favorites. Plus, you can reach us at any time on our 24/7 support line.

Go Ahead Tours Trips & Specials

Denali National Park & Wild Alaska

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Discover Brazil: Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon Rainforest

India: The Golden Triangle to Kerala

New Zealand: Untamed Landscapes

A Week in Ireland: St. Patrick's Day

Highlights of Northern Europe: London to Copenhagen

See here for last minute special Travel deals

Starting on Black Friday, all European tours will be up to $600 off*! While the sale goes through Sunday, only the early birds will catch the worm Friday morning doorbusters ( 6AM-10AM  local time): $75 towards an excursion* or $125 off a tour extension*. (*Per Person.)  For those who missed out on the Black Friday event, Cyber  Monday  will offer up to $650 off on all tours!

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Has anyone taken a EF Go Ahead Tour? We are considering them for a trip to Venice, Florence and Rome. Anyone?

5 replies to this topic

this is a relatively useful thread with an unfortunate title. There are 267 replies mostly positive. The original poster was British and fairly harsh with his critque. Prior to this thread there was another that went for 10 yrs with overall good reviews. I've been on 3 of their trips and really enjoyed them. They do a good balance between structured and free time.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i12290-k11369465-Is_Go_Ahead_Tours_a_sham_operation-Bargain_Travel.html

I did 3 trip with them, France, Bulgaria and Rumania, Brazil .

Itinerary of all 3. were good, very interesting.

In my opinion the tours now are overpriced and most Hotels locations not central.

I prefer GATE 1, did 10 tours with them , before Covid 19 but they aren’t perfect also.

Check the hotels quality and locations before booking.

I did this because Venice and Florence ( & neighbouring Pisa) are very small cities that are almost entirely pedestrianised, so no need at all for coaches, taxis or any other form of motorised transport.

Accommodation costs in Venice and Florence do vary, especially during the summer,but still provide a good variety of hotels at different price points. The best value for money and without the overwhelming crowds is during the shoulder seasons of April to early June, and from late September onwards.

Italy has a fantastic national railway network, fast, clean, convenient and reliable. Getting a train between Venice to Florence ( or Pisa) and then onto Rome is a delight.

Rome itself is the largest of your potential destinations, but most of the tourist attractions are centrally clustered and very easy to visit on foot, or by using local short hop buses or taxis. Again it’s easy to book local guided walks, even free ones! I would however urge advance bookings for the Vatican, but you wouldn’t need a tour guide to do that for you, as you can book via the Vatican Museum website directly.

I’m not dismissing escorted tours, especially to destinations that cater to non drivers, or in difficult off the beaten tracks locations, but some of the pitfalls of escorted tours are a limited range hotels, a rushed or limited itinerary, higher costs, and being stuck with a group that doesn’t gel.

Doing aDIY trip to easy to see destinations does give you far more flexibility. Hope this gives you food for thought.

If you are able to carry your luggage. go without the tours.

I did Rome, Assisi, Florence, Italian Riviera, Genoa traveled by train and bus.

I enjoyed this trip more than tour with Trafalgar .

But, of course, trip on your own required some research and planning.

Enjoy Italy!

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Sugarland Announces New Single, Tour with Little Big Town Ahead of 2024 CMT Music Awards Performance

by Clayton Edwards April 7, 2024, 7:04 pm

Tonight, Sugarland will come together for the first time since the duo’s 2018 tour. They’ll join longtime friends and fellow country hitmakers Little Big Town at the 2024 CMT Music Awards to debut a new song. Ahead of tonight’s awards show, the duo took to social media to make an important announcement. They’ll take the energy of their awards show performance on the road later this year.

Videos by American Songwriter

Sugarland made the announcement a couple of hours before the awards show kicked off. “Excited to be sharing the stage with our longtime friends Little Bit Town tonight on the CMT Awards as well as announcing our new song and tour together,” the duo wrote. The post included a photo containing the tour dates and the cover of their upcoming single, a reimagining of Phil Collins’ 1985 hit “Take Me Home.”

Excited to be sharing the stage with our longtime friends @littlebigtown tonight on the #CMTawards , as well as announcing our new song and tour together! Sign up for the tour pre-sale code: https://t.co/umuyXoLJjL Listen to “Take Me Home”: https://t.co/c2OFuHp1Mv pic.twitter.com/IoSj97WYra — Sugarland (@Sugarlandmusic) April 7, 2024

Sugarland and Little Big Town Prepare for Take Me Home Tour

The Take Me Home Tour will see Sugarland and Little Big Town sharing arena stages in 18 cities across the United States. The trek kicks off in Greenville, South Carolina on October 24. They’ll be on the road until mid-December when the tour comes to an end at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on December 13.

Tickets go on sale next Friday (April 12).

[Keep an Eye Out for Sugarland Tickets on StubHub]

Tour Dates:

Oct. 24  – Greenville, SC @ Bon Secours Wellness Arena Oct. 25 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena Oct. 26 – Columbus, OH  @ Nationwide Arena Oct. 31 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden Nov. 1 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena Nov. 2 – Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center Nov. 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center Nov. 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum Nov. 9 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena Nov. 14 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center Nov. 15 – Sioux Falls, SD  @ Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Nov. 16 – Moline, IL @ Vibrant Arena at The MARK Nov. 21 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center Nov. 22 – Fort Worth, TX  @ Dickies Arena Nov. 23 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center Dec. 11 – Biloxi, MS @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum Dec. 12 – Duluth, GA @ Gas South Arena Dec. 13 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

Featured Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for CMT

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2024 Masters predictions: Nine trends from the last decade to help pick this year's green jacket winner

Augusta national is the only course to host a major every season, which is a relevant factor in a predictive model.

It's here and it's beautiful. The 88th Masters has arrived with 89 players beginning the week dreaming of slipping on the green jacket. These aspirations are still alive and well before the first tee shot is hit at Augusta National Golf Club, the annual host for the year's first major championship.

Unlike the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open, the Masters returns to the same venue each year. While there are some small tweaks to the course here and there, the core of Augusta National has stood the test of time with those who have solved the riddle once before generally having the answers year after year.

It's why Phil Mickelson, without a semblance of form, finished runner-up to Jon Rahm in last year's tournament at 52 years old. It's why his final-round 65 was the best final round of his Masters career in his ... *checks notes* ... 30th appearance. It's why old-timers like Fred Couples and Tom Watson have also made early charges in their 50s. It's why you can never rule anyone out at first glance.

Course knowledge is required, but it is just one part of this equation. While the ghosts of past Masters champions pop up on the leaderboard every now and then, only those truly comfortable with all facets of their game will have the staying power to see it through until Sunday evening. A player doesn't just fall into winning the green jacket (just ask Dustin Johnson), he often trends towards it and peaks at the precise right time (you can also ask Johnson about this).

Watch all four rounds of the 2024 Masters starting Thursday with  Masters Live  as we follow the best golfers in the world through Augusta National with  Featured Groups , check in at the famed  Amen Corner  and see leaders round the turn on  holes 15 & 16 . Watch live on  CBSSports.com , the  CBS Sports App  and  Paramount+ .

Let's take a look back at the 10 most recent winners of the Masters and identify what trends exist as we attempt to whittle down the field of 89  players to pinpoint this year's champion.

1. What's your age again?

It has been 38 years since a 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus donned his sixth green jacket and captured the last of his 18 major championships. Nicklaus became the oldest winner in tournament history with the win. Over the last 10 years, the average age of the winner has been a shade under 31 even with champions like Dustin Johnson (36), Sergio Garcia (37) and Tiger Woods (43). Since Johnson's win in 2020, the last three winners have all been under the age of 30. Mickelson threatened last season with his runner-up finish, but it is safe to assume that if you're over the age of 46, you probably aren't winning.

Eliminated: Fred Couples, Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, José María Olazábal

2. Maybe  don't  remember your first time

Only three players have ever won the Masters in their first attempts: Horton Smith in the first Masters, Gene Sarazen in 1935 and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. While a debutant has not won in 45 years, there have been a number of close calls in recent memory with Jordan Spieth (2014), Sungjae Im (2020) and Will Zalatoris (2021) threatening. With such a large class and names like Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Åberg trending, there is a chance this streak comes to and end this year. But, until then …  

Eliminated : Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia, Nicolai Højgaard, Austin Eckroat, Eric Cole, Denny McCarthy, Stephan Jaeger, Jake Knapp, Nick Dunlap, Peter Malnati, Grayson Murray, Matthieu Pavon, Adam Schenk, Ryo Hisatsune, Lee Hodges, Santiago de la Fuente (a), Christo Lamprecht (a), Neal Shipley (a), Jasper Stubbs (a)

3. It's a steady climb

They say Augusta National is an acquired taste. One may not understand the nuances the first or second time around, but once there is a game plan, all that's left on the table is execution. Seven of the last 10 Masters champions had at least one top-five finish in their Masters careers before donning the green jacket with all 10 having previously collected a top-40 result.  

Eliminated:  Max Homa, Cameron Davis, Kurt Kitayama, Adrian Meronk, Erik van Rooyen

4. What have you done for me lately?

Each green jacket winner since 2014 has notched a top-15 finish on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour in a stroke-play event over the calendar year leading up to the Masters. Seven of those had already entered the winner's circle on the year -- see Rahm in 2023, Scheffler in 2022, Johnson in 2020 and Spieth in 2015 -- while eight had found a spot on the podium in the form of a top-three result. We'll use that same top-15 cutoff point for LIV Golf events as well.  

Eliminated: Rickie Fowler, Stewart Hagestad (a), Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim, Camilo Villegas, Bubba Watson, Danny Willett, Gary Woodland

5. Major-championship pedigree

There have been a number of first-time major winners who have broken through at Augusta, but none have come without some prior experience on a comparable stage. Eight of the 10 most recent Masters champions had at least a major runner-up result already to their name with all 10 having a T6 finish or better. In the year prior to winning, four of the last 10 collected a runner-up finish in a major championship while nine had a top-15 finish. 

Eliminated:  Byeong Hun An, Sam Burns, Ryan Fox, Adam Hadwin, Si Woo Kim, Taylor Moore, Joaquin Niemann, J.T. Poston, Nick Taylor, Sahith Theegala

And just like that, we have eliminated 50 players … 

6. Let's get technical 

Strokes-gained data can be a beautiful thing. In the calendar year leading up to their respective Masters coronations, all 10 champions were averaging at least +0.67 strokes gained per round with the mean of the group coming in at a whopping +2.17. Only four players in the world are currently averaging more than +2.00. 

It was not Rahm (+2.75), Scheffler (+2.50) nor Spieth (+2.38) who boasted the most impressive metrics ahead of their victories, rather it was Watson (+3.02) and Johnson (+3.91) who eclipsed the three-stroke hurdle. A couple past Masters champions and one major name will unfortunately be leaving us here.

Eliminated: Keegan Bradley, Thorbjørn Olesen, Luke List, Min Woo Lee, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka

7. Speak softly and carry a big stick

Off-the-tee numbers are the most predictive indicator of success in the world of golf; the best golfers in the world currently are the best drivers of the ball in the game. The same rings true at Augusta where the last 10 winners were averaging at least +0.60 strokes gained off the tee per round in the calendar year of their victory. Patrick Reed was the low man of this group with +0.14 strokes gained off the tee per round, which will allow a couple names to slip by. 

Eliminated: Lucas Glover, Brian Harman, Tyrrell Hatton, Cameron Smith

8. Iron it out

Augusta National caters to some of the best iron players in the world (like Woods). Over the last three months, Scheffler has been the best in this category (+1.57 strokes gained approach per round), while a number of big names have struggled with their scoring clubs. The past 10 winners were averaging a minimum of +0.40 strokes gained approach per round -- a bar some historically strong approach players haven't come close to sniffing.

Eliminated:  Collin Morikawa, Emiliano Grillo, Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau

Who will win the 2024 Masters, and which longshots will stun the golfing world?  Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 10 golf majors, including last year's Masters and Open Championship .

9. There needs to be a Plan B

Stuff hits the fan during major championships, and the Masters is no different. More times than not, there will be some sort of turbulence over the course of 72 holes, and a player's short game will be tested. Whether it was Scheffler's chip-in on No. 3 in the final round of 2022 or Danny Willett's up-and-down on the 71st hole in 2016, an around-the-green presence is required in some shape or form. This is where some popular names simply fall short of the +0.20 strokes gained around the green clip from the prior 10 winners. 

Eliminated:  Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young, Corey Conners, Adam Scott

So where does that leave us?

From a field of 89 golfers, only seven — Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Chris Kirk and Sergio Garcia — remain. I'll admit that I am very surprised by a few of these!

Scheffler, Schauffele and Matsuyama were always going to be shoo-ins; you probably don't need me telling you that. Thomas is interesting in that he will have a brand-new caddie on the bag and most of his good play came earlier in the year, similar to Kirk winning at Kapalua in the PGA Tour's season opener. Finau is finding his groove and Garcia just lost in his second playoff of the year on LIV Golf, but neither has been super reliable with the putter.

Let's just put it this way: If you gave me a fair price on Scheffler, Schauffele and Matsuyama versus the field, you'd have my attention.

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Missy Elliott Announces Dates For First-Ever Headlining Tour, Featuring Busta Rhymes, Ciara and Timbaland

The Out of This World -- The Missy Elliott Experience arena swing will kick off on July 4 in Vancouver.

By Gil Kaufman

Gil Kaufman

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Teddy Swims, Lauren Spencer Smith & Paul Russell to Perform on 'American Idol'

See latest videos, charts and news

Busta Rhymes

Missy elliot, trending on billboard.

“This is an incredible time in my life as I am experiencing so many milestone ‘firsts.’ Being the FIRST female Hip Hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and now going out on my FIRST headline tour,” Elliott said in a statement about the 24-city tour co-produced by Live Nation and Elliott’s longtime manager Mona Scott-Young. “Fans have been asking me to tour forever but I wanted to wait until I felt the time was right because I knew if I was ever going to do it, I had to do it big, and I had to do it with family! So get ready to be taken OUT OF THIS WORLD with me, Busta Rhymes, Ciara, and Timbaland! We can’t wait to share this experience with the fans!”

In keeping with Elliott’s legendarily out-there music videos, the tour announce was accompanied by a short teaser video helmed by another one of Missy’s frequent collaborators, director Dave Meyers. “In 2024, these three icons come together to show you something you’ve never seen before,” Elliott says in voiceover in the clip in which she, Busta and Ciara emerge from the spacecraft.

In an additional statement about her client’s first-ever headlining tour, Scott-Young said, “Missy has always been an iconic groundbreaker and continuously pushes herself to be bolder and go where she has never been before – and surprisingly, one of those places is headlining her own tour! For decades, fans and peers worldwide have clamored for Missy to tour and they’re finally going to get what they’ve been asking for as she teams up with Ciara, Busta, and longtime partner-in-rhyme Timbaland, to deliver a start-to-finish, nonstop, high-octane, OUT OF THIS WORLD concert experience. This will be one for the books, so trust me, you don’t want to miss it!”

Tickets for the tour will go on sale first through a Verizon presale that kicks off on Tuesday (April 9) beginning at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday (April 11) at 10 p.m. local time; click here for more details. Following additional presales throughout the week, the general onsale for the tour will begin on Friday (April 12) at 10 a.m. local time here .

Check out the dates for the tour and the teaser video below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Missy Elliott (@missymisdemeanorelliott)

Missy Elliott 2024 Out of This World dates :

July 4 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena

July 6 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena

July 9 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena

July 11 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena

July 13 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena

July 16 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena

July 18 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center

July 20 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center

July 21 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena

July 24 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena

July 25 — Sunrise, FL @ Amerant Bank Arena

August 1 — Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena

August 2 — Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum

August 3 — Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena

August 5 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center

August 8 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena

August 9 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center

August 10 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden

August 12 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center

August 15 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena

August 17 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre

August 19 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena

August 22 — Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena

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Ronnie O'Sullivan outlines snooker desire ahead of Tour Championship final - 'What I used to do'

WATCH NOW: Ronnie O'Sullivan risks angering UK fans after thumping victory in Riyadh

By Lewis Winter

Published: 07/04/2024

The seven-time world champion still has the aspiration to improve despite his sustained success

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Ronnie O'Sullivan has outlined his desire to be more consistent at the snooker table ahead of the Tour Championship final.

The Rocket wants to play like he 'used to do' as he attempts to win his sixth tournament of a hugely successful season.

O'Sullivan won the first two Triple Crown events of the campaign, triumphing at the UK Championship and the Masters.

He has also won the Shanghai Masters, the World Grand Prix and the inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker .

Ronnie O'Sullivan still has the desire to improve at the snooker table

But despite a prolific record in terms of tournament wins, the world No 1 has not been happy with how he has played.

O'Sullivan has often started matches slowly and his best performances have been few and far between.

He turned it on at 7-7 against Gary Wilson in Friday's Tour Championship semi-final, winning three frames in a row to qualify for another final.

O'Sullivan says how he finished that match is how he used to play, and he is keen to get back to that on a more consistent basis.

He told WST: "I'd like to play how I played in those three frames for like 60, 70 per cent of matches. That's what I used to do.

"I'd like to find that sort of form for quite longer periods in matches.

"I'll take it when it comes and keep trying to focus and try to compete and try and enjoy it and try to stay composed out there and give myself a chance."

O'Sullivan has opened up on his mental struggles this year and has again been speaking to sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters .

He pulled out of two tournaments at the Welsh Open and German Masters in an attempt to help his health and well-being.

O'Sullivan says he still gets some enjoyment out of playing but is learning that will not always be the case.

He added: "Yeah there's times when I'm enjoying it. There were times out there when it was tough.

"The first few frames I wasn't really getting hold of the ball as I'd like to have done but that's snooker, you can't always be hitting it great.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan is playing in Sunday's Tour Championship final

"I tried to stay patient and the interval came and I got a bit of a lead, and then he came back at me.

"But as long as you give yourself time, you can always turn around."

O'Sullivan will play fellow Class of '92 star Mark Williams in Sunday's final in Manchester.

Williams is keen to take the match to his opponent after beating Mark Allen 10-5 in Saturday's second semi-final.

Ronnie O'Sullivan will face old rival Mark Williams in the Tour Championship final

He said: "I'm just going to enjoy it. How many more times is this going to happen?

"I couldn't pick a better player to play in a final. I'm going to attack and try my best.

"I know I haven't played Ronnie in a final for a long time but that's because he keeps beating me before the final!"

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The Masters 2024: Ken Brown answers your questions ahead of first men's Major of the year

The 88th edition of the Masters Tournament marks the first men's Major Championship of 2024, with the world's best players making their annual pilgrimage to one of sport's most iconic venues.

A field of 89 players are set to tee it up at Augusta National aiming to add their name to the history of this great event, 12 months after Jon Rahm became the fourth Spaniard - joining Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal and Sergio García - to win the coveted Green Jacket.

Ahead of play beginning on Thursday, My Tour - the DP World Tour's free digital membership - offered its members the chance to send in their questions to golf broadcaster Ken Brown and he has answered a selection of them.

To sign up to My Tour, click here . Your My Tour membership unlocks you exclusive competitions, offers and more.

Q. How would you explain Augusta National and Masters week to someone who has never been?

Over the years, lots people have come up to me and said with astonishing delight 'I’ve got two tickets for the Masters', you can tell they're made up. Everyone goes with the very highest expectations and the experience is always better than they expected.

You don’t have to sell your house to buy a club sandwich and a drink too. There is no cooked food on the course, they don’t want any smells, while there is no running and no phones. The biggest star is the course that showcases the world's best golfers, and that's all you need.

The Patrons, a term aptly used by the Augusta National Club to describe the visitors to the tournament, are a regular customer, clients who become special supporters, and who are in turn given a five-star experience.

Q. Augusta National is reputed to have some of the hardest greens to putt on, what makes them so tough and how do they compare with other venues?

The greens at Augusta National have some larger slopes and undulations than most venues, harking back to the original design work of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie, who where both lovers of the Old Course at St Andrews.

If you keep an eye out, the DNA of the fifth green at Augusta was taken from the 17th on the Old Course and the 14th is a ringer of the 5th.

The combination of the slopes and the green speeds make them a joyous, nerve racking, challenge. I hope this year the greens are reasonably firm, they loose an odd tooth if they get soft.

Q. What is your favourite hole at Augusta National and why?

The par 5 13th hole has everything. It asks so many questions, strategically a masterpiece. It’s the easiest hole in the world for a top professional to make a par on, but you don’t want to make a par. It’s a birdie or better you’re after, it temps you to take on the stream and chase that carrot. This gives the most colourful, spectacular hole in the world the jeopardy that makes it brilliant.

Q. Year in year out those with a "record" at Augusta seem to dominate the leaderboard. Is there a particular reason for this i.e. What makes an Augusta-suited player?

The ability to give the ball a good ride off the tee has always been a useful advantage, more so than most courses. With such treacherous pin positions, getting at them with a shorter iron becomes a big advantage over four rounds.

That said, I have to quote Peter Alliss’ mantra which he said every year: "It’s the six inches between the ears that separates out the winner.”

Q. Looking at the field, how do you rate Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood’s chances to put on the Green Jacket this year? Are there any other DP World Tour members you think may do well?

Both Viktor and Tommy have made some amazing strides the last two seasons in their scrambling, the abilities to get down in two from around the green and save a par. It is another must-have skill if you want to win the Masters.

Ludvig Åberg playing his first Masters has all the attributes to play Augusta well, he got a look at the course in his college days and has had a couple of sneaky practice rounds earlier in the year.

Shane Lowry, too. If you can win the Open, you have the game to button up a large Green Jacket. I think green would suit him too!

Q. Who do you think will win this year, and why?

Hard to predict! I don’t know who’s going to win, but I hope that it might be one of the European Ryder Cup team.

It has been especially heart-warming for me to see the likes of Seve Ballesteros, José María Olazábal, Sandy Lyle, Sir Nick, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Danny Willett and Jon Rahm all win. It seemed an impossible dream until Seve and Sandy won.

Q. There have been a lot of alterations over the years to add length, do you think the masses can still win or is it just the longest hitters?

It's always been a trump card to be able to hit the ball 300 yards, the good news now most of the field can do that now. You’d get good odds betting on someone averaging under 300 yards off the tee this week winning.

The course would now need to be well over 8000 yards to produce the same challenge distance wise that Seve had when he first won in 1980.

In 1988, when I played the par three 12th, which is unchanged and still measures 155 yards, I played two seven irons and two eight irons over the four rounds. Rory McIlroy hits a seven iron 195 yards and a pitching wedge 150 yards, however on this special hole today's challenge is only a fraction easier.

Q. What’s more important at Augusta. Chipping or putting?

Chipping and putting are equally important, both have to be in top draw. If you are going to score well, having a good touch on and around the greens are a prerequisite.

Q. What is the single most important skill a player needs to win at Augusta?

You just have to flush it off the tee, playing the course after a poor tee shot is like eating a banana with the skin left on… oh and hole out well from inside six feet!

Q. What is your favourite Masters moment from over the years?

Working at the Masters with Peter Alliss and the BBC team will forever hold great memories for me. Can you imagine sitting next door to Alliss and watching the Masters, can it get any better! That was after going out on the course to hit a few putts on the 13th green to test the speed of the greens or show an interesting pin position for a Ken on the Course that I hoped the viewers would find interesting and then watch Adam Scott or Tiger Woods win a Green Jacket!

Every Masters has been a favourite of mine. I will certainly miss being on site this year.

Hope everyone who watches or listens enjoys the Masters and maybe, just maybe, Rory might win.

The Masters 2024: Five Things To Know 

The 88th Masters Tournament marks the first Major Championship on the 2024 DP World Tour schedule. Here are your five things to know…

DP World Tour Partners