4.5/5

2024 Taste of Ireland (Tour A) - 7 Days/6 Nights
Everything was well thought out and fullfilled flawlessly.

Book the tour!!

My husband and I absolutely LOVED our 8 day tour of Ireland! We are so incredibly fortunate that Brendan was our tour guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable and personable. He shared songs, poems, stories, and recommendations of places to check out at every stop. There is no way we would have been able to see and do as much as we did if not on the tour. We covered so much ground and soaked up so much of Ireland. I’m so glad we chose this tour. Highly recommend!!

Irish Legends review

Tour was good but gave no time to explore the places we stayed in even though we were there for 2 nights in each town or city. We would have loved more time in THe National Stud and Japanese Garden, also Clonmacnoise , visits were too short. Food was excellent , but each hotel served up the same basic menu as the last hotel and to try to cater for all tastes . NewPark Inn , Kilkenny was our least favorite hotel, too many children and the hotel put us into room right next to the three kids activity areas not a pleasant stay.
Another critique was that all the hotels had centrally controlled air , no a/c and guests had no way to regulate the situation. The heat was belting out each night , made the rooms really stuffy and we woke up loggy and feeling as if we'ed had no rest
Our Driver Frankie Mulcahy was great.

My Bucket Listt Trip

We had a wonderful time albeit long bus rides! I understand the necessity of the over night leave the next morning but I do wish that overnights could be maybe 2 nights a couple more times. We also enjoyed meeting new people from around the USA! Ourdriver, Ollie, was a real card! He was funny and very knowledgeable about Ireland. Becky was also very knowledgeable about Scotland.

We accomplished so much and enjoyed each stop along the way.

The number of items of historical note that we visited was impressive and while the pace was quick, with good planning and paying close attention tourist can maximize their tour. We certainly did and enjoyed every minute!

Driver Tony did an excellent job driving safely as well as a tour guide on the road. He was precise on a needed time schedule to stay on schedule. This allowed us plenty of time for the main points of interest. Although adamant on a set time, he was patient and kind.

The tour was well organized and delivered as promised.

All I hoped for

Everything was taken care of. We were informed of all we would be doing and all we needed with us. There were no surprises and no Oops moments.

The tour guide was very knowledgeable! Most of the hotels were good!

Awesome trip

They did an awesome job with everything! All was well planned out and went smoothly. Would HIGHLY recommend. We cant wait to plan another trip with them

Hotels were clean, coach bus comfortable, tour guide excellent!

Murt OShea our tour guide was fantastic. Made the trip a complete success.

Murt O'Shea our tour guide was fantastic. Made the trip a complete success

Best tour ever

Our driver, Austin McArdle was absolutely fantastic, was a fabulous driver and guide all in one. He told us a lot of the history of each place as we went by. Amazing!

Wonderful experience and wonderful sights

Perfect way to see Ireland and Northern Ireland

CIE really has their tours well organized. We had great hotels, food and service the entire time. Brian was a wonderful tour guide as well. If you want to take a trip and not have to stress over the details this is a great way to go.

Excellent tour!!

I learned and saw so many things while on the tour...our tour director, Dianna, was excellent. Very knowledge...funny and just made our tour so great!! We saw everything you need to see in Italy

The Joys of the Magical Land of Eire with No Worries

Patrick was OUTSTANDING! Actually, I feel like he became a friend--and now we MISS him. Learned so much from his accounts of the history and culture of Ireland as we rode along. Also, everything he recommended turned out to be SPOT ON. He nailed it every time. If Patrick said it was great, we did it--and were so glad!

Want to commend Patrick for something else--Bobbi lost her diamond wedding band and was frantic with worry--Patrick found it for her on the tour bus--and promptly returned it. He deserves a raise for that--what a gem of a gentleman!

A few non-Patrick-related pointers. We didn't use the nice backpacks you sent us--I'm a fashionista so used a snazzy backpack, and my husband had a bigger and sportier backpack he used. I looked around and saw only four out of 24 of us were using the CIE backpacks. Because that was a significant expense, I suggest skipping the inclusion of backpacks, and instead send a laundry bag (which is necessary, but not expensive)--with the accessories tucked inside it (water jug, power adapter, etc.). Use the leftover money to buy tickets for some other event. Maybe that WONDERFUL Irish dancing performance in Killarney could be included? That was PRICELESS and a highlight of our trip.

Maybe a small thing, but our bed at the hotel in Killarney was saggy in the middle and it listed to one side--room 129, if memory serves. All the other beds in the other hotels were great. And the linens were exception everywhere--nice cotton sheets and down comforters--just lovely.

Lastly, the first place we had lunch--some pub outside of Dublin--had simply AWFUL food. Flabby, overcooked veggies, giant chunks of dry chicken in the salad--some said the Shepherd's pie was good, but most thought the food sub-par--maybe another option for the first lunch? Otherwise, we enjoyed our food during the tour and were most content.

We would definitely recommend CIE tours--we were so impressed and delighted. A couple of small tweaks to optimize--that's all. Was a wonderful vacation and we felt very well taken care of.

CIE was great!

CIE took care of every aspect of our tour from transportation, accommodations, meals, as well as our air travel. Each day was a pleasant surprise!

Great tour guide and driver. Transportation was accommodating.