Irish Splendour

The tour manager and driver made this a wonderful experience. Their warmth and concern for each travelers safety and enjoyment were amazing. This was my seventh tour of Ireland and I would rate Kate and John at the top of my list of great guides and drivers.

Everything was on time, the hotels were very good, and the tour was as described.

I wish we had more time to relax and or have more leisure time to explore the main cities we were staying in!

Every day was filled with new experiences. Our guide, Jackie, and bus guide, Tony, were always there to give advice or just listen. It was a great trip and would not be able to see so much if they were not there.

There is always room for improvement and bring us to stops without a gift shop.

Loved the off the beaten stops and the beautiful scenery.

Just a great first time..

The highlight of the tour for me was Cabra Castle. Beautiful accommodations and an excellent meal. Would have enjoyed hearing about the history of the castle. Also the visit to Dingle Peninsula. Negative was the size of the group. Way too large. Also felt rushed with time alloyed for most meals

The tour was great. What was not so great was the plane reservations. I have been on 3 other Collette Ireland tours. Each time we flew directly from LAX to Dublin. This time we flew on British Air through Heathrow. Anyone who has flown into and out of Heathrow knows this is a difficult airport to navigate. One of my clients was in a wheel chair. When we landed there were 2 wheel chairs for 10 people. The attendants had to each ferry 5 passengers. I stayed with my client and sent the other 7 on their own. They got lost, had to go through security unnecessarily and reached the other gate much later than expected. Luckily the plane was delayed but they didn't know that so it caused distress at the beginning of the trip. On the return I told the wheel chair client she would have to go alone with the attendant so the others were satisfied. Not only that we arrived late in the day so missed out on any pre-tour possibilities.

So organized and our tour guide and bus driver were so enjoyable, and gave us a wonderful tour of .Ireland , I guess the only thing would of been 1 day to expire Dublin on own , but it was a great experience, My daughter and I had a super time , 👍

This was an amazing trip! Everything was perfect from the start. Our tour manager and bus driver were excellent! My only compliant is how crowded the bus is. We needed just a bit more space to make us compfortable.

Transportation home was awful. 24 hrs is way too long for 50+. Would like more time in each town to go down town & get the flavor of Ireland. Whiskey tour not good…,rather have gone down town. Spent too much time at jewelry stop. Love Ireland and people very friendly. Liked all of the history Collette gave us. Favorite experience was actually at the farm in the rain talking to Irish people

It was a wonderful vacation and our driver John and tour guide Norman made it memorable and without a doubt Ireland itself, a real joy!!

The tour was fantastic with a few very small exceptions.3 of the 4 hotels we stayed at had a double and single bed per room,which is not optimal for married couples,or people even slightly above the norm as far as height. Also there were two stops at shops,one a jewelry ,the other wool clothes. It felt both forced,and a waste of time for most. The time would have been much better spent in the smaller towns we went to such as Dingle and Killarney. Norman our tour guide and John our bus driver are the best at their professions I have ever come across. Cabra Castle is was especially wonderful and a perfect place to end the trip.

The actual tour was great. The return flights were terrible. It took 26 hrs to get us home. It was miserable.

The tour was poorly scheduled. We visited 4 areas in 6 days which left very little time for enjoying the locations.

This is the first time I’ve been on an organized tour so I don’t have any other experience to compare to. We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time., so we were on a bus a lot. But overall it was a great tour.

Everything about the trip made it enjoyable except for the long layover in Amsterdam.

Something could be different. Long bus rides I would like to stop and see thing. Stepping you can enjoy your self and strength your legs.

When we received our tour book, our hotels had changed. We used to have a hotel right in the center of the city, we ended up with hotel, it was nice, but it was an outskirts. We had to taxi or bus in Dublin in Killarney, or give us excursion was not represented the way we thought it would be, it’s dinner and entertainment in Guinness, and we had dinner entertainment, one day, and Guinness, the next day. It took up two afternoons. The castle was excellent, but we stopped at a gas station for lunch that day. it would’ve been nicer just to have lunch at the castle. We didn’t get much help when it came to transportation by ourselves downtown from our tour guide. Our tour guide Martina, did a great job with history. On the bus, we were assigned seats, because we were told we would move around. The people in the back were stuck in the back the entire time and just move back-and-forth. They were some it would’ve been nicer just to have lunch at the castle. We didn’t get much help when it came to transportation by ourselves downtown from our tour guide. Our tour guide Martina, did a great job with history. On the bus, we were assigned seats, because we were told we would move around. The people in the back were stuck in the back the entire time, and just move back-and-forth. There were some people that move the card so they could sit anywhere they wanted to, and the tour guy didn’t Resolve that situation . I enjoyed all the places that we visited. It was obvious that the tour was overbooked, and split in half, and we were rushed everywhere we went. We had an hour and a half in Guinness, we had an hour and a half at the Blarney Castle, Our bus driver, Dave did a great job.

Tour guide was excellent.

We were constanly 'experiencing' Ireland. Even when on the bus, Fiona shared info, history, passing sights with us. We could never have seen as much of Ireland if we were on our own.

Excellent trip, guide, driver, food & hotels. Cliffs of Moher was my favorite. It had been raining & was foggy but by the time I got to the cliffs, the weather cleared & took some beautiful photos! Would rather have visited a sheep farm than a dairy farm.

everything was very well organized and out tour manager was excellent

Hotel in Dublin was VERY good, however, it was a long walk (approx 45-60 minutes) from City Center.

Great experience for a variety of excursions. Excellent tour guide and bus driver.

Excellent tour. Loved Dingle Peny

It was a great experience. I enjoyed the experience

Great tour director. For those who never visited Dublin, Book of Kells should have been included.

Our Ireland tour was excellent because of Kevin, our Tour Guide. Also, John, our Tour Bus Driver, was very professional and caring of all 32 of us! Thank you both for a positively wonderful, and relaxing time! The beautiful countryside was gorgeous as well as all the clean roadsides, etc. Thank you Ireland!!

Accomadatiins we’re good, some experiences were lacking.

Fiona - tour manager and Laurence - driver ensured we had a great overview of Ireland with use of the bus sound system and their back and forth banter to tell us about what we were seeing as we traveled, and about the history, culture and people. We had ample time for seeing things in Dublin by skipping the Guinness tour, and on frequent stops on daily bus excursions. Overnight stays were in very nice hotels - Killarney Avenue, my most favorite as the town was very nice and close. Great itinerary and overall a very enjoyable trip.

Most of my group tours have been with OAT. Much higher price point//Smaller groups and more personalized treatment. I was very pleasantly surprised that it was as nice as it was. it was a great value for the money, John the tour guide was excellent.

It was just amazing. We had a wonderful time .

Was spoiled by the service and hospitality from the tour guide. The quality of hotel's and the areas that we tour. The tour guide was honest in telling us that it would a just a snip of what to visit.

The planning for this tour was excellent. I really appreciate attention to details! Most memorable experience was at Cliffs of Moher. Collette has earned my trust to travel with them in the future!

Blarney Castle was so memorable

Just plain excellent! The people, accommodations, and activities were amazing!

Once we arrived everything was great I would suggest taking care of your own transportation to get there or on any tour so you know when you’ll arrive and when you’re leaving and what your route will be. The routing inclusive in the cruise is not always your best option.

Great tour guide! Fiona did a fabulous job.

Our tour guide was the best by far of all the tours I have taken. He was excellent.

Everything about the tour was great, we did have some issues with arrival flights but that was airline issues not Collette

Great experience well organized and fun.

The tour was great, our tour manager was extremely knowledgeable and took great care of us. My favorite part of the tour was the Blarney Castle.

This itinerary provides the perfect first visit to Ireland. You will leave with such a love of Ireland and ready to plan your next visit.

I loved the Cliffs of Mohr. It was great to kiss the Blarney Stone and stay in a castle. I really think the trip hit the highlights. We saw a lot for a short trip. Very well organized. Again, our guide Norman and bus driver John were great!!

The experience was great. The Cliffs of Moher were my favorite part of the trip.

Favorite memorable experience was in the town of Killarney. The town Christmas lights and parade was mesmerizing!! I felt like I was in a Christmas hallmark movie!!! Brought out the child in me!

Every aspect of the trip was wonderful. The Medieval Dinner was spectacular starting with the mead tasting and harp and guitar music and the mengeling with others. The feast was delicious and fun to eat with only a knife. That entertainment was delightful with their singing and comical antics that liven the show. Also,, the visit to the Blarney Castle was great. We had good weather (a plus) and plenty of time to explore the grounds and the castle.

Top notch tour company.

Dingle , Blarney stone, and the food was my favorite part of the tour. Was a little upset that no one had my wine Moscato .

Cliffs of Moyer was breathtaking, Cabra Castle was first class

The Dingle peninsula had great views.

Felt the tour director could have been a little more involved and informative about certain aspects of the trip.

I sat back & let Collette take care of the details so I could enjoy my trip.. Excellent service.

So many memorable experiences, hard to pick just one. Cabra Castle,tour of Dublin, cliffs of Moher,

Enjoyed the tour.

Meeting the locals: servers, shop keepers, local guides. The tour manager arranged for an optional jaunt ride through a part in Killarney.

Collette does everything first class---I was very impressed. My favorite experiences were in Killarney and Dublin probably because we stayed at the hotel two nights. The Irish Pub in Killarney we went to had live Irish music and the best clam chowder I have ever eaten. Dublin I stayed at the hotel one of the days instead of going on the bus and had a wonderful 2 hour breakfast with an Irishman named John who was there visiting his wife Helen in hospital. I know it is necessary to cover a lot of ground with the bus---but too much time on the bus---not enough time at the sites. Otherwise---I will always chose Collette!!!

The Cliffs of Moher were more beautiful than I could imagine and were on my bucket list.

This was our very first trip using Collette, but it will certainly not be our last. Every accommodation, from food to hotel, exceeded our expectations. The tour was extremely well planned out and really gave us a full experience in a short amount of time. We cannot rave enough about this tour and company!

I think we got a great tour of Ireland.

I got to see my cousin that I hadn't seen in 42 years and that was the highlight. Everything was just excellent, best trip I've taken so far.

The cliffs of mother were breathtaking, Cashel rock wonderful.

The itinerary was great and we saw a wonderful sample of Ireland with enough free time to explore on our own.

Pretty much everything. Our guide made this a very enjoyable trip. she truly has a gift for being a tour guide.

Everyone respected time restrictions and most abided by them. If not, people were politely warned about being considerate. Sean took the worry out of carrying suitcases, reminding us of tax ramifications and explaining local customs.

Cabra Castle, Tullamore Distillery, Cliffs of Moher, Molanna Dairy Farm, Dingle,Blarney Castle, and Trinity College library. Also the wonderful breakfast buffets and dinners and all the people we traveled with!

I already said the food and accommodations were great, but we should have been given more info on what was open and the costs on the Monday bank holiday afternoon in Dublin.

Visting the Knock Apparition site most impactful & memorable! Also enjoyed the Cliffs of Moher, countryside & small towns we explored...and Guinness tour & tasting! Jackie , tour manager, was awesome! She shared info, stories, folk lore, and made it all so fun! She went out of her way to help one particular member of our group get back the Waterford Crystal he had left on a train ride (before joining our group tour). She's a gem!

We loved every experience. Restaurant selections were wonderful, the tour of Guiness and the whiskey distillery were great, and the shopping excursions were fun. Loved hearing the history of Ireland, both on our excursions and from David along the bus route.

Beautiful scenery and excellent food

The many things include d in the tour met my expectations.

Enjoyed the people on the tour. Meeting the dairy farmer and his family

Cabraa castle was beautiful the country side was breathtaking kilarney was the best

Fabulous Dingle Peninsula and Cliffs of Mohr

Ireland was beautiful from Dublin to Killarney to the Cliffs of Moher, a truly memorable trip!

The blarney stone, the last day at the castle

Basic, not much given. Some were pricey add ons.

From Dublin to Killarney to the Cliffs of Moher it was breathtaking!

We traveled to all the places I wanted to see. It was a very memorable experience.

pubs in Dublin

The tour was everything I expected and more. I thought each stop would be the most memorable, but then the next day there was another wonderful experience. Spending the night in Cabra Castle was the best way to end an incredible journey.

Sf

I feel that I saw what I needed to see. I especially liked touring the dairy farm. I liked having slept in a 200-year old castle. I was pleasantly surprised how good the food was.

It really had a great experience. They took us from a major city like Dublin all the way to a castle in the countryside card Calabra. The only negative I would say would be there wasn't enough instructions on the tax that you get back and how to exchange currency.

All facets handled professionally with organization and education.

It was all good, however would have liked to have toured more Castles. Three out of four of the hotels I would definitely return to.

I love History and traveling overseas gives me a chance to learn about over countries. Seeing them was a experience that I won't forget. The food was a good and had a good variety. Of course I don't remember eating that I didn't. The rooms were beautiful and a good example or Irish hotels. The thing I really like was the trip to the dairy farm. That man was super and I could listen to him all day.

Would absolutely do it again!!!

I loved our last day spent at the castle

Beautiful. Great tour guide. Bus driver great.

Killarney was my favorite part of the trip. The ride through the countryside was interesting and beautiful since the flowers and trees were in bloom. Our guide made our trip much more interesting and entertaining!

Tour of Dingle Pennisula and Dairy

Wish I hadn't spent $ for the Guinness Tour. It was hot in the building, tour was too long and way too many people. On top floor couldn't even walk around or see out the windows, so many people. Othewise would have rated the overall tour 5 star.

The tour went well and the weather was outstanding. Our tour went in the opposite direction of other Collette tours and began at a location that was isolated from pubs, shopping, and entertainment. It made me feel like we lost a day of our six day tour. Our tour manager was a good guy, but he got a little too political with personal political views that were sometimes the opposite of mine.

Loved this tour! Our tour manager & driver were the best! The only small disappointment was that we didn’t have quite enough time at a couple of places to explore the grounds as much as we would have liked; for example, the Cliffs of Moher & Blarney Castle. The highlight for us was spending the night at Cabra Castle. It was amazing! Travel arrangements were well planned & things went smoothly. Love that Collette picked us up in our hometown to get us to the airport. This trip was awesome! Would do it again!

Favorite - Dingle peninsula and Irish dairy farmer testimonial

A good over view of Ireland today. Wonderful sights and interesting information.

except for freezing the whole time learned a lot

Need more time in Dublin and Dingle.

Variety of tour stops and knowledge of guides.

Cliffs of moor. Just beauiful. Loved all the places we visited in Ireland.

I enjoyed the sights of Dublin, Moriarity's, the visit to the dairy farm, the Medieval Dinner and the stay at Cabra Castle. I enjoyed the Irish dinner and entertainment in Dublin, but would have appreciated it more after a good night's sleep. Visiting the Dingle Peninsula & the Cliffs of Mohr was interesting, as were the St. Patrick's Day "parades."

all tourswere very good safe and excited to go back

Wrong time of year. Cold, windy, rainy

I really enjoyed the Medieval dinner. The food and entertainment were excellent.

Loved the gardens around the castle at Blarney Stone. While Ed went to kiss and be photographed, I toured and photographed the gardens. Judy

There were quite a few memorable experiences. Enjoyed the stay at Cabra Castle and the last dinner in the ballroom there at the castle.

Ireland is beautiful, so you put up with a lot just to get to visit there.

I give them 4 stars because some of it was interesting but on the other hand I had been there before so some of it I had already done.

Everything in Ireland was beautiful. The Blarney Castle was most memorable!

I loved how friendly and helpful the people of Ireland are. Our tour manager, Marc, took great care to make sure everyone was happy and taken care of. We all loved our happy and friendly bus driver, John. I loved the castles, sheep, cathedrals, food, etc. I enjoyed all the different places we toured and would have a difficult time picking a favorite.

I really enjoyed our bus tour of the Dingle Peninsula.

Tour was excellent, guides were knowledgeable, accommodations were very nice.

first hotel too far out nothing to do for half a day wasted time have better things to do one day ride 2 stops to shop boring.

Well managed tour. Loved it.

Staying in the castle the last night

Two days in hospital now trying to get insurance to pay correct

Sorry, due to a medical emergency - did not get to finish the tour but we are going to go back.

Talking to Colette about our mothers

Enjoyed everything except the farm visit. I felt there were other things we could have done in the place of that.

Same as last box that was #1

Great trip. Would have liked the two days in Dublin at beginning of trip when we sera’s tired.

Absolutely wonderful. Can’t wait until our next trip.

All aspects of the trip were equally memorable.

loved our time in Ireland!!

Our tour director was very knowledgeable. Our driver was an expert. The entire trip was a great learning experience. Beautiful scenery, excellent food, and wonderful experiences with the culture of Ireland.

one of my favorite experiences was touring the Irish Dairy farm and listening to stories of the owner of the farm. We saw a true picture of what the lives of the Irish is like. The Patriarch of the family had so many wonderful stories. One optional tour - to the restaurant in Dublin owned by U2 was really hyped up and it not meet with how it was described. We didn't have much opportunity to spend time in pubs and to hear the Irish music.

This was my 9th trip to Ireland an one of my best

Everything went as scheduled in our itinerary. The weather was ideal, and the stop at a dairy farm was very nice.

Kissing the Blarney Stone and Irish Step Dancing at a local pub

It would take more space than what you are providing.

I lived the Blarney Castle. The time of this tour was slightly off season so there were NO crowds which made for a perfect experience.

Ease of booking Pre-planning questions answered promptly Tour manager and bus driver were great

Fast-paced, but very enjoyable. We saw a lot of Ireland in 6 days. My favorite place was Dingle and Inch Beach - so beautiful!

Beautiful countryside And ocean views

Well planned and made good use of our time.

Again the tour guide drove the experience. Going to the farm was a wasted day.

It was a great value Coach was comfortable, Hotels great

Hard to choose but Blarney Castle & kissing Blarney Stone.

I loved the drive around the Dingle Peninsula.

The Clipffs of Moher were spectacular. Same comments as previous.

While every stop was amazing, I think Margaret and Padfy's farm was wonderful and Cabra castle was a jaw dropping, fabulous experience.

All the activities planned gave me a worthwhile experience.

Most memorable was Dingle Peninsula. Breathtaking views and scenery!

The knowledge our tour guide had and sightseeing were breathtaking.

Oh my gosh, it's hard to provide just one. Visiting with Patty and Margaret at their home was absolutely lovely.

smokers should have their own tour

Our tour guide, (personal details removed by Feefo), was excellent and because of her commentary we were able to better appreciate what we were seeing and experiencing. What prevented me from giving a 5 rating was our disappointment in not being able to see central Dublin due to St Patrick's Day activities.

We enjoyed all the locations we visited. Just the right amount of time in Dublin. The city tour of Dublin was perfect - knowledgeable city guide and in depth visits to two sights, St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Guinness Factory.

Unexpected delightful activity at Dromoland Castle....hawk walk!!

Dingle peninsula was beautiful; Cliffs of Moher fabulous, the Castle glorious, the beer and whiskey distillers not so.

Dronoland castle, the Cliffs, the people, so friendly.

dublin was lively and interesting. the countryside was beautiful

Loved the Dromoland castle and the Dingle peninsula

I have taken several group tours before with my high school. So when I compare Collette with EF or Explorica, Collette is far superior. The accommodations were excellent to the point that if others on the tour tried to compare them with USA accommodations I explained to them that for Europe standards, these were 5 star. My son and I were VERY impressed with the accommodations.The meals included were very good as well. When Collette covered the dinner costs, we all had a choice of wine, beer or another beverage. Our tour manager was okay, but I got the sense that he was an introvert in an extrovert's job. When I have done other tours, the manager was a people person and appeared to relate to people better. For example, the majority of the tour group transported to the airport very early in the morning, My son and I were leaving later so Collette provided a separate car. When we arrived to our gate, I saw our tour manager across the hall talking to someone else (looked like another tour manager). I waved and he acknowledged me. I did not want to interrupt their conversation so we sat down across the way (maybe 10 meters) away. The tour manager went on chatting for about 30-40 minutes and never took any initiative to come over and wish us safe travels, etc. This is odd because any other tour managers I have worked with would have done that. He wasn't unfriendly, but there were several examples like this throughout the tour. The only other thing that bothered me about the tour was that after we left Killarney one day, Collette gave us almost an hour to shop at Moriarity's. This was crazy ridiculous. It was a small store and several of us commented that Collette or the tour manager must get a percentage of the sales from Moriarity's. Later in the tour, we went to the Cliffs of Moher and only had two hours to hike and eat. It was so beautiful there and I wish there had been four hours (at minimum) scheduled for that site. Personally, my son and I could have stayed there for most of the day. Still the value for the money was excellent and I would recommend Collette to anyone. We will probably use them again.