Shades of Ireland From $2,199 pp*

The tour of the Republic of Ireland was well organized, and sites were beautiful. Our travel hostess was unusually knowledgeable which made each stop even more meaningful. The hotels were clean, elegant, with beds and pillows very comfortable and bathrooms very accessible. Every detail of the trip was prepared in advance making the experience flawless.

Even though the cliffs of Mohr were socked in by the weather the powerful wind and piercing rain added drama to the stark severity of the cliffs and rough water. We had four days of beautiful sunshine and enjoyed the gardens around the Blarney castle and the amazing sheep dogs.

I have nothing but good things to say about April ,our tour guide. She was friendly efficient and caring.The hotels and food were of very good quality, clean and well maintained. The tours were interesting and well prepared.

Everything, including food and hotels were of good quality, well prepared and maintained ..the tour guide April was efficient, friendly and interesting.

Tour was amazing, tour guide did a great job bringing the history to life. Enjoyed all our stops

For me it was The Blarney Stone and sheep farm

I had an amazing time with Collette! We had an excellent guide, stopped at all the highlights of Ireland, and at some great food. If you're looking for a great overview of the country, look no further.

The Cliffs of Moher were hands down the best part of the tour!

The tour manager and bus driver were awesome. Accommodations were top notch.

The tour manager was very personable and cared about what we wanted to see. He cared about each traveler's safety and time.

Everything was perfect; tour guide, lodging, meals, sites and locations. Couldn't have been better

Castles and scenery. Loved seeing how people actually lived in castles and Ireland is such a beautiful country

Our tour guide, Rebbeca Bradley, did an awesome job. Our bus driver Mike also did an awesome job. All of our guides were very informative. Hotels were top notch. Had a wonderful time.

Tour guide in N Ireland, Mr Ronan, Blarney stone and the cliffs

Collette tours are always well planned while allowing for free time as well. The hotels for the Ireland tour were top notch.

The medieval banquet was a highlight activity. The Cliffs of Moher were the scenic highlight. I also enjoyed hearing fro the local guides in Belfast.

Yes, I would recommend them.

Everything went well. Barbara Hunter was excellent.

They hired an enthusiastic tour guide, who loved Ireland and its history. We saw a lot. We tried a lot. I would have liked a longer trip so we didn't have to hurry so much, but for the time we had it was great.

I wanted to see Ireland. The tour did that. I remember getting blown away at the cliffs of Mohr, a great dinner in a castle, a bog village, Irish wolfhounds.

Everyone was wonderful, knowledgeable and professional.

Every city , county and tour stop . Cliffs of Mohr was exceptional as well as Dublin !

Our tour of the Irish republic and our tour guide and our driver were all excellent.

All of them were excellent

The tour itself was very comprehensive, but the Tour Manager, Barbara Hunter and coach driver, John made it extra special. Barbara asked us what our interests were so she could include those into the tour. The city tour guides were all excellent and added a bit of humor to early mornings and rainy, windy weather. Accommodations were first rate. The travel connections were very good and we had a very nice travel group.

Talking to the Irish people. Listening to Barbara on tour and Jack in Waterford talk about the history while seeing it. Favorite places are Waterford and Killarney.

Everything was perfect. Barbara Hunter great tour guide. Wished we had overnight in Galway. Disappointed so quick.

Sheep farm. Cliffs of Mohr. Hallway

Customer Service was great before the trip, during the trip. Clear directions on where to be and when. Review of trip with a Collette rep was great.

Blarney Castle, Cliffs if Mohr, Mideaval banquet

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. John Fitzgibbon our tour director was very knowledgeable, entertaining, and professional. The hotels were wonderful, our coach was squeaky clean and comfortable. The Cabra Castle was a highpoint.

Staying at the Cabra Castle was a real highlight. The Cliffs of Moher were also elect a liar.

Sarah was great and very well versed in what she does. She know a lot about the country she is in. When we travel with Collette again we would love to have her again.

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The tour was full of fun and very informative. I have recommended Ireland and Collette to friends when I tell them about my tour of Ireland. The pictures I brought back with me helps me to tell the story. We were blessed with good weather, except for one day. Took the optional tours, did not want to miss anything. Local tour guides were fantastic, too.

I liked looking out the bus window while listening to History/Culture/Folklore of Ireland. I noticed a lot of lonely ruins, imagined more stories. I want to learn more about Ireland and her people.

I got the biggest kick out of the sheep farm in Ring of Kerry. That was amazing.

Yes I left a little of Ireland in my heart

The trip was very organized . We wouldn’t have ever seen all the beautiful sights and met the fun people we traveled with if we had gone on our own !

We really enjoy the dinner at the Cabra castle!

Fiona and drivers were great

Fiona and Kayla!!!!!!!!!!

It was more than I could have imagined from beginning to end!

The tour was well planned and easy. They let us know what was next and what time. It was nice to have nothing to worry about.

This was our first experience with Collette. It was not without problems but Collette was quick to remedy them and alleviate my concerns.

The tour was filled with memorable sights, fairly fast paced, plenty of choices as far as food selections and activities. Hotels were top tier and no problems with transportation or luggage. Manager and driver were exceptional.

Trip was well managed, our guide was amazing. The coach driver was skilled and professional. The Hotels were 1st rate. It was as advertised. Would travel with Collette again.

The trip was as advertised. That is not always the case. From beginning to end, all went smoothly. There was not one particular experience that was memorable. Our tour guide made every day fun and worry free.

Our tour guide, Conor Delaney, was excellent. His knowledge of History was excellent, and really added to my experience. I loved every site that we visited. Dinner in a Medieval castle was one highlight, as was the Blarney Castle. I loved the events of the last evening....dinner in a pub, and entertainment with an Irish Stepdancer who has performed with Riverdance. Also, the Irish music was wonderful. One request would be to add one more hour of self exploration , (and shopping ) during village and city stops. I understand time constraints, but would have loved a tourof Trinity University.

Dinner in a Medieval castle, Blarney Castle, Cliffs of Moher, St. Patrick's Cathedral. I loved the Hostory information provided by oir tour guide, Conor Delaney, plus his sense of Humor

This was a great trip. We were most impressed with the tour of the entire island.

The best parts were the interactions with Irish citizens and the scenery.

If all their travel guides locally are as good as the one we had (Fiona in Ireland) - they're outstanding. However their air travel booking agents need to do a better job.

Our tour in Ireland was wonderful - we have a terrific local guide (Fiona) - would travel with her again in a minute. But the trip there and back wasn't so great. On our way there the entertainment system on the plane had trouble all the way over (all 7 hours)- the way back we were routed through an extra city (Philly) and the plane from Dublin to Philly had it's entertainment system down completely for the entire flight (7 hours). There was a 2 hour delay in Charlotte and til we got home I was upset and exhausted. Couldn't we have been routed through Chicago so it would have been direct both ways? Would have much rather have had a bus ride to Chicago and only had one plane to deal with both ways. But aside from that our tour of Ireland was wonderful.

The trip was great. Our guide Conor was the best!! His personality and caring ways were very welcome. Also Frank the bus driver was exceptional. The only thing I would say is when we attended the travel information meeting before the trip we were told by the Collette representative we could use US currency everywhere. That was not the case. Our guide assured us we must have euros. A day and a half after the trip began he was able to find us a place to cash US currency into euros. This made a lot of us uncomfortable, not to have any money for tipping or anything.

The landscaping was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the border collie heard the sheep.

Our tour guide Barbara Hunter was fabulous! She did everything to make our trip as enjoyable & memorable as it possibly could be! I would highly recommend her! Getting to tour Northern Ireland was amazing & added to our wonderful trip& experience! We would recommend Collette as a great tour company!

Sleeping in a castle, Northern Ireland including the Giants Causeway! Everything in general!

Everything was well organized with efficient and knowledgeable guides and driver.

We can't pick out 1 moment ....the scenery and overall trip was full great experiences.

The service and interest in the experience of clients was noteworthy and appropriate. Memorable moments occurred daily and guests did not have to fret over the details. The tour manager, driver and locals were all dedicated to enhancing our experience.

Enchanting mix of vistas, passions and fantasies.

Couldn’t find our guide shen there was problem with room and to add insult to injury we were bumped off our flight home. Added ten hours to an already long travel day.

Waterford hotel and town. And Killarney were terrific!

The tour was excellent from start to finish! I would recommend them to anyone!

The trip of my lifetime, doubled by sharing with two of my daughters!!

We thought everything was well organized. Our tour guide Sarah Sweeney did an excellent job and was always upbeat.

Loved the diversity of the tours. Big cities, countryside, ocean, lakes and mountains. Loved them all.

Excellent tour manager, well placed hotels, and efficient use of time

Many favorites! Killarney, Dublin and the music!!

The trip was very good. We saw lots of every interesting place. I like history and we got a large amount of it. The guide and driver were both very good . They kept us on time and had a good use of time.

The trip was different in place to go and see. However, the breakfast timing sometimes left things to be desired. We were times to be there. It was often wrong and crowed with other tour groups at the same time. I had one issue of not being able to control the heat in the rooms. Then we were often hot and uncomfortable. The hotels should give instructions on how heating works. Not just a fly by the seat of yor pants.

The tour manager was wonderful, always advising us what we could see and do everywhere we went. Asked each of us if we had specific things we were looking for, and helped us find them or see them. The bus driver was nothing short of miraculous. He was always friendly and treated everyone courteously. I felt very safe in his hands.

the tour was a wonderful way to see the most we could in the short span of time we had. It packed in so many wonderful memories, i can’t find just one memorable moment... they were all memorable.

Loved the tour!!! Very well managed! Sherry was very knowledgeable in Irish history which made the tour very interesting.

No one thing stands out, just loved everything!!

everthing was so great from flight,rooms.trips.to the bus driver and then our guide.Steve was the best so knowledgeable. We loved our trip and have recommended Collette to friends and family.

the cliffs, such a good variety. loved it all

All the places we toured were very interesting and so beautiful. The hotels were excellent and the food was wonderful.

The Cliffs of Moher were breath taking.

Our guide Steve Mayer as extremely helpful and knowledgeable. In our opinion he made our trip the wonderful experience that it was. He is an asset to your company. Our bus driver Mickey was fantastic as well.

Loved our tour guide he was fantastic. His vast knowledge of the country was amazing. He went above and beyond on a daily basis to ensure that the trip went well for everyone. He is an asset to your company. We especially enjoyed our accommodations at the intercontinental in Dublin. We could have used a bit more time in Dublin to tour the museums etc... we also could have see more time at the mid evil museum.

it was well organized. There was the right amount of free time with planned events. The tour manager was very knowlegeable and helpful and got to know each of us. I liked that Collette managed our luggage at the hotels since they were sometimes older with lots of steps. I would say the hotels had very high tubs and although not an issue for me there were older people on our tour that it was a problem for. The Collette person inthe states that gave us the overview befeore we went needs to address pick pockets as my room mates wallet was stolen on a Dublin St. Need to keep bags on the front of your person and not on the back-- and if you have credit/debit cards with you write the numbers down, expiration and 3 digit code on back and keep in suitcase or other place not with the cards. Makes replacing much easier. The Restaurants were all excellent and food at hotels wonderful.

The local guides were fun. They provided a lot of great stories about the local traditions and jokes and history. Transportation was fine and good driver on our bus. No toilet though but the stops were fine and tour manager made sure we knew the plan for the days well in advance and reminded us several times.

Our tour leader, Shelly was just amazing as was also our bus driver, Tony. Everything was organized. She gave very detailed instructions as well as interesting history. The places we stayed were great, the food very good and the activities interesting and fun. Ireland was a beautiful country. For me I would have liked 2 more days in between to just be able to explore and take in the culture. I think we also by serendipity had a great group of people, we all enjoyed each other and were interested in each other.

Epic Museum & Countryside: Epic museum for the story of the Irish Immigration around the world. The Irish countryside, so gorgeous, pastoral and staying at Cabra Castle, what a special treat!

We would definitely do another tour with Collette. Everything was great, from the hotels being top notch, restaurant choices excellent, to all of the locations and destinations. The only thing that could have been better would be the seating on the flights. Most parties were not even sitting together. I had my 12 year old with me and we were separated initially. I realize that the airlines control this however maybe this is something that Collette can work more closely with the airlines to ensure passengers are seated better. Including elderly people not being sent to the last rows in the back of the plane. A Collette agent did fix our seating so that my daughter was with me prior to our flight date. That was very helpful.

Already stated in the above section

Extremely organized; we saw way more on tour than we could ever have seen on our own.

We loved the trip and all the stops. Excellent experience

Great trip, well planned excellent guide

Ring of Kerry, Dublin, Irish pubs in the evening

Very organized.

Great tour. The hotels were very nice and in good locations. There was a good mix of scheduled time and time on our own.

They were prompt, kind and informative.

I enjoyed the company on the tour. I met some wonderful people including our tour guide and coach driver. The sights were beautiful and the amount of time we were allowed to stay at each sight was perfect. I was with my mother and it is a trip we will cherish forever.

Great attention to detail; well planned; exceptional people. Would recommend to anyone.

Service was a little lacking at our first hotel.

Everything from start to finish was very timely. Very organized. Many interesting things to see and do. Accommodations were very good.

Blarney Castle, Cliffs of Moher, overnight in Cabra Castle. Carriage ride. Farm tour

The attention to detail was spot on. Our tour guide couldn't have been better. The tour was fantastic.

Kalarney was our Favorite. The lake, the town, the show

Great way to see the country in a coach that’s above Hedgerows and u don’t have to worry about driving on the left. Fantastic guide and driver. Never had to touch our Luggage. Hotel check in and out was managed beautifully and hotel rooms were nice and centrally located. Most meals were covered and quite delicious. Couldn’t have been better

Kerry ring and visit to sheep farm to watch border collies work and view a sheep shearing

Tour guide was the best. The tour itself was well organized and well orchestrated.

I loved staying in the Castle. But I also enjoyed the sheep herding demonstration, and the visit to Waterford.

Booking flight 1 year in advance should have included seat selection. Why we all weRe put in rear of plane is a mystery to me. On return flight I had 2 very large people behind me, and was asked by a not very pleasant attendant not to put my seat back because it would hit them! The result was the most uncomfortable 8 hours I have ever experienced on a flight. There was also 1bathroom out of commission for almost have the flight. Another bathroom had no paper of any kind and paper trashed on floor. When I brought this to attention of attendant, she sad “I don’t clean bathrooms “. Also, tea was lukewarm and food inedible. And finally, we waited over an hour for our baggage upon return.

Cliffs stop and cathedrals. However in my opinion too many hotels and too much motor coach time. I felt like each I lived out of a suitcase for the entire time. One hotel , the George, Wes not good. Ireland was beautiful and the optional excursions were great.

Definitely would recommend Collette to others. You checked with us for preferences, travel insurance cost was reasonable, communication was excellent.

Tour manager was excellent. He provided us with much history, current events. He described places we would be visiting to help us know what to focus on. Several people on trip were ill with colds. He exhibited caring and always asked how they were doing.

Well organized with a tour guide that truly knew his work

It is difficult to choose one location. We really enjoyed visiting the Cliffs of Moher and Blarney Castle.

Our Collette Tour "Shades of Ireland Featuring Northern Ireland" was well organized and very informative. Our Tour Manager, Sean and driver Fergal were excellent and the coach was comfortable and very clean.

The views were amazing and all of the stops and organized activities were interesting. Being my first trip to Ireland, it was all memorable and the tour provided an excellent overview of Ireland. In addition, the accommodation was generally very good although some of the rooms were disappointing as they were very small and overlooked parking garages. The restaurants chosen for the included dinners were excellent.

Our tour director, Sean Curran, and driver, Fergal, truly made what was already a good experience into a truly memorable one. Fergal’s professionalism, excellent driving skills and unfailing patience and politeness made the travel very relaxed and comfortable. Sean’s breadth and depth of knowledge of Ireland’s past, present and future made the places we saw come alive and become relevant and topical in ways I am still realizing, as I listen to the news about Brexit. His anecdotes and willingness to be helpful, to go that extra mile, all made a big difference on the trip. I cannot recommend Sean and Fergal highly enough, and would be privileged and honoured to travel with them again.

The Irish Night of singing, dancing and playing and the Medieval Night in a15th century castle were both hugely enjoyable. During Medieval Night, we were seated with a local Irish family, and it was an excellent opportunity to chat with them and get their viewpoints on current events.

The tour was very well organized. The Tour Manager was extremely knowledgable and passionate about Irish history and culture. The bus driver was very talented .

All aspects of the tour were excellent.

Well organized. Tour ran very smoothly; on time every day. We saw and enjoyed all the highlights of Ireland. We recommend the Shades of Ireland tour to anyone who wants to get the most (and the best) out of their time in Ireland. P. S. Be sure to ask for Dave Lyle as your guide!

Dave Lyle. Knowledge and patient.

David and Tom were wonderful. Smooth bus ride. David great with his knowledge and guidance. Very caring.

Every day was detailed out the night before. So no surprises the next day. Enjoyed the description of the towns and history.

We enjoyed everything about our experience with Collette. We had no worries about finding things of interest to do in Ireland & yet we had free time to see other things. We will travel with them again!

Tour Manager was a fun person. We enjoyed so many things about our trip. One of the highlights was Gaelic Roots show. We also enjoyed very much the sheepdog demonstration.

all things were good

all aspects of the tour were good

Fun experience worth the time. Wanted more time to tour 1016-1921 sights in Dublin

Just. One??tour of Waterford & Cliffs of Mohur

Yes, I would recommend them for another trip.

The Gaelic Roots live show was the highlight

Ann, Steve, and Donnel were awesome. They really made the trip.

I loved the castles and scenery!

Tour was great. The problem I encountered was on the way home with a delayed flight and no one to drive me from the airport home.

Well organized and managed in a professional manner. Favorite experience , enjoying the company of others in our tour group.

Trip was. Very organized. Guides were excellent. I personally thought that the group was too large. We didn’t get a chance to mingle enough.

Trip we’ll organized Driver of bus very Pleasant

They were so thoughtful and helpful They went out of their way to do things for the whole group.

Stayed in some nice hotels.. Loved the carriage ride.

Collette tours is my favorite and I’ve been with a few tour companies For me most are structured from morning to night, with Collette I get some free time to explore on my own and taste the cuisine and shop where I’m at my leisure Tour guides have always helped me to find points of interest while sightseeing on my own, they find and recommend the best places for food or souvenirs I highly recommend Collette Vacations

Collette covered everything I wanted to see and then some I’ve had better tour guides with Collette on all my trips with them I think this tour guy was knowledgeable but lacked patience with the older folks All in all my trip to Shades of Ireland was fabulous, the people, the food exceptional... I definitely will go back

I loved the country side part of the trip. I would have preferred to spend less time in Dublin and more time doing some stops along the coast lines, A lot of countryside was saw from the bus, coastal lines I would have loved to have 5 min stops to take pics. Most of pictures from inside the bus have reflections, The drivers rearview mirror is in the way of doing pictures out of the front of the bus, one particular side excursion was horrible. It was the Spirit of Derry. They crammed 43 people into one room. And one guy put on a show playing a couple of people that I thought was just dumb, People in the back could not see and my dad in the back row could not halfway hear. The food that was served afterwards was horrible. The appetizer was lacking, the stew was to salty to eat and the my dessert the meringue was pretty much just whipped cream with 2 tiny pieces of meringue. when we asked for more water and napkins, the waiter rudely said do you need anything else so I can stop coming over here! All the time I could see the two waiters, Only two for 43 people and there were eating and drinking. I would not recommend this activity. Especially for $80.00 We were all expecting a show meaning not just one person acting out a few people. OVER PRICED!!

The best could be the Cliff of Moher and the Giants Causeway The City Hotel was HORRIBLE

One of the best trips I have ever taken. It was well planned and executed.

One of the best trips I have ever taken. It was well planned and executed.

I most certainly would recommend Collette to friends and family. I was amazed at how well things fell in place with such ease.

Killarney the 2 night stay, the jaunting car and the boat ride to Innis Fahlen was lovely.

John is a wonderful tour manager. He took care of every detail and got all 45 of us on the bus and on our way to each stop without a hitch. Damian is a skillful and professional coach-driver who kept our safety his main concern.

Our 9-day tour encompassed the entire Republic of Ireland with many of the great cities, their landmarks and the breathtaking beauty of the countryside. My most memorable experience was our last night's stay in Cabra Castle.

Everything was handled very professionally with just the right touch of personal attention. I would & have been recommending that others travel with Collette.

As a first time traveler to Ireland, it was relaxing to have someone with knowledge of the area plan the agenda and arrange the transportation. All the details were handled for us and that meant we were able to just enjoy the entire experience. The tour of Kilkenny Castle was one of the highlights of the trip and so was all of the amazing gardens at Blarney.

Erin our tour guide was excellent. I felt the sites we saw and the time we had to explore them was perfect. Food and drink was plentiful and delicious. Only one day did I feel there was too much bus. It was a wonderful experience for my first time out of the USA.

I kissed the Blarney Stone! And I really liked Dublin.

The main guide for the trip was friendly & helpful. Details were handled and as a participate on the trip all you had to worry about was enjoying yourself.

I don’t have one particular experience. I liked it all

It was an amazing trip. From start to finish truly a trip of a life time.

An amazing experience truly a trip of a life time.

Great service

Great service college Denison good tour manager

The cities and the places we stayed at were great. The only criticism is the group of 44 was to large.

Staying at the the two castles.

Our Tour Guide,Collete was the best guide we have experienced in all our previous guided tours. I know she is a contracted professional so I strongly encourage Collette to book her as often as possible. Hotels were very good, food was tasty. Would have preferred maybe one less destination and more time spent at the others. Collete made this tour memorable.

Trip up the endless steps to kiss the Blarney Stone at the Killarney Castle.

John Fitzgibbon was not only a knowledgeable storyteller, he got to know everyone and was very accommodating. The rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit!

They made plenty of stops so everyone could stretch their legs, etc. The scenery in Northern Ireland around the coast was a highlight.

Airline reservations could have been handled better we were a group of 14 and two couples air reservations were linked together so only one person could check in for everyone. Very inconvenient when they live in different states. Several in our group did not get to sit next to partner on plane. Would have been nice if we could have talked directly to air department rather than a go between. Kept getting emails giving flight information from the airlines that we originally were flying with but cancelled and went with another airline that we didn't get information from. Spirit of Derry and Medieval optional tours were a waste of money. Should have been given free water rather that have to pay for it. Best local guide was in Belfast. Derry/Londonderry guides were giving sad personnel stories to get more tips also too political. Time of rest stops were right on and nice places. Bus seating rotation was a plus where everyone got to sit in different places on the bus. Very nice hotels and bus. Took care of sick people most of the time. A lot of people on this tour got sick.

Blarney Castle but should of had more time there. Cliffs of Moher, Inishowen Peninsula and Malin Head. See the back country.

Our Tour Guide, Peter Murphy was fantastic. Very knowledgeable about Irish history, landmarks, etc. He was very thoughtful and a great sense of humor as well. Our coach driver, Fergal McDermott was a phenomenal driver. He maneuvered that bus incredibly!

The tour was fantastic. We got to see all the sights that were promised. It was a special treat to attend a performance of Riverdance. I especially loved the Blarney Castle and was able to kiss the Blarney Stone. The coastline of Ireland is beautiful and we especially loved the northern Ireland Malin Head. Gorgeous. Our accommodations we all extremely nice. We were very impressed with the whole tour!

Every consideration was made for quality accommodations, food, sites, and opportunities. Peter's information and access to last minute RiverDance performance was great. His professionalism, even though he was also struck by the "bug" that was passed through the group and affected many was evident. Fargel and Peter's effort to stop the "bug" was appreciated.

There wasn't one site that I wanted to see that I didn't. We loved the drive through the countrysides, the stops in little villages, the tours of the big cities, the history, the ongoing dialogue by Peter.

Great time with everyone involved. First international trip and you made everything so easy. Hotels were excellent.

Kilkenny was my favorite. Horse buggy ride, boat trip and the town. Hotel was excellent also.

Erin was wonderful and very articulate!

Excellent tour person, clean coach!

Erin did an outstanding job organizing our tour. I very much enjoyed the trip and the places that we visited. I would definitely travel with Erin and Collette again!

Great Trip. Well Planned with excellent follow through.

The trip was wonderful. Our bus driver was good and our tour lady knew everything.

The cliffs of Mohar were spectacular. The night at the Cabra Castle was a wonderful experience.

Well organized & our tour guide, Kim, did an outstanding job. I would not hesitate to take a tour with her being our guide.

The whole trip experience surpassed my expectations. Well done Collette.

Collette was the complete package. It allowed us to take a worry free vacation while visiting a country of my Wife's ancestry. We were concerned at first that we would not get a lot out of the trip and never traveling with Collette before we found out how wrong we were. I even took an at home course on Celtic History to be more aware of Ireland. Not that the course was a waste of time but so much of what I learned was repeated by our very knowledgeable tour manager and the individual tour guides arranged by Collette. We stayed at the best hotels and ate at only proven restaurants. All this and we still had enough free time to enjoy places and people on our own. If you are traveling and just want to relax check with Collette first.

Kelarny and the ring of Kerry. The town was interesting and enjoyable. The tour of the ring of Kerry included all the vistas imaginable with stops along the way to make the trip memorable.

Erin was an awesome tour manager. Well informed, always available, very professional yet she felt like a wonderful friend. We stayed in nice hotels, stayed busy and made the most of our time there.

Loved the optional medieval dinner and loved staying in the castle the last evening.

I was picked up on time, from and to home, from the airport to the hotel. Our guide was fantastic. The program was well space, with a lot of new experiences every day.

The location of the hotel was central, well located in Dublin, the best was the one night stay in a castle.

The most concern to us was the end of trip, we had to arrange transportation back to the airport at Dublin from Kingscourt. We were not informed of this until we asked, and the problem of not receiving our trip package.

Cliffs of Moher, could have spent more time there.

We had a wonderful trip to Ireland with Collette. No hiccups with this trip. Beautiful weather!

Our memorable experience was the Jaunting ride! Patrick was a wonderful tour guide, new all his trees in the National Park. Bob his horse, was fabulous also.

Very responsive , informative

The tour was fantastic- we were very well taken care of.

John Fitzgibbon was an excellent guide. He is so knowledgeable about Ireland and very well organized.

Seeing the dog round up the sheep.

Tour Director and coach driver were first class, which also might describe the hotel and meals as well. The tour touched all the spots first time visitors should experience and still left enough on your own time to get away on our own, although the group we went with were all great companions.

Cliffs of Moher and St. Patricks cathedral.

The service was impeccable! From pick-up at our home for ride to airport to when we were back home, the service was great!

We loved the Cliffs of Moher!

Hotels, Entertainment, Collette tour guide Jacki and local guides were excellent! Very organized and accommodating. Very busy tour up and out early , totally worth it . Bus ride very comfortable

Seeing the landscape and sheep farms , just beautiful. Blarney Stone & woolen mill really great. Cliffs of Moher breathtaking

Yes, I would recommend Collette. I took the Ireland tour with our Senior Center and expected 9 days packed with every Irish experience possible in a safe way. Our Coach Driver, Ronan, was a superb driver in every situation. Our schedule filled the days with several experiences and our tour guide Anita made sure we were expected at each stop.

Probably my favorite part of the tour was staying the night at Cabra Castle. The dinner was superb and our rooms were laid out as if we were staying in the actual castle. The grounds were a fairy tale princess setting and I was enchanted the entire time.

Things were rather chaotic. Arrived and had to wait over 2 hrs. to get into my room when others had their rooms right away. We were told times to be at the bus, then those times changed. Same with breakfast and putting out luggage. Lots of down time especially the day of the distillery tour and nothing to do as we were no where near anything BUT the distillery. Lots of walking and LOTS of older people who had trouble walking. Tour guide refused to wear a uniform and was hard to identify at times. Bus driver was great and VERY professional. I love Ireland and have been there before. This was certainly NOT the best trip. On the coach, we had assigned seats. They said it was to meet new people. BUT we always sat with the same person and near the same people. I feel we should be able to sit wherever we want to sit and with whomever we want to. I certainly met no one new with the seating arrangement other than the person sitting beside me. AND, we sat beside each other the entire time.

I really enjoyed the time in Killarney where the location allowed us to walk and go places during free time. In Limmerick, however, we were near nothing.

Attentive service, Sean and Patrick went over and above to accommodate us. I would recommend this tour.

Cliffs of Moher, Killarney, Dublin

Our group of 45 was too big. Half needed additional assistance getting off and on bus and climbing stairs. Hotels were in great locations. Meals provided were nice. Tour guide and driver very professional.

The Guinness tour was great.

wonderful tour guide, busy but still had free time to explore

Limerick was the least liked area-not many restaurants or shopping at the hotel. Everything else was great in all ways.

Appreciated efficient organized activities which provide us with full experience of the areas as promised. Knowledgeable tour guide enhanced our exlerience & professionalism outstanding!

Cliff of moher, sheep farm tour.o9

I would recommend them.

Everything was very well planned

Well planned tour with a great tour director and driver. Fun and informative

I always dreaded the thoughts of a bus tour but this was great. Fun staff made it absolutely wonderful.

The tour was wonderful as were the guide and bus driver.

Seeing the dog round up sheep and then seeing the sheep being herded.

Here are the top ten reasons we loved Ireland with Collette: 10. The schedule and flow of activities. It was nice to have so many planned and unplanned options to choose from. 9. The accommodations were lovely and centrally located. We easily explored on our own without concern about getting lost or feeling unsafe. 8. Our tour mates were fantastic. We enjoyed making so many new friends and truly felt like they were just an extension of our family by the time the tour concluded. 7. The food quality and service was amazing! Whether it was at restaurants selected by Collette or places we chose on our own, it was so much fun trying new dishes. 6. The flexibility in our bus seat assignments. It was exciting to discover Ireland through various perspectives, and we were given ample time to stop for breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime photos. 5. The expertise of the local guides – whether it was a walking tour, carriage ride or boat excursion, we found each guide to be knowledgeable and engaging. 4. The shopping….oh my goodness, I loved the shopping. We returned home with gifts for the family, but more importantly, we each made a purchase at Moriarity’s that we’ll always treasure. 3. The Guinness and the Irish coffees – it’s true that they both taste better in Ireland, and we couldn’t agree more. While we enjoying visiting local Irish pubs near our home, they don’t measure up to the real thing. 2. Barry Hanley, our bus driver – he was so polite and helpful and greeted us daily with a big smile. His driving ability, however, is off the charts. There wasn’t a day he didn’t surprise us by maneuvering the bus in the tightest locations. He was so awesome, we dubbed him #BarryGetsItDone. And the #1 reason we loved Ireland with Collette??? Our incredible tour guide, John Fitzgibbon! What to say about John?? He’s professional, polished and absolutely endearing. His knowledge is so impressive, but not only about the various cities and landmarks which are part of the tour, but all the little Easter eggs he speckled throughout with recommendations of books and movies about the areas we were visiting. He took such great care of everyone and did so with a smile and an easy laugh. We loved his quick sense of humor, his genuine friendliness, and the laundry list of suggestions he offered to make the overall experience more memorable. John had tips about everything: from getting in line to kiss the Blarney Stone to how to manage the airport when heading for home. He is an absolute jewel, and we truly loved having him at the helm for our first Collette tour! He MADE out trip everything we expected and more. In route to the airport after learning of our engagement, he even wrote a limerick. Who does that?! John does! What a treasure you have with him!

Please see my earlier comments.

The tour director did a wonderful job of keeping us informed about every stop. We learned, laughed and always felt safe and secure.

The different ways Derry and Belfast were dealing with the “troubles”.

It was a trip of a lifetime! Dave (our tour guide) did an amazing job explaining the history of Ireland and all its places while Nick (our driver) was fantastic too! Everywhere we went was full of life and excitement. From the City of Dublin to the Ring of Kerry and Cliffs of Mohrer. I have already recommended Collette to several people.

Dave was a great tour guide. He took us to some amazing places and I learned a lot about the history of Ireland.

Dave was an excellent tour guide; we stayed in very nice hotels; had time to explore on our own; enjoyed the Waterford tour; wonderful Irish music, friendly people, beautiful country, great local guides, liked having optional excursions

Great tour guides were very informative; the scenery was spectacular; people were very friendly; music was very enjoyable; liked having optional excursions

Our tour guide, Sean, and driver JP, were exceptional and truly made the difference in this trip.

When we arrived in Dublin, I thought the historical walk and tour guide (retired garda) was amazing. However, when we went out into the rest of southern Ireland, the scenery and people were spectacular. Sean's knowledge of the history of Ireland gave us such a solid base of understanding. My husband and I so enjoyed this trip. I love hearing about the history and Sean and PJ answered any and every question we put to them. An exceptional Collette team (Sean and PJ) made for an exceptional trip!

Yes - Shades of Ireland - well-planned, fine tour guide and bus driver - beautiful scenery...

The scenery was gorgeous and the Irish people are so accommodating and helpful. Great food and drink as well.

We had a fabulous time on this adventure. Our guide Sarah and bus driver Tom were both fantastic! The tour covered all the highlights and it gave us a good sampling of Ireland. Now we know exactly where we might like to revisit and spend some time. For anyone looking for a comprehensive tour of Ireland this is the tour to take.

There were so many memorable experiences on this journey. Kissing the Blarney stone, visiting the historic churches and castles. Staying at Cabra Castle (I highly recommend staying an additional night. It was such a fabulous place), the cliffs of Moher, our horse drawn carriage ride in Killarney. The list goes on and on...

Helped me before and after formal tour. Showed compassion and caring along with efficiency and effectiveness

Favorite experience was actor/singer in Derry, arrangement of High tea in Derry and staying in haunted castle on last night. Of course the cliffs and Giants Causway are standards but they knew the little special secret spots.

Took care of everything--even trip to & from airport! Guide Sarah was superb, knowledgeable, organized & efficient. Saw & experienced so much culture & scenery, well detailed history & tips for our best experience in the next town. Hotels were gorgeous & quaint, top notch everything.

Fabulous guide Sarah, comfortable coach, interesting adventures, beautiful inns, manors & castles. Saw & experienced a majority of Ireland. Great tips along the way to make our stops most memorable. Explores cute towns, climbed beautiful cliffs, drank our share of Irish Coffee & beer! Wonderful variety of events & experiences. Landscape dotted with sheep, gorgeous homes & pounding turquoise blue seas were spectacular. Extremely informative narration & fun times.

It was our first ever coach tour and we were very pleased with the attention to detail, the places visited, the time allotted for tours, the transporation provided and the friendliness and knowledge of staff.

The historic cities and villages visited, the Cliffs of Moher, The Giant's Causeway and kissing the Blarney Stone

One night hotel were hard to do. Maybe skip a few towns.

Enjoyed all of Ireland and the weather was great.

Excellent excursion. Well planned and very organized. Excellent tour guide, bus driver, and hotels.

Outstanding selection of sites, each more memorable than the next.

Our tour manager, Kim Durham, was superb. We were an older group with some infirmities and some whining, and she was a rock star - kind, patient, funny, and encouraging.

The Mural Walk in Derry was so powerful, exactly what I had been hoping to experience by choosing a tour that included Northern Ireland. My husband and I walked the blocks and stopped at each mural, taking photos, reading the descriptions in our guidebook. The opportunity for some free time so that we could take this in at our own pace was so appreciated!

Everything was excellent. I would like maybe a little more time, hours that is, at some of the exhibits. The coach driver was excellent as was our guide, both were friendly and customer oriented and the guide was exceptional in all phases of the trip.

Cliffs of Moher and the Giants Causeway were my favorites but the scenery duding the road trips as well as the Titanic Exhibit.

The tour was well organized. Wonderful guide and numerous very interesting walking tours. Our tour guide was informative and pleasant did her best to accommodate varying needs of passengers.

We stayed in great hotels and were offered menu options in most.

A truly wonderful experience. The tour guide and bus driver were the best.

There are too many to select just one.

Tour manager was excellent and our driver was great. Itinerary for each day was always made clear and every day was very enjoyable. I would purchase a Colette tour in the future.

Loved the Irish House Party dinner and entertainment for our first night in Dublin. Also liked the stop at the sheep farm on the ring of Kerry. Killarney was a cute stop. Glad we had two nights. Would have preferred only one night in Limerick and would have liked to spend more time in Galway.

Well planned trip. Went with friends which helped to make it more fun. Ireland trip has been on my bucket list for years. I was so happy to see it didnt disappoint me. All the trip was great. But would have liked to have more time at Blarney Castle.

Not enough time at Blarney Castle.

Collette tours received a lot of pre-trip calls from me due to many questions I had during the months prior to our trip. They always handled them quickly and professionally. I appreciated the fact they knew what they were doing and how to address my inquiries. They experiences on the trip were fantastic! Our tour guide Fiona Lane and driver John were about the best you could ask for! The excursions we were part of once in Ireland were fun, funny and memorable. The accommodations were a cut above and exceeded our expectations.

Memorable experiences in a nutshell: Spending the week with my girlfriend! Blarney Castle (Yes I did kiss the stone!) Cliffs of Moher (Breathtaking!) Ring of Kerry Day shopping in different villages The Castles! Smithwicks Red Ale Tellamore D.E.W. whiskey Spending Euros like it was monopoly money! The friends made and the incredible tour guide and driver! Not to be negative, but two of the hotels didn't have A/C and one of them had broken A/C. One hotel gave us some fans to use which was a welcome fix! One hotel we needed to open the windows and it was downtown across from a club so it was noisy until about 2 AM. This was not horrible but it was a bit uncomfortable. Only mentioning it because if you don't know, you can't address it. It would not stop me from going again.

We enjoyed our tour very much. Great tour guide, etc. The only downer was the number of times we had to chance hotels. Not sure what you can do about that ?

the sheep ranch and border collies

I would definitely go on another Collette Tour. Our tour guide and driver were fantastic. They had great information about Ireland. They also had a wonderful sense of humor. It was so nice to just "go along for the ride" knowing that most everything was already planned and in place for us. Ireland was a lovely place to visit!

Touring Ireland was a marvelous experience. We loved the countryside vistas. The coastal areas were amazing as well. And, speaking of the food, it was Delicious!

Tour guides take such care to make sure everyone has a good trip.

Wish there had been more art, museums and history. Less shopping. Loved Galway, Waterford. Blarney grounds were amazing. Walking maps and restaurant recommendations would have been helpful on the days we were on our own.

The accommodations and dining were truly remarkable. Our tour guide and guest guides, were very educating and accommodating to enhance our knowledge of Ireland's history and culture.

Completely met and exceeded our expectations.

very organized & always on time

The tour gave us a good look at many places in Ireland & got to experience how wonderful the people of this lovely island are.

Tour manager was excellent. Steve made all the difference. Very well organized and just busy enough.

Out trip to and from the airport was first class. Everything was organized and informational. Bus driver was professional and bus accommodations were first class. Liked Killarney the best.

Amazing trip. Collette did great in choosing hotels, sights and restaurants. I was so impressed with everything!,

Everyday was my favorite experience. ireland is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Our tour guide traveled with us the entire time and was a wonderful source of information as well. I would definately use Collette to travel again!!

Flights, tour Manager, transfers here and in Ireland were very good. Hotels were excellent. No complaints at all.

We enjoyed everything. The tour was very well planned. John Fitzgibbons was very knowledgeable about everything and was very interesting to listen too.

From the beginning to the end, it was very nice. The pace for my husband and I was good. The hotels were comfortable; there was an initial blurb where everyone had a room after traveling over the ocean except for us and John Hogan took care of it right away. The bus was comfortable. The food was fine and sometimes great and of course, the Irish breakfast buffet was incredible, although I don't eat like that. The professionalism with the cleaning people and wait staff in all the hotels was wonderful. I don't think it's like that in the States but someone said it was because we were in 4 star hotels. I'm not sure about that. I originally stated that I would have liked to spend about 3 hours in a museum in Dublin but we did not have the time. All our education on Ireland and its history came from John Hogan, our guide, thank God. The people that we traveled with in our group were great and that was very important to me to socialize or why would you do a tour.

Everything was just about perfect.

One of the best tours I’ve ever experienced. I was pleasantly surprised everyday. Our tour manager and bus driver were so helpful and very friendly, Ireland is so beautiful and they both were so informative about the areas we traveled as well as the rich history it has. I would definitely book Collette again in the future.

There wasn’t one thing on the tour that wasn’t a favorite. Everyday was a fantastic day. Everyone should have an opportunity to do this.

Would definitely recommend this trip. A wonderful introduction to a beautiful country.

Visiting castles and actually staying in one even though it was for a short stay.

service, personnel, accommodations, everything 5 stars. would recommend to everyone.

the history of country. loved Trinity College Library.

Your trip was excellent in every way possible .Peter Munphy great and Kevin the great driver skills .

I learn a lot and we had fun.

The Ireland Trip was wonderful and mainly due to the fact that our Tour Guide, Mr. Peter Murphy and out Bus Drive, Mr. O'Donnell were absolutely AMAZING! The many areas we visited and the information we were given, were given in great detail! Both Mr. Murphy and Mr. O'Donnell were funny, entertaining and caringhelpful at all times. The Hotels were fabulous and the food just as good. Thank you to Collette Tours, Mr. Murphy & Mr. O'Donnell for making this once in a life-time visit to Ireland, the best trip we have ever had! Sincerely, Jim & Rae Cooper

The Cliffs of Mohr had to be the best Site in Ireland!

I had the best host: Peter Murphy throughout my Ireland experience. His knowledge and passion for the country, his heritage and his passion made this a very informative and extremely funny experience. He was engaging and kept track of the entire group. He would go through the daily itinerary with us. He is very organized and very much the professional. Kevin, our steerologist, was a very safe driver. He was polite, engaging as well. He always lent a hand when disembarking from his bus, a great safety for seniors! His bus was always clean.

I especially enjoyed the Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle, the carriage ride in Kilkenny, the medieval dinner and the Irish music and Riverdance programs.

This was a very organized and enjoyable tour. John Fitzgibbon was a terrific tour guide!

Enjoyed everything about the trip. Killarney and sheep herding were some of our highlights.

Travel agent was great and prepared us for traveling. Our tour guide was exceptional. Tour bus was comfortable but WiFi access would have been nice. Accommodation were good We had a great time and saw a lot of sights in our ten days. I look forward to another Collette tour

Great time but accommodations were average. Expected bathrooms to be more accommodating to seniors

We had a great trip through Ireland! The tour was extremely well organized and all of the activities were interesting and fun. I loved it!

My favorite was the jaunty car ride through the national park. Our driver was so personal and full of blarney!

All throughput the planning there was great communication. Representatives provided excellent service. My questions and concerns were dealt with in a timely and professional manner.

I felt the first day was kind of wasted. We got in too early and had nothing much to do as places were not open. Otherwise everything was well coordinated. I wish I had more time to spend in some of the places we visited.

John Fitzgibbon was a wonderful tour guide. He was so knowledgeable and had a wonderful Irish sense of humor! I will recommend Collette to all my friends!

So, so many! I loved the last night in the castle!

Great experience, accommodating trip.

Visiting the castles. Overall beautiful flowers. Clean countryside.

Great and enjoyable historical trip. Excellent tour guide and driver.

Nothing to complain about. I was able to see Ireland as I had seen it on TV. Kissing the Blarney Stone, the Cliffs of Moher, everything was wonderful.

Yes, I would buy from them again.

Well done. Our tour director was excellent!

Should have left from a hotel closer to the airport instead of Cabra Castle.We paid Collette for our departure transport and had to leave at 5 am for a 10:30 flight. Waited almost an hour for Delta check in to open.

Staying and dining at Markree Castle.

Saw everything that was advertised

Staying in Markree Castle was a wonderful experience.

We had a wonderful time on Shades of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was what we were looking for in a tour seeing all parts of The countryside more. The out of the way spots were jewels and beautiful. Kim our Tour Director and John our Coach driver could not have been better in their knowledge of the history of Ireland and driving those narrow roads safely.

Markree and Cabra Castle were excellent and magical places to stay. Malin Head, Giants Causeway, Farren’s Bar, beaches, mountains and the gorgeous countryside with cows ,sheep, etc.

My 6th overseas trip with Collette. If the other 5 would have had problems I probably wouldn't have done the 6th !

All tours with Collette have been excellent !

Not worth the money. All it was were long bus rides and eating. Would not recommend it. I have many other individual comments, but the tour guide wouldn't let us complete the printed survey and send it in.

No favorites - nothing stands out

Excellent. Organized tour guide.

Loved the Bruins and drive along the Atlantic coast.

The tour guide and the tour itself were wonderful. Would have liked a little more time in certain places. Also the hotels and food left a little to be desired. Otherwise enjoyed it immensely.

Excellent stops along beautiful country roads. Were able to see the countryside not just the cities and towns. Drove very scenic routes between stops.

Accommodations were great and so were the meals. After getting to Limerick the evening was ours, this was disappointing as everywhere closed early and there was nothing to do. Also the trip to Galloway seemed a long way to drive for lunch. Other than that the rest of the trip went well

Hotel at Dunloe was fabulous. Overall good tour but improvements would help

Love the Shades of Ireland Tour! It was well organized! Great Hotels, food and people! Ireland is a amazing country! Highly Recommend Collette Tours!

The Cliffs of Mohr and The Medieval Banquet!

Our tour guide was excellent! He was well informed and all our tours and transfers went smoothly. In fact, we felt spoiled!

Loved going to the sheep farm

I felt the service when we booked & any questions we had were handled well. The service from our tour guide (John Hogan) was second to none for the entire 12 days.

I liked the pace of the tour, the sites, & the activities.

ALL THE PEOPLE I TALKED TO FROM THE FIRST PERSON WHO ANSWERED QUESTIONS TO THE LAST PERSON WHO ICKED US UP AT THE AIRPORT AT HOME WERE WONDERFULLY PROFESSIONAL AND KNOWLEDGEABLE

I LOVED KILLARNEY I COULD ACTUALLY LIVE THERE WILL TRY TO GET BACK TO SPEND MORE TIME THERE

Top notch service all around. Fione the travel guide was wonderful!

The Shades of Ireland tour was remarkable! It had history, fantastic scenery, excellent food, great accommodations, Fiona, the tour guide was marvelous. Perfect trip all around!

The tour was organized very well. I especially appreciated the extra effort in transportation to and from the airport. We got delayed a day on our return trip and needed to change flights at the last minute. Customer service was able to contact and arrange for transportation through all of the changes.

The tour provided a wonderful experience to understand Ireland in a unique manner. Seeing the larger cities and more rural areas helped to capture the essence of Ireland. John Hogan, our tour guide, was exceptional in his service and knowledge (and humor). Lee, our drives was also excellent in getting us around the island. Our tour had the good fortune of incredible weather the entire tour.

Awesome tour everything was first class

Great tour Couldn’t be better

Best tour manager and bus driver ever!

The places we stayed in Ireland were good, but most hotels had high step-in tubs, which were unsafe for seniors. Seniors should be booked into rooms with only showers. Some were afraid to quest the high rubs and bathed from the sink. Not a pleasurable experience. Did not like the seat rotations! It's not fair to charge 'single travelers' more money than couples. Half way through a 2 week trip, it's good to include a hotel with an in-house laundry matt, rather than taking your laundry down the street in hand.

Yes the service was great

We had a great time and we had a lot of fun and great memories. Thank you

Guide was very knowledgeable ..helpful..engaging.. listened to our ideas... provided top service🍀🍀went the extra mile ❤️

A great group of people ! Interesting and informative and fun🍀

Excellent attention to detail from beginning to end.

Excellent service from beginning to end.

this trip did not live up to my expectations.

the whole experience from start to finish was poor.

The tour manager was exceptional and knowledgeable. The activities were fun and interesting! The weather was even perfect!

It was a perfect trip! Everything was exceptional!

Well organized with professional tour staff and drivers. Superb accommodations and meals with interesting upgrades available.

Overall tour was great - however, long bus ride from Limerick to Cliffs of Mohr and back seemed like a long day trip for lunch in Galway, and could’ve been better spent in Limerick area. Tour should’ve terminated in Dublin where it began.

When we called to book the trip the agent was very informative and answered all our questions.

The tour itself was great and we purchased the Midieval Feast which for $135.00 Canadian was a little bit pricey. We didn't purchase this initially but rather on the trip. We didn't want to miss out on anything but again I think it was too much for what it was.

4 star hotels,wonderful tour guide amazing bus driver. Travel was made easy. We saw all the important parts of the country with additional surprises.

Personalized service. Staying in a castle.

Excellent coverage of history, geography, people, customs. Tour mgr. and driver were excellent. Coach very comfortable. With a couple of exceptions, hotels were very good. The schedule was hectic at times.

The long room library at Trinity College in Dublin; music at Lansdowne Hotel in Dublin, County Donegal and Derry/LondonDerry town; Inishowen Peninsula and Malin Head; Giant's Causeway. Mostly, though, getting to know some of the local folks. Plan to return next summer and rent an apartment or small house for three or four weeks.

It was great to be taken from Madison to Chicago for the flight. And then picked up in Chicago and return back to Madison after the flight back from Ireland.

Cliff of Moher, and Ring of Kerry were my favorite sights. Would have like additional time too spend at some points of interest to enjoy the views.

Everything was well organized, tour guide friendly and knowledgeable and helpful. Would definitely travel only with Collette.

Can rely on Collette to deliver a great experience.

Better coordination of time with customer interests

Cliffs of Moher Stayed too long in some places and not enough time in others

They kept us informed all the way during the process from planning to getting us to the airport the last day.

The driver as well as our guide were really great and went beyond anything I expected.

Great tour!

Fabulous!! This tour was amazing. Well organized and fun. Our tour guide Michael was friendly, funny and knowledgeable. John was a great driver.

Great trip and the tea handled a baggage and plane situation as best that could be expected. Waiting for the trip insurance to see if we will be made whole.

Seemed to have good value.

Kim Durham was very good. I think she even went overboard in paying attention to everybody’s needs, especially on the last day! I wonder if she had time to rest. She was up very early in the morning so those who had early flights could get to the airport on time, and for us who had planned to go back to Dublin, she gave us detailed instructions on how to get there from our drop off point. And the group was enormous!

I would prefer staying longer at the different places and covering less ground than changing hotels almost every night. The manors we stayed in were really great.

It was our first time abroad and our first time with Collette. We could not have been happier with our experience.

Our tour guide was amazing, our coach driver was THE coachman of the year the duo made us want to stay longer and see more they were so knowledgeable and efficient and friendly and personable that we more than got our money's worth.

It was a great trip from beginning to end. All the agents I spoke with were very accommodating. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. He was very good at explaining our entire trip from times to meet, the hotels, where we were going each day, how long we would be somewhere, etc.

Our Ireland tour was fabulous. Our tour guide, Sean, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. He explained everything very well from meeting times to hotels, places we were visiting each day, etc. The Collette staff did an outstanding job explaining and reserving everything for us as well. Will definitely use your services again.

Service good, guide very knowledgeable, nice accomadations.

It would have been helpful if we would have had an introductory meeting to learn tour members names on the first night.

From booking to the end of the trip Collette was informative and keep us apprised of each step. Our driver and guide were excellent. Hotels were very accommodating and lovely.

Preface by saying our Driver and Guide were wonderful. Hotels were great and very accommodating. Tours were well planned as were the guides very knowledgeable.

I've traveled the world extensively; therefore, my 4-star rating is how I stack Collette Tours against other tour operators and outfitters I've used which include Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic, AMA Waterways, MAKOR Israel Group Tours, Asia To Africa Outfitters and Uncharted Outposts. Collette Tour representatives exhibited an efficient, customer oriented approach with 1st class vendors, i.e., hotels, buses, tour guides.

Overall, 12 days was too long, 8 days would have been more appropriate. The choice of group flights forced the group to miss the entire first day in Dublin with their arrival at 8pm. Thankfully, I arrived on my own flights at 8am and had the entire first day to tour Dublin. I would have been very disappointed had I not had the 2 full days in Dublin. Tour highlights were 2 days in Dublin, including St. Patricks Cathedral, Christ Church, Trinity College, the Book of Kells, the Kilmainham Prison and the Irish Music Show in The Den Bar after dinner in the Lansdowne Hotel. Beyond Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford and the Blarney Castle were all worth seeing as the roads were excellent and the length of bus rides were minimal. In addition, the final night in the Cabra Castle north of Dublin was a must see. Less enjoyable was Killarney to Belfast (southwest to northeast Ireland along the west coast), the sites to be seen were a poor trade off for the length of the bus rides and the condition of the roads. I would like to have had an extra night in Belfast with its rich history which would have afforded a walking tour of the shipping district and murals created by the IRA and less time at the Titanic tourist hotspot. While the hotels were all very good, I would prefer to stay at hotels in the towns and villages where walking to sites and night life is available. Two of the hotels were so remote that walking to city venues was prohibited. I strongly encourage you to include the Kilmainham Prison Tour in Dublin in every tour you conduct in Ireland. The tour explains the history of Ireland from 1840 - present day which lays an excellent foundation for the rest of the trip.

John was an excellent tour guide with lots of interesting information about Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. He proud to be Irish and wants visitors to learn as much as possible about Ireland just as we Americans want to tell visitors about America. He is a very good representative for Ireland. He and Tommy (bus driver) were always very professional, very pleasant, helpful and extremely patient. Tommy is an excellent driver. We drove through a lot of light rain. Not once did I feel concerned about how he was driving. John made sure we knew the directions to our rooms in each hotel. He also guided us through the entry to the Heathrow airport and got us to the proper level after we had checked in. This was not something he had to do.

This was my second trip to Ireland and was much better than my first one. It was with a different tour company. I liked St Patrick’s.

Everything with our tour was completely smooth. Our tour guide was excellent and knew a great deal about the country, the sites we were going to see and a great deal about sites that weren't on our tour. She knew a tremendous amount about the history of Ireland and made sure we understood all of the events that took place in the history of the country many centuries ago as well as current history. There were absolutely no problems with any transportation that Collette arranged and the hotels were extremely satisfactory.

Everything went extremely smoothly from the time we were picked up by the Limo arranged for us by Collette until we arrived back home at where the Limo had picked us up initially.

Guide was terrific...very informed and personable. The tour included many important sites.

Price is reasonable and most things are included. I enjoyed the Irish Dancing.

This is my third trip with Collette and it was as amazing as the others. John and Mickey were the best.

Sights were amazing, Kissing the Blarney stone was an experience. the castle visits were great and the Celtic dancing shows were unbelievable how fast the dancers could move their feet.

This trip was very well planed and the services offered were great! Our travel guide Sarah was very helpful with everything one could think of. She has a great sense of humor. She knows about the culture of Ireland and answered all our questions. My friend was sick on the bus almost at the end of our tour,Sarah and Tom(our driver)were both very compassionate and concerned about her. They took care of her and helped me with arrangements if we should have to stay on another day. We did have plenty of photo ops. The meals very top shelf and the service wal out of sight . Plus I met a lot of really nice people and had a great time .

I love Ireland Cliffs of Mohr Kilkenny Waterford walking tour & Waterford Medieval museum were great. Blarney Castle,,jaunting carts,and boat cruise were all great fun! Ring of Kerry was nice just a little rain,but who cares Ireland is so beautiful!! A great breakfast every morning to start the day off. Our music & dancing events were the top events ever!! So was the medieval banquet!!

The service was great Everything was timed perfectly Prompt pick up and lots of stops

Kissing the Blarney Stone was my personal feat. Climbing the 100 steps was completed and I was still standing. Cliffs of Moher were spectacular Glad the fog lifted Liked sleeping in a castle the last night

Strong followup.

Very well planned. Loved the city bus tours.

There was not a single detail left out.

There were plenty of entertaining and humorous moments just while travels on the coach all credit to the fantastic tour manager. She gave insight and details to things I wouldn't have even thought of. My favorite experience would have been the Cliffs of Moher. The sheer magnitude of the cliffs took my breath away. To see it in person was epic

Pretty responsive

Tour tried to cover too many places for the time period. Would have liked to spend more time at fewer locations. This lead to too many deadlines and a more stressful trip.

Excellant service! Love the fact that we just have to pay and show up. Everything is already planned and mostly paid for. The few things that we need to pay for they let you k ow ahead of time.

Beautiful tour. Highly recommend

Shades of Ireland Tour went well beyond my expectations! Arrived Dublin on St Patrick's day; had a marvelous time getting acclimated to Dublin! Tour guide and bus driver were full of interesting knowledge and explanations of the sites we saw on our 10 day tour.

"some" of my memorable experiences: Blarney Castle, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Mohr, Excellent Medieval Meal in Limmerick, stay at Cabra Castle. Whole tour was great and exceeded my expectations!

The tour was well planned and the tour guide was very good letting us know many things. I will definitely plan another trip with Collette.

My favorite part of the tour was going to the Cliffs of Moher. I have seen pictures of them but when you see them in person, WOW.

Well planned. Special service for those with handicaps. Good choice of restaurants and hotels.

Ever detail was covered. We enjoyed the horse and buggy ride (and commentary) the most.

This is my second trip with them & as usual it was fantastic. They thought of everything.

The Tour Guide David was great he had a lot of knowledge that he shared. He was personable, caring & made sure we all were having a great time. The bus driver Damien was quite most of the time, but every once in awhile he would tell or say something funny. He was always very helpful getting in & out of the bus & handled our luggage with care. There were so very many memorable experiences. I loved the whole trip.

The trip was perfect ! Number of days, schedule and tour guide.

Sheep herding and castle overnight

The itinerary was good although the times at the different places were a bit short.

Ring of Kerry and Cliffs of Moher were highlights.

Well-paced, great hotels, although lighting in most was pretty low level and made it hard to read to read. Lack of tub grab bar at one hotel, dangerous. Local guides excellent and main tour guide and bus drivers were super Always mindful of our safety.

This company knows what is doing

everything WAS done well the only issue was the airfare it was cancelled and rescheduled and cost more than we had planned to spend so our budget was exceeded because to keep same west jet cost extra in hotels in Dublin. Also Delta air montreal to new York was an unpleasant experience with a stewardess who was on the plane and was extremely racist caused a scene with client using their services and made us all late with her pettiness. Never seen anything like it. Shades of Ireland far surpassed our wildest dreams such a beautiful country. Our Guide Barbara Hunter was exceptional goes far beyond the extra mile and our driver Donal was very good as well. It was a dream come true.

tipping was a bit excessive I think it should be left to the person experiencing the service. Price was good when we booked but bad as we were getting ready to travel due to airfare and extra expenses. Also all the extra expense of the outings which we ended up exceeding our budget for the vacation.

Yes, we would buy their service again. Everything was coordinated well. We were well cared for and the guides were excellent.

We saw current as well as historic places and things.

Everything on the tour was well organized. Our tour group was lucky with the weather. Some of the beds in the hotel were not comfortable. One hotel we even had Baileys or Whiskey with our oatmeal.

The scenery was so different all over Ireland. I liked that we could choose an optional tour. The driver and the tour guide were very professional

The entire experience was wonderful. The guide, Steve Mayer, was one of the best I have ever had. The driver, Micheal, could not have been any better-he was so very helpful and always had a smile for us. The tour was perfect; the condition of the bus clean and spotless; the sites well chosen; and the hotels so beautiful.

The drive around the coastline of Northern Ireland was beautiful

It was superb!

I felt I really received a lot for the cost.

Peter, our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and also kept us entertained. John our driver was equally pleasant and very professional. The sites we visited were fantastic, and we would not have found them had we traveled on our own by rental car.

Excellent value for the money.

I would and have recommended them to friends. I was pleased with the ease of sign up, the pre-trip information session and the easy two part payment.

The hotels were first rate and friendly. Our tour guide, Peter, was superb as was our driver, John. It was a very informative tour, I learned a lot of history and current events. The stops were well timed so we never had long waits, Peter had tickets at hand as soon as we disembarked from the bus. Traveling with 42 other people was easier and more fun than I thought it would be. The amount of time spent on the bus was appropriate with well timed stops in between our destinations.

The trip was beautifully planned, in all the details such as hotels, places to visit and things to do, and executed perfectly, as, for example, by having the services of a knowledgeable, friendly and humorous Tour Manager (“guide”) and a most conscientious bus driver

Seeing a statue of their most famous President/Provost on the campus of Trinity University in Dublin and discovering his surname was the same as my mother’s and that someone with that surname he been born in Ireland

I liked the tour, the layover for 6 hours in Atlanta was too much.

Each location was more breathtaking than the last. They did a great balance of how many days to stay in which cities.

I would highly recommend Collette tours! It was a flawless tour from start to finish! Our tour guide Barbara was fantastic! She made sure to get to know all of us and share places that pertained to all of our interests! So much to see and do... wouldn’t do it any other way!

Cliffs of Moher Visit to Kilkenny

Our first time with Collette. We were very impressed with the lodging options and meals. We would definitely recommend to others.

Very comprehensive tour of the country. Cliffs of Moher and Dublin City were great.

Sales representative was knowledgeable and most helpful. May booking our tour easy and informed us of some restriction notices. Have recommended to our friends.

Saw more than we thought.

great accommodations, good food, courteous driver and guide

Loved the countryside, enjoyed Blarney Castle. Could have done with a bit less unstructured time in Dublin

They took care of the “little” things that causes a measure of stress, like transport to and from the airport when we don’t have a reasonable clue. Baggage assistance, arranged group dinners, to fuel those new relationships, and stress free hotel check in, check out. Sean did a masterful job keeping us moving to meet our goals. Lee was our driver. He was outstanding as a driver, and all about safety. Sean, and Lee are a great team, they know their stuff

One lady in the tour group came to Ireland in hopes of seeing her Mother’s home place. Mom had left Ireland as a war bride, and only returned one time. The daughter had never been to see where mom was born, and raised. It so happened that Mom’s home place was on one of our tour routes. Sean, being the fine man he is, made sure daughter got to see the home place, and take photos for her memory book. Every member of the tour group was touched.

What an awesome vacation with great staff!! Ireland was presented with so much love and admiration from two great guys, Sean and Lee!!

While the price for two seemed high, it was well worth every penny. You did not stay in cheap hotels, but great properties with much history in each property and staff that took great care of you. Food was exceptional at each location.

Over and above willingness to help at every point in the process. The preparations and behind the scenes work was absolutely top notch.

The amount of experiences is unmatched be other tours, the only downside is when you see that many venues and sights the time at each area or site is limited.

The tour was so well organized - and Rebecca was fabulous. I loved everywhere we toured.

Loved Ireland and all the places we went to.

The staff was friendly, knowledgeable and always helpful. I look forward traveling on another Collette tour in the future. I have already shared my great experience with others.

It is difficult to state a favorite memorable experience because I had several. However, the Cliffs of Moher would probably top my list of favorites.

Very good choice of hotels The Irish tour guide and driver were both very professional, but friendly and extremely helpful and considerate. Choices of things we saw were outstanding.

We received a lot of services for the price.

Liked having the same tour manager ( Mick Mulcahy) in Ireland through out the entire trip. Cronin motor couch service & Driver (Ronan Kearney) was great! Well planned and had enjoyable time. One thing that would have been nice would have had all gratuities been taken care of in advance. Willing to have paid Collette as part of the tour package for all gratuities. (hotel housekeeping, tour manager, bus driver etc.)

Liked Blarney Castle and the Medieval Banquet.

This was our first international travel and it could not have been more enjoyable. We had always wanted to travel to Ireland, the top of our bucket list. We had a fun group, a great tour manager (Sarah), and a safe and friendly motor coach chauffer. The tour was well organized and customized for the group. Sarah went out of her way for all of us.

There were so many good experiences; walking around Dublin, Blarney Castle, the Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Galway culinary tour, enjoying our own time walking around villages, all the good food and people!

The tour manager was very informative during the whole tour.

The experiences were exceptional. There was something to look forward to every day.

Well organized. Traveler-centric. And, overall great experience. Our travel manager, Fiona, was wonderful -- so personable, responsive, and professional.

Great value. Overall excellent accommodations and dining options.

was great as always

was great well organized . Tour director was great

It was great. They took care of me the entire trip upon arrival after baggage claim to dropping me off at the airport again for departure. Great tour manager. But lots of walking. But lots to see.

I liked the whole tour. Blarney Castle and the Woolen Mills close by was amazing. It only rained the last two days so I was lucky in that respect.

People on the phone at the US main office were very rude and condescending each of the 3 times I had to contact them. Everything else was very good. Field reps were very nice.

Air and connections were great. Hotels were great. It would have been nice to have had more free time and not so many required hotel dinners.

The responsiveness of customer service was disappointing. We asked direct questions. The customer service representative was somewhat elitist, in tone seeming that we should have integrated the answer from the information that we had and were a bother.

Favorite experience was the first night.

Excellent trip. Well planned with lots to do. Loved Ireland.