We enjoyed ourselves immensely! The first day, at the Clontarf Castle Hotel we were talking to the concierge, and he helped us map out our route. (He paid you a compliment, by the way - said the itinerary you laid out for us was one of the better ones he had seen)
Anyhow, we followed the southern coastal routes (N25/N71/N70 mostly) from Kilkenny to Kinsale to Killarney. Then up the N22/N69/N67 to the Cliffs of Moher and into Doolin. Then into Galway, Ballynahinch, and Westport.
Finally, we drove from Westport back to Dublin.
One thing we found amusing was the Irish's apparent fascination with potatoes. All potatoes, all the time - every meal except breakfast. And lots of them! Once I ordered lasagna, and even it was served with French fries! A fried chicken dinner had three kinds of potatoes served with it - mashed, boiled, and of course French fries. We're not used to eating that many starches over here. And the portions were HUGE. My wife ended up ordering children's portions because that was all she could eat.
Let's see, what did we like best? We liked Kilkenny and Killarney. Also a little town called Inistioge just south of Kilkenny, and another one called Clifden between Galway and Westport. And, oh yes, another little town called Clonakilty (found it on the N71 while driving from Kinsale to Killarney).
Really liked that southern Ireland coastal drive!
So, all in all a VERY enjoyable trip. Thank you!
You'll be hearing from us again for sure!
Martin and Vicki Egan
PS - Vicki wanted me to tell you about having to stop and wait for the herd of cows and the mountain sheep wandering on the roads out in the countryside. Got pictures of those as well! My wife was afraid the cows were going to bang up the rental car, but they just went around it. Business as usual for them, I guess....
Martin and Vicki Egan, Brandy Station, VA (Feb 2012)
When our Ireland trip concluded, I was going to write back and advise that I had some bad news and good news. The bad news was that we had departed Ireland. The good news was that we had the most wonderful time while in Ireland, largely in part to the help and guidance of Russell. The package that was put together for us was perfect for the days we had available. Russell did a great job of making adjustments to accommodate our flights and answering all of our questions clearly, taking the worries out of the logistics.
I have to say that we enjoyed staying at each of the B&Bs and would highly recommend each and every one. The accommodations were perfect and the hosts were terrific. This was our first experience with B&Bs, as we thought this would be a nice touch to get a bit closer to the communities we were visiting. We made the right choice with the B&Bs. Clontarf Castle in Dublin was also a truly wonderful experience.
As a result of the 'bad news' mentioned above, we will be returning the Ireland for a little longer stay, and plan to explore more of the southern portion. So far we are planning this for next year; however; who knows something may change and we end up making it over yet this year. At any rate, once we decide, we will be in touch to have you help with the planning.
Again, your help pulling everything together made the trip wonderful. It took the worries out of finding B&Bs with high standards, and gave excellent insights into things to do and see along the way.
Keep up the great work!! Look to be working with you again on the next trip.
Daryl Brown, Tennessee - March 2012
Daryl Brown, Cordova, TN (March 2012)
Thank you for taking us to out of the way places, not accessible to the big tour buses and making the extra effort to make our trip to Ireland memorable and enjoyable. For a price comparable to that of the big tour buses, we were able to experience and learn a lot more with you about IRELAND . Thank you again
Denise & Peter Rankin Vancouver B.C. (Nov 2011)
My name is Patricia Glenn and I am Margaret Healy's mother. I recently had a wonderful trip with nine members of my family. The driver of your Van was Philip Smith. He is the most wonderful Guide I have ever had the privilege to travel with. He has many attributes, among them, kindness, intelligence, love of his job, Historian, patience, protectiveness of the people he is responsible, for. He has that Irish wit that we Americans so love. All in all, it was a pleasure to be with him everyday. I have been around the block several times, being 84 years old and having raised a very large family. Philip was a gentleman in every way. We are indebted to him for a marvelous view of your beautiful country.
Patricia Healy, Wichita, Kansas (Oct 2011)
Just wanted to let you know what a FABULOUS, FABULOUS trip we had! Ireland was beautiful, the people friendly. Doing a privately escorted tour was the way to go. And what can I say about our tour escort, PJ O'Dwyer, tour guide extraordinaire! From Irish history, traditions and lore, to his personal experiences and Irish jokes, he was the best. He took us to out of the way places we never would have seen or experienced on a bus tour. We'll never forget him. Thanks for your help. I would recommend your services to anyone looking for a terrific Ireland tour!
Patricia Brewster, North Carolina (Oct 2011)
Hello. I am writing on behalf of my dad and I , to say that we thoroughly enjoyed being in Ireland. I am glad, and so is my dad, 84, that we were able to do a self driven tour. We were able to set our own pace, stop when we wanted, get going when we wanted, ick our own time and place for meals, and attractions. All the bed and breakfasts were very welcoming, comfortable, friendly, good locations, and great food! Ireland is a terrific place to visit and explore. I am glad that we used your company. I would, and will, suggest to anyone that ask to do the same. Thank you very much. This will be a special memory for my dad.
Michael Maloney, Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sept 2011)
What a truly splendid time in Ireland! Thanks so much! I will certainly recommend you to anyone planning to travel to the "old sod".
Best,
Charles Hayes, Palm Coast, Florida (May 2011)
We got back from Ireland on Sunday and I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the trip. It is a beautiful country, much prettier than in the pictures that you see. I was also pleasantly surprised that we saw no trash on the roads or for that matter in the towns and cities. There is obviously great pride in keeping the roads clean. The Bed and Breakfasts that you chose for us were fantastic and the hosts and hostesses could not have been more helpful and gracious. The people of Ireland were all very friendly and engaging. It seems like Irish people like to laugh a lot. In retrospect, I am glad that we chose the self drive tour because we went to places that were really out of the way. The weather was absolutely gorgeous everyday we were there. It did not rain on us at all. All in all, it was as close to a perfect trip as we could have ever hoped to experience. We are all fans of Exploring Ireland and will tell all of our friends that should they decide to make a trip to Ireland, they would be well served to do it through you. Many thanks for a fantastic experience.
Be well and God speed.
Dave and Jan Osborn, Yukon, Oklahoma (June 2010)
We have just returned this evening from our vacation in Ireland. It was a great time and we enjoyed our selves. Thank you for all you did to set up the vacation and make our trip that much easier. I will recommend your company to others that I know that may interested in visiting the beautiful country of Ireland.
Glenn Mechem, Union, MO (Sept 2010)
I wanted you to know that my sister and I arrived home this Wednesday, and we had a wonderful time. I can't thank you enough. The B&B reservations all worked out beautifully and so did the car. We had great weather and the hosts of the B&Bs couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. I can't really tell you what was my favorite, because it was all so lovely.
thank you,
Lynn McCall, Holualoa, HI (April 2011)
Just wanted to let you kow the tour was great! Martin was a great driver--and very knowledgeable.
Thank you for all your help.
Janice Barber, Los Alamos, New Mexico (May 2011)
I wanted to send you a thank you for our lovely trip you planned for us in Ireland. We are back home now and we had a wonderful time. Ireland is a beautiful country. The B & B's were the best. We have never stayed in them before so we didn't know what to expect. WOW! They were excellent. The people were so friendly at all of them. They all made us feel welcome and our breakfasts were awesome.
We had great weather and my hubby made out fine driving on the opposite side of the road. :)
Thank you again for the wonderful job you did at planning our Ireland vacation. We had an amazing time. Thank you again.
Kind regards,
Sherrie Thorne, Ingersoll, ON Canada (June 2011)
Thank you so much for helping make our trip to Ireland a success. We had a wonderful time and did everything that we had planned and more. The B&Bs were delightful.
Our favorite part was the Skellig Islands trip. The puffins were a bonus. I have always wanted to take pictures of puffins so I was thrilled to see them. We also especially enjoyed the National Museum, Slieve League, Achill Island and Newgrange.
Cynthia and David Dickel, Tallahassee, FL (June 2011)
Just wanted to let you know that everything worked out very well with the car! Also, the B&B's you booked for us were lovely - very good choices!!! and the Ashling Hotel, as well. We had a wonderful time, and thanks again so much for all your help!!
Regards,
Pat Bayne, Greenwood Lake, NY (April 2011)
Could not have been happier with all accommodations !!!!! Sandy Cove, the view alone is worth the trip, great R&R. Almara house have the best hosts ever and beautiful little house. Castle and O'Callaghan right on the mark. The Glendine house is a big beautiful house, a great antique piece (a little musty, if I had a complaint, great for 1 night, good breakfast)
I want to thank you sooooo much for all your help and if I can recommend your establishment for touring you are the one!!! Could not have done this with out you.
Thanks again, from all of us!!!!
Melanie Tsonos, Nepean, ON (July 2011)
Cheryl and I enjoyed our trip to Ireland very much! The hotel in Dublin, the Burlington, was quite nice. The bed & breakfasts were very comfortable, the owners were all helpful and friendly. The highlight of our accommodations was Ashford Castle! The coastline, the hills and countryside were every bit as beautiful as I could have imagined. The food was a delight.
Paul Crimlisk, Belmont, MA (July 2010)
We had a great time, will refer to all family. Thanks so much!
Julie Ronan, Marina Del Rey, CA (July 2011)
We had a great time, thanks much.
Pat was the best and greatly added to the experience.
Frank Zafran, New York (Aug 2011)
Thank you for your timely and responsive attention to our travel plans. We've had a wonderful time in Ireland and will definitely make plans to return as soon as possible! I will also be recommending your service to others - very helpful, time-saving and all the makings of a worry-free holiday!!
Thank you very much!
Kind Regards,
Christine Zwozdesky, Alberta Canada (Aug 2011)
We have returned home safe and sound and had a wonderful trip. We enjoyed all the hotels and B & B's. We would return to all of them.
The hosts were gracious and helpful.
Thank you for your help.
Jocelyne Laplante, Quebec, Canada (July 2011)
We are back in Vancouver; we had a great time, the hotels were all good esp the castle hotels, and Pembroke which is a very nice new hotel. We were sorry not to have time to see everything, and we are already thinking of our next trip back! I'll definitely recommend you to friends and family; thanks again,
Kim Tung, Vancouver, BC, Canada (May 2011)
Just a quick note to say that my cousin and I had a fantastic time on the trip you organised for us at the end of August. Plus we had, unusually, blue skies and sunshine for the whole trip.
All the accommodation was great and our favourite was Ballynahinch. I would love to go back for a combined visit with the Aran Isles and traditional music around Galway.
I'll be in touch later in the year to discuss this.
Thanks again for all your help.
Kind regards
Nancy Heatley, Bromley Kent UK (July 2011)
I received a phone call from my clients. They raved about their driver and how knowledgeable he was.
Thank you. I will certainly recommend your company again.
Holly Roberts / Team Leader Liberty Travel (June 2011)
Just wanted to drop a quick line to let you know our trip was wonderful. The hotels you set up for us were fabulous. We especially enjoyed our stays in Kinsale and Doolin. They will definitely be stops on our next trip! You certainly live in a beautiful country and we appreciated your expertise in helping us plan our dream vacation.
With Sincere Thanks-
Nancy Moug, Livonia, Michigan (Sept 2010)
Thank you very much for the tour you helped me plan on my weekend in Ireland. We enjoyed the whole thing. It was the highlight of the whole trip we had. Even his suggestion about dinner after the tour was great. It was such a great tour that next time we plan to visit Ireland I will come to you again. Thank you again so much.
Jason Troutman, Sumter, SC (Sept 2010)
Just a note to let you know that our Ireland holiday went off without any problems. The accommodation was excellent. The only unfortunate thing was that our time in your beautiful Country was limited, but I was impressedby what we saw.
I would like to thank you very much for your help and patience that made our trip very memorable.
Thanks again.
Regards
Lynette New, Oxley Australia (Aug 2010)
Thanks for this. Please express our thanks and hello to Russell of your staff who aided us immensely in our recent tour of Ireland. We had a great time!
Bernie Wax, Chestnut Hill, MA (Aug 2010)
My wife and I would like to thank you for all the effort that your organization put forth. Our vacation was totally wonderful and went off without a hitch. It was more than we expected. We will be recommending Exploring Ireland to everyone we get to talk to about our trip. We are already talking about taking a tour of Northern Ireland and North Scotland in the next couple of years.
Again, thank you for your professionalism.
Respectfully,
Bruce Fader, Canton, MA (Aug 2010)
Just wanted to thank you for the great B&B's we had in Ireland. We had 4 out of 5 beautiful days and thoroughly enjoyed the country.
Mary Jones, Ellenwood, GA (Oct 2010)
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for arranging our trip. Patty and I had a wonderful time, all the accommodations were terrific and we really enjoyed the people, scenery, and food. We hope to travel back to Ireland soon and will definitely recommend your company to others.
Thanks so much!
Greg Georgette, Stratford, CT (Oct 2010)
We are back at home - we had a lovely time. Thanks for all your help!
Gwen Wagner, Galveston, Texas (Oct 2010)
The months have slipped away from us, and we are so sorry that this was pushed aside; but we want to let you know how much we appreciate how you took care of us for our first trip to Ireland. We were very happy with our accommodations, and the people were so helpful. We are so pleased with our experience that we would certainly want to take advantage of your services again (and we are talking about our next trip). One week was just not enough. There are things we would like to see that we just did not have time to see on that first trip. We would like to spend a little more time at some of the places we did visit, so we could actually explore the area.
All in all, we had a wonderful trip and are looking forward to doing it again. I made a scrapbook of all the pictures we took, and it is labeled "Our First Trip to Ireland." That means there must be a sequel!
Thank you again for taking such good care of us.
Pamela & Jack Murphy, Chippewa Falls, WI (May 2010)
Just a quick note to say many thanks for the hotel suggestions and the Kilronan Castle is a must do! for anyone. The weather was a bit blowy in Doolin but we had a great holiday.
I'm sure we do something again in the future in Ireland.
Once again many thanks for your help.
John & Sue Lennon, Swindon UK (Oct 2012)
I highly recommend Russell and Exploring Ireland for your next visit to the Emerald Isle! Meticulous attention to detail and loads of patience while addressing the multitude of questions and concerns as we hammered out the details of our customized self-drive tour over an eight day trip to Ireland in March of 2011. While others may have simply referred me to an existing itinerary that most closely resembled what I may have wanted, he truly listened as I shared with him the passions, wishes and hopes of what we would be interested in. Our collaboration resulted in an absolute wonderful itinerary. He did a brilliant job of making me look the hero to my husband and to our friends that accompanied us while we enjoyed our Irish sampler of culture, history and the incredible beauty that is Ireland. Eight days is nice to get a taste; but only ensures that we will return and of course, will be most happy to contact our friends at Exploring Ireland for our next adventure!! Thank you so much Russell - you are a gem!!
Lori O'Brien, Norman OK (Feb 2011)
I just wanted to let you know that we are now back from the best vacation I have ever had! Everything was perfect. We had no problems what so ever. The weather was fantastic. We didn't get rained on once. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. The roads were almost deserted most of the time in the outlying areas. The tourist attractions were not crowded at all. The views all over your country were incredible. I tool 500 pictures and could have taken a million. The castles and churches were everything I expected and more. I wanted to say thank you for setting up this great trip. I would go back and do it all again. I am looking forward to returning to Ireland soon!
Carla Elder, Clearwater FL (March 2011)
Sorry it has taken so long for me to thank you for our wonderful trip to Ireland! Everything went so smoothly and it was so relaxing! Easy days, interesting sights and nice hotels in the evening.
I cannot thank you enough for working with me and helping me to get the trip planned so quickly! Mr. Swan was the best! He is a perfect driver: not too chatty, but can hold up a conversation and has a easy-going manner. He was always punctual, polite, helpful ...just great!
If you ever want to put me down as a reference for Exploring Ireland, I would be happy to help your company out in any way.
Next trip, will be the luxury hotels and maybe a castle stay with my husband!
Amy Youngblood, Midland Texas (March 2011)
I have never written back about the wonderful trip Robin Shortt planned for my daughter and I last October. We absolutely had the best and most memorable holiday, ever. Everything went so smoothly, even my driving, while visiting your country. I want to thank Robin for the exceptional itinerary he planned. It was a dream come true.
Laura Elie, Silex, MO (Sept 2010)
Immediately upon entering the USA, I felt the need to write you regarding our recent tour. My mother, father, husband, and I cannot thank you enough for organizing such a wonderful tour of Ireland. Everything was perfect, including the lodging, choice of towns for our stay, as well as the sights you had scheduled us to see. My God you live in a breathtakingly beautiful country!!! My camera didn't know which way to point out of the bus. I think it was a general consensus that Dingle was our favorite drive, and Doolin was our favorite little town. Of course, not taking away from all of the other beautiful areas. It was truly a trip of a lifetime, and I cannot thank you enough, again.
This letter would not be complete without telling you what an absolutely fantastic guide we had. I know that selection of these guides is random, however, if you had known me and my family, he was the absolutely most perfect person for us. Paul McGlinchey is an extremely special person. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable about the country he lives in, he is warm, and funny, and an absolute delight to be around. Our trip was truly made more memorable because of him. Too many times, the only feedback people give is negative feedback. I will tell you this trip was just about perfect. You are lucky to have such a wonderful representative of your company.
My sincere thanks and I hope to return to Ireland again.
Pam Ferrante, Sea Girt, NJ (March 2011)
We just got back to the states after a most enjoyable trip to Ireland. We can't say enough good things about your beautiful country and the wonderful people that we met. The itinerary that you set up with places to see and great B&B accommodations was perfect. We are telling friends and family how great it was and how you made it all so easy.
Already talking about what we want to see when we come again! Thank you.
.
Kathy and Ken Stevenson, Columbia,South Carolina (Apr 2011)
We have finally arrived home and have recovered from our trip. Gloria is now busy re-arranging photos, a big job after a 6 week trip.
This is just a quick note to let you know what a wonderful time we had in Ireland. All of your arrangements were wonderful and we loved all of the B & Bs.
Bruce & Cathy Chapman, New South Wales, Australia (March 2011)
Everything was perfect. Thank you for your help and patience. We hope to return to Ireland.
Jeff Joslyn, Twin Lake, MI (April 2011)
We are now home after a wonderful trip,and really enjoyed our time in Ireland, so a big thank you to Exploring Ireland and yourself for all your help. All the arrangements went without hitch, with all the bookings and arrangements absolutely trouble free. The itinerary we did (Mystical Ireland) was well planned and paced, and we did just about all we set out to do. We are delighted with the service from Exploring Ireland and would be happy to recommend.
Ian Singleton, Victoria Australia (Feb 2011)
