We will be staying at the Buswells Hotel prior to our Rick Steves Tour. How far in advance should I book our pre tour rooms? Our tour is August 2027 and I was thinking of booking now. Book Now and Pay at Hotel with a 10% savings booking directly. Thoughts/recommendations/experience?
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
17518 posts
I would book refundable rooms as soon as the reservations are open for your dates. The rooms will get sold out for the few days before the tour. The Book now, pay at check in and save 10% sounds great, lol!!
I'm glad you are going early! There is a lot to see in Dublin that isn't covered on the tour.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
6840 posts
I’d also suggest booking as soon as you are certain. In 2025, I was a late addition (from waitlist) to a RS Ireland tour. The only rooms available at Buswells were expensive triples so I booked at a different hotel for my pre-tour night.
Posted by
Bend, OR
2280 posts
I also agree that you should book as soon as they are open to book. Some on here don’t care for Buswells, we’ve stayed there twice and thought it was good and a great location with a very helpful front desk. Be sure to let them know you are with a RS tour so they can try and arrange you stay in the same room. We came in early when we did the tour and went to the Epic Museum, highly recommend. Another tip, if you want to try one of the popular restaurants in Dingle during a free night, it’s best to get a reservation early, like before you get there early.
Posted by
Maryland, USA
175 posts
I agree with those who say to book as soon as you are able. My case in point: we took the 8-day Ireland tour in May. It ended in Dublin at another hotel RS uses there, the Iveagh Garden Hotel. I booked the tour in mid-Sept 2025 and booked pre- and post-hotel stays right away. The Iveagh Garden had NO availability. (We wound up staying at the Hilton Garden Inn right next to the EPIC museum instead. Pretty generic but a nice room at a decent price; it worked well for us.)
I recommend Out of the Blue seafood restaurant in Dingle, and yes, book months in advance.
Posted by
OP
Fort Worth
93 posts
Thank you everyone! We are booked at the Buswells in August 2027 for our pre-tour stay! Paula Ducar with reservations was very helpful and patient with all of my questions. We did everything via email and booking on a secure website. Life is Good!
Posted by
Snohomish, WA
80 posts
Might we be on the same tour? August 8 to 21? I just sent my emails out to the first and last hotels. I hope I am not too late. I usually wait to hear from the hotel via email to see what rate they quote before booking direct. In my experience with past RS tours they sometimes have a better rate using the RS discount vs. on line booking.