I have the 7-day Heart of Ireland tour booked for July 2026; however, I want to include a trip into Northern Ireland on the back end. Due to scheduling conflicts and time constraints, I am unable to make the 14-day Best of Ireland RS Tour work. Rabbie's has a 5-day tour into Northern Ireland that looks to have a good itineary, and it will fit into my calendar. However, I have never used Rabbie's, and although there are many good reviews on their website, I'd like RS travelers to weigh-in with any personal experiences with the company. I know that I will need to likely book my own accomodations, most attractions in different towns, dine on my own, etc. All of that is fine as I intend to use the RS Guidebook as my resource. I'm mostly interested in the quality of the Rabbie's tours, i.e., the guides, the amount of time allowed at each stop along the way, and the overall "feel" of the tours. The itinerary looks to be quite thorough and ambitious, starting and ending in Dublin, with stops in many of my desired places. The overnight stays will be in Portrush; Donegal; Westport; Dublin.
Any advice or recommondations is very much appreciated. TIA!
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
3006 posts
I've only taken one Rabbies tour, and would happily use them again. They are mentioned on the forum frequently, and largely positively.
Posted by
Chicago
3727 posts
I just did the 3-day Rabbie’s tour to Dingle in May. It was a great experience. I’ve also used Rabbie’s for one-day tours and have another 3-day tour and two 1-day tours booked with them in Sept.
I suggest booking your own hotels as I have heard multiple complaints from people who let Rabbie’s book for them.
That 5-day Northern Ireland tour looks great. I did a day tour to Northern Ireland from Dublin, and it was great. Northern Ireland is beautiful. I enjoyed the giant’s causeway more than the cliffs of moher.
The stops and amount of time at each stop is up to Rabbie’s and the guide/driver, so that part is out of your control. Some stops are quick picture stops, some might be 30 minutes, some 1.5-2 hours. The longer stop will be your “lunch” stop, but this might not be until later afternoon. You definitely see a lot and get your money’s worth.
If you end up taking this tour, please report back and let us know how it went.