Ireland Tour

I took the RS best of Ireland 14 day tour in August 2014. It was my first tour and loved it! Food was great, hotels and BnB's were awesome. Sights fantastic. I think it only rained once or twice. It was still cool on our trip. I think my favs were Kinsale, Dingle, Slea Head drive, Galway, aran islands, giants causeway, rope bridge, falconery, sheep farm. Everything! I would not hesitate to go.

Infact, my husband has not been, so I think we are going to do the heart of Ireland 8 day tour and combine it with 10 day Scotland in april of 2018.

Enjoy!

Thanks. I'm looking at the 8 day tour in July.

We took it last June and loved it. In hindsight, we wish we had been able to do the 14 day tour, but time didn't permit. So, if the 8 day tour is your only option, do it. We started in Ennis and ended in Dublin. The time in Dingle was great because you really start to feel a part of the town with multiple. Be prepared to listen to fabulous music and make the rounds of the pub scene. Our guide was a Dingle local so he had lots of suggestions for where to go, what to do and where to eat. Actually, he did that every place we went. We arrived a day early in Ennis, but wished we'd added an extra day or two in Dublin.

I took it last month. It was my first RS tour and my first tour period in over 22 years. I was hesitant but wound up having a great time.

July is a busy month and everywhere you go will be crowded. But Western Ireland is beautiful and this tour offers quite a bit.

Dingle was my favorite part.

Thanks for that feedback.
How were the B&B's/rooms where you stayed?

RS tours get tweaked from one season, sometimes one tour to the next, so the details are not always the same. In Ennis we stayed at the Old Ground Hotel, which seemed to be universally loved (both by our tour and all the locals). In Dingle, we stayed at Milltown House B&B, but our tour was split between two places. We loved that one as well. Our least favorite was the hotel in Dublin, but it was the first time the tour had stayed there. July in Dublin is busy, so that was the hotel option they were trying and I will say it was conveniently located. The guide wasn't happy with it, so I'm not sure they will use it again. One of the downside of RS popularity is that hotels listed in his guidebook get booked and may be pushing out his tours.

They say the hotel in Dublin is the Trinity City Hotel. A four star hotel.

JE,

I took the RS Ireland tour several years ago, and it was fantastic! It provides an interesting look at both the culture and history of Ireland, both north and south. Both the lead guide (Declan) and all the local guides were outstanding! I would highly recommend it!

On all the tours, the hotels may change from one tour to the next depending on availability and whatever they can find with the required number of rooms. In my experience they don't always use the same hotels in each city, so your tour may use the Trinity City Hotel, or it may not? My tour used the http://www.hardinghotel.ie/

All of the rooms on the tour were great, but they varied slightly from one location to the next. If you want more specific details on the rooms or any aspect of the tour, contact the RS tour department.

I did that. Thank you

We did not get the Trinity City Hotel.

We will be taking our first RS tour to Ireland in May. In fact, our tour is currently on waitlist. With our confirmation we were told our first hotel will be the Old Ground Hotel. We are arriving a day early and have confirmed a reservation for that night as well. For folks on the east coast we found very reasonable direct flights to and from Philadelphia. Our last hotel will be Cassidys Hotel in Dublin. Since we will be there for 3 nights we have decided to wait and make a reservation for the additional night at the end of the tour.

We have traveled to Europe for many years and have always had a RS guidebook with us and have stayed in countless hotels he has recommended. We have never once been disappointed and are looking forward to our first guided tour.