RS Ireland tours: yes or no?

I have not been on the Ireland tour, , but I am going on the tour June 19, 2011 alone and can't wait. One of the reasons I am going on the tour is that I read all the comments from the people on the tour. See the section, tour feedback. The comments of why they loved the tour was outstanding and what I read from other tour feed back of bus tours, I found the Ireland comments to be consistently excellent. Reading the tour feedback really helped me make up my mind. So that is why I decided to do the Ireland tour as opposed to some of the other tours. What also helped me decide is looking at the Ireland Scrapbook photos posted on the website. That was a weath of information. I think that you would have a great time and enjoy the tour. Go on the tour and have a great time. You will love it. Ann

I've found it's pretty easy to travel Ireland independently without a car and still be able to see the sights provided you are willing to base yourself out of the cities or larger towns where it is easy to book a day tour of the sights that truly interest you. Ex. Galway is good base if you want to see Burren, Connemara, Aran Islands or Cliffs of Moher. Many day tour operators can take you from Galway. I'm sure Rick Steves offers great tours for people who really love that whole hassle free vacation where all transportation, lodging and sightseeing is planned out for you. And others enjoy spending 7-14 days with same group of people as they feel they make some great friends with other tour members. I'd rather have more freedom with my schedule and also not insulate myself so much from getting to interact with the locals by traveling in a pack with other tour group members. And if you aren't willing to share a room, you get slapped with a single supplement. For that kind of money, you could hire a private driver/guide to take you around the countryside. I've watched the Rick Steves DVD that's all about what you can expect if you take a tour with ETBD. It's still not my preferred way to travel, but take a look at the video & decide for yourself. There are many on this board who swear by his tours and take them every year.

RS tours travel by bus in Ireland, so if you don't wish to travel by bus an RS tour is not for you. Since you also don't want to rent a car, your options are very limited.

Alison, I've taken the RS Ireland tour, and really enjoyed it! The reasons I chose the tour were similar to the ones you mentioned. It covered many of the locations I wanted to see in a very efficient manner, so it was a good use of my travel time. All the transportation was arranged. As you noted, there are some areas that are not as easily reached, and it would have required a lot of planning to work out the transportation, since I also didn't want to rent a car. They provide a full-sized Coach with a small group, so everyone has lots of room. I usually combine a tour with solo travel, and find that a tour provides a more memorable and interesting experience. I always learn far more about the country by going with a tour. The Hotels were all great! They weren't five star luxury, but were very comfortable. As the others mentioned if you don't pay the single supplement you may have to share a room with someone of the same gender. If there are several singles of the same gender, the Guide will "rotate" them every night or two. I found the "pace" to be good. There was a mixture of singles and couples (which has been the case on all the RS tours I've taken). Although I travel solo, I've never found it a problem to travel with couples. Both the lead Guide and local Guides were fantastic! The local tours covered some very significant sites in Irish history. The Driver was incredible! His abiltiy to manoeuver that large Coach on those narrow roads was astounding! The RS tours provide a nice blend of group time and free time, so that tour members can do some exploring on their own. The day tour to the Aran Islands was optional, but most of the group decided to make the short boat trip. I would highly recommend the Ireland tour!

Thank you, one and all.... I think this has helped me see that I need a small tour, and that would mean a small bus, not one of those humongous buses that's adding diesel waste to the planet. Locals complain about those buses for a reason. Too bad RS doesn't have <i>small</i> tours. I know they compare their tours to REALLY large tours, but I guess this is the reason I have always put off taking a RS tour. There are tours operated by Irish locals I have seen recently that make more sense to me; they're on a much smaller scale, maybe 10-12 people total. I don't mind paying extra to be left alone at night in a pleasant room; I was an only child. I don't share bedrooms well. ;-) I cannot see myself being "rotated," for example!! No thanks. But thank you, one and all, for the help, because it really does help to make a decision, to hear others' input.