An wonderful overview of both Northern Island and the Republic of Ireland, covering a number of natural and historical sights.
A very interesting and well run tour. The Driver and Tour Guide were very knowledgeable and worked well together. While it was probably impossible to cover all the delights of Ireland in a 14 day tour such as this, every day had at least two visit/events to keep us busy with self time at rest/meal breaks to explore the sites and towns of significance. I confess I remain thrilled that at 72, I was able to kiss the Blarney Stone.
The occasional generous two day stop overs (without the additional stacking and packing frustrations of a daily travel schedule) were appreciated by all.
But beware, Ireland is a surprisingly large island and to get around it all in 14 days involves with a lot of coach travel miles.
I have already reviewed and commented above
First and Last day wasted. Never have we started or tour at 6pm and finish at 11.30 a.m. - 2 full days absolutely wasted. Three previous tours started at 9 a.m and the last day finishing at 5 p.m - 2 full days of touring - this was very disappointing. And not as many main meals in the evening as we had previously. I was not impressed the Back Roads Office staff. When we booked we were told we were having twin beds. I was not impressed with this, we are a couple, and have never had twin beds. The Office girl said 'you were last to book' and YOU ARE HAVING twin bed. When we booked we were not the last to book. I felt she was extremely rude, we had paid the same as everyone else, we should have the same as everybody else. As it turned out, Breeda really looked after us, as she did with everyone, we had such lovely rooms and beautiful double beds.
Battle of Boyne was closed, we had an alternative place New Grange, it was very disappointing with monument in the distance. The walk to the centre was nice. Enjoyed the Titanic Museum. We all got drenched at Giants Causeway, very heavy rain, no cover. Had to sit in our soaking clothing until we got back to hotel for 2 hours. This was no ones fault, but it resulted in most of us coming down with flu like symptoms with continual coughing. The next day the Black Cab tours, and it was raining again, no option to stay in the coach, we all got wet again. A couple having to see a doctor and myself and another ending up at hospitals to see emergency doctors, when tour finished.
The Redcastle Hotel and the Kilronan Castle were outstanding, but some of the hotels do not give you a flannel and noticed only one a dressing gown. I didn't pack one as just thought they would be at each hotel. The Dean Hotel in Galway had to be the worst one. Cold wooden floors, dim lighting, there was twin beds here and the mattresses seem to bend in the middle. There was a dressing gown here luckily as I had to put it on the bed to keep myself warmer.
The morning tour of Galway did not happen. We were told that Ray had do have a full day off from driving. It was very wet day, so really didn't see much of Galway at all. Galway was disappointing for us.
Day 8 we started to see some of the scenic areas of Ireland which is what I really enjoy. I was over all the history by this point. The Cliffs of Moher, our time there was definitely not long enough, that was disappointing. Quite a long walk to get to see the best of the Cliffs. The Dingle Peninsula was lovely The Gallarus Oratory was a very long walk to get to it and really not that much. And the Great Blasket Centre was a bit ordinary.
Blarney Castle was really nice, the grounds I enjoyed, while my husband did the stairs. And a bit my scenery of the Lakes of Killarney. Denners Hotel and Vienna Woods Hotel very nice. We celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary, and Breeda and Ray both organised us to have a bottle of wine with our meal.. I thought their jesture was extremely touching, and we appreciated their kindness. She said we don't usually have anniversaries that vintage. It was very special. Kinsale was a pretty town and we had a realy nice tour guide called Brian.. Enjoyed Kilkenny it was also a beautiful town,. with the Hibernian hotel right in the main street. But did think the traditional cottage orne was a waste of time. You could not take photos inside, but really not much to take. Would have preferred a bit more scenic or perhaps the Rock of Cashel, which used to be in the Iterniary and has been taken off.
Unfortunately this was not the best Back Roads Tour we have experience, shame as we always wanted to see Ireland. There needed to be more scenic areas and less of the history.
First and last days wasted. Tour started in evening of first day, and finished early on last day with only a direct drive back to Dublin.
The last three tours we have taken commenced early on the first day and completed in the late afternoon after a full day of sightseeing.
Battle of The Boyne Centre not visited because of closure. There must have been sufficient advice of this to permit a better alternative to be chosen. New Grange as substituted did not permit us sufficient time to visit the monument.
The drive to the Giant's Causeway was taken via motorways. We had anticipated being driven up the Antrim Coast Road as it was advertised in the itinerary as "North Irish Coast". There was sufficient time to do this as we arrived early for our lunch at the Bushmills Inn, & had to use up time at the Bushmills Distillery sales office prior.
The Redcastle, Kilronan Castle & Vienna Woods accommodations were exceptional.
The Dean Hotel was not satisfactory with wooden floors, limited hanging space & poor lighting in the dark rooms. Breakfast choices were also limited.
We did not visit Kenmare, however a return visit & stop in Cobh for us was most appreciated.
I would have preferred a tour of the Rock of Cashel, rather than the Swiss Cottage "Traditional Cottage Orme"
All other sites visited were satisfactory.
For a small group tour it was worth the money.
We enjoyed the smaller tour bus with only 17 passengers. The hotels we stayed in were all great. Very nice beds and bedding and great included breakfasts.
It was a beautiful place to visit with a long history and welcoming, entertaining people
Well planned, great itinerary, good hotels, amazing tour guide.
Good balance of activities & accomodation good variation
Good experience, but requires refinement. Not a lot to do or easy to do things when given free time, especially when hotels location is an issue.
The tour was really good and all the hotels we stayed at were really nice. We felt like we saw places that a lot of other tours would not go to.
By its nature, Nithern Ireland was rather depressing.
Well organised that obtained a full site seeing experience at a leisurely pace. Great tour director and driver. They added so much to the trip experience
I thought I answered this already.
Good itemised itinerary & variety. Took into account his clients on excursions
Because the rour was of excellent service
Small group touring was the perfect way to see major sites and small town areas of interest.
It was a great experience, seeing the sights of Ireland
Great experience, covered lots oh history and topics and visited some fantastic places.
Showed us what the real Ireland is!!!
Very comfortable bus, great tour leader, sobering view of history in Be
Fast ams Derry then astonishing scenery and people along the Atlantic Way. And the craic was wonderful in Dingle!
excellent guide and driver
Our guide was very knowledgeable about Scotland and Abi our driver was a very safe driver with a lovely personality.
See above. Hotels were good too. Safe driver.
Tour guide: excellent and driver excellent.
Tour did all interesting places as well as touristy places. Accomodiation was of a high standard
Excellece all round. Culture people tours history accommodation activities tour guides counties who spoke a out the good and the bad. That's history
Good value for your money.
What we saw and did and the effort of Peter and Dylan made it worth the cost
Great tour leader. Very knowledgeable about everywhere we visited. Loved all the places we visited. Great company on the tour.
Ticked all the boxes. Local guides excellent
The tour lived up to what was advertised
As per above in the first box as indicated
I really enjoyed the experience
Some of the accomodation was not up to the standard I expected
The comments above apply here.
An excellent service and value for money.
Local tours were well chosen and interesting history given by each guide.
Tour was relaxed and we never felt rushed
All went well and we were looked after well
A fascinating, comfortable and well organised way to see Ireland.
Great service and well planned out stops.
Great way to get a taste of all of Ireland at a leisurely pace.
Flawless delivery of promised events. My travel agent was also impressed.
Goods tour with most hotels up to standard with meals and accommodation
Liked the extensive route - but it was a bit rushed at times
It is expensive but the hotels are good and you are only a small group so less time is lost getting on and off the coach.
Tour leader was excellent - Mikaela went above and beyond to make the tour fun, informative and enjoyable. Our tour driver, Dylan, was the same - and an excellent driver on some of those back roads. Accommodation was A1, and we were so lucky with our group - Mikaela certainly was able to get all interacting and having fun!
Just enjoyed it overall, everyone friendly
Excellent value for money.
As already stated - “fantastic”. A really good overview of the whole country. The guide Peter made us all feel comfortable and special.
Well planned and easily adapted to weather conditions. Hotels generally good . Not keen on the Dean as room cramped and filled with unnecessary devices filling all the surfaces. , the Langtons was very noisy but very centrally located. . Initial meet needed to be clearer as to time and location within the hotel
Excellent guide and driver in a small group that allowed access to many little known but significant sites.
Well organised, good pace, great hotels, great group dinner option.
Locations visited very good. Of particular note, Black cab tour in Belfast - eye opening.
Walking tour of Derry - extremely moving
The scenery is amazing.
We saw alll them must visit places. The tour seems just the right speed and we had more than a little fun.
Backroads need to look at accommodation where we were staying outside the township, this was very disappointing. When you have a free night but nowhere to go because the accommodation is too far away from town, village or it’s in a very remote area, this was unfair and a poor decision by Backroads. Too much focus on history and not enough on life in Ireland now..
Well thought out, just as we wanted and more
With the exception of one hotel, the accommodation was very good. In Cork our hotel was out of the way, and on our second night the dining room was closed - only bar food, and that not great.
Fun interactive organised and a great group
Got to see a lot of the country and learn about the people and history.
Great tour seen heaps from the Battle of Boyne to the Jameson Distillery and loved every bit.
Great tour to give an overview of the whole of Ireland
The whole tour was a very pleasant experience. Good hotels. Experienced and congenial tour leaders.
Visited several unexpected and most interesting places that really were located on back roads.
Good itinerary, average accommodation and meals, poor tour host, organisation and group communication, very uncomfortable bus.
The place was very beautiful.
Locations visited were very interesting. Possibly aimed more at American tourists, but interesting just the same.
While this vacation was not inexpensive there were no surprises and we booked through our regular travel agent prior to COVID in 2020 and the trip was postponed until this year (same month).
Expensive but worth it. We saw absolutely everything and then some.
Ireland has spectacular coastline and there's a real history to be told
A varied coverage of Irish geography, history and culture
Being able to drive on smaller roads allowed us to get a better feeling for the country and see sights that large coaches could not.
Very unorganised tour. Some very nice spots but times at different places could be better utilised
The cost increase after covid 19 had me having to think about the added cost, although I did decide to go ahead as I always wanted to really see a lot of Ireland and i believe the tour does that.
Tour took us to all of the most beautiful places in the country.
Was well organised. Great driver
We were taken to spots off the beaten track. The tour was well organised and run.
The tour has enabled me to see the parts of Ireland i would never have been able to experience
A well organised, fun tour.
The places we stayed at were lovely with wonderful, helpful staff.
We saw what was promised. The itinerary was excellent. Issues encountered with communication and tech, such as paying by card, splitting the costs correctly among 3 people. Advertised an American office (Blue Roads), but communication through the Australian office email and phone was difficult. Staff was lovely, but tech issues were evident and should be addressed before I am comfortable recommending the company to US customers.
Excellent tour. All inclusive and wide ranging activities like Titanic Museum, Cliffs of Moher, local guide tour of Derry and Giants Causeway. Clean and comfortable accommodation. Delicious breakfasts and dinners.
There are some problems. Putting accomodation that is are away from the centre of the town does not work.
Before we left we had only 1 email about 1 change in accomodation. We had no communication that the meeting hotel had changes. If we had not contacted the office this would be a big problem for us
You need better communication and blameing us is not the problem..
The Connacht hotel in Galway was some very substandard
Great guide and service was excellent
I loved Ireland and the wonderful people, both on the tour and the locals.
The itinerary was well laid out
Good service and great atmosphere for travelers and the guide was great
Great coverage of the country but would have liked some time allocated to mixing with Irish people on a recreational basis.
I saw what the big cities were like in Dublin and Belfast, colorful doors, cobblestone roadways, fun shops. I felt comfortable in counties as we travelled and thoroughly enjoyed seasshore stops wishing we could stay longer there! Tour was comfortable and just right amount of time at each location. Throughly enjoyed river cruise seeing a Irish jig demonstration; experienced being in large churches through many counties, loved hearing about the old city walls in Londonderry, seeing flocks of sheep and learning about Irish history during the potato famine. Very scenic and beautiful countryside!
Price was little on the high.
Very informative and interest.
Anticipated quality and was delivered
Same as customer experience
It was just fantastic all round.
An outstanding trip at a reasonable pace, small group, excellent guide and driver who went out of their way to give us a great understanding of Ireland
A great overview of Ireland - both past and present with excellent tour leader and bus driver
The price was great for what we did.
Enjoyed the tour, places seen very good
A great Country shown to us very well.
As an English couple touring Ireland we expected to hear some negative comments about the English, but as this accumulated every day our patience and goodwill faded a little. We certainly wanted to feel the culture and learn some history but this was still meant to be a holiday (and therefore enjoyable).
Most of the hotels were very good, although a couple were a bit "faded" around the edge.
Some days were very tiring (too long on the minibus).
However, overall an excellent itinerary and very knowledgeable guide
Excellent, but tiring....hectic pace.
Excellent tour that showed us the best of Ireland
Well planned and great mix of activities and quality local hotels
Beautiful country and fascinating history
Wonderful tour! The people are so friendly and Ireland is such a fascinating country. The history! The beauty!
Tour operates at the right pace, not hurried and hotels used all have the right charm and character.
Great research, excellent planning, superb delivery.
Did not make any purchases
Excellent places that were decided to stay at and visit.
Same comments as above. Perhaps a little expensive.
A comprehensive tour of Ireland giving an indepth insight into the history and geography of the country.
Guide was excellent as was our driver , tour its self was very informative and interesting.
If the accommodation was consistently good, it would be value for money
Same as previous comments, a very good tour.
Well planned, well executed. Staff cared about us. I don't buy "stuff"
I saw many places that I did not know existed and places that I was excited to see.
I only bought some linen from Dingle but it is beautiful
The few items that I purchased I was very happy with. Avoca Mill was one that inspired me.
Appreciated the fact there were no 'add on' options offered or pushed, it was all inclusive.
We were very pleased with the features chosen and the variety chosen which gave us a great insight into the history and a feel for the present, along with the show casing the beauty of Ireland. The driver and the guide were excellent in their interaction and their commentary and his driving ability. We did indeed enjoy the extra insight that the "Back Roads" gave us.
Fabulous local guide and driver. Breeda certainly knew her knowledge of Ireland and its history. We stayed in some lovely locations, though it was a pity that the Belfast hotel couldn’t supply hot water!!
We think it was good value for money.
Innovative, excellent choice of hotels and meals, with friendly supportive guide and driver.
A very good all Ireland experience
Loved Ireland, the people, the scenery, the history, learning about the troubles was an eye opener. Eva the guide & Christy the driver did everything to make our holiday one to remember
It was easy and did not have to pay the bulk until nearer the trip