Literary Legends of England & Ireland Tour

We absolutely loved our England adventure and already wish we could go back. It was a perfect balance of English countryside, history, and culture.

All our hotels were wonderful. The lodge in Broadway was such an extraordinary place to stay—the property was so historic, but the rooms and amenities were modern. We loved the pool and gym, and delicious food/drink they offered. We also took advantage of the playground down the street every evening after dinner—it had a zipline and a beautiful vista. The lodge at Warwick was also amazing, such a fun place to stay for families with young kids. We also really enjoyed our hotel in London. The location was ideal as we could walk to restaurants and we had a tube station right there.

Our drivers were also very professional and friendly, and made the transfers between locations so simple and stress-free for us. Honestly we have nothing but good things to say about every moment of this vacation, from the afternoon tea to the "Harry Potter" studio tour.

Zicasso's travel company helped create a wonderful UK trip for my family. Their fine attention to detail, along with a spectacularly planned itinerary, was greatly appreciated. From our drivers to amazing tour guides - the one in White Cliffs of Dover, the one in Ireland, and the one in Scotland - this trip was spot-on perfect! 

The travel company's app was extremely helpful and user-friendly, and the lodging facilities chosen were perfect. In particular, the hotels located in the heart of each city made walking tours and exploring ideal. In addition, pre-planned excursions and activities added to an overall positive experience.

After working with Zicasso-matched travel companies in the past, I expected a worry-free and bespoke experience with this tour operator. My requests were not out of the ordinary in any way. I had wanted to explore the Cotswolds, visit Stonehenge, and then spend a couple of days in London. I had expressed that in London I was interested in seeing Abbey Road, spending a day on Military History for my son, and then a day exploring London neighborhoods and neighborhood bakers for me.

The tour operator planned transportation for us to and from the Cotswolds, a bike tour in Oxford, and a punting trip, and then two guided days in London (including a tour of the Churchill War Rooms that I had requested). In the weeks leading up to the trip, I had received a more detailed itinerary, and it was clear that days in London were not planned to specifications and were very generic offerings. And there was no effort made to accommodate my request to see Abbey Road (basically, I would be left to squeeze it in on my own). I emailed my disappointment to the tour operator, and they assured me that they would make changes to allow for my desire to explore neighborhoods and bakeries. I also wanted to get to London earlier and remove a stop in Bath and was charged a change fee (to remove something, six weeks in advance?)

Upon our arrival at Heathrow, our transportation was not onsite, which is fine; however, there was no one tracking our flight and no proactive notification that our transportation would not be able to meet us. I had to contact the tour operator's emergency line (which was very helpful).

Our second morning (Saturday), while still jet-lagged, we were up and ready to meet our driver at 9:15 in front of our hotel to take us to the train station a few towns away. Our driver was 10 minutes late, with no proactive contact to let us know that he was on his way. Then, later that day, once we were in Oxford for our bike tour, the tour company was not expecting us and did not have bikes ready for us. (Another group was there and were the only ones expected.)

The next morning (Sunday), we were told to be ready and checked out of our hotel by 9:00 a.m. for a driver to take us to see Stonehenge. At ten after 9:00, I contacted the after-hours number to inquire as to why the driver was not there. At 9:30, the tour operator still could not get in contact with the driver and recommended that I try to find a taxi to take me 2 hours away to Stonehenge. Needless to say, it was impossible to find someone at the last minute on a Sunday morning during high season. (Sidenote: a number of guests were being met by their drivers, on time, at our hotel. So, not an impossible ask.) Finally, after waiting for 3 hours, we were met by another driver who drove us to London directly. We wasted our morning (and because we had checked out of our hotel, we basically sat with our bags in the lobby) and never saw Stonehenge.

When we were in London, while our guide was a lovely person, we were asked to figure out our own way to meet her (instead of being met) and she did not have any particular knowledge about Military History (when we were in the Guards Museum, another guide was there with his party and it was clear, again, that it was not an impossible ask to have a guide with such knowledge). Also, it was clear to me that our guide, who would be guiding us for the following day, was not briefed or prepared to give a tour of neighborhood bakeries. (She thought I wanted to see a blue door in Notting Hill that was highlighted in a movie.)

All in all, I feel like I paid a premium for a vacation that I could have planned myself and instead of a stress-free and customized experience, I had to keep on top of our transportation plans and was given something perfunctory.

The tour operator has refunded me for the drive to Stonehenge that did not happen and some change fees. This seems to be an obvious gesture and the least they should have done.

We just spent two weeks in Scotland and Ireland, arranged for us by Zicasso’s travel specialists. What a five-star experience! Both of them have traveled extensively in the UK and Ireland, with one having grown up in the UK. They always seemed to know where we wanted to be.

This trip was a bit more challenging due to unexpected spine surgery a mere eight weeks prior to the trip. Between the perfect selection of lovely hotels at all the right locations and the nice people of these two countries, everything was accessible, despite using a walker. We could not have asked for more beautiful vistas, castles, and cultural amenities, ranging from lively Irish pubs to the finest museums (we’re art buffs). We also ate at spectacular restaurants selected by the travel company, in addition to terrific tours tailored to our specific interests.

Not only was the planning for the trip exceptional, but the travel specialists were there for us at a moment’s notice when things went awry. All trains in Scotland were canceled for a day due to 100mph winds from Storm Amy. We were pinned down in Edinburgh (a great place to be trapped) and took in additional sites, while the travel company saw to it that we had a lovely hotel room to spend our extra night in Edinburgh. Many people wound up sleeping in the train station. Our train was rescheduled strategically for the next day by the travel specialists, while we enjoyed Scotland’s National Art Gallery and our vacation continued seamlessly.

The transition from Scotland to Ireland was delightfully easy and our time in Ireland was spent exactly as planned. As I’m unable to drive and did not want my wife to be unable to sightsee while we traveled, the travel company got us (per our request) to far western Ireland and the Aran Islands, where Gaelic languages are still spoken and centuries-old Irish traditions are still maintained. We traveled by train so we could both sit back and take in the beautiful countryside.

There, we used our castle hotel in County Clare as a base for travel by car and enjoyed several days pursuing our own agenda and taking in the splendor of castle living. This was amazing, likely the most elegant place my wife and I have ever stayed, yet the venue had a comfortably casual vibe and an incredibly helpful staff that made accessibility problem-free. We would definitely block out a day just to stay on the castle grounds and enjoy the property and activities if we are able to return.

The Cliffs of Moher were spectacular, as were the Aran Islands, right down to a rainbow which vanished before we could find the “pot of gold” at the end. That being said, we think “the pot of gold” is Ireland itself... the sites, the people, the music, the food… the list is endless. We cleared US Customs in Shannon so we were able to fly to the US with no TSA or customs issues.

We returned to find an itinerary summary prepared by the travel specialists for submission to our travel insurance company for any storm-related refunds that the travel company had not already arranged for us. Simply a wonderful, stress-free trip, with the travel company at work continuously to assure that the experience was optimal, and it was five-star from start to finish. We can’t extend a higher recommendation to Zicasso’s travel specialists for a wonderful, intimate tour of the UK and Ireland.      

Zicasso's tour planner and her associates at the travel company did an excellent job of putting together a long-awaited trip to the UK to explore our father's roots.

Starting in Edinburgh, Scotland, and extending down into London and on to our father's birthplace in mid-Wales, she and the company found us great accommodations centrally located within our areas of interest. Our various walking tour guides were excellent and our agent's recommendations for places to see were wonderful and fit within the timeframe and parameters of our travels.

Our wonderful Welsh guide was able to locate our father's childhood farm and even discovered some previously unknown family members still in residence there. We had a truly memorable trip and highly recommend our agent and her travel company!

We had an absolutely amazing time in England, thanks to Zicasso's travel specialist. We had the opportunity to visit the countryside in Sussex, walk in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh, visit the coast, pass through Wimbledon, and finish off in London. The trip was perfectly planned and well-paced. They really listened to our intentions and made great recommendations with regard to lodging, tours, and food.