Iconic Experiences of Ireland and Scotland Itinerary

Zicasso's trip planner worked with my family for the better part of a year planning our big family trip. She provided exceptional service and planned every detail of our trip. We have a large family, with lots of moving parts. There were many changes in the itinerary along the way and she rolled with all the many changes. She was always polite, courteous, and graceful in her many interactions with our family.

She listened carefully during our initial conversations to help us plan the best trip possible. Being a large family, with multiple generations, she really created the best possible experience, taking in everyone's wishes. Working with her was very relieving, knowing she was taking care of all the details.

Our family's trip took us from the States to Ireland, Scotland, and England. We traveled on planes, trains, ferry, and drove a car. Our trip planner arranged every detail meticulously. We stayed in lovely, quaint, boutique hotels, ate the most wonderful foods, saw the amazing sights, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites across all three countries. From the Cliffs of Moher to the Culloden Moor Memorial to Stonehenge to castles grand and desolate; from beautiful cathedrals to old abbey ruins; from little country pubs to Michelin-starred restaurants; and even spending a couple days in an actual 17th-century castle, every minute was amazing! Truly amazing!

We had a wonderful trip. Everything went smoothly. We liked that we were always in contact through WhatsApp. That was very helpful and gave us a security blanket.

Our itinerary was planned through a Zicasso travel expert. The guides/drivers she chose were terrific. They were full of information and stories of each place we visited, and they answered all of our questions. One of a few outstanding ones was in Scotland. We had him on two occasions and enjoyed his knowledge and wit. The knowledge of our guide in Edinburgh was outstanding. The tour in Dublin was with a super guide. He is sending us a recap of our tour. In Ireland, for our tour of Connemara and Kylemore Abbey, our guide was wonderful with his knowledge of the area and his charm and wit. We had a great time with him. In Killarney, we had a guide for the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. He gave us a map with both days highlighted so we would remember where we were. He took us to the most beautiful places and had so much information and charm. We had two days with him and they were wonderful. Our Kilkenny guide went out of his way to get us as close to the Rock of Cashel. He also had so much information as we traveled. All these tour guides/drivers were so good. Our travel specialist did such a fantastic job of choosing this guides!!

My family and I decided to take a trip to the small town of Kirkcudbright, Scotland, to visit MacLellan's Castle due to family ancestry. We wanted to make a full trip out of it and see more of the UK and Ireland, so we reached out to the Zicasso travel agency to help us with the trip.

We started in London, then to Edinburgh, then Kirkcudbright, and on to Dublin, Ireland. The trip planner was so easy to work with and handled our various questions and requests very well, despite our group number changing a few times.

Our accommodations in every location were great and in convenient spots to explore each city. He even navigated us visiting the small town of Kirkcudbright, with very few accommodation options for our final group of six.

We took the train from London to Edinburgh and a ferry from Kirkcudbright to Dublin, and both were such great experiences, including upgrades to first class and a nice lounge on the ferry.

Our agent was easy to communicate with and made sure things were going well, even while we were on the trip. My family and I could not have asked for a better trip and would definitely recommend this travel company for a visit to the UK/Ireland.

Our trip, starting and ending in Edinburgh and looping through the Highlands with an emphasis on the Isle of Skye, Inverness, and Speyside, was very enjoyable, much to the credit of our travel agency. We were awed by the sheer beauty of the Highlands, the warmth and friendliness of the Scottish people, and the country's fascinating historical sites. 

Our culinary experience was outstanding, with a variety of traditional dishes and contemporary cuisine prepared by world-class chefs. As could be expected, distillery visits gave us an opportunity to enjoy a range of whiskey flavors and styles.

Jane, the owner of the travel agency, was accommodating in creating the ideal itinerary, finding superb lodging and dining experiences for us, and helping us through last-minute bookings due to a flight cancellation. 

Our driver/guide was personable, knowledgeable, timely, and professional. He entertained us with amusing Scottish lore, local and regional information, and eagerly adjusted the itinerary as needed to suit our personal tastes and interests.

2. How happy are you with the level of customer service you received whilst booking your trip?

7 stars

There was slow response to our questions and concerns. As we were formulating our trip there was give and take. Guidance from the travel company was minimal. All of the excursions were booked. Drivers were booked.

How happy are you overall with your itinerary?

9 stars

We essentially chose our own itinerary. We had hoped to avoid one night stays.

4. Are you happy with the pace of your itinerary - Did you have enough time in each location?

7 stars

Generally we had not enough time at each stay. Some of this was our own doing as we tried to pack too much into the visits. We were worn out each night.

5. Are you happy that your itinerary provided good value for money?

8 stars

This is difficult to assess monetarily. Certainly, the money spent at the hotels and for meals was in excess of that spent for other trips. The cost of the drivers plays a lot into this.

6. How happy are you with the information and travel documents provided prior to your departure?

5 stars

Everything was planned out as "draft" until the week of our trip. This left a large concern as we had paid all of the costs up front and had no certainty of actually being picked up at the airport in Dublin. Communication was scant and explained away as "computer issues".

7. How happy are you with the standard of hotels/accommodation that you stayed in?

5 stars

The hotel in Dublin had wonderful staff and the breakfast was good. The room was 10 ft X 10 ft and we scarcely had room to move around the bed.

The Lodge in Ashford was excellent.

The Killarney hotel was fine though dated. The staff was not attentive and once we came back to our room and found the door unlocked.

The hotel in Edinburgh was in a good location but we were placed in the annex section that had no access to an elevator. Our luggage had to be hauled up and down steps and we had to wend our way around long hallways to get to our room.

We stayed just one night at an inn in Pitlochry. Again, the room here was on the top floor and we had to haul our bags and ourselves up to the top floor. The room was fine and the meal there was adequate.

Thehotel in Portree was a disaster. We arrived to surly front desk attendants who could not accommodate us with dinner or appropriate breakfast reservations for our stay. We were told that they had sent the travel agency information stating that we needed to do this ahead of time, but they failed to do this for us or forward the hotel's email instructions. It turned out that the hotel did not have a large breakfast rush (perhaps because of the ornery front desk?) and we could eat at our leisure. The last morning the water failed at the hotel and there was no shower available.

The Cameron House was very nice. I would not recommend our first night restaurant.

8. How happy are you with the standard of transport, car hire and/or transfers included in your itinerary?

10 stars

The vehicles for transport were all nicely equipped and room enough for the 4 of us. The drivers were all on time, efficient, and pleasant.

9. How happy are you with the sightseeing and excursions included in your itinerary?

9 stars

The guide gave us an informative walking tour and insight into the town. She was on time and at the site described for meeting.

Kilmainham Gaol, Trinity College, the Book of Kells, and the Epic Irish Migration Museum were great tours. Guinness was interesting but crowded.

The Tullamore DEW distillery Tour was a highlight. Kylemore Abbey and Gardens were nice. We enjoyed the Doolin Ferry Cliffs of Moher tour and the visitor center. The Sheepdog demonstration was great as we met a world champion handler and dog team.

We had a capable and knowledgeable driver. When we asked questions he would generally have the answer. He did not go out of his way to show us spots on or just off the itinerary. We had to ask him to stop at the Cliffs of Kerry as I noticed a sign on the road. He spent a lot of time circumnavigating Connemara without actually going into the park. He did stop at Waterville Golf Links on request and shared a couple of nice spots for lunch.

In Edinburgh, we had a walking tour on arrival afternoon. The guide met us on time. The meeting place was very crowded. The tour of the old town was extensive and we had great insight into the history of its development. She gave us dinner recommendations which came in handy.

The Edinburgh Castle tour was self guided, but we were there on time and saw what we expected.

We left the Castle at 11:45 as directed and caught up with Skye for the Edinburgh Food tour. Apparently we were expected earlier as we got there at noon. The tour guide had already been in contact with our travel agent who texted our party wondering where we were. The tour itself was fun and the guide filled in a lot of information gaps. He gave us recommendations for dinner which we happily followed.

Another guide picked us up on time as we checked out of our hotel in Edinburgh. We found him a huge source of information. The tour at St. Andrews was eagerly anticipated and met all expectations. The gudie took us on the tour of the course. He was quite a character and very informative.

We were then taken to the Culloden Battlefield and then to Eilean Donan Castle which were both excellent visits. We then went to the Isle of Skye for 3 nights. Our driver was knowledgeable and was able to find us a restaurant to eat that evening absent assistance from the hotel staff and the agency.

The boat tour out of Portree was cancelled due to weather. Our driver took us on a tour of the Isle of Skye on his day off. Taliskers Distillery was crowded and it was difficult at times to understand the tour guide.

The Loch Katrine Ferry ride was OK. The staff was nice.

The Inverary Castle tour was beautiful. We actually met the Duchess of Argylle and have pictures to prove it.

The Stirling Castle tour was our last tour and we found that interesting as well.

Through it all our driver was informative and helped to fill our impressions of what we were looking at.

10. How happy are you with the food/restaurant reservations and recommendations provided in your departure pack?

1 star

This was a major fail. In spite of giving detailed instructions, none of our restaurants were arranged. This came to a head on the Isle of Skye. Why, given specific instruction from the hotel staff about breakfast reservation needs, the staff at the agency could not accomplish this for us defies comprehension. We gave them ample time to do this and they failed miserably. If not for our driver we may not have even been seated for dinner our first night on the Isle of Skye.

11. How likely is it that you would recommend this travel company to your family, friends or business associates

1 star

Very unlikely.

13. Could any part of your experience be improved?

If only the agency could communicate. We only heard from our agent when we were supposedly late for our food tour of Edinburgh and the final night as we were packing to leave for home. And then only by text. That is unacceptable. This was not our experience with Zicasso recommended vendors.