Relaxed Ireland and Scotland Tour for Seniors

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.

The travel company's contact was helpful and responsive. 

I provided a detailed review for them and I am copying you on it. 

In regard to our Dublin hotel:First, our cab driver from the airport had NO IDEA, never heard of this property, we had no address and neither did he and was annoyed. We finally found it but it was difficult. Putting the address of all properties on the final itinerary would be very helpful!!That said the staff was very friendly, we arrived at 11a.m, they served us tea and then had our room ready by 12:30.They were very helpful, made a dinner reservation at a restaurant which was excellent.  The chef/women who prepared the breakfast was very friendly and the food was excellent!! everything, the tea from tea leaves, the homemade brown bread, all of it.The first thing of note negatively was the cleanliness of the property from the lobby on. The floors were not swept,  and the overall feel was definitely not up to standard. We were in the back building and it was dark hall to our first floor room and the hall steps and area out side our room, where there are 2 chairs and large table had not been swept, cleaned in awhile. The bed for comfortable, good pillows but again not real clean and we had a leak in the ceiling from a problem shower on the second floor. Fortunately it leaked down in the entrance just inside the door to the room. The apologized profusely and thought they had fixed the leak. It was then found to be from another location and we had not more problems. I have notes at home on the rest of the trip that I do want to share but this is as you requested, specific to this property.

Hi again,I am curious what your other clients complained about in regard to their stay at the hotel in Dublin?That said the rest of my review:Dublin:We like the Pig's Ear for dinner very goodNever used tickets for Kilmainham Gaol, timing was not good to get there and back to get ready for dinner. Just didn't work for us. In fact we never used any reservation you made for us for the whole trip. Timing and where we were just never synced up. Did buy a Dublin tour and enjoyed a short tour but then bought a tram pass for a ride.Visited Trinity and the Book of Kells which we really enjoyed and lines were not that long.Ate at a restaurant night 2 on the recommendation of the hotel and it was excellent and we could walk there. Picked up by our driver at 9 AM on Sunday. He had a difficult time locating the hotel but everyone helped him get there!Headed to CORKEnjoy the Kilkenny Castle tour.Did go to Rock of Cashel, disappointed other that the view. We definitely could have skipped that other than a brief stop at the local pub!The hotel in Cork was a nice hotel although tough to walk anywhere due to the location. We ate there first night and it was very good. View was greatBreakfast was good but powdered eggs! Good buffet choices otherwise.Went to downtown Cork for dinner the second headed in a taxi to a cafe when the driver told us it was an ALL VEGAN restaurant and the chef was well known but my husband was NO WAY and we needed to get a recommendation from the driver and then chose one of his restaurants in the area which was good. Off to Kenmare:Loved the hotel--room was really nice, big comfortable. Would go there again. Great breakfast and could order from the menu. Very accomodating. Walked to everything. Nothing opens early!Did not kiss the Blarney stone my husband didn't want to waitDid not tour Muckross but took in the beauty and took photos of both places.Drive thru Killarney and walked aroundWent back to Kenmare. Ate at hotel first night and then a restaurant the next night which was very good. Enjoyed some Irish music in one of the pubs in Kenmare. Nice town much quieter than Killarney. Loved the Beara Peninsula, stopped in Castletownbere and shopped. Left for Galway;Cliffs of Moher beautiful but after 35 years so different and commercialized. The hotel in Galway nice good location. Room very small and the shower did not work properly only had boiling hot water. No maintenance on site to repair and after a bit of a struggle they moved us to a suite on the 5th floor, so hot, windows don't open wide. Would have been great if they did not have a heat wave. Breakfast was very good. Ate at a restaurant on the Corner which was very good. Next nigh at a local place. Local pub was nice to stop in and get a drink. Went to Croagh Patrick and walked just up to the statue. Beautiful views. Westport is very nice.We loved Connemara. Stopped in Cong so my husband could see John Wayne, and the site of the Quiet Man filming. He loved this. Beautiful area.Stopped at Kylemore again beautiful. Would go back to this area.Never used the boat tour tickets. We wanted to head back and the tour was not for another 1.5 hrs and we were done!We ate breakfast and headed toward Malahide and we would have had to hang around to go to the Monastery so we just drove past and did not use these tickets either. Malahide. Like the hotel BUT in a front room and all we heard were buses pulling up to the front door off and on at night and music so loud from the down the street until 1:30 AM! We could sing along that is how clear the words were thru our window. Easy drive to the airport, pretty town, nice shops and we ate in a local  pub NOT the tourist pub because the hotel staff recommend another place that is more local and not so crowded. So it was a good trip and the hotels were good, all the tickets were a waste, and while we stayed 2 nights everywhere ( which worked very well) I still think my husband got tired with the driving a couple of the days. We even cut off 70 miles by paying to take the ferry across the Shannon. The driver was good, informative and the car was comfortable.I hope this helps you improve the experience for others. Regards, Pat

 Our trip was fabulous and made even more so memorable by the wonderful & exquisite hotels that our travel planner recommended and booked us into.  Our travel planner and I worked out our itinerary and her suggestions were  perfectly thought out and it was a pleasure knowing that she had seen all these places in her travels. I suggested a night or two at Ballymaloe and asked for her feedback and she thought this would be a wonderful place given the fact that my wife and I are foodies and this was a very memorable dining & lodging experience.  There was several places I wanted to see that we’re not on the original itinerary but my travel planner said that it would be no problem and I should discuss it with parent guide. Indeed, he was able to fit all my desires into the itinerary during our trip. The only unfortunate instances were we were totally fogged in at the Cliffs of Mohr so the picture postcard had to make do as the visibility was nonexistent And we couldn’t get to Ashford Castle for afternoon tea or even a view of the premises because supposedly the prince and princess were staying at the castle and security was too tight.  When we go back to do Donnegal and Sligo and Northern Ireland I expect one of the first stops will be Ashford Castle!

Travel Agency staff were always kind to deal with, but did not proivde accurate knowledge of critical information when booking our trip.  First off, they provided the wrong information regarding the age limitations to drive a 5 passenger rental car in Ireland.  The info may be in their handout, but I expected an accurate response.  Ultimately, if they had told me the correct information before we booked flights, we would have booked a trip to a different European location. However, once our airfare was booked, there was not much we could do but proceed with the trip.  While their error caused a great deal of stress, luckily Hertz granted us an exception at check-in.  Hertz recommended we rent a GPS unit  -- this was a total waste of money, as there wasn't even viable reception in Dublin, let alone the outlying areas. Will have to dispute this with Hertz.    

The hotel in Dublin was nice and in a great area with easy access to many attractions (Guiness, Museums, nice pubs).  The Leprechaun Museum (not recommended by our travel company), was a silly toutist trap, but inexpensive and fun none-the-less.  Guiness Tour was a great way to start the trip.        

One resort that we stayed at was a beautiful, isolated, country spa - great if you want to sit out in a spa and relax.  Not good if you want to see sites and experience the culture.  The hotel in Clare, was our favorite stay.  The city was fun and had easy access to nice local venues.  The Cliffs of Moher, were the most scenic, beautiful, memorable part of the trip.  The medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle was extremely over-priced.  The entertainment was OK and cute fun, but the food was so ridiculously bad that I would not recommend this to anyone.  We have these venues at home, and both the food and entertainment are much better at half the cost...but they're missing the authentic castle vibe.  

Then we arrived at the Lodge at the Ashford Castle -- the second part of the trip where we were led to believe the travel agency failed and provided very wrong misrepresentations about our lodging.  Originally we were suppose to stay at the castle, but that option filled before we could book (due to rental car confusion), so we were diverted to stay at the Lodge at Ashford Castle.  I was told it was another facility on the Castle grounds with full access to the Castle and the only difference would be where we slept.  Luckily our itinerary stated "The Lodge at Ashford Castle, overlooking Lisloughrey Quay with a spectacular view of Lough Corrib, offers an exemplary boutique country house experience in Cong, Co. Mayo. This hotel has so much to offer in terms of its stunning location and allows guests to enjoy all the amenities at Ashford Castle itself. The Lodge at Ashford Castle offers plenty of space to relax and unwind, cleverly maintaining the tradition of a fine Country House combined with the contemporary luxury and style of today."  While the Lodge was beautiful and overlooked the castle, we were not allowed to even walk around on the castle grounds without a scheduled tour and escort.  We were stopped at the bridge and asked if we had a reservation. The Manager at the Lodge was so upset about the information provided by the travel agency that he arranged for a 30 minute escorted tour of the castle for us.  However, we were not allowed to see or use the gym, pool, pub pool table bar.  There no or really late PM reservations for dinner and no openings to have drinks in the bar (this required a reservation too).  Other than a 30 minute tour of the lobby and a few dining rooms, we were not allowed to see any of the Castle.  While the Lodge was very nice, we were made to feel like the "peasants" staying at the Lodge - it became the running joke of the stay there. The manager tried to make up for the misrepresentation, but several other guests were quite put off by this as well.  Apparently there are miscommunications coming out from Ashford Castle and the Lodge about their relationship --- it appears the rules change daily and on a whim.  If you want the Castle experience, I suggest you demand to stay at the Castle to avoid any issues.  The Falconry, archery, and clay shooting were great fun.  Dinner at the restaurant on grounds was very nice.  

Our last stay was at a castle back in Dublin, it is owned and operated by the same company that owns the Lodge.  It was nice, but not a true castle experience as it is primarily a commercialized facility with standard hotel rooms and venues attached  -- not comparable to staying in an authentic castle.  It was close to the airport, but not really amendable to any other site seeing unless you had a car.  

Overall, Ireland was beautiful and I am happy we went.  I felt the travel agency misinformed us on critical issues that reduced the overall happiness and enjoyment of the trip.  

Claire and her team from the travel agency provided us with the most fabulous vacation touring southern Ireland! We spent two weeks at a leisurely pace exploring much of the attractions, atmosphere and culture of Dublin, Cork, Kinsale, Killarney, the Dingle Peninsula, ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Galway, the Atlantic way, and Connemara! The cities were engaging, and the countryside was so beautiful.Many thanks to Claire and her team as all of our hotels and accommodations, along with our restaurant recommendations, we’re all perfect and we enjoyed everyone of our experiences! We were especially fortunate to have our driver and guide whom we would highly recommend to anyone seeking an individualized experience and he introduced us to Hurling and Gaelic football… So much fun to watch!

We thoroughly enjoyed our itinerary to Scotland and Ireland.

The selection of sites to visit was well done.  In Scotland, we particularly enjoyed the Isle of Skye and the castles.  In Ireland, Ashford Castle was fantastic, especially the hawk walk.  The Ring of Kerry highlights were amazing.

Our hotels were fantastic with the exception of the hotel in Kilmare.  Our toilet there would not flush.  We could hear the people in the room above talking and walking, especially when they returned to the room late at night.

As for drivers, our driver in Scotland was our favorite as he gave great and lengthy discussions about the history of a site.  Our guide in Ireland, was very good, as well; yet, his explanations were brief.  Our guide did a great job with our walking tour of Dublin. 

In retrospect, the only thing we might change was the placement of Dublin in the itinerary.  If we had spent two nights in Dublin after our flight from Inverness, we would have flown out of Cork as it is closer to Kilmare.  That way, we would not have the long drive twice. 

In all, we would certainly recommend your agency, giving you great accolades.  We will contact you again when we plan our next trip.