Self Drive Ireland Tour: Cliffs of Moher, Killarney & Torc Waterfall

This was the first part of a trip to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. It included our children and grandchildren aged 15, 14, and 10; nine of us in total for eight days all over Ireland in an 11-person van. It was memorable beyond words. It was planned terrifically by Zicasso's travel company, with one exception, and our driver/guide was exceptional. We appreciated his knowledge, humor, and flexibility.

The tours and activities were excellent. We especially liked the Jeanie Johnston famine ship tour, the EPIC museum, the Book of Kells, the sheep dog tour, feeding a baby lamb, the falcon demonstration, and the many historic sites we saw.

Our hotel in Dublin, the hotel in Cork, and most especially the hotel in County Clare were fantastic and well worth the cost. The hotel in Kerry was good as well, but unless you are determined to be in downtown Galway, do not go to the one near Eyre Square. We should have planned to stay an extra day at the hotel/castle and drive into Galway. That was the only planning mistake. There is no way that hotel deserves a four-star rating; two-and-a-half for me.

We are now on the second part of the trip to Northern Ireland without the family, just my husband and I, and except for the rainy day that cancelled a planned boat trip, so far so good. We also have an excellent driver/guide.

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!

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

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.