Booked this tour mainly to see Monasterboice, which I made clear twice, early in the day to our tour guide, Johnny. We headed out to New Grange and got our tickets, but had to return in 90 minutes. Johnny took that time to go to the site of the Battle of the Boyne - not listed on the tour. Later enjoyed New Grange. Had lunch. Drove by Slane Castle and looked down the driveway. Headed to Bective Abbey and stopped for a visit. Had a lovely time at Trim Castle. When I again asked about Monasterboice - the only sight I was really interested in - I was told it was too late and we would have to skip it. I pressed the guide and clearly annoyed him. Told us we would be late back to Dublin. I insisted - to his annoyance - and I got support from others on the tour - French family, couple from Brazil, and lady from Norway . Saw the crosses that I wanted to see and headed back to the van. We were then told we would have to skip Tara. If we had gone to Monasterboice in the morning, instead of the off tour trip to Boyne Battle site, we would have had no trouble seeing everything. I believe the tour guide had some hidden agenda, substituting the battle site for the places on our itinerary. He tried to pit me against the others on the tour by asking, when I was pushing for Monasterboice: "Who wants to go to Monasterboice?" Very unprofessional. Johnny bewailed the fact that this was the first time he had missed this national match. I will be more careful where I book tours in the future.
Hi,
I know that sometimes it can be difficult to get the group into Newgrange that most people want to see and they allocate you a time slot at this location. The guide then has to visit places on the itinerary with in the time allocated and maybe Monasterboice was too far to get to within this time...... I will ask the guides in future to get clients to the places they are most interested in within the time frame of the tour.
Thank you for your feedback.
We really enjoyed the tour of the Wicklow National Park and Glendalough. Our guide Johnny had a great sense of humour and so many stories to tell. We were late to the meeting point because we had an issue with the car rental company in the morning but Johnny waited for us which was really nice of him as he didn’t have to because it was totally our fault. Next time in Ireland we will definitely check their other tours.
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave an excellent review and I will pass on your kind remarks to Johnny.
I am new to tours and did not really know what to expect so was pleasantly surprised by the sheer amount we saw and did! Robert was hugely informative and engaging and really set my time up in Ireland to be ready for all the history... The stables were beautiful, the guides helpful (I am a total beginner and I think my poor horse knew it!) and the ride through the forest and up over a hill with amazing views was a day I will never forget! Our drive through the Wicklow Mountains brought more history and flora and then after lunch we went to Gendalough...My only wish was to have had more time in Glendalough but I knew it would be a quick taste and will go back again of sure! Robert's respect for the sacred space was heartening. Thank you for the great day and I am sold on tours now!
Thank you form taking the time to leave such an excellent review of our day tour of Wicklow and I will let Robert know of your kind remarks
Our guide Richard was good-natured and jolly, and made the day fun even though it was rainier than one might have wished. Loved Powerscourt and wished we had more time there to walk to the waterfall and the distillery for a whiskey tasting. :) Great scenery, even when the mist covers most of the Wicklow mountains. The van ride was broken up by enough stops that I never felt like it was taking too long to get from Point A to Point B. Great way to see Ireland history in person!
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave such an excellent review, much appreciated. I will let Richard know that you enjoyed the tour with him.
We enjoyed our trip, and this would have been a 5 had we had a more comfortable vehicle to travel in. We’re older and one of us has arthritis, so being tight in the van was uncomfortable. We notice another van had fewer people on it and was larger, felt like we should have switched vehicles. We also didn’t like where we eat for lunch and would have preferred to eat at the Avoca tea room rather than the small cafe in town. Maybe those visiting Powerscourt could eat at Avoca, while the horseback riders could eat at the little town. I know time and price is a concern, but the lunch was awful at the cafe. The best part of the tour was the kind tour guide, who took his time and went out of his way to help me with my ancestors search. At Glendalough ruins and graveyard we saw my family’s surnames and despite the rain it was beautiful. The history and natural beauty, even the bogs, it was nothing like what we’ve seen before. If this was just based on our guide or the attractions it would have been a 5star
Thank you very much for the positive review and I'm delighted that you enjoyed the tour. You should have just asked the guide to place you in the bus it wouldn't have any trouble.... and I have taken on board what you said about the lunch option, which I can offer in future
