Tour staff from the initial query, through booking, and especially our tour guide were all... read more
Tour staff from the initial query, through booking, and especially our tour guide were all... read more
I had never taken a travel tour before Vagabond and now I think I am spoiled! Our Tour Daddy Shane... read more
This was my first (and not last) trip to Ireland and I made the right choice with Vagabond's Driftwood Tours. This is a small group tour to remote places, with breath-taking drives and tons of Irish history, culture, and songs. The itinerary planning, pre-trip information, and accomodation choices by Vagabond/Driftwood Tours are fantastic, but our driver/guide Mark made the experience more than memorable.
We explored wonderful places and towns in Counties Clare, Kerry and Cork. Mark's obvious love of Ireland and his wealth of knowledge of the history, culture, literature, geology and music made this a lively journey into the spirit and beauty of Ireland....not to mention his amazing driving skills over some crazy, remote and beautiful roads. When we went to the more heavily visited attractions, his ability to get us in before or after the crowds was wonderful. When a heavy fog made viewing the Cliffs of Moher impossible, he took us to the Cliffs of Kilkee, which are not as tall or steep, but fabulous. No lines, no crowds.. just a few locals walking, a few horses, our group and those views! It's a magic thing to drive through Ireland listening to quotes from Joyce or Yeats, or maybe a lively Irish song, a tale from history or a geology lesson. A very special experience.
Vagabond promises that they will not cancel a tour if they have at least 2 people and they made that promise good as there were only 3 of us on this tour. The accommodations were locally owned inns/hotels that varied from the homey and cozy Gougane Barra Hotel to the luxurious country house Emlagh House in Dingle. The food was very good and the dinner at Gougane Barra, prepared by the owner was exceptional...as was the Black Cask West Cork whiskey.
I highly recommend this tour and from my reading, I surmise that Vagabond does a great job with all of their tours. It's a choice of your activity level and type, the focus of your trip and which part of Ireland you wish to visit.... 5 stars from me!
Thank you to Vagabond Tours and Mark for a wonderful time.
Hello Stephanie, thank you for your 5* review of your 7 Day Kerry Uncorked Tour. Mark is an amazing guide and he truly loves Ireland, like all our guides. Our motto is 'We want you to love Ireland as much as we do' - sounds like you do! We do guarantee departures and never even have we cancelled a tour, we don't think its fair to anyone to cancel a vacation. The food is just amazing at Gougane and Neil and Katy do such a super job. Maybe we will see you again one day and you can visit the North of Ireland with us. Kind regards, Rob Rankin.
When planning our trip to Ireland a couple years ago I knew I didn't want to attempt to research and plan the details of a traversing Ireland on our own, and I knew I did not want to be on a tour coach bus with 80 people. When I stumbled across Vagabond Tours via a Google search it appeared to be exactly what I was looking for. I was still leery of spending 2 weeks with complete strangers as it only takes one to ruin things for everyone. I convinced a friend and his wife to come along with us so I had that comfort zone.
Fortunately our group jelled tremendously after a couple days and became an extended family. We all were on the same page for the most part about activities to experience. Every day we had a new adventure. Every day we got to experience the beauty of Ireland and its people. One thing everyone joked about was nobody packed enough sunscreen! The weather was excellent the entire time we were there with sunny skies and moderate temperatures.
Our accommodations where always exceptional. We were able to enjoy all types of accommodations from small establishments with lots of history and character, to modern hotels, and even a stay in a castle. None of the stays had air conditioning in the rooms, which for our trip presented some uncomfortable sleeping conditions for some in our group. Ourselves, we were never bothered by it as we came from the greater Phoenix Arizona area and are used to temperatures and conditions much higher than what we experienced.
Being an active couple one thing that attracted us to Vagabond was the idea that we would not just be driving around in a tour bus, but that we'd get out and enjoy the countryside and experience Ireland, not just view it. This tour accommodated that desire exceptionally. Everyday there was some physical activity from hiking the coast line to bicycling the national park. Our group always wanted the most from everyday along the way and Darran saw to it that we got out for something every day.
We're so happy we chose Vagabond for our trip to Ireland. We're going to encourage everyone we know to take consider Vagabond for their holiday plans. I may have even convinced our cab driver in Dublin to book a tour so he could get to know his own country better.
Rob, you run a great organization there! I was amazed at the details that were taken care of by you, your staff and your guides. We were lucky enough to have Nile along for a few days as he completed his training. We got spoiled having two quality people to help us and care for us. Darran is an incredible person and amazing store teller! His knowledge seemed unending and his wit was sharp. We always felt safe under his guide as well!
It was a great pleasure meeting you, Darran, Nile and Larry. Y'all sent us home with a lifetime of memories!
Hello David, thank you for your wonderful review of your Vagabond Adventure Tour. Sunscreen - who knew!!! We are having a really sunny lovely summer here in Ireland. The Vagabond tours are packed full of hikes, activities and fun. I hope that cab driver takes you up on your recommendations. We are very fortunate in the guides we hire and train here at Vagabond. Ireland rarely gets 'heat waves' and our hotels would not all have AC as you mentioned. Perhaps this is something they will have to invest in for the future. Thank you for choosing Vagabond and maybe we will see you again one day soon. Kind regards, Rob Rankin, Owner.
Fantastic Ireland Small Group Tour: 8 day Vagabond Tour--This was one of the nicest vacations me and my family have taken. I’d never travel in this beautiful place of the world as an American on these small roads trying to find my way driving on the left hand side. Vagabond does a superb job. Me (age 62) , my wife (age 60) and our 23 year old daughter travelled. It was a small group tour with Vagabond Tours through the west coast of Ireland. The guide-driver ,Tghae (pronounced Tige), was excellent. He was kind, fun, interesting , safety oriented, and always helpful. The rest of the people on the tour were really nice. The tour was quite active with a few stops a day for a beautiful hike, bike, kayak, village walk, meal and traditional music, historical site, picnic or swim in some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. You can do things at your own pace. The boat trip out to the UN world heritage site- the Skellig Island with the 6th century monastery up top was incredible . The trip was all very relaxing, interesting, beautiful and tailored to the needs of each person in the group. The hotels were wonderful- typically small boutique type places. Each day included a fine filling breakfast. I’d use Vagabond and Tghae again without hesitation. A+ , 5 Star Job!
Hello Howard, thank you for your excellent 5* review of your Vagabond Adventure Tour of Ireland. We love to hear about families travelling together and everyone being able to enjoy the tour, with options for everyone. The trip out to Skellig is certainly a very unique and special experience. You have to love the Irish breakfast that keeps you filled up for a day of Vagabond adventures. Tadhg is brilliant. Thank you and kind regards, Rob Rankin.
Affordable. Loved that it is small group (15 people, 16 if you count driver/tour guide). Tour guides very informative and friendly. Comfortable bus to travel in. This particular tour is low key, no excessive hiking or actives. Many stops/visits. Great accommodations to stay at. Didn't feel rushed. Great food options the entire trip. Great views and activities. Everyone very friendly. Just note: we were there during what they consider a heat wave (75-82 degrees) and the majority of the places to stay there do not have air conditioning so the rooms tended to be warm / bus had AC
Hello Ambie, thank you for your 5* review of your Driftwood Tour. These tours are definitely at a more relaxed pace than our more active Vagabond adventure tours. Irish people love their food and we have really embraced it over the last few years, great to hear you ntoticed how good it is. We take on board your point regarding air conditioning in hotels. We use a mix of hotels and some of the smaller / older ones tend not to be equipped with AC, I guess here in Ireland it is rarely needed. Kind regards, Rob Rankin.
We could have rented a car, attempted to navigate the narrow, winding roads (driving on the other side of the road) and maybe even downloaded a self-guided audio tour to see Ireland for the first time, but this was a bucket list trip and we wanted to really enjoy it. Vagabond Tours did not disappoint. We travelled as a family of four - my husband and I (55/56 years old) and our 2 adult children (21 and 26 years old). The activities were at the perfect fitness level for all. Our drivers, Mia and Aiden perfectly navigated the sometimes crazy roads throughout the southwest of Ireland, were extremely knowledgeable about the sites, people and history of Ireland. Their recommendations for lunch/dinner were spot on and made sure each of their guests were comfortable at all times. We signed up for nearly all the activities and were fortunate to have great weather. Highlights were the Skellig Michael landing, sea kayaking and the hikes at various places. They take care of everything - booking, collecting monies for tickets, etc. To hear our kids say that this was the best vacation ever, was the icing on the cake!
Hello Brinkmanclan, you did pick a super week to be in Ireland and the weather has been lovely. Delighted to hear you got to land on Skellig Island - it really is a once in a lifetime experience. That is definitely high praise for you kids and we are very happy that you had a great vacation as a family. Thank you for taking the time to review your tour experience. Kind regards, Rob Rankin.
We cruised to Ireland, Iceland and Scotland in pearly May 2018 from Dublin. We wanted to to do a post-cruise tour of Ireland. We chose Vagabond and Driftwood Small Group Tours of Ireland 11 Day Discover Ireland Tour because friends, whose judgement I totally trust, highly recommended them. There were 15 people on our tour and it was a very collegial group.
I asked MEGAN, our contact at Driftwood, many, many questions before and after we booked and she always responded quickly.
Our guide and driver, EDWINA, was amazing. Edwina provided a lot of historical information before we visited each site and had a wonderful teaching style. She was a our guide, teacher, mentor, and mom. There were plenty of stretch and bathroom breaks.
Edwina got us into popular sites early before the big buses arrived. It gave us a chance to see sites without crowds. We went to many places that the big busses could not do.
We went anti-clockwise (counter clockwise) around Ireland and our first days were jam-packed. After the first few days, we were given more free-range time to wander around some of the towns, paths and gardens, which we really enjoyed.
History, nature and shopping were the focus of this tour. We are not shoppers, but I think there was a good blend of shopping and nature time. The hotels were very good, some were in remote beautiful areas and others in the heart of town. The local people were very friendly and the food and service was always exceptional.
I broke a toe about a week and a half before we departed and we decided to continue with our planned trip. I felt like I was very well accommodated without slowing others down. We were given ground floor rooms where possible. Everyone was responsible for hauling there own baggage, but Edwina, or someone else, was always willing to step in when needed. When planned activities were just too much for me, she always suggested a comfortable place to sit and relax to wait for others.
One change I’d recommend is that Vagabond post straight-forward tipping guidelines on their website. They do have a round-about “we’ve heard that the industry standard is...” for the guides buried in the FAQ, but I think their customers would all appreciate recommended guidelines for guides, restaurants, pubs, taxi drivers and other guides. We all just wanted to do the right thing and tip the right amount.
It was a fantastic experience.
Hello Carolyn W, thank you for a wonderful review of your tour, sounds like you really had a super experience, Edwina is brilliant. As we can go off the beaten path with our smaller vehicles you really can see the hidden corners of Ireland. In relation to your comment about tipping I guess we feel this is a personal option. Unlike North America there is no 'standard' as such and it can vary. Good idea for a blog and we can look into producing one based on what is considered the norm. Thank you and kind regards, Rob Rankin, Owner.