I can't even begin to describe how amazing this tour was. I'll make an attempt to explain the things I loved in a little detail. But if reading long-winded reviews isn't your thing, here's a short-'n-simple version… This company is beyond excellent, the employees/guides are extremely dedicated to you. The tour I took (8-day Vagabond Wild Irish Small Group Tour) is fast-paced and exciting without being rushed. You see many Ireland highlights ("touristy" places) and many hidden gems. If you want a guided tour of Ireland, you'd be crazy not to book it with Vagabond, in my opinion.

Now, for the specifics…

**The Company - Vagabond Tours of Ireland**
From day one of my research into booking some sort of tour of Ireland, Vagabond set themselves apart from the rest. Almost every last review (about 770 total) on Trip Advisor was Five Stars. My initial email was responded to almost immediately by John, who gave me his number so we could chat about my options. He was extremely informative, friendly, and helpful. He even offered to help me find day tours from other companies during my three days in Dublin prior to the start of the Vagabond Tour. Later, after booking, communications from Dee about slight itinerary changes were cheerful and timely.

**The Guides (aka VagaGuides)**
From the initial meetup at the Grand Canal Hotel in Dublin, our guide was energetic, friendly, and fun. Tim's his name, and your enjoyment is his game. We were also joined by a guide-in-training named Alan, who was also very friendly and personable from the start. Well, that initial great impression from the two of them only skyrocketed from there. I never once got the impression that this was just a job that they were doing. From the start, and especially by the end, it felt like Tim and Alan were our friends who were just showing us around their home. But it is their job and they do it extremely well. Many things had to be done behind the scenes that we didn't see to make it so easy for us. Every outing we had was planned in advance and was ready when we got there. Every morning our van was shiny and clean, inside and out. Every evening the hotel was ready for us exactly when we arrived.

Tim is an outstanding ambassador for the country and land he clearly loves. He has a voice that you just want to listen to for hours. He tells the history and lore of the areas and sites you visit, as well as anecdotes from his own life. He and Alan would switch positions occasionally and then we'd hear Alan have a go at being the guide in charge. Tim has been doing these Vagabond tours for nine years, and it clearly shows. But it's a testament to the caliber of people that Vagabond hires to lead us around the country that a young guide-in-training like Alan still gave us an exceptional experience with his knowledge and wit. It was a truly unique experience, I think, to have two viewpoints harmonizing about everything we were seeing and experiencing.

Throughout the trip, Tim was in constant communication with us about our hopes and goals for the trip. It was clear that he wanted each of us to have a say in what we did if we wanted. The first night, over dinner, I mentioned that it would be fun to experience a bog. His immediate response was, "You want a bog? I can get you a bog." And sure enough, the next day we stopped at a bog on our way to that night's hotel. Some of us took off our shoes, rolled up our pants, and stomped around in the muck while the others cheered us on, we got stuck, fell over while pulling each other out, laughing the whole time. It ended up being one of the highlights of my trip.

It's important to know that the guides handle adversity extremely well, too. Some members of our group had a bit of an issue and had to leave the tour. It was personal for them and not relevant to the tour so I won't go into specifics. But it was very nice to see Tim go above and beyond for them, helping them arrange separate accommodations and travel arrangements. He even made sure to check up on them a few times after they left.

Long story longer, Tim and Alan were great. Based on the other reviews, I'm positive I would be saying the same thing about any of the other guides Vagabond could have sent me out with. But I took the tour that I took. And it was one of the best times of my life so far. And that wouldn't have happened without Tim and Alan. At the end, I was sad because my nice vacation was done. But I was much more sad because I had to say goodbye to my two new friends.

**The Tour - 8 Day Vagabond Wild Irish Rover Tour**
You can look up the sample itinerary for this tour on their website. I say "sample" because the only thing that seems to really be set in stone are the hotels you stay at each night. There's an outline for what's normally done between point A and point B, but it can be changed due to group consensus or weather. But you'll see a mix of well-known places (Blarney Castle, Cliffs of Moher, etc.) and out of the way, lesser traveled locations that only a small tour van can get to. For example, I think my favorite place we stopped was a picnic on top of a mountain on private land (with permission from the owner). You could only reach that location with a 4x4 vehicle.

It is a fast-paced, fully packed tour. I never once felt rushed, but in order to hit many things in one day you can't spend hours and hours at each stop. This isn't a tour where you can wait in line for two hours to kiss the Blarney stone, or spend all afternoon exploring the little town your hotel is in. I think my group was lucky because we went in mid-March, and many of the "high-profile" places weren't very crowded. So, for example, we had time to go to the top of Blarney Castle to kiss the stone if we wanted, and still had time to stroll the expansive grounds around the castle. But there were seriously signs in the castle saying things like "90 minutes from here" like the lines in an amusement park, so if it was crowded we may not have had time. The trade-off is that we also got to see the Rock of Cashel and experience the Drombeg Stone Circle all in the same day we left from Dublin. I'll point out that the guides were pretty good at sticking to their rule of never spending much more than an hour in the van at any give stretch.

Also, "fast-paced" doesn't mean strenuous. Anything that could be made strenuous (sea kayaking, cycling, etc.) is entirely optional, and can also be done at your own pace. And if it comes up that you don't wish to take one of the optional activities, the guide has other activities planned for you to do while the others do the thing. For example, not all of us went on the Skellig Boat Tour, and those that didn't were taken on a lovely hike up on Bray Head. We had people from age 18 to 60+ on our tour and everyone was keeping up with everyone else, and no one was ever left twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do.

There is downtime, too. You get to the hotel each evening around 5ish, which gives you the evening to explore the town. And it seemed as if at least one of the stops each day had us free for a while to explore wherever we were located. And for those of you who enjoy shopping, the two nights in Dingle will give you all the time you need to explore the best local shops you'll find on the tour, but you'll also have a good shot at a bunch of good places in Galway.

This one is going to be different for every tour, but the group I was with was amazing. I came on the tour solo, but everyone else was very welcoming. Throughout the tour we were all exchanging numbers and email address so we could share pictures and videos. But that seems to be a common thread among a lot of the other reviews. So I suppose it's indicative of how well the tour is structured and run that random people from all over come together and not only get along, but become friends by the end.

**Summary**
Like I said at the beginning, you'd be crazy not to use Vagabond for your tour of Ireland. The company is highly regarded and respected, the tour is expertly run by wonderful people who are simultaneously highly professional and extremely fun and friendly, and you get a large sample of different sights and experiences. From the very fist minute to the very last second, this was wonderfully fun, exciting, and emotional journey. Vagabond, Alan, and Tim helped me have an amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.