Great trip full of interesting places and excursions off the main tourist areas which gave us an understanding of this country we had not visited before. A full bus of 18 with a continuing commentary of so many aspects of Ireland by a very knowledgeable guide was assisted by a competent driver who added added his local knowledge as a Galwegian.

Would recommend this tour to those who do not want a big tour group, their early departures and their big commercial hotel accommodation - we even stayed in a castle.

Not wanting to drive myself. This was a fantastic way to see the countryside
Accommodation was great tour guide and driver were fantastic great tour

Excellent tour director, Kaileigh and driver Dan.
We experienced all aspects of Ireland.
I was really satisfied.

Thoroughly enjoyed our tour. We covered a lot of Ireland and spoke to some lovely people.

Small coach meant everyone got to know each other and have become great friends. Very interesting places visited! Great accommodations and the friendliest most capable driver. Our tour guide kept us informed all the way through and made sure everyone was aware of times for departure, meals etc.

Great itinerary great tour leader

Comprehensive well organised circuit of the entire island. Great standard of accommodation and small group travelling very easy and fun. Guide Sarah and driver John made the journey delightful from beginning to end.

The guide, Sarah, was pleasant, knowledgeable and went out of her way to solve any issues. She knew stories of the different areas we went through. A genuinely lovely person.
John, our driver, navigated areas that i didn't think we could get along.
The bus was comfortable and well appointed.
The whole experience from purchase to being a part of this tour has encouraged me to do more tours as a solo traveller.

Seamless mini adventure on a well appointed bus for 14 travellers.
Started in Dublin and circumnavigated the island. Lots of cultural and historical
Learnings, too many high moments to mention but found the Irish to be friendly and hospitable.

We loved this tour. Our guide Liam and driver Dylan were both wonderful. Liam knew so much Irish history, the struggle for independence, the rise of the Irish Republican Army, and the background and info for many castles and cities etc. We visited many iconic sites - the Titanic museum in Belfast, The Wall, Derry, Kylemore and Blarney Castles, Galway, Kilkenny, to mention a few.
On the first day Liam asked us to change seats every day, and told us to rotate in a clockwise direction. This was so helpful, as we knew exactly where we would be sitting on any given day, and we all had a turn at the desired front seats. This should be standard on all Back Roads trips - much easier than trying to figure it out for ourselves. The bus was compact and comfortable; we only had 16 people which probably made it more comfortable than if the bus was full. It's wonderful to be able to explore the back roads because of the smaller size of the bus.
The drawback for this trip was the accommodation. All our rooms were small or shabby or both. Some people on our tour evidently had outstanding rooms, including in one, a suite; we did not. Every place we walked into the room and were underwhelmed or disappointed. (We did the Highlights of Britain straight after and were delighted with most rooms on that tour.)
The meals provided in all places were excellent.
As mentioned, Liam was an outstanding guide, but I because of the accommodation, I can't give this tour 5 stars.

Just returned from a 12 day Emerald Isle Tour and what a fantastic trip it was! Because it was a small group size everyone soon became one big happy family. The smaller bus was able to travel on roads less travelled, allowing us to explore more amazing scenic coastlines and points of interest. The lovely accomodations and meals were awesome, as was the fun, knowledgeable tour guide and driver.

From start to finish this tour was FANTASTIC!
Our tour guide Deirdre was exceptional as was our driver Ray
Ther content of the tour was great and the accommodation was excellent, especially the castle!

Beautiful country, some spectacular scenery. 50 shades of green! Good coverage of whole country.
great accommodation, always comfortable beds, some v quaint stays.
Knowledgeable , helpful guide and a fun group of travellers.
Driver was excellent. Always a controlled smooth ride!

It was a great trip, excellent guide and driver, great itinerary apart from 3 small day visits to the potato famine, turf farm thing with Martin and the belleek pottery which were all a waste of time, would rather stay out at lookouts and outdoor activities.
The bus was very compact and not alot of room. Some of the motel rooms were quite small and weren’t twin share.
The food was all very good.

Excellent choices of tour leader and driver, fabulous hotels and sights to see. Consistent with Backroads' reputation.

Tour was very informative and interesting. Kayleigh our guide provided a well researched and balanced commentary in addition to ensuring our travel and accommodation was excellent.

Liam was an exceptional your guide, ensuring our experience was very good, fitting in many great places and sights and ensuring hotels meet our requirements, and our individual needs were met.
I would be happy to go on another tour to a different region provided Liam was our host.
He’s understanding and knowledgeable of Ireland, past and present was amazing.
Other tours have not been anywhere near this level.

this tour was great loved the itinerary, and the drive and guide were both amazing. I would give 5 stars but there is always room to improve. On this occasion I feel some hotel locations could have been a little closer to towns

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable regarding the history and sites in Ireland. The tour guide was very courteous and very diligent towards all of our needs. The chosen accommodations were incredible. The sites and scenery were exceptional. There was so much of an advantage on the small backroads bus including but not limited to access into areas that would not be possible in a larger bus. The bus driver was very experienced and we never questioned our safety as we travelled.

Our guide and driver were excellent. Accommodation and supplied meals were very good. Loved the small size group which enabled us to get to know everyone on board.
Had a great time exploring both North and south Ireland, taking in many backroads and seeing a part of Irish life inaccessible to larger coaches.
It may be more expensive than larger groups but worth it in terms of flexibility and access to locations and being treated as a person rather than a number.

Excellent way to see Ireland while being looked after by a very knowledgeable guide who not only lets you know all about the places you visit but also makes sure that everything else on your tour is first class.

We had a wonderful experience which we shared with a like minded group of travelers. We couldn’t have asked for a more organized and knowledgeable guide. Caroline made sure we were all enjoying ourselves and gave us an amazing insight into the history of Ireland and the beautiful areas we traveled through. Our driver Ray was very organized and everyone appreciated his driving expertise on the narrow roads. Caroline and Ray worked well together and we all appreciated their sense of humour. Would highly recommend the tour.

Our Emerald Isle tour with Blue Roads Touring exceeded every expectation and created memories that will last a lifetime. From the moment we began our journey, it was clear this would be something truly special.

The heart of this extraordinary experience was our incredible team of Liam (tour guide) and John (driver). Liam's wealth of knowledge about Irish history, culture, and local stories brought every destination to life. His passionate storytelling made each site we visited feel personal and meaningful, sharing fascinating details about the places we explored that you simply wouldn't find in guidebooks.
John proved to be much more than just our driver – he was an invaluable part of the experience. His local expertise shone through his thoughtful suggestions for scenic trails and the best vantage points for photography. The collaboration between Liam and John was seamless, and their joint decision to add spontaneous photo stops made our journey even more memorable.

What truly set this tour apart was the focus on off-the-beaten-path discoveries. While we enjoyed all the must-see destinations, it was the unique stops that made this tour exceptional:

*Hazel Mountain Chocolate – A delightful surprise that satisfied our sweet tooth while supporting a local business
*Ancient Celtic Crosses – Standing before these centuries-old monuments was deeply moving and historically enriching
*The Ringfinnan Garden of Remembrance near Kinsale - Is a touching memorial featuring 343 trees, each dedicated to a firefighter who lost their life on 9/11 . Created by a Kinsale-born nurse who worked in New York City, this peaceful garden serves as a moving tribute to the fallen heroes.

The tour's carefully curated itinerary delivered one amazing experience after another, a few highlights which barely scratches the surface of all the wonderful places we visited:

*Black Taxi Tour in Belfast – An incredibly insightful and moving experience that provided authentic local perspectives
*Blasket Islands Visitor Center – Beautiful landscapes with rich cultural history
*Giant's Causeway – Nature's masterpiece that left us speechless

I wholeheartedly recommend Blue Roads Touring's Emerald Isle tour to anyone wanting to experience the real Ireland. The combination of iconic destinations, hidden gems, and authentic local experiences creates the perfect balance.

If you're fortunate enough to have Liam as your guide and John as your driver, you're in for an extra special treat. Their passion, knowledge, and genuine care for creating an unforgettable experience truly sets them apart.

This tour is worth every penny and more. Book it – you won't regret it!

We had an excellent experience, a great tour guide and one terrific bus driver would thoroughly recommend this tour the sites we visited were unbelievable and to be able to do the backroads made one terrific scenery and get the real experience of Ireland life thank you

Too much windy back roads for me. Bus is too small for comfortable travel on the roads.

Very professional. The tour guide (Eva) and driver (Dan) were both outstanding.

The tour was too much back road for my liking. Too many one lane windy hilly roads. Would have preferred staying on wider roads to the locations we went to so that is was more comfortable in the small bus.

Value for money. A wonderful way to see Ireland. Driver and Guide were highly skilled and very pleasant people., who went out of their way to make the trip enjoyable.
Food and accommodation was good.

Much more than we expected.The History,scenery and culture were the standouts
Over the tour we saw a very complete picture of Ireland whilst taking opportunities to explore and discover at our own pace
Highly recommended

We enjoyed our Emerald Isle tour especially seeing the north of the island, the highlights being the black cab tour of Belfast and the Titanic Museum.
Our guide Carolyn made our trip extra special with her extensive knowledge of places and culture, not to mention her clear love of Ireland.
I’m glad we did this tour in particular and would highly recommend it to others wanting to see a comprehensive holiday.

This was an excellent tour with an excellent guide Sarah and driver Paul. The tour met my expectations in terms of ground covered and lived up to the name of "Backroads".
The following comments are only my suggestions and only that. They are not intended as an adverse criticism of the overall tour.
The stays in cities which were "two night" stays should always be in an inner city hotel or other accomodation. This would provide a choice of meal venues and easier access to night life. Two of the "two night" stays were at venues out of the cities (Derry and Cork) in this tour.
Where there are overnight stays at "resort" style accomodation (Riordan Castle and Derry) we should be advised there are spa and massage services so that such facility can be booked in advance. On both occasions these facilities were already booked out.
The last day finished in Dublin at 1200 hrs after a boutique brewery visit. Whilst the brewery was interesting in seemed to be like a "filler" for the last half day. Time could have been better spent with an earlier arrival in Dublin and some guiding of this great city. As it was this was done personally by me at the end of the tour.

Tour Guide wonderful - knowledgeable, enthusiastic, fun
God accommodation, van, food, historic & culture

Excellent tour lead by knowledgeable tour guides. Such a fabulous friendly country

With our friendly accomplished guide, Sarah, and driver, Pat, we had a wonderful and informative tour. As well as the included points of interest and scenic gems. they took us to some extra stone age sights which were very interesting. In addition they gave us a great insight into the culture and lifestyle of the Irish from early times, through the Great Hunger to the current, music and food.

Photos are: Galarus Oratory, Deck of Cards houses in Cobh and Castle on the Rock at Cashell.

Tour was exceptional with so much history and absolutely wonderful scenery. Our tour guide and driver were so knowledgeable and welcoming they made the days enjoyable.
Every day was so different, the local places visited , had their own unique history and historical buildings.

The tour met all my expectations. The driver and guide were professional and friendly, giving good information and tips.
I went on Back Roads tours because of a personal recommendation, and will recommend it to others.

Great tour guide, great bus driver, great scenery and excursions and great people.

We got exactly what expected. Professional, diversity, accommodation and food excellent. The Ashling Hotel a great starting point. We would recommend Back Roads to anyone else.
Maybe a bit more variety. Eg. A bit less history and more interactive. Eg. Jameson's Distillery and Ballykilcavan Eco Farm excellent. Your guide Gillian informative and organised. John the bus driver a quiet achiever who did a faultless job.

We were disappointed in the extreme c that a start up drink was not offered. For such a small outlay in context of the overall tour it would have galvanised the group first up.

We hope to return on another journey.

The Guide was excellent. She was clearly very knowledgeable and impassioned about her her country and the tour. She gave freely of herself, over and above what might be expected.
The hotels were generally appropriate and clean., the included meals were great. The buses were too small for the group size (17) plus 1 driver and 1 guide. The scheduled travel breaks were appropriate and interesting and provided an opportunity to catch up on laundry and other personal issues.

It was a great tour and full of surprises . Exactly what I was hoping it would be

Could not fault this tour...thoroughly enjoyed it.

A great overview of Ireland.

Ireland and Northern Ireland are both beautiful countries made more accessible on our Blue Roads small coach tour. People often make a vacation. In our case Caroline was a most friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. Our coach driver, Ray really care about our safety and enjoyment of the tour. Travelling with Aussies, Kiwis and fellow Canadians was “grand”.
Along with expected visits to Titanic Belfast, Cliff of Moher and Giants Causeway (all wonderful), unexpected and pleasant highlights include the Ballykilcavan Brewery; Jameson Distillery, and the Ulster American Folk Park and more.
We especially enjoyed learning about the fascinating history of this island, from Caroline and several entertaining local tour guides.
It was a “brilliant” tour. Thank you Caroline, Ray, fellow travellers and Blue Roads.

Highly organized and yet flexible. Fabulous guide and bus driver. Excellent choice of activities and tours. Great pace for retired folks.

A well thought out tour for healthy seniors.
Good pacing, good use of time.

Hotels were OK, some improvement here would be good.

Loved the smaller group. It was easy to get to know everyone on the tour and make new friends. Loved most of the locations we went to. Some hotels rooms were too small in that we could only open our medium suitcase on the bed and there wasn’t much room on the floor to put your suitcase.( actually had to push furniture against the wall to place our suitcase out of the way) we felt there were a few stops that were not necessary but then may have just been to use some time. Tour guide was great and bus driver was great. Highly recommend this tour and blue roads.

A wonderful glimpse into Ireland with a great tour leader

We were very pleased with our tour of Ireland with your company, Back-Roads tours. Our tour director, Maura Cahill, was excellent and went above and beyond to help us really enjoy the experience. Also, both bus drivers, Paul and John were also very good. Our hotels stays were beautiful. Thoroughly enjoyed our time and would highly recommend your company to our friends. Noelene and Ray Smith

It was my first tour. It was very good and I will travel with Back Roads again.

Backroads Tours were amazing. Our tour guide Caroline and driver Paul were both excellent. Accomodation was fantastic and the speed of the tour was accommodating to the group itself. We were never hurried and always made to feel special. Highly recommend them.

I enjoyed the trip. A lovely tour leader and bus driver was very careful.

Tour group of seventeen was good. Loading and unloading luggage/ people from bus was faster than a larger group would have been and it allowed us to get going sooner. The smaller coach allowed us to get to some places a larger bus could never manage.

Kayleigh was extremely knowledgeable with her history background plus she diligently worked at organizing the next day and getting background information for sites. I have never seen a better prepared tour director. If she did not know the answer to a question she made sure to find out.

Our driver Conan was a true professional and a gentleman always being safe and courteous and helpful.
A great informative tour. I highly recommend this. Thank you for a wonderful experience!

Great tour guide and driver, great places to visit. well organized

We were taken to some lovely “off the beaten path” sites. Our guide Gillian was very knowledgeable on the area and so was our driver. By the end of the tour we were joking around and singing with Gillian and Paul. We all made life long friends.

Gillian and Paul were just the best, nothing was to much trouble we only had a small group and we felt very spoil the whole tour. Being of Irish descent we just love everything about Ireland and the tour. Thank you Back Roads.

Our tour of Ireland was amazing our tour guide Liam and Ray our driver lead us on a truly memorable experience this was our second backroads tour and we wouldn’t hesitate going on another thanks for our wonderful trip

What a way to experience the island of Ireland! Caroline is a warm and knowledgeable guide, and I always felt safe with Dylan at the wheel. The accomodation is top notch and varied! In a comfortable mini bus you really can experience the backroads.

My Ireland trip was such a lovely venture. Group numbers were just right, our tour leader cheerful, knowledgeable and able to answer our many questions and our driver i called the quiet achiever.I, did a great job driving the different roads getting us from A to B and getting our bags to our destinations each night..
Backroads really was a great way to see Ireland. Loved the different destinations we went to and certainly would recommend the company to anyone who would like small bus tours to see the wonders of Ireland and the out of the way places.

Loved it, contrasts and conflict and incredible scenery.

Incredible! Didn’t know what to expect as my husband and I were invited by my mom almost a year in advance. We work all the time and we work hard. It was so nice and so refreshing to be taken care of so well. Didn’t expect to learn so much about the sites, towns and history. Our guide Caroline as well as our driver Dylan were wonderful. I would recommend anyone and everyone to take part!

The tour was a lovely way to see some of the many beautiful places in Ireland in a small touring group. We enjoyed the company, had an excellent driver Ray (given how skinny some of the roads are) and had a wonderful guide Peter who obviously loves his country, was very informative and had many a tale to tell.

The Emerald Isle tour was incredible and a must-do holiday. Our leader Peter & driver Ray were the best! Highlights were the Belfast black taxi tour, the Giants Causeway, live Irish music in the pubs of Dingle and the amazing beauty of the Irish countryside. We have done 3 Backroads tours so far, with many more to do. A great company to travel with as the small numbers make it intimate and easy to quickly form friendships. Thank you …. Until next time.

Wonderful experience. Our tour guide & driver were excellent and very informative, friendly & courteous.

Enjoyed the tour and hotels were all very good. Tour leader was wonderful.
My main complaint was the time it took for bus company to get a functional microphone for leader to give the group information as we travelled between stops.

A very enjoyable tour. Tour guide & driver excellent, very knowledgeable & helpful.

the tour was excellent. It was very well organized, and everything went according to plan. The tour guide was first class as was the coach driver.
Not only did it cover most of Ireland but the local guides were wonderful and gave us a fascinating insight into Irish history. I would recommend it to everyone.

An excellent tour of Ireland covering an overview of its complex history and, of course, its glorious scenery. Importantly, it was done at a good pace enabling you to take your time seeing the detail and also speaking to the locals.

A wonderful opportunity to learn about both ancient and modern history of Ireland, this tour provided enthusiasm, knowledge, experience and passion for the Emerald Isle.

everyday was filled with great stops and beautiful views. our guide, Peter, and driver, Dylan, were wonderful. best tour ever!

Most enjoyable. Guide & driver very informative. Nice to be around Always helpful. Will recommend tour to friends. We had 13 in our group which was a good size. All 13 fitted together well. The included meals were very welcome. Altogether a stress free holiday. I would have liked a pick up from Dublin airport. It would have made arriving at a stange airport stress free.

Our tour guide, Coralie & driver, John made our journey through Ireland informative, memorable, very pleasurable & stress free.

We had the best time! The driver was very safe and funny and our tour guide was wonderful. She was very knowledgeable about every aspect of our journey. The group we traveled with were a perfect match for us.

This was not the small, intimate experience promised in the brochure. It was another tick the box, visited the main sights, follow the flag tour with less people.

What a great tour. Guide Peter,and driver Emily were the best. Lots of fun and very helpful and personable. Peter really knew his stuff and then some.
The tour was educational, informative,and the places we visited were beautiful and interesting.
Hotels were very nice, rooms neat and clean. Beds comfortable and meals were tasty and plentiful. Some hotels were really unique.

Just loved it. Ireland amazing tour leader Peter best one could get I reckon as was Emily the bus driver. Learn more in 2 wks than I ever did at school or in my life. Has had lots of sad times. Hope now on the up. Irelands Beauty makes up for all.

We enjoyed an excellent tour leader, Maura Cahill, a superior driver, John, and a great group of travelers. In addition, our agenda was well balanced and informative. Accommodations were well chosen and meals a good representation of irish cuisine.

Very well planned and executed itinerary, accommodation and included meals were mostly first rate . Guide and driver were excellent.

We had a wonderful trip with Caroline as our guide and Dylan our driver. Both did an excellent job. Our accommodation was very good, especially liked Kilronan Castle. Our group were friendly, mainly Aussies and two Canadians.
If you suffer from motion sickness this trip isn’t for you. Very winding roads, hence the name Back Roads.

We enjoyed the tour greatly, capably led by Caroline and our driver Dylan.
The tour was well organised, great itinerary and very nice hotels. My favourite was Kilronan Castle. The dinners at the different hotels were fabulous, also all the breakfasts. If you suffer from motion sickness the windy back roads are probably not for you.

Excellent tour around Ireland.
Staff as in tour director & driver where also excellent. Nothing was too much trouble and they made it such fun.
Would recommend to family & friends.

We really enjoyed our adventure in The Emerald Isle. The trip was executed at a good pace with enough time allocated to all adventures and activities. Peter, our guide was very professional and knowledgeable, always making sure everyone in the group got to experience and capture all the highlights of the trip (there were too many to single out anything in particular). Ray, our driver, has superb skill at negotiating the narrow winding back roads of Ireland, always considerate of all the passengers on board his vehicle. He went above and beyond to make sure we all experienced the culture of his Ireland, always available for a chat or imparting his local knowledge of the towns we visited. This trip has been amazing and also provided us with valuable friendships and cherished memories.

Well presented..very informative… knowledge of the tour guide was excellent… no extra cost or any surprises on “optional extras” value for money…the driver was very experienced…we saw a lot of very interesting history of Island.

If you like bus trips, this one is probably a corker. The guide and driver were terrific, and most locations and accommodation very well-researched. However, although centrally located, the Dean Hotel in Galway was awful! The room was far too small, and cluttered with unnecessary themed paraphernalia, such as a turntable and an old-fashioned radio, which filled most of the valuable bench space. There was nowhere for travellers to put suitcases and little hanging space. That said, this small group tour is a very good opportunity to see touch of Northern Ireland and Eire.

Great tour. Well organised, very good guide who was so helpful and very good driver. Thoroughly recommend this tour.

Our entire experience for Ireland has been wonderful. Accommodation, bus, driver (Dylan) and especially our guide, Caroline, have all been outstanding. These things have enabled us to experience the many attractions and history of Ireland!

Fantastic guide and drivers in Ireland. The tour was top notch and covered a lot of the entire island. Would highly recommend!

We were exposed to marvellous sites and a detailed explanation about the sites we visited.
The tour provided a better understanding of Ireland’s history which I found valuable.
I would recommend the Back roads tour to friends.

The itinerary was great. Number of passengers ideal. Tour leader Liam was very knowledgeable. Accommodation first rate.

Fabulous tour, tour guide and driver were fabulous. Everything was wonderful, scenery, history and historical sights. There were places we could have spent less time at and the dinners could be cut back to 2 courses, but on the whole, it was great.

Just what I was wanting - a touring holiday, not a fast paced sightseeing tour. Finished tour without a complaint.
Only recommendation is to shortened Jameson distillery guided tour. For those not interested, nearly 2hours was a long time to wait for it to finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed our Emerald Isle tour. Our driver and tour guides were exceptional. Some feedback, I felt we could have had more time at Titanic. It is one of the major attractions of Ireland. 2 hours was not enough time to complete the tour. We missed the last third of the walk through as we ran our of time. We also felt a stop at the Jack Doolan Statue would have been great. The 16 people on our bus were Australians who would have learned the story of The Wild Colonial Boy at school.

A great way to see a lot of Ireland in a limited time without feeling too rushed. Accommodation and included meals were all very good. Also appreciated some free time to wander around on your own.

Got more than anticipated! Guide and driver were both excellent - informative and helpful. Hotels were, overall, more than expected. Visited places not on the itinerary.

Everything about the trip met my expectations. I would have liked more time to explore the smaller villages at the expense of some of the larger towns even if it added a day or two to the trip. That, and perhaps staying no less than two nights at stopovers would have been good for me. But enjoyed the commentary, particularly local experts where available, the direction and assistance of the tour ****** and driver, the accommodation, and the small group experience. Good value for money indeed.

This was a lovely tour, both our tour guide Peter and driver John were fantastic. They were very knowledgeable and friendly. We saw magnificent wild scenery and stayed in very comfortable hotels.
The food was very good.

We thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip. Your history is fascinating and your sense of humour and hospitality where great.

A terrific tour at the right pace, the tour guide Peter was exceptional .
His knowledge of the island and the history, recent and old was amazing. He was very approachable and couldn't do enough for us.
The driver John was also exceptional.
The bus was comfortable, being 6' 2" another inch of room would be good.

Everything about the tour was terrific. What we saw. Where we visited. Our accommodation and meals provided.
Peter our tour guide was so knowledgeable about Ireland and was happy to share it with us. He help make our trip one I'll never forget.
John our driver was terrific. I felt completely safe with him at the wheel. He also made our trip enjoyable. 2 good people to have on board.

A great trip over 12 days covering many areas of Ireland, filled with history and information. Great range of accommodation, great small group tour, fantastic guide and driver.

Great itinerary and excellent guide & driver

Our guide Shabby and driver Paul were extremely helpful and friendly impressed with the use of whatsapp for communication and posting photos and links to points of interest.
Accommodation and included meals exceeded expectations.

The Tour Guide and Driver were excellent as was the accommodation and the choice of places of interest.

The route selection and tour guide commentary was ecellent. The driving was also first class.

Fabulous tour . Good cities and places visited.good mix of people on the coach.
John the driver was sensational
Good guy lots of fun.
Your tour guide is the best.
Deirdre is the best we have ever
Experienced a wonderful lady
And so full of knowledge and fun too.
We loved every minute of the tour.

"We had an amazing holiday with Back Roads Touring. Our tour director and bus driver were perfect hosts, and the tour director shared a lot of interesting history with us. Our bus driver was wonderful and ensured that we arrived at our destinations safe and sound. The scenery was spectacular, and our accommodations were superb. The included meals offered plenty of variety and were very nicely presented. The Irish people were very accommodating, and there were lots of good restaurants and bars."

We enjoyed a great time with back roads and saw lots of interesting places . We had good fun with fellow travellers .

Very enjoyable tour, saw and learned lots, very nice hotels. Guide and driver were excellent

A great experience, so much to see and do. Well cared for by tour guide and driver. Hotels bar one were excellent. Food extremely good. Good mix of scenery, history and culture

The trip was organised exceptionally well. Good balance between site seeing with group and free time. Our tour guide Sarah Downey and driver Dylan, made the trip. They were fun, knowledgeable, helpful, and professional. I celebrated my 60th birthday on our trip and they made my day extra special. We also enjoyed the selection of accomodations we stayed at.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Blue-Roads around Ireland. We felt we got to see so much more than we would have on our own, and did not have to worry about driving in Ireland which at times seems like it could be quite challenging. Our tour guide was the best - had a great personality with a good sense of humour, and very knowledgeable. She easily connected with all members in our group. And we had a wonderful group of fellow travelers as well, which made the trip very enjoyable and relaxing as well. I highly recommend this trip for anyone considering a visit to Ireland!

Exploring Ireland with Back-Roads tours is a fantastic way to see the country and learn some more of its history

Everything was thought out carefully. The best routes to see the most. Outstanding tour guide and driver. Interesting excursions full of history and beautiful scenery. Excellent hotels and meals. What is there not to love?!

Loved this extensive tour of Ireland, accomodation was VG to Excellent,
Food (way too much good food), our guide and driver the best and a great group to interact with.
The weather wasn't the best but the experience and fun outwieghed the weather.
Thanks to Brenna and Laura for a great trip

Maura and Ray were great. At times I felt the hotels could have put Backroad guests into better rooms as Backroads give them business. Probably would drop the folk museum. Other choices wonderful.

We enjoyed every minute of the Emerald Isle tour. The itinerary, accommodations, pace and timings were all very good.
The tour guide, Breeda, create a really great tone.

Absolutely great value for money. Backroads was exactly the experience we had, as we ventured around beautiful laneways and small roads and minimal time on bigger motorways. Our tour leader Breeda was just perfect imparting her great knowledge of the Emerald Isle with humour and personality. The smaller number of participants was ideal giving us a feeling of not being lost or over run in a larger group. Our bus driver Laura was also wonderful and made us feel relaxed and safe during the tour.
The accommodation and meals that were provided were of a very high standard and generally in perfect locations.

Bus great,lovely lot of like minded people 🙄. Driver very good and a very friendly person. Tour leader very helpful and easy to approach. I got covid on the tour so I missed 4 days of the tour.

Your guide needs to stop & talk to the group rather than be in front when only the nearest few hear what is being said. Even better would be as BOX system where everyone has a hearing device so hears everything the guide is saying. Otherwise great guide with huge local knowledge & a great driver.
Thanks for a great trip

The very best of Tours. Fabulous time had by all. The smaller group is a great idea to go places not normally covered by tourist buses.

Excellent. Warm & friendly. Well organised & relaxing. Wouldn't try any other way. Micaela is tops!

Very knowledgeable and helpful guide and driver, both of whom made the tour interesting and fun. Interesting places visited at a leisurely pace. Mostly very good hotels. The included meals were excellent. Could probably have been two or three days longer allowing for extra time in some of the most interesting towns. Was hard to say goodbye to everyone at the end of the tour.

Excellent all around. Guide, driver, accom, friendly & knowledgeable. Being sml gr, git to places that bigger buses wouldn't. A very personalized & family feel about it fic both myself & partner Andy Chalmers.

I loved it tour guide was very good and friendly so was bus driver. And overall very nice trip . I thought most hotels were very central but cork was to out of town considering we had to buy tea where we had to eat at hotel. Limited options. Bar food ****. Restaurant expensive. But generally great. And I would have liked to explore cork more. I would recommend back road tours to my friends.

Meeting new people was good.
The meals to big.
The Music great.
Favourite place was a surprise, going to the Chocolate factory where Chocolate is made.
Last day to short.

Great trip. Well organised. Smaller group made it very comfortable and not rushed. Tour guide and drivers were excellent. Very enjoyable tour.

Fabulous tour. Small group and tour leader often gave us options along the way. Visited some off the road unique places. Accommodation was excellent we even got to stay in a castle which was amazing. Tour leader kept us entertained and was very in tune to individual personal needs. We really felt like the locals and not just a bunch of tourists. Meet some great people and we had an awesome time.

The whole experience was excellent
Our tour guide Eva and bus driver John made the Irish experience unforgettable.
They were both informative funny accommodating. Everything you need from guide
The local tour guides were excellent. They all brought their own knowledge of the area with sad stories and humour
The only hotel that wasn’t up to excellence was Vienna Woods. The hotel was tired looking the staff was not pleasant and the food was not up to the standard we had become accustomed to on the trip
Overall we would definitely recommend

My wife and I are Kiwis with early Irish ancestors. We wanted to see and learn more of Ireland. This tour provided the breadth of coverage we wanted. Together with an amazing Tour Director and fabulous, safe driver the tour delivered.

Tour provided a good insight into North and south Ireland. We learnt a lot about Ireland's history and the potato famine and its consequences. Perhaps at times there was a little too much emphasis on past history and potato famine. I would have liked more on Ireland's contemporary history. Overall accommodation was very good, particularly Redcastle Hotel and Benners Hotel in Dingle. I was disappointed in our final destination and accommodation in Kilkenny. Our room was not soundproof. Hence, we could hear conversation and movement from the adjoining room. On the final day of tour, all we saw was Kilkenny Castle before the tour ended in Dublin.

With experienced
, knowledgeable tour leader and driver we thoroughly enjoyed an informative and very interesting tour around the Emerald Isle. Hotels and meals were of a high standard and 'behind-the -scenes" planning appeared efficient, consequently the tour ran very smoothly. It was an awesome holiday.

Beautiful scenery, Fantastic bus driver. Great accommodation.

The tour involved history, magnificent scenery and practical experiences

Our tiur leader Peter was absolutely excellent as were our drivers Pat and Eugene.
The Emerald Isle is a bit too long, a little repetitive. I would recommend a reduction of about 4 days. Some of the hotels were below par and expectations, 3 star at best.

Exceptional tour with great places of interest and amazing views. Guide Caroline and driver Ray were amazing with great rapport. Scenery out of this world. Hotels were very good and Kilronan Castle was a very special place to stay. All our days were filled with great scenery and plenty of history. An excellent tour. Definitely recommend this tour.

Great tour leader- very organised and helpful.
Need to advise regarding coach size in advance for those who might experience travel illness due to winding roads. A couple of free seats would allow more flexibility for travel issues.

Trip was everything I had hoped for:
*daily excursions timed perfectly, with time to explore or rest.
*saw many highlights of Ireland. Northern Ireland most interesting
*Food and accommodation excellent
*Guide Caroline and driver Ray were fun and informative
*Recommend this tour highly

Well organised and great accomodation.
Never too rushed with time to linger.

I found our guide's knowledge about Ireland was very enlightening and some of the side trips he took us on were great. It was a good tour as we got see most of the interesting places in Ireland. Our driver was a very pleasant young man and very professional, he went out of way to help all thee fellow passengers. Our accommodation was excellent and I believe we were very lucky with the weather over all.

The driver was very careful and considerate of her passengers.
Guide was very knowlable n

Great scenery fantastic guide and driver. All hotels were accommodating and good food.

Backroad Tour of Ireland was comprehensive, informative and entertaining. Caroline our Guide and Ray our driver did an awesome job of giving us a comprehensive look at Ireland's past, present intermingled with some excellent Irish music' special dance performance by Dave at the Dingle pub.
We have loved this tour' thanks Ireland 🇮🇪 🍀🧡

Fabulous trip and so well planned - places of interest to visit, accommodation, included meals, and a very friendly and helpful hostess/guide/organiser and excellent/helpful driver.

A good balance between scenery ,history and social .
there was also ample free time for personal shopping ,relaxing etc.
Excellent driver who contributed to the commentary ,and tour guide who did a brilliant job ,made the trip enjoyable .

well organised
comfortable coach
Great tour leader and driver
right amount of free time
very interesting stops

Wonderful people scenery history.

Excellent tour, comfortable bus, knowledgeable friendly Tour Guide and safe secure helpful Driver
Accessed sites an average independent tourist would not have known about, and a large tour bus could not access
Excellent accommodation and evening meals.
Breakfasts every day, and a good balance of free time in the schedule.

Excellent tour, with great guide and driver also very good hotels, very happy customer.

From start to finish this tour was fantastic. Every day I’d think wow , what a great day. And I said same thing every night. Our tour guide Sarah and driver John ensured we saw and experienced as much of Ireland as possible.
Hotels were very good , and the meals were amazing

I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. The itinerary was excellent and well paced. The guide Sarah and the driver John were very friendly and professional.

Thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Great leader, driver and group. Saw all the places I wanted to see plus a whole lot more - and the weather and scenery were just perfect.

Tour was well formatted in terms of sights visited, Accommodation, and meals included.

Both the tour leader (Peter) and dri er (Ray) were on top of their game in the seamless progression of the tour.

Fellow travellers were intelligent with all members of the party being mindful of each other's needs.

A really enjoyable tour which represented great value for money

The accommodation was excellent. The rooms were spacious and well appointed The food provided as part of the tour was excellent. The staff at the hotels were friendly and helpful. The pace of the tour was good and the small group size made life easy moving around and comfortable on the bus.

I enjoyed the Backroads Emerald Isle tour, and would recommend it to fellow travellers. I may suggest that you undertake the tour more into the season than I did - the weather you can't control, but perhaps you may have a better experience with it more into summer and spring these days.

Too many long days on the bus and we spent much longer than necessary at most places we visited.eg the Blarney Woollen Mills.

Parts of Ireland are dear

A very interesting and well run tour. The Driver and Tour Guide were very knowledgeable and worked well together. While it was probably impossible to cover all the delights of Ireland in a 14 day tour such as this, every day had at least two visit/events to keep us busy with self time at rest/meal breaks to explore the sites and towns of significance. I confess I remain thrilled that at 72, I was able to kiss the Blarney Stone.
The occasional generous two day stop overs (without the additional stacking and packing frustrations of a daily travel schedule) were appreciated by all.
But beware, Ireland is a surprisingly large island and to get around it all in 14 days involves with a lot of coach travel miles.

I have already reviewed and commented above

First and Last day wasted. Never have we started or tour at 6pm and finish at 11.30 a.m. - 2 full days absolutely wasted. Three previous tours started at 9 a.m and the last day finishing at 5 p.m - 2 full days of touring - this was very disappointing. And not as many main meals in the evening as we had previously. I was not impressed the Back Roads Office staff. When we booked we were told we were having twin beds. I was not impressed with this, we are a couple, and have never had twin beds. The Office girl said 'you were last to book' and YOU ARE HAVING twin bed. When we booked we were not the last to book. I felt she was extremely rude, we had paid the same as everyone else, we should have the same as everybody else. As it turned out, Breeda really looked after us, as she did with everyone, we had such lovely rooms and beautiful double beds.

Battle of Boyne was closed, we had an alternative place New Grange, it was very disappointing with monument in the distance. The walk to the centre was nice. Enjoyed the Titanic Museum. We all got drenched at Giants Causeway, very heavy rain, no cover. Had to sit in our soaking clothing until we got back to hotel for 2 hours. This was no ones fault, but it resulted in most of us coming down with flu like symptoms with continual coughing. The next day the Black Cab tours, and it was raining again, no option to stay in the coach, we all got wet again. A couple having to see a doctor and myself and another ending up at hospitals to see emergency doctors, when tour finished.

The Redcastle Hotel and the Kilronan Castle were outstanding, but some of the hotels do not give you a flannel and noticed only one a dressing gown. I didn't pack one as just thought they would be at each hotel. The Dean Hotel in Galway had to be the worst one. Cold wooden floors, dim lighting, there was twin beds here and the mattresses seem to bend in the middle. There was a dressing gown here luckily as I had to put it on the bed to keep myself warmer.

The morning tour of Galway did not happen. We were told that Ray had do have a full day off from driving. It was very wet day, so really didn't see much of Galway at all. Galway was disappointing for us.

Day 8 we started to see some of the scenic areas of Ireland which is what I really enjoy. I was over all the history by this point. The Cliffs of Moher, our time there was definitely not long enough, that was disappointing. Quite a long walk to get to see the best of the Cliffs. The Dingle Peninsula was lovely The Gallarus Oratory was a very long walk to get to it and really not that much. And the Great Blasket Centre was a bit ordinary.

Blarney Castle was really nice, the grounds I enjoyed, while my husband did the stairs. And a bit my scenery of the Lakes of Killarney. Denners Hotel and Vienna Woods Hotel very nice. We celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary, and Breeda and Ray both organised us to have a bottle of wine with our meal.. I thought their jesture was extremely touching, and we appreciated their kindness. She said we don't usually have anniversaries that vintage. It was very special. Kinsale was a pretty town and we had a realy nice tour guide called Brian.. Enjoyed Kilkenny it was also a beautiful town,. with the Hibernian hotel right in the main street. But did think the traditional cottage orne was a waste of time. You could not take photos inside, but really not much to take. Would have preferred a bit more scenic or perhaps the Rock of Cashel, which used to be in the Iterniary and has been taken off.

Unfortunately this was not the best Back Roads Tour we have experience, shame as we always wanted to see Ireland. There needed to be more scenic areas and less of the history.

First and last days wasted. Tour started in evening of first day, and finished early on last day with only a direct drive back to Dublin.
The last three tours we have taken commenced early on the first day and completed in the late afternoon after a full day of sightseeing.

Battle of The Boyne Centre not visited because of closure. There must have been sufficient advice of this to permit a better alternative to be chosen. New Grange as substituted did not permit us sufficient time to visit the monument.

The drive to the Giant's Causeway was taken via motorways. We had anticipated being driven up the Antrim Coast Road as it was advertised in the itinerary as "North Irish Coast". There was sufficient time to do this as we arrived early for our lunch at the Bushmills Inn, & had to use up time at the Bushmills Distillery sales office prior.

The Redcastle, Kilronan Castle & Vienna Woods accommodations were exceptional.

The Dean Hotel was not satisfactory with wooden floors, limited hanging space & poor lighting in the dark rooms. Breakfast choices were also limited.

We did not visit Kenmare, however a return visit & stop in Cobh for us was most appreciated.

I would have preferred a tour of the Rock of Cashel, rather than the Swiss Cottage "Traditional Cottage Orme"

All other sites visited were satisfactory.

For a small group tour it was worth the money.

We enjoyed the smaller tour bus with only 17 passengers. The hotels we stayed in were all great. Very nice beds and bedding and great included breakfasts.

It was a beautiful place to visit with a long history and welcoming, entertaining people

Well planned, great itinerary, good hotels, amazing tour guide.

Good balance of activities & accomodation good variation

Good experience, but requires refinement. Not a lot to do or easy to do things when given free time, especially when hotels location is an issue.

The tour was really good and all the hotels we stayed at were really nice. We felt like we saw places that a lot of other tours would not go to.

By its nature, Nithern Ireland was rather depressing.

Well organised that obtained a full site seeing experience at a leisurely pace. Great tour director and driver. They added so much to the trip experience

I thought I answered this already.

Good itemised itinerary & variety. Took into account his clients on excursions

Because the rour was of excellent service

Small group touring was the perfect way to see major sites and small town areas of interest.

It was a great experience, seeing the sights of Ireland

Great experience, covered lots oh history and topics and visited some fantastic places.

Showed us what the real Ireland is!!!

Very comfortable bus, great tour leader, sobering view of history in Be
Fast ams Derry then astonishing scenery and people along the Atlantic Way. And the craic was wonderful in Dingle!

excellent guide and driver

Our guide was very knowledgeable about Scotland and Abi our driver was a very safe driver with a lovely personality.

See above. Hotels were good too. Safe driver.

Tour guide: excellent and driver excellent.
Tour did all interesting places as well as touristy places. Accomodiation was of a high standard

Excellece all round. Culture people tours history accommodation activities tour guides counties who spoke a out the good and the bad. That's history

Good value for your money.

What we saw and did and the effort of Peter and Dylan made it worth the cost

Great tour leader. Very knowledgeable about everywhere we visited. Loved all the places we visited. Great company on the tour.

Ticked all the boxes. Local guides excellent

The tour lived up to what was advertised

As per above in the first box as indicated

I really enjoyed the experience

Some of the accomodation was not up to the standard I expected

The comments above apply here.

An excellent service and value for money.
Local tours were well chosen and interesting history given by each guide.
Tour was relaxed and we never felt rushed