Overall a very good tour. Excellent driver, guide and itinerary. A couple of hotels were a bit too isolated which limited meal choices - especially in Cork

Overall the tour was good. The guide (Kaeleigh) and the driver (Dan) were both excellent. The rooms and meals were good with the exception of the Redcastle Hotel where the breakfasts were exceptional and Vienna Woods where both the joint dinner and breakfasts were much below the standard that we enjoyed on both this and a previous Back Roads trip.
The one stop that could be eliminated (or substituted) would be the "Famine House". I understand that they had a recent fire that destroyed the main exhibit and it might be much more interesting after reconstruction.

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.

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 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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

excellent guide and driver

Good value for your money.

While this vacation was not inexpensive there were no surprises and we booked through our regular travel agent prior to COVID in 2020 and the trip was postponed until this year (same month).

Expensive but worth it. We saw absolutely everything and then some.

Being able to drive on smaller roads allowed us to get a better feeling for the country and see sights that large coaches could not.

Everything ran smoothly and I think more so because of the smaller bus size.

To be honest I don't really have a point of reference on pricing and I did pay a hefty single occupancy upgrade but I so enjoyed the experience that I believe the cost was worth it.