A very good trip

This was a very good trip! Enjoyable and relaxing!

Exceeded Expectations!

When asked by friends and Co-Workers when I got home, How was it? My immediate response was " It exceeded all my expectations" I was traveling alone and was a little nervous as what to expect with the gourp. No worries there, by the end of the trip we were like a small family! It is hard to put my experience in a few words. Let me just try to cut to the chase. My flights, no Problems! Hotels were overall great, a few inconveniences, nothing major. The tour guide Allie and our bus driver Owen, knowledgeable, organized, great story tellers, funny, basically got us from A to Z, quite smoothly, not an easy task, as some of us tended to lag a little behind! (Quilty!) Allie & Owen - 5 stars in my book! But, oh the sights, the landscape, the people, the history, the food, Ireland will forever be one of the most wonderful experiences of my life! My advice Go - you will not regret it!

Fun trip

I hsad agood time. I wish our tour guide had spent more time with us at the welcome and last dinner. He did not welcome us as a group or have us introduce oursrelves to everyone. Albi was very knowledable about Ireland history.

Enjoyed the trip

Trip was well organized. Excellant overview of southern Ireland. The tour director was exceptional.

Beautiful Ireland

Unfortunately we had unseasonably cold weather for most of our tour, which started May 13th, but the trade off was only one day of “drizzle”. With the weather so unpredictable, I’ll take that trade off any day. The Irish people are simply delightful, courteous and very helpful. It was refreshing – no major worries about pick-pockets, just the normal everyday precautions. The tour started out perfectly with several days to recoup from travel and enjoy Dublin. With the Maldron Hotel very well situated, it was extremely easy to enjoy this city on foot. We dove into pub life – what fun to enjoy good Irish beer and traditional Irish music. Best of all, no cover charge. Don’t be afraid to spend a little time with the locals because they are happy to have you join in. I felt that all of the stops along the way to our final destination in Limerick were very worthy and well planned. The only one I raised my eyebrow at was visiting the National Stud, which turned out to be very interesting and very enjoyable. The included Japaese garden was amazing. This was my 6th Go Ahead tour, and even though the tour is paced at a Level 3 I never felt rushed. True, there are times that require a lot of walking, stairs and stamina, but that is the only way to see the Cliffs of Moher or the Aran Islands….and how else are you going to kiss the Blarney Stone. We had several fellow travelers whose mobility was challenged. They decided to opt out of some of the sites and enjoy what they could. Moving through so many Hotels was a little bit of a pain, but it’s the only way to elevate a lot of bus time and truly enjoy the beautiful countryside. I believe one of the reasons that the tour didn’t feel rushed was Tour Director Allie’s impeccable consideration for timing. I have to say….it was flawless and very much appreciated! I attended all of the optional tours but one – Traditional Irish Dinner. I did one similar in Switzerland and wasn’t impressed. From the comments of those who attended, I’m glad we sat this one out. Instead we chose to spend the evening at the Brazen Head – the oldest pub in Ireland, and had an awesome time. I would highly recommend all of the other excursions. I felt that they were well worth the money spent. The Castle dinner was a true delight, unlike the Traditional Irish Dinner it was a very small venue with only our tour group and a few travelers from Arizona. The food was really good and the entertainment top notch. I know it’s expensive, but how often do you get to dine in a castle. Ok, the only reason I rated this trip a 3 instead of a 4 was the hotels. I did not feel that the majority of hotels that we stayed in, which were mostly Maldron’s were up to par. Especially Cork, which didn’t even have hot water the morning we left. I read about the hotel situation in previous reviews and even addressed my concerns with Go Ahead before booking. I’m not a hotel snob, but most were equivalent to a Hotel 6 with the exception of Dublin….Super 8….. and 2 nights in County Kerry. For the price of the tour I feel like the "hotel experience" could have been much better.

Enchanting Ireland

This tour is a great value to those who want a mixture of city & country touring...the history of Ireland was represented to us expertly by our guide...a highlight of history was the Cobh museum of Irish imigration due to famine & exportation of convicts...Dublin was a great experience, a large city but with quiet little streets to wander on & pubs to relax in...the Brazen Head was an experience being largely untouched since the 1100's..the countryside is beautiful & just as green as told, with numerous sheep wandering the beautiful fields & small roads...quite an enjoyable & relaxing experience!!!...my second & not last time to see this beautiful place!!!!

A very nice introduction to Ireland

I have been to Ireland many times and accompanied my sister for her first visit to Ireland. This tour is a very nice introduction to the beauty of Ireland. The locations visited are all very nice and there is plenty of free time allowed to explore and enjoy. The tour director, Allie Lister, was wonderful and helped to make the trip lots of fun. My only complaint is that the hotels could have been better. The Maldron chain of hotels (formerly Comfort and Quality Inns) is substandard. It is a stretch to say that these are 3 star hotels...shabby rooms and poor quality food. The Travel Inn in Killarney is very nice, but 4 miles outside the city. The Harbor Hotel in Galway is super nice and in a good location. In spite of the hotels,, this is a good tour and worth the cost.

First Go Ahead Tour

I have traveled to several countries on my own in which I had to locate my own hotels, transportation, and plan out my own sight seeing. With Go Ahead everything was taken care of and planned out before I even left my house. The tour director for the Enchanting Ireland trip took excellent care of us and was a wealth of knowledge regarding the history and culture of the area. I have already recommended this trip to several of my friends, and have started looking at future trips with Go Ahead for my wife and I.

Ireland

A beautiful country with wonderful people. I highly recommend a visit.

Somewhat Disappointed

This was my second trip with Go Ahead, and in all likelihood, my last because the experience that I had on the second trip was not even close to the fun that I had the first time. The quality and attention to details was sadly lacking. It started with phone calls to Go Ahead before the trip. The office staff definitely lacks people skills. They seemed very dismissive and annoyed with me. Also, the website is NOT user friendly; sometimes the log in works, other times not. Again, when I called, they seemed more annoyed than helpful. While I really liked our tour guide, he didn't get off to a very good start with our group. He was not around much at the beginning of the tour, never had group introductions, did not mingle with us at our group dinners. Our bus driver was professional, but very boring, rarely interacting with us. At our first hotel, we had to carry our heavy luggage up to our rooms! Our overall trip was good. One of my favorite things was the sheep dog demonstration!