Best of Britain Reviews

Having travelled with CIE in 2016 to Scotland and Ireland I was disappointed that this tour did not stand up to my previous experience with CIE. I was delighted with our guide and driver - Phil and Denis and the fact that we had a small group of 15 or 16. I believe that had we had more on our coach we would have been limited in what we saw and rushed ...read more to get to all the sights. I was pleased with the food - excellent as in my past trip. I understand that the weather was the warmest since 1976, but our accommodations were below standard. Most locations were too far to shop or enjoy any evening activities in town unless you were willing to pay for transportation into town. The rooms were small and all but one of my rooms overlooked HAVAC rooftop equipment. Some of the hotels did not have air conditioning at all. I was also disappointed in the Scottish Evening at Dalhousie having had a wonderful time at the Scottish Evening provided on the Scotland/Ireland tour in 2016. The Welsh dinner was wonderful! Overall, I had a great time on this tour - but I did take it upon myself to travel to some things on my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed my adventure. It was a whirlwind tour with early mornings and late nights. Phil, tour commentator in the UK kept us on schedule... hurried but on schedule. Garry, our tour guide in Ireland was less strict recognising we were on vacation and made an exhausting tour very enjoyable. His kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity was appreciated ...read more by all. As with daily life, stuff happens yet Garry ensured our time was enjoyable and well spent. As a first time lone traveller I would highly recommend.

This was our first international overseas guided tour. Mick Brady (Tour Director) and David Walker (knighted by the group as Sir David of the Coach) made this an unforgettable trip! Their professionalism, knowledge, and focus on Customer Service were beyond outstanding. The all-inclusive nature of the itinerary, as well as the lack of any up-selling ...read more pressure by Mick and Dave made for a relaxing holiday. Mick provided tremendous commentary along the route (history from the beginning of time, fun-filled facts, stories, folk lore, personal anecdotes, etc.) and filled in the white space with well-timed regional music and humorous CDs. He went out of his way to provide follow-up information and directions after the tour ended. David's focus on a safe yet comfortable coach trip was amazing, and he kept his professionalism and sense of humour throughout. Their timing was impeccable and we arrived either early or on time at each of our destinations over an estimated 1,200 coach miles. All of our destinations knew in advance of our timing and welcomed us with open arms. Amazing! We'll certainly look to CIE for our next guided visit and would consider ourselves very fortunate to have Tour Directors and Drivers the quality of Mick and David. Very well done!