Irish Odyssey Reviews

CIE are a great tourist organisation. All costs were in the price quoted , no added extras like some tourist organisations. The tour covered big and small venues, cities and towns whilst the places used for accommodation were of great value. I would recommend CIE.

Great trip which covered so many parts of Ireland. Never having been there before and it was amazing. Tour Director Gerry was fantastic, he had such a vast knowledge of the history and was an amazing guy. Would definitely go on another CIE Tour. I was the only Australian in a group of Americans and Canadians. Was a bit concerned at first, but it was ...read more fantastic and I had a great time. Thankyou CIE and Gerry.

My coach tour began in Dublin, the Coach Director was Lloyd, a charming man from Cork. I became ill on July 7th and Lloyd as a person and company representative gave me the greatest care and consideration. He continually assured me that everything would be taken care of, ambulance and all medical expenses, plus taxi travel. Lloyd was a very good driver ...read more and commentator, he had a great sense of humour, and he took a personal interest of all 24 travellers. He continually made sure that everyone was fully aware of the schedule. I highly recommend him.

Our tour driver and guide was Noel. His knowledge of Irish History was excellent and his driving ability amazing. Noel's storey telling and sense of humour was also excellent. I would recommend anyone travelling Ireland to link up with Noel of CIE Tours and ask for Noel to be your director/driver

Started our UK touring with the Irish Odyssey Tour on 12 September with Bob Reid and had a wonderful time. We were the only Aussies on the coach and the rest from USA. Nevertheless, the people were so lovely, and we had a really great group, a really great driver guide who made our holiday so wonderful. Everything was more than we expected and was the ...read more best holiday for us.

Great tour. Not enough time. Sean Gray was absolutely amazing. I travel extensively and he is by far the best guide I have ever had. If you want the trip of a lifetime and to feel like you are home, this is it.. ask for Sean as your tour director.

I have just returned back from my trip. I would like to thank Jim our Tour Director/Driver for a wonderful time. This is my third time with CIE and I would recommend them to anyone wanting to travel in Ireland. You are looked after from the moment you arrive.

We finish our tour in the morning with a trip to the airport in Dublin. Our 12 days have been both informative and fun for all 41 of us on the tour. DonÆt know how we were able to squeeze in all we did in 12 days. Eamon, our tour director, was amazing with his knowledge of all of the sites we visited as well as many points of interest on the way. All ...read more this plus keeping us on schedule and coordinating our visits to the many sites. I hope CIE recognises his representation of the company. All in all a great way to have seen both Ireland and Northern Ireland.

We have just finished our CIE Irish Odyssey Tour and couldnÆt be happier! As this trip was our first time in Ireland, we wanted to see it all... And we did. Every day was full of seeing famous sights and visiting local, small hidden treasures. Travelling through the beautiful, green, Irish country side was a delight unlike any other. But the best part ...read more of our trip, each and every day, was our guide and driver, Sean Gray. He provided us with a wealth of historical facts everywhere we went, showed us points of interest that we never would have discovered on our own, provided us with many laughs, addressed the needs of everyone on the bus with a smile, and made each person feel like the most important person on his bus. SeanÆs attention to detail made the trip first class. Sean takes great pride in showing his country to visitors and makes everyone feel at home. This was our first CIE tour, but it wonÆt be our last!

We are all agreed that the tour was enjoyable, with reservations. Our tour driver, Noel, was excellent and kept us amused with anecdotes and information throughout the tour. Although we are of the opinion, and this is meant in the nicest possible way, that his stories would be tailored to suit the nationalities of his passengers. The hotels varied from ...read more the perfect to the not so good. Two tour buses arriving at the same hotel at the same time in the evening after a long day is not a good idea. Most of the hotels had two lifts. Two of the hotels had one lift out of order leaving a lot of people struggling to get to their rooms to get washed and changed for dinner. Check in at all the hotels was excellent, obviously someone had done their homework. The City Hotel in Derry was, we all agreed, not very good at all in all respects.
The tour got off to a great start in the Dublin area although we thought Kilmainham Gaol was a bit disappointing, not enough information and pushed through too quickly. Taylor's Three Rock Pub was great entertainment, but the service was terrible. The farmhouse visit was nice and the scones delicious but I do not think it can be classed as a traditional farmhouse as it is a thriving B&B type modern bungalow. A waste of valuable time in our opinion and should be missed out. The other farm visit we all agreed was a waste of time was a visit to a farm whose name I cannot recall which included a Power point presentation of the history of clan chiefs followed by a demonstration of peat cutting. All in all the only farm visit we collectively thought was worthwhile was the working of the sheepdogs and sheep shearing.
The Cliffs of Moher we encountered on a very wet day, a lot of people struggling to stay dry in very limited space, so it was two wasted hours. I appreciate that no one can control the weather but surely a contingency plan should be available to the driver. Another complete waste of time was the visit to Cong for the guided tour of the places featured in the Quiet Man film. This film is now 65 years old and only a couple of places in the village featured in the film anyway. If it is any consolation the guide was excellent though he must be hanging on to his job by his fingernails.
The visits to Russborough House, Waterford Crystal, Blarney Castle, Dingle peninsular, Kylemore Abbey, Belleek China, and Titanic Belfast were superb although time at Kylemore Abbey was insufficient to take in all there was to see. The pub visit in Listowel, associated with the writer J.B.Keane was great. The lunch at John Benny's Pub was universally described as awful and the pub visit in Drogheda was a further waste of time.
The itinerary states in a couple of places æfree timeÆ, this did not exist. There was not a lot of time on arrival back at hotels to change for dinner or for individual sightseeing opportunities. We all would have liked to take in local sights in the towns and cities we visited, this was not possible. In our group of four we had pre-booked a spa for our wives whilst at the Radisson in Galway because the itinerary stated æEnjoy a casual lunch before returning to Galway, where the rest of day is free for independent sightseeing and diningÆ. We actually arrived back at the hotel at 1700 and it was only because the staff at the spa were so accommodating that they were able to take advantage of the booking we had made.
This review is in no way intended to be of a critical nature but is meant to be more in the way of constructive criticism. We all enjoyed the tour, our fellow passengers were mainly American with a few Canadians and Australians and were a good bunch of people. We also very much liked the idea of rotating the seating on the coach on a daily basis which enabled everyone to mix more easily.

I enjoyed the tour very much. The accommodations were good and the sites we visited were for the most part very interesting. We covered a lot of territory in the 11 days we had. The tour also had an appropriate combination of one-night and two-night stays at the various hotels. The tour guide was informative and cordial. I had a good time on this trip.
I ...read more would criticise a few things, however. Two of the places visited, the House of Waterford Crystal and Belleek Pottery, were obvious attempts to get us to buy the products produced there. There is nothing per se Irish about either glass blowing or pottery making. It is done all over the world. We could have spent that precious time seeing things truly Irish. As it is 11-12 days is very little time to see all the sights that have real historical and cultural value. To use part of that precious time to push products was a disservice to the tour participants.
All the city hotels except one provided safes in the rooms. The Cabra Castle did not either, but that is so far out in the country that it is not so important. All city hotels should have safes in the rooms and CIE should not choose hotels that do not. Overall I would recommend this tour with the caveat that people should go see something else during the Waterford and Belleek visits.

We are safe and sound back on Australian soil and I already miss Ireland. I would like to thank CIE and especially Lloyd for a wonderful holiday tour, I will cherish the time. Lloyd is a credit to CIE, his knowledge and his love of his homeland (especially Cork...lol), made the tour much more enjoyable for me and my wife. I wouldn't hesitate to use ...read more CIE again in the future and I would love to have Lloyd as my guide again. Thank you CIE again for a great time and thank you Lloyd for a holiday full of craic.

CIE Tours offered an exceptional holiday experience. I have travelled the world, always independently, and was hesitant about booking an escorted tour. However, it was a 40th birthday present from my husband and we booked the Irish Odyssey tour for 11-22 April. In a nutshell, the tour was phenomenal! There were so many unexpected experiences, like making ...read more great new friends with our travel companions. The weather was fantastic, the service was great, and I canÆt say enough good things about our tour guide, Jim McCormack. The wealth of knowledge he shared throughout the trip was impressive and made for an unforgettable experience. Before the trip, I had not even thought about how important the guide would be, but it soon became clear that Jim made the tour such a success. IÆm sure all CIE guides are highly trained, but they have a gem with Mr. McCormack. Everyone from the tour has kept in touch and JimÆs name comes up as part of our discussions. IÆm already looking into booking another CIE tour with a friend. ItÆs rare not to have some complaints about a trip, but I donÆt have a single one thanks to CIE. Thank you for such a wonderful experience.