CIE Tour Reviews

CIE can pack more information/destinations/memories in a few short days than what should be possible. They pick the cream of the crop for their tour guides and drivers. Annika (guide) and Eammon (driver) made the entire trip fun and interesting. Without them the trip wouldn't have been half as magical. I was so sad not to continue to Ireland with the ...read more rest of the group that I booked a CIE Ireland trip for next year. No matter what your age, or if youÆre travelling alone or with a group of family and friends, you'll have a once in a lifetime experience travelling to any destination with CIE.

This is the first review we have written about a tour guide in several years, and we are a well-travelled couple fast approaching our 80s who have paid lots of excellent visits to numerous places on most continents. Our affordable eight day and first-ever bus tour in Ireland was especially pleasurable because our hotels were excellent, but, most important, ...read more because the tour guide Marlene Sullivan was so phenomenal and unforgettable inspiring words such as articulate, in love with her home country and what she was showing us (even if she was conscious of some of its inevitable flaws), imaginative, funny, candid, historically well-prepared, friendly - the entire tour package. Marlene deserves the highest marks possible, and, if we go back to Ireland, we will try to sign her up for a few days, except that we have probably reached a point, sadly, where rising every morning around 6am may be more than we want to handle.

I have just returned from a most enjoyable experience with CIE. Our tour director, David was efficient, entertaining and so knowledgeable. He kept us on our toes and we were never late arriving at any destination. Our driver, John was courteous and very pleasant. Nothing was too much trouble for him. His driving was exceptional and I never once felt ...read more uncomfortable. The cultural nights in Edinburgh, Galway and Cardiff were a joy to attend. The scenery in each country was different, but equally beautiful. Wales is a hidden gem! The hotels we stayed at were both modern and quaint (which I preferred). Even though some of the hotels were quirky, the food was always excellent and the service good for the most part. Thank you CIE for a memorable trip and I'll definitely recommend CIE to others.

What a beautiful country Ireland is - we both love to travel and have been to many places around the world but Ireland was just so beautiful. Our tour guide Sabrina (or better known as St. Sabrina- the Patron Saint of Tour Guides / the 'real' Jewel of Ireland) was just FANTASTIC - her knowledge was great and you can tell she really loves her job and ...read more treats everyone as equal and knows how to handle her group with total professionalism. Dennis is the driver extraordinaire with his driving abilities through some of those tight corners in Ireland for sure. Highlights were certainly the wonderful new friends that we made but not to forget the Irish Stud Farm, Taylors Three Rocks, Kinsale, Sheep Dog Trails, Dingle Bay Peninsular, Cliffs of Mohr, Selieve League Cliffs and the list just goes on. Anyone wanting to see this stunning land that is Ireland, DO NOT think twice - it is an amazing country and adventure and if you are lucky enough to have St. Sabina as your tour guide and Dennis as your driver - you guys are in for a 'big craic' is all I can say - very well done guys very well done!!!

What a tremendous trip it was. Special thanks to Tom the tour director and Graham the driver we cant begin to describe the fun we had and would do it again at the drop of a hat.

Just wanted to let the world know that they should add this to their bucket list, the tour was an excellent holiday well organised and well carried out by Mal (Maliachy Norton), his driving skills and knowledge of Scotland and Ireland are amazing. From fits of laughter to tears of sorrow over the Irish history Mal was ôThe Manö. Our accommodation was ...read more very, very good and the bags were delivered to the rooms promptly. We were fortunate enough to do the Edinburgh Tattoo which was fantastic. The group we were with was a fantastic group and our Kilt wearing ôSteveö kept us well entertained. We learnt about the fauna and flora ôrosebay willowherbö yep the little pink flowers thanks to Pauline. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Thanks to all on the CIE team, attention to detail was excellent. Our guides in Scotland were Pauline and Mary, and in Ireland Padraich Org. We canÆt begin to thank them enough for how special this trip was. I only took 9997 photos which serves as a good reminder of an awesome trip. I could go on forever, but if ever you do this trip and get Mal as your coach pilot you will be truly blessed with a fantastic time.

I highly recommend this Tour company. It was so well organised and the Guide, Bryan, was superb. His stories, songs, and charming ways kept us informed and happy every day. We experienced the full tour of the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland in 8 days. It was a fully packed week of sights and sounds of Ireland. The hotels were well chosen ...read more - each charming and pleasant. Good breakfasts and dinners included. We would return and use this tour company again.

We have finished our Irish Gold tour and it was superb. Great hotels and very full days seeing the areas we were in and hearing about the history of Ireland. Tommy our guide looked after us well, ensuring we were all happy, and our driver, Sean, was excellent. Well done. The best of two bus tours we have done.

This was our first trip to Ireland. We highly recommend this tour. Our guide, Liam Murray, was superb. He was extremely well versed on all aspects of the history of each site. In addition, his wonderful sense of humour kept all of us laughing! Liam made sure each person was well cared for. Our driver, Tony, was expert at negotiating the narrow, winding ...read more country roads. Kudos to CIE, Liam and Tony for making this a memorable vacation!

Wow! What a wonderful holiday CIE Tours gave me. Great hotels, great food and our driver and Tour Guide Ken was amazing. Nothing was too much trouble for Ken. He made sure everyone was happy. He was full of knowledge and answered all our questions often with humour. We visited some amazing destinations and I met a lot of interesting people. I would ...read more recommend CIE Tours to any person wanting to experience Scotland and Ireland. Thank you CIE and our Tour guide and driver Ken O'Connell.

Our tour guide was fabulous - thanks Gordon! Driver just as fabulous, made some turns that we couldn't believe in that huge bus - thanks Dave! I guess my only complaint is that there were too many dinner shows, I know the guides have nothing to do with this, so we can't blame them! Would rather have seen more sights or maybe had a demonstration of Scottish ...read more dancing with just our group. Or gone to see where they make all the woolen items. Dublin, we didn't see too much and were there for 2 nights, I want to be busy the whole day (not get a dinner theatre and then find something to do - pretty sure that is what we paid CIE for). Longer time in York - we only had a few hours, same with a couple of towns. CIE does take care of you - the hotels are nice, food is good most of the time and tour guide shows you what he can. Limit yourself to a smaller area say Ireland- that way you will see more of that country! Thanks CIE for a great birthday holiday! Hopefully we will see you next year for just Ireland!!

We're just completing our tour with our Driver/Guide Aiden. Our group started with 45 people with some leaving after Scotland and a few left early in Ireland. I must say this was a very enjoyable trip with plenty of events and stops along the way. Aiden, our driver and guide was most skilful guiding our huge bus on the narrow and winding roads of Ireland. ...read more He also provided a running commentary along the routes including history, current events, as well as Irish folklore. We thoroughly recommend him!
This was our first trip to Ireland and Scotland. We were able to attend the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, which we rate as the highlight of the trip. Scotland was vast and sparsely populated, but beautiful and historic. Ireland blew me away with its beauty, cleanliness and pleasant people. There were many shows and events included, as well as some optional shows that were recommended. Every one of the events we much enjoyed. The hotels along the way were beautiful and comfortable well run affairs with very fast check in, free wifi and great breakfasts (primarily buffet style). The provided meals were very good. The tour bus also has wifi which was pretty good!
The seating on the bus was not particularly comfortable, although not torture. Seats are rotated throughout the trip. If you are mobility challenged, this is probably not a good choice for you, as the driver has 45 people to move along the way, and many attractions require moderate walking, stairs, and sometimes narrow passageways. On similar trips we've taken, they post an itinerary schedule in the lobby of the hotel... good suggestion for CIE. I would certainly recommend this company and tour to friends and family.

What started off as a bit rocky with some miscommunication ended up with a great experience... Phil the guide through Britain and Scotland was personable, knowledgeable and a great source of information and guidance... Eamonn Dempsey, the guide and driver through Ireland was the BEST any tour company could offer. He was very attentive, went over and ...read more beyond expectations, knew the history and countryside inside and out... The only downside was limited æfree timeÆ and would tour again if we could detail a package that allowed æopt out, opt inÆ for many tours (would have skipped Dove Cottage altogether, as well as Liverpool). The last stop in Ireland at yet another castle was a little over the top with theatrics and a total waste of time. All hotels were adequate and the Croke Park was amazing! The last Dublin æcastleÆ we stayed at was overrated and gaudy as far as appearance on the outside, but rooms were amazing... Most seemed to enjoy the off the beaten path things - the jaunting car ride through a park, the visit to a sheep farm with homemade scones.

We booked our tour for 4 including 2 British and 2 Taiwanese as family holiday. I have to give Frank our tour guide 5 star since he really did a great job driving and very informative telling us about Ireland and Northern Ireland. I really enjoyed the Book of Kells in Dublin and The skelling experience. The view around the west coast just brilliant, ...read more wonderful view. I also really enjoyed the Londonderry the local tour showed us the historic part of Derry. All in all it was a great tour we really enjoyed it!

Right now I am sadly at the end of a fantastic journey, once again with CIE! Last year I was fortunate to go on a Taste of Ireland and Scotland and exactly one year later I am back with the Taste of Britain and Ireland Tour. Next year I hope to just do the beautiful island of Ireland all on its own! If you are wondering if you can travel alone as a ...read more woman and feel comfortable don't give it a second thought CIE is perfect for single people like myself. We were lucky enough to be on one of the brand new coaches, fast wi-fi etc. However the age of the coach does not matter if you don't have a good guide and our young (compared to all of us) Aiden Carrigy was WONDERFUL! He can drive a bus better than anyone I have ever seen with one exception Noel Harte (our guide and driver last year). Aiden was very knowledgeable about his beautiful country and he put up with me saying he was our precious bus driver!! So, any of you sitting on the fence just jump off and come join the journey with CIE and their great guides like Aiden!

Brian Harahan lead 32 Americans 2 Australians through Ireland. His knowledge outstanding, his Irish stories, craics, his passion for the history of Ireland memorable. CIE tour excellent re destinations. Local guides informative. We gave Brian 3 pages of craics as a thank you and a laugh for him at the end of the unforgettable holiday in Ireland. Brian ...read more made Ireland unforgettable for us. Being the careful driver, extraordinary guideà icing on the cake for us. 34 travellers blended in well together. Would certainly recommend CIE tours... hopefully they will have Brian Harahan as their exemplary driver guide! Thank you to CIE tours.

Wonderful tour - organisation, hotels, food, inclusions were all great. Our tour director Mike K was excellent with his knowledge of history, his wit, his stories and his directing. Thanks to George C our dependable driver. I would highly recommend CIE tours and this Irish Classic tour.

Me and my husband usually travel together once or twice per year but this is the first time we have ever done a coach tour. We picked the ten days Taste of Scotland and Ireland. Everything was more than we had expected. We loved our guides Ian and Andrew and our local guides. The bus drives were packed with information and fun. The itinerary was well ...read more sewn together (although we would have liked more free time in Dublin). The hotels were fabulous and the meals really nice! Would love to do more tours with CIE.

We had a very very wonderful trip this time. The very nice accommodation and the food was so impressive. Also the very nice people we met on this tour were all terrific. However, the best part was the super good tour guide Mal. He was so knowledgeable and introduced so much information to us. Even if we didn't go to some places, still he would talk ...read more about the part. My son was the only child on this tour and everybody including Mal and the driver Brain were so nice to him. My husband and I were so satisfied with this tour except the first day the transfer from LHR to the London hotel (I wasn't there because I had a meeting held in Glasgow and didn't join the tour until the 2nd day. I didn't know what happened). But everything other than this was so perfect. We really really enjoyed this CIE tour and would recommend to our friends. Thank you CIE Tours. We love you.

This is a very good tour to get a snapshot of Ireland. We feel that an extra day would be beneficial to explore the north of Ireland in more detail. For example a visit to the rope bridge near the Giant's Causeway, some free time in Belfast to see the city as an alternative to the Titanic Centre, then maybe visit the linen centre on the way south.