Insight Vacations

Best of Ireland & Scotland Reviews

4 Best of Ireland & Scotland reviews from past travellers that booked with Global Journeys.
4.75
AVG. RATING 4.75 / 5
4 Reviews
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Best of Ireland and Scotland 1 , WA, Australia, Apr 2019
The trip included everything on my Irish bucket list (Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Giant's Causeway) and took me to more sights in Scotland to add to a previous visit. Accommodation was all 4 star hotels. I still occasionally had the problem of a room which was too warm for the bedding (duvet only) and no way to adjust the temperature.

Of the ...read more 36 on the coach 5 were Australians, 2 Singaporean, while all the rest were from the US or Canada. As a consequence the Australians tended to find the coach temperature too low. Everybody seemed to be experienced travellers and we had very few problems with people being late at any time.

The landscapes traversed are marvellous. Included in the tour were several optional experiences, which did cost extra, but generally should not be missed. And gratuities are not included and will cost more also. The weather was a little brisk at times (April 2019) but by no means impossible. Our indispensable Tour Director's advice was very sound - dress like an onion with detachable layers.

I have seen tour groups bond together before, but must admit to being a little surprised at how well this one did so. No name tags were used, but by the second week we all knew one another's names.

I should also mention the musical experiences - the Irish and Scottish evening performances (and dinners) were a highlight. The most difficult part was the stretch where we only stayed one night in each hotel, but the porterage was excellent. I enjoyed the trip very much.
Outstanding visit to Ireland and Scotland 7 , QLD, Australia, Apr 2017
Our trip started with a looong plane trip from Brisbane to Dublin. We broke it with a stop over in Guangzhou using China Southern Airlines. We stopped a day and a half, could have been a day longer. We happened on Blacklane Professional Drivers in Guangzhou. Our driver told us to call him "G". He was fantastic, picking us up from the airport and taking ...read more us to our hotel. Having studied in England, his English was excellent and we negotiated with him to have a 6 hour private tour of Guangzhou the next day.

We arrived in Dublin a day early also, to get our land legs again - I would recommend this to anyone having a long flight. (12 hours Brisbane to Guangzhou, 9 hours to Paris, 2 hours to Dublin). We stayed at the Clayton Cardiff Lane Hotel, used by Insight Vacations for the start of our tour in Dublin. The tour was excellent, well timed and the places visited were excellent. We couldn't really think of any others to add. Unfortunately, a leisurely start meant an 8am start instead of 7.30. There were a number of 2-night stays which were well received. The ferry from Northern Ireland to Scotland was a large vessel making it a smooth sail. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable of the scenery, history and politics of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland and really had the touch of Blarney. The other travelers came from the US, Canada, 2 from NZ and and 8 from Australia. We all got on well. Of course there was "that couple' who loved the sound of their own voices and anecdotes, but overall the people all got on incredibly well. Once again, we stopped at Guangzhou on the way home - the Pullman Hotel is less than a 100m walk from the terminal- and spent a restful 15 hours before the final big leg home.
Back to where our ancestors came from 5 , QLD, Australia, Sep 2016
Insight did a great job. We had a lovely tour guide who wasn't bossy or intrusive and who was musical. The drivers were efficient in carefully negotiating the narrow roads. We only had 31 people on the coach so we had loads of room and plenty of leg room. The hotels were probably the best available. We had enormous breakfasts and just about all hotels ...read more served black pudding which is only found on special menus here. I loved the company of my fellow guests who came mostly from mid-Canada and Middle-America. They were very friendly nice people even if their political views seemed to favour someone the rest of the world finds not worthy to lead them. I liked Scotland more than I thought I would.
Well paced with ample time to do our own thing 5 , Australia, May 2012
Excellent service up front from Consultant Yvonne at Global Journeys. Tour was extremely well paced with ample time for us to do our own thing on several occasions. Modern coach with excellent driver (Jim) and Tour Director Cherryl was the best we have ever had, giving excellent overall commentary without getting bogged down in the detail. Two downsides ...read more were: Newtonmore in Scotland is not an ideal location for a two day stopover when there are more ideal stopovers close by. Unable to do the whisky tour as it was a Sunday and the sales office was the only partly open. Insight should make a refund to cover this oversight of their tour.
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