Best of Ireland and Scotland Reviews

Very appropriate itinerary with good selection of optional extras and free time. Very competent drivers. Knowledgable tour guide with 24/7 attention to detail for all passengers.

Edinburgh Military Tattoo show is the highlight of trip. Ticket price was £43 (very cheap) and got Row 5 L. I suggested to upgrade for a better closer rows and seats with higher price. Shopping / Taxi fare/ restaurant are good and affordable, much cheaper than Oz. Weather is good and cool but warm and stuffy in hotel rooms and got no air conditioning ...read more in Ireland hotels. The worst experience was in Dunollie Hotel in Scotland. The carpet seemed to be recently disinfected or chemically treated. The smell was terrible. Staff did not help to change another room stating no more vacancy. I was suffocated for the first couple of hours. Culloden Estate was fantastic. Drivers are good. Walking tours are pricey. Fish & chips are surprisingly so average. Being from Oz, scenery - sheep, cattle, grass, mountains are not much different ( after touring experience in at least 38 countries) but always good to see and experience. Our travel agent Georgie was excellent, very prompt and helpful.

Had a great time. Just a few negatives....
1. The payment for the Optional Experiences was confirmed prior to travel via 3 sources to be deducted in Pounds Sterling. We loaded up funds on out Travel Card accordingly. However the Tour Director (Luke) was only given an Eftpos machine to process Euros. This would have meant a cost for us in the exchange ...read more rate. We therefore had to extract cash in Pounds to make the payment.
2. Some of the Hotels didn't supply face cloths for showering....very inconvenient.
3. The bed coverings supplied (usually a doona) were often inappropriate (too much) for the warmth of the hotel rooms. Many of us had to resort to open windows (if at all possible) or requesting fans to obtain a suitable level of comfort.

The 14 day tour starts in Dublin and we opted to get there a couple of days earlier as there were other things we wished to see and do that were not included in the tour. I would recommend the Guinness Storehouse tour and the Temple bar district. Just be aware that some of the sites are only 'viewed' from the outside and may not actually 'visited'. ...read more eg St Patrick's cathedral. The people and sites around Ireland were great. The weather is not always kind and our tour around the Ring of Kerry was marred by heavy cloud and rain. Oh well, you can't control he weather.

The Giants Causeway was a highlight and then onto Northern Ireland. Scotland was terrific, Isle of Skye, Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and St Andrews are beautiful. We visited Eilean Donan castle and whilst a tour inside is not included you can buy a ticket and race through during the 30 minute stop-over. Edinburgh is a beautiful city and we were lucky enough to have the Edinburgh Tattoo included. The Tour Director, Luke, was terrific and was very attentive to everyone's needs. Overall I would recommend the tour but like most trips of this type there are visits to commercial venues that may not be of much interest and many of the more interesting or enjoyable activities are 'optional'. that said, the overall cost is pretty competitive and good value.

I never allow the hype to get to me but the beauty of both the Irish and Scottish countryside is simply stunning. We intend to return and do it at our leisure perhaps in Spring to capture different colours - such is the allure of this magical place. Thanks to Trafalgar and the excellent team of tour director, Dan and drivers Nial and Tom, we were given ...read more a great insight to the places we visited.

This was one of the best trips we have been on, from the time we got to Dublin to the end in Edinburgh. It was full on with with a great tour director and driver, the places they took us were just so interesting, we had a great group of people as well.

This tour exceeded our expectations. We had a fabulous tour guide whose knowledge was astounding. The accommodation was first class most of the way and the food was very good as well.