Ireland Travel Agents

Adrian was wonderful and lovely to work with. He listened and did his very best to make our experience exceptional. Also, if getting a driver, I highly recommend Ken Smyth - he was incredible! Five star!

Claire was the absolute best with planning our trip. She curated it perfectly to what we wanted and had the best excursions planned. She really paid attention to detail and made the whole process seamless. She was also quick to respond and available with any questions we had along the way.

We had an absolutely fabulous time. Claire listened to our wants and wishes and fulfilled them well. From the first day we arrived in Dublin, to the last day in Dublin we enjoyed every minute.
We rented a car (best idea) and went counterclockwise around Ireland. We were traveling for 2 weeks.
Pros - The hotels, with the exception of one(in cons):
Iveagh Gardens Hotel - Dublin - Beautifully decorated, great buffet breakfast with lots choices, rooms were a good size, nothing too fancy but very comfortable.
Ten Square Hotel - Belfast - Very comfortable, good location to visit Belfast
Lough Eske Castle - Donegal Town - Beautiful rooms, wonderful staff, great bartender! - definitely worth the stay
Victorian Hotel -Killarney - Lovely hotel. Very cozy, meals were order only(but delish) with a wait staff to be commended.
Sites:
Belfast - Black Taxi Tour - outstanding tour of Belfast and the N. Irelands troubled times. We felt like we were in a history class only with wit and lots of wisdom. I believe our driver's name was Justin and he was wonderful. He picked us up at our hotel and we were off. We thought 3 hours was going to be too long, but we could have continued for another 2 and been very happy.
Kylemore Abbey (Clifden)- an active real abbey - just beautiful, the dining room was majestic, with plates set the table of famous visitors from many years.
The Cliffs of Mohr - There are no words to really describe the Cliffs of Mohr from the ocean. It transports you to another world -imagining everything that has happened to Ireland and how it was naturally protected in many ways.
Rock of Cashel - stunning building, lots of history, very interesting. Great stop between Killarney and Dublin
Book of Kells/Long library - A must for every person who visits Dublin. the book itself is unbelievably beautiful. the long library is under renovations but still a wonder to see. Normally ~ 200K books but down to ~17k. Our guide was earning his masters in history at the college(Trinity) and extremely knowledgeable. It was a wonderful day
Teeling distillery - great tour and great whiskey - what else can I say
Our trip went smoothly, exactly as planned - no problems or issues with reservations, or tours. KimKim gave us a perfect itinerary, complete with directions, sites to see (other that what we had planned), and suggestions on where to eat. I highly recommend Kim Kim and especially Claire, our main contact.
Cons
the only real con we have is the Galmont Hotel ( Galway) - it was a great location for the shopping district and getting in and out of the city. However, it was not cozy, the bathtub was inconvenient for older people, and the room were difficult to get to. I would not recommend this hotel.

We did rent a car and it was great. It gave us the freedom to go where and when we wanted to go. Most of the roads were wide and easy driving but when we took the narrow roads we saw parts of Ireland we would not have seen. We only got lost once and lucked in to seeing cows filling the road, being driven to another field. We were also privy to seeing free range sheep, eating grass outside the fence and a sheep do, corralling sheep in an open field, not on a tour.

Again - we had a flawless trip with the exception of storm Amy, which prevented us from seeing The Giants Causeway, but that was of not fault of KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Iveagh Gardens Hotel

Dublin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ten Square Hotel

Belfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lough Eske Castle Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Galmont Hotel & Spa

Galway

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Victoria Hotel

Killarney

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Belfast Political Taxi Tour

Belfast

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rock of Cashel

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trinity Trails & Book of Kells Guided Tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Donegal!

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kylemore Abbey

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aran Island and Cliffs of Moher cruise from Galway

Galway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aillwee Burren Experience ( Cave Tour, Birds of Prey, Cheese Tasting)

Ballyvaughan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Falconry Adventures

Killarney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit and taste at Teeling Distillery

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was beautifully planned reflecting our wishes and preferences and the process was friendly and easy to deal with once we understood the process. We had the advantage that we were not cost constrained, but nonetheless the choices for lodging and arrangements for meals and tours were great.

Hotel Reviews

Merrion Hotel

Dublin

One of the very best hotels in which I've stayed. Very comfortable (great bed), great facilities, great location, and wonderfully service-oriented staff.

Authenticity & Character

Just a great place to be.

Location

In the middle of most things you would want to see in Dublin

Staff

Flawlessly cheerful and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ballyfin Demesne

A beautiful place, with lots to do and see, with a peerless service ethic, always helpful and cheerful.

Authenticity & Character

One of the most beautiful locations and land of any place we've ever been.

Location

Overwhelmingly beautiful location

Staff

flawlessly helpful and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect.

Glenlo Abbey

Lovely place with lovely grounds and an amazing restaurant, The Pulman.

Authenticity & Character

Flawless execution.

Location

Beautiful.

Staff

Excellent people all around

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect.

Ashford Castle

cong

Beautiful building, grounds, and food, and self-aware of its fanciness.

Authenticity & Character

Always in character.

Location

Beautiful building and extensive grounds.

Staff

flawless

Cleanliness & Comfort

perfect.

Activity Reviews

Dublin Walking Tour

Dublin

She was very good and informative.

Trinity Trails & Book of Kells

Dublin

Very much worth seeing.

Private Genealogist Consultation at EPIC Museum

Dublin

The arrangements resulted in a delay in starting as we waited (because the receptionist didn't notify the genealogist, so the genealogist said), and the genealogist mainly did Ancestry.com with us and although she was facile in its use she didn't add that much to our understanding of our family's origins.

Private Galway Food Tour

Ireland

Very enjoyable and probably the best way to visit a town that otherwise would be a shopping overload.

EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum

Dublin

Informative, but a bit superficial. The story-telling is effective but more basic historical context would be nice.

Horse & Carriage Ride

Ballyfin

This was just a wonderful experience -- a highlight of our entire trip. A beautiful place with a wonderful guide.

Private Tour of Ballyfin Gardens

Ballyfin

A wonderful and informative tour by a very knowledgeable and articulate guide.

The Burren Smokehouse - Meet the Makers

Ireland

This experience was rambling and way too long -- we bolted after three hours for what could have been a rewarding 30 minute visit. We would have better used this time in the beautiful surrounding area.

Cliffs of Moher Experience

Ireland

Very nice view but rather touristy.

Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden

Ireland

Lovely place. A little touristy in flavor.

It was a great vacation with an interesting and fun itinerary! While relatively quick paced (which is fine, we asked for it) we felt we were able to see and get a feel for each of the areas we visited. Highlights include the Cliffs of Moher / Inisheer boat trip from Galway, the Titanic Museum in Belfast and the Jameson/Guiness experiences in Dublin. We elected to reserve a Black Cab tour in Belfast that delved into The Troubles and sights and locations of political murals from both sides. This might not be appropriate for everyone but we found it very informative and incredibly unbiased. I recommend it for anyone interested in the history of this modern conflict. We also discovered and had a tour of the Little Museum of Dublin in Dublin. It was great! Housed in an old Georgian home, the tour was theatrical, amusing and spotighted much of Dublin's history and cultural contributions. Also recommended and all ages appropriate.
Lastly, I think it's worth noting that the Trinity College long library is currently undergoing a multi year restoration and as such, has no books in it. Was nice to see it anyway but might be worth mentioning that to any future travelers.

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Hotel Galway

Galway

Clean, comfortable, great location, good breakfast, allowed us to check in early which was a day saver as we had just flown in from NY

Authenticity & Character

A pretty straight forward hotel. Nothing over the top but checked all the important boxes for us

Location

Right at the bottom of the Latin Quarter

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Regency House

Belfast

This was our favorite hotel on the trip. Recently renovated, and very tastefully appointed. Also the best food we had from any of the places we stayed. The pastries were amazing!

Authenticity & Character

Very new, very charming, the most tastefully decorated hotel of any of the ones we stayed in

Location

It's about a 10-15 minute walk from the Cathedral area but coincidentally we saw a show at the Empire Theater our 2nd night and it happened to be a block away!

Staff

I couldn't lift a bag, open a door, or wait for anything I needed. They parked my car! They sent us off with the best pastries for our early drive to Dublin. Loved this hotel!

Cleanliness & Comfort

NYX Hotel Dublin Christchurch

Dublin

Great central location, hip vibe and we got a room upgrade!

Authenticity & Character

Not sure about authenticity but had a rock music aesthetic we thought was cool.

Location

a couple of blocks from everything - Grafton St, St Stephens Green, Temple Bar, Castle, Cathedral, Trinity...

Staff

Easy check in, got a room upgrade, restaurant was clean and service quick

Cleanliness & Comfort

Worth mentioning that room won't be serviced unless you turn on an indicator light which we weren't aware of. Might be worth pointing that out at check in

Activity Reviews

Galway to Cliffs Cruise, Aran Islands and Connemara Full Day Tour

Galway

Great to see the cliffs from the water. Enjoyed Inisheer visit too. Recommend renting a bike to tour the island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a great tour guide! Connor I think his name was. And Bertie was our driver.

Transport

I liked the smaller coach and smaller group

Guinness and Jameson Irish Whiskey Experience Tour

Dublin

James from the Jameson experience should be in theater. He put on a show that elevated the Jameson story from merely interesting to highly entertaining. Also our guide for the whole tour - Jameson and Guiness was Fergus and he was excellent too. He was as informative as he was advisory making sure the group was aware of the history of the city - things not discussed at Jameson or Guiness - but he also made us aware of discounts and opportunities and warned about higher prices at gift shops vs Dublin retail and also street smart tips. The line of Guiness pints he assembled at the end of the tour was pretty epic too!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

James at Jameson and Fergus our guide for the day improved the experience significantly

Transport

no transport. just walking