Justine Stewart

Every aspect of our trip to Ireland that Kim Kim helped us plan was absolutely wonderful!
We loved our two day stay in Dublin. The Dublin Food and Drink tour was a blast and a great way to see some of the city and learn about and taste traditional Irish food. I can’t remember the tour guide’s name but he had a great personality and really made the tour even more enjoyable. We also loved the Historical walking tour. We learned so much about the history of Ireland and Dublin in particular.
We loved Donegal town and Harvey’s Point hotel. Our day tour with Henry was fantastic and we especially loved the Slieve League Cliffs. Henry was so knowledgeable and loved spending the day with him. He recommended great restaurants and pubs for music.
We loved the drive to Galway by way of Achill Island. This was a great recommendation to take the long way and fit in the island.
On our way to Doolin, we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher visitors center and walked out to the cliffs. The views were spectacular but this area was very touristy and crowded with huge tour buses.
We loved our afternoon ferry out to Inisheer island and the bike ride all around the island. One of our favorite tours for sure!
I think perhaps Dingle Town was our favorite…. staying at the Pax House was unlike any place I’ve ever stayed. The rooms, the scenery from the common rooms and our bedrooms, and the beautiful breakfast prepared by the owner was simply amazing. An experience never to be forgotten! The Archaeological Tour of the peninsula was great. So beautiful!
Really enjoyed Killarney and the Cahernane House Manor. The National Park Walking Tour was nice and the Ring of Kerry Day Tour was great. Aiden, our tour guide was very knowledgeable and had so much good information about Ireland’s history and that area in particular. He was so enjoyable to spend the day with.
The last night of our trip at the Cashel Palace Hotel was beautiful with a wonderful breakfast the next day.

Hotel Reviews

Cahernane House Manor Hotel

Killarney

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cashel Palace Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Shamrock Inn

Doolin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pembroke Townhouse Dublin

Dublin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Harvey's Point Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pax Guest House

Dingle

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Killarney National Park Walking Tour

Killarney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ring of Kerry Private Day Tour

Kenmare

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Archaeological Tour of the Dingle Peninsula

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aran Island Tour - Day Trip to Inisheer from Doolin

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

DAY TOUR: Highlights Of South Donegal

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Historical Walking Tour of Dublin

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Trinity Trails & Book of Kells Guided Tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Welcome to Donegal!

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dublin Food and Drink tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All hotels and hotels staff were amazing. We loved all os the tour guides. Our favorite ones were:
1. Donegal Tour Guide - Henry
2. Ollie Tours - Eleanor (Aran Island bike tour)
3. Mossies Tour- Helen (archaeological tour of Dingle Pen)
4. Killarney Guided Walks - John O’Connor (Killarney National Park)
5. Killarney Touring Co - Aiden O ‘Donaghue ? (Ring of Kerry)

Hotel Review

Pax Guest House

Dingle

We are 65 years old and have traveled quite a bit. This is our favorite hotel we have ever visited. The setting was so quiet and peaceful. The view was gorgeous. The hospitality and breakfast was the best we have ever experienced. I could go on and on. It was perfect in EVERY way.

Authenticity & Character

It is small enough to make each customer feel cherished.

Location

Beautiful views. Easy walk to the village.

Staff

Waitresses and housekeepers were so friendly. The owner introduced himself personally to all guests and asked if he could be of help.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ring of Kerry Private Day Tour

Kenmare

Very beautiful tour even in bad weather.

Quality of Experience

The views were gorgeous. The bog village village and the sheepdog demonstration were amazing!,,

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aiden was great,,,

Transport

Guided Killarney National Park Walking Tour

Killarney

The park was beautiful - not crowded - many deer. It felt like a magical place.

Quality of Experience

The park is beautiful and not crowded.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

John was so much fun! Burst out in Irish songs sporadically. He loves hiking like we do.

Transport

Archaeological Tour of the Dingle Peninsula

Ireland

Wonderful history shared with us.

Quality of Experience

The sunny weather allowed us to see amazing views. What a special place!! Not as crowded as the Ring of Kerry.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Helen was a great tour guide. Very knowledgeable about the local history and very friendly.

Transport

Aran Island Tour - Day Trip to Inisheer from Doolin

Ireland

We over the bike tour. Such a magical island. Wonderful scones.

Quality of Experience

The remoteness of the island and seclusion of the inhabitants made us feel as if their lives haven’t changed much in the last few years.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eleanor was very friendly and knowledgeable. Great sense of humor.

Transport

Bikes were the way to go!,,

DAY TOUR: Highlights Of South Donegal

Ireland

Whoops - see above post

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Donegal!

Ireland

The tour guide was very personal and shared so much history

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide was amazing - so knowledgeable in the history of the area, so friendly

Transport

Memorable adventure

We were in Ireland for three weeks, from Aug 28 to Sept 17. This was our first trip to Ireland, and everything went well. We mostly followed the itinerary Justine had set up for us, though we did skip a couple of items when we found other things we chose to do instead. Among the highlights, actually, were two stops we added on our own — the medieval town of Athenry and its castle (which we learned about when we just happened to tune in to a TV program on the town on one of our first nights in Ireland) and the ruins of Sligo abbey, which were spectacular. We'd recommend both to other travelers to Ireland. We spent a little over four days in Dublin (for logistics reasons, we chose to put Dublin at the end of our trip, rather than the start), but we could have spent our whole three weeks there and not seen all the things there are to see and learn there. We skipped the Guinness brewery tour Justine had set up in favor of a visit to the Irish National Archaeology Museum. Fascinating! That's another thing we'd recommend to other travelers. Think: bog bodies!

And, while we skipped the Guinness tour, we did sample plenty of Guinness on the trip. We also skipped a 2.5-hour walking tour of Dublin. We did plenty of walking without the tour! :-) We did make use of three-day passes we bought for one of the hop-on/hop-off bus companies in Dublin. On previous trips to big cities in Europe, we’ve found those buses make good, cheap alternatives to taxis and they also allow you to take a load off your feet and see a bit of the city in comfort.

The driving on the “wrong” side of the road/car was no big deal after the second day. We had a car for the first two weeks. Driving on some of the "L" roads -- one-lane but two-way -- could become pretty interesting, we found.

We would recommend skipping Peter Curtin’s storytelling session in Lisdoonvarna, were we to set up a trip for other travelers. That was really the only experience we thought wasn’t worth the effort. His stories weren’t really stories or of much interest, honestly. Nice enough guy, but … meh.

We drove through much of Ireland, from Dublin airport through Cork, Galway, Kinsale, Kenmare, Dingle, Westport, Doolin and all along the south and west coasts and up as far as Donegal, before our days in Dublin. The Aran Islands tour to Inisheer was great, as were the Cliffs of Moher, Slea Head Drive, Achill Island, etc. There were no stops on our trip that I would suggest skipping. The Blasket Islands Centre was really interesting. The EPIC museum was different and interesting, but it took a bit to figure out what they were doing. Essentially, the museum recounts how people of Irish heritage -- we lucky few -- have basically taken over the planet! :-)

We’d love to go back for more of Ireland. We’d like to find more castles and more ring forts to explore if we ever go back, and a full week in Dublin wouldn’t be too much. But we wanted to pack as much of Ireland into our three weeks as we could, and so we had a busy three weeks — but very enjoyable.

My ancestry on my father's side is Irish, and we are relatively certain that the family sprang from County Donegal, in the far NW corner of Ireland. As we got our tickets to see Donegal castle, the man behind the desk asked if either my wife or I had Irish ancestry. When I told him I did, he said there were lots of people in the area who had the same last name as mine or the recognized spelling variations of the name. And just as he said that, a van went by bearing the name of a plumbing company with one of the spelling variations of our last name!

This was our second trip through Kimkim (you arranged Greece for us a couple of years ago) and we’ve been happy with both trips. We are pretty independent travelers who prefer a sort of loose itinerary and a set of car keys to getting on a bus with 50 other people each morning for a package tour. Justine took good care of us and checked in by phone when we were in Ireland.

Hotel Reviews

Greenmount House Luxury B&B

Beautiful spot right on edge of Dingle. Great rooms and lots of lounge areas for relaxing. And Dingle town is terrific! Attended a trad music concert in St. James Church that was very, very good. Would highly recommend that experience to folks traveling to Dingle in summer.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Castle Hotel

Dublin

Smallish room with water stain on ceiling, but otherwise clean and comfortable. Nicely located near O’Connell Street and only about 1/2 block from stop for hop-on/hop-off and city buses. Fairly good restaurant and good breakfasts. Hotel is in several old Georgian buildings that have been connected into one hotel, making the corridors kind of interesting.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gateway Lodge

Donegal

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wyatt Hotel Westport

Westport

Small room but located right in downtown Westport. Great breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Knockaguilla House Bed & Breakfast

Doolin

We ended up cancelling our reservation at this hotel and making one at a hotel closer to town. Simply too far outside town, and we didn’t want to be driving one-lane roads after dark.

Harbour Hotel

Galway

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Happy Pig

Kenmare, Co. Kerry

Loved this one. Irma, the owner, had tons of great suggestions for us, and she was a delight to talk to. Highly recommend! And the breakfasts were terrific!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Kinsale & Spa

Kinsale

Beautiful hotel, but too far out of town. Would have much preferred something in Kinsale proper.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

King Sitric Guesthouse

Howth

Breakfasts were terrific. We only stayed here one night, but we ate dinner in their restaurant that night. I had crab claws that were out of this world!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Trinity Trails & Book of Kells Guided Tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aran Island Tour - Day Trip to Inisheer from Doolin

Ireland

The island was fantastic. Our guide was great and we spent about a half hour chatting with Gail, the daughter of a shop owner on the island. She was very interesting. Only downside: the driver of our van on the island dropped us at the foot of a steep hill leading to the island’s castle, then told us we’d have to walk back to town because he had to go meet another ferry coming from the mainland. “It’s only 5 minutes,” he told us. Forty minutes later, we trudged into town. Not impressed. But Ollie’s guide service refunded the cost of that part of our trip. The driver also wouldn’t stop at the shipwreck on the island because he was worried about getting stuck behind the horse-drawn buggies. Ferry on way back to mainland took us past Cliffs of Moher, which are spectacular. Dolphins played in our ferry’s wake for much of the trip back to mainland. Great day, except for that bus driver’s actions.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mixed. Our guide on the ferry ride and for part of the island visit (I think his name was Phil)?was terrific. Van driver, not so much.

Transport

Entry into the Emigration Museum EPIC

Dublin

This is a different kind of museum, a largely audio-video experience. Basically, it’s the story of how those of us of Irish ancestry — we lucky few — have taken over the planet!

Newgrange and Knowth Day Tour from Dublin

Dublin

Guides were great, and the archaeology was fascinating. One of the highlights of the trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tickets for St Patrick Cathedral, Dublin

Dublin

Kylemore Abbey

Ireland

Beautiful drive to and beyond the abbey. Also, make sure to stop at grave of WB Yeats about five miles beyond abbey. All very interesting. Setting of the abbey is spectacular and the drive thru Connemara is incomparably beautiful — until you get to County Donegal, which is drop-dead beautiful in a whole different way. We saw lots of Ireland, and virtually all of it was gorgeous, but Connemara and Donegal are in a class by themselves.

Quality of Experience

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Center tickets

Ireland

The cliffs are beautiful and spectacular, whether seen from sea or land, and the visitor center is very well done. Our tickets were for somewhere around 11 or 11:30 am, but we got there shortly after they opened and got right in.

Quality of Experience

Storytelling experience in Doolin/Lisdoonvarna

Ireland

Not a total waste of time, but not one of the trip’s highlights, either. Peter’s stories of the Burren were not terribly interesting or informative. Nice enough guy but not an experience we’d rate anywhere near the top of our Irish experiences. And we'd recommend not including it on other travelers' itineraries.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kenmare Heritage Walking Tour

Kenmare

Passed on this one in favor of just strolling on our own, seeing stone circle, etc.

Don & Barry's Kinsale Historic Stroll Walking tour

Kinsale

Good and interesting Irish history lesson.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cork City History Tour

Cork

We passed on this one.

Jameson Experience Tour Premium Whiskey Tasting

Cork

Really enjoyed the premium whiskey tasting presentation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

For me, the highlights of our tour were the city guides in Inverness and in Edinburgh . The Hebridean Tour in the Isle of Lewis was outstanding, and I would have planned more trips with Hugh had we had more time. We had the B&B plan at our lodgings over the two weeks and the food was very good and hearty. We had good times hiking for three days on the West Highland Way, and around the many castle trails in Stornoway.

We loved the fact that we had walking tours in each city the day we arrived and the trip got better and better each day. I couldn’t have planned this trip on my own. All the different places we stayed kept us excited for what was next. The best dinner we had was at Rufflets in St Andrew’s. If we were too tired to go out to eat, the locations we stayed served very good food.

Hotel Reviews

One Devonshire Gardens - Hotel du Vin

Glasgow

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was huge with the tallest ceilings I have ever seen.

The Machrie

Islay Island

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

restaurant staff was excellent

Cleanliness & Comfort

very comfortable beds and linens

The Manor House

Oban

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bunchrew House Hotel

IV3 8TA

Authenticity & Character

Location

A bit out of town but it was peaceful and quiet

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rufflets St Andrews

St. Andrews

Authenticity & Character

Loved staying in the Shepard Hut. We used the amazing copper bathtub after a day of golf.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Market Street Hotel

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Glenlo Abbey

Beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

We had a slow leak in the tire of our car. The bellmen pumped up the tire for us and made sure it was still at the right PSI for our drive to the airport that morning.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cahernane House Manor Hotel

Killarney

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perryville House

County Cork

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Trinity Townhouse

Dublin

location was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Johnnie Walker Tasting Experience - Whisky Explorers

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Walking Tour of Edinburgh with a Top Local Guide

Edinburgh

Great learning the history.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private transfer in town

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Galway Evening Food Tour

Galway

food was very good. There was so much we couldn’t finish it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Center tickets

Ireland

Lots of people there but was worth to see.

Quality of Experience

Guided Killarney National Park Walking Tour

Killarney

We walked through the forest on trails. Fun to see something we would have never discovered on our own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Richard Clancy was great!

Transport

Kinsale Walking Group Food Tour

Kinsale

Walking through town and learning history.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A Round of Golf at Jameson Golf Links, Portmarnock

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fantastic trip, couldn't have done it without KimKim, and Justine and Fanny were terrific!
First two days in Dublin were great, loved Number 59, the food and drink tour was so fun and informative, and our guide, Collum was great. Guinness Factory is a must!
Don't let the car rental people talk you into a bigger car! As you know, when we arrived at the Maldron in Cork, my husband stood in a hotel parking spot while I went to get the car; the hotel only has like 10 spaces out front. As he stood there, a gentleman (local to Ireland) pulled in the spot, hitting my husband in the knees, demanding him to move, saying, 'we don't do that here". My husband moved but was very angry as was I when I returned seconds later with our rental. Anyway, the hotel was very busy and didn't give great directions to the parking garage 3 minutes away, I was flustered and drove down a very narrow street, hitting a concrete ballast on the left bumper as I was making a left turn. I finally made it back to the hotel and found a spot to park, but the damage was done. We ended up getting very drunk at the bar hotel and didn't do anything in Cork.
The next morning Europcar said they were bringing us a replacement car when I finally reached them to make the report, and I got a reference number. A tow truck came and picked up the wrecked rental. After several hours of waiting, I called Europcar and got passed around a phone chain, no one could find the reference number or report of my accident, and told me it would be 24 hours before I was given a replacement. Upset at this news, as we had already extended our check out time at the Maldron, we took a taxi to the airport. We were able to secure another rental after putting down a $2000 deposit with the threat that if ANYTHING happened to this car we would lose our money. This put quite the damper on the day and overall experience as the Europcar people were a nightmare to deal with.
Anyway, on to Killarney which we absolutely fell in love with. The Dromhall was really nice. It was such a pleasure to meet Richard and take the hike around the National Forest after our experience in Cork, and the weather was beautiful. Unfortunately because of the accident we were late arriving to Killarney and did not get to take our boat tour. In speaking with Richard, he recommended not driving the Ring of Kerry after hearing about our driving ordeal, as well as we really didn't have time. He recommended we just go to Kenmare, which I really wanted to do, but we again were a little shy of driving due to the threat of losing our money. We had a beautiful evening in Killarney at the Killarney Brewing Company and did some shopping.
On to Dingle, which was delightful. An Capall Dubh was a great place to stay, we went on a boat tour of the cliffs, had fish and chips at Harrington's, dinner at Paidi O Se's. The next morning was our anniversary and we lit a candle at St. Mary's and walked the labrynth. It was awesome to be on the coast. We stopped in Adare Village on our way to Doolin and had lunch at The Arches, which was delicious.
Doolin was gorgeous! Our accommodations were beautiful and Ceol na dTonnta was great.
We really enjoyed our talk with Peter Curtin. Such a fascinating man! However, his pubs are not open on Mondays and Tuesdays, and we almost missed him because his assistant changed the time but didn't tell him! We had him all to ourselves. After the talk we had a good dinner and some Irish music at McGann's pub.
The Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking and that was amazing. We did not hire a celebrant to renew our vows, that was really expensive! It was special nonetheless. We went back to Peter's Roadside Tavern that night for dinner and also heard some live music.
Galway was wonderful as well as the Hardiman Hotel, probably our favorite accommodation, They had valet parking too! Very helpful. I really enjoyed the shopping and we had a great meal in a pub around the corner.
When flying out of Dublin, you should probably start the morning there. The drive from Galway (and my planning) got us to the airport too late to make it through customs to catch our flight home on Friday; Delta said we needed to be there 3 hours in advance. We were lucky enough to get a room at the Camden Court Hotel and had another fun night in Dublin. We had lunch at the Bleeding Horse and dinner at the hotel restaurant Ivey, which was really nice for our last night!
No problems flying out the next day, Delta worked hard to get us home. Aer Lingus was striking so the airlines were busier than usual, which added to the long customs lines.
We had a wonderful adventure and will totally book our next trip through Kim Kim. Justine was awesome and Fanny was really kind and helpful with me during the car rental accident!

We had a great trip to Ireland -- and a great collaboration with our specialist Justine. We did not want to go on a tour and we wanted to tailor the travel to our preferences. Justine helped us explore scenarios, and then bring the plan to life with excellent suggestions for both places to stay and memorable activities. Having support with accommodations and travel took the stress out of planning and also let us spend our planning and research time on the fun activities we wanted to do. Justine suggested two of our favorite actives on the trip -- a tour of Slea Head with Mossie and a walk through the Gap of Dunloe. It was also nice to know we had KimKim's help if our plans were thrown off by any disruptions - especially since the airline we were flying was on strike. It was our first time working with KimKim, but I would definitely do it again -- the perfect level of support for how we like to travel. Thank you Justine for all your wonderful help and responsiveness!

Hotel Reviews

The Fairview Boutique Hotel

Killarney

The Fairview has a great location and the rooms were nice. The service was not at the super high level we experienced elsewhere -- but we enjoyed our stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wilder Townhouse

Dublin

Excellent location and service! We loved it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Nice quiet location -- and the prettiest neighbor we encountered in Dublin

Staff

Great service from people who were kind and fun to interact with.

Cleanliness & Comfort

George Hotel Limerick City

Limerick

Pax Guest House

Dingle

It would be hard to improve on anything at Pax House - the location is beautiful, the service is excellent and the breakfast was a highlight of our trip. We loved it!

Authenticity & Character

Location

The beautiful view of the harbor is so lovely and peaceful!

Staff

We particularly enjoyed meeting Michelle -- she was so kind and helpful and made our experience very special.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Private Half-Day Tour of the Dingle Peninsula

Ireland

We had a wonderful morning with Mossie. He is a very experienced guide -- funny, knowledgeable, great conversationalist and kept a relaxed pace with lots of time for us to enjoy each stop. He showed us lots of beautiful places that we enjoyed all the more for not having to worry about driving the narrow roads. We loved touring with Mossie and very highly recommend!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gap of Dunloe & Lakes of Killlarney Boat Tour

Ireland

This was one of our highlights of the trip. We got very lucky with a cool, sunny morning - perfect for enjoying the incredibly beautiful surroundings. While we did see other people and, of course, the jaunting carts, we were mostly on our own and to enjoy the peace and beauty around us. The board ride back to Killarney was another highlight -- a perfect way to appreciate the National Park from the water.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our boat driver did a nice job of highlighting some of the nature, history and beautiful views on the way back through the lakes.

Transport

Guided Killarney National Park Walking Tour

Killarney

Richard is a knowledgeable and relaxed host - like having a friend in Killarney. We enjoyed two hours of exploring the park, learning about some of the history and the natural environment and Richard also gave us great recommendations on pubs and other places to check out in Killarney.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dingle Distillery Tour

Ireland

We enjoyed the tour - but our guide talked so much it went from 60 minutes to 90 minutes which felt a bit dragged out.