Ireland and Scotland in the Spring
Ireland
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May 5 - May 15, 2026
Our trip to Ireland and Scotland was absolutely amazing.
We began in Dublin and stayed at the Kilronan House, a quaint place with a bed and breakfast feel. The rooms were extremely comfortable. The musical pub crawl was fun, also. A perfect introduction to Ireland! Then, we picked up our rental car (super easy process) and drove to Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel. We had pre-purchased vouchers for all of our planned stops, which I highly recommend b/c we were able to bypass several lines for ticket purchasing. We even took a random exit advertising Cahir Castle, which happened to have free admission on Wednesdays! In Killarney, we stayed at the Killaran House for 2 nights. Breda and her staff were exceptional! Our private guided tour of the Ring of Kerry was one of our trip highlights. Martin O'Riordan with M.O.R. Executive Travel IS THE BEST TOUR GUIDE. We all loved him. We took a horse & carriage tour of Killarney National Park & Castle (which was within walking distance of the Killaran House). Then, we drove to Doolin and toured the Cliffs of Moher, which were breath-taking. Our last top of the day was Galway (Hyde Hotel). The next day we drove to Belfast and dropped off the rental car. (I'm so glad we had a rental car - it gave us much more freedom.) A private transfer driver was waiting on us. (Cathy did a great job arranging all of our transportation needs!) We checked in to the Leonardo Hotel and then visited the Titanic experience. We had another private tour of the Antrim Coast and the Giant's Causeway. (We all agreed that we liked the private tours much better than the guided bus tour.) Cathy booked our flight to Inverness, Scotland from Belfast and arranged our transportation to/from the airports. She also booked our Loch Ness boat tour, our day trip to the Isle of Skye, and our train tickets from Inverness to Stirling to Edinburgh. Traveling by train was very easy and our lodging at the Redcliffe Hotel in Inverness included a wonderful view of Inverness Castle. Our lodging in Edinburgh (Apex Grassmarket Hotel) also included an incredible view of Edinburgh Castle. We felt really spoiled by Cathy. My family was very grateful for Cathy's expertise and knowledge in planning our trip to Ireland and Scotland. She made our vacation easy to navigate, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Ireland and Scotland.
Hotel Reviews
Our rooms were very clean and comfortable. The Kilronan House was very charming and my family would recommend.
We all loved Killaran House. Breda and her staff were excellent. The room was comfortable and we loved the coffee/hot chocolate bar right outside of our room. Breakfast was excellent, as well.
Loved the breakfast buffet
The view from our window of the Inverness Castle was great. Within walking distance of downtown. They did a load of laundry for us and when we told them we were leaving too early to enjoy breakfast after our first night there, they prepared a lunch packet for each of us, including a sandwich, chips, fruit, a cereal bar, and a juice box. (We didn't ask for that.)
Our view of Edinburgh Castle was amazing. Location was super convenient.
Activity Reviews
This was perhaps our favorite excursion. Our tour guide, Martin, was fabulous. We wanted to take him with us everywhere. Martin O'Riordan of M.O.R. Executive Travel.
We enjoyed this very much! Nice introduction to Ireland.
We climbed all 246 stairs to get to the top! This was an interesting place to visit.
We enjoyed this tour. The setting was unique and we visited some shops in the town below.
Self-Guided
Picturesque. Loved the horse-drawn carriage.
Chris was a very knowledgeable tour guide. He was very accommodating as one of our members had knee issues and he was able to help us avoid many of the stairs on our route.
Breath-taking. You just have to see this. Pictures can't quite capture the awesomeness.
James was our driver. He was great. He added a specific stop that we asked about (a filming location in Game of Thrones).
We didn't see Nessie but enjoyed this tour nonetheless.
This tour was a guided bus tour and lasted all day. I would have enjoyed this better as a private tour. The scenery was beautiful and we got to experience 4 seasons in one day (it was sunny, it rained, sleeted, hailed and snowed.)
This castle was fun to tour.
Edinburgh Castle is awesome. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels here.