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Best of Ireland Tour Suggestions
Just returned from Best of Ireland Tour. Here are some suggestions. We arrived in Ireland early and went to the Bunratty Castle Medieval Dinner in Ennis, the historic Crown Liquor Saloon for drinks and dinner in Belfast, a Musical Pub Crawl in Dublin, and The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin--all very highly recommended--you need reservations.
This would have been a 5+ star tour (I rated it 4 stars) except for the stay at Lough Erne Golf Resort (LEGR) and Day 9 of the tour. LEGR is in the middle of nowhere. Day 9 tour is a 2 hour drive to (London)Derry for a brief disappointing 1 hour tour and a short walk on the city wall. Derry has a complete medieval city wall--the only such city in The British Isles--and the walk should have included much more of it. We were not shown the Bloody Sunday memorial, the Bogside wall murals, or really very much this historic city has to offer. Then we were driven 2+ hours back to LEGR stopping at Ulster American Folk Park (UAFP) for several hours to tour and have lunch which was actually inedible. UAFP is boring and totally unnecessary--just something to fill the time; everyone was ready to leave 30 minutes or more before we did. Day 9 time would have been better spent staying at LEGR, playing golf, walking the grounds, utilizing the spa services, or taking a 10 minute taxi ride to Enniskillen and enjoying the great pubs there.
Also, on Day 1 of the tour we were given an hour-by-hour schedule for the entire tour. This should be provided at least a month before the tour, so that tourists can better plan their free time: Dinner reservations, evening entertainment, spa reservations, golfing, etc.
And all that being said, we LOVED the tour!
This would have been a 5+ star tour (I rated it 4 stars) except for the stay at Lough Erne Golf Resort (LEGR) and Day 9 of the tour. LEGR is in the middle of nowhere. Day 9 tour is a 2 hour drive to (London)Derry for a brief disappointing 1 hour tour and a short walk on the city wall. Derry has a complete medieval city wall--the only such city in The British Isles--and the walk should have included much more of it. We were not shown the Bloody Sunday memorial, the Bogside wall murals, or really very much this historic city has to offer. Then we were driven 2+ hours back to LEGR stopping at Ulster American Folk Park (UAFP) for several hours to tour and have lunch which was actually inedible. UAFP is boring and totally unnecessary--just something to fill the time; everyone was ready to leave 30 minutes or more before we did. Day 9 time would have been better spent staying at LEGR, playing golf, walking the grounds, utilizing the spa services, or taking a 10 minute taxi ride to Enniskillen and enjoying the great pubs there.
Also, on Day 1 of the tour we were given an hour-by-hour schedule for the entire tour. This should be provided at least a month before the tour, so that tourists can better plan their free time: Dinner reservations, evening entertainment, spa reservations, golfing, etc.
And all that being said, we LOVED the tour!
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