4.6/5

Wonderful Trip

We recently completed this 24 day tour and had an amazing time. It was our first bus tour, and have concluded bus tours are not for the faint of heart! We felt it was as advertised, saw so many wonderful places. The pace is pretty fast. As we expected, there were some places would could have definitely spent more time.

We booked directly with CIE and had no issues with the booking. We arrived in London a couple of days prior to the tour, so we had to arrange our own transport from the airport to the hotel. Our CIE arranged car service from the hotel in Windsor to Heathrow was fine, on time, and a quick trip on a Sunday morning.

We specifically chose this tour as it was a guaranteed small group. Starting out, we were 24, though it apparently was a combination of a couple of tours and for the last week or so, there were only 12, as half the group left after Dublin. We were on a full sized coach so there was plenty of room for all, so much that everyone could have a window seat if they so desired.

Our tour director Ken O was fantastic. He is so knowledgeable, his anecdotes were entertaining and he has a wonderful singing voice! He ensured we stayed on schedule so as not to miss anything. Due to the length of the tour we had 3 different drivers. John, Dave and Danny were all very personable and we felt in good hands as we continued along, especially on some of the narrow roads we took.

Despite the small group, Ken ensured a seat rotation which was a good thing since a few others in the group apparently felt entitled to try to sit where ever, without consideration to fellow passengers

We were in about 15 different hotels, and most were wonderful, about 3 were not quite up to par with the others. We received our room keys immediately on arrival at each hotel so there was no wait time to get to our rooms. Our luggage followed very shortly. In general, the meals provided were very good.

A couple of hotels were not centrally located, which made it difficult when we had some free time. For example, we had one night in Belfast right in the center of things, but virtually no free time - would have loved a second night there. In Dublin we had 2 nights and some free time, but nothing close by the hotel

The local guides were all excellent. We had a private tour of Edinburgh Castle before it even opened for the day. For other attractions, we had quick entry as a tour group, so no waiting in lines to enter.

Pleasant surprises were the visit to the Oban Distillery - very informative guide, and the John B Keane Pub where we enjoyed some wonderful stories and an Irish coffee.

The dinner at Cardiff Castle was great, a private dinner and entertainment for our group of 12. In contrast, the Irish and Scottish dinner/shows were much too crowded and sight lines poor to see the shows properly.

All in all, highly recommend CIE. Well run and delivered what was promised.

We will certainly recommend CIE to our friends.

Booking service was very good. All questions were answered before we departed. CIE provided us with an excellent tour guide, Elizabeth was knowledgeable about all areas of our land tour and gave good answers to our numerous questions about history and geography of Scotland.

Online Easy

I was able to research and book all of our trip online, at my our pace. It was fun to research the options and choose the experience that would best fit myself and my husband. I am a frequent traveler and I prefer to independently select vacation experiences, without being pressured by a travel sales person.

Cie tour company is great. The taste of Scotland and Ireland tour is great.

I would travel with CIE again and recommend to friends and family. Everything was taken care of, all we had to do was have fun. Our bus driver Colm was great, he was excellent historian, driver and entertainer. Our tour guide Onya in Scotland was also awesome. The tour gave you enough of Scotland and Ireland to really enjoy. I had my mother, who is 91 years old with me. Seeing Ireland was on her bucket list. She really enjoyed it.

Trip of a Lifetime

Very professional, our trip was everything I thought it could be and more. CIE was wonderful to work with and answered any possible question I could come up with. I will definitely use them again in the future and I also tell everyone that will listen to check them out. Our coach driver, Patrick, was professional and extremely knowledgeable about everywhere we traveled and even places we didn’t. Thank you CIE for the trip of a lifetime.

My CIE Tour to Ireland was amazing! It was everything the brochure said it would be and more. I would definitely recommend a CIE tour to friends and family.

Their booking service was good. They do have to remember that every inquiry or booking is new. Sometimes questions do not come to mind at the time of booking.

Seeing Ireland through Irish Eyes

CIE is a first class travel agency to Ireland. I would recommend to anyone their tours to Ireland.

The first time taking a tour like this. Our driver made it perfect, Niles!!

Easy, informative booking for Scotland & Ireland. Niles, driver and guides were all excellent. Fast paced but we got to see everything on our bucket list. Rooms were wonderful. Food was excellent. I would highly recommend this trip, wish I could go back. Try and get Niles for your driver!

I would definitely buy from CIE again. The service was great. I basically just had to show up.

Well organized & well executed. Our driver, Pat Smith, was excellent and a wealth of knowledge of Ireland

Well organized and fun.

The tours were well organized and the driver was funny and knowledgeable.

Awesome trip!

Very helpful and answered all my questions to my satisfaction.

Great tour in spite of long, tiring days

Really good itinerary, drivers, tour guides, and lodging overall ...would have been perfect with a few less castles in Scotland and adding one full day at Isle of Skye. Also, felt rushed at times and had some really long days trying to accommodate shoppers at local vendors shops. Most lodging was located within walking distance to downtown areas which was really good. Also, a short escorted tour in Dublin would have been nice.

We had a great vacation. The driver/guide had excellent knowledge and was a safe driver. He was very flexible and made sure we saw what interested us. In Ireland the driver was Philip O‘Brien We would recommend him and CIE tours to everyone. Sherri put the tour together and made sure we had everything like we wanted it!

Booking was easy and their people very helpful.

Great tour of Ireland

Great!

CIE Tours in Scotland was Unforgettable!

The tour destinations were all very beautiful, fun and interesting! Our tour guide was super knowledgeable about the land and enriched the experience. He also went out of his was to help all of the passengers with any issues. I would definitely recommend CIE tours to friends and family.

CIE delivered a good vacation

Tour was pleasant and well organized. Hotels were excellent. Tour guide was excellent. Would not hesitate to use CIE again.

Always Spot-On!

CIE never disappoints! Amazing sites, lovely accommodations, and the guides and drivers are fantastic! CIE tour #5 for me in June 2018!