The Best of Ireland: The Coast, the Countryside and Dublin

We've been on several Road Scholar trips and attended many more assisted trips with at least five other travel companies so we've experienced many, many guides over about forty years. Breanan has to be way over the top for several reasons. He knows his subject mater and knows how to convey to most anyone. He was simply a pleasure to be with. Most trips we're anxious to return home but we could have spent another week with Breanan.

Truly a five star experience! Best of Ireland is definitely aptly named. Our guide, Brendan, is an exceptional leader. He is so knowledgeable, gracious, very approachable, and definitely entertaining. We were well oriented every day, and each day was full of varied experiences. We enjoyed fantastic scenery, beautiful monuments, literary experiences, and the companionship that results from a well run, well balanced itinerary. The lectures were quite worthwhile, the food was delicious and abundant, and the hotels were quite comfortable. This trip was phenomenal!

This program provided a great balance of education, natural beauty, cultural immersion, local expertise, dynamic leadership, and individual interests. Highly recommend!

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Ireland, we learned so much from our Tour Director Antoinette, and the local guides and lectures along the way. Not only was our tour informative and educational, we had so much fun! Ireland is a beautiful country with friendly and fun-loving people. This was a trip of a lifetime with so many amazing memories and it expanded our knowledge of the country of our ancestors.

Ireland is as green as they say and our group managed to bring the sun with us! The tour covered many of the highlights of Western Ireland. One always wants to spend more time, experience more of the place and culture, but for the duration we had a wide range of experiences. But I still can't say Hello in Gaelic.

The Best of Ireland was a marvelous trip. The scenery was wonderful and we loved the small towns in Ireland. One thing we must remark about the people, they are so friendly and accommodating. Our group was wonderful and enhanced the trip. I put together a blog of the trip so others can see how great it was. https://marcnobletrips.blog/the-best-of-ireland-the-coast-the-countryside-and-dublin/

Great way to spend 2 weeks exploring Ireland's beautiful scenery; experiencing and learning about the Irish culture, and history. Our knowledgeable and always helpful enthusiastic leader, Annette O'Sullivan ( in charge of Road Scholar's programs in Ireland), did a very fine job unexpectedly filling in as our guide. She augmented an existing interesting itinerary by arranging optional additions eg. arranging an optional evening at Celtic Steps show in Killarney with transportation and helped us arrange excursions for free time geared to individual tastes and interests ( eg: an interesting bus tour of Aran Island, Inis Mor, which included stops with time to trek up to the fascinating Neolithic ring fort boasting a great view and a stop to see the 7 churches historical site, eg.: helping me arrange a day tour of Newgrange's Mesolithic site to experience a passage tomb, and visit Knowth, and Hill of Tara archeological sites). This program is packed with numerous informative local guides and speakers on varied topics of interest. We enjoyed the beautiful SW Irish coast on day-long guided bus tours of Dingle Peninsula and Ring of Kerry, followed by stops to explore Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. We were also able to experience the much less frequently visited northern coast of Donnegal before moving on to experience Dublin. Stops allowed us to explore museums on Irish emigration ( Ulster Folk Park, Dublin's EPIC), historical exhibits in the Dublin Post Office= headquarters of the 1916 suppressed Easter Uprising), a visit to the Literature Museum and to Bewley's Cafe for lunch to experience a 2-man theatre performance of 2 James Joyce stories, etc. Despite the full itinerary we still were left with 1.5 days for independent exploration in Dublin ( eg. Trinity College-Book of Kells-Library exhibit, Dublin's free museums ( Art, Archeology, Natural History), Guiness, etc. The trip was educational and fun! Definitely a 5/5!

As a first-time solo traveler, this was a perfect tour for me. The group size was manageable and included other solo women travelers. My tour group leader was well-organized, knowledgeable and experienced. From having the tour leader waiting for me at the airport to him getting up early to see me off, I felt secure, allowing me to relax and fully enjoy the experience. I appreciated meeting and learning from the local experts hired to teach us. I was able to experience multiple areas of Ireland - small towns, the incredible West Coast and Aran islands, to the big city of Dublin.

A great way to travel with no headaches experiencing new friends, new knowledge, and new worlds.

This trip was truly the best of Ireland as more than half the trip was on the west coast. The itinerary was packed with wonderful sites and tours, talks and musical/play performances. The group consisted of a mix of interesting, equally minded individuals. Our tour guides, Brendan and Caroline, were exceptional. The bus drivers drove safely, and the buses were comfortable. All the hotels were as advertised, clean, comfortable, with excellent breakfasts and dinners. I will be booking another Road Scholar adventure.

The trip was interesting and fun. Our group leader, Caroline O'Connor, was engaged and helpful to us all. Road Scholar should check on the bus transportation though. On a number of the coaches the microphones were not working properly and in one instance an entire back glass window was fogged between the laminated panels--it couldn't be cleaned. Consequently, participants seated in that area could not view outside the window. Those participants had to move seats which reduced the already limited seating capacity of the small coaches used. I did this trip back-to-back with the Best of Scotland trip, which had both a tour guide and a group leader. Caroline O'Connor was our group leader and did an excellent job--but she performed both tour guide and group leader functions. We did have some other tour guides along the way, but I really believe that separating the functions--as was done on the Best of Scotland trip--would have made for a much smoother tour. All in all, the trip was fun, the participants interesting, and well worth the adventure.

This program provides an outstanding, in-depth exploration of Ireland, past to present. The field trips along the Wild Atlantic Way covered so many aspects of Irish culture. I discovered how much I did not know about Ireland. All of the guides along the way were excellent and contributed a wealth of informaton. Our tour director, Caroline, could not have been better. She put her heart and soul into the trip.

This Ireland program combined the best of beautiful scenery, sweeping history and cultural exposure. Seeing sites of historical significance, visiting museums dedicated to the writings of Yeats and Joyce, and learning the origin stories of many well known Irish myths, made this a wonderful experience.

This program provides an outstanding, in-depth exploration of Ireland, past to present. The field trips along the Wild Atlantic Way covered so many aspects of Irish culture and I came away with a much deeper understanding of this fascinating country. Our guide, Brendan, and guide in training, Caroline, could not have been better, and the numerous step on guides and site interpreters were uniformly excellent and passionate about their subjects. A lifelong dream fulfilled!

A truly fabulous trip which covered many of the "must see" locations on my list. This country and its people are even more beautiful and welcoming than I had imagined.

This trip was spectacular! A wonderful blend of scenic countryside, towns and cities.

Rhapsodic scenery, coupled with a deep dive into Irish history—ancient and contemporary—gives a new and rich perspective on what it means to be Irish in the world today.

This trip to Ireland was my second Road Scholar trip. The first was The Best of the Highlands in Scotland. I will definitely be back for more! Every aspect of the trip was exceedingly well planned and organized. I always felt I was listened to, taken care of, and appreciated. And I learned so much! It was wonderful. (I liked everybody on the trip!!)

Experience the beauty of Ireland while learning her past through sights and sounds. Everyone is WELCOME is this progressive country!

Informative and wonderful 2 weeks in Ireland. Saw and learned so much more than "going on our own". We had a wonderful tour leader named Jack Redmond, who was so helpful and informative.

My trip was wonderful all the way around with so many special memories of Ireland and the Irish people. Our group leader, Brendan, was top notch with his knowledge and history of Ireland, sense of humor and is such a gentleman! Lectures by others were so informative and excellent. I especially enjoyed the two musicians, Sean andJohn. The organization of the trip was excellent and Brendan was always able to iron out any (but few) issues quite easily. Our group was terrific and the end of the trip came all too quickly. It was truly a magical trip and one I shall never forget. This was my first trip with Road Scholar and definitely not my last!

We had a wonderful time exploring Ireland. We were blessed with an amazing tour leader, Brendan, and a great group of companions for the journey. Lectures and presentations were all designed to expand our understanding of the country's history, language and people. Highly recommended!

I returned with a better understanding of Ireland's geography, history, economics and culture. It covered a lot of territory at a comfortable pace.

Exceptional program that provided a comprehensive experience of the history, geography, music, literature, landscape and personality of Ireland. Highly recommend.

This was a wonderful trip that took us to parts of Ireland that were so different from each other. Who would have thought such a small country could have so much diversity.

My husband and I had a delightful time on our Road Scholar trip to Ireland in September 2022. We visited many small towns along the West Coast of Ireland from the Dingle Peninsula to the northwest County Donegal, as well as Killarney, Galway and Inis Mor. Then we drove east making our way to Dublin for the last four days. Ireland is a beautiful country with an ancient and complex history. Road Scholar augmented the tour every day with informative tour guides and lecturers on a variety of topics as we traveled in comfortable coaches across the country, staying in very nice hotels, and eating delicious meals. The Irish people were always cheerful, helpful, and friendly, making us feel very welcome in their country.

A great program to learn some of the history of Ireland and issues facing them today. The group leader and the instructors were interesting characters and enjoyable. The scenery and diversity of landscapes were outstanding. The one piece of advice for future travelers is to book a one day excursion to Wicklow for the free day in Dublin. Once you are in Dublin it is too late to book. Also bring an adapter with the 3 large prongs.

This program is a great way to learn about Ireland and the Irish, its past and present. A great two weeks that were well organized to cover the most possible of all areas of the country.

I arrived feeling fairly neutral about Ireland. I left feeling that I will care for the welfare of Ireland and all of its people for the rest of my life. Their history is now part of my history, too.

Two weeks in Ireland with Road Scholar? Yes, please! Saw the verdant countryside, the dramatic coast and the bustling city of Dublin. Great trip all around!

A wonderful program highlighting the natural beauty of Ireland, its history, and its welcoming people!

Great two week exploration of Western Ireland and Dublin. Learned a lot!

This trip was magnificent. From the wonderful tour guides and motor coach drivers to the accommodations. Fionnuala was our leader and was very knowledgeable as well as delightful. I couldn’t have chosen a better group to be with if I had handpicked them myself. I would recommend this trip. It provided a lovely sense of Ireland. The scenery was fantastic.

Ireland is a beautiful dynamic country with an incredible history. Road Scholar brings all aspects together while taking you around this lovely friendly country.

Lots of scenic sights and variable weather. Dublin has to be one of the worst cities to get around in since we didn't have any good street maps and even when you did, there were no street signs or the signs were 3-5 years old names according to one local who told us were on the right street. New Group Leader did a very nice job and most of the lecture were good.

This may have been the most exciting and profound vacations I have experienced. I loved the main tour guide along with the local tour guides assigned to us. The accommodations and meals were excellent. This was my first Road Scholar trip. I look forward to my next one(s). Patrick Gannon

I highly recommend travel through Road Scholars . This was my first experience. I was very impressed with the learning experiences, pace of the program,and the combination of various experiences (free time, instruction, and structured experiences). My fellow travelers were also very welcoming. I felt like we traveled more like a family during the trip. I will pursue other programs through Road Scholars as I am able.

Ireland is a beautiful country with an interesting and troubled history.

This was the best, most comprehensive tour of Ireland I could find and it exceeded my expectations.

Great Trip.

Fantastic tour..will travel with Road Scholar again.

If you want to learn about Ireland then this is the trip for You.

interesting contrast between rural western Ireland and urban Dublin; local guides were excellent; count on lots of walking as most accommodations were 15-30 minutes from town center

"The Best of Ireland" is a wonderful tour of the west coast of Ireland, an Aran Island, Galway and Dublin. The breath-taking sites in Ireland, as well as the lectures about the rich history of the country, the geography, the authors and the people, enriched my experience and fulfilled a life-long dream I have had to visit the country. I recommend this tour highly.

This was my least favorite RS trip out of 10. Our guide was inexperienced and not particularly responsive. We spent more time in the bus than on any other trip...way too much for what we saw. I have high praise for my Road Scholar Trips, but this one just missed the mark. I would never recommend it.

What was the cost of this trip not including the flight please?