Although I don’t generally give one star reviews, I must do so for Paddywagon’s two-day tour of Southern Ireland.
Notice: This review will be long because I want to include everything that went wrong in hopes that the owners of Paddywagon will fix their many areas that are in need of vast improvement. Additionally, besides the front desk clerk who was zero help, quite dismissive, unable to answer simple questions and basically hung up on me, my review in no way is reflective of the tour guides who did a good job. They are victims of the poor business model too.
With that out of the way, let me tell you about my experience.
1. We scheduled online for 7 people in our group for a total of 10 in the 2-day South Dublin tour.
2. The pickup spot has no clear markings. Paddywagon moved their headquarters so you have no one to ask anything (except for the aforementioned front desk clerk by phone if you happen to have international cell service who tells you to google Paddys Place which is a refugee center now and the pickup spot is actually around the corner.).
3. We found the pickup point by verifying with the city worker who was picking up trash in the area.
4. Once we got underway, we changed buses and tour guides no less than four times. Because PW no longer has your guide stay with you for the two days and night, we were shuffled around like we were on a city bus.
5. After we were taken to our lodging in Cork for the night, we were picked up again the next morning at 7:20 am which meant there were no arrangements made for us to eat breakfast before 7 am (which was their start time) and we had to shovel in food and weren’t finished when the bus arrived.
6. Every bus driver gave the same speech about coming back late from every stop and were told the bus would leave without us. We didn’t come back late thankfully but just trying get to the bathroom actually caused us stress because every place was busy.
7. All of our stops were cut short due to the constant driving and backtracking to meet other buses to once again ship us to another bus. They cut out one of our stops entirely (the last castle on the itinerary).
8. The biggest problem by far was the end of the two-day trip when they actually made us leave the bus at 3:50 pm with all of our luggage and wait for the next PW bus to come. We were told that the next bus would be there by 4:30 pm. Now mind you, we were left completely alone with no transportation and no guide or bus and were approximately 2.5 hours from Dublin where we were supposed to end.
9. We called the aforementioned front desk clerk multiple times and were either ignored or told the bus would be there in ten minutes.
10. Finally the bus came at 5:30 pm but we actually thought we would have to take the public bus back to Dublin. We talked to the clerks at the store (Blarmeys Woolery) and they said it happens quite often. Meaning they leave people quite often.
The biggest issue with leaving paid patrons before you have been assured that they have been picked up and are on another bus is that it demonstrates that the company is simply callous, careless and plainly unethical (and possibly illegal). If the company chooses to leave those who are late (which is borderline acceptable) is entirely different than failing to pick up customers who were left because of scheduling errors.
I did this same tour five years ago and it was an entirely different and much better experience because we traveled as a group with the same tour guide who stayed with us the entire time. I will never do another Paddywagon tour and highly discourage everyone else unless you want most of your time for the stops to be gobbled up with bus transfers. Hopefully you won’t get left behind!
We did the two day tour and were so glad we decided to stay in Cork. The only issue we had was the pickup point. People were left standing on a corner, across the street from Paddy’s Palace, when in fact the pickup is around the corner where the buses stop. All very confusing.
On day 1, Paul was our driver and guide and was fantastic. He was informative, patient and went that extra step. When we stopped in Cork for lunch he made sure he escorted us to the B&B and provided an introduction to Charlie. He gave some advice on evening places for dinner and entertainment as well. He gave us plenty of time to explore but was available for questions along the way. It was pelting rain at the Rock of Cashel so he made sure we were all warm enough once we got back on the bus. Blarney Castle was wonderful to see and we walked the park area and over to the current Blarney House. The fern garden was something to see!
The B&B was a bit noisy with trucks and people whooping it up throughout the night. Would definitely need to ensure you are mobile as it was 45 steps up to our room. Luckily we left our luggage at the hotel in Dublin and only brought a backpack with us.
Our second guide was Aiden for our continued journey to the Cliffs of Moher. A spectacular sight with some tips on the best viewing points. The St John’s castle picture opportunity is literally a drive by on a round about after picking up more tour passengers in Limerick.
Lunch at the Frantic Chef - plenty to choose from and delicious as well.
Into the Burren - windswept and worth the walk to the small cove. Be very careful!
We were dropped off at Bunratty Castle where we met up with Eduardo to bring as back to Dublin, as Aiden and group were going back to Cork.
A wonderful two days spent.
First off, there has to be a better way to tell people where the Dublin pickup point is for these tours. There is no sign, no written directions. There is a location marker on Google Maps for "Paddy's Palace" and if you use street view, there is a picture of a corner brick building with scaffolding. This building no longer has scaffolding and is NOT the pickup point. The actual pickup point is a bus stop just down the street, on the other side of the street, under the bridge by the Trinity Church and across the street from a hostel. There is no sign for Paddywagon, just a pull over for the bus stop. Once your bus does come and you grab a seat, the rest of the day will be much less confusing.
The two day itinerary we did is actually two one-day tours (Rock of Cashel/Blarney Castle from Dublin and Cliffs of Moher from Cork) where you are dropped off at a Bed & Breakfast in Cork at the end of your first day and you get on another bus in Cork the next morning. At the end of your second day, you then transfer to third bus that is on its way back to Dublin.
Day 1 Rock of Cashel/Blarney Castle from Dublin: Our day 1 guide/driver, Alex, was wonderful - entertaining, relayed good information along the way, kept us informed of the itinerary and what to expect, and answered questions, but also allowed for quiet time. Two hour drive from Dublin to Rock of Cashel. Alex gave us our tickets and we had 50 minutes to explore at our own pace. There are bathrooms as well as a small coffee shop and gift shop near the car park. Back on the bus for 1 hour to Cork, where Alex dropped us off in city center with 1 hour to have lunch, explore and/or shop. The overnight folks were taken by Alex to the Acorn House B&B, introduced to the owner, and dropped our bags off - so we ended up with about 40 minutes to eat (we ate at Gallagher's pub by the B&B). Then, a short drive to Blarney Castle, where we were given our tickets by Alex and had 2.5 hours to explore on our own. This amount of time allowed us time to do the Castle (including the kiss - very short line the day we were there), walk most of the closer gardens, eat Gelato, go to the restroom, and browse at Blarney Woolen Mills. It was a very pleasant, not rushed, afternoon. The overnight folks were then taken back to Cork to the Acorn House B&B at 16:30. The B&B is not fancy, but was clean and comfortable with a full Irish Breakfast made early for us so we could catch our bus for day 2 - the pickup point in Cork is right at the Paddywagon office just down the hill from the B&B and Alex must have told us 3 times where it was and what time to be there. We enjoyed a walk around Cork, a nice dinner at The River Club, a drink at the intimate The Library, and a drink and live music at Sin'E near the B&B.
Day 2 Cliffs of Moher from Cork/Limerick: Our day 2 guide/driver DJ had some great driving skills on the narrow roads. He provided good information about the area and fun stories, along with a few jokes, along the way and kept us updated on the itinerary. First stop was at Limerick to pick up more passengers. There was also a refreshment/bathroom stop at a filling station. We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher where DJ gave us our tickets and we had 1.5 hours to explore on our own. There are restrooms, Cafe, gift shop, and exhibits near the car park. After the Cliffs, there was a very short drive back to Doolin to the John P. Holland Center which is the lunch stop. The Center is a cafeteria style serving good soups, salads, sandwiches, desserts, and hot entree items. What we got was good - quiche, ham & cheese sandwiches, salads, and a chocolate cheesecake mousse. There was definitely a variety of items, but this place is your only choice. After lunch, we went to the Burren, where we had a 35 minute stop to walk around and explore on our own. Back in the bus to the last stop, which was 30 minutes at the gift store at Bunratty Castle - the Castle itself is a nice photo opportunity, but you can't enter it. The stop is primarily a restroom & snack stop prior to the trek back to the dropoff. Since DJ's bus was going back to the Limerick and Cork dropoffs, we were left at this stop to wait on a Dublin bound bus with Richard as driver. We ended up with 1.5 hours at this stop. Two hours back to Dublin, where Richard relayed some information about the area, but mostly let everyone chill to some good tunes.
Overall, aside from the confusing Dublin pickup point, we were very happy with our 2 day itinerary. We got both full daytours plus time to explore Cork and a night at a comfortable B&B, which we felt was better for us than 2 separate day tours and the hours back and forth to Dublin. The Cliffs were amazing, but are pretty much the focus of the tour and there is more time on the bus, whereas the Rock of Cashel/Blarney Castle tour had two nice stops and the Cork lunch stop allowed folks to choose their own activity and place to eat.