Dublin to South West 5 Day Small-Group Tour with Accommodation

We recently returned from Rabbie’s 5 day “ Escape to the Southwest” tour from Dublin, and it was absolutely phenomenal! We visited wonderful places-the Cliffs of Moher, the Dingle Peninsula, the Ring of Kerry, and we were fortunate to have Matthew as our guide and driver. He was funny, kind, extremely helpful, and a natural storyteller. His driving on those twisty roads was also impressive. Traveling in a small group allowed us to explore hidden gems, enjoy flexible stops, and have a more relaxed experience. The itinerary was very well balanced, too. Highly recommend Rabbie’s and if you get Matthew as your guide, you’re in for something special!

My husband and I took this tour in the middle of our 2-week trip to Ireland. We've taken Rabbie's small-group tours before in Scotland and have been generally pleased with them in terms of the size of the group (no more than 16 people) and what we get to see. It's the next best thing to a self-guided driving tour, but we didn't want to drive in Scotland or Ireland. Our driver and guide in Ireland was John, and he was friendly with a good sense of (dry) humor, informative, and willing to be flexible in meeting the group's interests and needs. The Escape to the South West tour included most of the highlights of an Ireland tour: Wild Atlantic Way, Dingle Peninsula, Ring of Kerry, etc. The views were stunning, especially when the sun came out (which was surprisingly often, since we expected rain every day). Unfortunately, the day we stopped at Cliffs of Moher was very rainy and chilly so the views were not great, but it was still worth a stop. A couple of highlights besides the scenery were a demonstration of sheepdog herding and a performance of Irish music and dance called "Celtic Steps" in Killarney; the latter was optional and only one other person besides my husband and I went, but it was worth it despite being aimed at tourists. The Blarney Castle was on the tour but it could have been skipped--there wasn't really enough time to fully tour the castle and grounds, and most of the people in the group weren't interested anyway because it is so touristy. A couple of people did take the tour (presumably to kiss the Blarney Stone), but the rest of us hung out in the shops and restaurants near the castle. It would have been nice to be offered an alternative to the Blarney Castle, but Rabbie's probably includes that because it is such a well-known tourist attraction. Another place that could have been skipped, from my standpoint, was a distillery on the way to Galway. Some people may have been interested, but we got there too early for the guided tour or even to buy stuff at the shop (no alcohol sales before a certain time). So it was really more of a rest/bathroom stop. The accommodations arranged by Rabbie's in Galway (Hyde Hotel) and Killarney (Kingfisher Lodge) were excellent. It was disappointing not to have more time to explore Galway (we were only there one evening), but when there are so many places to go on the driving tour it doesn't leave a lot of free time in the towns where we stayed. Overall, we are happy we took this tour and give high marks to our guide John.

We had a wonderful experience on the Rabbie’s 5-day South-Western Tour of Ireland with one overnight stay in Galway and 3 nights in Killarney. The Air BNB accommodation was very comfortable and located with easy access to restaurants and places of interest in town in both Galway and Killarney. Our Tour Guide, Colm, had boundless knowledgeable about all aspects of Ireland (e.g., history, culture, geography, current events, notable people, etc.) and able to communicate clearly (with humor) while traveling. He was quite entertaining and great with the diverse group of tourists on our tour. We were fortunate that the bus was not over-crowded, and our group became quite friendly and interacted seamlessly throughout the journey. Scheduling of stops on the last day was modified to accommodate allotted travel time that would return us to Dublin within reason, however it worked out very well. We had choices to make regarding where to stop and for how long. Subsequently we attended an exhibition of 1) a sheep dog at work and 2) a musical presentation in Killarney on the fourth night that I am very grateful we got to see. They were highlights of the tour!!! As mentioned, the guide was outstanding, the visits to castles, historical sites, towns and sites of the country were spectacular. It was GREAT!!!!