7-Day Great Atlantic Adventure Small-Group Tour of Ireland from Dublin

Sadly, we were very disappointed in our much-anticipated tour which ended up being A LOT of time on a bus and not much adventuring. The Good: The accommodations were nice and the breakfasts were lovely. Our driver safely chauffeured us to each of the locations on the itinerary. The walking tours, which were all subcontracted and not done by our Overland Ireland guide, were excellent (especially the hike along the Cliff's of Moher with Ollie's Tours). Our fellow travelers were pleasant. Ireland is beautiful. The Bad: This trip involved WAY more bus time than advertised. Our biking excursion didn't happen because the driver took us an hour out of the way to a restaurant in the middle of nowhere for lunch and then spent an hour backtracking so we could have a 20 minute walk and then he told us that we didn't have time for biking because we had to get to the hotel by 6 because they were sending their staff home for the day. Unfortunately, our kayaking trip was also cancelled due to bad weather (can't blame the company for that). Then our afternoon drive of the Dingle peninsula, which was subcontracted to a different driver, was turned into a pub crawl because the driver thought it was too cloudy and drizzly for good views. This despite the participants all stating otherwise. We were taken to one quaint pub which was nice, but then taken to the pub owned by the driver's family where we spent a boring hour while the driver chatted with friends. We felt like hostages for the afternoon. It is advertised that lunch and dinner are "on your own" and that tour guides would provide recommendations. We understood this to mean that we would be somewhere where we could have choices about where to eat. In actuality, several times we were taken to isolated restaurants, ones that accommodate large tour groups, with pricey menus, and limited options for people with any dietary restrictions. Our driver's "commentary" was abysmal. He told us about road kill that he saw while we were trying to enjoy scenery. He told us stories about people being killed at many of the sites we visited. In every small town we went through, he told us about someone he once met from that town ("they're dead now though") and what they did for a living. He frequently made sexist remarks about women drivers. He talked non-stop, stream-of-consciousness, and repeated himself ad nauseam. He proudly told us that he never wore a watch because he had such an excellent sense of time, and then asked us every 15 minutes to tell him what time it was. My husband and I were thrilled to leave the group in Galway since we had only booked the 5-day version of this tour (available directly on their website but not through Trip Advisor). Some of our tour mates had started a drinking game, having a swig every time our guide talked about someone or something getting killed. We needed to get off the bus before we destroyed our livers. We'd had such high hopes for this trip but were sorely disappointed.

7 Day Great Atlantic Adventure....... My husband and I truly enjoyed this Tour. We were a small group of 6 and we clicked right at the start. The itinerary was great and we were fortunate to have amazing weather. Our tour guide Mark was the best we ever had on a tour. His knowledge of Ireland history was deep, his attention to detail was great and it showed that he loved his work. To be able to capture the beauty of Ireland in the span of a week was memorable. Only down note -- a couple of hotels did not have A/C but fans were provided and that made it OK. Breakfasts were delicious. Highlights: e-biking Killarney National Park & again in Inishmore - Aran Islands. Highly recommend this tour and would definately travel again with Overland Ireland.

My daughter and I went on this trip to Ireland. We didn't know what to expect, but what an incredible adventure. Our tour guide Mark was amazing. He went above and beyond to make sure we saw and did as much as possible. He was a wealth of knowledge and shared so much about Ireland. It was the perfect amount of sightseeing, adventure, discovery, fun and friendship. We both loved every minute and still can't stop talking about it. I would totally recommend this tour