Ring of Kerry & Killarney tour departing from Cork City. Guided. Full Day.

It was a lovely day. Our guide was exceptional. We did the cliffs of mohr first. So tnere was a little repetition.

We done this tour with George as our driver, he gave us so much information as we were travelling around and we felt very safe and comfortable with his driving skills. Beautiful scenery with plenty of stops to capture photos with stops for drinks and lunch.

Approx 5 mins after we departed from Cork, our driver / guide told the group that talking on the bus wasn’t welcomed while he carried on with his story even though no one was misbehaving or talking loudly at the time to disrupt the driver’s duties. Following that we heard the list of other things that were not allowed on the bus incl. eating & drinking which definitely wasn’t a good start at all. We were under strong impression that we’re supposed to be there for our driver, not the other way around, which was frankly awkward to say the least. The original order of our tour itinerary changed soon after that which didn’t seem to be a huge problem at the time (based on the condition that we’re going to visit all places as previously mentioned). Our driver kept talking non stop, as much as he was knowledgeable with many details thrown in here & there, there were no breaks for the group to simply relax & enjoy the landscapes whatsoever while we progressed throughout the day (literally 30 mins of peaceful ride in over 6 hours spent on the bus) - the right balance is necessary on this kind of tour and the driver should know that better than anyone else. In Killarney which was our 1st stop, we were only told there was an hour break which no particular time of departure (usually mentioned as a reminder). We watched the time while leaving the bus and upon return it took us slightly longer to find the right parking place (where our bus was parked), hence we arrived 1 min late (literally ONE minute!), to our massive surprise the bus was already on the move with door closed as we rushed to approach it! We’d be left behind 100% if we arrived a few seconds later, guaranteed. Quite shocking really given that no specific time was announced for our departure and the driver wouldn’t even count the people inside the bus against the list which is a standard procedure. There was only around 20 people in our group altogether making it an easy task altogether. What happened 1,5 hr later only confirmed our initial concerns - once we left another site on our route, the group noticed that 1 person was missing and warned the driver to return & pick them up. He obviously did so but that (paired with unnecessary photo breaks in places fully covered in fog) caused a delay. As a result, towards the end of our trip we skipped the entire part with multiple spots (Coomakista, Moll’s Gap Pass & Ladies View Lookout) which seemed rather interesting... No mention of that or any sort of apology from the driver, instead he made an unscheduled stop in Kenmare which wasn’t part of the programme. Bizarre and completely illogical string of events (let alone the actions made by the driver on the way) given the circumstances. Does anyone monitor the actual programme or what is promised to the clients? Personally, I would not recommend this particular tour for future visitors unless things change for the better and there’s accountability on the organisers side on how these tours are conducted.