My wife and I did the Small Groups trip the first week of May, arriving in Dublin 3 days ahead of the actual tour. We were able to checkin into the Westin Hotel early. We always try to fly in early on all of our trips, so this worked out great for us, given we could tour Trinity College, Book of Kells, Guinness Storehouse and an additional foodie tour. The hotel is located nearby the Temple Bar district (quite touristy). Definitely recoil emotelymmend booking this spots before your trip. We enjoyed Gallaghers Boxty, Murphys Bistro, Darkey Kelly and the Brazen Head for food, music and a more authentic Irish experience than Temple Bar (which has a web cam that can be viewed remotely. Our tour Director, Bailey and driver Antone, were excellent. Fortunately, our tour did not change from the listed itinerary, so we could enjoy the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, Lough Eske, Ashford Castle, Agdohoe and Lyrath Estate. Tauck treated us to a complimentary choice at Lyrath. We chose falconry vs. archery or spa. Definitely, it was one of several highlights! The food was outstanding at the hotels on our trip...more than we eat at home, so I agree with others to be aware of how much you intake! Also, it's not a bad idea to mask on the bus rides as it always seems that someone has a cough and the bus rides may have you exposed to others. Happy to answer any questions anyone has...already researching our next Tauck trip...leaning towards northern Italy.
While in Dublin, it is definitely worth it to take an independent tour to .”Newgrange”. Fascinating. Also, do not miss the Famine Memorial sculpture installation while strolling along the river. A fairly short walk from the Westin. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange
Just got back from our “Best of Ireland” tour a couple days ago. Absolutely the best tour we’ve ever taken! It was our first Tauck tour but definitely will not be our last. 99% of the 2 week tour was incredible and I can’t imagine improving on it. My only complaint would be our stay at Lough Eske Castle. I as well as the rest of our group, felt it wasn’t up to par with the other accommodations we had throughout the tour. Our tour director Colm was the best! Truly made every aspect of the trip memorable.
Comments
My wife and I did the Small Groups trip the first week of May, arriving in Dublin 3 days ahead of the actual tour. We were able to checkin into the Westin Hotel early. We always try to fly in early on all of our trips, so this worked out great for us, given we could tour Trinity College, Book of Kells, Guinness Storehouse and an additional foodie tour. The hotel is located nearby the Temple Bar district (quite touristy). Definitely recoil emotelymmend booking this spots before your trip. We enjoyed Gallaghers Boxty, Murphys Bistro, Darkey Kelly and the Brazen Head for food, music and a more authentic Irish experience than Temple Bar (which has a web cam that can be viewed remotely. Our tour Director, Bailey and driver Antone, were excellent. Fortunately, our tour did not change from the listed itinerary, so we could enjoy the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, Lough Eske, Ashford Castle, Agdohoe and Lyrath Estate. Tauck treated us to a complimentary choice at Lyrath. We chose falconry vs. archery or spa. Definitely, it was one of several highlights! The food was outstanding at the hotels on our trip...more than we eat at home, so I agree with others to be aware of how much you intake! Also, it's not a bad idea to mask on the bus rides as it always seems that someone has a cough and the bus rides may have you exposed to others. Happy to answer any questions anyone has...already researching our next Tauck trip...leaning towards northern Italy.
While in Dublin, it is definitely worth it to take an independent tour to .”Newgrange”. Fascinating. Also, do not miss the Famine Memorial sculpture installation while strolling along the river. A fairly short walk from the Westin. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange
Just got back from our “Best of Ireland” tour a couple days ago. Absolutely the best tour we’ve ever taken! It was our first Tauck tour but definitely will not be our last. 99% of the 2 week tour was incredible and I can’t imagine improving on it. My only complaint would be our stay at Lough Eske Castle. I as well as the rest of our group, felt it wasn’t up to par with the other accommodations we had throughout the tour. Our tour director Colm was the best! Truly made every aspect of the trip memorable.