Hi Fayette!

We had a wonderful time in Ireland!  My 73 yr old Dad got to see the birthplace of his grandmother (Kilkenny).  Our CIE Tour Guide and bus driver were awesome.  So full of local information and "color". 

One thing that I wish were slightly different - It was a very full, busy itinerary.  I choose this particular tour based on the needs of my 73 year old dad with bad knees.  He was just about done in 2 days before the trip ended.  Lots of stairs, in and out of bus, waking up early every morning (would have been nice to have one morning to sleep in a bit).  It was a little fast-paced.  I mentioned this to the tour guide who agreed with me.  I understand that they try to get you to see as much as possible, but only getting 45 min to an hour to enjoy a particular town, is not really enough time to explore, stroll, and have a leisurely coffee in a pub somewhere.  I felt like I was constantly looking at my watch, herding my family back onto the bus.  We did put this on our comment cards back to CIE.  It would have been nice to skip a couple of the "scenic stops" to take pictures in order to have an extra hour in one of the wonderful towns we visited.

Overall, I would do this kind of trip again, with the same tour company (CIE).  They were pleasant, knowleable, attentive, and got us to where we needed to be, when we needed to be there.  I couldn't have asked for anyone to have more local historical information than the tour guide Ken O'Connell, and the bus driver, Cormack Ryan.  Wonderful companions for our first Ireland experience!

I would, however, suggest that you do not wait until you are in your 70s to take this kind of a tour, based on the speed and physical exhertion needed to participate in every activity.

Thank you again, Fayette and TripGuy, for all of your help setting this vacation up for me and my family.  We have a lifetime of memories to think back on as the years go by.  My dad is so happy knowing that he "finally got there!"  He's been in a wonderful mood, smiling everyday, talking about one thing or another that we experienced on this "trip of a lifetime." 

Thank you again.  I hope to have you help me book more trips in the future.  Italy is calling to me now!