My mother is concerning a trip to Ireland next April & mentioned this tour company. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about this particular company or suggestions or warning? Any info would be helpful.

Hi Peggy: <BR>My Mother and I took a tour of Ireland, Scotland and England with then in October of 1999. As it was a first trip to Ireland for both of us, it was perfect! I would use them again or recommend them to everyone! <BR>The two Drivers (one for Ireland and the other for Great Britain) were professional, careful and funny. The Irish tour guide was delightful! The only complaint I had was that the hotel in Dublin was under construction. Hopefully by now its done. The choice of hotels was nice, the food decent, the pace quick! <BR>She will have a great time. She will be very busy. She will be safe. Wish her well, I wish I were going with her!

Hi Peggy: <BR> <BR>I envy your mother. My sister and I have traveled with CIE Tours several times in Ireland. The tour directors/drivers were professional, very knowledgeable about all the sights, the hotels were excellent, etc. On one of our trips, the bus driver had a beautiful voice and entertained us throughout the tour. <BR> <BR>I wish her a wonderful trip. Ireland is breathtaking. I have several penpals there and hope to return next year. <BR> <BR>Rita

CIE is actually the national bus company in Ireland. They sort of branched out into taking some of their busses on tours. I did a really short trip in Scotland and enjoyed it. From the other posts and my own experiences they seem to be picky about who they allow as drivers/guides. To me it was not high on the frills, they stayed primarily at medium hotels. But they are quite inexpensive compared to others and I would take them over some of those other low-budget deals any day.

Thank you all for the encouraging info! I will pass this site along to my mom for her to enjoy. I found the website cietours.com that outlined the various tours. I'll have to find out which one, I believe the 10day/8night starting in Dublin, that she is going on, leaving April 8th 01. Thanks again!

I took the Irish Explorer tour with them in September 1999 (my first trip to Europe) and thoroughly enjoyed it. As the others have said, our driver/guide (A.J.) was very knowledgeable and professional. It was amazing the way he navigated the narrow roads and never missed a beat of his commentary. The hotels were fine and centrally located, the meals good. Since they don't sell optional tours, they aren't structuring your time around the optional tour schedule (something I experienced first-hand with Globus this year). <BR> <BR>I'm sure she'll have a wonderful time! It's a beautiful country -- can't wait to go back.