Escorted tour of Ireland: CIE or Brendan?
Apr 13th, 2005, 03:02 PM
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Escorted tour of Ireland: CIE or Brendan?
I am planning to take an escorted tour of Ireland in late June and have narrowed it down to these two companies and specifically the Brendan "Best of Ireland South" and CIE "Irish Heritage" which both are 8 days and travel pretty much the same rout. Price difference even with airfare between the two is only $200 so I am looking for input on which may be better quality.
As background, I am a 32 yo female who will be traveling alone (my traveling companion had surgery last month and can no longer go). I am taking escorted tour because I want to travel around the country and do not want to do it myself (I have been to Europe alone before not with a group so solo travel doesn't bother me but I want to see as much as possible here in a short amount of time).
I am interested to know if one company has more optionals/inclusion than the other, quality of food and hotels etc. Also if you have done a tour with one of these companies before, how hectic was the pace? Were you up at 6 am every day? Sorry for the all the questions, any input appreciated!
As background, I am a 32 yo female who will be traveling alone (my traveling companion had surgery last month and can no longer go). I am taking escorted tour because I want to travel around the country and do not want to do it myself (I have been to Europe alone before not with a group so solo travel doesn't bother me but I want to see as much as possible here in a short amount of time).
I am interested to know if one company has more optionals/inclusion than the other, quality of food and hotels etc. Also if you have done a tour with one of these companies before, how hectic was the pace? Were you up at 6 am every day? Sorry for the all the questions, any input appreciated!
Apr 15th, 2005, 07:51 PM
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I haven't traveled with either company,but have some strong opinions about escorted tours based on other companies we've used thru the years, and have researched pretty thoroughly for Ireland. We have selected CIE for a personalized tour for our family in July. The recommendations and awards for CIE, and the fact that they've been in business for over 75 years, seem to indicate we can't go wrong with that choice. Brendan is a good company,too,but they cover worldwide, while CIE is only Ireland, plus Britain, and I liked that specialization.
Air prices getting our family from five different US cities this summer are very high, so if you can get a tour with air included, it would be a good deal. I looked at the tours you're considering - I think the CIE hotels may be a bit nicer, and more meals were included. CIE seems to offer you three exceptionally good features not mentioned in Brendan - the Siamsa in Tralee, the jaunting car ride and Muckross House in Killarney. Can you take the 9 day tour - Clonmacnoise, Galway, Connemara are not to be missed if you can get there - - but would probably mean an early departure and long day on days 8 & 9 - you could call and ask each company about the departure times. I do like Brendan's rating of "vacation pace".
Hope you don't mind my sharing reasons for our choice without any real experience with either company. (I have been to Ireland, many of those places, but on our own, not a tour) You'll have a great time with either choice- everyone enjoys Ireland!! Good luck and enjoy!!
Air prices getting our family from five different US cities this summer are very high, so if you can get a tour with air included, it would be a good deal. I looked at the tours you're considering - I think the CIE hotels may be a bit nicer, and more meals were included. CIE seems to offer you three exceptionally good features not mentioned in Brendan - the Siamsa in Tralee, the jaunting car ride and Muckross House in Killarney. Can you take the 9 day tour - Clonmacnoise, Galway, Connemara are not to be missed if you can get there - - but would probably mean an early departure and long day on days 8 & 9 - you could call and ask each company about the departure times. I do like Brendan's rating of "vacation pace".
Hope you don't mind my sharing reasons for our choice without any real experience with either company. (I have been to Ireland, many of those places, but on our own, not a tour) You'll have a great time with either choice- everyone enjoys Ireland!! Good luck and enjoy!!
Apr 16th, 2005, 06:32 AM
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Thank you for the reply. I have been looking at tripadvisor.com to see some reviews on the hotels for the two different tours. They seem about the same and surprisingly both pretty near the attractions. You are correct CIE seems to have more inclusions for instance the medieval feast and visit to Bunratty Castle is an "optional excursion" on Brendan, meaning additional cost but still scheduled while it is fully included in CIE. I am leaning toward CIE for that reason as well as the air arrangements which are thru British Airways on CIE and Continental on Brendan. The only thing that bothers me about CIE is that you have 4 hotels in 6 nights as opposed to 3 hotels in 6 nights with Brendan. I am not sure how I feel about so much hotel changing. I need to decide by next week so any more input is welcome.
Apr 18th, 2005, 11:23 AM
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We're also considering which to take...
we're going in September...leaning
towards Brendan because the 8-day Glimpse of Ireland or something like
that has a date of September 11...the
CIE Dream Trip to Ireland begins the
23rd Sept. Brendan's Radisson Hotel
sports 5 stars (3 nights there)...
We're doing our own air. Let me
know what else you find out.
We RARELY do tours...but have found
them useful if you're covering lots
of territory...and we've saved money
"boarding those buses".
[email protected]
we're going in September...leaning
towards Brendan because the 8-day Glimpse of Ireland or something like
that has a date of September 11...the
CIE Dream Trip to Ireland begins the
23rd Sept. Brendan's Radisson Hotel
sports 5 stars (3 nights there)...
We're doing our own air. Let me
know what else you find out.
We RARELY do tours...but have found
them useful if you're covering lots
of territory...and we've saved money
"boarding those buses".
[email protected]
Apr 18th, 2005, 03:23 PM
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I went on what I think was a Brendan tour of Southwest England some years ago. I reserved the tour at a travel agency but didn't ask an important question: is the tour guide also the bus driver? He did his best but always had to leave us off while he went to park or get the bus. The hotels and meals were fine though.
