Hello, fellow travellers!I am considering taking an escorted tour with Globus - it's called the Introduction to Ireland. Has anyone ever travelled with them?

Here is the link: http://www.globusjourneys.com/Produc...EU_EIS_Ireland. This is my first time in Ireland, but I love the jam-packed itinerary. Any feedback would be appreciated!
Daria

I have traveled with them, and I found them quite excellent! If you would like to read about my trip go to my trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...the-report.cfm

The Globus Tour was only for the Italy portion, the rest was organized solo. I loved it! I would heartily recommend Globus to anybody. Our tour was "The Best of Italy".

Hi

To be honest I'm a bit concerned about the Globus itinerary.

Visit a marble workshop
Guided tour of the House of Waterford Crystal
Guided tour of the handweaving mill

This is starting to read like a flogfest! In varying degrees tour companies will like to include visits to these establishments because the tour director earns commissions from sales. Needless to say the prices are not a bargain and in fact can be inflated. Don't despair, you will generally find these items elsewhere if you have your heart set on them. Compare this tour run by Insight - http://www.insightvacations.com/focu...and-2012?tab=1. I have taken 2 Insight tours (not Ireland though) and can highly recommend them. They, like all tour companies, do the flogfest but I thought they kept it to a minimum so it was tolerable.

Ireland is very easy to navigate on your own. Given its small size, you can see much more with an independent itinerary versus a group tour. And you get to choose what interests you. In addition, take the money you'll save by not using a tour company and upgrade your accommodations/dining experience.

We flew into Shannon, rented a car and used Adare Manor (in Adare) as our base to explore. (Adare, Cork, Waterford, Blarney, Cobh, Limerick, Connemara, Killarney, etc). After 8 days of traversing the country, we headed to Dublin where we dropped the rental car off and spent several more days walking around the city. (Drove through the Wicklow Mountains on the way to Dublin to visit a couple of sights).

In Dublin, we stayed at the Merion which was an excellent location, but I will stay at the Shelbourne on my next trip since the Shelbourne is staffed with locals who are quite personable and the Merion has a very bland imported staff.

Personally, I would never do a group tour. Ireland is an amazingly scenic country and I think an element would be lost if you're getting herded around like livestock on buses. I can't tell you how many times we ended up pulling the car off to the side of the road to photograph an unexpected vista. And some of our most memorable moments were due to our GPS taking us on the "scenic route" down roads no larger than cow paths, by amazing ruins, through quaint little villages, and to the front door of tiny pubs out in the middle of nowhere. Tours may help you "see" Ireland, but they will be an impediment to you "experiencing" Ireland.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Have done Globus as a newbie they are good for whirlwind intro tours afforabletours.com discounts up to 40% off.
I saw A LOT downside early AM bus calls with wierd folks you may or may not like and stale same old same old hotel food
Hotels themselves where quite good but food was plentiful but BORING.

Prefer to self-guide these days.