We are in the early stages of planning a trip to Ireland for fall 2022. We are in our mid-70's and most enjoy renting a car and exploring on our own. We did this in Scotland and England a couple of years ago and had no trouble negotiating the "right" side of the road in our car. We are hesitant to use this option in Ireland due to the horror stories we've heard about the opportunity for accidents on the country roads. Have done a little research on tour companies and are drawn to the 11 days Driftwood tour. Your opinion would be most appreciated.

Nice itinerary and very good accommodations. I don't like moving so much but you could add on a few days before and after. Do the Black Cab tour in Belfast. Going in and out of Dublin is good, much to see there. A Mary Gibbons tour to Newgrange one day or to Glendalough. The bus times aren't bad and always lovely scenery there. We don't drive in Ireland. We like to have Guinness with lunch and tour distilleries. Love you get to see the Dingle distillery. I love Dingle Gin. I would do it since it is a small bus and like that they are doing a lot in NI.

Thank you so much for the great information.

I took the 11 Driftwood tour in 2019 and loved everything about it. I was always critical of people who signed up for guided tours, but when my husband told me he didn't want to travel abroad, I knew that I had to find alternatives for driving alone. I googled "tours of Ireland," and settled on Vagabond Tours, an Irish owned and operated tour group. They got great reviews, and I took the plunge. I couldn't have had a better experience. The size of the groups, limited to 15, allow them to travel in a large van rather than a bus. Our tour guide was wonderful, the other people on the tour were very friendly, I loved the hotels, all family owned, and most importantly, the flexibility. I highly recommend Vagabond Tours.

Have you considered travelling around by train an/or bus? That way you can set your own hours and do and see what you want. That's what I am planning to do when I make it to Ireland. Hopefully in the next couple of years.

pgtraveler, that is what we do normally, base out of a city for several days. We actually stayed in Ballycotton for 6 nights and learned the bus routes but had to take taxis more often than not. We do day tours often.
We are going to do a Rabbie's tour of Wales. Not sure how to get to some of the places via public transportation. We hired a taxi tour once for County Mayo. Five of us so was affordable.
enewell, glad to hear this company was good. Great to have a person who took tour weigh in. Thankfully, I have friends that love to travel but doing it alone would be a good choice.

I enjoy using guided tours & then being on my own for a few extra days in cities with good public transportation. Tour groups definitely has limitations but also much less stressful (and much less prep work) than independent travel.

I'm thinking about using Road Scholar for a future overseas trip, glad to know about Driftwood tours.

We looked into traveling by bus, but it got complicated to make connections, etc. Felt this tour was the most relaxing way to see the sights in Ireland. We do plan on spending a few days in Dublin prior to tour departure. We will use Dublin as home base to do day trips to other places that interest us that are not included in the tour.

I have not traveled in Ireland, but I know people who have, and they said they checked in to going it by train and bus, but found that many of the sights they wanted to see were off the bus routes, and would have been hard to get to. So they took a tour and were very happy.

I would think a tour would be a better option since you dont have to do anything and they usually know the places on interest.


Lynn