OAT tour of Ireland

[Fedup]

I put together a day by day itinerary on tripit.com. Kayak also offers a similar service but I like the layout of the itinerary generated by Trip It better.

It auto-populates your flights, hotels and car rentals if you forward the emails confirming those reservations.

From there, you can fill in details on day tours, guides, restaurants, whatever.

But I put in details in case I want to see something or am able to see something.

For instance, I had details about going up to Jungfrau and the Matterhorn for a trip to Switzerland. Those are pretty costly trips. I didn't end up going on either because the weather wasn't clear during the days I was near those attractions.

But I had details like how much they were, the hours they operate, how long it took to go up and return, etc. summarized in my itinerary so that I could retrieve those details easily.

Sure I could Google that info again but I just got the essential practical details handy.

On the trip, I will consult the itinerary the night before or on the morning of and depending on what the weather is going to be like, I can choose what to do for a given date.

When I was planning the trip, I found websites with suggestions for what to do in bad weather, since that can happen in that part of the world. I didn't note these details. Even when it was raining, I tried to get out and walk around somewhere for a bit, though obviously not as much as if it was dry.

Good idea, I might try to copy this in the future. I knew from the two Swiss ladies in my bridge club that the weather is unpredictable in Switzerland and had a rough idea what to do if the weather didn’t cooperate. It turned out we ha nothing but good weather in the whole time in not Switzerland but our two months in Europe.

 

[Scuba]

I used Travefy for our six week Greece trip. The output is really nice and if you make sure to download all the attached documents while you have an internet connection, you can access everything offline. You can also share all of the trip details with others which is handy. My only complaint is that it doesn’t automatically import anything so I had to print all of my confirmations and scan them in, which was very time-consuming.

 

[Bestwifeever]

You’ll have a great trip.

We were on a 36-person CIE tour of southern Ireland this spring (our first group tour ever). At the same time friends were on the Road Scholar tour, with I think 20 people. We saw the exact same attractions but the hotels and guides and overall end experience were quite different. Ireland is such a popular destination for USA citizens of Irish heritage (it is a great place to be from ) that it was very crowded. I didn’t mind the tour aspect too much but I would bet dollars to donuts that 95 percent of the people looking at the Book of Kells, for example, wouldn’t have crossed the street to look at it if they had been on their own.

 

[lampshade]

Check out CIE Tours. We were very happy with them.

 

[audreyh1]

I’ve been using the iOS calendar app to organize trip info and gather critical docs and confirmation numbers. You can attach PDFs as well as notes, links, set alarms. We share a travel calendar so all our iPhones. iPads, laptops have access and stay synced. Some airlines will send you calendar inputs. I am able to set the time zones for my entries.

 

[Dreamer]

You’ll have a great trip.

We were on a 36-person CIE tour of southern Ireland this spring (our first group tour ever). At the same time friends were on the Road Scholar tour, with I think 20 people. We saw the exact same attractions but the hotels and guides and overall end experience were quite different. Ireland is such a popular destination for USA citizens of Irish heritage (it is a great place to be from ) that it was very crowded. I didn’t mind the tour aspect too much but I would bet dollars to donuts that 95 percent of the people looking at the Book of Kells, for example, wouldn’t have crossed the street to look at it if they had been on their own.

Just curious, was the CIE tour better or the Road Scholar tour? Can you elaborate a little on the end experience being quite different. I have looked at the Road Scholar tour online, but if it is not that good, I would gladly pay more to have a better trip. Thanks in advance.

 

[Souschef]

IMO, since the sights are the same, the big difference is in accommodations and food, We recently took a Tauck tour, where we stayed in Fairmont hotels and had choice of menu dinners.

When we were on the Insight tour of Ireland, the accommodations were lesser and we had group dinners.
Of course there was a large difference in price. Since we are traveling a lot less, we can afford to go on a more expensive tour and stay within our travel budget.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Just curious, was the CIE tour better or the Road Scholar tour? Can you elaborate a little on the end experience being quite different. I have looked at the Road Scholar tour online, but if it is not that good, I would gladly pay more to have a better trip. Thanks in advance.

The CIE group was bigger with a broader age range—a couple of late teens/early twenty-somethings traveling together through a couple of folks in their low eighties, with only one person traveling solo. The RS group was probably all in their sixties and seventies and had more solo travelers according to my friend—my friend and her hubs on the RS trip had just turned 70. The RS trip was more educational and even included suggested reading material about Ireland. I believe their guides were a bit more knowledgeable; our CIE bus driver was also our guide while moving from place to place and talked about Irish history, the educational system, healthcare, economy, etc. He delivered us to places like Blarney Castle where we were on our own; I believe the RS guide led that group through the sites. I think the RSers were at smaller hotels and had group pub nights for example (we had no pub nights as a group, and a couple of our hotels were too far from pubs to visit yhem on our own). I know my friend stays in contact with a few people from the RS tour while I don’t think anyone from the CIE bonded that way. We both feel we had good trips and don’t think either was necessarily better than the other.

 

[Lsbcal]

I’ve been using the iOS calendar app to organize trip info and gather critical docs and confirmation numbers. You can attach PDFs as well as notes, links, set alarms. We share a travel calendar so all our iPhones. iPads, laptops have access and stay synced. Some airlines will send you calendar inputs. I am able to set the time zones for my entries.

I only have an iPad but am considering getting an iPhone (the XR available in late October). Can you organize the iOS calendar app on the iPad or do you do it on the laptop and then read it on the others?

 

[Lsbcal]

Personally, I'm getting to the point where I am no longer willing to do a bunch of detail planning. It's too exhausting and I am just not willing to put in the extensive time and work.

So our travel will simplify greatly and we will probably do more small group tours. We will also do long single city visits on our own (week or more) and limit the number.

We've been limiting the number of hops with longer stays in each. What group tours are you (or others here) considering?


I have heard good things about OAT. Have only done 1 Rick Steves tour in southern Italy and 1 short Robbie's tour in Scotland. We found that longer group tour to be kind of a mixed bag. Did not care for the guide and some of the folks were annoying or closed off to others outside of their little foursome. Maybe short and sweet is best for us.

 

[audreyh1]

We've been limiting the number of hops with longer stays in each. What group tours are you (or others here) considering?


I have heard good things about OAT. Have only done 1 Rick Steves tour in southern Italy and 1 short Robbie's tour in Scotland. We found that longer group tour to be kind of a mixed bag. Did not care for the guide and some of the folks were annoying or closed off to others outside of their little foursome. Maybe short and sweet is best for us.

Well, I've been looking at Uncruise Panama, and the Costa Rica pre-trip. I looked into some of the pre-trip details before, and decided I wasn't ready to take on organizing that by myself.

And we are considering visiting some nature lodges in Central America. Not group trips per se, but they provide a number of guides to be shared by visiting guests.

And it's been a very long time since we've been on a small group birding tour, but we are probably ready to go again with a guide we really enjoyed in the past.

I have neighbors who adore OAT, and pretty much only travel with them now. They are in their mid-60s I guess, or maybe a bit older. They've gone all over the world. Pretty adventuresome couple.

 

[audreyh1]

I only have an iPad but am considering getting an iPhone (the XR available in late October). Can you organize the iOS calendar app on the iPad or do you do it on the laptop and then read it on the others?

I do most of the work on the laptop and update the calendar from there. But you can edit on the other devices if ever needed. The calendar sharing feature works very well.

 

[Gotadimple]

I have neighbors who adore OAT, and pretty much only travel with them now. They are in their mid-60s I guess, or maybe a bit older. They've gone all over the world. Pretty adventuresome couple.

OAT has quite an active travellers' forum where they discuss the different trips being offered. It is a well-run company and they contract with Program Directors who get specialized training on how they want their itineraries delivered.


I have generally travelled with them at least once a year. Really enjoyed every trip I've taken with them. If you are active and like to walk or hike, they have itineraries that get you out and about. Most trips are outside the large cities.


- Rita

 

[Bigdawg]

Yes.

Basically we avoid group tours like the plague. For Ireland we would probably just buy a map or two, buy an Insight guide plus one other, line up some AirBnBs with flexible cancellation policies, rent a car, and head out. We might also book private guides in some places.

We did this in Norway a couple of years ago and it worked out fine.

In Ireland you have people who speak English, road signs in English, easy to get around. Driving on the left is not a big deal once you get used to it. Stop when and where you want to. Morning start at whatever time you like, ditto lunch and dinner. No tourist herd-feeding stations (aka buffets with dull food). No waiting for people late to the bus or for people with weak bladders.

A good alternative though more expensive, is to hire a guide/driver with a vehicle. Generally, that ends up to be like traveling with a good friend who knows the country. Very efficient. No getting lost. No wasting time on unattractive attractions. No eating in tourist restaurants. Lots of learning about the country, history and politics, over meals.

This.

Just got back from two weeks in Ireland. Saw everything except Derry/Londonderry. First 2 nights near Belfast with friends then off on our own in a standard transmission Jetta driving on the wrong side. B&B's and some hotels. A guide book. Made a few detours to see some cool stuff. Saw the whole "Wild Atlantic Way". Dingle, ring of Kerry, etc... Skipped everything between Cork and Dublin. We will catch that next time. Last four nights in Dublin. Small country. You could literally see it all in three weeks. We saw all of the tour groups and dodged them/ran the other way. I had to stare down a tour bus that was coming down a switch back somewhere on the western side of the country.

 

[2K1N1K]

I try to avoid the group tours.

A good website to do the tour on your own is tripmasters.com We used them for an Italy trip - Rome to Cinque Tera to Florence to Venice. They arranged all transportation, lodging and tours if needed. It's a great/easy to use website. Their price was better than purchasing separately and I'll definitely use again.

 

[OldShooter]

I try to avoid the group tours.

A good website to do the tour on your own is tripmasters.com We used them for an Italy trip - Rome to Cinque Tera to Florence to Venice. They arranged all transportation, lodging and tours if needed. It's a great/easy to use website. Their price was better than purchasing separately and I'll definitely use again.

Yes. There are also many travel arrangers (typically in-country) who will help plan a self-drive itinerary and then handle all the bookings, provide maps, etc. We have a couple in South Africa (https://www.bushbaby.co.za/) that we have worked with and who have become friends. In addition to the private tours we have taken with Pierre, wife Karen will also help people plan self-drive tours with whatever itinerary they want. Several years ago, Pierre told us that traveling with him cost us about 20% more than a self-drive and that if there were four people the private travel was actually about 20% less. This was apparently due to the discounts they have arranged and his using his own vehicle instead of the clients' renting one. Still true? True in other countries? I don't know.

The other advantage of using an in-country company for assistance is that then you have a local contact who can help if something goes wrong. A medical emergency for example.