British Isles land Tour Questions

My DH and I are thinking about taking a British Isles cruise during May or June 2016.

I would like to know if anyone has taken the Land tour before the cruise and what that experience is like.

Also, does anyone know what hotels Princess uses for these land tours ?

Any information is appreciated as we begin planning for this vacation.

Thank you!

My DH and I are thinking about taking a British Isles cruise during May or June 2016.

I would like to know if anyone has taken the Land tour before the cruise and what that experience is like.

Also, does anyone know what hotels Princess uses for these land tours ?

Any information is appreciated as we begin planning for this vacation.

Thank you!

We went in the middle of May 2015. The weather was usually windy, cold & rainy. Although everyone kept saying "it's usually so nice in May". The hotels used were The Strand Hotel in Limerick, Killarney Plaza Hotel & The River Lee Hotel in Cork. All were great. One or two of the hotels may have been the first time Princess has used them, so I don't know if they will use them in the future. You will get the hotel list sometime after final payment. Princess did a great job. This is a VERY port intensive trip. There are many detailed reviews on CC. We enjoyed it very much.

If you plan to do the land tour in Ireland, please do not consider DIY. You really do not want to drive there!

We were on a bus tour, and many places the hedgerows were as high as the bus and there was no place to bail out.

To get a flavor of Ireland, please go to our trip story at: http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/ireland2009.pdf

We are always happy to answer any questions.

Hi

If you can tour later much happens in August, if not early May is often dry

yours Shogun

My sister and I did the land tour of Ireland before our British Isles cruise in 2012. Both of us had been to Ireland before. I have driven on several trips in Ireland, but I wasn't willing to drive in the larger cities anymore. We rented a car for four days and drove around the west coast of Ireland up into Connemara north of Galway. Then we turned in the car and met up with our tour at Bunratty which is near Shannon airport.

We really enjoyed the land tour in Ireland. We were very happy with the hotels we stayed in and with the bus transportation. Our guide was wonderful. I think her name was Hillary.

The first night we spent at the Bunratty Castle Hotel which is just across the street from Bunratty Castle. There were about 30 people on the tour and that night we went across the road to Bunratty Folk Park where we had dinner. It was called a Traditional Irish Feast and was held in a place called the Corn Barn which was nothing like a barn. It was an Irish ceili which means a night of music and dance. The dinner consisted of Irish brown bread, a really good salad, and the best Irish stew I've ever had. Along with that there were jugs of white and red wine on the tables which never ran out. Dessert was tea and what they called apple pie but was more like cake with apples baked into the middle of it.

We spent one night there and the next day were on a bus about 8:15 AM to begin the tour. The second and third nights we were at the Killarney Plaza Hotel in Killarney. The last night was at the River Lee Hotel in Cork which was newly renovated.

On the last morning we flew from Cork, Ireland to Heathrow. We had to get up at 4 AM and have carry on luggage outside our door to be picked up at 4:50 AM. (Large bags were taken by truck and ferry by Princess to avoid huge airline luggage fees.) We skipped breakfast except for grabbing a scone to eat later. It was a short ride to the Cork airport. Our flight was on Aer Lingus (Irish Airlines).

After we arrived at London Heathrow we were met by a Princess representative. There were 32 people in our group from the cruisetour and the rep led us to our bus which took us to Southampton. We arrived in Southampton around noon and were checked in immediately. Then we had a short wait before going through security and on to the ship.

Ireland is a beautiful country. We were lucky and had good weather almost the entire time. We were happy with the hotels, our guide, the bus driver, and with just about everything we saw. Princess contracts with a tour company to handle the tours. I think the tour company was Globus, but I'm not positive of that.

Thank you for your replies!

I will read your trip story ,Talisker 92.

I totally agree that we will not DIY for this trip,not at our ages of 63 and64 by next Spring.

When I was in college,I drove my parents around Ireland.

The driving was a bit challenging for me then,can't imagine it 40 years forward!

It is a lovely country.

Both my husband and I have Irish lineage,so I want him to experience Ireland and I look forward to returning.

We are in the initial l planning stage now, I hope the trip comes true for us.

If you plan to do the land tour in Ireland, please do not consider DIY. You really do not want to drive there!

We were on a bus tour, and many places the hedgerows were as high as the bus and there was no place to bail out.

To get a flavor of Ireland, please go to our trip story at: http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/ireland2009.pdf

We are always happy to answer any questions.

Actually it is not difficult to do a DIY driving tour of England. We did almost 4 weeks w/o problems in the country and in cities (not London, however) and we did not hit anything.

Some simple rules however -

1) Rent an automatic transmission car

2) Follow the vehicle ahead of you

3) Look both ways when pulling out of a parking lot

4) Be very careful on roundabouts

5) When your wife screams at you, you are probably doing something wrong.

BTW - we also did a 2 month driving trip in Australia w/o problems.

DON

I am sorry. I know the original thread was about land tours, but you all seem so knowledgeable about Ireland. Will you give advice about what clothing to pack for a trip in May, please. Do we need waterproof shoes/boots? Thank you.

I am sorry. I know the original thread was about land tours, but you all seem so knowledgeable about Ireland. Will you give advice about what clothing to pack for a trip in May, please. Do we need waterproof shoes/boots? Thank you.

Layers, layers, layers. Brought gloves and a scarf. Wish I had brought a stocking cap for the few times I would have worn it. Did not bring waterproof pants. It could be raining one minute and nice the next. Have to be ready for anything!

Layers, layers, layers. Brought gloves and a scarf. Wish I had brought a stocking cap for the few times I would have worn it. Did not bring waterproof pants. It could be raining one minute and nice the next. Have to be ready for anything!

I agree. Also bring some lightweight hiking/walking type shoes.

Hi Yesterday UK had weather in high 30s c it also had hail stones size of golf balls and flash flood warnings welcome to UK weather

Yours Shogun

Actually it is not difficult to do a DIY driving tour of England. We did almost 4 weeks w/o problems in the country and in cities (not London, however) and we did not hit anything.

 

Some simple rules however -

 

1) Rent an automatic transmission car

 

2) Follow the vehicle ahead of you

 

3) Look both ways when pulling out of a parking lot

 

4) Be very careful on roundabouts

 

5) When your wife screams at you, you are probably doing something wrong.

 

BTW - we also did a 2 month driving trip in Australia w/o problems.

 

DON

thanks don !!

just read these to my husband -

esp. # 5 got quite a chuckle out of both of us !!:D

we shall remember these when we rent a car next may

for touring wales after our TA / brit isles cruise;)

p.s. i think anyone going on a princess cruise land tour

will be delighted !!

You can almost certainly do tours of Ireland and the UK very easily and for a fraction of the cost by arranging yourself rather than as a package.

Both countries are covered in a huge array of accommodation from friendly small B&B's to manor houses.

Roads are good and a hire car will allow you to get to more interesting places and spend time where you would most like to.

This would be a good starting point

http://www.visitbritain.com

You can almost certainly do tours of Ireland and the UK very easily and for a fraction of the cost by arranging yourself rather than as a package.

 

Both countries are covered in a huge array of accommodation from friendly small B&B's to manor houses.

 

Roads are good and a hire car will allow you to get to more interesting places and spend time where you would most like to.

 

This would be a good starting point

http://www.visitbritain.com

what a helpful website !!!