Family-Friendly Tour of England, Ireland, & Scotland

Zicasso’s travel specialists were excellent to work with, as we adjusted our itinerary many times from initial contact to the time of travel. Our travel party significantly reduced in number and they worked with us to put together a great tour of Scotland (Edinburgh, including the castle, Royal Holyrood Palace, and a day trip to Stirling Castle with a great chauffeur/guide) and Ireland, arranging our flight to Dublin with transportation to Galway, then return via train for activities in Dublin. We had a wonderful trip and would highly recommend the travel company.

We enjoyed our trip and got to see and experience everything we set out to do. However, our itinerary lacked attention to detail. When we arrived in London, we were on our own to catch the Express to Paddington and our 5-hour ride to Penzance. This is what was designed and expected, although our itinerary still showed a "meet and greet". First class train tickets were provided by the contractor, but not reserved seats. My wife and I started the trip sitting separately. The contractor reported that reserved seats were not available, although three-quarters of the passengers in first class had tickets with reserve seat numbers.

The next day, the itinerary showed us starting and ending in St. Ives, although we were booked in a Penzance hotel, and did not get to St. Ives until the next day. The itinerary stated that the Penzance hotel was only 500 meters from the train station, so we walked with our luggage to discover the last 100 meters were up a very steep hill with almost no sidewalk. We are both 75.

Day four included three stops that included two national parks. Our guide said that would be impossible to cover, so we saw one of the parks listed in the day four itinerary. The third location was Wells Cathedral. Our guide dropped us at a small old neighborhood church that we discovered was the wrong location, but we only had a 7-minute walk to the correct location. Not a big problem, but we only had an hour total to tour. At pickup the guide stated, "if you seen one church, you have seen them all".

On day six, we were booked to tour Criccieth Castle, and upon arrival, we found it was closed on Tuesdays. These are details we would expect the travel company to know. We went to another castle instead.

On day seven, the itinerary stated that we had a free day until our Mountain Cog Railway at 11:30. We discovered on our own that the railway required us to be there 30 minutes ahead of time. That did not leave time to do anything before. We went early and changed our time so that we had the afternoon.

Overall, we enjoyed our trip, but it was different from our previous Zicasso trips. With the exception of the railway, we were responsible for all of our admissions, unlike other trips, while this was probably the most expensive of the trips. As experienced travelers, we were able to deal with the blips in the itinerary, but it was not at the level we have had previously with Zicasso.

The emerald green hills, mist-shrouded castles, and joyful people captured our hearts.

Our family journey across the Emerald Isle felt like stepping directly into a living fairy tale. Beyond the magical settings, the execution behind the scenes was flawless. We came looking forward to a driver and walked away with a lifelong friend. The seamless care, ideas, and nimble adjustments from Zicasso’s travel specialists and the team transformed our itinerary into pure magic.

The Most Magical Chapters of Our Journey

The Crown Jewels: Three experiences stood out above all. Our off-road adventure on the rugged shores of Inishmore with our guide felt like visiting another planet. An unforgettable horseback-riding trek through Killarney National Park was pure poetry. Finally, our coastal foraging tour with our guide in Kinsale gave us a wonderfully immersive connection to the wild seashore.

A Culinary Fairy Tale: The dining was extraordinary. We indulged in afternoon tea at our hotel in Cashel, exceptional seafood at a restaurant in Dublin and a restaurant in Killarney, and a world-class meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Galway. Best of all was celebrating our son's birthday at a restaurant in Galway, making his day unforgettable.

Dublin: History came alive on a captivating walking tour, at Croke Park, and during a deeply immersive Viking experience at Dublinia. The city wrapped us in lively energy, from the fun of the Viking tour to the panoramic views at the top of the Guinness Storehouse.

Belfast: A powerful day trip that felt like opening a history book. We listened to deeply moving local stories on a private black cab tour before exploring the majestic halls of Titanic Belfast.

The Ring of Kerry: The dramatic Rock of Cashel welcomed us into a countryside that enchanted us at every turn. We loved the sheepdog demonstration, the thatched cottages of the Kerry Bog Village, and the raw majesty of the Kerry Cliffs on Valentia Island.

Cork: Our day trip to Blarney Castle was exquisite. The vibrant, otherworldly gardens felt like stepping directly into a storybook, featuring unique plant displays unlike anything we have ever seen before.

Killarney: We loved a peaceful woodland walk to the sun-dappled waters of Torc Waterfall, unlocking mysteries at an escape room, and the fiery rhythm of an Irish dance show.

Galway: After crossing on the car ferry via the staggering Cliffs of Moher and the limestone moonscape of The Burren, we enjoyed high-octane sports fun at an indoor sports experience.

Connemara and Beyond: A grand finale defined by the lakeside beauty of Kylemore Abbey and forest ziplining at an adventure park. We beautifully closed our loop wandering the ancient grounds of Birr Castle and the peaceful paths of the National Stud and Japanese Gardens.

We didn’t just visit Ireland, we left with deep family connections, lifelong memories, and amazing new friends.

The trip was well planned with only a few bumps. We enjoyed all of the sights and really had a wonderful time.

My only complaint was the hotel selection. The majority of the hotels were nice but far from everything. We would have preferred to be within walking distance of restaurants and pubs. All but one of our travelers are in their 70s, and we had to drag our luggage up steep flights of stairs in three of the hotels. There was no staff available to help. We loved our stay in our castle hotel in County Clare, and our hotel in Dublin was very nice. I would not use the others again.

There was no problem reaching Zicasso's travel company when we had an issue, and they were very accommodating.

Our trip went off exactly as planned. Our guide took us to a number of off-the-beaten-path sights that greatly enhanced our visit. There were a number of sights that were so commercialized that we did not stay long. We had a three-hour walking tour of Dublin that helped us get over jet lag on day one. We had a food tour of Galway on day seven that introduced us to the city in a wonderful way. Zicasso’s tour company did a great job setting it all up and making our vacation a real treat.

Zicasso’s travel specialist did an outstanding job in customizing the itinerary for the four of us. He tailored it to fit our requests/needs.

We spent several days with our driver, who made us feel very comfortable and like family. He was the best!

Our hotels in Belfast, Derry, Donegal, and Galway were top-notch and included delicious breakfast options. They were located in the center of the towns, which made it easy to explore on foot.

The local tour guides were very interesting and very engaging.

Lastly, all the local people we encountered were delightful. We felt welcomed wherever we went. Ireland is a beautiful country to explore and experience!