4 Star Ireland Tour Reviews — 1 to 8 of 8

The scenery on the Connemara trip is spectacular. Mostly beautiful back roads, always in sight of several mountains, lakes and ocean.

Feedback/Critique:
1) Bike-wise, the first day was pretty awful. The plan was to fit our bikes on day 2 at 9:45 AM, which took 30 minutes. The bike shop gave us one e-bike with only 1/3 of the battery charged, and another one was spotty - didn't respond every time to power request! Owner said problem charging overnight, and he didn’t really apologize… said “that’s the way it is… I don't have another backup battery, so just try to use the battery less…" Then it was at least an hour to transport us to the starting point in Cong and ready our bikes for the ride, bathroom break, etc.. Because of the 1/3 charge, the stronger of our group pedaled a lot without battery. There was no cell service so we couldn't call the bike shop until later in the day - left a message to bring us another bike and another battery. The owner brought us a replacement bike and battery the next morning - The bicycle brought to us was a different brand - and was lighter and peppier. Why not just use that brand?? 2) The ebikes were not Giant as advertised on Tripsite - they were Devron, which I suspect were heavier and less quality. Compared to the bikes we used in our Croatia bike/boat trip in June 2019, these were much heavier, and less peppy. However, the bikes given us on the Aran Islands were lighter and had more power (they really zipped along). If we hadn’t been pretty athletic individuals, I think the trip would’ve been harder. 3) The estimated route time given inside the RIDE WITH GPS routes must not include any time to take photos, get some hydration or snacks. So by the time we got to the ONLY 2 possible lunch spots - Maire Luke's Bar and O'Toole's pub, they were closed! SUGGESTION: STRONGLY recommend - in the BEGINNING of the route description to purchase lunch in Cong before beginning the route. 4) None of the 3 bikes had a bike pump as promised. One bike had an incompatible plug so we had to use a personal plug converter!!! At the end of the tour the owner gave a lame reason... 5) The ebikes were not peppy enough to carry us up several morning hills on day one, which added to our time and so we didn't make the lunch spots. THEN in the afternoon stretch we had to push our bikes up the 2.5 km long hill -- when we were pretty hungry. 6) THE FLAT OPTION ROAD WAS CLOSED, and no one told us until the end of the day. In my opinion it was unacceptable for your partner's contracted bike shop NOT to have a back up battery! In the future, if possible the bikes should be fit THE DAY BEFORE in the late afternoon, and a) the driver could take riders, luggage and bikes to Cong to stay overnight, OR, pick up riders, luggage, and bikes at Galway lodging at 9 AM day 2 then drive to Cong.

By the way after day 2 we did call your Dublin partner to report the bike problems. That's where the corrections need to be made.  SHOW MORE 

We caught a spell of good clear weather, with rain on arrival and last day, so views from climbs were spectacular over ocean, especially Coomakista at 250 m. Join the loads of busses to look over the view, proud in the fact you rode there! The rest day has optional circuit through Valentia island which was a highlight. Optional steep 15% or worse grades down to lighthouse, but we would recommend doing that even if you push your bike up worst grades at bottom of hill. On the ascent back, don’t miss the road off to the right to the tetrapod tracks. The B and B owner suggested a restaurant just off the north ferry landing for sea food, to join the locals with a Guinness and red ale, waiting outside in the setting sun.

The Gap of Dunloe is a remote surreal climb on the ascent out of Black Valley, with descent back into the busy world of tourists on day trip walks, and civilization. On a cold wet day as we had through from Kenmare back to Killarney, don’t forgo a stop at the Avocado Molls Gap shop and cafe, even if you add a few kilometres to the suggested route, as it is a great place to warm up, get a hot chocolate, and look over to the Molls Gap, which you don’t get to ride through, unless you want to travel a more major route independently.

Insist on an understanding of the provided ride with GPS information, as we missed some important items at first, and also check the bikes over carefully. We had quite important problems with the bikes that we didn’t notice until into the trip, but to their credit the company responded quickly and replaced both bikes. This is my only reason for taking off a star.

Communications throughout were excellent.

Ireland is a beautiful country and we enjoyed our trip very much. Our bikes worked well. Thomas, the bike guy, was exceptional. The trip itinerary changed a bit from the time we booked, one less biking day and shorter distances, but it allowed us to stay in Doolin for 2 nights as well as Ballyvaughan for 2 nights. We used the extra day in Doolin to take the ferry to Inis Mor, which was wonderful. The biking map and directions were a bit hard to follow while riding, so we opted to use Google Maps, which sometimes routed us different ways than what was provided, but it meant we could hear and see directions from our phone. Providing GPS tracks would be a great improvement. The hotels and B&B’s were great.

The cliffs of moher and Aran islands. The narrow roads were very fun as well

Favorite Part: The fantastic landscapes of Connemara.

The itinerary right up to Glendalough is great, except cycling along Dublin's coastline is not much fun having to pass by many parked cars. Take time to enjoy some easy hikes in Glendalough looking out to gorgeous views. From Day 5 onwards, the route is boring -- just riding as there's not much to see and do.
GIANT-brand bikes were in excellent condition as they were supplied from the base of Irish Cycling Safaris in Dublin (Belfield Bike Shop).

The person who dropped off the bikes did not have the tools to adjust the handle bars, so the bikes did not fit well.
The saddle (bike seat) was the type that would be commonly found on a road bike and not on a touring bike.
The gears were not aligned correctly, so it was extremely difficult to shift gears. Sometimes, in order to shift gears, it was required to repeatedly shift the gears up and down before the bike would shift into the lower or upper gear.

The most memorable part was the scenic route along the Burren and the Wild Atlantic Way. It was 22 km of beautiful ocean views and incredible landscape. It was also amazing to see the Cliffs of Moher.