County Wicklow excursions on BIE cruise

[snookie1]

I am looking at the excursions that might be offered on our BIE cruise in May.  For our day in Dublin I see 2 offerings that go to County Wicklow.  One is called "Discover County Wicklow"; the other is called " The Beauty of County Wicklow".  Has anyone been on either of these?  Would you recommend them?  Is there a difference between the two?  From the description they sound pretty much identical to me.  Any advice would be welcome.  Thank you.

[Kountess]

We had signed up for the Discover County Wicklow excursion last year, but it was cancelled after embarking on our cruise.  We ended up booking a private tour through Viatour that was fabulous.  If you're curious, this is the post in my blog for that day:

 

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/tour-county-wicklow.html 

[longterm]

We're doing the BIE starting on July 4th; I've already booked 4 private tours for this trip, might be interested in this one if you can recall its name on Viator or any other info that might help me find it. We've had great luck with Viator tours, both in England and in France, and I in fact have one booked for us on our BIE cruise.

[Kountess]

2 hours ago, longterm said:

We're doing the BIE starting on July 4th; I've already booked 4 private tours for this trip, might be interested in this one if you can recall its name on Viator or any other info that might help me find it. We've had great luck with Viator tours, both in England and in France, and I in fact have one booked for us on our BIE cruise.

Luckily, I still had my email confirmation from Viator.  Our guide was Dairine Nuttall, and here's 

a snapshot of the confirmation.  She was willing to do or go anywhere we wanted, and you may be able to contact her directly.

Tour Wicklow in a limo with a private guide. Scenery, history, exploring & more!

Confirmation number: 1283949296 Booking reference number: 893264896

Monday, June 13, 2022 at 08:30 AM 2 Adults See ticket for location details

For questions, contact the tour operator directly at +353861936861 or by email

[longterm]

15 hours ago, Kountess said:

Luckily, I still had my email confirmation from Viator.  Our guide was Dairine Nuttall, and here's 

a snapshot of the confirmation.  She was willing to do or go anywhere we wanted, and you may be able to contact her directly.

Tour Wicklow in a limo with a private guide. Scenery, history, exploring & more!

Confirmation number: 1283949296 Booking reference number: 893264896

Monday, June 13, 2022 at 08:30 AM 2 Adults See ticket for location details

For questions, contact the tour operator directly at +353861936861 or by email

Thank you so much! I'll look into it and let me know if we end up booking it. 🙂

[snookie1]

Thank you so much Kountess.  It sounds like you had a wonderful tour.  I will certainly look into this; hopefully Bob hasn't gotten the last seats!!

[snookie1]

So I just found this Viator tour and see that there is no tour running when we will be there on May 5, 2024.  (Or any other Saturday, Sunday, or Monday in May.)  So we can opt for a small group tour from Viator, I suppose; we'll have to see what Viking offers.

 

[Kountess]

8 minutes ago, snookie1 said:

So I just found this Viator tour and see that there is no tour running when we will be there on May 5, 2024.  (Or any other Saturday, Sunday, or Monday in May.)  So we can opt for a small group tour from Viator, I suppose; we'll have to see what Viking offers.

Just out of curiosity, I looked at Viator and saw this tour - Chauffeur Driven Tour of Beautiful County Wicklow.  It sounds like the one we did, and it does show availability on May 5, with one price for up to three people.  The price has definitely gone up since 2022, however!

[biggerbearmom]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:25 PM, snookie1 said:

I am looking at the excursions that might be offered on our BIE cruise in May.  For our day in Dublin I see 2 offerings that go to County Wicklow.  One is called "Discover County Wicklow"; the other is called " The Beauty of County Wicklow".  Has anyone been on either of these?  Would you recommend them?  Is there a difference between the two?  From the description they sound pretty much identical to me.  Any advice would be welcome.  Thank you.

We did the Discover County Wicklow last September and we were disappointed.

It was expensive and it did not meet our expectations. The lunch was good, the gardens and grounds of Powerscourt were beautiful but rushed. Also, we had very little time to explore the monastic settlement in Glendalough. I personally would not recommend it.

[Azulann]

I spent a week on a retreat in Glendalough. Go on a day trip to this most historic place if you come from Dublin.  It was the home of St. Kevin and his monastic community. There are two beautiful lakes, lots of Irish crosses and old stone churches,, a  great visitor center with artifacts, hiking trails with good signage and historical markers and beautiful overlooks.  A lovely hotel and restaurant overlooking one of the lakes for a lunch or break. 

https://glendalough.ie

Skip the  other sites and go straight to Glenalough, part of national park, in County Wicklow.

[snookie1]

22 hours ago, Kountess said:

Just out of curiosity, I looked at Viator and saw this tour - Chauffeur Driven Tour of Beautiful County Wicklow.  It sounds like the one we did, and it does show availability on May 5, with one price for up to three people.  The price has definitely gone up since 2022, however!

Huh,  that's funny.  When I look up that tour, May 5th is greyed out, and thus unavailable.  But you are right; it is a bit pricey.

[snookie1]

20 hours ago, biggerbearmom said:

We did the Discover County Wicklow last September and we were disappointed.

It was expensive and it did not meet our expectations. The lunch was good, the gardens and grounds of Powerscourt were beautiful but rushed. Also, we had very little time to explore the monastic settlement in Glendalough. I personally would not recommend it.

Was this an 8-hour tour?  How long was the travel time to the gardens?  And then to the monastery?  Were you in a 40+ person bus?  Perhaps the smaller group Viator tour will give us more time?  Just collecting information now, and yours is appreciated.

[snookie1]

18 hours ago, Azulann said:

I spent a week on a retreat in Glendalough. Go on a day trip to this most historic place if you come from Dublin.  It was the home of St. Kevin and his monastic community. There are two beautiful lakes, lots of Irish crosses and old stone churches,, a  great visitor center with artifacts, hiking trails with good signage and historical markers and beautiful overlooks.  A lovely hotel and restaurant overlooking one of the lakes for a lunch or break. 

https://glendalough.ie

Skip the  other sites and go straight to Glenalough, part of national park, in County Wicklow.

That sounds wonderful.  I guess we'd have to see about private transportation to the monastery.  Maybe as part of a small group Viator tour we would get more time there.  Has anyone taken these kinds of Viator tours?  Do they do a good job?  Thanks for your input.

[biggerbearmom]

It was an 8 hour tour, and we were a group of 20 on a large bus.

We went to the gardens after having lunch and visiting the monastic site.

After the gardens we finished up with a whisky tour and tasting. You very well may have a better experience with a different tour operator. 

[rcaruso]

If you go to County Wicklow.  Check out the old series of Ballykissangel from PBS or BBC.  It is set in the town of Avoca (but they call it Ballykissangel)  Beautiful countryside and a lovely 7 season series of an English priest and the inhabitants of this small Irish village.