I did the 6 day All Ireland Tour. It was great but also quite intense. If you're looking to do this one, you might want to consider taking 2 shorter tours instead, allowing for some time to rest (physically as well as mentally) in between. On the first half of my trip we had one tour guide, Brian. He was very knowledgeable and funny. We had a great time. Doing this kind of tours beats renting a car and driving around yourself; you'll have to navigate, negotiate traffic (often on very narrow roads and driving on the left side of the road) and are therefore unable to fully appreciate the astounding scenery. Plus, you miss out on the commentary. I can definitely recommend Railtours.

Our group of 4 had an amazing time on our tour visiting cliffs of Moher and Bunratty castle. Our tour guide John Todd was a wealth of knowledge and kept the group informed and entertained. Our coach driver Michael was a wizard at the wheel navigating us up the coast. Recommend a million times over.

Took a day tour to Kilkenny and Waterford. It was a great day which was made even better by the tour guide. Lunch was amazing. The tour went very smoothly. My highlight was visiting the Waterford Crystal factory.

We did the 2 day Belfast/Giants Causeway tour. It was extremely well organized and was the perfect balance of freedom and structure. Tour guide was a lot of fun and full of information. If you want to see the highlights of Northern Ireland this is a great way to do it!

Choosing Railtours Ireland was the best decision my boyfriend and I could have made when planning our trip! It was the first time traveling to Ireland for both of us, so we were looking for a company that would help us with all the basics such as travel and hotels, but also gave you the independence to do your own sightseeing and adventures. We did the 8 day Independent Railtour, and we cannot recommend it more highly. Every aspect of the tour went as smooth as possible- employees were there on time when and where they said they would be, and were so nice and informative. Every employee we encountered was so knowledgeable about whatever area we were in, as well as the rest of the country. This was hands down the best vacation we have been on, and we are so glad we chose Railtours Ireland as the company to help guide us through our first (and hopefully not last) visit to Ireland!

Had a wonderful time on this tour to the Blarney Castle. Terance McMullen was our guide. He is very knowledgeable and friendly and very accommodating. The driver and tour guide were very entertaining as well. Recommend to anybody. Ireland is beautiful.

A friend and I have just completed a week long tour and enjoyed it very much. This is my second time touring with them, as I went on a day tour to Blarney Castle with the company in 2018. My first experience was so lovely I knew I wanted to go on more of their tours when I was planning to explore Ireland with my friend in 2020 - we ended up choosing the 6-Day All Ireland tour for our trip. Our trip was initially cancelled due to Covid, but Railtours was very attentive and we had no trouble redeeming our vouchers for the same trip this year. We used our Hop On Hop Off bus tickets for Dublin the day before our tour started, which was a nice option to have. All of the hotel bookings were 4-star and beautiful accomodations. The tour guides were helpful, friendly and very knowledgeable (thanks especially to Brian and Ian who went above and beyond)! It was especially comforting to have an attendant for every transfer (this company leaves nothing to chance and has thought through every detail). Highly recommend booking with this company if you're interested in a wonderful extended VIP experience or even just a single day trip for a specific attraction! Thank you for all the great memories Railtours, we will remember adventures with you for our lifetimes :D

Did not use this company for a tour, but did get to see first hand how the guide encouraged folks in his group to cut the queue to get to the kiss the Blarney Stone faster. Told folks standing behind us to say they were meeting the rest of their group ahead. This was not true and after cutting the line about 20 folks people began to verbally express their displeasure with the practice and they stopped cutting at that point. While it was nice of the guide to try and get his tour participants through the process more quickly, cutting the queue wasn't the way to do so. Left a bad taste in several dozen folks who saw this happening. .

Took the 6 day all Ireland tour & what was sold to us vs. what we got were vastly different. I would never recommend this company to anyone. The first three days our guide was Brendan and he was wonderful - he provided information, would troubleshoot issues, and keep the tour on track. Days 4, 5, and 6 fell apart because each day there was a different or no guide. The tour states that there is breakfast on the train, there is not. The tour indicated that attractions were included, some of them are and some of them are not - and you don’t find out until you get somewhere whether or not it’s included. The day at the Aran Islands there was no rail tour guide and we were left for three hours waiting for transportation - also that day, we missed stops on the tour bc the person they contract with did not take us. The day at Giants Causeway we spent 16 hours traveling for 90 minutes at the Causeway. We were told a RailTours Guide would meet us and no one showed up. Again, the company they contract with made stops that were not on the itinerary and then left us at the Belfast train station after our train we were supposed to take back to Dublin left. We had to wait for 2 hours for the last train out, then when we arrived in Dublin had to get (and pay for) a taxi back to our hotel because no one from Rail Tours was there to provide transportation. Their idea of customer service is a joke and I could’ve done a better job planning myself. Giving two stars because Ireland is beautiful and we got to see a majority of the country & Brendan and John Todd were lovely. Hopefully, this company will get itself together.

We did one 3 day tour and two 1 day tours, enabling us to see an amazing amount of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the comfort of our rail cars, buses, boats and even pony trap! Highly recommend their tours .. well organized and office staff are prompt and give clear information. Thanks Rail tours for many lifetime memories!!

Fantastic tour company for Ireland Day Trips. We had a fantastic tour guide, John Todd to see the Cliffs of Moher and Galaway. It was well organized, and every stop and detail couldn't have been better. John has more energy than a teenager and his excitement to showcase Ireland is heartfelt. This tour is a Must Not Miss item if you travel to Ireland. Thank you RailTours of Ireland and John Todd for a Lifetime Experience!

There was a lot of good, some bad, and some disappointing. First, this is not a rail tour. Extremely misleading. We did the 5 day Royal Atlantic Tour. The only train rides were day 1 and day 5. Day 1 was from Dublin to Cork and day 5 was Galway to Dublin. In between is all coach/bus and ferry rides. I understand utilizing the buses for the getting around to the sites. But going from town to town in bus and not utilizing the rail was very disappointing. Might as well had rented a car and drove it myself. Tour guides: all are very nice gentlemen. Very informational. I suggest balance. If we had a 2.5 hour bus ride, they’d talk for 98% of it. Less is more. Everyone began to tune it out. Way too much rambling. If they spoke for maybe an hour of the time it would have been way more enjoyable. There’s only so much you can hear about rocks and turf. If you want to do a tour and not have to worry about transportation or setting anything up, I’d recommend doing the 4 day tour and not the 5 day. Frankly, the last day is a waste. Nothing special about Connemara. Basically see some neat landscape and go to an Abbey. After the four days prior you are already on fumes and the long bus ride is just not ideal. To be fair, the Abbey is nice but to take up a whole day is not worth it. They make a random 15 minute stop in Clifden which just made no sense. Side note: if you are able to, May want to pack lunches. The stops they have set up the food is expensive and not really that great except for the Aran Islands. The cafe on the island is fantastic and you should eat there.

I did a solo trip- I was terrified! Rail tours made everything so easy! From the easily seen yellow jackets at the train station to Brian, our tour guide, explaining what to expect or answering all of our questions - along with some witty Irish comments lol. He made the experience. I did the four day Atlantic. I loved hearing the history as we rode through the landscapes. We did meet up with another tour at one point, but I felt Brian did a great job preparing us for what to expect. Everyone on our trip did a good job of being considerate and getting back to the bus on time so we could hit the road to the next stop and I met some wonderful people along the way!! Will absolutely use them again! (Some of the hotels were a little older- but it’s old Irish cities you’re visiting. What else should you expect? I had a room to my self and , personally, I loved all of my accommodations. Very quaint and European esque!) my favorite was Killarney! Thank you Railtours and Brian for making my birthday trip a huge success!

This is the way to see the best of Ireland. Our guides were accommodating and knowledgeable. John Todd and Andrew Roach, as our guides, created a memorable and enjoyable experience for our family. Other staff such as our drivers and hotel staff we also delightful. This tour was packed with bonus material and opportunities for photos not mentioned in and brochure or on the website. I'm so glad we chose to let then handle our trip.

We had a nice tour with rail tours. The guides and staff were all really nice and helpful. The tour does a nice job of keeping you on time while giving you ample time to see things. The stops for food during the day are generally good, and the busses are clean and operated by great drivers who are also helpful and nice. The only reason this tour doesn’t get five stars is that for some reason, different guests get different hotels, and there’s a disparity in the quality of them. That’s not really good when everyone pays the same price. At almost $1K per person on a four-day tour, it’s too expensive to be staying in a hotel with dirty carpets and pub music thumping into the morning.

Its more of a bus ride than a rail tour. In the course of 4 days, I estimate we spent a total of 4.5 hours on a train and 28 hours on the bus. (The term "coach" sounds more comfortable, but don't let that fool you}. Our tour guide was good and the accommodations were nice. Especially the International Hotel in Killareny . The hotel restaurant was absolutely one of the 3 best I have ever been to in my life. We didnt have much chance to see Galway. We got there late in the day and were beat from riding in the "coach" for 8 hours. I guess it was worth the money, but I wouldn't do it twice.

Blarney Castle and Cobh Day Trip 03/13/2023 What an amazing tour! Saw everything on our dream list by booking two tours with this company. Definitely recommend rail tours over standard coach tours. It adds to the experience and riding by rail just seems so much more comfortable. Mike our transfer/coach driver kept us safe and always made us feel like he had total control, Brian was our tour guide all day and kept us giggling while telling us so much about history, areas where we were, and local recommendations when we had some free time. And Paddy accompanied us back to Dublin that evening and he was the sweetest and kindest to make sure we were all taken care of and got back safe. These three gentlemen made the tour for us. The sights were amazing but they took care of all our needs and did it with a smile, sense of humor and made us realize how great a tour could be instead of venturing out in our own. From the moment we arrived at the rail station in the morning and found our guys in the yellow jackets, our every need was met. Thank you so much. David and April Snow

My boyfriend and I went on the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle day tour with the amazing tour guide, John Todd! We had such an amazing experience on the tour! John was very knowledgeable about the history of Ireland and told us many stories along our journey through Ireland. Not only was he very knowledgeable, but he was a hilarious story teller and we could tell he loves what he does. There is nothing better than having someone who is excited to share their love of history with people. He even took amazing photos of us whenever we wanted him to. If you are going on a tour, you HAVE to get John Todd! We had such a beautiful day at the Bunratty Castle. He made sure we were the first tour group at the castle so it was empty when we got there! We had plenty of time to explore, take photos, and learn about the history. Even better, it was a crystal clear day at the Cliffs of Moher! We got extremely lucky. It was truly a sight to see (you can’t miss it if you come to Ireland). At the end of our tour, the trains were canceled due to problems on the railway. Our group was anxious about getting home, but John took care of us! He made sure we would be on a bus leaving at the same time as our schedule train to go back. It was an adventure through and through. John made sure we were safe getting home, walking my boyfriend and I to our Uber. Overall, he made our experience wonderful and fun. Thank you for everything John!!

This was the second time we've used their service, the first being ten years ago. Once again every single person we dealt with was happy to help. They even helped arrange for us to head up to Belfast early for our Belfast and Giants Causeway tour so we could have extra time to explore the City on our own. After they get you to your base for the tour, they pair you up with local guides and help you see the destination from a local's perspective. This time we were paired with Patrick and he was a wonderful guide for our tour through the Glens of Antrim and the Giant's Causeway. Even the rain couldn't dampen his spirit and storytelling.

After just returning to a full day of adventures with Railtours Ireland, I cannot say enough positive things about our tour guide, Terence! He checked in on everyone often, he was friendly, he was knowledgeable, and he went above and beyond, including checking that everyone had transportation after the train returned back to Dublin. We were on quite an extensive day trip, but everything was seemless, well communicated, and organized. Glad I booked this trip last minute and it ended up being so great!

We did a 4 day tour and loved every minute of it. Best part was our hosts Brian, Anthony, and Ian as well as our bus drivers. They made us feel like family. Very knowledgeable on Irish history, stops at great little towns, very organized. We will definitely use them in the future.

I recently returned from Ireland and took a 4 day tour with Railtours Ireland. I cannot say enough good things about it. The tour guides were wonderful and so knowledgeable. Brandon was wonderful and gave us some good laughs. At the end of the tour I left my phone on the last bus and was very upset thinking I would have to return home without it. Thanks to Tony in Galway and to John Todd they arranged to get my phone and it was delivered to me by Paddy in Dublin the night before I left. John was so good at assuring me I would get it returned and helped keep me calm but telling me stories that I had not heard from my tour guides. Thank you Railtours. I would recommend you over and over again and should I have the chance to return to Ireland I know who I will be booking with. I am a very happy customer.

Excellent service, accommodations & superior tour guides. After several (COVID) postponements and a change in the number and names of people touring, Railtours Ireland was so genuinely helpful. From the office staff to Brian our tour guide, The "All Ireland" tour was just that - culture, coffee, pubs & all the top Bucket List attractions. Clear & concise historical information throughout. Number ONE tour company in Ireland? Probably. You won't be disappointed

This was a first class operation! They delivered exactly what they promised with someone guiding you every step of the way. The International Hotel in Killarney was superb!

We have enjoyed several of their tours. The guides are always professional and very informative. They have mastered the balance between touring as a group and allowing for alone time to explore. It was the same for all of the tours we enjoyed: the guide would give us a pamphlet of information and then orally tell us the history of the site and after that we were left with instructions of when to meet back up as a group. They provided ample time for us to enjoy the sites on our own, allowing our trip to be intimate but not intimidating. Overall, an inexpensive way to spend the day. Well worth the time and money.

Reliable company providing great rail breaks throughout Ireland

We did the 1-day Cliffs of Moher trip and it was exceptional. The trip does take up an entire day, but it is worth the time and money. Our guide, Dave, was very personable and knowledgeable. The bus and train rides were both smooth and comfortable. We really enjoyed our trip!