Britain & Ireland Explorer

Great tour guide and driver. Wonderful sights

My biggest piece of feedback is that the restaurant we went to the first night on the trip, was it in York?, did not do a good job of "setting the table" for the rest of the trip. We are foodies who value fine dining. The meal was way overpriced for the amount and quality of food we got (the salad was 10 sprigs of arugula, 5 piece of goat cheese), and the service was god awful. We got the cheapest wine on the menu. When I offered to pay for an upgrade, first the waitress, then the manager refused. Not a good way to begin a 15 day trip. Again, just for feedback, many of our fellow travelers, especially the ones who shared that first night's dinner above, chose not to do the Insight dinners except for the dine around, which was included. They tended to be overpriced with the same salmon, chicken, vegetarian dish. I was glad we had the option to pass. I would imagine others were happy to eat the salmon and chicken so they wouldn't have to find their own experience. On the other hand, the experiences and the rest of the trip were all amazing. Most times, I wanted more time in the cities we visited, but that was the nature of the trip. There were sites and experiences we never could/would have known to plan on our own. That was a good thing.

How interesting the information is presented. Small tidbits as we drove along. The age of things. Coming from America (USA), our oldest buildings are 250 years old not thousands. The quality of workmanship is fantastic.

A varied exposure to sights and experiences.

Would like to have had more time at St. Andrew's Old Course. We barely had enough time for a picture on the bridge. I'd like to have had enough time to at least do the putting greens.

It was great, covered many of my main points of interest in each country.

The itinerary covered a good mix of city and rural sites and both modern and historical areas. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful countryside and the amazing historical sites.

The itinerary was great! We enjoyed the variety of points of interest and how well the tour guide explained each area. I appreciated the thoughtful planning that went into finding interesting and educational sites to visit.

I would have liked more time in Liverpool. The Farm to Table meal was ok but a long ways out of the way. The meal at the Banks Bed and breakfast was ok but over priced for what we received. However the hospitality at both places was outstanding.

Pack light. Lots of ground to cover. They make sure you see it all. Great trip.

Great way to see Military Tattoo. Our Tour Director was exceptional. Only reason rating was not five star is the total bus time was a bit long between cities which impacted the the available tour time.

it's jammed pack with thing to do and see .

Wonderful scenery, great guide!

Edinburgh was a pleasant suprise. The military tattoo and The Fringe were great. The Fringe wasn't mentioned once by Insight, not sure why.

It was fantastic!

This was a fantastic tour. The scenery was spectacular.

We had a great time and the tour guide, *personal info removed by Feefo* , was awesome. That said, here is some constructive criticism: - HOTELS -> Some of the hotels were unacceptable. In the hot summer months, booking rooms without air conditioning is unacceptable. I woke up in a pool of my own sweat, at least, 3 times during the trip. There are no screens on the windows on many of these hotels so you have to leave the windows open for any air flow. That created a privacy concern for my wife. Example, Castle Green Hotel in Kendal. Loved the grounds but the room was entirely unacceptable (see pic). In another hotel, we had to move 3 times to find an acceptable room. Maybe offer a premium package so you're guaranteed nice hotel accommodations. We'd gladly pay it. - OVERNIGHT STAYS -> We were exhausted with the 1 night stays. Yes, we covered a lot of ground but for us, the Easy Pace Italy trip, with 3 night stays, was more our preferred flow. - CITIES -> Inverness was a dirty, dumpy city. Nix that stop. Personally, we prefer the smaller town feel versus the big city stops.

Although our tour guide and driver were beyond excellent the tour itself was mediocre. This having been our 5th tour with Insight made it blatantly obvious how downhill Insight has gone. Several hotels were way below standards from before and one only had basic cleaning but filthy floors that hadn’t been washed. Our tour director took immediate action and had the floors cleaned. We saw a lot and had some great meals but this tour should be extended and have more three nights stays so you have a little free time to see the cities and towns we stayed in. Arriving late afternoon and leaving early the next morning doesn’t allow for much free time. Same for two night stays. We will not be using Insight again until things have been improved and are back to standards that are acceptable and like they were with our first trip with Insight. I’d rather pay more and not feel rushed and disappointed.

A good sample of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Would prefer not to have too many days of one night stay. Rather have a longer trip but at a more leisurely pace. As usual, the tour director and the 2 bus drivers were excellent.