My husband and I booked the Wicklow & Glendalough Tour for 6 June. The departure time was supposed to be 8:30 am, but by 9 am, no one from Irish Day Tours had showed. I called their office, but no one answered the phone. Their office was a short walk from the meeting point, so my husband and I walked there to find out if the tour was still on. It turns out the guide had tested positive for Covid that morning, so there was no guide. They were still deciding whether or not to try and find a new guide or cancel the trip. One of their office workers, Susie, volunteered to act as the guide, even though she had never given the tour. They were trying to contact their boss for instructions, so we went back to the pick up point and told the others waiting for the tour what was going on. We heard nothing after waiting another 30 minutes, so started walking back to the office to ask for a refund when one of their employees met us and said Susie would give the tour. Meanwhile, the bus driver (Daniel) got tired of waiting and left with the bus. So we had to wait until just after 10 am until they were able to get the bus to come back and start the tour.
The tour itself was okay. Unfortunately, Susie really didn’t know much about the places we we were visiting and the driver took a few wrong turns. The first stop was the working sheep farm where we got an amazing sheepdog demonstration; highlight of the trip. The farmer, Michael, was surprised to see us, as we were so late. Next stop was Hollywood, where we were supposed to get a walk through the valley with the guide. Instead, we got dropped off at the cafe for a short coffee break. Then we were supposed to stop in Laragh Village, but we skipped that., then stopped for about 10 minutes at a scenic point in the Wicklow Mountains. The last stop was at Glendalough, where we got 2 hours to explore the ruins and walk the trails. We arrived back in Dublin before 6 pm, after leaving for the tour almost 1 1/2 hours late, so we definitely didn’t get the full tour time.
To top it off, I left a bag with a shirt I had purchased for my grandson in the overhead bin of the bus, which I discovered about 5 minutes after we got off. We ran back to the bus, but it had already left. We immediately went to the tour office to report this and spoke to Martin, but were told the driver would not be back in Dublin until June 8. They said they would try and contact Daniel the driver and I could check back on the 8th. I got a call this morning (8 June), that they could not locate my bag. I don’t believe anyone on our tour took it and it didn’t disappear, so I at least hope a bus or Irish Day Tours employee is enjoying my grandson’s shirt.
Due to the disorganization of this trip, the employee’s complete failure to inform the passengers as to the trip delay, and their indifference to helping me get back the item I left on the bus, I do not recommend Irish Day Tours. Many other companies offer this tour; I suggest you choose one of them.