Nature is beautiful - The pictures that i took was spectacular It might be handy to take a few snack with you as the train ride can get long…………..

Excellent tour with wonderful guides - The ring of Kerry is breathtaking. I've never seen so many shades of green. The purpose of this trip was to spread my mothers ashes. The tour guide was so informative and when I informed him of why I was there and what my mothers wishes were. He said he knew the perfect spot and made an extra stop and allowed us to board the bus last so we could say our goodbyes. I cannot recommend this tour company enough. Wonderful people.

Wish we got to see more, but shout out to Paddy! - We met Paddy at the Heuston train station in the wee hours of the morning. He gave us an itinerary and two return rail tickets. We then walked to the train. It was standard seating, but a trolley with sandwiches, danishes, and drinks came around. Everything we ordered was great. The first leg is long - probably close to three hours. You’ll want to bring a charger or something to do. We then switched at Mallow to go to Killarney. Unfortunately, our rail had a terrible accident and we were delayed three hours. Paddy was constantly giving us updates and trying to make it work, but as the delays got longer, it just wasn’t. It’s November and it gets dark early. They promised to give a full refund. Anyways, when we finally got off the train in Killarney, Paddy found out when the next train would be, led us to restaurants in Killarney. Later, when the next train arrived, he never left our side and guided us back to Dublin. It wasn’t the tour’s fault, but it was so kind of him to not just abandon us when the tour was cancelled. These things happen and it was out of the control. Wish we got to finish the tour though. Next time!

A good choice - The tour was a great way to see the Ring of Kerry. Our tour guide, John T, was very prepared and gave everyone individual attention. When one of our group was having a minor health problem both the guide and driver were calm and helpful.

Beautiful scenery, friendly Irishmen! - Beautiful scenery. Great tour guides with lots of local knowledge and very helpful information. The sheep dog trial was a highlight for us. The description of the tour needs to be updated to note that breakfast is not included. We didn't pack any snacks, so the only meal was lunch. Be prepared for a long day, but well worth it.

Beautiful Sights but Very Long Day Including Touristy Stops - Sights along the Ring of Kerry were beautiful and we especially enjoyed the sheep dog demonstration that was offered on this tour. However, be aware if you book this tour from Dublin that it is a 15+ hour day. Taking the train from Dublin to Killarney and back was generally a good experience to see some of the Irish countryside, but it does add several hours to the day and you are at the mercy of train schedule (delays/broken down trains/etc.), although the guides will be sure to get you where you need to go. After arriving in Killarney, you board a tour bus that joins up with other passengers joining from Killarney. I would recommend sitting in a seat without a window curtain in it, but having come from Dublin, we got one of the few seats remaining. Since much of the tour includes watching out the windows, having the window curtain in the middle of my seat was unfortunate. Once on the bus, it makes a stop at a touristy attraction in which you need to pay to see Irish wolfhounds or walk around a very crowded giftshop/café (there were already 3-4 tour buses here when we stopped). Our tour guide gave us basic information/history but often didn't go into more detail when it was necessary. Additionally, he never talked about the itinerary/where we were going next/when we would arrive back in Killarney. The bus stops for several photo opportunities along the route. The sheep dog demonstration was a very good one but you do have to pay a small amount in cash to attend - I wish this would have been made more clear prior to the tour/on the itinerary as some people didn't have cash with them or, if they didn't want to attend that, the only option is to hang out outside or on the bus for ~30 minutes. There is one stop for lunch at only one restaurant with cafeteria style food that is very overpriced - it was not bad food but personally would have preferred stopping somewhere that had options. Another stop is made prior to getting back to Killarney, but again is a touristy stop with a gift shop/ice cream that several other buses were at as well. Overall, I wish our tour guide would have been more passionate in explaining more of the sights and history. Both the written itinerary and spoken itinerary on the bus needed to be more clear to set expectations. There are several ways the tour could be made more efficient - especially by cutting out the stops at the touristy shops (especially for the travelers coming from Dublin - it made for a very long day). The sights were beautiful and worth seeing, but I think I would schedule a private tour of the Ring of Kerry if I had to do it over again.

Slow down please - The tour consists of a train ride to Killarney and a bus tour around the Ring of Kerry. Our first guide John T escorted us on the train where he gave a comprehensive overview of what to expect in Kerry. He also enhanced our experience with anecdotes of Irish culture and local history. The bus tour with another guide ended an hour earlier than we expected as we spent little time at most viewpoints. The bus driver sped to each destination making photos out the window difficult. On past tours the driver would often slow when we passed significant points so the guide could narrate while we absorbed the view and took photos.

The Coach Rollercoaster Ride - Really liked our rail escort John. He was really friendly and helpful with navigating the stations. The history lessons on the train were insightful and we loved the map he gave us at the end. But Norman and Mike… Mike was driving the coach like he was mad at us. Flying down the roads at what seemed to be too fast of speeds for the tiny winding roads. We almost got into two accidents (totally would’ve been his fault) and he was definitely not afraid of his horn or using the brakes. It was supposed to be a nice scenic drive and even with seat belts on, he was throwing us all around. Norman mumbled half of what he said and not sure if it was his fault or Mike’s but by the time he said what to look at and what side of the bus, we were already too far past it to actually see it! Most of the photo stops we got maybe five minutes and on other tours we got 10-15 minutes. And Norman was sure to start herding us back on as soon as the last passenger was off! Again, supposed to be a scenic drive and we couldn’t even stand long enough to really take in the view. We got back into Killarney right before 4 and John was absolutely shocked to see our group on the sidewalk, the coach already a distant dot on the horizon. We should’ve gotten back in right after 5 and it’s disappointing that we got cheated out of an hour plus of time that we could’ve spent actually taking in the beautiful scenery that the area is known for. Again, loved John Todd but Mike and Norman were not it! We stopped in Sneem I think and even the owners of the shop we were at knew of how bad they are. That’s pretty bad if you have a reputation with people that don’t even use your service.

Its a typical "economy" type tour (big bus, standard seats) - To be clear, this review is for the Ring of Kerry from Dublin tour from Irish Rail Tours First Class. Don't let the name/description "first class" fool you. Its not. Just a very standard train/big bus tour. The train seats were standard seats and the motor coach seats were very tiny and jam packed in. They also nickel and dime you to death. Nothing aside from the train and bus seats are included. No food. No admission at any stops. Nothing. It was hard to even know what the stops would be since the itinerary was vague aside from being Ring of Kerry. The host, Paddy, did (early in the train tour) come and show us a map and tell us what the stops would be that day. They all sounded interesting! But he failed to mention that we had to pay at each stop. That was an unwanted surprise! Want to actually SEE the bog farm, or the Irish Wolfhounds, or the Irish coffee tastes, or the Sheepdog demonstrations? Oh, pay up or sit on the bus. At the first stop, the driver moved the bus and there were 6 other buses there that looked identical. We were all confused about which bus to get on. A few words about this would have been nice. That is sort of how the day went. Beautiful country side, and I don't regret going, but I've done hundreds of tours at all price points. This was an economy tour, not first class.

The Good and the Bad….Ring of Kerry - Mixed review…John was our Yellow Jacket for the day. Gave us incredible insight and history on the areas we were to visit. Upon arrival back at the station he walked with us and shared a great experience at the church. One of the best (with Paddy, Jerry, and Joe). 5 stars. Now for the actual tour…we felt extremely rushed. Liked herded cattle. Our photo stops were extremely brief. Our guide and driver had little personality and acted like they did not want to be there with us. Many passengers made comments that they feared being left behind. I did as well. Our driver exceeded the speed zones and nearly put us in an accident. Did not feel safe at times. We arrived at approximately 16:00. We were not scheduled to be back until 17:10. We were shorted over an hour of our tour we spent good money for. The high points were the National Park and lunch.