Our tour guide and driver were exceptional

UK has so many things going for it, unfortunately good weather is NOT one of those. It rained on 6 days of our trip. Moreover, weather was very cool and windy. it is imperative that travelers take the appropriate clothing and necessary accessories like umbrellas and waterproof footwear. Food in the UK is very bland, however cuisine from around the world is available in the larger towns and cities. The UK is rich in history and scenic beauty! Residents of the UK were friendly and helpful. A follow up trip to London in the future is something we are considering. Thank you to Trafalgar, it's staff and corporate partners!

The pace of the itinerary was a little hectic. We did cover a lot of territory however.

The Tour Director, Elizabeth was exceptional. She took great care to know and understand each of her travelers. The days were full of activities and supporting information (that was not read out of a TD booklet, she knew this material). Some days were necessarily long in the coach but were broken up by interesting stops for food and toilets. When "free time" was available she made every effort to help you make informed choices. This was my second tour, the first was Insight Luxury Gold Italy and it was no where near the quality of this trip!

The trip was 3300+ miles in 3 weeks. The bus needed to be more comfortable. Seats behind the driver to the side door had very limited leg room. Aisle seats didn't push out for more room. I thought more of the local walk-around trips should have been included in the price and not be extras.

Quick response, and operator really knew her business well.

British Isles Tour ? September 3 ? 26, 2014 My wife and I recently completed a Trafalgar tour. We were asked in the last two hours of the tour to fill out an evaluation of the trip. Since the trip was quite long and involved, it was in no way an adequate amount of time to properly evaluate all aspects of the trip both good and bad. I can't believe in 2014 that there is not an online option with room for comments/suggestions. It was our first opportunity to be in the UK, as well as taking a bus tour. Since we didn't know what to expect, it was learning experience. After reflection is was an amazing trip considering the places we were able to go and see. I did feel in many aspects that we were only able to see, or in many cases drive by places and/or things that we definitely could have enjoyed 'experiencing' rather than just passing by. One of the things we did learn is that trips such as this are fairly regimented and don't allow free lancing as we are accustomed to doing, a negative for us. Additionally we learned that information passed on prior to our trip from our booking company did not mesh with actual Trafalgar information.

I'd like to relate that our tour guide was not only a capable and extremely knowledgeable but she was genuinely interested in us having a great trip. She was however at the mercy of the Trafalgar expectations/processes, etc. I would say that if we'd ever decide to take another such tour, she and our driver would be our choice to lead us on the adventure. I do feel like as a customer, and a first time customer that you would welcome the opportunity to improve your products by honest customer feedback. I don't want you to feel that this is only negative but observation for our view point for you to consider. I understand business processes and customer service as I've just completed a 35 year career. This was our retirement present to each other.

Please see items below.
1. When we got to the airport and made our way to the baggage area, we had no idea where to go from there. We expected to see a Trafalgar representative to assist us or at least point the way. We were finally directed by a competitor's representative as to Trafalgar's process for their arriving guest. We did finally see on transfer vouchers what we should have done. Expecting that information to be adequate was not in our case, or in the experience of quite a few other Trafalgar customers even close to adequate based on our conversations with them.

2. From arriving in the baggage area to getting to the hotel it was a 3 hour ordeal. That's too long especially after traveling in some case all day and thru the night. We waited over an hour once we got to the hotels by bus location for a shuttle to take us to the hotel.

3. We were assured that each bus was equipped with a wi-fi system. I guess we should have asked if it was a working wi-fi system because ours never worked the entire trip. This is some cases may not be a big deal for some but it was advertised and an expectation for us that wasn't fulfilled.

4. Optional Tours - We discussed and even tried to pin down our booking agent on optional tours prior to beginning the trip. We understood after getting on the trip that the optional tours listed and what would be available during the trip was at the mercy of the tour director. We were somewhat disappointed that some of the ones we hoped to do were not available. Our greatest heartburn about optional tours came within the first few days. We never imagined that the tour we paid for would be interrupted in the middle of the day for an optional tour. Optional for us would mean extra time, at the beginning or end of the day. This first optional tour offered was in the middle of the afternoon with those of us opting out having to remain on the bus traveling to where the others were going to be picked up! We had no OPTION! This remained an aggravation for us throughout the tour as our trip, paid for at the price Trafalgar requested was interrupted by Trafalgar?s preference for additional revenue. Big time let down in our book! We would like a refund for the Beara Penisula Drive, Cruise and Dinner in Kenmare and also the Dinner and Cabaret in Dublin. The Beara Penisula Cruise and Dinner was just very disappointing. The captain of the boat was yelling at his help and at the passengers about not moving around the boat, he did not even get close enough for us to tell if we were seeing rocks or seals plus he had a bad odor. The food took forever to get and then our fish and chips were cold and very unpleasant. It was the worst fish and chips that we have ever had and the worst boat ride that we have ever experienced!!! The Dinner and Cabaret in Dublin was truly over booked. We sat in back behind a pole, so we could not see most of the show. Our food was cold and we had no choice of dessert because they ran out. This building was so hot that I had to leave before the show was over. I got sick to my stomach.

5. Hotels - generally the hotel accommodations were adequate. One issue is that we were assured by our booking agency that all hotels would have air conditioning. 80 % of them did not. While we were fortunate that the weather was mild during our trip, many of the rooms had little or no air movement making good rest fitful at best. We took many showers and sleep with no covers. It's something we are accustomed to and something that was promised. If it's not available, don't tell us it is! I can only imagine taking similar tour in warmer weather. Your information also said each hotel would have wi-fi. 80 % of the hotels had a very very slow or no-working wi-fi.

6. Hotel Locations - Again, predominately locations for the hotels were good compared to the town centers/sightseeing options. One GLARING exception to this was the hotel Trafalgar secured related to our time in Edinburgh. It was a minimum of a one hour drive from the city center. Over the two days there we spent literally more than 5 hours just getting back and forth to Edinburgh/Hotel. If a person was inclined to not want to spend a lot of time in the city center, or was merely interested in resting/recharging at the hotel, it was impossible. We were told early on that the hotel choice was because of the "referendum" and general lack of options but then learned that this is a regular thing in the area, not town of Edinburgh. An hour drive is not even in the area!! We were even asked to put comments in our evaluations on this very thing.

7. Food - Most of the food was decent. A few of the venues for the meals were unique and worth a visit. The selection of food however was unimaginative at the least. Our expectation, especially during the extra charge dinner was to experience traditional cuisine from the country/area. It appears that traditional English, Wales, Irish, and Scottish cuisine consisted of a beef/lamb choice, a fish/salmon choice and a vegetarian offering. All cooked the same with the same vegetables. In hind sight, we would opt out of any optional dinners regardless of venue or entertainment. Also, most of the places we ate were very uncomfortable as far as not having air conditioning.

We most likely will not take another Trafalgar vacation or recommend you to our friends and family!!

We enjoyed the itinerary of our trip very much. It visited all of the places we wanted to see.  The tour guide was great