Phyllis Orlicek, AR, Custom Chauffeur Driven, Ireland, December 2013
I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed our trip to Ireland in December. The hotels were beautiful, our driver Des Murphy was so personable and so helpful, and the suggestions from Sheenco for touring were great. I don’t think we could have had a better trip. Thanks for all your help.
Julie Dressing, VA, Custom Chauffeur Driven, Ireland, August 2013
Our thanks to Sheenco for planning and executing a wonderful trip that surpassed our expectations. With just a little guidance from us regarding our desired plans, we were provided a proposed itinerary which took us along the coast throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland, and covered what we wanted to see at the perfect pace. We knew that having a driver would spare us from having to adjust to the left hand driving and navigating the roads. What we hadn’t focused on, however, was the significant advantage it would provide in allowing us to use all of our time in the most efficient manner possible, and to see things we would never have known were there. Our driver, Mark, truly made our trip exceptional, explaining Irish history, providing details regarding sights we would see and their significance, sharing Irish folklore and stories, and knowing all the off-the-beaten track places to stop for pictures and exploring. As lovers of music, we greatly enjoyed Mark’s sharing of music relevant to the locations we were seeing. It truly became a completely “Irish” vacation as we traveled along hearing traditional folk music, and also learning the meaning behind some of the modern music with which we were familiar, but had not grasped the context. Mark’s quick wit, cheerfulness, incredible timeliness and flexibility made the trip very enjoyable, and his suggestions and adaptation of the itinerary allowed us to make the most of each day. We covered a lot of ground in our twelve days, ranging from Dublin to Waterford, Killarney, Adare, Bunratty, Galway, Connemara, Donegal, Derry and Belfast, but never felt rushed and had time to truly enjoy the beauty of Ireland. Our accommodations were great, and we particularly enjoyed our stays at the Malton Hotel, Dromoland Castle and Lough Eske Castle. We are still debating what sights we liked the most – among them the Rock of Cashel,Dingle Peninsula, Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, Kylemore Abbey, the Giants Causeway,and the cities of Dublin, Galway, Derry and Belfast. It truly was a wonderful trip filled with great memories. Given that we normally research, plan and book all of our own trips, taking this approach was new to us (and somewhat of a leap of faith!). We are so glad we went this route, and it provided us a relaxing and perfect vacation.
Julie Dressing, VA
Fred & Anne Fenn, CT, Custom Chauffeur Driven, Ireland, July 2013
Our vacation was great! I really liked both Gerry and Liam as drivers. They were personable and knowledgeable about the areas we visited. Gerry knew the best places to stop at for lunch! Liam recited a poem in Gaelic. By having a driver, Anne and I were never rushed from one stop to the next. Our drivers were always patient and ready for moving on when we were finished with each stop. Staying at the Trinity Capitol Hotel in Dublin was great. It is located right in the heart of the city and made walking to see the Book of Kells and Christ Church so easy. Also Temple Bar was right around the corner as was the Liffey River Boat tours. There were many “next time” moments in our Dublin visit. I would stay at the Trinity Capitol next time. I loved Waterford Castle. The suite was great, the food excellent, the grounds wonderful and the personnel top notch. We loved the location and did some walking on the grounds. We chose to go to the museum instead of Waterford Crystal. The museum was great and Gerry was so flexible about our request. He knew some of the people inside and came in with us to be sure we were able to take advantage of the tour that was offered. My wanting to go to the museum was to see a hat that belonged to Henry VIII. I kept looking for the hat during the tour and did not find it. At the end I asked about and was told that the hat was in another museum that was a part of the three-museum facility. Since we did not have tickets to the whole facility and since we were on somewhat of a time schedule, I thanked them and prepared to leave. The person realizing our situation instructed one of the young museum summer workers to take us across the courtyard to the second museum and show us the hat! Needless to say, I was elated. I got a really great picture. I liked your suggested itinerary in that it included some of the usual Ireland stops. Kissing the Blarney stone was one of those stops. For us Americans, it is fascinating to explore your castles – especially Blarney. Your suggestions about pubs for our musical listening pleasure were excellent. Gerry took the time to drive us by the Danny Mann pub so we could easily walk there from the Malton Hotel. Loved the music, food and atmosphere! The Ring of Kerry was great. Gerry would stop at various scenic spots for us to enjoy. I brought my tin whistle with the hope of joining a session in a pub at some point. That didn’t happen, but I did get to play. At one of the stops we encountered a young man who was playing the uilleann pipes. Anne told him I played whistle and he immediately invited me to play a few tunes with him…which I did! What an experience playing whistle with uilleann pipes in the hills of the Ring of Kerry! I loved the Cliffs of Moher. Having a driver gave us all the time we wanted to experience and explore the cliffs. We both appreciated that. I loved the Burren and the ancient burial site. I really loved Ballynahinch Castle. Its location was what drew me to it and I was not disappointed. The suite was so excellent – thanks. We did have a chance to walk a bit after supper each night on some of the trails on the grounds. The food was excellent. Liam was so accommodating with our decision to not go out to the Aran Islands because of the threat of rain and thundershowers. We could easily make this switch because of having a driver. We went to the Kylemore Abbey instead. It was planned for the next day of our journey, but because we switched, we were able to spend more time there. We ended being there for about 3 hours! There was so much to take in…loved the gardens. We took the time to sit for a bit just taking in the sights and atmosphere. I loved the two monastic settlements. It was hard to wrap my brain around such old ruins. The year 512 does not compute in the US! Back to Dublin. Our last castle was a good one making it a good place to begin to decompress and prepare for our journey home. I would recommend Sheenco Travel and have done so to our friends. Thanks for all the work you did to make our vacation the best.
Fred Fenn, CT
Sheenco Travel was an excellent choice for travel advice. They asked us questions, took our suggestions, answered all our questions, responded in a timely manner, and put together a vacation that was relaxed, comfortable, enjoyable, and memorable. I felt the pacing was perfect. They just seemed to know how long to stay in a place, where to stay, and what to do. They always provided helpful suggestions (example: don’t go to the Aran islands if the weather isn’t good – that did happen to us, and we took the plan B suggestion and toured Kylemore Abbey and Gardens instead – and wow, what a gift!). Our first driver, Gerry Flanagan, was outstanding. He was consistently prompt (always early), helpful, positive, and took us to out-of-the-way spots on a couple of occasions (ex. After we toured the Bog Village (Gerry went with us and was our personal tour guide – he seemed to know everybody and he also knew a lot of facts), he took us to a local farmer named Brendan, who trained dogs to lead sheep – we saw his demonstration and it was fascinating – very colorful character – good with groups – and it was a fun activity for us), and he gave good suggestions for places to eat (“This place has a great apple pie” or at Paddy Short’s – “I stop here a lot – food is good, typical Irish food”). Sadly, five days into the trip, Gerry needed to go home to be with his family for personal reasons. It was a smooth transition to Liam Sayers, a retired math professor who spoke fluent Gaelic. Because we are both teachers, it was fun having a teacher drive us, and the flavor of the trip was a bit different from Gerry (not better, not worse – just different) so we feel blessed to have had two fabulous drivers on our trip. Liam, just like Gerry, was always prompt and helpful. Both drivers made us feel relaxed and comfortable and never in a hurry. Our accommodations were beyond our wildest dreams. Everything from exquisite food to impeccable service to beautiful rooms was such a gift to us. Our favorite castle was Ballynahinch!! Friendly, warm, relaxed, helpful. We felt a bit more at home there (maybe it was the firewood next to the pub!) and were thankful for two nights. We did a lot of walking, and enjoyed the trails by the Ballynahinch River. We did get to the Danny Mann Pub and saw a great concert – “Celtic Whisper” – fabulous! Fabulous! We bought their cd. Also enjoyed Blarney Inn Pub in Dublin – went there two nights – very friendly and delicious Irish stew!! We loved and appreciated all your suggestions and took most of them – Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle (and yes, we climbed the 100 windy, narrow, steep stairs to kiss that stone), riverboat cruise on the Liffey River, Trinity College and the Book of Kells (had a great student guide who was both entertaining and interesting), Temple Bar, Dublin Castle gardens, Muckross House and Gardens, Waterford Museum and Waterford Castle, Powerscourt House and Gardens, Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains, Reginald Tower in Waterford, Killarney, Kilkenny, Adare, Cork, lots of ruins and monastic settlements, the Burren and that burial tomb, Ailwee Caves, Limerick, King John’s Castle, Connemarra, Galway…I mean, we saw and did far more than we ever imagined we would. The beauty of having a driver, of course, is the flexibility – we stopped often to admire views and take pictures. We would recommend a driver to anyone thinking of touring. Liam even recited a famous Gaelic poem for us and let us record him on our cell phone! Some surprises: no Half and Half in Ireland for coffee, and I don’t like milk in coffee, so I learned to ask for “pouring cream”, and that was yummy! Water in glass bottles that you just use but don’t have to buy…butter served in little triangular wedges… Brie and warm tomatoes at breakfast… We had nine days of complete sunshine!!! Everyone kept telling us how unusual that was. Ireland was actually undergoing a heat wave while we there – some days in the 90’s – and they do not have air conditioning, so we did find some nights difficult for sleeping – there were fans for us to use but it was still almost unbearable – but that’s nobody’s fault. In fact, at Dromoland it was the hottest day and our room was stifling. Fred asked at the front desk if we could possibly have another, cooler room, and the gal could not have been more gracious and accommodating – a new room was provided immediately – on a lower floor – we were very grateful. Food there at Dromoland was much more expensive than anywhere else (a simple risotto dish for me and a chicken sandwich for Fred came to 50 euros), but at least the food was good!! Only one rainy day and it still was warm out! When Fred asked Gerry to find an ATM, he did, and Fred could not believe how easy it was to use – it was just like in America!! And when we arrived at Clondarf, our last hotel, Fred needed to get our boarding passes, and that was also very easy and smooth – the gal at the desk said “Oh yes, go right over to that computer, type in this password, and you should be all set” and she was right!) For me, there were no errors, no negative things, no disappointments (okay, maybe one – when I ordered vegetable soup in an eatery, it was pureed – not like in America – but that I would consider a cultural difference, not a negative comment). Fred and I were very impressed with Sheenco Travel and we have told many of our friends. I would highly recommend them. They certainly worked tirelessly to provide a quality experience for two very grateful Americans!
Anne Fenn, CT
Joanne Herlihy, NY, Custom Chauffeur Driven, Ireland, May 2013
Joanne Herlihy, NY
Arlyn & Nancy Birkholz, MN, Custom Chauffeur Driven, Ireland, April 2013
We want to let you know how much we all enjoyed our trip to Ireland. The scenery was spectacular and the sites were memorable. Thank you for organizing this trip for us, and for setting us up with Pat Griffin. He was a most attentive driver and very respectful. He provided us with background information on all the sites. Patty even made sure we were aware of where to eat and catch music before he dropped us off at our hotel. We enjoyed his company. All in all the trip was enjoyable and memorable. We will be recommending your services to friends/family who might be looking to make the trip.
Arlyn & Nancy Birkholz, MN
