Relaxed Ireland and Scotland Tour for Seniors

Zicasso's trip planner worked with my family for the better part of a year planning our big family trip. She provided exceptional service and planned every detail of our trip. We have a large family, with lots of moving parts. There were many changes in the itinerary along the way and she rolled with all the many changes. She was always polite, courteous, and graceful in her many interactions with our family.

She listened carefully during our initial conversations to help us plan the best trip possible. Being a large family, with multiple generations, she really created the best possible experience, taking in everyone's wishes. Working with her was very relieving, knowing she was taking care of all the details.

Our family's trip took us from the States to Ireland, Scotland, and England. We traveled on planes, trains, ferry, and drove a car. Our trip planner arranged every detail meticulously. We stayed in lovely, quaint, boutique hotels, ate the most wonderful foods, saw the amazing sights, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites across all three countries. From the Cliffs of Moher to the Culloden Moor Memorial to Stonehenge to castles grand and desolate; from beautiful cathedrals to old abbey ruins; from little country pubs to Michelin-starred restaurants; and even spending a couple days in an actual 17th-century castle, every minute was amazing! Truly amazing!

We had a wonderful trip. Everything went smoothly. We liked that we were always in contact through WhatsApp. That was very helpful and gave us a security blanket.

Our itinerary was planned through a Zicasso travel expert. The guides/drivers she chose were terrific. They were full of information and stories of each place we visited, and they answered all of our questions. One of a few outstanding ones was in Scotland. We had him on two occasions and enjoyed his knowledge and wit. The knowledge of our guide in Edinburgh was outstanding. The tour in Dublin was with a super guide. He is sending us a recap of our tour. In Ireland, for our tour of Connemara and Kylemore Abbey, our guide was wonderful with his knowledge of the area and his charm and wit. We had a great time with him. In Killarney, we had a guide for the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. He gave us a map with both days highlighted so we would remember where we were. He took us to the most beautiful places and had so much information and charm. We had two days with him and they were wonderful. Our Kilkenny guide went out of his way to get us as close to the Rock of Cashel. He also had so much information as we traveled. All these tour guides/drivers were so good. Our travel specialist did such a fantastic job of choosing this guides!!

The trip was fantastic. Zicasso's trip expert did a wonderful job. The only suggestion would be to warn off senior citizens about the Blarney Stone stop. We informed them of our ages. The attraction involved an hour and 20 minutes wait, then climbing to the top of the castle via a very narrow circular stone staircase. My wife, being 71 years of age, had a bad time with this, but we still did it. The only other issue was having to pay for parking in Galway. The cost was 30 euros a night. We did tell the agent about our experience in New Zealand and having to pay for parking as an add-on, and that we didn't want that.

After 15 years of vacationing on small, live-aboard, scuba-diving ships around the world, we wanted our first land-based tour to be extraordinary. We sought a plan to include all drivers, transfers, and hotels, and an itinerary to include private walking and car tours of culturally significant sites and museums. Our goal was to cover, on our first trip to Scotland, the Scottish lowland and highlands, significant city centers, as well as the legendary palaces, lochs, castles, and museums. Moreover, my husband requested we focus on the Pict time period, especially the carved stones, swords, and other fighting devices used throughout the last 3,000 years of Scotland’s “recent” past.  

Our travel company was one of three firms we solicited for a proposal on a luxury vacation in Scotland. Only this Zicasso company hit these targets out of the box with a much better agenda than the competition and very competitive pricing. Moreover, their tour included a recommendation for a two-hour sword-fighting lesson, followed the next day by a visit to a private sword-fabricating forge!!

We returned home four days ago from our remarkable 13-day trip. The highlights of our trip are too exhaustive to even list. Three fantasy-fulfilling high points comprised three nights in a luxury castle bed and breakfast on the west coast, and visits to Inner Hebrides islands, including Iona, where I purchased two sterling Celtic penannular brooches. This was topped off with the commissioning of two swords from the forge, a Claymore and a basket hilt to be custom made using ancient techniques that will result in a pair of one-off customized designs including scabbard carvings and decorated multi-layer battle-ready blades.  

Overall, the tour used amazing guides, including two who wore kilts and full Scottish dress throughout their tours, provided a plethora of castles, and enough alone time to explore the local area and relax while eating the best meat and seafood imaginable, culminating end-to-end in the best vacation of our lives!!

Based on our experience, I cannot entreat you strongly enough to at least get an offer of services from this travel company. We submit you will not be disappointed in the offer or the fulfillment.

Zicasso’s tour planner did a wonderful job responding to us and tailoring our 8-day Scotland trip to our desires. At her recommendation, we utilized a driver rather than rent a car, and that maximized our experience and minimized driving anxiety. Our driver was fantastic! He moved us comfortably and smoothly through our itinerary with humor, local knowledge, and history.  Lodging and required entry tickets were prearranged and any questions that arose were speedily handled by our driver and agent.

Trip highlights to the central Highlands included garden and ground visits at Edinburgh, Glamis, Drummond, and Sterling castles, Scone Palace, Branklyn Gardens, Jupiter Artland, and The Kelpies. My wife wanted to include The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels, which is not a convenient spot to visit. By having our driver pick us at the Edinburgh airport upon our arrival, we were able to maximize our first day and include Abbotsford House. Our tour company was great.

This was the first part of a trip to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. It included our children and grandchildren aged 15, 14, and 10; nine of us in total for eight days all over Ireland in an 11-person van. It was memorable beyond words. It was planned terrifically by Zicasso's travel company, with one exception, and our driver/guide was exceptional. We appreciated his knowledge, humor, and flexibility.

The tours and activities were excellent. We especially liked the Jeanie Johnston famine ship tour, the EPIC museum, the Book of Kells, the sheep dog tour, feeding a baby lamb, the falcon demonstration, and the many historic sites we saw.

Our hotel in Dublin, the hotel in Cork, and most especially the hotel in County Clare were fantastic and well worth the cost. The hotel in Kerry was good as well, but unless you are determined to be in downtown Galway, do not go to the one near Eyre Square. We should have planned to stay an extra day at the hotel/castle and drive into Galway. That was the only planning mistake. There is no way that hotel deserves a four-star rating; two-and-a-half for me.

We are now on the second part of the trip to Northern Ireland without the family, just my husband and I, and except for the rainy day that cancelled a planned boat trip, so far so good. We also have an excellent driver/guide.