Here’s a selection of 2018 testimonials shared by satisfied clients.
Jennifer C. | Italy | March, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5/5
Who Was your Agent? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Okay
Tell us more! The first hotel I stayed at was excellent, the second was just okay.
Tell us more! Yes My flights were excellent.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? I enjoyed the Vatican tour and the Venice excursion.
What was your favorite part of the trip? I loved Florence.
Would you travel with us again? Yes
Any other questions or comments? I had a very positive experience with Amanda and would definitely use Crystal travel again.
Dorothy S. | Ireland | March, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5/5
Agent Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great
Tell us more! All the hotels that were chosen for our stay for the week were wonderful!!
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes
Tell us more! The tour man Peter picked us up from the airport and returned us back on the day we were leaving. Peter was a wonderful tour guide and a true history major so we learned a lot about the country and the culture it was awesome. At many points he would break out into a song, we all loved him. Our drivers name was Youri he was wonderful too, always there with a helping hand.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? We loved the horse farm where all the prize horses were born and breed, they were beautiful and surrounded by the gardens. We also loved another farm where we made home made scones. Of course the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry, Waterford Crystal was so beautiful.
What was your favorite part of the trip? We especially loved the extra nights we went to the Madeville dinner at the castle and the horse and carriage ride and of course the Irish dinner and dance night.
Would you travel with us again? Yes
How can we improve? I have no complaints at all Thank you for all you have done for us!
Any other questions or comments? Please keep us connected we would love to go again if any special deals come up, we would want Global for sure!! They were awesome.
Nicole S. | Ireland | April, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Renee
How were your accommodations? Great. Burke’s Mulbur House in Killarney was excellent. Beautiful, clean and Jacqui was the best. She made our visit so much fun. Staying in Doolin was fun and the Aran view inn was nice. Great views of ocean and cliffs of moher. The Glenlo Abby b&b in Galway was also great. It was my husbands favorite. Bernie was so friendly and welcoming and her house was comfortable. The Lough Rynne castle was stunning. Clontarf castle was also so beautiful. The biggest accolades that we can give is that the people at each place were lovely and went out of their way to make us feel at home. They have great recommendations for restaurants and things to see.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. Flights were great. No issues at all. Besides learning to drive on the left, the car was great and it was nice to have the basic insurance included. We saw many people have an issue with this when picking up their car yet we had no issue at all.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Loved the Killarney area the best. Great town, beautiful National Park. Also the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin were great.
What was your favorite part of the trip? Exploring the villages and the pub culture.
Would you travel with us again? Yes. No improvements I can think of!
Tom & Kate | England | May, 2018
We had a blast! Hotels were wonderful! Great choices. Both included wonderful breakfasts. Both had attentive professional staff.
St Paul Rive Gauche was a perfect location, easy walk to the Seine and Metro. A quirky little place, we got the room pictured on their website. Transfers were great, easy! Totally fell in love with Paris, the wine, the people, the food, and did I mention the wine? And the museums!! D’Orsay was amazing!!
Bloomsbury was a bigger hotel, but still great. Transfers again were easy. Loved having a bar and food in the hotel at that point. Close to the Tube and the British museum. Great location.
The Stonehenge excursion – absolutely fabulous!!! Kudos to Premium and the driver/tour guide Malcolm!! Knowledgeable, friendly, chatty. Lots of history and local color. Really wonderful!!
Thank you so much!! You got a home run with this one and I can’t think of any more superlatives!!
Thank you, thank you! We are telling all how great Crystal travel is!
Cara C. | Ireland | May, 2018
Thank you so much for the welcoming surprise at our arrival to Ireland.
I can’t wait to tell you about our trip. It will go down as one of the best trips I have ever had. Our driver couldn’t have been better. He went above and beyond and we also had a lot of laughs. I hope there is a way you can tell Kennedy coaches how wonderful he was and how happy we were with him. We took good care of him at the end.
I hope Ellen and I can get together with you soon and we can go into more detail.
Lisa and Tammy | Ireland & Scotland | May, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Renee
How were your accommodations? Great. I really enjoyed the mix of hotels, B&Bs and the castle. All were very nice and all of the B&B owners were great. Having the breakfast included every day was perfect and the way to go. We started the day off with a good meal so we could just enjoy tea and scones for lunch and then have a nice dinner. The Trident in Kinsale was especially nice on the hotel side. We wanted to experience different housing, so we asked to stay in Hotels, B&B’s, and a Castle. All were great, I can’t really say anything bad about any of accommodations. Our agent picked out some really fantastic places to stay. The castle was really cool to stay at and my grand kids were so impressed with this…asked if I was staying at Cinderella’s house? But I think that my favorite place was in Kinsale – Trident Hotel. We had a beautiful view looking out over the harbor and the staff was really nice as well.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. When we got to Scotland, loved having the driver standing there with our names on a board to pick us up…that was so cool!!! It was so nice to be met at the airport in Edinburgh by a driver who immediately whisked us off to a car and drove us to our hotel. Our driver was really nice -his dad was the owner and he was very knowledgeable about the area. His dad was the one who picked us up for our return to the airport. Also very nice and prompt. This is the way to travel!
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? We loved the Outlander tour day in Scotland – excellent tour director and just a fun day. I am a huge Outlander fan. Love, love, love. I began reading the books years ago (25+). It was so much fun getting to see many of the places that I have seen in the show, including Midhope Castle (aka Lallybroch). The Cliffs of Moher were probably my favorite site in Ireland. We had an especially nice day weather wise – for the whole trip really – but it got to 80 that day so we hiked for about 3 hours there and the views were just breathtaking. Highly recommend.
What was your favorite part of the trip? Definitely the Cliffs of Moher. I’d have hated to have had bad weather that day as I’m sure it would have been a different experience. But it was just glorious the day we were there. Edinburgh Castle and Blarney Castle were both pretty neat. I liked Rock of Cashel as well. We also got to have a tour of one of our favorite yarn shop. There were so many things that we loved about the trip. Some of things we loved: 1. Afternoon Tea – I love scones and clotted cream. USA – we are really missing out on this. We so looked forward to this treat each day. And just having tea and scones at some of the cute little tea shops was just heaven. The clotted cream and jam with the scones may have spoiled us. 2. We did another tour (Loch Ness to Glencoe & Highlands) WOW…that was a wonderful tour. It was nice having someone drive you around and showing you so many places. I enjoyed hearing all the details the guide shared with us. Scotland was beautiful but Ireland was also a beautiful place. I look forward to going back someday.
Would you travel with us again? Yes. I think everything was great really. The only thing I can think of that might have been helpful is maybe s little more of a daily itinerary that we could use or alter as needed. Just to be sure we didn’t miss anything. Renee (travel agent) was great!!! We had originally been only doing Ireland. Renee had figured the trip out. Then we went and changed things up. We want to visit Scotland also. How hard would that be? Renee never flinched…she said we can make it happen and did so. Highly recommend her!!! I can’t say enough about the whole trip you planned. The attention to details that you demonstrated. That made the trip so much easier for us. From the fella picking us up in the airport (that was way cool). Each time we would go somewhere (motel, B&B, and a castle) it was like they were all expecting us. Oh you’re with Crystal Travel…everything is taken care of. Another thing are the rooms you selected for us, they all had gorgeous views! It really made a difference having a good breakfast every morning- that is a key recommendation and we didn’t have to worry about that everyday.
Shankar R. | Ireland | June, 2018
We had a great time in Ireland. Our driver / guide, John Harrington was good. John accommodated our needs well!
Carol C. | Italy | June, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great. All 3 hotels had great locations! They were clean, friendly and accommodating.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. Flights were on time, no issues. Took many trains and it was easy and relaxing.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Did day trips on our own to Pisa, Siena and Venice (from Florence). Walked on top of the wall surrounding Pisa, from the leaning tower, walked to the top of bell towers in Siena and Florence. Hiked the gorgeous terrain of Cinque Terra. Visited all 5 villages.
What was your favorite part of the trip? We had never been to Cinque Terre before, so to do it together was great! Views and scenery like no other.
Would you travel with us again? Yes. I had a flawless experience.
Any other questions or comments? Amanda was wonderful!! I don’t know where to begin on how wonderful this vacation was! Everything you arranged for us was perfect!! Honestly it could not have worked out better!
The hotel in Florence was adorable! Boutique-y, old world. Constantino was a friendly host and very helpful. The location was perfect for the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, open market and the train station (10 minutes!).
All the trains were on time and comfortable. There were no issues at all. Very easy and relaxing.
Day trips were amazing. We did everything we wanted to do.
Cinque Terre was spectacular! Our hotel was awesome! Scandinavian-like, clean lines and minimalistic. The kids room had a huge private terrace! John and I were so jealous but they shared it!! Hiked, swam, shopped and ate and drank!! Repeat! Went to all 5 towns, all beautiful! Amanda, Manarola was our favorite! Glad we didn’t stay in Monterosso, so much more crowded, bigger and the train is above ground and loud. Out of all the villages, we all loved Manarola the most!
Quick visit to Rome but managed to see a lot. Hotel was fancy! Happy it had an elevator!
We had perfect sunny weather the entire time! No long sleeves necessary!
Amanda you did a great job in helping us plan this family vacation! I was overwhelmed doing it on my own and you just stepped in and made it happen, thank you!
We will have these shared memories and experiences to look back on and love every minute!
Can’t thank you enough!
Jane D. | Ireland & Scotland | June, 2018
We had a perfect trip from Edinburgh to Belfast today on two trains, a bus, and a ferry, that was more like a cruise ship. We paid extra to be in the lounge where they provide drinks and snacks. It was lovely, but the other lounges that did not require an extra fee were also very nice. Our hotel in Belfast is excellent. We were greeted by classical music playing on the equivalent of a Bose radio when we entered our room, and the bathroom is very luxurious. I wish we could stay longer.
When we saw our suite at the Trident Hotel in Kinsale, we were overwhelmed by the gorgeous views of the harbor and by the luxurious accommodations. Then I noticed the gift bag and card, and I found the lovely chocolates and birthday wishes from you.
What a wonderful way to conclude this memorable trip. With the help of Paddy Kennedy, of Kennedy Coach, I even found the cottage where I believe my grandfather, Daniel Kennedy, was born.
Thanks for everything!
Helen W. | Ireland | June, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Natasha
How were your accommodations? Great. Easy to find. Very nice staff. Clean.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. Smooth flights. Easy pick of rental car and it was nice size.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Killarney. Killarney fjords. Bunratty castle banquette
What was your favorite part of the trip? The people and stunning beauty! We loved the feel of a laid back, simple and very positive environment. It seemed all people were happy!
Would you travel with us again? Yes. Perhaps a bit more specific communication about differences so that travelers can be a bit more prepared. Example: Irish hotels don’t use top sheets on the bed and there are no wash cloths. However, they’ll provide both on request.
M. Barry | Europe (Morroco & Portugal) | July, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great. Riad Melhoun was one of my favorite hotels I’ve ever stayed in. The facilities were beautiful and welcoming. Even better was the staff. They were very accommodating and exceptionally friendly without overbearing. I would like to highlight the efforts of Mohamed and Nour who were always there if you needed anything. Marrakech has so much energy it was very much appreciated to come back to such a quiet, calm place just steps away from the souks. I can not say enough how much I appreciated their service as well as Amanda for finding this place for me.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. The drivers in Lisbon were both very nice and focused.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? The walking tour with Yusef in Marrakech was excellent; he was exceptionally knowledgeable and had just the right demeanor. I needed to cancel the tour to Fatima the morning of due to a migraine so I can not comment on it.
What was your favorite part of the trip? Location of hotels made it easy to explore the cities.
Would you travel with us again? Yes. I was happy with the service
Camille M | Ireland & Scotland | July, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great. Dalmahoy, Europa Hotel and Kilronan Castle were all excellent.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. Scottish Highlands, Glenveagh National Park and Castle, The People we met along the way, and Our guides were excellent
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Blair Athol Distillery, Edinburgh Castle, Blair Castle and Gardens and Atholl Estate, Crosskeys Thatched Pub, Walking tour of Galway
What was your favorite part of the trip? Hard to pick just one, it was all wonderful
Would you travel with us again? Yes. More time in Galway, less time in Carrick-on-Shannon
Any other questions or comments? Thank you again, we had an amazing time
Kimberlee G. | Scotland | August, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great. All the hotels were clean and very centrally located for going out on walks and getting food
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. We were two hours late leaving New York for Glasgow – so we almost missed the first boat trip of our Scottish adventure. Our bus was fantastic
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Obviously the Scottish Tattoo was just fantastic – the rest of the tour was very, very good!
What was your favorite part of the trip? I really can’t decide what was my favorite part, sorry!
Would you travel with us again? Yes. Having assigned seats on the bus was just pathetic, especially having them changed every day
Any other questions or comments? Thanks for the fun and wonderful trip!
Deb C. | Ireland | August, 2018
Name? Deborah
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great. Great locations for touring
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. Great Itinerary
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Belfast Tour, Cliffs of Moher
What was your favorite part of the trip? Everything. All areas different. Friendly people
Would you travel with us again? Yes. Everything was great
Angela I. | Ireland | August, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great. My favorite accommodation was the Mill House. Beautiful presentation, spacious, warm, comfortable, hosts were very personable. My least favorite was the O’Callaghan Mont Clare. The AC unit wasn’t working properly. It started leaking so we put out containers to catch the water but still ended up with a drenched carpet in the front of our door that ended up smelling like urine. We did inform the front desk but nothing was done to fix it.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. The flights were wonderful! The rental car was fine but I had to add oil during the journey due to the low oil light coming on. Thankfully the rental car place refunded us for it.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? We loved the Cliffs of Moher, the Blarney Castle, the Russborough House, the shopping streets in Killarney and in Dublin. The green countryside was absolutely beautiful!
What was your favorite part of the trip? All of it!!!!! I enjoyed every part of our trip!!
Would you travel with us again? Yes. I don’t really have any thoughts on this. I enjoyed everything and when I had questions or concerns Amanda and another representative was quick to help.
Terry & Diane G. | Scotland | August, 2018
Just arrived back home in Australia today after an amazing 4 months wandering around various parts of Europe. Undoubtedly one of the the highlights of our entire trip was the Scotland part which you and the team at Crystal Travel and Tours organized for Diane and I. We had a fantastic time in Scotland despite the weather being a bit damp at times. Everything that you organized went to plan with no problems at all. We were lucky to be upgraded with our hire car to the next level at no extra cost because we had to wait an extra half an hour while the guys at Enterprise got our vehicle ready for us. We were very impressed with their level of customer service.
We had no complaints with the accommodation that you booked for us. The Hotels were all in great locations, clean, comfortable and the staff were friendly and helpful. The full Scottish breakfasts that were included were beautiful ( although our waistlines protested !!) We had dinner in a couple of the hotels and they didn’t disappoint.
As I said earlier our only issue we had was with the fickle Scottish weather but it didn’t stop us exploring and enjoying the sights. The drive around Scotland was easy even on the very narrow roads on the island of Mull. The highlights for us was the trip we did on Loch Ness to see Urquhart Castle, the drive from Glencoe to Inverness and the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh. I have attached a few photos from our journey that you may want to put up on your website. They are 1/ Scone Castle in Perth, 2,3 & 4/ Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness, 5/ A waterfall on the road to Iona Island off Mull, 6/ Our hire car (and yours truly), 7/ Diane outside the building housing the Crown Jewels in Edinburgh Castle.
The wireless Wi-Fi device worked a treat . It was at our hotel in Glasgow when we arrive and I posted it back in the post bag supplied the day after we left Edinburgh ( 24th August ). I kept the postal tracking receipt in case there was an issue.
Once again, thanks very much for the trip that you organized and booked for Diane and I. It was a thoroughly enjoyable holiday.
Joan F. | Ireland | September, 2018
We arrived home today, and the visions of Ireland remain fresh. We all hated to leave the magical land of Ireland!
Thank you for putting together a super vacation. We covered so much ground, enjoying the scenery and seeing so much along the way to our destinations.
Each stop was an exciting adventure with top notch accommodations to welcome us. Our favorites were several; Cathernane House was our favorite till we saw The Sandhouse Hotel…..then, after reaching Balleynahinch, we couldn’t talk favorites anymore!
Each stop was spectacular. You put together a superb experience for our first trip to beautiful Ireland.
It won’t be our last.
Lori S. | Ireland | September, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Great. The accommodations were very different. They ranged from very nice to nice. At each place the staff were friendly, helpful and efficient. All breakfast was terrific. Enjoyed the music in the pubs in the evening.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. The flights were great – smooth and on time. The Delta flight agents were very attentive.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Ring of Kerry, Muckross House, Cliffs of Moher. Walking in local communities. Visiting cathedrals.
What was your favorite part of the trip? Exploring a different country which was amazingly beautiful and friendly.
Would you travel with us again? Yes.
Any other questions or comments? Amanda did a wonderful job of arranging this vacation. We had a great time.
Geoffrey N. | Scotland | September, 2018
We have returned from a most enjoyable holiday! Everything went according to plan. The hotels you chose were great, and the Rabbie tour quite memorable.
Our driver, Liam deserves special kudos, and he was to remark how most of his tourists try to get into the Tobermory Hotel you chose for us – with usually no success.
On the drive down to Melrose and then on into Northumberland we were able to crack Alnwick Castle (scenes for Harry Potter) Bamburgh Castle, Holy Island and then on up to Berwick-upon-Tweed. On the next leg back up to Dundee. There was time to spare for us to visit St Andrews on the coast, as hotel check-in was past noon time.
Upon arrival there we were to be greeted by a delicious box of chocolates of which we thank you for.
In conclusion my wife has given me an appreciative ‘thumbs-up’ on a trip well conceived – but we both have to say thanks to you at Crystal, it was made all the more possible by your detailed planning. I feel this ideal ‘2 weeker’ could be the foundation for any future tourists you might want to organize for.
Ricardo M. | Italy | October, 2018
How would you rate your trip overall? 5 stars
Who was your Travel Expert? Amanda
How were your accommodations? Okay. The Bettoja Hotel Medterraneo, was very nice, people were pleasant. The area is dangerous (per my conversation with local police) at night. So you have to be real careful walking to the nearby restaurants.
Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes. Non Stop Flight was a plus. The trains were okay. They don’t announce the stops. Very disorganized. No place for large luggage and you have to throw people out of your seats. The view was very nice as we traveled across the countryside.
What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Our stay in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, and the Hotel Corona was excellent!!!
What was your favorite part of the trip? San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (St Padre Pio’s town.)
Would you travel with us again? Yes. No recommendation. Service from Amanda Brown was excellent!!
Any other questions or comments? Very pleased with Crystal Travel tours and the agent, Amanda Brown. We definitely intend to contact her for our future travel plans.
