Epic Aran Islands Flight & Galway Day Trip from Dublin

Although the trip was generally well run and efficient, the connection on the island with the local guide for the island tour left much to be desired. We were given poor connection information and and it took an hour to find the guide. That was a terrible waste of our time.

My sweetheart and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour, from meeting John McDonald at the Heuston Train Station, to the plane ride over to Inis Mor, there and back again to Dublin was a delightful experience! John is truly a gift to the travelers who are guided by him. His laughter and commentary are insightful as well as delightful! His shared knowledge of our itinerary, and the tidbits he revealed along our journey, made the trip even more memorable. We HIGHLY recommend! BTW...Steve surprised me while we were strolling the gardens of Blarney Castle two days after this tour. He proposed! I do believe we will be returning to your lovely country sooner rather than later.

Absolutely brilliant tour from Corina in office, with John, Norman and Joe full of local knowledge. I actually booked Inishmore and Ring of Kerry and highly recommend both. I'm a Dub and honestly, the perfect way to visit the West first class train comfort without the hassle. Will continue to book more trips with RailtoursIreland. Simply the best.

At first the tour was a little overwhelming. Travelers need to be comfortable catching connections on their own with instructions from the guide. Once you go through the day, the tour was great. Travelers can pick up their Arran sweaters which can be shipped home. There’s time to walk around Galway which was fun too.

Incredible day and so worth it! Travel was smooth; our host John Todd was great; and we saw so much that we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Would absolutely recommend!

We had the BEST day travelling by rail from Dublin to Galway with John Todd of Railtours. He was as charming as can be! John shared stories mixed in with Irish history and made the trip extra special. Highly Recommend!! Slainte!

We enjoyed our trip! The coach driver at Inis Mo'r was amazing! He was very knowledgeable, ,as he was raised on the island!

Great trip but there is a lot of travel then what is it described, you start at the train, then on a bus then a plane to the island, another bus so there is a lot of travel to get there….the island is very quant and enjoyable the sweater shop is a must….a lot of green with stone block walls worth the travel but there is a lot…start early back around 10:30….long day

Ian, my guide on the train was fun and informative. He enjoys what he does and is good at it. He guided me every step of the way, but we departed as he continued on another tour, because I was alone in the air tour to the Aran Islands. Despite the company name including First Class, the train tickets weren't, but I wasn't upset. A bus drove me along the lovely Galway coast to the plane, where everything went professionally. I was picked up at the airport and driven to Kironan Village, where that driver instructed I'd be picked up around the corner by John in a black van. Unfortunately, there was no black van and there is no Railtours sign mentioned in the itinerary. I spent a half hour standing in the rain, afraid if I went inside that I would miss the tour. I have only a data connection, so I sent an email asking the office to call me on Viber or Whatsapp, as I was cold, wet, alone, and starting to panic. Rather than bothering to call, Natalia sent an email that went to spam and I didn't see it, saying he was looking for me. Finally, I went into another shop and asked if they could contact John, which took some work to do, only to be told that he'd been waiting for the ferry passengers on the same tour who were 1/2 hr late, so he picked up them and left without me. At that point I did get a message from Natalia saying that she hoped I'd found John and had a great tour, which felt quite dismissive under the circumstances, not having seen the other message. I feared there was only one tour, missed it, and was stranded, but learned he takes out a number a day. Ultimately, I discovered he was in a White, not black van with a completely different name on it and no mention of Railtours. All this could have been avoided by actually having the Railtours sign and putting a small, yellow magnetic sign saying Railtours on the van. Then, I waited another 30 minutes or so for his return due to "traffic" delays and ended up in a later group. I am not blaming anyone for the weather, but could see almost none of the sights he pointed out, I did see the credit union and bank through the front window. Then to make matters worse, my phone and that of 2 German tourists mistakenly sensed a time zone change that put us one hour ahead. We rushed back to find that bus full, so John directed us to the information center. It cost 5 euros and looked totally boring with just hanging posters to read, so I decided to skip it, not realizing that was the entrance to the fort highlight of the island. The very crowded cafe did serve a surprisingly good chicken sandwich and Chocolate Guinness cake. The driver returned late again and took us back to Kilronan, completely skipping the 15-minute stop at Seven Churches. I enjoyed the walk around Galway, but couldn't have been much more disappointed with my Aran Islands experience. Railtours: you could refund me some money, because 169 euros is a lot for the completely avoidable panic and discomfort you caused [being misdirected, missing signage, incorrect information in your itinerary, sending an email rather than calling as I asked (which would have been free for you), 1 lost hour waiting, and the missed stop], I am leaving and won't be taking another tour, so don't bother to offer me a discount on one. You should also update your written itinerary, because there is no snack service on the train and alcohol is banned; additionally, the airport bus picks up and drops off at the Airport Bus stop, not the Railtours sign, which does not even exist.

Pleasant train trip across the isle. Greater guided tour of the isle. Plenty of free time. Good shopping. I’d have enjoyed a tour of Galway, too, but enjoyed decompressing in the pub just as much.