Our Reviews

"Family vacation and the ND/Navy Game in Dublin"

William

Deer Park, IL

We worked with Authentic Vacations as we planned a trip in Ireland around the Notre Dame/Navy game in Dublin. Specifically, we worked with Joleen and her team for planning and during our trip. I cannot express enough positive comments about how great this organization is to work with, and I have referred them to many friends that are planning trips to Ireland! The hotels were just amazing and in perfect locations for our travels, can’t say enough good things about the tours booked and choices and recommendations you provided. But what I was most impressed with was the ability to reach out to Joleen during our trip to make last minute changes to our itinerary! It was like I had a full-time person on staff that I could reach out to any time! All of my guest were so impressed and appreciative that we selected Authentic Vacations! Thank you very much!

"Iceland & Ireland - Mother & Son Adventure"

Mary

Washington

Amber, we just returned from our trip to Iceland & Ireland, and we had a wonderful time. I really want to thank you for putting our trip together. Everything went like clockwork! We will definitely be back in touch with you when we plan our next trip. Thank you again!!

"Scotland Chauffered"

Lavonne

California

Ellie, Thank you for the best, most beautiful and easiest vacation we have ever been on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jerry, our driver, was so knowledgeable and kind-hearted that I think it wouldn't have been so exciting to be there without him. HE'S THE BEST!!!! And you Ellie, what a God send that you were to our beautiful vacation. The Gordon Castle at the end was something we will never forget. THANK YOU FOR EXPERT KNOWLEDGE AND ALLOWING FOR US TO HAVE AN AMAZING TIME. (Oh, except our luggage got lost and we didn't get it until we got home. Jerry was nice enough to take us places to buy some new clothes !!!!! )

"Small Guided - Devon & Cornwall"

Steve

Ontario

Hi Joleen, thank you! We had a wonderful time - really enjoyed exploring the small coastal villages in Cornwall and the moors in Devon. Fascinating history and folklore - our guide Chris was very knowledgeable and made it very interesting. Some of the highlights for us was a visit to the Tea plantation Tregothnan as well as visiting Doc Martin’s house in Port Isaac! The Wells Cathedral was fascinating with its history and architecture, featuring a novel scissor-arches to sustain the weight of stone.  We enjoyed the small group (17 in total) and mantra - off the main roads and willing to take suggestions from the group - even to visit a small village for an Australian lady with family roots in Cornwall. The itinerary was well planned, without hurrying from point A to B - more like meandering through the countryside and catching some lesser-known sites, like an abandoned tin mine site near the sea, or stopping to mingle with Dartmoor ponies on a hillside in the moors. Having a free day to explore on our own was also great - we walked to a nearby village called Charlestown, which had an interesting museum on shipwrecks and Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica. The harbour is also featured in filming Poldark with a two masted tall ship alongside. All in all, I felt that this was a fantastic vacation for us and I’m very happy that we signed up for it. Thanks for your support in getting us prepared for this adventure- I hope there’ll be more!

"Ireland & Scotland Combo"

Charlene

Ohio

We had such a wonderful, beautiful vacation! Everyone thought the spacing of activities and traveling every few days fit us all perfectly. I loved that we started in the beautiful countryside and then had the city life keep building as we changed locations. Scott’s favorite activity was St. Andrews golf. They loved their car service driver as well! The guys had a rainy day of golf in Dublin, but still enjoyed the course. I think the guys were both sad they couldn't play Lacinth (spelling?), however, they did have lunch there and enjoyed. My favorite activity was the Guinness Connoisseur Experience. Loved the private bar, tasting, and pouring my own draft! Also, I loved the Military Tattoo. Perfect ending to the trip. All activities were spot on and enjoyable! My favorite hotel was Fiddle and Bow, so unique and cute in the country. Excellent breakfast! A nice add on that we didn’t expect was the Fringe Street shows in Scotland. We also visited the Queens Royal yacht. Traveling was easy. The Irish and Scottish people were very friendly and welcoming. We can’t say enough good things about the trip. Thank you for organizing such a wonderful, memorable trip for us Joleen! I love that you are always reachable and go above and beyond to help us when needed. You are truly amazing! Hopefully we can get something on the calendar for next year! Thanks a million! 

"Italian Honeymoon"

Daley

Minnesota

We worked with Mandie at Authentic Vacations to plan our Honeymoon. We picked the "Opulent Italian Lakes and Cities" trip and then worked with Mandie to customize a few pieces that made more sense for our trip. Let me tell you that this was the best trip of our lives! The hotels that we stayed at were beyond incredible, and there were the perfect number of activities planned. Everything went extremely smoothly, and we didn't have to worry about a thing while we were on our trip! We can't wait to book another vacation through Authentic Vacations!