2-Day Western Ireland Tour from Dublin:Including Galway and Cliffs of Moher

Posted By : cmH4507WA
The first day was lovely and the tour group was dropped off in Galway at the accommodations with no issue.

The bus to pick us up on the second day never showed up, stranding the tour group in Galway.

Paddywagon ended up arranging 2 taxis (for a group of 9 and luggage) to have us brought to the Cliffs of Moher to catch up to their tour buses there. We missed out on most of the sites along the way, the narrative of the tour guide and lost significant time at the Cliffs as well. Never mind the stress of the situation.

We found out from the bus driver when we finally arrived that he had never been advised to pick us up and didn’t even have 9 spots on his bus for the whole group had he made it to the pick-up point.

The Company has not responded to emails so far and has refused to address complaints on the phone.
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Posted On : 2024-06-28 10:03:37

Posted By : A2672YXnicoles
I reached out to Paddywagon twice via email and once by phone following our trip (as instructed by Paddywagon during the below explained conversations) and have not received any response from them. I am extremely upset and do NOT recommend this group to anyone.
My husband and I booked the 2-Day West Tour from Paddywagon.
After our first day of the itinerary, we were dropped off at a Bed & Breakfast in Galway as per the itinerary listed on the website. Our driver told us that someone from Paddywagon would pick us up at 10:30 the next morning and even confirmed it with the gentleman host checking us in at the B&B. This was already a disappointment as the website when booking says we are to be picked up at 10am, so not as advertised.
The next morning, the group of us that stayed overnight were outside in the car park waiting to be picked up at 10:30am as directed. No one in our group had heard anything from Paddywagon, and no one from the company showed up.
At 11am I called the Paddywagon office number and spoke to a woman who had no idea there was a group left in Galway waiting to be picked up. The girl said she would confirm where the driver was and call me back to figure out when we would be picked up. She returned my call at 11:09, and I was told the driver ran into an issue on the route and that he would be picking us up shortly.
I asked to be more specific as we were already now 30 min behind schedule and she said she couldn't give me anymore information. She said she would call me back if the driver was going to be much later. I again asked her what that meant and she said she needed to get in contact with the driver again to determine a time. I asked her to not hang up with me and she said she needed to in order to speak to the team who was working with the driver.
A few minutes later the woman working at the B&B came out and told us that she had just been in contact with Paddywagon and the bus that was supposed to come get us had broken down and that Paddywagon had told her we would be taking a taxi from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher to meet up with a different tour bus. Notice how those already were two conflicting stories from Paddywagon.
I called the office back and asked if that was the correct information and if we were supposed to pay for the taxi out of pocket and was assured it was taken care of. There were 9 of us with a lot of luggage and only 3 taxis showed up. The taxis had not been paid or told any information other than they needed to pick us up from the B&B
and drive us to the Cliffs. Given the lack of information provided to the taxi drivers, one left as he hadn't been paid yet. That left 2 taxi drivers for 9 people with multiple bags of luggage.
After more than 90 minutes from the original departure time we were finally on our way, only after one of the taxi drivers called the Paddywagon office and spoke with them to try and clear up the confusion. He was given more information than any of us that were actually on the tour which was quite a disappointment. He told us that we were to be driven down to the cliffs and dropped off with another Paddywagon tour, but he didn't know where the bus was, who the new driver was, or how to identify them.
As a result of this taxi ride and severe misstep from Paddywagon we missed an entire scheduled stop on our itinerary.
Once we got to the Cliffs we tried to find the Paddywagon bus, however there were 3 different buses in the car park so we had to walk around with all our luggage until we found the correct one.
Once there the driver told us that he only had room for 8 of us as the bus was already almost full. Mathematically that does not make sense as all 9 of us were supposed to have all been picked up from the B&B together that morning. Our driver also apologized to us and let us know he was unaware that he needed to pick us up until 11:10, which leads me to only believe that it was my phone call that alerted the Paddywagon office to us being left in Galway and the office had not planned to pick the 9 of us up at all. Essentially, Paddywagon left us stranded in Galway.
After finding the correct bus and getting our luggage situated, we were then told we had less than an hour to spend at the cliffs which was an absolute disgrace since this was our first time to the cliffs.
We spent the better part of our second day of this tour stressed out and uninformed which led us to be rushed and anxious for an activity where we paid a lot of money to purposefully have an itinerary and accommodations taken care of for us.
The only saving grace of this tour was that the drivers were fantastic and so kind.
This was an absolute abysmal display of customer service and communication by Paddywagon. I do not recommend them for any tour service.
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Posted On : 2024-06-22 17:56:30

Posted By : Erin22LA
I will never use this company again and would not recommend to anyone else, especially women and children. Your started off great with a friendly, respectful, informative driver. But a couple of hours later we took a 20 min break at a rest stop. Then we were told we would be switching to another bus coming in and wait another 20 minutes for those riders to have their break. Tom was in charge of the next bus with a new driver. Tom did not provide any information on Ireland and became annoyed and abrasive when asked anything. The overnight stay was ok but standing around in the cold while the bed and breakfast owner tried to figure out rooms was ridiculous. I don’t know who manages these tours but this is the most disorganized and disappointing travel company I have ever experienced. There were many unhappy customers. Tom was so inconsiderate that he twice hurt people outside the bus by opening and closing the door without checking if anyone was in the way. A woman walking in the sidewalk was hit pretty hard and Tom didn’t even apologize.At Cliffs of Moher Tom failed to inform riders that if they opted not to do the ferry, they would actually sit on the bus for two hours doing nothing instead. The tour ended on a worse note when we were again transferred to another bus after a lunch break. Tom had gotten us to lunch hours late and did not tell us or the new driver when to get on the new bus. We quickly ate and got in a bathroom line when suddenly the new driver Alex started arguing with passengers and threatening to leave them, including a mom with two young children. He told my daughter she had an attitude because she asked him to be patient and wait for her mom, he aggressively told her she can take a public bus back to Dublin. Alex was disrespectful and rude because we were ruining his schedule. This was unfair since Tom was the one responsible, but Alex didn’t want to hear it and he left two young women behind. We then had to listen to him mutter to himself and scowl and then had to pull over for 20 minutes while a good samaritan drove the abandoned girls to meet us. Alex then started speeding on narrow windy roads to get us to the next destination for a 10 minute visit and finally off his bus. Ireland is beautiful but this tour left us with horrible memories. My dream to visit Ireland was tainted by this tour’s poorly managed staff and itinerary. Paddy wagon Tours- how would you like to travel to a foreign country and be treated this way? Especially women and children who are more vulnerable to crime. Can you imagine how it feels to be threatened and actually left behind with no idea where to go?
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Posted On : 2024-06-19 13:21:13

Posted By : Wenning_L
The driver did not follow the route, we only played a small scenic spot in one day to check in, and changed the car three times in two days, the driver did not tell us the arrangement of the trip, and we wasted a lot of time waiting for someone
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Posted On : 2024-05-04 12:51:56

Posted By : katiesJ8587DS
TLDR: Our PaddyWagon tour was not fulfilled as advertised, and their customer service was abysmal. When I contacted PaddyWagon, our concerns were passively dismissed without any attempt to make amends for their inadequate tour. Apparently, this is a common theme. Proceed with caution.

My mom and I were both looking forward to our PaddyWagon experience! However, the tour was sadly not as advertised.

For one, we selected a “double room” for our overnight accommodation. As we were pulling up to the bed & breakfast, our Paddywagon driver informed us (at the last minute) that there was a “miscommunication” and no double rooms were available. We split into separate rooms for the night, which was not our preference as women traveling alone.

Next, our Paddywagon driver told us we would get picked up at 9:00AM. We were a bit confused, since the Paddywagon website initially stated 10:00AM pickup. However, we double-confirmed 9:00AM with the driver, who again said that’s correct. The next morning at 9:00AM, we were packed and waiting for the bus. 30 minutes went by, nothing. An hour, still nothing. 90 minutes later, and we were getting anxious. There was no communication from Paddywagon. Finally, at 11:45AM (after nearly 3 hours of waiting), the Paddywagon bus showed up for Day 2.

We enjoyed the Cliffs of Moher, but we were surprised that the other advertised/promised elements were missing. There were 4 sites mentioned in the itinerary that we booked (see screenshot below). However, our tour did not stop at Burren, Corcomroe Abbey, or Bunratty Castle. We missed out on 3 of the 4 attractions for Day 2.

We did enjoy the parts of the tour that went according to plan. However, the (1) accommodation room failure, (2) botched communication for pickup time, and (3) missing 3 of the 4 stops on Day 2 critically impacted our experience. It was not what we paid for.
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Posted On : 2024-04-18 14:57:23

Posted By : DayTrip64636250749
Your was fantastic and I must say the driver and your house was very educational and knowledgeable about the history of Ireland. Has an excellent sense of humor too.
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Posted On : 2023-07-30 14:52:55

Posted By : Liam_V
The driver, Cash, was very energetic and engaging with the group. He cracked jokes and shared history/facts of places we passed and wasn’t afraid to make the tour a little unique to accommodate the needs of travelers. The overnight stay was at an amazing B&B in Galway city and Cash again made excellent dinner, dessert, and drink recommendations for the evening in Galway. 10/10 recommend the tour. 12/10 recommend Cash.
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Posted On : 2023-04-18 13:52:14

Posted By : qodbelohnungq
It was quite fun and the bus driver was the best comedian i have ever heard before. It was really nice.
One day i will do another Trip.
Nothing to chance. Everything was perfect.
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Posted On : 2023-01-22 11:58:51

Posted By : 187baham
Frank is the best tour guide ever !
It was my girlfriend's birthday and we decided to go for this tour , spent some quality time exploring and enjoying , we booked the boat tour to see the cliffs from the sea and it was breathtaking! Frank even announced that it was my gf birthday and it was such an amazing gesture and initiative from him
He kept us entertained throughout the journey and even taught us some Irish history.
Highly recommend 👌
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Posted On : 2022-07-18 11:43:34

Posted By : _C6784VI
Unforgettable experience. Totally worth it.
The driver, Brian was so funny and friendly.
I totally recommend it guys.
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Posted On : 2022-05-25 02:40:34