Friendly tour guide - Myself and my friend had an excellent time on our day tour, lead by Ian. The tour company generally was very easy to book through and the staff very friendly. We did really like our tour guide, he was funny and taught us lots of interesting facts! The locations visited in this tour were outstanding and beautiful. There were only 8 of us on the tour, meaning that we had a small coach and I liked that. It was fun, we felt well looked after.

Just beautiful! - What a beautiful ride. Peter was such a great tour guide! We loved it. The weather was amazing ! Thanks so much! Kathleen

Great day tour with Paddywaggon - Tour was well organised and the guide made an effort to ensure that enjoyed the day. They allowed enought time at each stop without feeling rushed. Thanks Ian!

Amazing Day - I had a great experience spending the day in Glendalough and Kilkenny. Peter was out tour guide and he was really exceptional.

Good fun on a scenic bus tour - Paddywaggon’s driver was very professional and knowledgeable. We had a smooth ride to Kilkenny in the morning where we were able to discover the town on our own for two hours. Then we went on through beautiful scenery to Glendalough where again we had two hours to explore the old monastery site and lakes. On our way back through the Wicklow mountains we even had an extra stop to look at “Lake Guiness”. Thanks for a lovely day trip!

Great experience - The tour was good and our driver Sean was really great, he was full of information and helpful (and witty) Thank you Paddywagon tours for a fun day!

Worthwhile tours to Kilkenny and Wicklow/Glendaough (with caveats) - I and my two, young adult daughters took the nine-hour day tour from Dublin (bus boarding began at 8 am near the Spire on O'Connell Street). The bus was clean and comfortable. Caveat: there are no toilets on board. The tour essentially began on time, and our driver J.J. (John James) was clearly in his element. He is a confident driver, and he has the gift of gab. Caveat: J.J. was occasionally salty in his language such as when he taught us tourists how to say "Kiss my ass" in Irish Gaelic. He also spun another story in which he admitted to once losing his temper with a female driver and calling her a C-U-Next-Tuesday. That one made me squirm a bit. My party thoroughly enjoyed the town of Kilkenny and the ancient monastic ruins of Glendalough in the Wicklow mountains. These two destinations are just brilliant, and we all want to return one day. Caveat: The tours were unguided. Upon arrival at the respective locations, our driver J.J. simply gave us a time at which we all needed to be back at the bus. Personally, I enjoyed the freedom of wandering wherever I wished to go, but with that freedom comes responsibility. It is up to respective passengers to keep track of the time and to return promptly to the bus so as not to inconvenience others with delays. I heard at least one fellow passenger say that she felt stressed out because she had been worried about being late, and yes, I understood exactly what she meant. During our daytrip, I was the timekeeper for my party, and I felt the pressure. Guided tours mean that visitors are always together in a group, and there is no serious concern about being late to return to the bus. The downside to that is the lack of freedom. You will have to decide which arrangement you prefer. There was one aspect about the tour that I found notably unpleasant, and that was the surprising manifestation of some soft, anti-Catholic bigotry. Our driver J.J. shared some of his personal story with us, and it was clear that he had had both a difficult upbringing as well as some unhappy religious experiences that have resulted in what I call "church trauma". (I've experienced my own version of church trauma on account of imperious family members. I could relate to our driver's stories.) Nevertheless, despite his generally negative attitude towards religion, J.J. firmly aligned himself with Protestantism, and that is absolutely fine. No complaint on that account. The complaint came when his alignment with Protestantism provoked him to belittle Catholicism which, despite my own church trauma, is the religion with which I align. Before disembarking to see Kilkenny, our driver made a number of recommendations of places to see, including St. Canice's Cathedral (originally Catholic, but now Protestant). And indeed, we paid the place a visit and were rewarded with some lovely sights. But mystifyingly, J.J. said not one word about St. Mary's Cathedral which has a bell tower that absolutely dominates the city skyline. It is so spectacular, we imagined that it was St. Canice's. We were wrong. It was during our tour of St. Canice's that a parish receptionist explained that we were looking at the Catholic Cathedral. She kindly gave us directions there. We visited St. Mary's, and honestly, it was more of a visual treat than St. Canice's was. If you visit Kilkenny, don't miss visiting this spectacular building. Back at the bus, I mentioned to J.J. that we had seen St. Mary's. His immediate response, delivered in a decidedly negative tone, was, "But that's the Catholic Cathedral." My impression was that he had declined to recommend St. Mary's to his bus tourists because the church is Catholic. To me, a beautiful building is a beautiful building. We were there to see historic and gorgeous architecture, regardless of religious affiliation. At that point, my girls shared that we are Catholic, which I kind of wish they had not done. I really had not wanted to go down that rabbit hole, but down we went anyway. In an effort to diffuse the tense situation, I remarked, "Somebody has to be Catholic." J.J.'s reply was, "Somebody has to be wrong." He was half joking and half serious. Ugh. How unpleasant. Ultimately, at the end of the trip, I chose to tip our driver with a 20 euro bill because he was a good driver who got us around on time and in safety. That is certainly worth something. I just wish the whole business concerning religion had never come up. I would have given the tour a five star review otherwise.

Wonderful places to visit but not with Paddywagon - The positives first: Driving through Glendalough and seeing the Wicklow Mountains were one of the most scenic routes I saw in Ireland. Even though the weather wasn't the best, the mists lent this charm to the area. It's about a 20 minute walk to the upper lake each direction but I recommend doing it. Definitely one of the highlights to see and I wish there was more time to go to the waterfall. Kilkenny is a lovely area and the Kilkenny Castle is so picturesque. I couldn't stop taking photos of it. There was even a couple there who were taking their wedding photos! Pay and do the self-guided tour inside the castle. Worth the price of admission to see the history. There are also great spots near the castle as well to get some lunch. Onto the negatives which really have to do with the tour operator. To note I booked directly on Paddywagon's website. Firstly we weren't put in a coach but something like a Mercedes Sprinter van. So the vehicle was cramped and no WiFi as advertised. Secondly there was no separate guide and driver which has been the case for every single other tour I've taken with other operators in other countries including Ireland. There was one driver/guide doing double duty who understandably would cut his commentary while concentrating on driving. Hence commentary was sporadic and not what I expected or am used to. Thirdly, the driver/guide told persons on at least two occasions to be quiet as he was speaking. Now this wasn't directed at myself however the way I see it, everyone paid their money and if they wish to speak to one another rather than listen to the commentary then that's their prerogative. It's not like they were being boisterous. And finally the driver didn't really take his time driving over speed humps or other imperfections in the road. It was a bumpy ride at the back of the van. Long review but in summary the Wicklow Mountains and Kilkenny are worth a visit while in Ireland but choose another tour operator.

Wonderful Stops, not so wonderful guide - The sites were great! Glendalough had history and was beautiful. Kilkenny Castle was cool to explore. We had time to tour it and grab lunch at Kyteler’s Inn. However, we were not as impressed by our driver/guide. Unfortunately, after having two amazing tour guides on our trip in Ireland, we were underwhelmed. I don’t even think he introduced himself to us. He didn’t know how to operate bus air conditioning at first, leaving us in extremely warm air. He wasn’t sure where to guide us at first at Glendalough. His only suggestion on Kilkenny was the castle. Our previous guides also gave us a rundown before getting to our sites to optimize time. This tour guide would tell us when we got there, cutting down on time. Overall, I would recommend this tour but only with a different guide

Terrible customer service rep, but beautiful views during the tours - We booked two full day tours (4 adults and one child) with Paddywagon, one to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway and another to Kilkenny and Wicklow Mountains. We paid a fare for our 1.5 year old for a seat (of course), but also specifically requested a booster seat (which is why we ultimately selected Paddywagon Tours). Cliffs of Moher: long tour, great sight-seeing in the Cliffs region, and unfortunately a short stay in Galway (just one hour) due to the bad weather although our guide tweaked the itinerary so that we get more time with good weather at the Cliffs (around 2 hours). We had a good time there, and a booster seat was provided. Kilkenny: the tour itself was fine, and the walk and views in Glendalough was amazing. However, when we got on the mini-bus there was no seat reserved for our child, and of course no booster seat, so she had to sit on our lap for c. 2-3 hours each way which was very uncomfortable, and very unsafe. A few minutes after we boarded we sent an email to Paddywagon Tours stating this fact to see if we can find a resolution. Over a number of days we received very short and dry, and unprofessional, responses from the "customer service" person, essentially not believing us, and indirectly implicating that we were lying. They then ended up no longer responding to our emails even when sending reminders. Because of this we're now posting this negative review, on principle of being so unprofessional and also being made as liars (why would we pay for 4+1 people x 2 trips and then argue over a €30 seat if it wasn't true? We also sent them the email very soon after boarding). The driver told us he was not informed of our baby, and hence there was no seat reserved for her and of course no booster seat (according to Paddywagon via email, he did later tell them that there was one space reserved for her - which is an outright LIE - either to save his skin or a lie fabricated by Paddywagon). Really disappointed with their way of handling this matter. The experience themselves were fine, the handling of the matter on the other hand is extremely disappointing. You should be ashamed for not believing us when we provided such a detailed account and proof. You really need to hire a better PR/customer relations person.