Great Tour, the BEST Guides! - We had a great time! Probably the most fun was the “road train” ride, a guided tour through Kilkenny. Our driver was hysterically funny, an absolutely maniacal comedy genius! He seemed to know every working man and woman throughout the town, exchanging words with them, or a tip of the hat. Not one single good looking girl didn’t receive a tip of his hat, and ringing of the train’s bell, eliciting smiles. We passed by a school, and the kindergarten aged kids ran to the fence to wave and dance to the train’s bell, as our driver also danced a funny jig in the cab. This is something they’d obviously done before; the young school mistress blew him a kiss. Paddy, our walking tour guide, is also a gem of Irish wit and wisdom. He seems to all a grandfatherly sort, genuinely caring and kind. Paddy also seemed to know absolutely everyone in both Kilkenny and Waterford, or at least they knew him. For one day, theses two men shared their country with us and made us feel like family. Heartily recommend this tour!!!

Perfect Day @ Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh Castle, with its rich history and beautiful structures, has been a place where I long for going. Our guide, Jule, made this experience even more enjoyable. Jule is knowledgeable about the Castle and is good at presenting the stories of the Castle in vivid manner. She is also considerate and attended to our needs throughout the tour. It's a wonderful half day. Thanks, Jule.

The Best Tour and Wonderful Day - The best tour I have EVER taken !! Our guide Paddy was the best ever, wonderful knowledge and very nice. I would recommend this tour and tour company to everyone. A very relaxing day with great history, beautiful landscape, and a great experience at Waterford Crystal.

Outstanding - Our guide was Paddy- fantastic! He knows everyone and all the history. Very safe and fun! The Waterford factory was outstanding! What craftsmanship!!

The entire trip. It was... - The entire trip. It was an unforgettable experience. The people, the sites all of it were amazing. That's all you're getting.

Loved the crystal tour! - We had a great train journey to the Kilkenny Castle and to the Waterford crystal factory. John was an excellent guide who loved sharing his knowledge of Ireland with our group. Beautiful weather added to the views on this scenic train ride. Crystal making was shared in great detail with an up close look at all the steps. Really enjoyed!

Railtour Ireland tours - This is a fantastic tour. We were lucky to have John Todd as our guide. We have been blessed to tour with John before. Railtour Ireland is a fantastic company to travel with

Adorable Guide - Paddy was an ADORABLE guide. I really enjoyed meeting and speaking with him. If you like smaller tours, this is for you. We had a group of 8, and the rail trip was great. The one knock I might have is that I wish I had more time in Kilkenny with lunch in Waterford as an option. Moving on was likely due to the train schedule, but I would have gladly used the extra hour in Kilkenny and then grabbed a sandwich for the train. The Waterford Factory is spectacular. I gained a whole new appreciation for the craftspersonship. The 9/11 piece honoring Father Mychal Judge was unbelievable. Really strong tour with a great guide. I recommend it!

Not a must see. - Train ride was wonderful. Castle was ok. Not enough information. Self guided. Shops were overpriced. Waterford factory was disappointing.

Unbelievably bad and rude tour guide. - Over the past 14 months, we have booked 15 tours with Viator throughout western Europe. All have been excellent, with the glaring exception of this tour. The blame can be laid directly at the feet of Paddy McArdle, the tour guide. He was arrogant, rude and pushy throughout the tour and failed to provide the tour experience we paid for. My wife and I both have compromised knees. We were not prepared for the amount of walking that occurred and the description of the tour did not provide an indication that so much walking would be required. I would estimate that in Kilkenny we walked about 3 miles, quite a bit of it uphill. During this time, Paddy seemed irritated with our inability to keep up with his pace. When we spoke to him about this he showed no concern. At Kilkenny Castle, we were only given a half hour to explore and were required to pay an admission fee for entrance, which was falsely advertised as included with the tour. Since this was one of the two locations featured as part of this tour, it seemed especially outrageous that so little time was provided. This was due in large part to Paddy dragging us around Kilkenny, seeing those sights that he was interested in, rather than the ones supposedly included as part of the tour. I am not exaggerating, he wasted our tour time showing us a horse trough! We're from Texas; we've seen a horse trough. We also were subjected to Paddy saying hello to a series of shopkeepers (again, not part of the tour) but not allowing us any time to perhaps purchase a souvenir. At a certain point, my wife and I were tired of walking and decided not to enter a shop specializing in hurling equipment. He was obviously annoyed with us for not entering the shop and became sarcastic because we chose to wait on the sidewalk for the tour group. The worst offense was not against us, however. A widowed woman who had brought her brother, who was mentally compromised, was told to just leave him behind at the castle by Paddy, even though it was obvious that he needed her guidance, because of his impatience to move on. To her credit, she refused. I could not believe that this man, supposedly there to make our tour enjoyable, had the gall to demand the abandonment of this poor woman's brother, who almost certainly could not have made his way back to the train station on his own. It was more of the same from Paddy when we reached Waterford. After a quick lunch, he decided to take the group on another walking tour. My wife and I declined to go this time, since we were only a short distance from the Waterford factory, which was the second major stop of the tour. We waited in the lobby for the group to show up. It was made clear that the Waterford tour was to begin on time and that no-one would be allowed in after the tour began. As the Waterford tour guide was preparing to take the group in (at the scheduled time), Paddy rolled up to the factory entrance with about 30 seconds to spare. Had he been a minute later, the entire tour group (except for us) would have missed the tour. Once finished with the tour, we returned to the train for the homeward route, which deviated significantly from the route described in the tour advertisement on Viator, and simply followed the same route back to Dublin. We saw no new countryside. As a result the tour was shortened by about rwo hours from the advertised length. Paddy continued his childish behavior on the train ride home, at one point insulting me sarcastically. By the time we reached the train station in Dublin, we had had enough of Paddy, so we exited the train without speaking to him. At this point, he exploded with anger, screaming at us as we walked away from him. The tour guide is supposed to make the experience enjoyable and informative. As I've said, every other of the 15 tours we've booked through Viator have been enjoyable. This was total misery, due entirely to the tour guide, who really needs to find another line of work. It was a long, ugly day. This tour was not really as described, with not enough time in some locations and far too much aimless wandering at the whim of our guide. I am not the only person posting these types of comments concerning Paddy on Viator. I encourage you to read the other one-star reviews that mention Paddy specifically. You'll find tbe same kinds of comments. Avoid him like the plague.