Brendanvacations Reviews 16

BUYER BEWARE!! We started a booking with Brendan Vacations through AAA. We didn’t sign any contracts and our AAA agent didn’t tell us our deposit was non-refundable. We put down a deposit but then SOON AFTER needed to cancel the vacation and Brendan Vacations keeps giving me the run around for getting my $1,600 back. Regardless of what the policy is we were never told the deposit was refundable and shouldn’t be left hanging. They make enough money they shouldn’t be stealing people’s deposits.

I have dreamed of visiting Ireland for years, and Brendan Vacations made everything effortless. The hotels we stayed at were centrally located and of great quality. One highlight was staying at Ashford Castle—it was amazing! The included sightseeing was perfect, covering all the must-see attractions with knowledgeable guides. Traveling on my own would not have allowed me to see or do as many things as I did with Brendan Vacations.

I had an amazing experience with Brendan Vacations!! They tailored my itinerary specifically for me and I was able to check so many experiences off my bucket list. All the staff were professional and more than helpful throughout the whole process and I’m could not recommend them any higher 😁
Thanks to all the team at Brendan vacations you guys are amazing !!!

This was my first time traveling with Brendan and I had an amazing experience. From start to end the trip was as easy as could be. The trip I chose what the perfect number of days to fit in all the important must see, while still sprinkling in very authentic local experiences. The hotels were all very nice and centrally located with wonderful staff. I traveled on one of their guided trips and the Travel Director and driver were very knowledgeable and there to assist with anything that came up. I would absolutely recommend anyone traveling to Ireland to go with Brendan. They had a lot of options for self-travel as well 10/10 would recommend

From start to finish, Brendan Vacations could not have been better in organising our family trip to Ireland. Our private drivers, Andy and Gordon, were truly second to none, so informative and funny. They both helped us to trace our family heritage, and through Andy's contacts he was even able to help us find our great grandfather's family home! There was a 24 hour contact number who was able to seamlessly reconfirm our transfer to the airport, providing us with the comfort to really enjoy our last day in this wonderful place. Would recommend this company to anyone, we are already planning our return trip!

I have had experiences with different ways of travelling through Brendan Vacations. Talking to the reservation team getting my itinerary set up, to the trip, I was always able to ask them questions, read through documents if needed. The best thing is the flexibility of the itinerary, they did explain to me there may be certain times where this can not be changeable. We went up to Belfast, Antrim Coast and stopped in Fermanagh. So much history, lovely guides and experiences! Would recommend this service for those wanting to experience Ireland and Scotland with local support.

Brendan Helped me to pare down my expectations of how much i could actually do "in a day" and create a realistic itinerary. I credit this with allowing me to actually enjoy my vacation and not feel rushed. When i go back I will definitely be spending more time in the smaller coastal towns like Kinsale and Dingle. Thanks Brendan!

Brendan Vacations did an amazing job planning our self-drive trip around Scotland. We are active travelers who like a balance of city life and heading off the beaten path into the countryside
They took care of getting us set up in amazing properties in the city centers of Glasgow & Edinburgh so we could walk out the front door and start exploring. Brendan also set up select tours for us so we did not have to waste time figuring out what to do but also left enough free time so we could enjoy some shopping and nightlife. In the smaller towns of Fort William & Inverness we enjoyed hiking the many trails that cover the beautiful countryside including hiking up Ben Nevis, the country’s highest point. I would highly recommend Brendan Vacations!

We had an amazing tour through Ireland. So much included but there was also plenty of free time to explore. Hotels were beautiful with a great location in every city.

In December 2023 I took a Brendan Vacations Locally Hosted Rail journey, and it was incredible! The trip was perfectly planned, and everything was top-notch from the hotels to the trains and the sightseeing tours.

Even though I was traveling on my own, I never felt alone because in each city I was met by a local host who was able to provide restaurant recommendations and insider information that only a local can know.

Plus, I loved traveling in the winter as there were no crowds when exploring the famed Ring of Kerry and Cliffs of Moher and the hotels were beautifully decorated for Christmas.

Working with Brendan Vacations was a breeze and took a lot of pressure off of me as I didn’t have to spend hours of my time researching and planning the trip. The hotels they booked fit my needs and they were able to suggest experiences that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. The highlight was staying at Dromoland Castle and doing the falconry experience – it’s a memory I’ll never forget.

Thank you, Brendan Vacations! I can’t wait to return to the Celtic Isles with you.

Love Brendan Vacations! I use them any time I'm visiting Ireland because they make it easy! Our family rail trip throughout Ireland was amazing! The train ride between Dublin, Cork, and Killarney was a breeze. Brendan helped me find 4-star hotels near the rail station. A local Brendan host greeted us in each hotel to share information about the city/town. We could even pre-book experiences. I worry about space filling up for popular activities in Ireland. Brendan helps secure experiences in advance so you don't miss out.

I also booked a self-drive trip with them. I arrived in Dublin, picked up my luggage, my rental car from Hertz, and was on my way to Galway. I appreciated the automatic vehicle. Brendan helped me secure a 3-night hotel stay in Galway. The price was perfect for our budget.

The best travel director, This was my 3rd trip with Brendan and they just get better and better, hotels were fabulous and the experiences were memories of a lifetime. This was a first for me traveling to Ireland in the winter and it was so cozy. Well done Brendan Vacations!

I recently did a couple of trips with Brendan Vacations, firstly I started with a tour on a coach. This trip really got us seeing all the highlights that Ireland has to offer. We saw Dublin, walking tour with a local specialist was great as we had the opportunity to learn about the destination. We saw the Guinness Store house and I got to get my face printed on a pint, which was fun! The gravity bar was also amazing with 360 views of Dublin. What I like about the trip was there was free time in Dublin too and our travel director Leisa helped us plan out that free time. We then visited Cork, and Killarney. What great places to visit and I was so thankful we had the travel director with us to guide us and help us with everything we saw on trip. She was truly a Celtic Expert in the destination. I also liked that we did not have to navigate or drive ourselves! Everything was taken care of us we could enjoy the trip. Other must sees we experienced were Blarney Castle, Killkenny, Killarney, Jaunting Carriage ride and ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher. These were all included in the trip. The trip was so well organized and I could tell it was done by people that really care about travel to their homelands.

Once I was done with the guided tour I went on with a couple of friends to experience the private driver travel style. This is where we got to design the last 3 days of our trip. Eric our driver picked us up for Killarney and took us sightseeing, here we did a bike ride on the Aran Islands with local specialist Ollie. What a knowledge he had for Inish Oirr and he made the day really fun! Now I was holding the group up a little because I am not the best on a bike, it had been nearly 20 years since I had been on one. Ollie noticed that I was a little concerned and at one of our stops he arranged for an electric bike to replace the bike I was riding! WOW what service for that local specialist to help me along the way and make my time on the island so much more fun! I am thankful for Brendan recommending and booking this experience for us. Part of the private driver trip was staying in a Dromoland Castle and wow was that an incredible accommodation, I am so happy that Brendan had this in their portfolio and recommended it for us because it was a highlight of this part of the trip. Other things we did on the private driver portion of the trip were Burren Smoke house to learn about sustainable Salmon Smoking, Burren Farmhouse and then Gowth walking tour. Eric was such an incredible guide and we had so much fun diving deeper into the destination!

I loved working with Celtic experts and whole trip was truly amazing and memories that will last a life time!

My family and I just got back from a wonderful self-drive trip across western Ireland. We flew in and out of Shannon and drove down to Cork. We are a family of five so they ensured we had an SUV big enough for our suitcases and car seats already ordere which made packing easier. From Cork we visited Blarney Castle and gardens which was a beautiful and fun afternoon. They also coordinated and made suggestions for the kids! From there we went to Killarney and did a horse cart ride in the National Park which was a huge highlight for the kids. We also had them coordinate a boat ride on one of the lakes and a visit to a local farm where they got to see all the baby animals since it was spring! Our accommodation and time in Killarney was relaxing yet still packed with family friendly activities!
Last but not least we ended our trip at the most amazing castle - Dromoland. Our kids were spoiled from the moment we arrived - there was a crib set up for my youngest in ALL the hotels including the castle. At the castle they had little tiny robes for them, which they loved. Brendan Vacations had set up for us to do a falconry walk which the kids for to pet an owl then we walked around the grounds with a hawk. So cool. Also on the grounds was a fairy walk which my 3 little kids had so much fun! They could write a letter to the fairies. Definitely one of the best vacations and we all cannot wait to go back again!

First of all, I admit I should have read the tips for the Hotel stays a bit closer. But our last day in Dublin (going to another) city we brought down our bags to the reception desk. The "tour guide" said "what are you doing with your bags they should be left outside your room." The Clayton Hotel is pretty nice but there is NO security keeping anyone from going into the halls and just taking whatever they want I mentioned that to her and she said "what makes you think anyone would want your bag?!!! after that it was all downhill with her. She would get the times to be somewhere confused...as the trip progressed, I saw her drinking alcohol on two occasions. Many times, she was rude and dismissive to me. I had scheduled a buggy ride and was waiting in the front of the hotel and she left the back way without even checking on me but she admitted that she checked on another guest out front before she left!!. So I never got the buggy ride because the second one she tried to schedule would have given me about 30 min. to prepare for the next event. Then I asked if one of the areas (had to repeat myself 3 times) had a place to walk/hike and she said, "how would I know?" Then one place there were hiking trails she snidely said "so that should satisfy our hiker" I tried to make the best of it but obviously I got her really mad. To summarize she is totally unprofessional and needs to retire in my estimation

My son and I hired Brendan Vacations to schedule a driving tour through Ireland and Scotland. We provided them a list of attractions we wanted to see across both countries. Brendon selected a small number of attractions and included them in the first itinerary. They did not list the other attractions in the itinerary, but did include hotels in several cities around both countries. Additionally, the itinerary did not show the travel distance or time between each location. As I independently created an itinerary that included all attractions and travel times, I found two significant issues with their itinerary. First, they included a hotel in a city with no attractions and only included one night in a city with many attractions. Second, one of the attractions they scheduled required us to report to the tour at 7:45 a.m. They scheduled the hotel for the preceding night in a city that is 3 hours away. Had we accepted their first itinerary; we would’ve had to wake up very early and be on the road no later than 4:45 a.m. The driving path would’ve taken us over unfamiliar roads, driving on the left side, in the dark and there were likely few places to get help along the way at that early hour.
There first itinerary showed a lack of professionalism, but they had an opportunity to correct the problem. When we notified them about the changes that needed to be made, they suggested we add another night’s stay in one city where they would include some of our attractions in a tour. Knowing the list of attractions we wanted to see, they should’ve included this recommendation in the first itinerary. Before asking them to make the changes, we did Google searches to see how much extra we would likely pay for the hotel and tour changes. We even added another day to the itinerary that was not the result of their lack of professionalism. When we received the cost for the new itinerary, we were shocked by the price. We should’ve had a pretty good estimate ($1,050) and they charged $3,392. We asked our local, independent agent to itemize the differences. She said Brendan refused to do that. I told her we need some unit cost information to decide how to adjust the cost to something more reasonable. After much insistence, they provided some information, but it wasn’t very helpful. We were told we better not wait long or the costs would go up more. We decided to confirm and reserved the right to appeal the costs later.
Just two days later, we received a call that our flight costs had doubled. We planned to cancel the trip at that point, but thought we would check Priceline to see how much their flights would be. As it turned out, for an almost identical flight schedule, the current price was lower than what Brendan had in our original itinerary before the cost doubled. Therefore, we asked Brendan to remove the flights from the itinerary and we booked through Priceline instead.
We filed an appeal to Brendan for a refund of $2,335 arguing that, but for their negligence in preparing the first itinerary, we could’ve locked in on the first itinerary. They quickly declined our appeal, but didn’t even call us to discuss the case. Instead, they called the independent travel agent who gave us the news. We also received no apology or any acknowledgement of their unprofessional actions. In retrospect, it seems our experience had elements of a “bait and switch.” The first itinerary was fairly priced and should’ve had their profit built in. When changes are made, even though they were the result of their unprofessional work, the cost goes up well above the advertised prices for the listed hotels and attractions. Likewise, it is curious that their airfare doubles while the market price (as found on Priceline) did not double and was below their original amount.