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27th June 2018
09:59am BST
TripAdvisor have announced the winners of its first-ever Travellers’ Choice awards for Experiences. The awards recognise 345 experiences, tours, and activities globally, highlighting the world’s best rated experiences overall.
An Italian experience - a cooking class at a Tuscan farmhouse and local market tour - is the global winner. Irish experiences were also favoured among travellers, with a Wild Wicklow Tour including Glendalough from Dublin, ranking in the world’s top 10 Travellers’ Choice winners for Experiences.
“Travel is all about new experiences and these awards, according to feedback from the TripAdvisor community, showcase some of the best things to do around the world for every type of traveller,” said James Kay, A TripAdvisor spokesperson.
“It’s testament to the great experiences on offer in Ireland that a tour of Wild Wicklow has ranked in the world top ten, based on the reviews and ratings of its visitors.”
The awards are also broken down by country, and by category, including day cruises, cultural experiences, day trips, multi-day tours, hop-on hop-off tours, and food, beer, and wine experiences. Winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account a business’s reviews, opinions and popularity with travellers over the last year.
Top 10 Experiences in Ireland are:
1. Wild Wicklow Tour including Glendalough from Dublin – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €33 per person
Travellers will get to experience the wild landscape of Wicklow County on a full-day guided tour. From Dublin, the coach bus departs for Wicklow National Park, Sally’s Gap and the monastic settlement at Glendalough.
Through insightful commentary, travellers will learn about each stop and take in scenic vistas while leaving the driving and navigation to the experts. “The Wild Wicklow tour with our guide was the highlight of our trip to Ireland. The guide’s enthusiasm and love of Ireland was infectious,” noted a TripAdvisor reviewer.
2. Cliffs of Moher Day Trip from Dublin – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €50 per person
It’s easy to make the journey from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher on this guided tour. Travellers will be delighted by stories of the Emerald Isle as they take in the sights of the Atlantic Ocean and Aran Island from atop the cliffs.
The tour also visits other hot spots in County Clare, including Doolin and Burren National Park. “Our guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable and kept us entertained with his stories. We had plenty of time at each location, which we were able to explore at our own leisure,” commented one TripAdvisor reviewer.
3. Blarney Castle Day Trip from Dublin – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €60 per person
Beyond Dublin, Ireland offers enchanting castles, ruins, and other notable landmarks, and on this day trip, travellers will see three of the country’s most popular highlights: Blarney Castle (and the famous Blarney Stone), Cahir Castle, and the Rock of Cashel.
“This tour was amazing! We had the best tour guide, who was very knowledgeable and very entertaining. We went to Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle and Blarney Castle, and had plenty of time at each site to take pictures, shop and wander. A wonderfully fun tour,” exclaimed one TripAdvisor reviewer.
4. Dublin Traditional Irish Music Pub Crawl – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €14 per person
Led by two Dublin musicians, travellers will visit one of Dublin’s top areas for nightlife and immerse themselves in an evening of traditional Irish music and live performances. The tour offers private seating at all of the Temple Bar pubs visited during the night - where even standing room is hard to come by.
“Our guides were excellent and they entertained us with their musicianship and with their ability to share with us what traditional Irish music really is. Their introductions to the songs were often funny and helpful by putting everything in some context, both musically and culturally,” said one TripAdvisor reviewer.
5. City Sightseeing Dublin Hop-On Hop-Off Tour – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €20 per person
Travellers can discover Dublin at their own pace with this hop-on hop-off city bus tour. The one day or two day ticket option lets travellers create their own personalised sightseeing itinerary using a 28-stop route to maximise time in Irish capital.
“What a lovely way to experience the whole of Dublin. We had the best driver who had us laughing all the way round,” said a TripAdvisor reviewer.
6. Limerick, Cliffs of Moher, Burren and Galway Bay Rail Tour from Dublin – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €119 per person
Ireland’s majestic West Coast offers ancient cities, medieval castles, and some of the country’s most popular natural attractions. On this comprehensive tour from Dublin, travellers will see all the major sights in a day.
The day begins with a train journey to Limerick before boarding a coach to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and Galway Bay. “It is a wonderful trip by train and motor coach across Ireland and back. There was so much to see on this tour, from quaint small villages to castles to amazing geologic formations,” said a TripAdvisor reviewer.
7. Dublin Historical Walking Tour – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €13 per person
Travellers will get an expert look at Dublin’s highlights on this walking tour led by a Trinity College history graduate. The tour tells the history of landmarks such as Dublin Castle and the Parliament House, with free entry to some of city’s top spots.
A TripAdvisor reviewer said, “We are glad that we went on this walking tour because it put our experience of Dublin in a whole new context. Our guide kept us totally engaged and absorbed for two and a half hours. With his keen insights, he made history leap to life.”
8. The Ring of Kerry Day Trip including Killarney Lakes and National Park – Killarney, Ireland, bookable from €25 per person
Travellers will see all the highlights of the Ring of Kerry, including Kenmare Bay, Dingle Bay, and the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, on a single-day tour. Visitors will hear commentary about the area's striking natural features and ancient history.
“It was an absolute pleasure to take the tour of the Ring of Kerry and Killarney National Park! The sights were amazing, and we learned a lot about the landscape and history of this beautiful country,” commented one TripAdvisor reviewer.
9. Cliffs of Moher Day Trip from Galway – Galway, Ireland, bookable from €30 per person
Travellers will experience some of Ireland’s most beautiful countryside on this day trip from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher. The tour begins at Dunguaire Castle before continuing on to Burren National Park and the Celtic crosses in Kilfenora before heading to Doolin and the UNESCO-listed Cliffs of Moher where travellers will enjoy about two hours to leisurely explore the cliffs at their own pace.
“The day trip to Cliffs of Moher with tour guide was awesome,” said one TripAdvisor reviewer. “Our guide was funny and friendly, providing lots of information on all of the sights. The morning includes several beautiful photo opportunities, which our driver kindly stopped at even though they were not part of the tour.”
10. Dublin Literary Pub Crawl – Dublin, Ireland, bookable from €14 per person.
This tour lets travellers experience Dublin’s love of literature and pubs on this pub crawl. A guide will lead visitors as they explore the city’s charming lanes, stopping into pubs that hold literary significance, listen to anecdotes and facts about local authors, and hear actors bring famous works to life.
“I feel like even if you've never read anything by an Irish writer you would probably still enjoy the tour,” said one TripAdvisor reviewer. “We did this on the very first night we arrived in Dublin, and it was a great way to get to know the pubs, and get a feel for the city. The two folks leading our tour were wonderful - great actors, lovely people.”
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