2022 Testimonials | Ann

Throughout 2022, Ann planned many incredible getaways around the world, leaving our clients thrilled with their experiences. Take a look at what they had to say when they got back!

Youngman Family | Scotland | April, 2022

Fred booked a two-week Scottish adventure to share his love of travel with his family. They took the scenic route from Glasgow to Edinburgh, exploring The Isle of Mull, Isle of Skye, North Coast 500, and Cairngorms National Park. They hiked, visited distilleries, and spent time getting to know the locals.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love? Location, location, location. Ullapool was probably our overall favorite.  Beautiful views. Loved the owners in Aviemore. There weren’t any we disliked.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? Having two vehicles was great for 3 couples. We could still go our separate ways if we wanted. Both had GPS. The shuttle from Edinburgh to Glascow helped us immensely.

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? My son and girlfriend loved their journey to Campbelltown to the Spring Bank distillery. The rest of us went to the Isle of Mull. That was my favorite driving and visual experience. Skye was a close second. We all were in awe on our North Coast 500.

What was your favorite part of the trip? Isle of Mull, Isle of Skye. Getting to share my love of travel with my family.
My birthday cake and champagne (almost)
Was totally unexpected and very special.
Thanks, Ann

Would you travel with us again? Yes

How can we improve for next time? Nothing I can think of. We were thrilled you scheduled NO RAIN for two weeks.

Any other questions or comments? Do you book trips for other countries, ie Iceland? (CT edit: Yes, we do) Ann deserves a raise, or at least a healthy bonus.

Lin Thomspon | Whittier,Alaska | May, 2022

Lin and her husband booked the 11-Day Denali Explorer cruise with us at Crystal Travel. Lin is a repeat client, who has taken three tours with Crystal Travel, all of which were planned by Ann and ran smoothly.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love? Our stay at princess lodges at Denali were amazing. There were problems but they were due to property not being used during pandemic. I’m sure all will be back to smooth running soon.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? Transport is always hard on me but it went as well as expected. Suitcases were damaged, one beyond repair. ( had to duct tape it to get home)

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Cruise of glaciers was amazing!

What was your favorite part of the trip? The cruise. It’s so relaxing to be so well care for. Loved Alaska!

Would you travel with us again? Yes

How can we improve for next time? I’ll been on 3 cruises Ann has planned. They have all gone smoothly!

Sheila Dietel | Ireland | May, 2022

Sheila booked the 8-day/7-night CIE tour with us here at Crystal Travel and Tours. Like many others, Covid-19 delayed the trip, but Sheila stuck with us and absolutely loved the trip.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love? All the hotels were first class but my favorite was the Kilronan Castle but I also loved the Killarney Tower.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? We were picked up at the airport and didn’t have to worry about a thing the entire trip.

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? Waterford Crystal – Jaunting Car Ride was great fun – cliffs of Moher were beautiful – Kissing the Blarney Stone wa z decimate highlight – Listoke Distillery was good and the show at the Towers was the best.

What was your favorite part of the trip? Kissing the Blarney Stone but the entire trip was wonderful.

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  I don’t know how it could have been better. The entire trip was better than my expectations.

Any other questions or comments? Looking forward to going again.

Tom & Robin S. | Ireland | May, 2022

Tom and Robin are repeat customers of Crystal Travel and Tours! This was their second trip with us. Originally they planned to travel in 2020, but they stuck with us through Covid-19 and managed to travel in May 2022. They rented a car and explored much of Ireland on their own road trip.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love? Blue Haven Hotel –Great location, wonderful staff, great room. All places were great, but least favorite might be in Dublin – tiny room, less friendly staff.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? Easy flight

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy? The hikes and walks we did together

What was your favorite part of the trip? Walking around Kinsale.

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  No idea.

Any other questions or comments? Ann was great to work with!

 

Tom & Robin also sent us the following:

“Ann

Have been meaning to drop a line

All went well in Ireland, driving was a challenge and we wore raincoats much of the time!

But, as everyone says, that is why the hills are so green.

I think the country is still a bit behind because of Covid, they were happy to have tourists again but things like bars with Irish music were few.

All the places we stayed were great!  And, you know how fussy I am!

Thanks for everything

Robin”

Nadine I. | England & Ireland | June, 2022

Nadine and Steve originally planned this trip in 2020, as a graduation gift for their granddaughter. They were finally able to visit both London and Ireland in June 2022. They said the best part of their trip was getting to see “Ireland through the eyes of our granddaughter.” They enjoyed a luxury stay at Ashford Castle where they were treated like royalty, making the experience unforgettable.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?  Favorite was Ashford Castle….staff made us all feel like kings and queens plus all the amenities we thoroughly enjoyed.  Rueben at the Palace staff was fantastic, very friendly and helpful.  And food plus accommodations were great.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? We loved our driver Dave Costello with Kennedy Coaches.  He was incredibly knowledgeable and took us places we never would have seen on our own.  Dave made our trip!!!!

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  Loved the Falcon Walk at Ashford Castle.  English horseback riding at Ashford Castle and in Killarney National Park.  Theatres in London.  Tour of Trinity College in Dublin. Trad on the Prom in Galway. Epic Museum in Dublin. Golf at Killarney Golf Course and Old Head Golf Course in Kinsale.

What was your favorite part of the trip? Seeing Ireland through the eyes of our granddaughter.  The beauty of Ireland, the great food and the incredible history and wonderful friendly Irish people.

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  It was pretty perfect this time.  Not much room for improvement!!

Any other questions or comments? Ann O’Brien was very responsible for helping make our trip as wonderful as it was!  She was always available when needed and we felt strongly she went over and above what we expected from a travel agent.  Thank you Ann from the bottom of our hearts.  You are one of a kind!!! Hugs….. Steve, Nadine & Kallie

 

Kathy & Lisa | Ireland | July 2022

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?  Nice hosts, clean accommodations, and good proximity to sightseeing locations. Food was also good.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? We decided not to check a bag for fear of losing it so went with a carry-on bag and  under the seat backpack. Flights were on time. Planes were clean and the staff were friendly.

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  Absolutely loved the Dingle peninsula and the Cliffs of Moher. Wished it didn’t rain when we were in Connemara since I think that would have been beautiful to see. Liked watching a small Irish band playing Dublin. Liked Clonmacnoise and Gallarus Oratory. Very fun to see small towns and villages in the brightly colored homes.

What was your favorite part of the trip? The Dingle Peninsula.

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  Maybe add a scale of miles on the Ireland map that you hand out is part of your materials.

Any other questions or comments? I would spend less time in Dublin and more time in the small towns. Would have skipped Kinsale in retrospect …except seeing the fort was interesting. I would have exchanged that for more time and Dingle. There was so much to see that there wasn’t time to do it all of course. Thinking next time would love to take a drive up towards Giants Causeway and also explore the Wicklow mountains. Perhaps also see the ancient burial sites. Took some getting used to driving on the other side of the road on roads that were super narrow but we got used to it eventually. I would recommend not staying anywhere just one night but would want to stay a minimum of two nights unless it really was part of a strategy to get somewhere.

O'Hara Family | Ireland | August 2022

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?  The Twelve Hotel in Barna was excellent.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? Our driver, James Finn, was amazing- attentive, funny and beyond professional.  The van was super comfortable.

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  We loved our entire trip but the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands trip stood out.

What was your favorite part of the trip? Visiting Connemara, Dingle and the Cliffs of Moher.

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  It was pretty perfect this time.  Not much room for improvement!!

Any other questions or comments? Hard to say as our experience was fantastic.

Susan & Wayne | Scotland | September 2022

Susan and Wayne traveled to Scotland in September 2022, and left the following review for Ann, upon their return.

Hi Ann

“We returned home from our wonderful trip to Scotland last night. I wanted to thank you for your impeccable planning and attention to our trip goals. Our accommodations were so comfortable and scenic. The Torridon especially was amazing. Our hiking guide knew something about everything UK. We learned so much from him – that hike was the highlight of our trip. It’s a good thing they don’t weigh you outbound and on the return. We would have exceeded our limit. Amazing amazing food. The Airds Hotel chef is an artist. 

I also wanted to thank you for the bottle of champagne!  How thoughtful. We enjoyed it on our beautiful balcony. 

Another fantastic trip by Crystal Travel. We so appreciate your work to give us a memorable 30th anniversary. 

Best,

Susan”

Patrick & Matthew | Ireland | September 2022

Patrick and his son, Matthew, traveled to Ireland in September 2022. They saw sites all around the country, stopping to visit family in Connemara and Donegal.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?  Lime Tree Hotel, London and Brooks Hotel, Dublin and the Grand Hotel, Malahide were outstanding. Great locations and nice accommodations.  Station House Hotel, Clifden was excellent.  The Villa Rose Hotel, Ballybofey was good.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? The Literary Pub crawl and the Little Museum experiences in Dublin were great and highly recommended. Visiting family in Connemara and Donegal was also fun. Trinity College and the book of Kells was good.

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  See above.  Plus the Big Bus Tour company in London was good. Nice stopping by Kylemore Abbey; beautiful setting.

What was your favorite part of the trip? Dublin, Malahide, visiting family in Connemara and Donegal.

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  Ann was outstanding.  Her personal touch and expertise helped improve tour ravel experience. I have already recommended her to a few people considering vacations to Europe.

Any other questions or comments? Guinness is a great beverage but the warehouse tour is way overrated.  The skyline lounge views are now obstructed by construction cranes. I am amazed what you can do as a travel professional.  In considering our trip, I was using the internet to try and run different travel options; it was frustrating and ultimately futile to run all the scenarios over different time periods.  We appreciate your professional expertise, guidance, and recommendations.

Elsie | Ireland | September, 2022

Elsie traveled with her friends Steve & Lois to Ireland in September, 2022. Here’s what she had to say about her trip!

 How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?  We were at the Kaileen house hotel on Tuesday their famous restaurant was closed so that was disappointing. We really liked the Benners Hotel. Great small pups across the street

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? We had great seats on the first flight right behind the bulkhead. Our car was very nice and had a GPS which was great

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  We enjoyed the ring of Kerry, the castles, The cliffs of Mohr, the day tour to the Aryan islands to name a few.

What was your favorite part of the trip? Exploring the dingle peninsula.

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  Ann was outstanding.  Her personal touch and expertise helped improve tour ravel experience. I have already recommended her to a few people considering vacations to Europe.

Any other questions or comments? We had trouble knowing exactly how to get the bus merry plowboy show. We didn’t know exactly where to go or what time the bus would be there. We did get the bus back to the hotel.

Peter & Trese A. | Ireland | October, 2022

Peter & Trese traveled to Ireland in October 2022, and enjoyed visting Cork, Kerry and Inishmore island, among other places.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?   West Cork Hotel: Really nice accommodations in a great location (Skibberrean) friendly staff, good food.

Heaton’s Guesthouse: INCREDIBLE BREAKFAST.  Nice lodgings and friendly staff too, but the Breakfast was fantastic.  Many choices, and everything was top tier.
Park House Hotel: Probably our least favorite lodgings, but still completely enjoyable.  The lobby needs a facelift. A lot of tour groups so the dinner waitstaff was very rushed.  (I should note we loved the breakfast Maitre D’).
Glasson Lakehouse:  Probably our most luxurious stay (It’s a spa).  Food was so-so but everything else was really great.  Modern but laid back and elegant I’d say.  And looks like great golf and other activities.
Brooks Hotel:  Really nice room and staff in a great location.  Nice breakfast too.

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love?  Rental car worked out great but I did have to pay a $250 deductible for brush scratches on the passenger side. (not disputing that I hit a lot of bushes avoiding oncoming traffic on narrow roads…) I thought we’d be covered for everything but gross negligence.  Not a big deal, but if you think it should have been covered please let me know, thanks!

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  The SKibbereen Famine museum was great, though not on our itinerary. The Trip to Cape Clear was really nice (but I would not recommend for anyone who has difficulty walkin.  Alot of steep hills). We LOVED the ferry to Innishmore and day trip there.  On the way back it stopped at the base of the Cliffs of Mohr, which was probably a nicer way to see them.  It was a mob scene on a blazing hot day when we saw them from above.  If folks are doing Innishmore I’d say they’re probably good with just the ferry. Due to some scheduling issues we skipped Kylemore Abbey so look forward to next time.  We did do a falconry class at Ashford Castle, which was absolutely magical.

What was your favorite part of the trip? So hard to answer. I think I liked Dingle the most.  Just so beautiful, but also meaningful as we tracked down the mud hut my Greatx3 Grandparents lived in and the church they were married in.  But the drive to Dingle and the Slea Head loop were just stunningly gorgeous, and we ate our best meals there (breakfast at Heaton’s and Dinner at The Chart House).

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time?  I really can’t think of anything.  You even went above and beyond when we had the little mixup with Glasson Lake House charging our card after you had already prepaid.  Which honestly we did not blame you for at all.

Any other questions or comments? Thanks so much.  You did just a fantastic job from start to finish.  Thank you!!!

Julia C. | Scotland | November 2022

Julia traveled to Scotland in November 2022, here’s what she had to say about her trip:

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?  Marcliffe

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? Our driver was GREAT! He gave us hints on where to go, how to drive on the left – a little of everything!

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  The ease of renting the car!

What was your favorite part of the trip? APEX City hotel’s location in Edinburgh

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time? You all met all of our expectations and more! We would change some of our requests for accomodations next time.

Any other questions or comments? We LOVE how responsive Ann is and on how comprehensive the information was!

Travaglini & Friends | England | December, 2022

Travaglini and her friends traveled with us to England, London in December 2022.

How would you rate your trip? 5/5

Who was your travel expert? Ann

How were your accommodations? Great

What did you love?  Great location ! Clean and good rates

Did everything go smoothly with your transportation? Yes

What did you love? So accommodating and helpful

What tours, attractions, or activities did you particularly enjoy?  They were all great

What was your favorite part of the trip? Enjoying the city. We loved the food tour!

Would you travel with us again? Yes 

How can we improve for next time? Honestly, everything was perfect