5 Star
Private Tour Experience
Discover why travelers love Little Gem Tours! Read our glowing reviews and see how we create unforgettable, personalized experiences across Ireland. Your dream journey awaits!
Ensuring Your Irish Trip
is Extra Special
We are passionate about our tours and we ensure that all of our excursions are 5 star experiences for our visitors to Ireland. We have travelled extensively throughout the world ourselves and we know what it takes to make your travels that extra bit special. We want our tours to be the best private tours of Ireland and we strive to provide a service that exceeds expectations. Take a look at what our guests have to say.
Why Our Guests Love Us
8 Days Private Tour South by West
Aug 2024
Our 8 day private, customized tour of 4 adults with Little Gem was flawless! We were a little late in the game in searching for a tour company and were fortunate enough to find Little Gem. We were the last booked tour of 2024.
It was a fantastic tour!! All activity options, hotel accommodations and restaurant recommendations were outstanding.
From start to finish, Little Gem delivered nothing short of excellence and Niamh, our tour planner was wonderful, always prompt and responsive to our needs. She did a great job in helping us put together our itinerary on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Our journey began in Dublin, then south to Kinsale and onwards along the Irish west coast which took us along meandering roads, breathtaking scenery, and idyllic countryside, towns and villages.
Some of the highlights of our trip were staying at Ashford Castle, and a hawk walk on the castle grounds. That night at Ashford castle we heard a piper sing in Gaelic and discovered the Irish bagpipes! We loved a speed boat sea safari in Dingle, and an overnight stay at an Irish farm with traditional music and dance.
Our guide/driver, Colm was excellent! He was warm, friendly and knowledgeable. We learned so much about Ireland's history and culture and the people who are the friendliest and are the most welcoming!! Colm was always attentive and not only did he have a great disposition, but also interjected humor with stories which we greatly enjoyed. He also took us off the beaten path to show us some of his favorite spots and places which made our travels all the more memorable.
We highly recommend Little Gem. We are sure they will exceed your expectations as they did ours!!
10 Days Wild Atlantic Way Tour
Sep 2024
Where to start? We couldn’t have asked for better accommodations- each and every one was delightful! The owners all made us all feel as if we were members of their family! Special praise goes to Heaton's on the Dingle - David and Viktorija are excellent hosts and I hated to leave! An example of their thoughtfulness - one night our group of six was trying to get a cab to dinner, David told us to hop in his car and he drove us to the restaurant!
Staying at Dromoland Castle was an extraordinary experience - our rooms were gorgeous and we enjoyed everything from the castle garden tour to the delightful dining experience! My husband particularly enjoyed his adventure in falconry!
As for our itinerary, we had something exciting to look forward to each and every day! Kilkenny Castle was lovely; the sheep herding demonstration at Kissane - so much fun; Sunday lunch at Ballymaloe - delicious: and the boat ride beneath of Cliffs of Moher was awesome!
I would be remiss if I did not mention our wonderful, charming tour/bus guide! Colm, aside from being an excellent driver, made us feel right at home in our “parlor on wheels!” He supplied us with the background story for many of the sights, answered our questions with patience and good humor; we all felt he was a good match four our group - more like a friend on the trip with us.
Perhaps one member of our group, summed up the whole experience best when he described the countryside as beautiful but more than that, “A person would have to look far and wide to find a nicer, friendlier people than the Irish!"
That certainly applies to Little Gem! Thank you for everything you did to make it easy to explore Ireland! We had a magical trip to Ireland and I will surely recommend Little Gem to anyone heading to Ireland!
Wild Atlantic Way
8 Day Adventure
Jul 2024
Working with Rosie on the planning of this trip was simple and timely. She responded quickly when we asked questions or needed explanations. She went above and beyond for our family-Thank you! We knew right away that we were going to get along well with our guide, Tony, as he donned a Nebraska Husker hat when he greeted us! His knowledge of Irish history, myths, legends, music was SO extensive.
By day two, he had a handle on what kind of family we are, and he matched the experiences/sites we saw with what our family might enjoy most. We tried to be as active as we could to meet the needs of the younger members of our family...hiking and biking when possible. Probably the most memorable times were when we followed his recommendations on seeing some of the musical acts while we were in Dingle. Amazing to witness, learn, and appreciate!
Of course Little Gem Tours must be known for their little "gems" and Tony sure did show us many of those! From holy wells, bullaun stones, to medieval castle ruins..we learned about the history behind such sites from the a guide who truly loves telling a good story! Tony's talents aren't limited to story telling and showing us Ireland, but he entertained us with his singing and his play list of Irish music while on the bus. The flexibility of our tour was the reason we booked with Little Gems...a personal experience tailored to our family. The accommodations were excellent every night, and the breakfasts were amazing at each hotel or Bed & Breakfast.
Finding Little Gem Tours was the best find ever, and we had an amazing adventure that will live on in our family memories forever!
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Wild Atlantic Way
8 Day Adventure
Jun 2024
We've been back a couple weeks now - began our adventure with Little Gem and then continued on from Dublin with a separate Norway cruise.
After this time back, it's Little Gem's experience which is still resonating. Loved each moment. Rosie is so wonderful in helping design the agenda, and we were blessed with her brother, Martin, as our guide. The funny thing is, two of the "we want to do" items didn't happen due to weather (or we were too tired to stay up late), yet we were more than compensated by other things Martin showed us. Never felt we missed anything, in fact, we felt we gained by just putting ourselves in his hands.
The history, the wee roads, the unexpected moments - we can't thank Little Gem enough for helping us to achieve a 50th anniversary bucket list experience. If we could give more than 5 stars, we would. Thank you Little Gem! It took a few extra years to get there due to Covid restrictions, but well worth the wait. Perfect.
12 Days North by West
May 2024
It all started with Bobby Walsh our driver/guide. Very professional and also very amicable and personable. He has the knowledge of a historian of ireland and also the world. Everything that was on our itinerary and more was accomplished.
He made sure anything that we wanted to try or taste in food or drinks or experiences he found a place to do it. He got us in the back door in places that were full and tickets to venues that we couldn’t get. He made sure we visited the best pubs with local music and the best restaurants with local food. He made sure we visited the shops of artesian crafts of days gone past. (Weavers, pottery, crystal etc.) He played songs that were relevant to what we were going to visit that day and explained their meaning and history. He went above and beyond to make sure are experience was the absolute best. We spent 12 days with Bobby traveling all of Ireland and it was amazing. He gets the highest rating possible for our experience!
Thank you Bobby
8 Days North by Wesr
Jun 2024
Five stars just does not seem to be adequate for our recent trip with Little Gem, and especially our guide Martin! From start to finish, planning the itinerary with Rosie was easy and organized, communication was quick and thorough! We chose the Northern Ireland, north by northwest focus and it was a combination of natural beauty and incredible history with lovely people. Martin is an absolute wealth of historic knowledge, stories and just tidbits of information and he knows every single place off the beaten path. What we saw in a week from Belfast, to Derry/Londonderry, to Donegal, Galway and back to Dunkin and every hidden gem in between was a trip of a lifetime. Even an evening in a lovely cottage and a chance to understand the history of cutting turf (and doing some if we wanted) That was at Ireland West Farm stay and I will be doing another separate review there - magnificent) I really don’t know what anyone should choose another way to experience Ireland! We were able to adjust our plans daily as we wanted, Martin would suggest options, lunch places etc for us to decide and every option was amazing! I cannot say enough good things about this experience and of Martin!​
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10 Days Private Tour South by West
May 2024
I booked our trip to Ireland with Little Gem Tours, but had to wait a year to get the dates we wanted. It was worth the wait! (tip: plan ahead and book ASAP) We wanted the flexibility to see the things that interested us rather than be herded as a big tour group with a set itinerary. Ruth, our driver/guide was delightful, informative and easy to be with, and she tailored each day to fit our wishes, the weather, and our energy (or lack thereof). As I've read in other posts, she became like "family" to us. If I could give her six stars, I would! Prior to our trip, Rosie planned and orchestrated an ideal itinerary. The accommodations were excellent, and she gave us suggestions for restaurants in each place so we could book ahead to be sure we got in. Her communication was always responsive and helpful. Little Gem Tours keeps their business a manageable size... something I respect, rather than growing too large to be personal. I can't say enough good things about this company and our amazing guide, Ruth!!!
10 Days South by West
May 2024
The trip was amazing! It was everything we had dreamed and more! I'm so glad we chose Little Gem Tours for our trip. Rosie was so easy to work with and helped us sort through the wide range of activities for those that would best suit our group. It would have been easy to over book ourselves, but her advice helped us have full but not exhausting days. The arrangements were perfect. The hotels were lovely, each one unique with it's own personality, and the staff at each were friendly and helpful. The Merchant Hotel in Belfast was especially kind when my granddaughter wasn't feeling well, supply tea and crackers and advice on the nearest pharmacy if we needed anything else. The Farm stay was really special, beautiful and home like, and I think it was everyone's favorite spot!
Martin was the perfect guide. His breadth of knowledge was incredible, and he is a born storyteller. We learned so much about Ireland past and present. The stories enriched our experience and gave deeper meaning to the places we visited. Martin made sure we saw all the popular sights, which were wonderful, and took us off the beaten track to castle ruins and beautiful vistas, as well as delightful lunch spots that could only be found by a local. Martin made sure we got to do everything that interested us, and had a lot of fun doing it! He even untangled a knot in my family history and took us to the home where my family once lived. Martin really made our trip special, and I'm so grateful we had him as our guide.
To anyone considering a trip to Ireland GO WITH LITTLE GEM TOURS! Little Gem created a trip for us that was truly wonderful and helped us make memories that will last a lifetime!
8 Day Ancestry Tour
Jul 2024
We planned a family vacation with 15 family members (3 generations) in search of our Irish roots. We researched several different options and decided on Little Gem tours and they exceeded our expectations.
From the beginning Rosie (our tour consultant) was very patient in designing our trip including accommodations'.
We decided on an eight day adventure beginning and ending in Dublin. The group favorite was Dingle (which sits on the bay).
We wanted a mix of hotel, bed & breakfast and Castle stays and Rosie chose first rate accommodations. We all were pleased with her selections.
We decided on a private tour bus and a driver and for us this was a wonderful way to have a family vacation. Our driver Colm was the best! If you are thinking about this experience ask for Colm... he was knowledgeable and made our family feel at home.
We started in Dublin and our first night was in Kilkenny and we participated in the Kilkenny St. Patrick's day parade. We all had our crest on our jackets and had a banner with our name and 3 generations in search of our Irish roots. This led to an interview from a journalist that was then picked up by the Irish newspaper. We had numerous people with our same last name that we actually met on the trip trying to help us find our Irish roots. The Irish people are the best! All this was made possible by one of the cousins who took it upon herself to make this a memory we would not forget.
Our third day we left Kilkenny and headed to Dingle. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel and Kilkenny National Park. We arrived in Dingle and stayed at the most amazing bed and breakfast overlooking the bay of Dingle. We toured a crystal factory and a jeweler that made custom jewelry.
Our fifth day we left Dingle and headed to County Clare by the way of Conner's pass. We stopped at a lighthouse and took some amazing photos. We arrived at Spanish Point and had beautiful views of the bay (Little Gem Tours upgraded us).
Our last two days were in Dublin City and we stayed at the Clontarf Castle. There is so much to see and do in Dublin. We did the Jamison Distillery tour, Trinity College and a walking tour. Stopped by Temple Bar and were warned by the locals the price of Guinness goes up as throughout the night!
This time went by so quickly and our family could not have been more pleased with Little Gen Tours making it all possible. It would be impossible to include all the laughs and family memories in this review.
Rosie Thank You for your assistance and making all of this possible!
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Ancestry Tour
Sep 2024
When my brothers and I started talking about a trip to Ireland, Tom, the organized one of the family, started researching tour companies and found Little Gem Tours and Rosie Dooney. We lost our mother early last year, and since both of her parents emigrated from Ireland we decided to take a family trip in her memory. In choosing Little Gem Tours for our private tour we found the pot of gold.
We visited in May 2023 and had a few must-do items on our agenda like stay in a castle, visit our grandfather’s homestead, hike the Costal Walk on the Cliffs of Moher, and visit a distant cousin of our mother’s. Rosie got to work and planned a wonderful trip that included time for all those destinations and so much more. From the time we were picked up by our tour guide, Tony Corcoran (more about this amazing lad later) we were on a whirlwind tour of Ireland. The accommodations were amazing – first we stayed in Dublin at the spectacular Merrion Hotel, and then the next two nights were at a working Irish farm. We also experienced the life of the aristocracy staying two nights at 800 year old Ashford Castle in Cong where Rosie upgraded our rooms to a beautiful water view. Further south in Doolin we stayed at Sheedy’s Bed and Breakfast where we had some of the most beautiful breakfasts of our entire stay, and that says a lot since we had the breakfast experience twice in the George V Dining Room at Ashford Castle!
Rosie also booked side adventures along the way. We dug peat on the farm with Eddie Joe, had a walking tour of the local village, and ended with a wonderful evening of local music by the fire in the cottage. We visited 9 Irons Forge and welded with the local blacksmith Pat, which was really fun. We had high tea at Ashford Castle, a carriage ride around the grounds and a boat tour of Lough Corrib, which was amazing. Rosie took our agenda into consideration and allowed us a lot of flexibility, and that’s where Tony took our days and gave us an up close and personal view of his Ireland. Rosie could not have picked a more perfect tour guide for our family. (see Tony’s review)
We highly recommend Rosie Dooney and her company, Little Gems Tours, for planning your Ireland vacation. She not only listened to our ideas, but also made suggestions according to what we wanted to do and customized a tour to meet our abilities and expectations. It was by far the best trip we could have ever planned, and when we go back to Ireland we will call Rosie to plan our trip and Tony Corcoran to be our guide again as we cannot imagine Ireland without them.
10 South by West
Sep 2024
It has always been my wife’s dream to visit Ireland. I planned this trip for our 40th wedding anniversary, but wasn’t at all sure where to begin. I knew I wanted someone else to handle the driving and the accommodations, etc., but I did not want a traditional “group tour” on a bus with two dozen or more people and a canned itinerary. I did lots of internet research and happened upon Little Gem Private Tours; I contacted Robbie, we had a Zoom call, and everything took off effortlessly from there. Almost 100 e-mails later, Robbie (and later Rosie) proved themselves to be consummate professionals. They were extremely responsive, accommodating, full of great ideas, and just the nicest people I have ever dealt with. Our framework was a two week “Wild Atlantic Way” tour - starting in Dublin, going south along the coast, then west, then up north, and finally back to Dublin for departure - but it became so much more than that. From the moment we met him at Dublin airport at 8:30 on a quiet Saturday morning, our driver guide Jimmy Mulrooney became like family. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of Irish history, folklore, customs, and music. Everywhere we went, he was the first out of the van to open my wife’s door; at every stop (be it a historic site, a museum, a hotel, a ferry), he walked us up the to the counter, made sure we had tickets, made sure we were checked in, and made sure knew the plan for the following day before leaving us for the night. Regardless of the agreed pickup time, he was always there at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Our comfort was always paramount, and when I would check with him about anything, he would immediately say “Anything is possible.. this is YOUR vacation!” He made calls for us, checked on dinner reservations, confirmed ferry rides and tour times… I simply cannot express how highly my wife and I regard Jimmy, his professionalism, his courtesy, and his kindness. More than once, he hiked with us (including Queen Maeve’s Cairn and Slieve League in the rain, not exactly easy walks), filling us in on local history and lore along the way. When he dropped us off at the airport, it felt like we were leaving a trusted friend. And our itinerary was totally flexible, as witnessed by a completely unplanned trip to Derry on our last day (at my request) so that I could indulge my historical interest in “the troubles.” What a moving experience. Jimmy walked the wall with us, showed us around the bogside, and expanded our horizons so much.
I could go on and on singing the praises of Little Gem and Jimmy, but I will simply say that if you are looking for an experience that will change your life, look no further. Little Gem is absolutely the best out there.
8 Days Wild Atlantic Way
Sept 2024
We had the most amazing 8 day Wild Atlantic Way Adventure. Our daily schedule was jam packed but when you're all the way in Ireland, you want to see as much of Ireland as you can! Our driver, Bobby, was awesome! He was very knowledgeable about every site we visited and seem to know everyone wherever we went. Some of our favorites were the Jameson Whiskey Distillery, Rock of Cashel, Ringfinnan Garden of Rememberance (09/11 memorial), the Blarney Castle with its Poison Garden was amazing and Bobby got us there before the crowds hit. We stayed 2 nights in Kinsale which was the cutest little town. In Dingle we saw the seals, Blasket Islands, Skelling Islands (part of the Return of the Jedi was filmed there) and finally Mr. B the humpback whale. Next were the Cliffs of Mohrer and the dicey Connor's Pass. We passed through Kilfenora & Galway. Our final 2 nights were spend at the Ashford Castle. We roamed the grounds and gardens, visited Cong and went to a Sheep Dog demonstration. It was the penultimate end to our vacation. A big thank you to Robbie, Rosie and Little Gem Private Tours of Ireland. Finally, a huge shout out to Bobby! Every place he recommended to visit or eat, in addition to what was already on our roster, was fantastic!​
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