Matt M.
Yelp
My mother booked the one day trip to Kilkenny and Waterford from Dublin for trip to Ireland in July 2018. The trip included about five hours of train travel to see the Irish country side, and knowing my love of trains, she thought it would be the perfect trip for our short, one week vacation to the Emerald Isle.
While waking up at 5:30 a.m. was not ideal for either mom or me (Starbucks isn't open until 7), it was an easy taxi ride to Heuston train station and the tour stand was easy to find; checking in was a breeze.
When it came time to board the train, we met our guide, David, who escorted us and everyone else on the tour to comfortable seats on the train. David gave us a run down of the day we had ahead of us and we were off!
Our first stop was Kilkenny. Mom had told me we'd be visiting Kilkenny Castle, but nothing else. I won't ruin it for anyone who might be interested in taking the tour, but there were a few surprises and we got about 45 minutes free time to explore or shop on our own.
Our next stop was Waterford. My mom has wanted to see this for over forty years - she has several Waterford pieces in her personal collection. Before our tour of the crystal factory, we stopped for lunch at a nice pub in downtown Waterford. The food there was excellent and there was something for people of all tastes. I'm a picky eater, and I was pleased, so I'm sure you will be too. And there was beer available, and, well, when Ireland, do as the Irish do. We had about 45 minutes between lunch and our tour, so David took us on a short walk through downtown Waterford, where we visited Reginald's Tower, a church, and got to see the largest Viking sword in the world, among other things.
The Waterford Crystal factory was the best part for mom. The tour included the blowing of the glass, the cooling, shaping, cutting, and engraving rooms. There were molds and pieces along the way for us to photograph and hold. The experts were going about their business as normal, just blowing and crafting fine crystal as all these people walked through their job site. It was something. And the gift shop had something for everyone.
Lastly was our trip through the Suir Valley on our way back to Dublin. The Irish countryside is truly magnificent and if you haven't ever experienced it, this is a great way to do so.
In addition to all the great experiences, I have to compliment our tour guide, David. He was truly as good as it gets. Not only was he knowledgeable about everything - from our stops on the tour to teaching me about hurling to knowing about the ruins we'd pass on the train - he was also considerate. My mom is a bit older and doesn't walk at the same pace as some of us young bucks. David was aware of this and subtly stopped or slowed down during our walking time to allow mom time to catch up and take a break. I appreciated that, and I'm sure she did too.
I can't say enough good things about this tour and I highly recommend it.