Going above and beyond

Jack made a point of getting to know a bit about each of us, which was a wonderful ice-breaker. His engaging manner and sense of humour put everyone at ease. As we travelled to each stop Jack told us about the history, the people, the myths and legends of the area, and played evocative music. We heard recordings of Irish storytellers, poets and musicians as we gazed in awe at the gorgeous Irish landscape. It was an incredible multi-sensory experience!

All the stops were interesting, and we were given enough time to explore. Jack explained the significance of each and answered our questions thoroughly. I learned so much!

The bus had big windows and was very comfortable. Each time we arrived at a new destination for the evening, Jack gave us a brief tour to help us get orientated and pointed out restaurants and pubs for us to try. This was extremely helpful. The accommodations were excellent – clean, quiet and great breakfasts.

I loved every minute of our tour, and there is no better way to visit Ireland than with Jack Ward as your guide!!

Our guide Jack was excellent. He was knowledgeable on the historical and political issues of Ireland and delivered in an interesting and amusing way. We were a group of only six and on two occasions stayed in three different hotels which made it difficult to get together in the evening. We booked the top level hotels and feel it would be the appropriate level for most travellers. We felt we saw more and learned more on this small tour rather than self-driving or on a big tour.

Our guide, Jack Ward, was spectacular – his expansive knowledge and his passion for sharing it with all of us was unmatched. We learned so much – from politics to geography to music, he covered it all! We felt very lucky to have had a guide with such a deep-seated love for their homeland – its history, people, and culture. We feel privileged that we got to share in his obvious passion for his wonderful country.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 11-day All Ireland tour. First, it gave me a comprehensive view of Ireland, since we traveled around the island’s perimeter and experienced so many places and so much local color. Days 1-6 were the best. We had a remarkable introduction to Ireland, thanks to Jack Ward, our outstanding guide for those days. He peppered his well-informed commentary with a soundtrack of music and spoken word that brought to life the places and people. It was one of the best guided tours I have had in more than 40 years of international travel. Those six days took us to Belfast, Portrush, Derry, Donegal, Westport and on to Galway, and the landscapes were the most spectacular of the entire vacation. Truth be told, Days 7-11 were less inspired. While Killarney and Kinsale were worthwhile, Kilkenny was not particularly. Though at times beautiful, the landscapes were not as striking, nor the cultural stops as interesting on this leg. Similarly, the two guides who split duties were perfectly fine but did not add much dimension to the experience. If you are considering a shorter tour, I’d highly recommend Dublin-Portrush-Donegal-Westport-Galway to anyone, and if you can get Jack, well, all the better!

Jack Ward went above and beyond to make our 5 day tour of Northern Ireland and the Atlantic Coast magnificent! His charisma and knack for storytelling along with his vast knowledge and zeal for Irish history and folklore brought this beautiful and ancient land uniquely to life! He’s an absolute gem!

Jack was such a gift. Not only was he an extremely knowledgeable, engaging historian and storyteller (understatements to be sure), he was energetic, enthusiastic and passionate. He went above and beyond, for all of us. The members of this tour had very different personalities and interests. Jack made every effort to accommodate all of our needs and requests, which was no easy task.  Thank you Jack!

Jack was AMAZING. The tour was more like a family vacation than a typical tour. He answered every questions I asked. After a while I began to wonder if he was feeding me a line; who could know as much as he does? I looked up several of his answers–they were all correct. He just knows that much!

He went above and beyond to help me fix my between-tour plans.

This was a hugely enjoyable tour of Northern Ireland, Donegal and Connemara. Our driver Jack Ward was extremely helpful and informative and always very cheerful. The group of 7 of us got on well together being interested in similar things.

I write to let you know how wonderful a guide you have in John (Jack) Ward.