We just wanted to let you know that we thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour experience, and we are glad we had the opportunity to meet you.  If all your guides are as good as John McKiernan, you should always have happy customers.  He was most personable and knowledgeable, and kept us very entertained.

We had wondered what sort of guide and fellow hikers we might end up with, and were very pleased with both.  And we brought the great weather with us, so it was a truly enjoyable experience!  I doubt that we will get back to Ireland, but would certainly recommend this trip to others who want a unique way to see your beautiful country.

Anne & Jack Frost
 

The entire process--from signing up for the trip, and corresponding with you all by telephone and email, then meeting the Guide and the rest of the group--was easy, and pleasurable, and you were always very helpful and friendly. The hike, of course, was spectacular, both in terms of the views and the company provided. Michael (the Guide) is a funny, interesting, intelligent and considerate guide. I would return to hike with him in a heartbeat, he was wonderful.
Gia, New York, USA

I enjoyed so much this walk in the Kerry, with a sunny weather, and the best guide! It was a good experience to speak english and all were so nice people. Excuse me, it is not certainly very good english, but l'll try to talk and hope to go again as soon as possible.
Chantal, Paris, France


Thank you so much for a wonderful 2 weeks walking in Ireland. What a great way to learn about another country! We will certainly be recommending your company to others.
Cederic & Judy, Calgary, Canada


We are back in Oz now - we had a few days in Dublin after conclusion of our Kerry walk last Saturday.We just wanted to thank you and all those at South West walks for the great experience we had. The walk itself took us through some wonderful country and in the evenings we were in some interesting and welcoming communities.

Another contributing factor to the overall success of the experience were the efforts which you and John and others back in the office took to help us identify travel options for linking to the walk a day late, for finding alternative accommodation at short notice, then with finding accommodation for us in Dublin after the conclusion of the walk. Those efforts went beyond what we expected.
Gary and Ivy, Canberra, Australia

It is the best way to see Ireland if it is your first time on a walking holiday.  Without a guide, I would never have learnt so much about Ireland and the Irish people, I would never have found such good food and I would never have enjoyed the rain so much!
Karen, USA

One of the things we enjoyed on our two back-to-back trips in Kerry and Donegal were the guides and their personal stories and the friendly Irish way they took care of things.  The other thing we enjoyed was the company of the people in our tours.  We got to know each other well and had great fun.  The size of groups was just right and suited us fine.
Gary, USA

We would like to let you know we had an unforgettable Guided holiday in the Burren and Aran Island last week. It was just wonderful, although the weather was not as good as we had hoped. However, we had fog and a little rain, some heavy showers and wind, but also many sunny spells, so we really experienced Irish weather.
Gerard + Janneke, Holland

This is just a quick note to say thank you for the great trip I had with SouthWestWalks on the Kerry Guided trip. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this holiday with my friends and our guide was terrific. Right from the first time I met him I was impressed with how he considered our wants and needs. The first thing he asked us was about our individual interests and what we would like to learn on the trip. Well, did I learn!!!!! He continually shared his knowledge about birds, history, archaeology, plants, map reading, architecture, etc. I do not recall ever learning so much on a holiday and I loved it. In addition, our guide did a great deal of preparation in the evening for the following day. So thank you for providing us with a guide who had such a positive influence on our trip. In addition, I would also like to say that all the accommodations were excellent. And lastly I would just like to say that all of the evening meals you planned for us far exceeded my expectations. So thank you to SouthWestWalks for a wonderful holiday and I hope to join you again soon.
Denise, Canada

The information from SouthWestWalks Ireland about our holiday before we arrived was perfect – you are a good organisation
Herman, Germany

We thought the Information Pack we received on our first night was very complete.  We especially appreciated the luggage tags for each luggage transfer.
Laura, USA

The accommodations were absolutely terrific; our hosts were splendid – full of local history and politics.  The rooms were extremely nice and clean. Three of the B&B’s went beyond what was expected of them. They are real allies for SouthWestWalks Ireland
Suzanne, France

The information provided by SouthWestWalks Ireland for our 8 day self-guiding hike was detailed, accurate, well organised and water proofed!
Skip, USA

Organisation was perfect.  Every time the bags were at the right place and all hosts welcomed us whatever hour we arrived
Bénédicte, France

We loved the walks: a lot of variety from misty bogs to spectacular cliff views, castles, and villages - we fell in love with this country.
Carl, UK

Really enjoyed all the walks.  Not too long or too short… good variety
Adele, Ireland

Overall our hike was challenging but manageable and we greatly enjoyed the fabulous vistas.
Mike, UK

The choice between different options is a good idea – it allowed us to go on our own pace.  We feel we have discovered a large variety of what can be seen in Kerry.
Luisa, Spain

We loved every walk we made (and we walked them all).  Good mix of fields, lanes, mountains and beaches

Ben, USA

Breakfast was always impeccable, superb quality of fruit and cereals
Susanne, USA

All recommended eating places were good – good to have these recommendations. Thank you
Wim, The Netherlands

Breakfast was always more than adequate; we aren’t used to eating like this at home!  We loved the seafood we ate, many unique choices
Elizabeth, UK

Press:

For an outdoor adventure, I flew to Dublin and joined up with SouthWestWalks Ireland, a company that has been leading small groups of eager hikers over the glorious, green landscape for some 16 years. Following our trusty guide, Liam Murphy, our international group of eight -- consisting of Irish, Dutch, American and me -- followed some of the famous Wicklow Way that begins on the outskirts of Dublin. On this six-day "ramble" we trekked 12 to 18 km a day gaining elevation of between 600 to 900 metres on trails that crisscross forests, bogs and alpine regions before slipping down into picturesque villages in this area known as the Garden of Ireland. The highlights and challenges were many, including the weather which ever-cheerful Liam described as "soft" -- read "rain." However, even thought the idiosyncratic Irish weather toyed with us, we all thrived on the sights.

You can't visit Ireland without being enchanted by the history. One day we walked into Glendalough where, in the 6th century, St. Kevin founded a monastery. Today visitors stroll remnants of the 10th and 12th centuries -- a superb, round tower, stone churches, and faded Celtic crosses and gravestones, amid tangles of greenery and wild rhododendrons.

Once we explored the monastic site, we headed uphill to Lugduff Mountain. We climbed 1 1/2 hours, past waterfalls and through forest to emerge above the tree line and follow a ridge that looked out upon the ruins and two brilliant blue lakes far, far below. In the hiking world, it doesn't get much better than this.

Judi Lees, Special to The Vancouver Sun