Secret Ireland Tours LLC - Dayton, Kentucky

Ray S.

I was referred by a friend to Mai when I was planning our trip to Ireland, and I am so glad he did. Working with Mai was an absolute joy. Mai put together a very professional itinerary with so many wonderful options that I only wish we would have had time enough to see everything. She also booked our accommodations which included hotels, B&B and a castle. If you are planning a self guided or guided tour to Ireland, I cannot recommend Mai and Secret Ireland Tours enough.

Brian L.

This was my first trip to Ireland and and I experienced this beautiful country on one of Mai Hernon‘s Secret Ireland tours. My cousin knew Mai and suggested this trip for some of my siblings and cousins. We had a group of 12 including some spouses and traveled from the Dublin area up to Belfast across the northern areas of Ireland and then down the West Coast, stopping each night in some major cities and small towns experiencing much hospitality wherever we were. I went into this trip with no expectations, but by the end of the tour I was just amazed by the number of sites we were able to see and the depth of the experiences we had, which was a true testament to Mai’s ability to put together a customized tour using her extensive knowledge of the country and many contacts. If you truly want an up close and personal tour of Ireland then I would highly recommend going on one of The Secret Ireland tours. You won’t regret it

Kim M.

I came home last month after a three week trip that included the most FANTASTIC ten days- our Chris Fleming-inspired, Secret Ireland Tour with Mai Hernon, Dave Schrader, and Jenny Sullivan. The scheduled, and the “surprise” sites, were breathtaking! Not to mention the biggest surprise; having the incomparable Scottish Paranormal team join us for several days! How could I ever thank Mai and Chris enough for fitting in all the amazing places we visited? It’s clear that they worked very hard to make this an awe-inspiring experience. From ruined forts to palatial castles, parades to the blissful isolation of our own secret castle, and most importantly, from being strangers with one another to establishing lifelong friendships, this tour was an A+++! We experienced so much in such a short time. This tour did exactly what it was meant to do; introduce us to the many wonders of Ireland and to encourage us to go back and spend more time on all the many marvels we experienced. I know we only scratched the surface of what the Emerald Isle has to offer. Our love and hearts were with Chris every step of the way, and I am forever grateful for his vision for this tour. Mai is an absolute gem! Her enthusiasm, her beautiful singing voice, and all her stories and knowledge, rounded out our trip perfectly. It was so helpful to have a guide that was very approachable, and understood the culture and customs. There is no doubt that this trip made me yearn for more (I could’ve spent a full day at Charles Fort!)
I HIGHLY recommend Mai’s tours-you’ll most definitely fall in love with Ireland! Can’t wait for the next!

Jean W.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful country with us Mai and if anyone is looking for a magical, musical, affordable and authentic tour of Ireland I highly recommend #secretirelandtour Thanks for making my dreams come true.

“And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the bloomin' heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?”

Jenny W.

Spooked Ireland Tour 10/24-11/02. Chris Fleming was unable to attend. This review is in no way a reflection on Chris but of Secret Ireland Tours specificially the tour guide Mai.
As someone who travels a lot and has gone on several of these tours, I was shocked at the issues we had on this trip with poor communication, lack of planning/disorganization, food, and skipping sites. I left a very lengthy review on the wetravel site which was met with resistance, denial, and dishonesty. I'm grateful I saved all our group texts which half the group had the same concerns but didn't want to share it publically due to her responses. I think her response on the wetravel site and even to others here on google is very very telling. Several of us had issues with her and the communication before the trip and expressed concerns in our personal group chat to which she denied and appeared to single me out. I don't think she realized over half of us had been on previous trips together and talk regularly.
Sites were dropped which we were told was due to the bus driver. Every other tour I've been on has hired an alternate so it doesn't impact the tour. Mai reported she called the company but did not hear back. Another issue was that the bus driver would separately tell us in the evening or the morning that he didn’t understand why the plans were changing and didn’t know why we weren’t leaving earlier.
Several days in a row we didn't leave until 1pm which didn't allow for us to see things we were supposed to see. This wasting time in the morning than having to rush in the evening like crazy created a lot of anxiety for many on the tour. Mai constantly went back in forth with times we needed to leave or be back then would forget to factor something in and change it all again which confused everyone. We were told we didn’t get to go to Dromberg Circle because was we saw a stone circle while walking behind Kinnitty Castle (as said in other reviews by clients and Mai) but this was behind a fence in a swamp like area that we were not allowed to go into so clearly not the same thing. Then we were told it was due to parking issues.
Communication: Mai could be a lovely host for a lot of the time but ask any tough questions or hold her accountable and she became very agitated and defensive (see review responses) when it wasn’t needed. I expected to have a professional conversation (which can be confrontational but with integrity and accountability) but instead, we were told we were getting other items instead and that should be "good enough."
Food Issues:There was supposed to be snacks and drinks on the bus but there was not for the first couple of days. I believe on day 3 they picked up drinks and cookies or chips for the snacks. Since we didn’t stop for lunch or dinner as regularly as we hoped this was an issue for many people. We also didn’t get the chance more than once to stop and grab our own snacks which could have helped. The lack of planning for time for us to have lunch or dinner was a problem. Leaving at 1pm meant we didn’t get a lunch only breakfast was provided at Blackwater and there wasn’t enough room for us to hold groceries there. When we got 1 hour for dinner this made eating a very stressful event trying to find a place, order, pay, and walk to the next spot all within that time. On these late start days there was no plan for us for lunch. We asked to stop for food on the way back but due to the bus driver hour issues we went back to the Blackwater Castle’s town at 10pm with 1 restaurant open where we had to wait an additional hour for the food.
I've never experienced a trip like this and felt it necessary to share my experience with others.

Pro’s of the trip were of course the opportunities Chris set up for us like staying at Blackwater Castle to investigate. Working with Scottish Paranormal Ryan, Greg, and Lisa. Dave Schrader as our stand in Ambassador.
Ireland of course
Charleville Castle was by far one of the best nights we had with amazing evidence gathered at this location.

Brian S.

FAVORITES:
~ Hell Fire Club
~ Christ Church Cathedral
: guided history tour which included the Bell Tower and the crypt.
~ All the castles! Every one of them.
~ Paranormal investigations: The Hell Fire Club, Wicklow Gaol, Charleville Castle and Blackwater Castle.
~ Pat Noone’s Fairy Farm: this was an absolutely amazing experience.
~ 3-days at Blackwater Castle.
~ Scottish Paranormal team joining us for a few days.
~ Colaiste Eamann Ris: Deerpark School aka the haunted school.
~ Dragon of Shandon Samhain Festival Parade in Cork.
~ The surprise locations.

CONS:
~ Jenny, the paranormal investigator that joined us for the first couple days had her own agenda. My friends and I were doing a call and response communication in Wicklow Gaol assisting a spirit that wanted to cross over and were shushed by Jenny because she was doing her own thing in another room and couldn’t hear her audio recorder. This is after being told that Jenny investigates there all the time. Us on the other hand are there that day only and sincerely trying to help a spirit that is stuck and ready to move on.
~ Late starts (1pm) on several days blaming timing for the bus driver. This wasted a lot of time we could have been sightseeing or visiting other paranormal locations and easily rectified by hiring a second driver for the later / nighttime activities.
~ Rock of Cashel was removed from the itinerary due to timing. This being one of Ireland’s iconic heritage sites, I decided to voice my opinion on it. When myself and a friend talked to Mai about this, we were labeled as being unreasonable. This was later added back in swapping a space filler of shopping and walk-around time in Kilkenny after our ambassador, Dave talked to Mai.
~ Due to the late starts, the afternoon activities were rushed and we were late on arrival to a few of the activities and locations.
~ No time allotted for lunch or dinner on the late start days.
~ Mai had hired a chef for our breakfasts at Blackwater Castle. Mai had changed the start time to later, but couldn’t get a hold of the staff, so she wrote a note. I was the first attendee up in the morning and decided to sit in the dining to write in my journal. I was approached separately by three different people, two women and one man, asking me about the note. The women were nice, but the man demanded that I explain it. I agreed that it could have been handled better however, I couldn’t give him an answer since I had nothing to do with it and he would need to talk with Mai.
~ Sites that were noted on the initial itinerary and dropped due to timing. A couple of these could have been done if we left earlier on those late start days.
~ Continual non-communication from our tour guide. She kept changing her mind, such as what time we were leaving, but wouldn’t explain or tell us anything. We were told to just deal with it.

In conclusion: Was the trip worth it? Absolutely! Everything that we were able to see and experience were amazing and the reason for the 3 stars. If I rated for the communication and poor planning of our guide, I would have to rate the experience as 1-star.

I would definitely think twice before booking a trip with Secret Ireland Tours again. I understand there are itinerary changes due to weather or sudden location schedule changes. I also understand there were surprises and some sites listed on the itinerary may have been place holders, however a lot of the issues that arose were from poor planning, lack of clear communication and securing additional transportation. All easily rectified.

Terri Sheldon
Tour dates: Oct. 24 - Nov. 2, 2024

Jessica

Mai is a wonderful person and knowledgable as Ireland is where she is from. Perhaps my experience would have been 5 stars if it where a smaller group but I felt the trip could have been better. I understand that things happen and sometimes schedules/plans need to adjust etc but I felt that we were rushed at sites and did not understand why we had late starts to the day when that down time could of been used for places we were rushed through. It wasn’t the bus drivers fault as he said he did not understand why as it would not affect his drive requirements. We were booked a few nights in a castle and we were put in a room in another building when there was a room available in the castle. I was annoyed that we weee not put in that room as we were there for the castle experience. Which had I not asked about it that last night when I was aware of it, we would have missed out. I have gone on large group trips in Europe before and never had any issues being rushed through sites with missed out on accommodations, whether it was the agency’s fault or not, where there was no issue to begin with, it should have been caught. Would I go with this company again? Maybe on a smaller scale.

Patricia L.

My recent trip to Ireland with Secret Ireland Tours was one of the best trips I have taken! Our trip coordinator and tour guide made it exciting, seamless and worry free. Mai took into consideration all the places and things we wanted to do and any changes along the way and made it happen. All we had to do was show up each morning ready to go! Mai even threw in some great unplanned surprises that gave the trip a personal touch. Before the trip was over we were all thinking about the next trip back to Ireland! I enjoyed this trip so much it gave me a strong desire to return. Without hesitation I would contact Mai to make the arrangements. Can not wait to return! Thank you Mai!!!❤️🍀