Chris Fleming was unable to attend instead Dave Schrader was the guest. Mai tour guide and Keith bus driver 10/24-11/02 I want to be very honest in this review to help Secret Ireland Tours improve (the point of feedback) and to help the next customer know what questions to ask to help them in this process as this info would have helped me. 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 communication, lack of planning/disorganization, food, and not seeing sites that we were supposed to see, especially for the price we paid. I will also list the pros of the tour. I do think they could be an amazing tour company if they were to improve upon these things. I’ve been on several paranormal tours with Chris and other companies that plan for long days with the late-night paranormal investigations so we knew it would be either a 10/12 hour day sometimes OR it would be shifted so we would start late to end late if it was an investigation night. There was very little investigation direction outside of when the Scottish Paranormal team came to investigate, so if you were new to this it would have been tough to know what to do or how to investigate in this setting. This also made it tough to gather evidence that wasn’t compromised by people talking or walking by or using equipment incorrectly because they didn’t know otherwise. This is why we are here doing a group tour for these experiences. Unfortunately, this was not planned out with these things in mind. One of the highlights of a Paranormal Tour is the ability to investigate these places in history. After the historic touring is complete getting to experience these places to connect into the land and spirit to gather evidence or feel the vibes of the place. As a medium, I looked forward to that time at a location to sit/connect in/and gather data so being rushed through it or not getting to go to a site was disappointing. We were at Blackwater Castle for three nights and a small group of us woke up at 2 and 3am (As Chris recommended) to investigate nightly to do several investigations because we expected to leave in the morning to continue our tour of Ireland and then were told we weren’t leaving until 1pm. We had already been investigating in the evening and middle of the night you can only do so much at one location. Other people on the tour may not have cared about investigating multiple places but many did. Removing Places from the itinerary/Late start days wasting valuable time: If something was delaying us from moving onto the next that was not communicated and the only time I was aware of us taking longer than expected was at Pat Noone’s Fairy Farm due to his double booking which was frustrating because we had to wait on another group that was double our size to move onto the next area. However the Fairy Farm was amazing I would have liked to be able to do some investigating there with the energy of the land but with all the people it was too hard to do. That was not Secret Ireland’s fault or delay either in my opinion so I understand in those situations why things would get shifted or rearranged. The only item that was explained to us ahead of time that was changed was St. Michals Crypt to Christ Church due to the fire that happened in the crypt. This was a great tour, one of the best of the trips as our tour guide was amazing there. I understand things can change on the itinerary due to weather or emergencies, but the reason things changed we were told was because of the bus driver not having coverage or time off yet he attended every event with us. Mai reported she called the company but did not hear back about coverage and would call again yet no one ever came to switch him out. Why wouldn’t that be set up before the trip knowing the itinerary ahead instead it impacted us leaving and being able to do things. Long days were planned and expected instead we started late those days. 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. He denied having an issue leaving early in the morning and said the curfew thing wasn’t really an issue and he didn't understand why Mai was saying this. This was very concerning because then many of us felt like we were being lied to by someone and that was icky and impacting us. We had a late start of 2pm on day three but had an evening investigation so that made sense. Then on day 6,7, and 8 there was a 1pm start times three days in a row that was absurd. We were told this was due to the driver being over his hours again. I understand the two evenings that we had the evening parades, it would have made sense to start later knowing we would get done late but that is not how it occurred. The Galway parade was at 5:30pm and lasted for 20min and any of us who wanted to stay in town took a cab home which was fine. On Halloween, the parade was at 7pm and lasted about 45min. but this night was a total mess due to their lack of planning. In Secret Ireland’s Terms they state, it is our intent and obligation, within the best of our ability, to substitute and /or accommodate equal or enhanced alternatives. (So again, that is to be expected.) Items we missed on our Itinerary: Day 6: Rock of Cashel (didn’t go due to the Fairy Farm issue) Day 8: Drombeg Stone Circle (Bus driver said he couldn’t park there.) Blarney Castle (Blamed on the bus driver hours) Day 9: Cahir Castle (Blamed on the bus driver hours) Kilkenny Castle and town (Agreed to not do this to go see Rock of Cashel so that was added back in for Day 9) Several of us went to our ambassador to discuss our concerns about missing so many iconic places on the itinerary without them even telling us what was changing. Dave advocated for us to skip Kilkenny Castle and town to go to Rock of Cashel instead to get one site back. Two items were listed just to “stretch our legs or filler” per the itinerary. Those could have been swapped out then for the more historic sites. We stopped for 10 min at one castle like this but it was now closed to the public so we could only take pictures of the outside. This clearly wasn’t checked out ahead of time. Mai did add two activities into the itinerary: Add in: Hell Fire Club which was very cool. Add in a 5-minute stop to a monument that Mai had to google the history of because she couldn’t remember what it was for. At that point half of us were so hungry and frustrated with the lack of communication we didn’t even get off the bus at that point for a 5 min stop. But we didn’t understand what it was for or about. There was an investigation planned for the last night after our goodbye dinner but again due to lack of planning and the bus driver curfew issue we were going to have to drive 1.5 hours to get there and then again back while only getting 45 min. to investigate due to his need to be off the clock so we skipped it. This would have been better planned on a day with more time so we could have gone or have another driver like every other tour I’ve been on that swaps them out. Disorganization: We were only given an hour to do most activities which forced us to rush and order the food as quick as possible so we could eat when we had the opportunity vs. enjoying the moment. 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. Bus parking was a major issue because the driver wanted to attend all the activities. This excuse was used over and over for not being on time to activities or being able to go to specific places as advertised due to not knowing where to park. This wouldn’t have been an issue if they had previously looked into parking options in each location but with the influx of tourists coming in for Halloween festivities, it was even more difficult and extra time should have been allotted. They also didn’t appear to factor in traffic on many of our late start dates which impacted us getting to the next activity and having to cut several tours short before they were over. (Ghost Tour in Cork) We were told to get ready for a parade and as we were headed out I was looking it up and realized it wasn’t until the next day so I notified Mai. She then realized I was correct and made phone calls to see if we could flip the ghost tour in Cork that was scheduled for the next night. She was able to flip the events for us which was great but again I shouldn’t have had to tell her this. I even sent out the parade route to the group chat just in case and was surprised when we got there that she did not have any idea where to go and had to ask people on the streets instead of looking it up ahead and bringing that info with since we were already running late and the place was packed, we lost people in the crowds who didn’t know the way either. Dromberg Circle; the reason we were told we couldn’t go was due to the size of the the bus and not being able to park. However, on Dromberg’s website it states that tour bus can enter and park and Mai herself reported taking tours there previously. I don’t know if it was the driver’s anxiety or just another result of poor planning. We were not notified of this until I asked when we were going to the Dromberg stone circle as this was top on my list and was very disappointed that we were not going. The second reason we were told we didn’t get to go was when Mai tried to use the excuse that we saw a stone circle while walking behind Kinnitty Castle but this was behind a fence in a swamp like area that we were not allowed to go into. She was with us on this 20 min walk around the castle to take a group photo so I was shocked she was trying to say that walking past a stone circle was just as good and spending time at one connecting in with spirit/the land. I tried to explain the spiritual reason many of us wanted to go to a stone circle and connect in with spirit, take a minute to connect with the elemental energy, ect. Which could not occur in a walk by. Again when hosting a paranormal/haunted tour I would expect an understanding of why some of these sites are important to visit along with ones on the TV show. 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 when it wasn’t needed as they were just questions for clarification. We had this issue before the trip as well with communication and follow-through. Anytime I asked questions or asked for information on something there was an attitude, and excuses were made immediately instead of acknowledging that this is a service that we paid for and one that they said they provided. I expected to have a professional conversation but instead, we were told we were getting other items instead and that should be "good enough." However, we also paid for those items so it was to be expected and this felt manipulative and evasive. 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. If we have to do these things on our own time needed to be carved out for us to do so. Mai giving us 1 hour to eat in highly populated tourist area was very unrealistic. She didn’t have any suggestions or recommendations on where restaurants were just gave us the address for the guided ghost tour and we had to meet her there in 1 hour. 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. When we got to the Fairy Farm the other group there had a lunch provided however, we did not eat all afternoon. 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 at, I received it at 11pm. We did not each lunch or dinner that day and some of us take medication were very ill at that point. When I came out of the restaurant, the bus had left us with my coat and bag inside it. I had to walk back to the castle alone and in the dark through the woods because the bus had left us since a couple other people got faster take out at another restaurant I didn’t even know existed or was an option. I had to walk back to the castle (a 10min walk per google) at night on a dark path through woods because other people were staying at the pub to eat and drink and others still had to wait on their food to be made. I needed to get back and take medication. I take medication for chronic pain and autoimmune conditions and need to eat with it and was hours past due. I was shocked that they left us and didn’t tell us but a while after I got back to the castle the downtown pub owner had personally left his pub to drive some of the woman home so they wouldn’t have to be unsafe and walk in the dark which was telling. Mai had bought the group lunch on the first day which was nice of her. She also did a daily trivia on the bus where the winner would get a copy of her music CD. She notified us ahead that we would have to bring euros in cash for 2 meals; our goodbye dinner and a nice multi course meal at Kinnitty Castle which several people were looking forward to. I even encouraged her to email everyone ahead so they would know to bring cash so many ordered Euros from their bank specifically for this. On the way to the castle, she told us she cancelled our meal and that we could just order food at the bar. This was very disappointing as she had confirmed it in an email. When we got there we were not able to order from the bar but found out that they were just serving soup/tea sandwiches with no other options. (Third place to only offer that.) Only eating a bowl of soup due to the onions/spread that was on the sandwiches and no other options was disappointing at such a nice place as Kinnitty Castle and that was the whole reason we were stopping there to spend time there and eat a nice meal as Chris requested. Since Blarney Castle admission was $22, Cahir Castle 4 dollars, and Kilkenny Castle 9 euros which we paid for in our tour package, all entrance fee’s, this could have been applied to our multicourse meal at Kinnitty which it probably was but only for the soup and sandwiches that were offered. We were also not given an option at Wicklow Jail and despite them having a café if we wanted to eat we had to pay 12 euros for soup and sandwiches. We were not given the option to leave the jail or grab lunch elsewhere despite asking and were told we don’t have time. Other: The bus driver accidentally broke my suitcase taking it out of the bus so bad that I had to buy another one on the trip. I could only find one massive suitcase and not only had to buy a new suitcase but also pay additional money to fly it home due it being oversized. This was really stressful trying to find a suitcase while on a tour and worrying if they would fly it home and of course paying all the extra money sucked too. Pros: The Pro of staying in the castles was that we would get up in the middle of the night to do an investigation at 2 or 3am while staying at Blackwater or Fitzpatrick Castle which was great. We spent three days at Blackwater Castle which was a very cool experience. 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 who’s crew was amazing, Ryan, Greg, and Lisa. Dave Schrader as our stand in Ambassador brought in some great laughs and despite being in terrible pain pushed through to still investigate at night with us. Charleville Castle was by far one of the best nights we had with amazing evidence gathered at this location. The itinerary that Secret Ireland Tours presented was fantastic if it would have been better organized and followed or if the communication was improved when changes occurred this would have improved the overall experience. I hope this helps improve the next person's experience. Thank You, Jenny