Gena at Lynott Tours helped us plan the ideal family trip in celebration of my mother's 85th birthday. We had such a wonderful trip! Every aspect was perfect. We loved each of the hotels, the sites, and the restaurants, and Conor was an A+ driver and guide. The highlight of the journey for us was meeting the warm and welcoming and totally delightful people of Ireland. This incredible trip will live forever in our memories. I highly recommend Gena and Lynott Tours for anyone wishing to visit the Emerald Isle. read more

Gena at Lynott Tours was phenomenal in planning my trip to Ireland and Scotland. Every detail was perfect. No glitches at all (no missing flights, tours, transportation, etc.). I HIGHLY recommend working with her for a vacation of a lifetime! read more

Lynott Tours Inc - Travel Services Near Me - Mineola, New York

I was shown, agreed to, and paid in full for a tour in September of 2022 for Ireland. The tour I ended up going on in June of 2023 had 9 changes which I found out about the first day of the tour when I was told we were not going to St. Patrick's Cathedral, or Book of Kells. Upon discussion with the tour guide, the itinerary I was given was from 5 years ago. The only compensation offered was one of the 9 items to be paid for on my one free day in Dublin, which I already had a packed schedule for. I did not accept as my trip was completely flipped around on me and I will need to make a returning trip to feel like I've seen Ireland the way I've wanted. A boat trip was dropped, a tour or my husband's most anticipated stop did not make the itinerary. To say this trip was a disappointment is an understatement. Before complaining publicly I tried to file an insurance claim for a partial refund so I can start planning a return trip to do what I missed; Lynotts carelessness was not seen as something to be covered. I would not recommend this company as they are short, rude, and stopped communicating all together with my travel agent. read more

Emailed regarding a possible honeymoon tour. Didn't hear back, so called in a day and a half later. The call quality was poor, so I thought it was an answering service. The woman was not as friendly as I would hope, but she was able to identify two options given our restrictions. She said she would send the itineraries right then via email. Twenty minutes later, I called back because I hadn't gotten them and figured maybe my email had gotten mis-transcribed or something. The woman who answered the phone took my name, put me on hold, then said the original woman was in a meeting. Since we are looking to book, I asked if she'd be willing to send me the itineraries. She said, "Well, I don't know, she may be working on it." I explained she said she was already going to send them, and the woman simply refused, saying it made no sense for her to send me the itineraries. OK... A minute after hanging up, I get a curt email from the first lady, chastising me for having contacted them two days in a row! WTF. I thought at first it was just a matter of some rogue rude people in the company, then saw it was the *president* who was reprimanding me for being eager to book something. Again, WTF. If customer service is this bad when I'm trying to give someone my money, I can't imagine it's going to get better once they have it! EDIT (also titled, "Rapid Degeneration Into Crazy"): I received another snotty email chastising me for having emailed from one email address and giving a different one when I called after not receiving a response (they knew because I gave them my first and last name both times). Who are these people? I defended very briefly with, "I only called after it'd been a day and a half and I hadn't received a response... Thank you for the itineraries, but we'll look elsewhere. Best of luck to you." Then the (cough) "president" said, "You really do have a problem. Today, you received a quote from me shortly after I spoke with you. We are not computers, only humans. I hope you are not that demanding of your future spouse." Not. Even. Kidding. I never complained that I hadn't received an email back, was just calling for information, and they chastised me for following up on the email by phone, then started acting psycho. Super weird! Make sure to search their reviews via online search; sites like Trip Advisor seem to report similar experiences and levels of customer service on the actual tours. Note the 5 star review on here is that person's only review, so it doesn't look very credible. read more

I contacted Gena at Lynott Tours for help arranging a vacation to Scotland, and she really delivered. I'm normally comfortable booking my own travel, but given that I was taking my family and that we would be traveling to multiple locations over two weeks, I wanted to be sure we had suitable arrangements. We discussed many, many options and Gena helped me understand and decide what we wanted to see and found us some really great accommodations throughout Scotland. I would definitely recommend Lynott for any UK or Ireland tour. read more

I am rather relieved to hear that I am not the only one who has had a BAD experience with Lynott Tours. I know they have received numerous bad reviews but decided to take a chance and book an escorted Harry Potter tour. VERY BAD DECISION! I got pregnant a few months before the tour and immediately called to cancel. My pregnancy was a "high risk" case and my doctors did not want me flying anywhere. I was very surprised and bummed but understood their reasoning. I had also been given a doctor's note concerning my situation. Upon explaining this to Lynott, they said pretty much, " congrats, but we don't really care about that, you still lose your $500 deposit". I gave them nearly 2 months notice and validation from my doctors. I decided to write the owner about the situation to further explain my situation. This is a company that typically sells out its tours and is obviously not hurting financially, so I knew they were going to be able to fill my spot with no problem. While the email I received back from the owner seemed "friendly" on the surface, she was not at all willing to consider even a partial refund and proceeded to tell me that I should have purchased their travel insurance which would have covered medical emergencies. $500 IS A LOT OF MONEY TO LOSE!! The customer service for me really failed at that point. No one at that business stressed the importance of the travel insurance or even mentioned that it could cover the loss of the deposit. So, how does that help me now?? What is astounding to me is that I had a better cancellation experience with my airline, airport shuttle, even the hotel in London who also carried a similar "no deposit refund" policy. The customer service support and understanding of the people within these companies just shows how greedy, inflexible, and downright sketchy Lynott is in their dealings with customers. You've been warned. read more

Gena put together a wonderful trip for us that included Ireland, driving Scotland for 10 days, planes, trains & a ferry. She got us some excellent accommodations, gave us some very good advice, and the whole trip was just what we had hoped for. Very happy. read more

I went to Ireland with 10 members of my family in August 2019. I planned the trip for one week and worked out the details with Lynott. We did not want to go on a tour bus with 30 strangers so Lynott arranged for us to have our own bus at a decent cost. We had a 19 passenger bus which was immaculate with a guide named Robbie who made our entire trip. He took us to places off the grid and switched some of the agenda to do other things. It was the trip of our lives. Robbie sang Irish songs and took care of all of us for the entire week. We feel that he is part of our family so we invited his wife to come out to dinner with us our last night. My son and his finance invited him to their wedding in August and they are coming and staying at my house. The Hotels that Lynott arranged were awesome and the meals were great. I highly recommend Lynott read more

This is very late in coming. Sorry for that. We traveled with family and friends to Ireland in 2016. I was the contact for the trip and set most of it up with Lynott. We secured a Private Van for the trip. We had six of us in a delightful MB van and loved it. The trip was voted by all of us as one of the best and most fun of any trips we had ever taken anywhere around the world (we have traveled extensively). The drivers were terrific. The B&Bs and selected hotels were fun and clean and always convenient when possible to the town. Our absolute favorite was Dingle and the small town that welcomed us as their own! The trip was so easy and we could change the schedule as we chose as we went along. It was just the best trip ever! Our drivers would educate us on Ireland and would give us serenades of Irish tunes. Lynott was so accommodating and helpful in everything we asked for. If what we wanted to do wasn't possible then we were told that and explained why. We traveled through Ireland and did so much that you would never get to do on a large travel bus with 60 or more people! I have read some of the horrible and ugly reviews of this company and I cannot believe that they are talking about the same one we worked with. Some people just get pissy when things don't go their way. Grow up and realize there are limitations at times and things do go wrong, but as long as the problem is fixed and a solution is found then go with it and have fun! I have found that Rudeness from a company follows when the customer attacks and is rude first. Not that it is correct, but when tempers flare and childlike behavior is present, then its downhill from there. Ellen and her employees were ALWAYS pleasant, funny, helpful and courteous. We absolutely loved our trip! Thank you Lynott for all you did to make it a holiday to remember always! read more

I was completely misled. The owner is disorganized and lies then blame her mistakes on the "elderly people" who she specifically targets as her customers. Buyers beware. read more

"I am a first time visitor to the Ireland and needed some help understanding and helping plan my 3 days in Ireland while on a cruise. I had the worst experience with a woman named Ellen. She was so rude with the way she spoke to me and I would never do business with this company. Come to find out she is the owner! No wonder she has so many bad reviews on trip advisor and other internet sites. I will be letting everyone know about this RUDE owner, she should not own a business! read more

I am a first time visitor to the Ireland and needed some help understanding and helping plan my 3 days in Ireland while on a cruise. I had the worst experience with a woman names Ellen. She was so rude with the way she spoke to me and I would never do business with this company. Come to find out she is the owner! No wonder she has so many bad reviews on trip advisor and other internet sites. I will be letting everyone know about this RUDE owner at my company which is the largest travel company in the world. read more

I had never done a guided tour before, and Gena made the arrangements clear and easy. Was very pleased with the tour. The facilities, the transportation, the tour guide and bus driver were all first rate! read more

All that is can say is that the traveler needs to be beware of the packages that you get from Lynott tours. If it had not been for the wonderful tour drivers that we had in both Ireland and Scotland, our trip would have been a disaster. Be sure to get an itemized invoice for all of your hotels, site seeing events, airline booking, etc. We were supposed to get vouchers, but did not get them for several outing. BUYER BEWARE. read more

The service has been GREAT! Thank you for answering all of my questions! I appreciate the quick responses and the detailed itineraries. This has been very helpful. Gena, you have been awesome! We are looking forward to our adventure! read more

I have just returned from a three week tour of the UK. I contacted Lynott tours at least six months prior to my trip. Alexandria from Lynott tours contacted me and based on an itinerary that four of us developed, I asked her to arrange for autos and a bed and breakfast tour for two of three weeks. The four of us traveled together and had a great time enjoying the sights of Ireland, Scotland and England. The B&B experience was pleasant and we loved each of the owners. We stayed at a castle with royal treatment. We also stayed at a few lodges and found all personnel to be very helpful. I would use Lynott tours in the future as well as recommend this agency to any of my friends. read more

Excellent travel arrangers. My wife and I took a 5 day tour of Cornwall UK from 11-15 Sept 2017. Gena, our Lyncott travel rep arranged our trip through Rabies Tours. Everything was fantastic. My wife and I had originally rented an apartment in London, and 5 days before the trip the apartment rental was cancelled by the management company. Gena found us a hotel that actually turned out to be the best thing. The hotel was centrally located and within walking distance to the bus terminal where we picked up our tour bus. Gena was a god-sent. Made our trip a most enjoyable and relaxing vacation. read more

Working with Gina was a pleasure, and my hiking adventure in Wales was truly amazing. My only disappointment was in receiving the travel materials rather late in the game. HF Holidays has an online site with brochures to download and I would have enjoyed reading more about the trip ahead of time. All in all, I am happy with the arrangements I made. read more

When I found myself in a last minute jam revolving around my travel plans, I thankfully met Gena, at Lynott Tours. Gena worked with me for the better part of five days ensuring that my trip was perfect. And it was! Highly, highly recommend this group and especially this agent. read more

We had a group of 11 people who wanted to see Ireland, nine for the first time. We developed an overall itinerary and contacted Lynott to arrange a private coach and driver. The office personnel were very good in organizing the tour as we had laid out and suggesting a few additional stops. The price was very reasonable and included entrance fees at the identified sites. Whenever we contacted the office, we received prompt courteous attention and responses. The tour started in Dublin and we were picked up, very timely, by David of Galvin Coaches. We cannot say enough good things about David. We would recommend him as a tour driver for any future trips to Ireland. He knew the country, the country side and the history. He was very proud of his country and related much of the history and other stories about the land and sights. He had a great personality and went out of his way for us on a couple of occasions. During the tour he made several suggestions about a specific stop that he thought we might like and they were all enthusiastically received. We really enjoyed the Rock of Cashel, the Ring of Kerry, the cliffs of Mohr and the Burren. Everyone found the Slea Head Road Drive to be spectacular and a highlight of the trip. We all enjoyed the dinner and performance at Dunguaire Castle. It was relaxing and entertaining; the food was way better than expected for a venue like that. We found Northern Ireland to be noticeably different from the Republic. Of course this reflected the difference in the history, as well as some geographical differences. Still Northern Ireland is certainly worth the visit. The Giant's Causeway is remarkable and it was certainly a good idea to get there before the larger tour companies; we actually had time to see it without people crawling around like ants. Our group also enjoyed Bushmill's Distillery, especially the tasting room. In Belfast, we found another major city and the congestion inherent in a larger city. Yet we did find The Crown Pub and certainly recommend it for a pint and dinner and a pint. Finding pubs with Traditional Irish music was more difficult than in the Republic. The tour of the Troubles area in Belfast brought new meaning and a sense of awareness to our group. We also gained insights to the people involved with the Titanic. Some of the additional stops that we made that deserve mention include Cobh, with its Titanic Experience and view of the harbor; Carlingford, a quaint little town with three castle and church ruins and several pubs with good food and a nice view of the harbor and sea; Carrickfergus and the Castle of William of Orange; and finally the Wicklow Mountains and Powerscourt Gardens (highly recommend this as a day trip out of Dublin). As you can see, we managed to get a great deal in our brief stay in Ireland, but we did not feel pressed for time or caught up in the crowds of the larger tours. We give David much of the credit for this, as he knew the best times to go and the sights to see without the large bus gatherings. For the most part we found the accommodations to be appropriate and comfortable. Readers should be aware of the type of accommodations they desire and whether they want to be in a nice B&B with a view or if they prefer to be in the city center. You should discuss this in detail with Ellen or her staff. We thank Lynott for their efforts in arranging the bus and driver, making the lodging arrangements and setting up the itinerary. We also appreciate that they had arranged for the tickets to all of the venues, that certainly made things so much smoother than standing in line to get tickets, not to mention ensuring that tickets were available. This trip provided the group with an opportunity to see Ireland, experience the country and culture and do it at a very reasonable price. We also want to acknowledge the staff, especially Gena. They were very helpful in their response and information read more

This company is a nightmare. They were irresponsible, unresponsive and absolutely horrific to work with. They cancelled the tour dates my friend (not in the US) had reserved, with the explanation that the group wasn't big enough, after she had wired all funds to them. Then they offered other dates that she could not use. She lost a large sum of money on flight cancellations and then they failed to refund her the full amount, with no satisfactory explanation. This company should not be used and rewarded for that kind of behavior. There are plenty of other good ones out there, who treat their customers properly. read more

I recently returned from my trip to Ireland and highly recommend this tour. The accommodations were excellent and combined both modern and traditional Irish hotels. The food was very good and highlighted huge Irish breakfasts and full dinners with lots of choices that seemed to appeal to all the people in our group. We had a marvelous tour guide/bus driver who kept our group on task and told stories regarding the history of each city/town and the people who resided in them. In many cities local tour guides took over - all of them well informed and interesting in their presentations. I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment. especially the step dancers and their band and an Irish storyteller/singer. My only regret is the the trip was not longer, which of course means that I have to go back to Ireland! read more

this woman is a crook , beware , she tells you that you are traveling with a group of 8 and only 3 people show up and she then says the rest cancelled when in reality there are no other people she is a crook read more

Downton Abbey with Lynott Tours was a nightmare. No one met us at Heathrow Airport even though we pre-paid for transfer from there to our hotel. No one answered the contact number we were supposed to call for a ride. We were forced to negotiate with unscrupulous Indian men for a ride to the hotel. They charged us a ridiculous price and sent a shifty looking man to pick us up who further demanded more money. When I refused he drove recklessly and had a very scary look on his face so we were forced to give him more money to calm down and get us there safely. We had paid for 2 single supplement rooms but after our frightening experience we were to scared to stay by ourselves and opted for 1 room. We never got the difference paid back to us. We were supposed to have a 3 hour London tour but because we were so tired we could only make it for 1.5 hours. We got gyped again. It was not a deluxe private motorcoach but a small black cab with 2 jump seats and 2 facing forward with little leg room and little cushioning on the seats. We had also pre-paid for a deluxe motorcoach. Our hotel accommodation was not a 3-4 star hotel like the one we had pre-paid. There was no air conditioning, broken tv, cheap noisy broken down fan. A very tiny room which was difficult to maneuver. The hallway was very narrow with many separation doors and the rugs were filthy. We felt unsafe and felt the whole place was a firetrap. The full breakfast was not the 3-4 star we had pre-paid. Powdered eggs, canned mushrooms, canned stewed tomatoes, canned beans, canned fruit, toast, rice krispies and corn flakes. We were supposed to get a welcome dinner on the first night that we had pre-paid for. The manager knew nothing about Lynott travel when the bill came. We paid it and then went to the reception at the hotel and asked why this happened., I was told I went to the wrong Bella Italia restaurant and there were 2 on the same street. Once I got home I remembered seeing scaffolding and workmen on one of the buildings on that street. I looked up Bella Italia online and there are 2 restaurants on that street but the second one is currently closed for refurbishment. We headed to Basildon Park with fees for admission included in our pre-paid price. The staff knew nothing about it and we paid admission. We pre-paid for bellmen and were told there are no bellmen at Queen's Park hotel and reception pointed me to the elevator. On the day of departure our flight times were vastly different from our fellow travelers so our driver/guide requested that he be allowed to make 2 trips to the airport. Lynott refused and we had to leave at 0900 for Heathrow and spend the entire day at the airport. Our flight did not leave until after 5pm. We were so early the agent told us she couldn't help us and maybe we should go to the pub and to come back when we had 3 hours before departure. We were told upon arrival at Heathrow to make our way to the Delta terminal and we would be picked up along with another couple by a cab. We didn't know there were two Delta terminals and our instructions didn't specify. I asked several uniformed people at the airport which terminal we should go to and everyone said Terminal 3. They were at Terminal 4. On the Heathrow Airport website if one arrives on British Airways Terminal 5 and needs to make a connection to Terminal 4 Delta Airlines they need to allow 105 minutes. It took us over 120 minutes to get through Customs. We were doomed. Our plane arrived at 0630 and our cab would meet us at 0930. 2 hours in customs plus 105 minutes doesn't equal 0930. This was an extremely poorly planned trip with little regard for us participants. If I had wanted to go on such a screwed up trip I could have planned it myself and not paid Lynott Travel for this. We also did not get the trips to Swan Inn at Swinbrook and the village of Shilton that were listed in our fellow traveler's itineries. This was not a vacation; more like an endurance test to see how much stress and aggravation one can tolerate. This terrible treatment prompted our driver/guide to tell me as a professional in the travel business for a long time he found the treatment we were receiving on a daily basis personally reprehensible, offensive, disgusting, unconscionable and repugnant. He gave me his business card and said he would be the London contact and could vouch for what we have been through. read more

What a NIGHTMARE COMPANY! I booked 4 private tours from Ellen McNulty at Lynott Tours that got charged and confirmed 5 days before we sent sail to Ireland. Then she sent a email saying that she added 2 people to our private tour! I told her I didn't want to add anyone! But since I already canceled my other arrangements I had no other option to keep the new arrangements. The 2 "travel companions" she added to our active tour that included 2 teens were both handicapped. We are the first to help anyone in need but this truly affected EVERYTHING we could do. They could not go into castles, walks, climb bell towers and on and on. So they cancelled the last tour of the 4 tours they had scheduled. Without any notification until after our tour was done I got an email saying they charged us over $400 for a private tour, our driver never said a work to us regarding this either! Remember they cancelled not us! And they had only credited initially $800 to have 2 people added to our 4 PRIVATE tours. Please don't book with this company. It made our wonder vacation, a traveling night mare. Bait, switch and gouge! read more

WARNING! Do yourself a favor, and do NOT book with Lynott Tours. I spoke with Ellen, the owner, on several occasions, and then her assistant. They requested $1,100 "deposit" in order to talk details about our trip to Ireland. Two weeks after paying my deposit, I got an email (not even a courtesy phone call) stating that our itinerary changed drastically, then 2 days after that, they changed it again. When I called Ellen to discuss details, she was RUDE RUDE RUDE, acted as though I was in the wrong. Ellen lacks ANY customer service and definitely did not get the "Irish Charm" gene. I even caught Ellen in a big fat lie, she stated there were no trains from Gallaway to Cork (she stated I needed to take train from Gallaway to Dublin first, then go on to Cork from Dublin - which is not true). In the end, Lynott Tours kept changing the itinerary, we couldn't deal at all with them, we had our credit cards refund our deposit. I am beyond grateful we did NOT use Lynott Tours because they are THE WORST! read more

I would rather not travel than have to use Lynott Tours. In reading other reviews, it appears that there is a common viewpoint of Lynott Tours. Not a good business to use. Our group booked a tour of England and we were promised something wonderful. We were "booked" in "3 and 4" star hotels, guaranteed a knowledgeable driver/guide and that all hotel, entrance fees and porters were pre paid. Lynott had years of experience traveling to the off the beaten path locations and had years of driving experience. We were all excited. However, our trip to England proved disastrous. Our "seasoned" driver/guide told us at the airport that he could not talk and drive at the same time and did not know the area he was driving us in and around. He told us that he voiced concerns to Ellen McNulty of Lynott Tours BEFORE he accepted the booking and that she told him it was OK. She did this without informing our group. This had a significant negative impact on our experience and did not meet our expectations to say the least. Imagine our surprise as we attempted to check into our first hotel. Our group did not have reservations. About an hour later the hotel realized the rooms had been booked for Ellen McNulty and not for us in our individual names. The next day we departed for our first destination only to be told that Ellen had not purchased our admission tickets. We voiced concerns and our driver told us that he was working for free because he had not been paid either. We paid for our entrance fees and worried if we would be left by the side of the road. When we checked out of our first hotel, we were asked to pay for the rooms. We asked the hotel manager to contact Ellen McNulty and resolve the confusion so that we did not have to pay for our hotel rooms a SECOND time. We showed him our itinerary and he agreed about an hour later to let us leave the hotel. He told our group that he would reach out to Lynott Tours and if the payment was not resolved he would expect payment from our group. This delayed our departure for our next destination. Again, at our next destination no entrance fees and upon check in at the second hotel, we were "bumped" to a hotel 40 miles away because the hotel was overbooked. We questioned why our group was moved and did not get a reasonable answer. Maybe the rooms had not been paid and were canceled. Who really knows at this point. The hotel the driver/guide took us to was 40 miles from where we were. Again, no porters and we were initially to be placed in rooms without air conditioning. Yes our original rooms did not have air conditioning and all were in need of a major remodeling project. We carried our own luggage and waited for the next surprise. We had to upgrade and pay to move one party into a room with separate beds. On our last day of the trip, the driver/guider told us that he had been paid and the hotels had been paid. Not a relaxing trip at all. It was upsetting every day. A representative of Lynott called on our last day but offered not explanation or apology. She could not even tell us what had been paid or what our group had paid initially. For a company that has in business for 45 years you would think that Lynott Tours could get something right on our tour. Also I question in what year the 3 and 4 star ratings were given to the hotels. In the last hotel that we were "moved/booked", the first impression of the quality of the room was of the toilet which was directly in front of you. It was large and white. Not very inviting to say the least. Each morning the bathroom floor flooded when you took a shower. I would love to have had Ellen McNulty of Lynott Tours as a traveling companion on this ill fated trip. I would have liked to have seen her expression as she was shelling out tips, paying for entrance fees and cowering in the hotel lobbies as the hotel manager waited for payment feeling as though she was "steerage". I wonder what Ellen McNulty would have said or how she would have felt in this situation. Upon our return, I contacted Ellen. She indicated that all services were rendered, that all parties had been paid and for me to move on. She offered no apology or a penny of compensation. She even hung up on me when I wouldn't accept how wonderful our trip was and that she was not at fault. She accepted payment but blamed others for our bad experiences. I am sure that if she was on our trip, as rude and arrogant as she is, she would have demanded "Off with their heads". In closing, Ellen said that she should have charged more for our trip. She pointed the blame on the driver saying that the driver whom she had NEVER used before should have included the entrance fees in his bill and that he should have resolved any problems on our trip. Guess what Ellen he didn't! I wish I had read the other reviews about Lynott Tours before I paid Ellen my money. Buyer beware! Ellen should re name her company Whynott Screw the Customer. read more