I took a half day tour with Mossie Scanlon, and it seemed to end too soon.
Mr. Scanlon is informative, knowledgeable and pleasantly opinionated. Native to Dingle, he has an... read more interesting anecdote around every corner.
I booked this trip through the Tourist Office.
In a word, Mossie was TREMENDOUS. We so enjoyed and appreciated his knowledge, patience, flexibility, warmth, humor, and sense of adventure. and his obvious love of what he... read more does. All he wanted was for us to have as good a time as possible— and we definitely did!
Mossie was EXTREMELY knowledgeable about Dingle and its history. but he never overdid it tried to show off how much he knows. He somehow sensed just the right amount of Dingle & Irish history, and his life experiences (so interesting!), to share with us.
At the start of our day together, Mossie asked us a few questions to get a sense for what types of activities we most enjoy and what we can take or leave (we told him that we weren't particularly "archaeological"), and he fully respected that. But he still suggested (always gently) that we experience, if only briefly, a few things that weren't in our stated wheelhouse that he thought we might nevertheless enjoy. He just sensed it. And every time, we were glad that he did (even "archaeological" stuff). Throughout the day, he struck the perfect balance between suggesting (again, always gently) sites or experiences we might enjoy and taking us to shops or sites that we knew we wanted to visit.
Sitting here now, I can't even recall all the activities we crammed (but never rushing) into our day with Mossie. All I can recall is that we enjoyed every spectacular view, every scenic hike, every quirky shop, and every restaurant or coffee stop that he suggested.
Again, the only thing Mossie wanted was for us to enjoy our day in Dingle as much as possible. And he refused to end the tour until he was 100% sure that we had. I believe that the tour was scheduled to stop at 5 or 5:30, but we ended up going until 6:30 or 7:00. Why? Well, he knew that we wanted to drive Conor Pass, but he'd been told that it was too foggy to see much of anything that particular day. But around 5 or so, he took us there just in case the fog had cleared (it hadn't, but we still enjoyed it). And after that, because he knew that our 24-year-old daughter loves hiking, he accompanied her on a rocky hike up to a beautiful lake even though we'd had plenty of hiking to and around the ocean earlier in the day. He just wanted to be absolutely certain that she had as great a day as my wife and I had (she definitely did).
AND WHAT A NICE GUY. Example: We told him how much we enjoyed the music that was playing in his car (a lovely, spacious Mercedes) through most of our day. He told us various places (Amazon, music shop in town) where we likely could purchase it. But being, you know, Mossie, he didn't stop there. The MORNING AFTER our tour, he dropped off HIS OWN COPY of the CD at our B & B and he threw in a couple of CDs of HIM singing (he has a lovely voice, and SANG at least one song for us during the tour). I mean, who does that? That would be Mossie. So thoughtful, and so generous.
Mossie just wanted us to love Dingle as much as he obviously does—and we do! Dingle was the best part of our Ireland experience (well, except for our daughter getting married in a castle in Tralee), and Mossie was the best part of Dingle. We couldn't recommend him more highly!
Mossie was the perfect tour guide for us on the Slea Head while we were in Dingle. He picked us up promptly and was very accommodating and friendly. He has... read more lead a fascinating life and was very pleasant without being over the top. He made his tour meet the requests we had in addition to adding his own places. I loved our time with Mossie.
A wonderful experience. Mossie helps curate the tour that is right for you and provides incredible historical and local context to the sights you visit. I can’t recommend Mossie’s tours... read more enough.
Mossie is undoubtedly the best guide you’ll find in all of Ireland! His knowledge of Ireland’s history combined with his warm, kind and funny personality made for the... read more perfect day. He’s a born storyteller who will keep you interested through out the tour. Mossie knows all of the best places to go and you’ll be glad you chose to spend the day with him!
Our group of 4 thoroughly enjoyed our time with Mossie. He customized the tour to our interests and showed us some special spots we would have never found with the... read more guide book. We still saw the main sights of Slea Head Drive but learned so much about Irish language, history, and culture. Beyond being a professional tour guide, Mossie is actively involved in cultural preservation in the region and has exceptional knowledge. Mossie’s tour was a highlight of our visit to Dingle.
Mossie is the best and will forever hold a special place in our hearts! We were lucky to have him as our personal chauffeur for a day around Dingle. He... read more is very knowledgeable about the history of Ireland and the areas in which we visited. The pride that he has in his job and in his country is apparent. Mossie made sure we saw the most we could, given the limited opportunities because of the weather. He made the car ride fun, educational, and he even sang to us! Look no further if you are ever in need of a driver.
Ireland at its best with Helen and Mossie - Everything about our time with Helen and Mossie exceeded our expectations. This trip was rescheduled from 2020 and we are so grateful that they were able to introduce us to... read more their beloved country. Their passion, knowledge, insight and patience as they guided us through and introduced us to Ireland was incredible. They were so accommodating and flexible, making sure to find things for us to do that checked off all of the boxes, which resulted in a trip we would enjoy and never forget. This was a vacation of a lifetime and I cannot recommend them more. There were times when we were literally the only people around for hours, surrounded by hills, sheep and incredible landscapes. Every time we saw one place that was more beautiful than the last, their refrain was "you ain't seen nothing yet" and they were right. They were delightful, incredibly knowledgeable, and just a pure joy to spend time with to the point where we will miss them and hopefully someday get to spend time with Helen and Mossie again. We were fortunate enough to spend 7 days with them and realize that is a lot of hours and miles together - all of which were idyllic and special. The beauty of the Dingle peninsula, as well as the many stops along the way, are etched in our memories - and countless pictures! If you can book then you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD. And make sure that you get to hear Mossie's incredible voice as he sings and recites various poems.