Our very best day in Ireland was with Helen's expert driving tour of the Dingle Peninsula and countryside - My husband ,Steve, adult daughter, Katy, and I took a 4 hour driving tour of the Dingle Peninsula and countryside with Helen Higgins on June 14th. It truly... read more was the best day of our 2 week vacation in Ireland!. Helen is an excellent driver, has an encyclopedic knowledge of Irish history and the area, and is a delightful human being who we truly enjoyed spending time with. We were curious to find the area where a dear (deceased) friend of ours had grown up. Because it was in the countryside, there was no address per se. Helen took the time to call Mossie, and it turned out that Mossie grew up near our friend's home and was related to her by a sibling's marriage, so Helen was able to show us her house, the school she went to, etc! Her efforts at personalizing our day gave us a memory we will always treasure, not to mention the beautiful coastline drive and the opportunity to hold some baby sheep. We would hire her in a heartbeat to show us around Ireland the next time we visit (and they do do more extensive tours in other areas).
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!
All I can say is WOW! Mossie made our trip Ireland memorable - he is a wonderful person and full of knowledge. Our family booked a private tour... read more with him in Dingle. We didn't know what to expect, but he asked what our interests were and he fulfilled every one of them and then some. Our day was spectacular - we only wished we could have stayed longer in Dingle to spend more time with Mossie. Thanks so much Mossie for making our tour so special. The Wards
The very, very best part of our vacation was Mossie Scanlan - When we arrived at Dingle, the weather was cold, rainy and super foggy. At first glance, it seemed the sum of the town was one street. We were... read more scheduled to be there for two days, so I wasn't thrilled. We noted that all boat tours were being cancelled due to bad weather, which thrilled me even less. One of my family members suggested taking a bus tour and called a number in a travel book. That person was book and suggested Mossie Scanlon. OH MY GOSH!!!!! We will be forever grateful that the first guide was booked. Mossie was the highlight of our entire trip!!! I will never forget the incredible day we spent with Mossie. He was so kind, intelligent, informative and fun. He turned a cold and rainy day into the best part of our vacation! His extensive knowledge the area, including its history, gave this sweet area so much to love and respect. Frankly, I will miss Mossie. He makes you feel so special. Saying goodbye was hard. Thank you, Mossie, for making our time in Dingle so special. We're back home in Florida and miss you!!!
We were lucky enough to have Mossie take us on a tour of The Dingle Penninsula. He is a very personable guy with much knowledge of the area. The tour... read more was 3 hours long. Which was perfect, in my opinion.
He asks what your interests are and tailors your experience to them.
Great tour guide!
Mossie is a perfect tour guide. Knowledgeable, patient and very personable. We can highly recommend him for a tour guide. We were travelling with young children and everyone, adults... read more and kids, enjoyed the tour.
Booked a tour for 4 in advance with Mossie (the price of which is much better than some of the bigger companies). The day of the tour arrived and the... read more weather was initially poor, Mossie turned up at the agreed time and place and suggested we could either go ahead or wait a few
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.