At CIE Tours International, the focus is to deliver the best possible vacation to every client on every tour. For many people a trip to Ireland and Britain is a dream fulfilled and CIE TOURS wants everyone to have a remarkable travel experience. After all, it may be a once in a lifetime trip for some while others are so entranced that they return time and time again.
WHAT MAKES CIE TOURS UNIQUE?
ALL THE LITTLE EXTRAS WE INCLUDE
SIGHTSEEING VISITS
CIE Tours includes a variety of attractions on every tour for an interesting travel experience. Check each tour itinerary to see exactly which places are featured. Admission costs are included in the tour price so that you don’t waste time paying as you enter each attraction.
GUARANTEED DEPARTURES & PRICES
As the lowest airfares are non-refundable, we guarantee most of our land tour departures – see our website, where they are updated daily. We guarantee land tour costs will not increase, once you have paid your tour deposit, to protect you against international currency fluctuations. When you have paid for your airfare in full, there will be no change in the cost of the ticket.
GROUP AIRPORT TRANSFERS
When we book your flights together with a coach tour, we include complimentary group transfers on the starting and ending date of tours at times specified on each itinerary – a $30 per person fee applies to land only bookings.
TRAVEL PROTECTION PLAN
CIE Tours has a special travel protection plan to safeguard your vacation costs if you have to cancel or change plans before departure and provide comprehensive protection against delays, illness and baggage loss while you are away. Our plan includes a great trip cancellation waiver benefit, so you may cancel for any reason up until 3 days prior to departure. We strongly advise you to take this coverage.
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
CIE Tours will supply coach tour clients with airline e-tickets, tour vouchers, ticket wallets, destination information, rain poncho, carry-on backpack, VAT tax card, luggage tags and a strap. Self-drive clients receive accommodation vouchers and listings, ticket wallets, luggage tags and a strap. Use the tags and strap on your baggage for easy identification throughout your vacation. All you need to supply is a valid passport and, if driving, a current driver’s license.
LEISURE & SPA FACILITIES
Most of the hotels we use offer wonderful leisure facilities and spas. When you travel on a coach tour, you will have some free time most days and may like to enjoy some relaxation and spa serenity! So be sure to pack a swimsuit and workout clothes.
HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY
People who choose to travel in Ireland and Britain usually have an interest in the long history of the region and, as you tour around, you will visit a lot of ancient cities, churches and castles. All of our tour directors are well trained in the background information of the places and incorporate this history into their narratives in a manner that is fun and easy to digest. Similarly they are able to give you facts on the geography of the regions you travel through, giving you an insight into climate, farming, weather and other topics.
COACH TOURING & SIGHTSEEING
Some people think that on a coach tour, all you do is sit on the coach all day. Not true with CIE Tours! We have created balanced and varied days of sightseeing with plenty of stops for taking photos, shopping, lunch, snacks and bathrooms. You never travel for longer than two hours without getting off the coach.
CIE Tours International monitors all aspects of their travel programs carefully by choosing local tour directors and training them in every detail; by inspecting all hotels and attractions; and by listening to their clients. At the end of every coach tour, they distribute a questionnaire so that travellers can evaluate their own experiences and give feedback. All completed questionnaires are fed in to a computer program that provides CIE TOURS with percentages on every facet of the tour. Their Quality Control Department follows these ratings and comments very carefully and, if not up to standards, the hotel, restaurant or visit is advised that it needs to improve if it wishes to continue to feature in the portfolio of tours offered by CIE TOURS.
All companies that scored 90% or greater during the entire 2015 travel season received an Award of Excellence. Award ceremonies for Irish companies are held in Dublin in February and for British companies in Scotland in April. On February 2, 2016, the 26th annual ceremony was held at Dublin Castle when winners from 98 companies all across Ireland were presented with plaques and given well deserved recognition. As Ireland is CIE TOURS' major market the awards were more numerous and based on feedback from 28,000 of their clients. Companies are usually so thrilled with the recognition that they display the award in a prominent place. In hotels, it is usually at the check in desk so that clients can be assured that the standards of the property are high.
Awards for British products started in 2011 as their tours to all parts of Britain, and especially Scotland, have become more and more popular. While the CIE Tours’ brand is not as renowned as in Ireland, the company is certainly growing its reputation as a quality and ethical company, not just for the clients who travel with them but also the companies that supply hotels, meals and visits of many different types.
