Thanks for the suggestions, I will keep them in my log!
I think it will depend on airfare and hotel rates for Paris whether we add it on at the beginning or end after the tour.
I've actually always had a fascination with seeing Moulin Rouge!
My sister-n-law said it is easy to get around, it's just hard picturing something you haven't seen or experienced yet!
Versailles is something we plan to do for sure!
I'm looking forward to wine, cheese and pastries in Paris!

We have just got back from the Britain & Ireland Discovery tour. Found jeans to be a problem washing in the room, even after wringing out in a towel, they still took two days to dry. My wife and I are very selective with optionals, we prefer to find local foods. Some optionals were in the afternoon, these I think should have been included in the itinery. The evening tours are fine as optionals. The Military Tattoo was included in the tour and was excellent. Some tour directors seem to disregard people that do not do the optionals, by not pointing out possible alternatives. On two occasions the director failed to mention that the hotel had a complimentary bus service, very dissapointing. Hotel food, in general, was acceptable, the rooms were excellent.
Generally I thought the tour was very good and well conducted

Hello
We did the Discovery tour some years ago,and I have found this thread very interesting. The issue of optional excursions is one that pops up quite a lot, and having do several tours with Insight ( and others ) this is how I see things.....the point is that they may not appeal to everyone,and so it is right that a choice is there. In the Scottish highlands we had a chance to go to a sheep farm...the Americans thought it was great...the Aussies and Kiwis though...why would they want to look at sheep? As regards alternatives, well the choice is to go on an optional OR MAKE OUR OWN ARRANGEMENTS. I cant see how the the TD can be expected to operate otherwise, and in their position I certainly would not go down the road of making other suggestions....if it turns out bad they are in the firing line!

I think since this is our first trip to Europe, I can see us doing most of the optionals. I think we will want to get the most out of the experience, unless some of them just really don't appeal to us at the time!

Hi Reese
We have just come back from the Britain & Ireland Explorer and did all of the optionals that were offered, except the Sheepdog one, however it rained on that day and was cancelled. As was mentioned before there aren't too many optionals to worry about on this tour, however my suggestion is that you ask your TD as many questions about them so you are fully informed before you sign up for them. We had two Irish evenings both of which were different, but if you think that one evening of Irish music and dance is enough for you, then have a close look at what is offered and ask. As Laj mentioned even taking the optionals it is a slow pace tour with enough free time.
Cheers.

Thank you! I'm so glad to know there is a nice balance of free time!
I appreciate the advice on asking in detail about the optionals.
One of the interests we had is seeing Trinity college and the Book of Kells, so I'm hoping for time to do that. I didn't see that listed on the tour info!
Did you have any favorites, things you didn't like as much?
Thanks!

And see.. it's also different every tour. We only had one Irish night out. I remember our TD telling us about the Book of Kells and pointing out where it was incase someone wanted to go back there in free time.. so there must be enough time.
The only optional that wasn't really good was Blair Castle. It was a pretty boring stop along the way somewhere. It would have been nicer just to walk around the grounds. Still... we skipped out halfway through the tour and did that. I'd rather have that option than possibly miss something great.
Don't worry about it too much. It's always different once you're on the bus and on your way. Everyone's tastes are so different too. Some things I loved.. others hated.