|
Hi Everybody
Back in April I led a tour to Ireland that turned out to be so much fun I’m going to do it again. The dates are from June 16th to the 25th in 2009. I’ll be leading this trip with my trusty Irish partner Tom Pigott from Limerick who has been in the tour business for many years and is also a great singer. We’ll take 20 guests (on a first come, first served basis) and travel in a small luxury coach/bus and we’ll stay in small hotels and possibly an occasional B & B. I encourage you all to check out Tom’s website: www.enchantedwaytours.ie
There you can read testimonials from folks who’ve been on some of his previous tours, you can see photos of some of the places we might be visiting, and you can also check out Tom’s blog about my last tour…just scroll down to the one dated May 27th 2008 http://www.enchantedwaytours.ie/index.php?cat=1 The tours really are incredible. Every person who has been on one has raved about their experience. Many say they never thought they would enjoy a group tour but loved ours. And others who have been on group tours say it is by far the best organized tour they have ever been on.
The tour begins and ends at Shannon airport, 20 min north of Limerick in the west of Ireland. I highly recommend that you arrive a day early, if possible, to avoid any stress caused by a cancelled flight, bags not showing up, etc. Most folks from previous tours have arrived early and have been very glad that they did. The flight from the US is often tiring, and it's nice to have the day before the tour starts to casually rest up and get a slight feel for Ireland and stay at a local b & b. If this is something you’d like to do, Tom can help find you accomodations.
We’ll do day trips to ancient stone circles, castles, fishing villages, bogs, beaches, etc. After getting back to our hotel for some time to rest and freshen up, we’ll go have dinner and hear some great music, whether it be traditional Irish or one of Ireland’s top singer-songwriters. And on at least one evening I’ll be performing for you. There will also be opportunities for you to offer up a song, a story, a poem, or a joke should you feel like participating. The cost for the tour is $1950 per person based on double occupancy. For a single room it’s $2300. We will do our best to match up roommates if preferred. The fee covers all ground transportation, all lodging (including full breakfasts each morning), 3 evening group meals, and the costs for our featured Irish musicians, poets, writers, etc. A $500 deposit is required to hold slots after confirmation from me. The balance will be due 3 months prior to the tour dates.
Guests pay for their own flights to and from Shannon International Airport, all lunches, the remaining 6 dinners, ferry boats, any optional activities, and of course drinks, tips, etc. The tour will fill up on a first come first serve basis. Do keep in mind that all flights from the USA and Canada are overnight flights, which means that in order to arrive on June 15th (a day early), you would actually be departing North America on the 14th. If you choose to arrive on June 16th, you’d depart from North America on the 15th. All return flights leave Ireland in the morning and arrive in North America on that same date. Ireland does require a passport. Here’s the tour schedule. None of it is written in stone. If we as a group decide we’d rather do something not listed in the itinerary, and if it’s actually doable, then we can change the plan at any time.
Day 1: Drive from Shannon to Galway via Ballyvaughan, Kinvara and maybe a walk on Silver Strand. Tonight we will listen to Don Stiffe, who is one of Ireland's best singer/songwriters. Day 2: Today we explore Connemara and enjoy a night out in Galway city where there are many pub sessions. Day 3: This will be a free day in Galway city and tonight we will go to a gig in the famous Crane Bar. Day 4: Today we head for Dublin via Clonmacnoice which is one of the most famous ancient sites in Ireland. We will stay in tonight and Chuck will entertain us. There will also be opportunities for anyone else who might like to sing a song or two. Day 5: Today is Dublin day. We will go to Kilmainham Jail, which in Tom’s opinion is the most important tourist attraction in Ireland. We will also see the National Gallery and Museum, and then we’ll top off the day with a tour of the Guinness Brewery. Tonight we will find a gig in Dublin. Day 6: We travel to Wicklow today and drive through the Wicklow Mountains and will also see Glendalough. Tonight, we will experience a traditional Irish music session. Day 7: We head for Clare today and we will stay in Lisdoonvarna/Doolin. We head to McDermott's Bar in Doolin tonight for a great traditional Irish music session. Day 8: We go to Inis Iarr which is the smallest of the Aran Islands. Tonight it is back to Doolin and O'Connors Bar for another Irish traditional music session. Day 9: Today we go to the Burren Region which is a fantastic 250 square mile region of Limestone rock and our last night will be spent in the hotel reminiscing on our tour and of course we will also have a final song circle. Day 10: Back to Shannon for our flights home. This will be on the 25th of June. I really hope you will join me on what promises to be a terrific and very unique tour through a country I have really come to love. I would really like to share it with you. And maybe even have a 9:30 pint with you. All the best – |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
