What makes a great Adventure tour of Ireland?

When we started the business, we asked ourselves what would make a great adventure tour of Ireland? I had loads of experience Overlanding in Africa with a few tours from London all the way down to Cape Town. These trips always provided the perfect adventure for me, however, I am not sure if this was the type of adventure most people were looking for. Neither could expect to create and Adventure tour of Ireland with the same ingredients as in Africa which in many parts still a third world country.

I also had a look at our competition in Ireland. Most operators were providing tours on big coaches and looked like mass production company for tourism. Very un-personal, very low on activity and the only thing they did was stop at the mass tourist places for a few minutes and then drove off again. This was exactly what we did not have in mind when we started the company back in the day.

Other companies were a little more active and focused mainly on cycling and hiking. Then there were a few companies who provide activities but if you closer look to their schedule and their itinerary you can see that the time for these activities would be almost non-existent.

Se we started create a tour that we would like and a tour that was in our opinion the best adventure tour of Ireland. The ingredients in order to achieve this were the following: Small groups, great guides, activities included, small drives, quality central accommodation, balance of culture scenery and activities. So, what does this all mean?

Small groups:

Mass tourism is great for some people but let’s be honest. Who wants to be herded in a big tour coach from one place to the next. Wear name badges, sit in a big coach with 50 other people where there is no flexibility to the program. A great adventure tour of Ireland should be personal, have the flexibility to stop when there is something spontaneous to see, eat in the great eateries that Ireland has. Sure, we could make few euro`s more if we added more people to our tours but we want to give you guys the best tour of Ireland possible.

Great Guides:

What makes a great guide? For starters, some qualification comes in handy, so all our guide are National guides who have their Failte Ireland certificate. This means they know their stuff, have their first aid and have a passion for Ireland. This is only the start though. They love the outdoors are all really active and cannot wait to share their passion for Ireland with you guys. It helps as well that they are excellent drivers as the roads in Ireland can be a bit sketchy sometimes.

Activities included:

Many people ask us why we include our activities? We noticed a long time ago that if activities were included people would try them and they always had a big smile on their face afterwards. If you let people pay for the activities people often don’t opt for them and seem to have a lesser experience. We also noticed that it creates a better group experience overall. It`s almost like a team building even where people help each other, where you achieve something and would add to a great Adventure tour of Ireland. We left some activities out as they were a little extreme like horseback riding and kitesurfing.

Small drives:

Sitting in the car full the full day doesn’t sound like a trip of a lifetime to me. So, we put a lot of thought into our routes. Most off our guests have a limited number of holidays and there for most of them only get to experience Ireland once. So, you need to cover the most amazing spots without spending 12 hours a day in our comfortable mini vans. On the first day loads of our guest are kind of tired from their flights or from a night out in Dublin so they don’t mind driving a bit longer. On the last day, we climb Croagh Patrick and people are a bit tired from a week touring in which case they don’t mind the drive as well. So the first and the last day are a bit of a track, however everything in between is a walk in the park during your great adventure tour of Ireland.

Quality central accommodation:

We are very proud of our accommodation and put a lot of thought into this as a great night sleep is must after a busy day. The basics should always be clear: comfortable, clean and basic facilities. But these are not good enough. Ireland has the most picturesque towns out there and you want to stay in them. So another requirement is the central location. Another important factor is that you want the Irish experience. If you want to stay in one of those big hotels, this trip is not for you. If you want a turf fire in the evening, a great typical Irish breakfast in the morning that we have the perfect places for you.

Balance:

There are several reasons why you would visit Ireland. Our scenery, numerous castles, the people and maybe ancestry. We fully understand that the activities are a bonus and that is why we add them as bonus to provide you with the best experience possible. You get to see the best places on offer and because our mini vans are small we can get off the beaten track and actually get where the big coaches cannot go. Some roads like the Sleagh Head drive are closed off for big coaches.

We think we created the best Adventure tour of Ireland and would love for you to experience it. We have great customer reviews, epic activities and a great team. If you have any further questions please give us a shout. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or be amazed by us on Instagram.

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