When an opportunity to go to Ireland appears, if it's even remotely realistic, I will always say yes. Royal Irish Tours is a company that has been on my radar for years, so I was thrilled when I got accepted on their FAM (for those not in the industry - a work trip for travel advisors) to visit Ireland on their Irish Twist tour.
Fast forward to the usual drive to another city to get a flight, sit in the lounge at Pearson for an amount of time that may have been longer than my flight to Dublin (it's fine - I'm used to it... I just work and read), and away we go. Gate Gourmet was on strike in Toronto and they weren't able to accommodate special meal requests, so Air Canada gave me meal vouchers in the airport and I loaded up on snacks. Scored an empty seat beside me on the flight. Three point some movies later, arrived in Dublin to start the adventure. Once we gathered everyone up (19 travel advisors, four Royal Irish staff, our tour guide Karen, and our driver Alan), we were off.
First up, Experience Gaelic Games to learn about the history of hurling and other gaelic sports, and a chance to strap on a helmet and give it a try for yourself. I knew these sports existed, but I didn't know much about them - so it was actually a pretty interesting stop. From there, we headed on to Newbridge Silverware in Kildare - a breakfast stop (those of us who don't sleep on planes may have been running on fumes) with a tour. Admittedly, this isn't a place I would have stopped, but it was interesting and the breakfast was tasty. After eating, we got a tour of how they actually make silverware and other decorations, with some of the employees doing demonstrations for us. On-site, they also have a fashion museum called the Museum of Style Icons. It has lovely displays of clothes that have been worn in film and TV and by celebrities. They were getting a collection of costumes worn by Irish actors/in Irish film and TV ready and they let us have a sneak peak.
Next up in our jam-packed day one, a visit to Mickey Finn's pub in Wicklow. Tasty soup and sandwiches, a chance to sit and get to know some of our travel companions, and a delicious beer from Wicklow Brewing. After our lunch, we popped across the courtyard to get a tour of Wicklow Brewing.
Our hotel for the night was the Ferrycarrig Hotel in Wexford. This is a beautiful property, overlooking the Slaney River Estuary. All the public areas of the property were charming (though admittedly we were only there for a night and sleep was required, so I didn't see all of it). Our hosted dinner was excellent (especially since there was an entirely plant-based menu with dessert options!!) Our room was a great size, had a view overlooking the water (all rooms there do), and had a great bathroom - but the rest of the room was a bit rundown.
Day two - up way too early, so I got some work done and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise from our window. After a delicious breakfast from a great buffet spread with excellent coffee, it was time to head out on our way to Cork. First stop for the day - the Dunbrody Famine Ship and Irish Immigrant Experience. I think a lot of us know the basics of the famine in Ireland, but if you're interested in history and want to learn more this is a great stop. Our tour guide Jason was fantastic - keeping things interesting while dealing with delicate subjects. The ship is a replica of the real ship, and you get a tour through the different areas and there are some actors playing roles of actual passengers that you can interact with. Carrying on - you don't visit Ireland without visiting some pubs. We stopped at the Marine Bar in Dungarvan for some lunch, Irish coffees, and live music by Christy O'Neill. Pub culture just isn't the same here, so I'm always down for a pub stop. After lunch, we were back on the road to Cork. Our hotel for two nights was the Metropole. This hotel has been operating for more than 125 years and has a lot of period charm (the lifts have the little arrow that points to the floors as it moves!!) Rooms were small, but had everything you need. Great central location, walking distance to plenty of shops/pubs/restaurants. We had a welcome reception and some free time before we had a lovely dinner at the hotel (another plant-based dinner win). After dinner was a night out at JJ Walsh's pub - the place was packed, total mad house. The company, beer, and music were good. I don't spend a lot of time in packed bars these days, so this was a bit like watching a nature documentary to me (who would be a good Irish narrator?) - but fun all the same.
Day three - Another day, another lovely breakfast (amazing avo toast and great coffee) before we set off for Cobh to visit the Titanic Experience (the White Star ticket office still remains but has been transformed into this experience - Cobh was the last place passengers boarded the Titanic before it began crossing the Atlantic). It's a quick visit and it's interesting, but the gift shop felt a bit 'ick' to me honestly. I know, there's gift shops everywhere, but maybe sometimes there shouldn't be. They give you a boarding pass for one of the guests and you can see sample accommodations for the class they would have been in. At the end, you can check to see if they survived or not and learn more about them. In Cobh, we also had some time to climb up and visit St. Colman's Cathedral or walk around a bit.
From Cobh, it was off to Midleton to learn about the fine art of brewing Irish whiskey at the Midleton Distillery Experience. They've really done a great job with this site - the tour is quite interesting, there's a nice Jameson tasting at the end, along with a chance to order drinks at their bar (mmm Jameson and ginger). If whiskey is your jam, there's a huge gift shop there as well (I'm not a gin person, but I believe there was some small batch gins there as well). Back to Cork for some free time before we were treated to a Hilarious Histories dinner show at the Amicus restaurant by Failte Ireland. We were very fortunate to have reps from Castlemartyr Resort, the Montenotte Hotel, and the Kingsley Hotel in to speak with us as well. It was a nice evening out.
Day four - time to head out of the city for a few days. It was a 'many quick stops' kind of day. First stop was Kenmare... a comfort stop, but I had time to buy some wooly socks, visit a little church, do a little walk around, and find some ice coffee. Into the Ring of Kerry, we stopped for pictures at the Ladies View - stunning. We made a brief stop in Killarney and stopped for a peek at Inch Strand (beautiful beach), before continuing on to Dingle for lunch at Harrington's. A bit of free time before it was back to the bus so we could enjoy the scenic Slea Head drive. Our hotel for the night - Dingle Skellig Hotel. We had a few hours of free time before dinner and I couldn't resist the lure of the water, so I went for a walk along the bay. This hotel is beautiful, our room was really nice, and the location was good - you could walk into the main part of Dingle in 10 minutes or so. We had a nice dinner at the hotel and then I called it a night. Some of the others went into town for some live music.
Day five - another early morning for me so I went for a lovely stroll into Dingle before breakfast. We had a jam-packed schedule daily, but it was nice to have bits of free time to explore and just be outside. Breakfast was fantastic - I'd definitely stay at this hotel again. Our first stop this morning was Tralee - just a quick comfort stop with time to see the rose garden (though it wasn't quite time for roses yet), before continuing on to catch the ferry to Shannon. From here we stopped in Lahinch to tour the Lahinch Coast hotel - they filled our bellies with a delicious lunch post tour. Then time for the main event for the day - a boat tour to see the Cliffs of Moher from the water. I've seen them from along the top, so this was a real treat - and we had perfect weather for it. To the hotel after our boat tour - the Armada Hotel Spanish Point. Another beautiful spot right on the coast with beautiful views. With my pre-dinner free time, I spent a couple of hours enjoying the sun and exploring along the beach. Rounded out the day with a delicious dinner and a fabulous sunset.
Day six - time to head back into the city. A few of the group got up for an early morning dip in the ocean but I actually slept in a little for the first time this trip (I also live on the same Atlantic Ocean, so I can jump in it whenever I want). We had a lot of bus time today on the way back to Dublin, but it was our only really long bus day of the trip. We had a comfort stop (yay for coffee) and then we stopped in Kilbeggan to visit their distillery. A great spot with an interesting tour - they've been making whiskey since the mid 1700s and when times got tough, the town rallied to save the distillery. There was of course a small sample as well. We had a bit of free time there for lunch, but since there wasn't much interesting for lunch, I wandered off into an old cemetery. Then it was back to Dublin. Our hotel in Dublin was the Camden Court. This is a very nice hotel, lots of nearby shops and restaurants, about a 15 minute walk to St. Stephen's Green. The hotel staff gave us a presentation about the hotel (super helpful!) and some tasty eats and drinks. After that, we were free to explore. I needed to stretch my legs after a long day on the bus, so I did a little walking around Dublin and grabbed some room service for supper.
Day seven - RIT had given us hop-on/hop-off passes for our free day in Dublin, but I've been a few times already and have been to many of the attractions on the bus route. I opted to try out a Best Kept Secrets Tour. Breakfast at the Bean Hive coffee shop for what was one of the best vegan breakfasts I've ever had before meeting the tour. It was a small group and our tour guide Patrick was fantastic. A really great story teller with a great sense of humour. We spent a few hours walking around Dublin getting the scoop on things you likely wouldn't have noticed if you didn't know to look for them. At the end, we stopped in a private rental space for tea/coffee and a board game. Stopped at Rolling Donut on the way back to the hotel. To wrap up our Irish adventure (or more officially our Irish Twist), we were off for the evening to Taylors Three Rock for some traditional Irish dancing and music along with dinner.
Day eight was spent heading back home. We had an early departure from the hotel to be at Dublin airport for a mid morning flight. Check-in was quick, security was pretty average, and some breakfast was found. Watched some movies, connection was much better on the way home, and into Fredericton around supper. Easy peasy.
I am admittedly not a huge lover of coach tours - I like being on my own schedule and choosing my own stops. I quite enjoyed this one. It was obvious at most every stop that hotels and businesses in Ireland truly enjoy working with Royal Irish Tours. Owners, reps, staff always came out to greet the RIT staff and that was very nice to see. The bus was comfortable (we were fortunate that ours was not completely full) and the timings felt pretty good on most stops. Our guide and driver were fantastic (and hilarious together). I wouldn't hesitate to take another one of their tours and I'll happily suggest them to guests who they would be a good fit for. I have some ideas for a possible custom tour with them as well - stay tuned.
One of my best memories from this trip will be small acts of kindness. In an unfortunate twist of events, my phone was destroyed not even an hour into the trip. When you do what I do, that device is a lifeline. I had travelers on the move and I needed to be connected. It's my camera. My alarm clock. How I read books. How I get places. I know you know. It wasn't until near the end of day three before I was able to get a replacement. To the amazing agents who offered me pictures, the use of your devices if I needed to check something, and who just cared - thank you! To Mike and Sarah - thank you for the use of your pictures so that my first few days weren't just words (or my silly doodles). To Andrew from RIT who came with me twice to a phone repair shop so I would have a contact in Ireland while I waited to see if they could fix my phone (and who on more than one occasion offered me the use of his phone) - thank you. To John from RIT who checked in and celebrated my triumphant return to social media with a little prize - thank you. The RIT crew were really present and went above and beyond making sure everyone felt included and welcome in all the events - whether they were scheduled or not. I travel to see places and meet people and I met some really great ones this week.
Want to go to try a Royal Irish Tour for yourself? Reach out anytime.
Ange out.
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