We go with only ten of us and we travel in two 9 passenger diesel vans which not only gives us lots of comfortable room but elevates us above the rock walls and thorny hedge rows so we can actually see all there is to see. In a small car Ireland could seem like you’re captured in a maze without the ability to see anymore than the rock walls and hedges themselves.

We stay for the most part two or more days in one spot. That way we come home to same cozy inn twice and really feel the warmth and Irish hospitality of where we are. Walking into the same pub the next evening, you’ll be greeted and feel like you’re a local. But we fan out by day from our base and see the sites. Staying two days in the same place allows us flexibility to react to the weather and gives us a second chance at an outdoor activity if it rains one day. It also gives one or more of our travelers the chance to hang back and relax or do your own thing that day.

Before our travel places are booked, I talk to every one to find out who likes history, castles and the like, who likes the pub experience and Irish music, who likes walking/exploring, who likes watching sports/horse racing, do we have serious photographers amongst us who want to stop at a moment’s notice to catch that shot, do we want to do what American tourist always do or make believe we’re Irish tourists and do what they like to do? Is shopping always on your mind? There’s so much to talk about once we have 8 adventurous folks committed to see the Magic that is only Ireland.

We travel for two weeks, fly non-stop from San Francisco to Dublin on Ireland’s own Aer Lingus. However you may be coming from a different city or traveling ahead of us and just want to meet us at the Dublin airport. That’s fine and as a matter of fact there always someone who chooses to do so. We fly on Sunday arriving in Dublin the next morning at about 10am. We greet the new day as if we just woke up and head off in our vans right away. By that first night you’re ready for a good night’s sleep and wake up on Irish time with little or no jetlag. On the return we fly Sunday morning and get home that same evening without the traffic that weekdays would bring.

We stay in a variety of places including a castle all to ourselves where I get to cook every one a dinner from fresh Irish ingredients we get that day. We stay mainly in family B&B and some inns or guest houses. We stay mainly in the country on the edge of a quaint town or small city so you can walk to and fro at your leisure. We did stay in a fancy hotel in Dublin past trips but I’m going to recommend an alternative to stay in a suburb along the DART system to get away from the city for cost and comfort but be within a short train ride at your calling. Exactly where we go is up to you. I have my favorites but I love to explore and discover new places. I will create an itinerary that fulfills us all.
The cost is always vulnerable to the EURO and much of my costs I can’t pay ahead of time. The Euro however has come down since our last trip by 12 cents. So I’ll tell you what it will cost at that moment with a supplement possibly needed if the EURO goes up between May and the time we go in late October. Last time that supplement came to about a 7% increase but it could be a decrease too. So for planning purposes, figure on $3500 per person double occupancy with your airfare being $600 plus or minus. That $3500 covers all accommodations, full breakfast each morning, chauffered transportation, your personal guide(s), GPS so we can find almost anything, entrance fees to activities, either a Theatre performance or a sporting event, dinner at the castle, Fitzpatrick wines, etc. basically you pay extra for your Guinness and dinner each day. Once we have a plan, then I will price everything out and beat that $3500 but that’s your number to plan with.

So when you’re ready to go on an Irish adventure let me know right away. Normally we need only 8 but we also want it to be the right 8 –fun-loving, adventurous, respectful healthy travelers. However in 2010 I decided to run with only 4 which quickly became 6 plus myself as driver/guide in one 9-passenger van instead of two. The 2010 trip was outstanding and I hope to share not only some new pictures but some video clips too.

I'd like to travel in 2011 as we did in 2010 with only 6 people plus meself. Double occupancy is most beneficial for both trip flexibility and overall costs. The ideal mix of travelers would be friends and/or family but in 2010 2 couples and two friends flew in from America, met in Ireland and shared a cozy van fro two weeks and had the time of our lives never to be forgotten. Amazing? Yes but easily done with adventurous, fun-loving, compassionate human beings. Life-long friends becomes a potential bonus of such an experince.

The picture on the arched stone bridge is in County Galway on the very same bridge that John Wayne and Barry Fitzgerald stood filming the ‘Ouiet Man’. And that dramatic fall into the sea is at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. Just a peek into our last trip.