Ireland Tour Magic Moments
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| For Jackie and Anne Steves, Ireland is a real cliff hanger. |
Real Experiences From Our Tour Members
Our goal as tour organizers: to pack your trip with "magic moments." Here are just a few of the many magic moments our gangs experienced on a Rick Steves' Ireland tour recently. For the inside scoop on all of our tours, check out our uncensored tour member feedback page.
The Dingle Peninsula was beautiful. It was nice having one day on our own to explore and do whatever we wanted. The Giant's Causeway — what a spectacular sight that was. Each area we visited had its own beauty. It was a special trip.
— Juddene in Forest Ranch, CA
Ireland, Sep 21, 2003
The WOW factor was almost the entire trip because of the history that tour guides Stephen and Declan exposed us to.
— Fred in Alameda, CA
Ireland, Sep 21, 2003
The whole trip was "WOW"! We made a stop at the Michael Collins Memorial, and after hearing about the men of Easter Rising and seeing Kilmainham Gaol, it became a reality. It just hit me because these people were no longer part of a historical anecdote or characters in a movie. In the form of a white cross and grass-bordered road, those men, Michael Collins, and Ireland became a sober actuality. It was painful, but I'm glad we stopped for it. Kudos to tour guides Declan, Nigel, and especially Stephen for a most valiant effort in teaching our group hurling. We laughed, we swung, and missed. Some fell, some collided. We ducked and some just stood there. We provided comic relief for the local children, whose field we used. They did cheer us on, though. It was worth every grass stain and laughter-induced tear!
— Emilee in Garland, TX
Ireland, Sep 21, 2003
I was very moved to the point of being overwhelmed while we toured the Dingle Peninsula, in particular the Blaskit Islands and the strength of those people. I found it to be a very humbling experience so while sitting outside at a picnic table with my lunch in front of me, I wept. On a more positive note, the scenery was amazing. Everyday I would think "there can't be anything better than this" and then there was. It continued for two weeks. The charm of Kinsale was captivating and the isolation of the Aran Islands was fascinating. The Irish spirit shows through everywhere you go.
— Kerry in Fresno, CA
Ireland, Sep 13, 2003
I think that the whole trip was a "wow" moment. Having been on ETBD tours before (and knowing that this question always gets asked), I had been thinking about this the whole trip. Every bend in the road brought new beauty that made me say "wow" — every pub visited with the music and the camaraderie made me say "wow" — our guide Stephen and his telling of history & stories, his obvious love of his country, his teaching us about gaelic football and hurling, and his teaching us new songs made me say "wow!" How could I possibly pick only one?
— Irene in Alexandria, VA
Ireland, Aug 17, 2003
The "wow" moment for me was when our guide was kind enough to read some of my family history from Northern Ireland and decide to ask the group if we could take a side trip to where my line goes back to were O'Neill and the Chiefs were confirmed. There was not a place that I would not like to see again.
— Shirley in Antioch, CA
Ireland, Aug 17, 2003
The guide Stephen McPhilemy made the trip very entertaining. He made my husband and I wish that we were Irish. His knowledge and experiences were endless.
— Mary in El Dorado Hills, CA
Ireland, Jun 22, 2003
I have three "wow" moments! First, I met a distant Gallagher relation while touring the castle in Donegal Town that showed me the sword fighting technique of our mutual relations. They are reputed to have been quite the warriors. He also gave me his version of the Gallagher history that's not in the usual books on Irish heritage, and he also gave me a souvenir arrow head he had made. "Wow" moment #2: I was in Matt Malloy's pub in Westport getting ready to listen to traditional music. A wonderful older man with a great tenor voice realized that we were a group of Americans and he started singing Irish songs about American states and cities. I saw a woman across the room who I thought looked familiar, but I thought "impossible," so I asked the singer if he knew a song about Chicago. Before he could answer, the woman asked if I was from Chicago. After I said "yes," she said she was too. She asked where exactly I was from and we realized we were neighbors. How weird was that?! "Wow" moment #3: The history, the beauty, the music. I'm in love with Ireland!
— Cheri in Oak Park, IL
Ireland, Jun 14, 2003
Check out all the information about our Best of Ireland tour, and our 2004 guidebook to Ireland!