Be aware: This tour is at the moment absolutely booked. Nonetheless for those who’d wish to be added to the wait checklist – please electronic mail me at [email protected].
To actually expertise Eire – it’s worthwhile to really feel it – really feel its land, its rain, its temperate local weather, and most of all – its soul. This can be a nation that can not be rushed and exploring it on foot is among the greatest methods to expertise it. This enables you the chance to satisfy the locals, come nose to nose with hundreds of years of historical past, and see what it’s that makes Irish folks so distinctive.
I’ve partnered with information extraordinaire, Rachel Nolan of Rachel’s Irish Adventures, to place collectively an Ottsworld tour that will carry Nation Mayo’s landscapes, mountaineering, native tradition, and distinctive touches collectively in an unimaginable custom-made tour.
Overview and Map
Be aware: This tour is at the moment absolutely booked. Nonetheless for those who’d wish to be added to the wait checklist – please electronic mail me at [email protected].
Dates: April 20 – 27, 2024
Value: €2,780* (€450 single complement)
This can be a small group tour – solely 7 folks + me! The area will replenish quick so enroll rapidly.
*All costs shall be charged within the Euro – some USD value fluctuations may happen by the point of your remaining fee – nevertheless you possibly can pay in full at any time and lock within the value.
This isn’t your run-of-the-mill Eire tour. That is an unique custom-made Ottsworld tour within the firm of me as your host, accompanied by our skilled native Irish information – Rachel. Our small group of seven folks will get to go to a few of Eire’s best-kept secrets and techniques, hike on distant trails, keep in boutique lodging, meet locals, expertise distinctive Irish tradition, and benefit from the lush inexperienced of the Eire panorama within the spring.
I will even provide pictures instruction for these of you who’re involved in enhancing your pictures (cellphone or digital camera). As well as, I shall be taking images of all the tour and every visitor will get a obtain of all pictures I take. So for those who don’t need to take photos – I’ll do it for you!
The journey will discover the entire fantastic thing about County Mayo’s stretch of shoreline alongside the Wild Atlantic Means and its islands. What’s that – you haven’t heard of County Mayo? That’s precisely why I selected it! It’s a hidden gem away from the closely traveled websites in Eire.
Whereas most individuals head to the Ring of Kerry or the Cliffs of Moher, we’ll have the gorgeous shoreline of County Mayo all to ourselves.
Guide This Tour
Be aware: This tour is at the moment absolutely booked. Nonetheless for those who’d wish to be added to the wait checklist – please electronic mail me at [email protected].
I’d like to speak to you first to reply any of your questions previous to your reserving. Due to this fact comply with these steps to ebook:
- Ship me an electronic mail at [email protected] letting me learn about your curiosity. We are going to arrange a name to debate any questions you have got. This shall be on a primary come first serve foundation – there are solely 7 spots accessible on this tour.
- I’ll ship you a fee hyperlink to Rachel’s web site the place you possibly can ebook your deposit and safe your spot for this practice tour. A 500€ nonrefundable deposit is required to safe a spot.
- Remaining fee is due January 21, 2024 (90 Days previous to April 20, 2024)
Cancellation Coverage and Price
- When you cancel greater than 90 days earlier than the beginning date of the vacation, you’ll lose the deposit quantity.
- When you cancel between 89 – 42 days earlier than beginning date of the vacation, you’ll lose 50% of the vacation price
- When you cancel lower than 42 days earlier than the beginning date of the vacation, you’ll lose 100% of the vacation price
I extremely suggest that you just get journey insurance coverage to cowl any dangers of cancellation. I usually use Allianz Journey Insurance coverage for my very own travels and it is vitally moderately priced.
Every day Itinerary
The itinerary is one-of-a-kind and is filled with included experiences equivalent to a number of ‘spa’ experiences, visits to sheep farms, entrance to historic websites, lamb cuddling, cooking expertise, falconry, whiskey tasting, and the prospect to satisfy numerous locals. As well as, we now have included loads of hikes, walks, and even some biking!
Be aware: The journey begins in Ballina and ends in Westport. You’ll be chargeable for your individual transportation to the beginning and from the end, nevertheless, there’s a common practice and buses which can be straightforward to take from Dublin with a number of departures instances throughout any given day.
Day 1 – April 20 – Arrival in Ballina Eire
Your vacation kicks off within the charming city of Ballina in County Mayo the place your information will meet you on arrival and switch you to the lodge. Settle into your room and take within the magnificent view over the River Moy and Belleek Woods, go to a museum, and revel in a river stroll.
Get pleasure from a day baking expertise in Marjorie’s Kitchen, hosted by Rachel’s mom in her kitchen. Marjorie is the writer of 4 cookery books and loves nothing greater than to share her ardour within the kitchen, adopted by savoring the fruits of your labor over a scorching cuppa tea.
We are going to get pleasure from a welcome dinner for the group to get to know each other. After dinner you probably have any power left, we’ll hit the city and go to Pat Rouse’s bar, Ballina’s oldest family-owned pub the place a conventional Irish music session and singsong will go on late into the evening. It’s possible you’ll even get the prospect to tug your individual pint of Guinness.
Day 1 Meals Included: Dinner
Day 2: Sligo Coast – Following the traces of the Historic Queen Maeve of Connacht
After a refreshing sleep and a scrumptious breakfast. It’s off to hit the paths of Mayo and get our boots soiled for the primary time. As we speak we’ll hike the fantastic Knocknarea hill and add a stone to the hundreds adorning the imposing grave or cairn of Maeve, the nice warrior queen, which overlooks Strandhill.
Distance: 7.5km | Elevation achieve 404m | 2-3 hours
It’s time to get pleasure from an natural, fair-trade espresso on the excellent Shells Café which overlooks the strand, having fun with one among their delicious selfmade treats. With time to loosen up and discover this quaint location.
Go to Aughris Head Seashore bar – a conventional thatch roof pub and revel in a warming Irish espresso.
Get pleasure from a very distinctive native expertise and unwind with a seaweed tub in Enniscrone. Seaweed baths are literally a centuries-old follow in Eire. Courting again to the twelfth century, monks harvested seaweed from the coastlines and gave it to the poor as a nourishing meals. We’ll get pleasure from a soak on the 100-plus-year-old Kilcullen’s Tub Home perched proper on the coast the place they harvest their seaweed.
Get pleasure from a hearty dinner in Ballina and conventional Irish music at Lilly’s Bar.
Day 2 Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 3: Conventional Irish Trades & Treats
Begin the morning assembly and dealing with birds of prey. The Birds of Prey Expertise is a novel alternative to satisfy and deal with a wide range of Birds on the Mount Falcon Aviary. Get a captivating perception into the lives of those magnificent creatures and get the prospect to carry and admire them shut up; it’s a really visceral and satisfying expertise!
Tour the Foxford Woollen Mills and study the historical past of the mill in addition to how vital it’s to the close by village. Have an opportunity to buy any wool mementos. Get pleasure from lunch on the Woolen Mills Cafe.
Head again to Ballina and get fitted for bikes at Rachel’s bike shed. We’ll cycle to the Monasteries of the Moy, and discover the Belleek woods, and Rosserk Abbey. There shall be a lot of events to cease off and take photos and study concerning the historical past and traditions of the area…just like the Fairy Path!
For anybody who doesn’t need to cycle at present, an alternative choice is to relax out and revel in a calming remedy in an award-winning spa (at your individual price).
This night you have got an actual deal with earlier than dinner. A whiskey appreciation masterclass, your whisky knowledgeable will take you thru a number of Irish Whiskey and educate you on this world-famous spirit and its origins. Style the totally different whiskeys and ask any questions you will have. Following the masterclass, we’ll have dinner at Quay West.
Day 3 Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 4: North Mayo coast (The Ceide Coast)
Depart Ballina with a scenic drive to the coast the place we’ll take a simple strolling route alongside the coast to a hidden seaside. We’ll additionally make a cease on the iconic Downpatrick Head the place your information will carry this place to life with details and folklore about time passed by.
Now it’s time to reward you in your morning’s journey with some scrumptious lunch and home-baked treats at Mary’s Cottage Kitchen. The proper place to cease for some tasty residence cooking is located within the coastal village of Ballycastle. Mary’s Cottage Kitchen was constructed within the early 1800s and maintains many conventional options such because the stone wall exterior, open loft, uncovered beams, flag flooring, and a superb open fireplace.
Subsequent, it’s time to go to the gorgeous Ceide Fields which is the oldest, most in depth Stone Age monument on the earth, which lies beneath our toes! Consisting of megalithic tombs, fields, and homes, the relics are softly coated by a pure blanket bathroom, which itself is a marvel with its distinctive natural world. Put together to be blown away on the viewing platform on the fringe of the 110-metre cliff shut by.
Tonight we keep on the luxurious Ceide Glamping Pods. Every of the 6 Glamping Pods comes with a surprising coastal view. And the very best half is that we’ll have all the space to ourselves. We’ll get pleasure from dinner within the widespread space whereas we benefit from the sound of the waves crashing on the coast.
Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5: Off the Crushed Path
After a refreshing sleep and a scrumptious breakfast. It’s off to hit one of the crucial gorgeous trails in County Mayo. This area of the Wild Atlantic Means has among the most dramatic coastlines to be discovered anyplace in Eire. The hike we’ll get pleasure from at present was described in Lonely Planet as “The best sustained coastal stroll in western Eire, with a profusion of precipitous cliffs, crags, caves, chasms and islands alongside the distant North Mayo coast”.
Distance: 7km | Elevation achieve: 300m | 2-3 hours
After the difficult hike reward your self with a conventional heat whiskey and lunch at Connoly’s Pub and revel in assembly some locals at this tiny, distant institution.
Drive to Ballycroy Nationwide Park. Positioned on the Western seaboard in northwest Mayo, the park covers an enormous 15,000 hectares of uninhabited and unspoiled wilderness, dominated by the Nephin Beg mountain vary. To the west of the mountains is the Owenduff Lavatory, one of many final intact lively blanket bathroom techniques in Western Europe. If time permits we’ll do a brief stroll there.
Drive to Achill Island, the biggest of the Irish isles but it solely has 2500 inhabitants. Right here we’ll keep on the secluded Bervie B&B. The magical beachside home was as soon as a coast guard station, and since 1932 has been the last word escape for the numerous company who’ve stayed right here. It’s a low, tucked-in sort of place with somewhat wicket gate giving direct entry to the seaside. There’s an other-worldliness concerning the Bervie that may be very uncommon nowadays.
In spite of everything of that mountaineering – get pleasure from some scorching & chilly Atlantic remedy! Heat up within the cute beachside saunas after which cool off with a refreshing dip within the Atlantic Ocean…and repeat. Dinner at Bervie B&B.
Included: Breakfast
Day 6: Achill Island & Clew Bay
After having fun with the very best breakfast on Achill Island, we’ll drive to Keem Seashore which is honored as the most effective seashores on the earth. From there we’ll hike as much as Eire’s highest sea cliffs (it’s steep – however brief)!
Subsequent, we’ll go to the Abandoned Village at Slievemore which consists of some 80 – 100 stone cottages situated alongside a mile-long stretch of highway on the southern slopes of Slievemore Mountain. Settlement on this space dates from a minimum of early Medieval instances and we’ll get to stroll by way of the village on a simple highway stroll.
After lunch on the island, we’ll drive in the direction of the village of Westport. We will have a ‘select your individual journey’ afternoon with a number of stops to select from relying on curiosity, climate, time, and many others)
Keep within the common city of Westport tonight the place we’ll get pleasure from dinner, stay music, and iconic pubs.
Included: Breakfast
Day 7: Killary Fjord & South Mayo
Morning drive alongside Clew Bay and cease on the iconic Croagh Patrick to get pleasure from views of the notorious peak that hundreds pilgrimage to the highest of.
Lunch outdoor if climate permits. For animal lovers, we get to go to an iconic Eire sheep farm. The Killary Sheep Farm in Connemara is a conventional working mountain farm with approx 200 ewes and lambs roaming freely within the mountain overlooking Killary Fjord, on the Wild Atlantic Means. Right here we’ll get to see a sheepdog demonstration, study concerning the farm, and even get to cuddle some spring lambs!
We’ll head again to Westport the place you’ll get time to do some remaining memento buying and revel in extra of the colourful city. We’ll have our goodbye dinner (how did it go so quick?!) in Westport that night the place we will share our favourite Eire reminiscences and experience our new friendships.
Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8: April 27 – Departure Day
After breakfast, you possibly can catch the practice again to Dublin, or possibly you’ll determine to stay round and revel in extra of Eire’s west coast!
Practice to Dublin (direct):
- 07:15 – 10:27
- 09:45 – 13:04
- 13:10 – 16:29
- 18:20 – 21:36
(Instances is perhaps barely totally different in 2024)
Bus to Galway:
- 06:18
- 09:19
- 12:27
- 15:19
- 18:19
(Approx. 2 hours)
What’s Included
- 7 nights keep in an en-suite room at our premium hand-picked lodging.
- Scrumptious Full Irish breakfast every morning, and three Dinners.
- 7 days of actions with an knowledgeable Irish information who will accompany the group throughout the vacation
- All experiences as outlined within the itinerary; Whiskey Tasting, Foxford woolen mills, baking class, Seaweed tub, Ceide Fields, sheepdog demonstration, Sauna Achill Island, and bike rental.
- Courtesy transfers to and from every day’s strolling places and all transport as outlined within the itinerary.
- Primary pictures instruction throughout the journey.
- Entry to a full gallery of images (shot by me!) of all the journey, which you should utilize for private functions.
What’s Not Included:
- Flights to/from Eire
- Transportation to Ballina and departure from Westport
- Journey Insurance coverage
- Some dinners and lunches
- Private drinks
- Medical prices
- Gratuities
Our Superior Native Information
When you have got the best information, it could ‘make’ a whole journey! Rachel is the last word out of doors information. She’s an unimaginable athlete and such a beautiful advocate of her residence area in County Mayo. Considered one of my favourite issues about staying in Ballina is that it’s the city she grew up in (and nonetheless lives there) and with that comes unimaginable native connections. In actual fact, we may have a particular cooking class from her mom. It doesn’t get rather more native than that! Plus, Rachel ensures that we all know everybody on the town introducing us to the bartenders once we go right into a pub, restaurant house owners, and even the native man who smokes fish.
Critiques
What makes this tour ‘Ottsworld’? This isn’t your common tour…it’s an Ottsworld tour. I need to confess – that I’m kind of a journey snob. I don’t love to do the ‘anticipated’ or see the everyday sights; I like to hunt out the bizarre, and fewer traveled. I’ve labored collectively very carefully with Rachel to place collectively a tour that impresses even me! It has all of my favourite components in it: mountaineering, native journey, booze, hands-on native experiences, and pictures. Sure – all of this in solely 8 days! Right here’s what previous company needed to say under.
“Positively a ten! I actually loved the truth that the tour was a ‘white glove supply’ experience- every little thing was so meticulously deliberate so we didn’t have to fret about transportation, meals, what we’re doing for the day, or if we’re making an attempt to an excessive amount of or not sufficient. I went again to reread the outline of the tour (revealed in Could) after we returned residence and couldn’t imagine that we hit EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. AS. PLANNED.”
“It was excellent for me, a bit difficult however that’s what I like. The primary day was essentially the most lovely, second essentially the most difficult, third very attention-grabbing with the steps by way of the woods.”
“Positively met expectations and likewise uncovered me to issues I’m positive I might not have thought-about if I used to be planning a visit.”
“Meals was AWESOME – manner higher than anticipated. Appreciated doing issues I might not have achieved alone.”
“Thanks in your persistence in serving to us seize wonderful reminiscences! The one factor I knew earlier than your class was the rule of thirds, and now I’ve an excellent basis of information to construct upon – no extra level and shoot! Instagram be careful!”
Who Ought to Think about This Tour?
- Individuals who wish to discover lesser-known locations, and be adventurous and lively.
- People who find themselves versatile. You need to be keen to exhibit flexibility, as itineraries could change attributable to climate, and it helps you probably have a ‘keen to attempt new issues’ angle.
- Individuals who don’t thoughts getting moist or having fun with the joy of inclement climate.
- Individuals who really feel comfy mountaineering 3 to five miles in uneven terrain.
Images
You probably have any questions – please be at liberty to contact me at [email protected]. I’m pleased to reply something concerning the journey!
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