Well, this is the next episode in what has been a very interesting and fun series of annual expeditions to Ireland from Tellus360. Although the annual trip is open to everyone and anyone who wants to join in, nearly everyone who has been on the trip has had one thing in common - Tellus360! Between locals, regular to the store / bar, musicians, staff and just friends from around Lancaster we’ve managed to pull together groups of between 12 and 24 lunatics to come across the pond to explore the Emerald Isle at least once a year.
1) It's one day longer, giving us that little bit more time to slow things down a bit.
2) Usually we have a double-night stay at the start and end. This time we've a double night stay in the middle.
3) Instead of the usual night in Dingle, we're spending two nights in Killarney. We're still going to visit Dingle, just not spending a night there.
4) Instead of running the tour Sat-Sun, we're going Wed-Fri. This will allow better priced flights, as well as cheaper accommodation in Dublin for those who are spending time there pre-tour.
5) The extra day in the middle allows us to squeeze in an optional activity day. These options will be released closer to the trip, but will include options for getting in a round of golf, climbing Irelands tallest mountain, a sea-safari etc.
Feel free to suggest more and we'll do our best to make it happen! We're going all out to make sure that this will be the time of your life!!
Each trip has been curated by Mairtin Óg Lally in close partnership with the folks at Tellus360.
Mairtin lived in Lancaster for 4 years working on the earlier versions / iterations of the organism that is Tellus360. Before moving to the US of A, Mairtin spent his youth pulling pints in his family’s bar in Galway City and washing the buses for his Dad’s tour company back in Ireland. On one of the earlier Tellus360 trips to Ireland Mairtin decided to move home to Ireland again and to help continue and grow the family tour business…
That’s all we’re saying for now - If you want to get to know us any better then you need to sign up to this trip!
For that we need to look back to 2012 when the whole Tellus360 thing was getting off the ground. 24 East King Street was the home to the first of what turned out to be many iterations of Tellus360.
Folks were visiting the store for shopping, art, furniture and gifts. Really, I think they were just visiting for the free wine and to hear Joe’s hearty laugh echo throughout the building.. Regardless of why they were there, nearly everyone would be talking about their connections to Ireland; how beautiful it is, and that they always wanted to visit, but never had the chance or that the timing was never right. Actually, the most frequent excuse was that it was too expensive, and took a month to fly there.
In hearing this all too often: “Feck it, we should organise a trip to Ireland! It will be class!!!”
And now, 8 years later, we’re looking for the next group of victims to come join us on what has been dubbed as the “trip of a lifetime” -
Just ask anyone who has been on this trip with us before :)
If it’s leprechauns and Blarney stones and a whistle-stop tour that you’re looking for then maybe this trip is not for you. This trip is fairly casual, and the group tends to be very easy-going. We’re more focussed on giving you a taste of the true Ireland, with plenty of opportunities to meet our family, friends and other locals in the smaller towns around the country.
The towns we visit are usually a good mix of both “on” and “off” the beaten track. The activities are great fun, inclusive and unique. The food is fantastic, and the beer and whiskies are world class! The beds are super-comfy, the transport is smooth, and the start times are both sensible and flexible.
Most importantly: your guides are hilarious, drop-dead gorgeous and amongst the most modest in Ireland :)
If you’re not sure, just set a time to get on a call with Mairtin and we can give a better idea if this is for you.
This trip will be limited to 24 guests. This will ensure that we can get around to the smaller towns and more quaint accommodations.In saying that, some of our friends and family will be joining us for various parts of the trip, so this number will fluctuate up and down throughout the trip.
WELCOME TO IRELAND! We kick it all off by collecting everyone from Dublin Airport and/or Dublin City, depending on where everyone is that morning. From here we point our luxury tour bus west to Galway.
This is our home town, so you can expect a fairly in depth introduction to Galway and Ireland as a whole. We’re expecting this to be most people’s first time in Ireland, so we give you everything you need to know from general customs to local sayings through to those little traditions that might catch you out later in the week.
Galway is a magical little town, about the size of Lancaster, and is one of the rare area’s in the country where the Irish language is still spoken. We dig into this, along with a bunch of other Irish traditions that still survive on the West coast of Ireland, more so than over on the east coast.
This first day is relatively chill, but there will be endless Irish Trad Music, great food, charming cozy pubs and, most importantly, loads of locals who are “up for the chats!”.
Our first night will be the first of two in Galway City Center.