Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Galway, Dingle & Killarney)

Killarney, Dingle & Galway

EI
43 reviews
Duration: 7 days
Group size: 6 - 20
Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Galway, Dingle & Killarney)
Killarney, Dingle & Galway

43 reviews

Duration: 7 days
Group size: 6 - 20

About this trip

Join us for an action-packed week touring the beautiful West Coast of Ireland. You’ll enjoy the benefits of a true small group experience with an expert local guide,  16 people max led by Stephen McPhilemy or one of our team of 100% Irish and experienced guides.

This is the ideal tour to experience the Wild Atlantic Way. 

You’ll stay in the charming and lively towns of Killarney, Dingle and Galway. 

Dine like royalty, enjoy music-filled pubs, meet the locals (and our Irish Wolfhounds!), sing our songs and learn the lively history of our proud land.

This is a fun, relaxed and VIP-style tour full of authentic Irish experiences.

The small group-size ensures wonderful personalised service.

What’s included

  • All accommodation
    Fine Irish hotels & guesthouses
  • All activities
    No hidden extras, everything we do and visit is included in your tour price
  • All breakfasts
    hearty Irish breakfasts each day
  • 1 dinner
    home-made meal in Dingle, glass of wine included
  • 1 lunch
    a picnic of fine Irish cheese & prosecco
  • whiskey tasting
    an enjoyable whiskey tasting on Dingle Bay

What’s not included

  • tips
    our Irish tour-drivers are well paid, tips are not expected but always appreciated, some tour guests still like to give a wee gratuity of a few euros per day, this is entirely at your own discretion.

Available Packages

Per person, sharing twin/double room
Deposit:€350

Per person, sharing twin/double room with a tour-guest you are travelling with. 

€2,299
Deposit:€350
Solo traveller (one person in bedroom)
Deposit:€350

A private bedroom all to yourself. Solo traveller or travelling with friends or family and prefer to not share a bedroom, no worries. 


(The single supplement fee is approximately €400 more than the regular 'twin/double-sharing price, due to the fact that in most hotels a single-occupancy room for 1 guest is the same price as a double/twin rooms for 2 guests)

€2,799
Deposit:€350


Itinerary

Day 1
Dublin to Killarney

[9.00am] Depart central Dublin. Pickup at the Leonardo Hotel (formerly Jury's Inn, Christchurch. Directly opposite Christchurch Cathedral and one minute walk from the Harding Hotel). We’ll enjoy some commentary on Dublin’s attractions, en route to the lush Irish countryside. 

Onwards to Cashel, its a long way to Tipperary (2 hours actually!)

[11.00] We'll make tea/coffee break en-route to the 'Golden Vale' of Ireland. You’ll be able have an itinerary Q&A session with your 'Essential Ireland' Tour-Guide during this stop.

[mid-day] The Rock of Cashel. Follow in the footsteps of St. Patrick in one of Irelands blockbuster archaeological sights, we’ll enjoy a guided tour led by your passionate ‘Essential Ireland’ Guide and history buff. The views are simply awe-inspiring, the history of this sight is awesome.


Free for lunch in one of the many bakeries, cafes or pubs of charming Cashel


[2pm] Depart for Killarney, one the jewels in Ireland’s crown, welcoming tourists since the visit of Queen Victoria in the 1860s.


[4pm] Arrive in Killarney, relax by the magnificent Lakes. Short orientation tour and evening free in Killarney, one of Ireland’s most welcoming and picturesque towns, excellent for shopping and strolling through the lively streets.


Later you're free to enjoy one of the many  Irish-Ballad Music sessions in the lively pubs, your 'Essential Ireland' guide will recommend their favourite..

Your Organizer


EI
Essential Ireland Tours & Travel Ltd.
43 reviews
Famous for our small-group, VIP-style, Ireland Tours (8-16 guests) 🇮🇪 Created by award-winning Irish Tour-guide Steve McPhilemy (Rick Steves' right-hand man in Ireland for over 20 years) & Irish-American travel-enthusiast Patrick Wade to provide wonderful, fun & value-for-money Irish experiences for our friends, family and international guests.

Reviews

We rated this 4, but we’re being generous. Our tour guide, Chris, is a wonderful person with a kind disposition and hearty laugh. Generally, we think this is a good tour, but our particular week had a number of disruptions and disappointments. Our Guinness tour never happened, and we weren’t told why or in advance, so we could have gone on our own. We went to Ashford Castle when the town of Cong was essentially shut down for the season, so there wasn’t much to do. The biggest issue was we had to move hotels in Dingle due to a scheduling issue, which was a real hassle and killed half of our “free day”. It did not feel like a luxury tour. Ireland is wonderful and the itinerary hit a lot of key attractions. The Milltown House and the experiences there (falconry, Irish dancing) were great, but we only had 2 days there. Finally, the bus was not comfortable. There was only Chris to be driver and tour guide except one day when Stephen joined us. Having two people is referenced in other reviews, and would have been a lot better. Poor Chris had to spend so much time handling luggage, which ended up having to be stored in several rows of seats, which again detracted from the comfort of the ride. We could add several suggestions, and really appreciate the efforts and intentions of the tour team. We suspect this particular week was not up to their usual standards as the other reviews are all so positive.
By Reed S for Castles & Classics - The luxury tour of Ireland on Nov 01, 2024
BB
This is one of the best tours I’ve taken. Stephen is the magic that makes this such a memorable vacation. Loved the Ashford Castle, the Hilltown Hotel in Dingle, Stephen’s staff , and of course the falconry. You also get to meet Seamus. If you go on the Essential Ireland website, you can find out who Seamus is. Great trip Stephen - thank you.
By Bruce B for Castles & Classics - The luxury tour of Ireland on Oct 01, 2024
I enjoyed the tour and all the stops and hotels. The tour guide was informative. The only suggestion is if there were more time at the stops to enjoy the site, fir example the Cliff of Moyer.
By Karey B for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Killarney, Dingle & Galway) on Oct 01, 2024
Much enjoyed the tour, and the efforts of Essential Ireland to provide a great trip for my siblings and our spouses. Chris was a great guide, and we all enjoyed the tour. Essential Ireland takes great pride in providing a smaller group experience; we'd highly recommend.
By Tim N for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Killarney, Dingle & Galway) on Sep 24, 2024
CI
The original itinerary and tour director for our Wild Atlantic trip unfortunately were changed. It was re-routed in reverse order, which impacted some of the logistics. The sites we visited were generally as promoted but several changes were made which I found disappointing, the greatest of which was substituting Stephen McPhelmy with another guide. The first day when Stephen did accompany us was excellent. Very interesting stops, much enriched with his professional expertise and insights and background knowledge. We did appreciate the small group size and the selection of places we toured. Several activities we were treated to were off the beaten path and arranged through Essential Ireland’s personal connections. The tour of the Dingle glass cutting factory, the private Irish music performance and the hands-on falconry demonstration were particularly special.
By Cheryl I for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Killarney, Dingle & Galway) on Sep 21, 2024
Many thanks for travelling with us Cheryl, it was a pleasure to welcome you and travel with you, thank you for your kind words and positive feedback regarding the "off the beaten path" Irish experiences that we are famous for like the historical insights and personal anecdotes, the private Irish music and Irish dancing evening and things like our School of Falconry. There is always a possibility of one of our tours going in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, as you mentioned every activity and site was still delivered, experienced and enjoyed, nothing was missed out on. We pride ourselves on that and also our 'never cancel a tour' guarantee. That being said I fully understand your point and I'm certain that in 2025 this tour '7 day Wild Atlantic Way' itinerary will always go in the clockwise direction (unless there is some unforeseen circumstance, like a major festival and we may have to go to Killarney first instead of Galway, this possibility is stated in our information, although we always do our utmost to avoid it in future and I'll endeavour to make guests aware of it much earlier in the unlikely event it needs to happen). In 2025 we hope to offer around 20 public tours for the season and I will maybe guide only a handful of them (God willing), its not possible for me to guide them all. I'll make sure this is clearer on our website. I'm a 48 year old Grandfather now and I've loved being on the road touring for 28 years but I will be slowing down a bit to spend time with my wee Grand-daughter, focus on my private tours and making our small-group, open-to-the-general-public-to-book 'Essential Ireland tours' even better. I've even officially retired from guiding tours for my good friend and mentor Rick Steves after 25 years, so I can free up some summer time in my calendar for important things like my wife, my children/grandchildren and my Irish wolfhounds :) My beloved brother Chris and all the other 'Essential Ireland' guides are all highly experienced tour-leaders and passionate Irish citizens and I'm 100% confident they'll guide our tours excellently if not available to guide that week. Best wishes to you and I really hope we will get to welcome you again in future. Is mise le meas ('from me to you with respect' in Irish Gaelic") Stephen McPhilemy
EI
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