Ruschy Family Irish Adventure

May 2025

Duration: 10 Days / 9 Nights

Overview

Picturesque coastal towns and villages, green pastoral fields, soaring cliffs, wild barren landscapes, the crash of the ocean, the laugh of a local. Ireland is romantic, authentic, a home away from home where both old and modern seem to cohabit seamlessly on a small island in the middle of the sea. Packed with history and tradition your days are spent exploring Ireland’s famous and off the beaten track sites of natural, cultural and ancient interest. A world renowned food scene means your evenings are spent dining in style and with the promise of a pub just around the corner, music and laughter are never far away. Your trip to Ireland will surprise and delight you but the people of Ireland will stay with you, long after your journey has taken you home.

Itinerary at a Glance

Day 1 | Welcome to Dublin | Overnight: Dublin

Day 2 | Stories and Sheepdogs | Overnight: Connemara

Day 3 | Hiking in Connemara | Overnight: Connemara

Day 4 | Local Artists in Galway City | Overnight: The Burren

Day 5 | The Burren National Park | Overnight: The Burren

Day 6 | North Kerry & Dingle | Overnight: Dingle

Day 7 | The Dingle Peninsula | Overnight: Dingle

Day 8 | Soda Bread Making | Overnight: Kenmare

Day 9 | Seaweed Foraging Along The Ring of Kerry | Overnight: Kenmare

Day 10 | Depart

Day by Day

Day 1 - Welcome to Dublin

Arriving in Ireland today, a private transfer will pick you up from the airport and whisk you to your boutique hotel in the city centre. Head out in the afternoon to enjoy a walking tour with a local private guide through this vibrant capital city, with its mix of 1,000 years of architecture from the mediaeval to Georgian to modern. See the Georgian style Merrion Square, lush St. Stephen’s Green and Fitzwilliam Square, as well as O’Connell Street, the site of the ‘1916 Uprising’ that led to Ireland’s independence in 1922. Your guide is also a historian who will bring the city to life with colourful tales of life in the city in times gone by. Tonight, enjoy dinner in one of Dublin’s many award winning restaurants.

Overnight: Dublin | The Alex
Room Type: x1 classic double, x1 classic twin
Meals Included: None

Day 2 - Stories and Sheepdogs

After a leisurely breakfast, you’ll meet your guide and after a few introductions, begin your journey west. If you wish, take the time to walk along the banks of the River Shannon, a waterway that divides the east from the west and eventually empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Hear about the drowned goddess who gave the river its name, visit a monastic monument, and learn about Viking raids. Later this afternoon, continue your journey into Connemara, a Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking region) known for its windswept landscapes of mountains, beach and bog. You’ll enjoy a visit to a working sheep farm and while you watch the brilliant sheepdogs work the flock, chat to the local farmer about a life spent on the rugged west coast. Continue on to your home for the next three nights, Delphi Lodge, built in the 1830s and tonight your guide will join you for dinner inspired by the seasons.

Overnight: Connemara | Delphi Lodge
Room Type: x1 classic double, x1 classic twin
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3 - Hiking in Connemara

Windswept and austere, the exceptional barren beauty of Connemara has captured the imagination of writers and artists for centuries. With two mountain ranges and far-reaching blanket bogs, to the southwest, the land is broken up into a myriad of tiny islands and crescents of sparkling sand. With many miles of coastline, the ocean has always played an integral part in the lives of the locals. Today you’ll follow a small trail up Leenane Hill and explore a little-known part of Galway that few other visitors get to experience. On the way up, enjoy beautiful views of Killary Fjord spilling out on one side while the wild bogs of Mayo extend out on the other. A fast-disappearing terrain, learn about the importance of Irish bogs from an ecological as well as historical perspective. From the top of Leenane Hill, marvel at the 360-degree views over the beautiful and rugged Maam Turks Mountains and Mweelrea Mountain and out across the fjord to the wild Atlantic Ocean.

Overnight: Connemara | Delphi Lodge
Room Type: x1 classic double, x1 classic twin
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Day 4 - Local Artists in Galway City

This morning, you’ll make your way further south to Co. Clare, but first stop off in Galway, a charming Medieval-era city with a thriving arts scene. Enjoy a delicious lunch at one of Galway’s most iconic restaurants before heading over to the Westend of the city where you will visit local artist Sarah’s Atelier and learn her craft of weaving. You will learn how to make our ancestry St. Brigid’s Cross, hung in many Irish homes to protect and fend off evil spirits. Continue on to your 18th century manor house, Gregan’s, a former retreat for poets and authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. You’ll arrive in time for a cool pint of Guinness by the fire before dinner at its award-winning restaurant.

Overnight: The Burren | Gregans
Room Type: x1 classic double, x1 classic twin
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Day 5 - The Burren National Park

This morning, you’ll head out to explore the fascinating Burren landscape – fissured plateaus of limestone and shale, vast in their captivating and barren beauty. Accompanied by your guide, wind your way over the stark rocky terrain, past prehistoric tombs and through wildflower grasslands. The region is steeped in history as well, with over 2,500 historical monuments to be explored. You’ll have lunch at a local tearoom followed by a visit to the adjoining Burren Perfumery where only natural and organic ingredients are used in production. It’s the oldest working perfumery in Ireland!

Overnight: The Burren | Gregans
Room Type: x1 classic double, x1 classic twin
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Day 6 - North Kerry & Dingle

Leaving County Clare behind, today you’ll head further south to the wild and rugged Dingle Peninsula. En route, stop for a delightful beach walk on Ballybunion’s sandy shores. Known for its beaches, panoramic cliff walks and surrounding wildlife, Ballybunion offers breathtaking views out over Loop Head and the Virgin Rock. As you stroll along the rugged coastline, the salty breeze kisses your cheeks while the sound of crashing waves fills the air, creating a soothing symphony of nature. Take in panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean stretching to the horizon, dotted with surfers riding the waves and seabirds gliding gracefully overhead. After a lovely lunch make your way to the town of Dingle, famous for its buzzing traditional music scene, delicious seafood, and array of classic Irish pubs. Stop in for a whiskey this evening and enjoy some of the “craic agus ceol” (fun and music) the town is renowned for.

Overnight: Dingle | Pax House
Room Type: x1 comfy sea view double, x1 comfy sea view twin
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Day 7 - The Dingle Peninsula

The Dingle Peninsula hosts some of the richest collection of archaeological sites in Europe, ranging from standing stones and prehistoric monuments, as well as the peninsula’s renowned ancient clochains or beehive huts, which may be as much as 2,000 years old. Explore the peninsula today with your guide, stopping as you please for strolls along some of the longest stretching beaches and coastline trails Ireland has to offer. You’ll visit the Beehive Huts, related to those found on the Skellig Islands and featured in the Star Wars film, The Gallarus Oratory, an early Christian dry stone ‘church’ and if time allows, The Louis Mulcahy Pottery Studio before returning to Dingle town for a delicious locally sourced dinner.

Overnight: Dingle | Pax House
Room Type: x1 comfy sea view double, x1 comfy sea view twin
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Day 8 - Soda Bread Making

You have a 1.5 hour scenic drive ahead of you this morning as you make your way to Kenmare, nestled in the heart of Co. Kerry and renowned for its stunning natural beauty. Your destination is just up the road at a traditional farming cottage, where the hosts will teach you the long-standing craft of Irish soda bread making and take you on a guided tour of the surrounding farm. Your boutique accommodation is ideally located on the Wild Atlantic Way between the Ring of Kerry and the Ring of Beara. Settle in and relax this evening before dinner.

Overnight: Kenmare | Brook Lane
Room Type: x1 classic double, x1 classic twin
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Day 9 - Seaweed Foraging Along The Ring of Kerry

As you make your way into the southern part of the Ring of Kerry, the landscape becomes wilder and more rugged. At a secluded bay, meet a local foraging expert and storyteller who will take you on a wander along the shoreline learning about life on Ireland’s West Coast. Have a toast and enjoy some seaweed nibbles including the flavoursome Duilleasc and Nori, the famous sushi roll wrapping. fterwards, visit the home of one of Ireland’s most famous revolutionary political figures, Daniel O’Connell, lawyer, politician and statesman, and one of the great figures in modern Irish history. Many relics of O’Connell’s life and career are preserved in Derrynane House, but the house is more than just a museum. The House was officially opened to the public as a museum commemorating Daniel O’Connell by President Eamon De Valera in August 1967. This evening your guide will join you for a farewell dinner.

Overnight: Kenmare | Brook Lane
Room Type: x1 classic double, x1 classic twin
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 10 - Depart

This morning, your guide will drop you to the airport for your flight home. We hope your time in Ireland has been memorable and we look forward to welcoming you to our shores once again.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Trip Details

Pricing Read More

The gross price of this itinerary, based on 4 people sharing, is €8162 per person

Terms & Conditions Read More

Please see our booking terms here.

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Delphi Lodge

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