OUR Essential Ireland BLOG

2026 ESSENTIAL IRELAND Tour Dates Prices include all activities, hotels and breakfasts Enjoy our proud 100% never-ever cancel guarantee! 2026 Essential Ireland Tour Dates. Our 2026 dates are open for reservation! Our Wild Atlantic Way Tour will depart Dublin every Sunday (many dates already close to sold out!) No single-supplement charge Click here to view our 7 day Wild Atlantic Way itinerary: Our famous 'Castles & classics' tour has two departures with availability - 4th O

Behold, a nice wee compilation of Essential Ireland Tour Reviews - our favourites from 25 years of welcoming guest on our award-winning small group tours of Ireland. Pam writing on Rick Steves Travel Forum, 2024 https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/first-trip-planning-tour-companies Question: We are hoping to visit in May (first trip, 3 adults) for a week, mostly hitting Wild Atlantic Way. For past trips to Europe, I've planned and booked everything direct us

Traveling through Ireland offers a unique blend of history, culture, and breathtaking landscapes. To truly experience the Emerald Isle, you need more than just a map—you need insider knowledge. Award-winning Irish tour guide Stephen McPhilemy shares his expertise in a lively conversation with his mentor, renowned travel expert Rick Steves. Together, they reveal practical tips and smart strategies to help you explore Ireland like a pro. Stephen McPhilemy has been leading his f

Stephen McPhilemy of Essential Ireland Tours at the Irish Parliament, the houses of the Oireachtas

Celebrate and enjoy St. Patricks day in Dingle! New tour departure-date announced - 15th March, 2026  7 day/6 day Ireland tour.  Only €2299 per person  No single-supplement & A whopping 15% discount off the tour-price if you use the promo-code NONREFUNDABLE15 Email info@essentialirelandtours.com or Click here for details St. Patricks Day in Dingle. Stephen McPhilemy and Rubia from Essential Ireland Tours at Dick Macks pub with Ogie, their Irish wolfhound Heres some cool info

Black Friday discounts

Enjoy the Fleadh Cheoil 2026 on this epic 5 day tour of Northern ireland and Donegal We have a great tour going up to the proud city of Belfast on August 3rd 2026 and the tour spends two full days in Belfast enjoying 'the fleadh' before adventuring onwards to the Giants Causeway, historic Derry and beautiful Donegal. The Fleadh Cheoil is the world's biggest festival of Irish music and culture, its like the Olympics of Irish traditional music :) Heres a link to info on this gr

2025 Essential Ireland Tour Dates. 20-50% DIscounts on our last few seats for 2025 are open for reservation! Our Wild Atlantic Way Tour has a few seats left on Sundays (most dates already sold out!) Our famous 'Castles & classics' tour is SOLD-OUT & the ever-popular 'True North' tour now has an even better price than 2024 and the August 18th departure has 4 spots left at a whopping 50% discount! Our aim is to bring you better value all the time and maximise the efficiency and

United Kingdom Electronic travel authorisation (ETA), required for Northern Ireland. How to apply Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. You will need a Electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to enter. Although that is a sore point for many people who live there (whilst many others completely prefer to remain in the United Kingdom) the laws of of the UK are applicable once you enter any of the 6 counties of Northern Ireland. The £GBP pound is the official currency and

Essential Ireland Tours have a 'never cancel' guarantee Once you book an Essential Ireland tour, the tour is guaranteed to go. Stephen McPhilemy would rather be forced into exile, never to see Ireland again, than cancel a tour! On several occasions we have operated tours with just two people (the average group size at Essential Ireland Tours is 12 people and our maximum group size is 16). Running a tour with only 2 tour-guests is not very profitable as you can imagine, but it

We enjoyed a lot of summer fun on this recent 'Castles and Classics' Essential Ireland Tour, the weather was lovely (mostly!), just like the company (this small group of 8 was great) and Ashford Castle was simply magical. Click here to check out this little video excerpt from our arrival at Ashford Castle https://fb.watch/fEhD1TP4Fq/ ‍ The Hotel list for this tour: Saturday Sep 3rd: Ashford Castle. One of the worlds most luxurious Castles, a week before we checked in the few

Dear Tour-Guests Behold our initial release of Tour Dates for 2024 We trust theres a date here to suit you. If not pop us an email to info@essentialirelandtours.com . Is mise le meas/from me to you with respect Stephen McPhilemy Co-founder and Chief-Guide Essential Ireland Tours co-founder/Chief-Guide, Stephen McPhilemy, with Orla our beautiful Golden Eagle at 'Kingdom Falconry'. Meet both Stephen and Orla on our tours! 2024 'Castles & Classics' - LUXURY TOUR - 7 days/6 night

Here's the top 10 activity options for our free-time in Dingle  recommended by Stephen McPhilemy ‍ DINGLE Sea Safari DINGLE Aquarium Pitch and putt (18 holes, par 3 and epic location) Dingle Distillery tour Belt-making in Dick Macks West Kerry Craft Guild on Main street Brian De Staic Goldsmith Workshop Hike to the Lighthouse The Harry Clarke windows Harbour cruise (weather permitting)

The Dublin hotel recommendations by Stephen McPhilemy Essential Ireland Tours pre-tour hotel recommendations All our Essential Ireland Tours Depart from Dublin on the morning of Day 1 at 9am & Return to Dublin on the final day at 4-5pm approx. ALL our 2024 tours  will depart from the   LEONARDO HOTEL   (formerly known as ‘Jurys Inn, Christchurch’, just opposite Christchurch Cathedral in central Dublin. https://www.leonardohotels.co.uk/hotels/dublin/christchurch (The best way

"Songs for the Road. (Rebellious, Romantic, Irish)" My new album of Irish songs is out! Listen here on Apple Music Listen here on Spotify Theres 3 free songs here on YouTube for you to hopefully enjoy ‍ The Green Fields of France  ("Willie McBride") a poignant anti-war song with a strong historical narrative ‍ Molly Malone One of th first songs we all learn at school I Ireland ‍ My Lovely Rose of Clare  the perfect choice for a singalong when cruising the winding beautiful ro

Who is the real Saint Patrick and what did he do? St. Patrick is one of the major patron saints of Ireland. He was born in Cumbria, Wales or Scotland, into a wealthy Romano-British family, son of a decurion and grandson of a priest. ‍ At Essential Ireland tours we love to party and celebrate on St. Patrick's Day and we also love learn the history of this great iconic figure in Irish history. Much of what we know about Patrick comes from his own writings. He says that he was c

Sustainability and protecting our beautiful Irish landscape is so important to Essential Ireland Tours. We also put a lot of effort into ensuring things are happy and sustainable for the wonderful humans (and animals) who work with us

Experience Falconry in Ireland  To enjoy a falconry experience or a hawk walk in Ireland is one of the best activities for any visitor. Essential Ireland includes a falconry experience and hawk walk on  our tours that pass through Dingle. We have our very own School of Falconry, Kingdom Falconry Ltd, which we founded in 2018 along with Eric the Master Falconer. A private falconry experience with these majestic birds of prey, in the beautiful setting of the waterfront gardens

Winners of our grand 'green-selfie' contest enjoy their VIP tour of The Essential Ireland We were delighted to welcome Martha and Kenny from Santa Barbara on tour with us after they won our selfie contest from tens of thousands of entries

The New 11 Day ALL-Ireland Tour is the pride of Essential Ireland Tours , 11 days & 10 nights to explore the 4 corners of our beloved Ireland Essential Ireland Tours, Group dinner by private chef, outdoors when weather allows! Due to incredible public demand we have launched our New 11 Day ALL-Ireland Tour. The 11 day tour of Ireland is the pride of Essential Ireland Tours and has an unbeatable price. from only €2999 to €3499 ALL Hotels (4 star minimum and often 5 star) ALL a