Here is a list of some of the most common questions about our
award-winning tours and our answers
Essential Ireland Tours is operated by ‘Wade McPhilemyTeo”. Teo is short for Teoranta and means Limited or Incorporated in Gaelic or Irish, so it is the same as ‘Ltd.’ or ‘Inc.’
Our tour-company is 100% owned and operated by our co-founders, Patrick Wade and Stephen McPhilemy. Patrick is an Irish-American entrepeneur and Stephen is 100% Irish born and raised and is Ireland’s leading Tour-Guide.
If you are ready to make a reservation, you can simply click here and pay with your credit card.
We offer regular departures on our signature itinerary - the "1 week Essential Ireland, South by South-West Tour".
Tours start in March, just in time for St. Patricks Day!, and our last tour runs in mid-October, just before Dear Old Ireland begins to hibernate for her mild winter.
Once booked you can avail of our free travel-planning and itinerary-advice service offered by lead tour-guide, Stephen McPhilemy. This service is valued at $50.
If you have further questions you’d like to ask before booking please email us at info@EssentialIrelandTours.com
We offer 2 types of tour. We have a ‘never-cancel’ guarantee.The first type is a tour that you can just click and book right now on this website. This tour-series has set departure dates. It is a tour for a small group of 16 people maximium who are all diverse members of the general public.The second type of tour is for small groups of travellers who are already connected in a group or family and want to travel together on an ‘Essential Ireland’ Tour without other members of the general public joining. Prices for these tours are dependent on your requirements and numbers on the group, a quote can be attained by emailing info@essentialirelandtours.com
You will meet travellers who are fun-loving professionals, who lead busy lives and who want to unwind and enjoy the best experiences Ireland has to offer in a defined space of time. We appreciate that time is your biggest commodity in life and we guarantee not to waste your time on second-rate attractions and touristy-shopping visits.The attitude of our travellers is they want to see the essential Ireland, thats why they choose to travel with us. Our travellers wish to learn the local history and discuss politics, and just as much they also love to party with locals in some of the best pubs in the world and enjoy food and music experiences they will remember for the rest of their lives.
The majority of our guests are from 25-55. Though we do not have any age policy on tours. All ages are welcome. (note: we do not accept under 18’s on our regular departure tours, only on our specially designed tours for private groups and families).
Stephen McPhilemy, our co-founder and Irelands leading Tour-Guide is the 100% Irish expert and Guide on virtually all of our tours. Stephen is very loyal to his mentor and dear friend, American TV travel personally Rick Steves, and conducts tours for Rick Steves Europe at various times throughout the summer. Essential Ireland tours are scheduled not to clash with this commitment that Stephen has enjoyed for almost 20 years.
In the unlikely event that Stephen cannot guide an Essential Ireland tour, we provide a guide from our hand-picked team of Irish tour-Guide veterans, trained by Stephen and who guide in his unique style - a passionate, intelligent and fun insight into their beloved Ireland. Local experts and local guides: One of the highlights of our tour itineraries are the quality of the local guides and experts we will introduce you to each day. It is imperative that you meet different local characters, male and female, with different Irish accents and fresh outlooks on modern Ireland.
We guarantee that you will. Essential Ireland chooses to be a smaller niche tour-operator with emphasis on small groups and a limited number of departures. Generally we choose to organise only between 6 and 10 tours per year.
For dinners and lunches not included on tour, we estimate around €260. We offer so many value-for-money extras that your spending on tour can easily be minimal and limited. Unless of course you decide to treat yourself to some of Irelands best restaurants and pub-food each evening before enjoying creamy Guinness and fine Whiskey in the musical pubs into the wee hours, which is entirely your perogative, life is short!
We are a cost-effective VIP style tour and strive to save you as much money as possible while not reducing the quality of experiences. For example on our 7 day/6 night Tour here is what is covered and what you would need to pay for.
Included in the cost of your tour -
All entrances and activities.
ALL of them. Be sure you read the small-print with other tour companies and their pricing. Every authentic and excellent experience we offer is included in the price, there are no optional extras for you to pay for later. We would rather be skinned alive and rolled in a bathtub of salt than introduce a surprise cost to you whilst on an Essential Ireland Tour. Our Tour Members are our guests and our friends. That is a sacred bond.
All breakfasts.
Each day, a fine hearty breakfast is included, choose from cooked gourmet feasts of sausage, eggs and bacon; and healthy fruit concoctions, homemade muesli and porridge and some divine Irish breads (some of which you will have the opportunity to help bake!)
All accommodation.
All hotel costs are covered.
All tips.
All tips to guides, drivers, local guides, bar-staff, servers etc ALL covered while on a tour activity or meal. If you are eating or drinking on your own time, you can tip at your discretion, which in Ireland is 10-15%. (Some guidebooks say tipping is not common in Ireland, this is nonsense)
All transport:
All luxury coach travel, shuttle buses, taxis etc used for tour activities are paid for.
All snacks:
We provide unlimited snacks while aboard our small luxury coach going from destination to destination. Our snacks generally consist of homemade cookies, Irish chocolates and copious amounts of fruit! In theory these snacks would be enough to keep you sustained between your large Irish breakfast and your gourmet Irish dinner. We also provide unlimited fresh Irish spring water whilst travelling.
Drinks and wine:
We offer three complimentary drinks receptions on the tour, where we will gather and buy everyone a drink at the opportune moment. On our first evening together we gather in a local pub in Kinsale and treat everyone to a drink of their choice before we enjoy some great Irish music and ballads together. Second complimentary drink is a complimentary signature Gin Fizz cocktail (made with Dingle Gin) and aptly named ‘Ryans Downfall’ (a play on words with the locally-made hollywood movie ‘Ryans Daughter’) and served in the ‘Robert Mitchum library-bar’ before our gala evening banquet in the all-glass waterfront conservatory on Dingle Harbour. The third evening drink we offer is in the luxurious and opulent surroundings of the ‘Prince of Wales bar’ at Ashford Castle.At every lunchtime we will offer every Tour-Member a nice glass of wine, an Irish cold beer or a soft-drink. (guests who prefer not to drink alcoholic drinks will always be offered an alternative)
Lunches and dinners:
We provide 3 picnic lunches which will consist of a hand-picked artisan Irish cheese board (including Cashel Blue), cold meats, Irish home-made breads and fresh-fruit. This is served with a wine or a beer of choice. These lunches are fun and tasty and will save you money, and of course your most precious commodity - time!We provide 1 gourmet group-meal, this takes the form of a gala banquet served in buffet-style. We hire the services of one of Irelands award-winning young chef duos and we provide all the Irish culinary delights you can imagine. The Chefs will be on hand to talk us through all their creations and dine with us. 95% of the produce will be sourced within 20 miles of our waterfront dining-room. Live Irish music will be played by talented local musicians during our meal.
LUNCHES - €80 for 4 lunches, we recommend €15-25 per person for a hearty Irish lunch with a drink.
DINNERS - €175 for 5 dinners at €25-40 per person for a gourmet meal and a glass of wine.
DRINKS - Costs are at your own discretion, we do not encourage a drinking culture on our tours but we encourage a fun culture and many Tour-Members quite rightly find their fun enhanced with whatever tipple tickles their fancy. Our Tour Members are responsible adults and professionals, many of whom appreciate quality local produce, fine wine and craft beers and whiskies. Allocate €5-7 per beer and whiskey serving and €30 per bottle of wine, in the pubs and restaurants we like to visit and have fun in.
SHOPPING - Also at your own discretion. We do not encourage or try and coerce you to shop on our tours. However we do visit skilled and world-class crafts-people. Should you wish to do purchase quality gifts from them or support their local stores, then we will ensure you have ample free time to do so. But shopping will not be and never be a scheduled tour activity. Our guides and team are handsomely paid and proudly do not receive any kickbacks, commissions or tips.
We handpick quality accommodation based on quality, location, and the best customer-service on offer. We like to provide a balance between 5 star luxury hotels and also high-quality Guesthouses, to give a variety of experiences, we also offer one night in a traditional B&B to experience life with an Irish family environment ned world-class quality customer-service. Our co-founder, Patrick, always like to remind guests that we “dont stay in generic big-brand hotels, we prefer to offer you historic and luxury homes of character.. that have housed Hollywood stars and withstood sieges”.
Yes, the price for a single-supplement on our regular departure tours is €350 per person for North of Ireland Tour, €500 per person for Wild Atlantic Way Tour and €850 per person for Castles and Classics Tour.
Yes, we will book you into a twin-room (2 beds) and you wont have to pay the €500 supplement (€850 for Castles and Classics Tour). We cannot guarantee that you will share with a person of the same gender, though we will make this a priority, so it is perhaps more ideal for you to pay the reasonably-priced single-supplement or to try and find a friend or colleague to travel with. Also if there are any issues with your roommate such as snoring like a bear or sleepwalking, we will be unable to re-room you at our expense, though we can certainly endeavour to do so at your expense. You must email us to arrange, info@essentialirelandtours.com
Unless you inform us otherwise we will assume the person you are travelling with is your spouse, significant other (or lover!) and will allocate you a room with one large bed. Should you wish to have two beds in your room (in Ireland we refer to this as a twin-room), simply inform us. This will then be your room-type allocation for the duration of the tour. The twin room is subject to availability, but is generally available.
Yes we stay in Ashford Castle, the luxurious 5 star hunting-lodge of Lord Ardilaun (Head of the Guinness family) it is a short stroll across the lawns from the Castle, we will use the Castle for our drinks reception in the Prince of Wales Bar, to use the spa or leisure facilities and for optional evening dining (jacket required for the gentlemen).
We travel in a Small luxury motor-coach. Normally the motor-coach we use has 33 seats and has a WC/restroom/Toilet/dunny/washroom (surely this noun has the most words to describe it in the English language?) on the bus. We rarely will be on the bus for more than 1.5 hours, that would be our longest drive without comfort stop or an activity-stop. Our motor-coach is equipped with DVD and sound system and we will play some excerpts from key Irish movies at various times. It also has a fridge and Nespresso coffee-machine for unlimited Espresso shots. Due to the small size of our coach, we can travel to sights, attractions and remote beauty-spots (the Conor Pass on the Dingle Peninsula for example) that the large groups in their 52 seat buses can never imagine seeing.
ALL activities are included, you will NOT have to pay for a single activity on this tour. Every VIP activity from ‘the Connoisseur Exeperience’ at the Guinness Storehouse, Hawk-walk at Ashford Castle’s Ireland School of Falconry, Killarney jaunting-car rides, bread making at Milltown House, walking tours with expert local guides, pub-crawls, music evenings etc All included These activities are also optional in the sense that you do not have to take part, if you ever feel like staying out of an activity and resting or doing something else, that is absolutely fine and there will be no expectations off you and no questions asked. We are here to ensure you enjoy your holiday.
We provide 3 picnic lunches which will consist of a hand-picked artisan Irish cheese board (including Cashel Blue), cold meats, Irish home-made breads and fresh-fruit. This is served with a wine or a beer of choice.
These lunches are fun and tasty and will save you money, and of course your most precious commodity - time!
We provide 1 gourmet group-meal, this takes the form of a gala banquet served in buffet-style. We hire the services of one of Irelands award-winning young chef duos and we provide all the Irish culinary delights you can imagine. The Chefs will be on hand to talk us through all their creations and dine with us. 95% of the produce will be sourced within 20 miles of our waterfront dining-room. Live Irish music will be played by talented local musicians during our meal.
All snacks: We provide unlimited snacks while aboard our small luxury coach going from destination to destination. Our snacks generally consist of homemade cookies, Irish chocolates and copious amounts of fruit! In theory these snacks would be enough to keep you sustained between your large Irish breakfast and your gourmet Irish dinner. We also provide unlimited fresh Irish spring water whilst travelling.
Drinks and wine: We offer three complimentary drinks receptions on the tour, where we will gather and buy everyone a drink at the opportune moment. On our first evening together we gather in a local pub in Kinsale and treat everyone to a drink of their choice before we enjoy some great Irish music and ballads together. Second complimentary drink is a complimentary signature Gin Fizz cocktail (made with Dingle Gin) and aptly named ‘Ryans Downfall’ (a play on words with the locally-made hollywood movie ‘Ryans Daughter’) and served in the ‘Robert Mitchum library-bar’ before our gala evening banquet in the all-glass waterfront conservatory on Dingle Harbour. The third evening drink we offer is in the luxurious and opulent surroundings of the ‘Prince of Wales bar’ at Ashford Castle.
At every lunchtime we will offer every Tour-Member a nice glass of wine, an Irish cold beer or a soft-drink.(guests who prefer not to drink alcoholic drinks will always be offered an alternative)
