Get €150 off your next Wild Atlantic or Castles & Classics Essential Ireland Tours with this Black Friday special offer code: Ireland or €115 of the True North Tours with this code: Ireland-North
Limited places so Book Now! Offer valid until 4 December
Solo supplement of €400 applies to solo travellers, see FAQs for details. The €1,299 price applies to all our March tours (€400 discount!)
Essential Ireland and Stephen McPhilemy offer a limited number
of very popular tours to Northern Ireland and beautiful Ulster each year, all sell out.
We are one of the few companies to offer a tour exclusively of Northern Ireland and Donegal!
Stephen McPhilemy has led Rick Steves tours through Northern Ireland for 20 years as part of longer all-Ireland tours and now, due to public demand, offers his own shorter 5 day tours focusing exclusively on the the highlights of North of Ireland. Book early to avoid disappointment
If a particular date does not suit your group please get in touch about organising a private tour
APRIL 2024:
1st April & 19th April - SOLD OUT
MAY 2024:
13th May & 20th - SOLD OUT
JUNE 2024:
3rd June - SOLD OUT
JULY 2024:
20th July - OPEN
AUGUST 2024:
26th August - OPEN
SEPTEMBER 2024:
2nd September - OPEN
23rd September - OPEN
OCTOBER 2024:
22nd October - OPEN
Note: Over half of the departures for our 'True North' tours of Northern Ireland and Donegal have already sold out. To book a tour please click here or email Stephen McPhilemy and our team at info@essentialirelandtours.com
We at ‘Essential Ireland’ are passionate about including the beautiful and fascinating North of Ireland and Donegal in our tours. We highly recommend you visit!
Click here to read the detailed and up-to-date itinerary of our famous 'True North' 5 day tour of Northern Ireland and Donegal
Our tour-guests are fascinated by the story of Historic Derry, the beauty and legend of the Causeway, modern peaceful Belfast and its troubled past, the characters and the communities of this beautiful part of Ireland that only 25 years ago was a no-go zone for tourists and is now one of Europe’s top attractions.
On our Northern adventures we take pride into introducing you to the fun and endearing locals from both cultures and communities, the indigenous Irish community and Northern Ireland’s ethnic British culture.
We also venture into majestic Donegal, a remote magnificent corner of Ireland that is often overlooked by mainstream tours. Join us for a unique adventure!
Walk the walled city of historic Derry (1613). See its fully intact 17th Century battlements
Explore beautiful Donegal
Experience the majestic Giants Causeway a natural phenomenon and UNESCO world heritage site
Learn of Belfast troubled past and wonderful peaceful present
Photostop the famous Carrick a Rede rope bridge 100 ft above the rugged Antrim coast (we opt not cross due to the overwhelming crowds an waiting-lines, not an efficient use of your valuable travel-time)
Visit the world famous titanic experience and step back in time to a period of luxury & elegance
Visit Monasterboice a 5th Centruy Irish monastery and home to Muirdach's High Cross
The serene beauty of Glenveagh National Park
All activities are fully covered in the Essential Ireland Tour Package
All Breakfasts are Included. From cooked buffet feasts of sausage eggs and bacon; to healthy fruit, homemade muesli and porridge
All accommodation costs are covered, you will stay in a centrally located hotel in Belfat an Derry
All tips to guides, drivers, local guides, bar-staff, servers etc ALL covered while on a tour activity or meal
All transport, from luxury coach travel, shuttle buses, taxis etc used for tour activities are paid for.
1 group lunch is provided
1 group meal is provided
We handpick quality accommodation based on quality, location, and the best customer-service on offer. We like to provide a balance between 4 star good-quality 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”.
NORTHERN IRELAND & DONEGAL EXPERIENCE
5 DAYS AND 4 NIGHTS ( 2 NIGHTS IN DERRY & 2 IN BELFAST)
Day 1: Dublin to Belfast (2 nights)
Highlights:
The titanc experience
Tour ancient site of Monasterboice
Visit St. Peters Cathedral, Drogheda.
See the head of St. Oliver Plunkett (yes, his head!)
Belfast City Tour
Day2: Belfast in-depth
Highlights:
Panormic city our, see the famous murals and Peace wall
Visit the Ulster Museum
Queens University (alma mater of our founder and Chief tour guide Stephen McPhilemy) the Botanic Gardens
Free for dinner in Belfast
Day 3: Belfast to historic Derry (2 nights)
Highlights:
Photostop at Carrick a rede rope-bridge
The Giants Causeway UNESCO world heritage site
Dunluce Castle
Cross the Derry Peace Bridge
Award-winning Walking Tour of Historic Derry
Day 4: Derry in-depth
Highlights:
Visit Derry’s historic guildhall & plantation museum.
Scenic day tour to rugged Donegal
Glenveagh National Park
Group lunch at ‘Leo’s’ - Enya’s family pub
Day 5: Derry/Londonderry to Dublin
Highlights:
Scenic drive through county Tyrone
Visit the Cathedral city of Armagh
Slane Castle photostop
Battle of the Boyne site.
CLICK HERE FOR UP-TO-DATE & DETAILED NORTHERN IRELAND TOUR ITINERARY
Reserve your space with a 20% deposit
One of the unique features of Essential Ireland Tours is that we bring our own in-house professional travel-photographer and videographer with us on all tours.
Stephen McPhilemy and Patrick Wade are the co-founders of Essential Ireland Tours. One Irish and one Irish-American, they met 20 years ago while Patrick was backpacking through Ireland and Stephen was his tour-guide.
Two decades later they (and their Irish Wolfhounds) are experienced and respected figures in the Irish tour and hospitality scene with a passion for providing high quality tours. Authentic Irish experiences for unbeatable value.
