Ireland’s Coasts from North to South

This was our first adventure with Road Scholar and our inaugural trip to Ireland. The journey took us from the northern to the southern landmarks of the country, filled with visits to historical sites. Not only was the trip memorable, but it was also enriched with educational experiences led by local experts and expertly managed by our wonderful travel guide, Kate Healy. Her extensive knowledge, singing, humor, and organizational skills are truly exceptional! We enjoyed every moment of this tour, primarily due to Road Scholar's meticulous planning, which was perfectly complemented by Kate's guidance. This trip has been on our bucket list for years, and there were so many highlights that it's hard to list them all. Kate’s ability to bring the group together with her bright smile was a constant source of joy. We greatly appreciated Road Scholar's attention to everyone's needs, as well as Kate’s efforts to ensure all preferences, including dietary considerations, were met. Her daily posted notes, which complemented Road Scholar’s itinerary, were incredibly helpful. This was our first trip with Road Scholar, and we look forward to many more in the future! We give Kate and her team five stars! Sincerely, Kathy and Frank Finn

What a wonderful trip! This tour showed us all of Ireland - north to south. Beautiful scenery and lots of interesting sites, from ancient to more modern. Our guide, Richard, was terrific - very well organized and knowledgeable. He told us tales and legends of Ireland and even sang traditional Irish songs to us! The guest speakers and local guides were all great. If you want to see and learn all about Ireland, I highly recommend this tour.

What a delight! The circumnavigation of island countries of Ireland (Northern Ireland + Republic of Ireland) was enhanced by our sparking and engaging tour guide. The sites were incredible, the history lessons captivating, and the experience life-enriching. Thanks, Road Scholar!

This was a very comprehensive tour of Ireland which included a lot of history, spectacular scenery, some interesting lectures, and an opportunity to experience the cultural aspects of the country.

This program taught me so much about the peoples of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland throughout their history! It's quite comprehensive in geography, and the field trips were excellent. Our Group Leader was knowledgeable and helpful throughout the journey.

This tour was one of my favorite Road Scholar tours.

A great overview of the island's beautiful scenery, troubled and impressive history, and lovely people.

Go and find the Ireland pictured in movies, immortalized in song and described in books. This trip offers a look into the real Ireland and her people, all of them.

Ireland is a beautiful country. We had a wonderfully informative trip with an excellent guide and thoroughly enjoyed the companionship of a delightful group of fellow travelers.

My husband and I had a great introduction to Ireland due to Brendan's knowledge, the knowledgeable lectures, and the overall extent of coverage.

The subtle but powerful gift of a trip to Ireland with Road Scholars is the deep relationship between the Irish and American peoples ... much of what we think we birthed here were really born in Ireland!

My wife, Peggy, and I had a wonderful experience on o This trip to Ireland. Our group was an interesting mix of life and travel experiences. We really enjoyed meeting them. Unfortunately, one person as clearly unable to physically keep up with the group. She traveled with a cane, in my opinion, she needed a walker instead. Someone was always with her to ensure her safety and that she kept up with the schedule we needed to keep. More than once we delayed departure to accommodate her pace. Our guide, Fionnuala Galvin, is remarkable. She is pleasant, personable, and proficient. We were all very impressed with her skill of sharing her extensive knowledge of Ireland. I highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in traveling to Ireland. Especially if they are lucky enough to have Fionnouala as a guide.

This is an excellent, informative and interesting program. There was incredible variety in the field trips, lectures, and local tours. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to explore Ireland.

This trip trip provided a wonderful overview of Ireland’s history and the nation today. There was a lot of variety and the field trips were facilitating.

Don't visit Ireland without seeing both Northern Ireland and the Republic. This program does both in good depth.

This is a spectacular trip, made particularly special by our group leader, Kate. All of the experiences large and small were so interesting, and built on each other to create a better understanding of the history, culture, and natural beauty of Ireland. Every single day brought on another great adventure.

This program is stunning and brings exceptional service to the traveler who wishes to enlarge their cultural experience. Ireland is such a beautiful place, one must go more than once.

I learned so much about the history and politics of Ireland, as well as the people and the culture. An eye opener. And the country and coast is beautiful.

I was interested in seeing Ireland to better understand it’s complicated history especially the Troubles. I was amazed by the number of ruins of castles, tower houses and so many walls. The people were delightful and the music was lively. There was, for me, such a different ‘feel’ between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Two different countries on the same island. Only negative comment I have is about the first hotel on our journey. It was the the Leonardo in Belfast. It was old and tired. So was I by the end of the stay as my bed was broken which caused it to sag in the middle. Like sleeping in a hammock every night. The rooms were not air conditioned and the hotel is on a main road so leaving windows open at night let in cooler air but also road noise and exhaust fumes. The rest of the accommodations were lovely.

Great overview of Ireland and Ireland’s history. Outstanding, knowledgeable guide and local expert speakers.

Excellent trip! We were fortunate to have little rain and good bus drivers -- lots of time on the bus to drive throughout Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Several world class attractions and just enough time to visit pubs for Guinness and authentic music. Three participants and our first group leader got Covid. No cases were serious. Aiden, our second group leader, was great.

If you have never been to Ireland and want to have a great overview of the place then I highly recommend taking this tour.

We highly recommend Ireland's Coasts from North to South. This was our first Road Scholar program, but it won't be our last. The lecturers and experiences were outstanding, as were the hotels and meals. We learned much and enjoyed the trip immensely.

This program helps me to understand modern Ireland by knowing the history and culture. The variety of scenery and places visited made it very enjoyable, and the food and accomodation made it so easy for visitors. Highly recommended.

Road Scholar is the ONLY way to go if you want to learn while you travel. All of the travel details are taken care of for you and the learning opportunities are varied. Any more trips I take will absolutely be through Road Scholar.

The people who are the tour guides for Road Scholar are very kind and genuine people who make every effort to care for and educate us the participants. They also try to make it fun.

It is best that I do not comment. But I will, because as of September 1, I have still not received a settlement or a refund of the money that I am owed from this trip from Road Scholar or AON after I tested positive for Covid 19 on the 9th of an 18 day trip which stretched to a 21 day trip by the time we got home. Most Sincerely, Raymond R Norton ( 14th RS trip) As of December 1,2022 I am still waiting for a settlement. My contact with AON on November 30 said that they were waiting for an email from Road Scholar. With additional information. My last contact with RS was over a month ago when they called to as a simple question-" Did we return to the program after initial separation due to Covid." My answer was that we did not return to the group. Apparently RS has not sent that information to AON, or AON lost track of it. What a screwup this has been! After checking with AON last week and RS and AON last Monday I found that the claim had been settled on Dec. 1. The checks arrived on the 9th with a very nice settlement after all these months. We signed up for our next trip this evening. Raymond R. norton

In traveling the coastline of Ireland, you will discover the diversity of the history, culture, topography, and resourcefulness of the Irish people

What a fabulous introduction to Ireland! This comprehensive all-around-the-island trip was just right. Each day was filled with fun excursions preceded by informative lectures and presentations related to where we were going. The hotels were superb and the food excellent whether at the hotels or at restaurants during our excursions. We’d highly recommend this Coast to Coast (#19446) to anyone, especially if they have never been to Ireland. Dick Daley was an excellent guide—knowledgeable, caring, and great to be with! Diana and Paul Blackford, Colorado P.S. Can you please ask Dick Daley to email the group photos he took to all of us on this trip. He has everyone’s emails.

This was an incredible experience! I would recommend it to everyone!!

Ireland's Coasts from North to South is a very, very comprehensive program. It covers the immensely different aspects of Ireland. There is a lot to Ireland for such a small land mass.

I had not been to Ireland before and wanted to see and experience as much of it as possible. I choose "Ireland's Coasts from North to South". It was a great and rewarding experience.

Ireland - a place of Dragons and Ferries, whose reflection is glimpsed in passing in the pearl grey of brooding lakes, scattering sheep and cows on craggy hillsides. A place of black birds, roosting in woods surrounding ancient abbies, tucked into the cleavage of glacial vallies, the stones of their dead tilting at the earth at their feet. Where the winds howl an ancient language as they push at the walls of hilltop ringforts where once chieftans were crowned, where giants battled on stone causeways across seas, where leprechauns still cobble shoes by tidal rivers, where people are bursting with mirth and mishchief,their shield against a history of anguish and anger. Where music and dance grow and flourish in stone cottages on lonely moors and eternal bogs. Where the ocean rails and roils sculpting, scaling, soaring onto the Cliffs of Moher and the Skelligs. It is a siren, that calls not only to the Irish but to all who are fixed by the gleem in its emerald eye.

Wonderful program. Looking forward to another Road Scholar program in the near future.

I enjoyed this trip very much. The information provided by experts and by the trip leader added to our knowledge of the Irish history and to our understanding of the current political issues. The activities and tours included in the program gave a detailed view of Irish culture, history and treasures. The amount of "free" time was perfect for individual pursuits and investigations. The hotels were all very good. The leader of this program was very good. Aidan Carrig is a terrific leader - entertaining, full of local knowledge, good problem solver, great at overseeing the entire group and watching for possible concerns, gave good detailed advice on how to use the free time and made himself easily available for questions and support. The two trainees who accompanied us (Richard Pierce and Bryan ?) were also easily engaged in answering questions from individuals. Meals were good - serving meals to 24 people can be difficult for any restaurant. Having choices at most meals made the meals pleasant choices. While much time was spent on buses traveling from one place to another, Aidan filled much of the time with stories and factual information from his experiences and his knowledge. The bus time was necessary in order to see as much as we did. I highly recommend this program.