Ireland
My 2026 tour is sold out. HERE'S THE SCOOP ON MY 2027 TOUR:
Where: We'll be heading all the up north to Donegal, then working our way back down the coast through Sligo, Mayo and Galway… for a last night in Clare.
When: Sunday, July 18 – Tuesday, July 27, 2027
Our Tour Company: Inishfree Tours is a small family owned company that's been operating top-notch small musical tours of Ireland for almost 20 years.
(For more on Inishfree Tours website, click HERE.)
Cost: The cost per person sharing a double or twin room is $2900 US (or $5800 per couple). Cost for one person in a single room $3400. (Note that single room availability is limited).
What does the cost of the tour cover? The cost covers 9 nights lodging, all transportation within Ireland, all breakfasts, 3 group dinners and all music and museums.
Reservations for 2027 are being taken NOW.
What else? Feel free to contact me directly with a question by emailing me at ireland(at)tomkimmel(dot)com. I'll reply asap.
On a personal note:
For the past 14 years I've hosted these unique small tours. Our tour company's motto is: Tours for people who don't like tours! They run relaxed tours with great care and expertise.
It's important to note that we generally stay well away big cities and large commercial tour companies and their noisy crowds. We spend most of our time in colorful small towns, where we hear amazing local music, visit local pubs and and enjoy Ireland's incredible wild beauty.
Ireland is home-away-from home for me. The Irish are welcoming, affable and generally a lot of fun to be around. They are also happy to recommend local good food, the best pub music, give you directions etc. Plus they have a unique, dry sense of humor! The food there is very good, too, and the music we'll hear in the evenings is superb.
*Getting there:
Most flights from the US to Europe are overnight flights, so those of us who live on the US side of the pond will depart rom here no later than two days before our tour officially begins on Sunday, July 18, 2027 . That means most of us will depart from the US on Friday, July 16, fly overnight and land in *Shannon the morning of Monday, July 17. That way if we have a flight delay we'll still arrive in plenty of time for the tour to kick off the following morning (July 18) and launch our tour together.
FYI, when our flight arrives on the morning of Monday, July 17, a taxi will be waiting to take us to our lodging—usually one of the *B&B's in nearby Bunratty (which my wonderful liason Vicki Belinoski, is happy to arrange for us).
*We are responsible for our B&B (or hotel) lodging for the evening of our arrival day. The tour officially begins the next morning.
A frequently asked question: Why fly to Shannon, and not Dublin?
The Shannon airport a much smaller, easier-to-navigate airport. We will spend the last night of our tour in County Clare in the town of Ennis, which is a short bus ride back to the Shannon airport, where (most of us) will depart for home on the morning of Tuesday, July 27..
Of course, if for any reason you prefer to fly to Dublin in order to have some time on your own before or after our tour begin, no worries. Ireland has excellent, clean, Wi-Fi equipped bus and train transportation that'll get you between east and wests coasts before (or after). our tour.
Note that most of us will gather for a lovely get-acquainted dinner in Bunratty on the evening of our arrival, but it's completely optional. Some of us may prefer to attend the medieval banquet at ancient Bunratty Castle. Many people love it.)
I'll close by saying that if you want to get a feel for just how much I love Ireland—and love sharing Ireland—please listen to the audio of my story, Home, Like Ireland.
(See below for the story, which you are welcome to download and share as you like.)
As they say in Ireland, Sláinte! (To your health!)
Tom