Ireland small group holiday

Planet

We recommend low carbon transport and use this to make the journey as stimulating and sustainable as possible. That’s the reason why we use public transportation. From Galway to Aran Island we use a ferry instead of a small private cruise ship, because the burden on the environment is lesser. On Aran Island, we travel by minibus and on foot to explore the native flora and fauna. From Belfast to Giant´s Causeway we use a public bus and the train. Besides having a smaller impact on the environment, public transport gives our travellers a unique opportunity to get in touch with the locals and learn more about the life of the Irish people.
For us it’s very important that we use suppliers that mirror our environmental values. We work with hotels and encourage them to implement sustainable practices and we remind our guests of how to do this themselves whilst on their trip (i.e. reusing towels). The hotels we use are never from big chains but small, locally-run businesses instead.
Travel is an opportunity to experience different cultures, meet new people, taste weird and wonderful foods and – for many – get close to local wildlife. During this trip through Ireland, our travellers will encounter native animals. From April to the end of July the Cliffs of Moher are visited by the beautiful puffins with their interesting red and black beaks. But there are also many other bird species that can be found here. We believe wild animals should be viewed – without contact or interaction – doing what they do best: living in the wild. That's why our guides make sure that our travellers see the animals, but they don't influence their environment. We take care that no one gets too close to the animals and above all that the animals are never touched. That also includes ensuring no rubbish is left behind. When visiting fragile environments, remote areas and national parks, we operate a “take in, take back out” system. Those rules also apply to our visit at Aran Island, where our travellers get the chance to spot seals lounging on the rocky shore.

People

We always want to have a positive impact on the destinations we visit. Sometimes it takes a little bit of thought as to the best way to give back to the local communities in those places, especially when travelling through the developed countries of Western Europe. We do so by bringing travellers to the region who use various services, be it hotel accommodation, public transport, gastronomy and more, while at the same time trying to minimise our impact on the region. Over tourism is an issue we are very conscious of and we are taking measures to ensure our impact on the communities we visit, and their environment is our top priority. Therefore, this trip has a maximum group size of 12 people. Our leaders will always do their best to explain to travellers what is and isn’t appropriate, which can be fascinating because there is often a deep cultural reason for it. Our leaders will always prepare our travellers so that they can behave in the most respectful way possible.

Contributing to intercultural understanding is one of our overriding goals with our trips. For this reason, it is of great importance to us that our travellers get the chance to interact with locals again and again. Understanding local life is an important part of travel and on this trip, we source local activities which we believe are sustainable to the economy in that they allow the flow of income from visitors to be distributed to a greater audience rather than remaining concentrated with tourism providers. This also includes understanding the different places with their history, culture and traditions. This is particularly true of Galway when our travellers will get the chance to gain a deeper insight in what the life of a local in this region is like. Here we will visit a live performance in one of the many pubs. Getting to know more about Irish culture, pubs are definitely an important part of any Irish adventure. They are the place for infectiously cheerful music, tall tales and making friends over a pint or two. The Irish take their beer seriously, so this is a great chance to taste a variety of rich 'real ales'. Visiting a local pub, with local beer, local dishes and locals is a real life experience you won’t want to miss.