Well, I begged, badgered and bribed my boss into allowing me an extra week of (unpaid) vacation so I'm going to Ireland (for the first time) during the first two weeks of April ($390US round trip - I'd have quit my job if he said no!). <BR> <BR>I will be traveling by Bus Eireann, flying in the face of all guidebooks, advice from this forum, subliminal messages, etc which say a rental car is a must. Since the Bus Eireann schedules seem to be somewhat limited in April, I will probably fill in the gaps with biking and day-tours. So, does anyone have any good suggestions for local bus service or single-day, minibus type tours to: <BR> <BR>1) The Burren from Galway <BR>2) Connemara from Galway <BR>3) Newgrange from Dublin <BR>4) Glendalough from Dublin <BR>5) The Giant's Causeway from Belfast <BR> <BR>I've done some net-surfing, but so far the only likely candidate I've found is Joyce Ireland Tours of Galway. Does anyone have experience with their one day tours of Connemara and of the Burren? <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance. All advice is appreciated, especially as it will help me survive the next three months of anticipation without going crazy! <BR> <BR>Dave

Dave, <BR>First 2 weeks of April is a good time, post St Patrick's Day and prior to the main tourist season of the summer. However the weather could be iffy so biking might not be the best method of travel. Bus Eireann is one of the three travel companies which makes up CIE - the other two are Irish Rail (Iaroid Eireann) and Dublin Bus (Bus Atha Cliatha). Car hire is not a must in Ireland but it is helpful. CIE and Bus Eireann do tours out of Dublin to all the places you mentioned and they are one day trips. They also do the trips out of Galway and Limerick. As for the Giants Causeway I think Ulster Bus (Bus Eireann's northern equivalent do tours ou of Belfast). The advantage about CIE is that it is a state run compnay and are not a profit making (huge losses every year) private commerical outfit. Howver I gather from your post that you are a young person and most of the coach tours (state and private) in Ireland tend to have an older group of individuals. However not always and you can be lucky especially in April. In Dublin do the walking tour offered by the Trinty students just to get acquainted with the city or the hop on hop off tour offered by Dublin Bus. Have you thought about a walking holidays ? or a short walking tour over a few days. In the Boyne valley region - Newgrange etc there is a group called Keltic Tours who do tours of these region - they might have the option of biking instead of walking. The Wicklow mountains - Glendalough tour- also have a walking trail and some good hostels and you could join up with a walking group. Post if you need any more information and good luck

<BR>Dave - Where did you get airfare for $390USD? I am planning on flying into Shannon the same time and get seem to find anything lower than $600USD. <BR> <BR>Joey

Joey, <BR> <BR>I'm flying on Aer Lingus from NY to Shannon, with a connection from Pittsburgh. The cheap fare ends on March 31, with a $200 jump on April 1. <BR> <BR>I purchased my ticket about a month ago, so the cheap seats might all be gone by now. I did some searching on Travelocity.com and then took the info to my AAA travel agent to book - it took her a few minutes of searching but then she found the right combo to get me the cheap fare.

Cathy, <BR> <BR>Thanks for mentioning the CIE tours. I had visited the Bus Eireann website to check out schedules, but somehow missed the info on day tours. Unfortunately the Galway-based tours don't seem to run in April, but the tour from Dublin to Glendalough seems a likely possibility. <BR> <BR>Dave

Dave, <BR>Forgot to mention regular Bus Eireann services will be travelling through some of the places you want to visit - ie Burren and out to the landing pier for the Aran Islands so you could take them and bring a good guide book. Good luck

Dear Dave: <BR> We're planning on going to Ireland in April & didn't want to drive so we thought it would be a great idea to take 1 day bus tours on Bus Eireann tours out of Dublin & Galway or Cork. We got on their web site: www.buseireann.ie/html/travinfo/tours.html but discovered the tours are extremely limited in April: from Dublin: Glendalough & Wicklow Panorama (1 day tour). Nothing else was listed. May is a little better: Newgrange & Boyne Valley out of Dublin; Ring of Kerry out of Cork; Connemara out of Galway (May 30-Sep 30). <BR> We did e-mail the company & were told they would send us the latest schedule. Most of the tours are June, July, Aug.) <BR> Susan

Susan, <BR> <BR>Here's some info I've gleaned so far. I'm still in the early stages of planning so you should confirm this before relying too heavily: <BR> <BR>Joyce Ireland Tours offers day tours of 1) Connemara and 2) the Burren (incl Cliffs of Moher) from Galway. According to their website, these are daily, year round, leaving Galway at 11:30am. I don't have the website address here at work, but if you search for "Joyce Ireland Tours" you'll probably find it. <BR> <BR>O'Brien Shipping has a ferry service from Galway to the Aran Islands three days a week in the off season (Tues, Thurs, Sat, I think). Island Ferries might have a daily schedule in April, but requires a 90 minute bus transfer from Galway to Rossaveal. <BR> <BR>I have these sites bookmarked at home, so if you can't find them email me at the above address and I'll send them to you.

ttt

look atwww.irishtourism.com

I'd have to recommend Ireland West Tours to anyone checking out Western Ireland and is starting in the Galway area: http://www.irelandwesttours.com/

Jim's tour was one of the highlights of our Ireland trip. It gave my husband and I a real feel for western Ireland. If you are curious about creating your own tour Jim is good at understanding what you are looking for. He was full of suggestions, flexible and informative on our trip. The price was reasonable and the ride was fun. Ireland West Tours is a hidden gem of the area. It will allow you to see an area of Ireland that is the picture book idea that many have about Ireland. I am not one to use travel agents or conventional tours when I vacation, and I am afraid to drive on the left side of the road. Ireland West Tours was an excellent solution to my vacation style. It was like have a personal friend in Ireland who wanted to show you the area, or anything else that I wanted to see.

If you heard about the Wicklow Mountains, and want to see them for yourself (highly recommended), you can make a guided daytrip by bus.
The guides Damian and Dave are the best.
They'll provide you with their extended knowledge about the beautifull sceneries you'll be see&iuml;ng.
There are plenty stops for stretching your legs, having something to eat or drink.
At some point you think you're in a movie like Braveheart or King Arthur!!
You can go on these trips with groups up to 20 pers.
And this tour is worth every penny!!! I've experienced it myself.
Me and my wife (we are 25 and 22 years of age) sure had a great time.
Dave was our driver/guide and an exact copy of Jack Nickelson the actor.
When he was driving us from one point to another, he always was telling something interesting things about Ireland with a beautifull Irish accent.
I could write an entire book about this daytrip, but you should really see for yourself.
Here's where you can get more info:

Day Tours Unplugged
1 Fairways Green
Griffith Road
Dublin 11
Ireland

or

www.discoverwicklow.com
E mail [email protected].

have you looked at www.cietours.ie
They have a tour covering the places you want to visit at the time you mention.

Dave,
There are two companies that I know about that do day tours to either Connemara or The Burren out of Galway.

O'Neachtain Tours
Lally Tours

Similar in price and places they visit.... They both have websites too.
Hope this helps!

ZJ

all you nice folks are trying to help someone who posted almost <b>SIX YEARS AGO</b>. For some reason this was topped in Sept w/o any explanation why . . . . .

Thank you for the replys, I topped this for info on my trip to Ireland in January 2006. Needed info on tours, thanks PJ

Dave writes: &quot; ... Island Ferries might have a daily schedule in April, but requires a 90 minute bus transfer from Galway to Rossaveal. &quot;
I took a local BusEireann (Route 454?) from Galway to Ross a'Veal and stayed at a guesthouse there (An Chiebh) 2-nights: it took less than 45-min Galway-Ross a'Veal or for the return (via Spiddal). The Guesthouse is about 500m from the boat dock. It's just after the turn toward the causeway that goes out to Carraroe.

In the Galway Bus/Rail station ticket office you can usually find handouts advertising BusEireann tours to the Cliffs of Moher and/or Doolin. Don't know if they have any to the Burren. Those are in addition to their regularly scheduled services. If you don't find what you want there, turn right walking out of the station and go about 100m to the Tourist Office. They may be able to help you there.

If you're flying into Dublin you might be interested in Paddywagon Tours (all inclusive 3-or-6 day tours thru the west &amp; southwest of Ireland.
http://www.paddywagontours.com (or.ie?).

Wicklow and Glendalough day tour
check out http://www.daytoursunplugged.ie
July 2006 KIWI FEEDBACK
firstName: Kim lastName: Timmins company: Julia |Ross phone: username: natureOfEnquiry: No enquiry just a note to say thanks. Comments: I had a great tour with you guys recently and really enjoyed the personal aspect of the trip. Thanks for everything, the company was great and the scenery all the better. I will be joining you for a winter tour later as per tour guides suggestion. Look forward to it. Thanks again. Kiwi Kim (here to live in Ireland)