Sept 18-25, 2025 Explore Ireland with Spike!

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8 spots left
From$6,423$3,828
8 spots left
From$6,423$3,828

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Save $600 each when you bring a travel partner! *See details

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8466
7 days, 7 nights
Availability : September 18-25, 2025
Min Age : 18

September 18-25, 2025
7 Days / 7 Nights

Share a room with a friend or family member to save additional $600 each:
Only $3,828 per person for double occupancy!!!
Or $4,428 per person for single occupancy

Summer Sale! $6,423 regular price returns 8/15/2024

Is Ireland at the top of your “bucket list?” This trip is built for you. The tour is planned for a first-time visitor to Ireland… and Spike will lead the tour!  The best of authentic Ireland:

  • Magnificent castles & churches
  • Modern European cities like Dublin and Galway
  • Small charming seaside villages like Doolin or Dingle
  • Medieval towns like Kilkenny or Adare
  • Ancient ruins and heritage sites steeped in Irish mythology
  • Breathtaking cliffs & jaw-dropping landscapes featured in Hollywood films
  • Visit a working farm to feed baby lambs and watch a sheepdog demonstration
  • And of course, plenty of traditional music, pubs & pints!
This tour will be built like my 2024 tour but I’ve added TWO EXTRA DAYS to get more of Ireland! Maximum group size of 12 to 16 people.  We will travel Ireland in our own private, first-class motorcoach. You’ll enjoy a relaxed pace and flexible itinerary. This trip is perfect for solo travelers, couples, or families. (In fact, two people save $600 by sharing a room!)
Tour Details

Your dream trip to Ireland and you don’t have to do a thing – I’ve planned the whole tour for you! I’ve hand-picked the accommodations, dining, expert tour directors and local guides. Enjoy seamless transportation in a comfortable motorcoach built for 30 but I’m only bringing 12 to 16 guests to keep it small and fun. You’ll get VIP access to Ireland’s most iconic sites.  As your guide and travel partner, I invite you to embark on this captivating tour for an unbeatable price. Find out why I keep returning to the Emerald Isle!

SALE: Book Now for only $4,428 
or $3,828 per person* for double occupancy!!!
*bring a friend or family member and share a room to save $600 each.
Regular Price: $6,423 when sale ends
$500 deposit to reserve your spot – CLICK HERE!

Why September 2025?
The peak tourist summer season ends and we escape all the crowds. We also avoid the high prices and the rainiest season. In some places, you may feel like we have the country to ourselves! Booking this 2025 tour now gives you plenty of time to budget for payment installments over the next year.

Departure & Return Location

We will fly in and out of Dublin Airport (DUB).  Your flight should depart the U.S. on Sept. 17 to arrive on Sept. 18 before our 5pm welcome dinner. Your departing flight should be after 12:00pm (noon) on Sept. 25th.

Price Includes

  • 7 nights hotel accommodation
  • Transportation by luxury minibus for entire tour
  • Most Meals (depending on itinerary, probably 5 dinners, 5 lunches and 6 breakfasts)
  • Entrance fees for all tours & attractions
  • Several fun, engaging & knowledgeable tour guides
  • Online/printed guide to area attractions, restaurants, pubs and shopping for the towns we visit (and the chance to explore on your own if you wish)
  • Tour welcome gift
  • Adventure, fun, memories, and the luck o' the Irish!

Price Excludes

  • Airfare (but I'll help you plan it!)
  • Arrival airport shuttle to Dublin
  • 2 or 3 dinners not planned (depending on itinerary TBD) so that you can enjoy cities on your own (but you're welcome to join me if you wish!) Dining suggestions will be provided.
  • Alcohol (except at Guinness Brewery)
  • Room service fees & personal expenses
What to Expect

For the level of detail you can expect, check out the itinerary from my Ireland 2024 tour as an example. A full itinerary will be built in Fall 2024 – about one year before our tour.

Flight Details:  You will book your own flight to leave America Sept 17 and arrive in Dublin on Sept 18. Current airfare is about $800-900 round-trip from Detroit – hard to predict what it will be 1 year and a half from now. I will give you tips on when to buy and where to look. I leave airfare to you for two reasons: some people choose to use miles/points, and because some people choose to extend their stay in Europe by arriving early or staying longer.  (This trip is designed so that most full-time workers will use 6 vacation days.) This trip 1s 18+ (legal drinking age in Ireland)

Once you arrive at the Dublin hotel, we take over and take care of you for the next 7 days and 7 nights! Our small group (between 12 and 16 participants MAX) will travel in a 30 seat minibus so everyone can spread out for comfort and views! I do small tours so you get my full attention. I guarantee you’ll have a fun time, see amazing sights, make new friends and return home with amazing photos and stories!

Your guides for this tour:

  • Spike! Your Irish host with the big mouth I have traveled the world - including Ireland 6 times - and now I've been given more time to explore! I love sharing my passion for travel and adventure which is why I founded this small-group travel company 10 years ago to help you fulfill your bucket list! My first journey to Ireland was in 1996 (I tended bar!) and I've been back several times: most recently to take my daughters to the home in which my grandmother was born. It was incredible to show my kids the small town, the family business and the church in which they were married!
  • Dara McCarthyDara is a Dubliner with a degree in History from University College Dublin. He's a "Fáilte Ireland" approved official tour guide for Dublin City and Ireland. He's been a tour guide for over ten years and he always "skips the line." Dara has guided some well-known actors, politicians and journalists but you'll be the VIP on this tour. His name "Dara" is Celtic and is actually quite common in Ireland since the 1st century AD.
  • OthersI bring assistants and other guides into the fold as needed along our journey... and you'll love our luxury coach driver who is not only a wealth of information being from this corner of Ireland, but he's also very funny!
Photos
More photos coming soon... here's just a few:

DOCUMENTS NOTE: You must have a passport that is valid for the entire duration of your entire stay in Ireland (or a visa to enter Ireland if you’re a U.S. green card holder). Refunds will not be given because you did not secure a valid passport or green card in time for this trip. I can help you!

LIMITATIONS NOTE: For this trip, we require you to be reasonably fit in order to casually walk from location to location. We also require that you are able to handle your own luggage/bags, and enter/exit the vehicle without assistance. Please contact us if you have any health concerns that may make a trip challenging and we can answer all questions. Ireland’s restaurants are very accommodating to those with food allergies.  When you send your tour deposit, you certify to us that you do not knowingly have any physical or other conditions that would create a risk for yourself or for others on the trip or alter the group’s travel plans.

Payment schedule for this Ireland 2025 (7 day tour)
PAYMENT 1: deposit to book your tour & reserve your spot  ($500)
PAYMENT 2: due July 15  ($1,000)
PAYMENT 3: due Oct 15  ($1,000)
PAYMENT 4: due Jan 15  ($1,000)
PAYMENT 4: due Apr 15  (balance)
 

CANCELLATION NOTICE:  In the event that you have to cancel your “Explore With Spike” trip, we make every attempt to replace you with another paying traveler but if not, your payments are non-refundable. The best way to protect yourself against unforeseen changes in your travel plans is to purchase travel insurance.

Ireland 2025 Cancellation Policy

Travel Insurance Recommendations

Questions? Email us! travel@explorewithspike.com

WEATHER NOTICE: I planned this tour during one of the dry months. Ireland isn’t as rainy as people think… but that doesn’t mean we won’t see rainfall. We will adjust the tour locations each day as necessary for comfort but we continue in all weather.