Vagabond Adventure Tours Targets Active Travelers For Ireland’s Dramatic Northern Wild Atlantic Way

An award-wining tour company in Ireland invites guests to hike, bike, kayak and horseback ride through landscapes fomenting with history and lore on a new-for-2018 active vacation called 7 Day Magnetic North Adventure Tour.

This Vagabond Adventure Tour leaves few stones and stories unturned and untold along this intimate exploration of the northern slice of what’s called Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. The per person, double rate for the 7 Day Magnetic North Adventure Tour is €1,619. For details see https://vagabondtoursofireland.com/tour/7-day-magnetic-north-northern-ireland-adventure-tour/.

A similar but more leisurely paced itinerary exclusive of strenuous activities is the 6 Day Northern Ireland Tour featured by the company’s sister division, Driftwood Journeys of Discovery. The per person rate is €1,509 per person double. For details see https://vagabondtoursofireland.com/tour/6-day-northern-ireland-tour/.

The gateway city is Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland. Guests begin unraveling Ireland’s complicated history while passing through Belfast and the walled city of Derry in Northern Ireland en route to Celtic Ireland’s action-packed far north. On the Donegal Peninsula walkers and photographers share the excitement of reaching the cliffs of Horn Head where the North Atlantic demonstrates its grip. Here traditional Irish is spoken and scenes of Star Wars VIII were filmed. This region was also recently named the “Coolest Place on the Planet for 2017” by National Geographic Traveler Magazine.

Poet William Butler Yeats, captivated by this region’s beauty, is buried near Donegal Castle. (His poem, “Lake Isle of Innisfree,” references an actual landscape that he loved here.) Guests may visit the cemetery and the castle after a guided hike to sea cliffs or a walk to visit the tomb of the Celtic warrior Queen Maeve who in her 60-year rule had five (known) husbands.

Avid surfers seek out beaches near Donegal Bay. Time is built into this active program to don wet suits or to horseback ride beside the waves or to explore the cliffs by boat. (It was on this bay in 1979 that Prince Charles’ favorite uncle, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, was killed by explosives set by the Irish Republican Army, casting a shadow on the nuptials of Charles and Diana.)

Constantly shifting history moves from recent to ancient along the Wild Atlantic Way as guests marvel at Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sixty million or so years ago volcanic activity spewed lava skyward that settled into 40,000 basalt columns forever on duty before the waves. Nearby is a rope foot bridge used 350 years ago by fishermen to reach an island from the mainland. The bridge is 66 feet long and hangs 100 feet above sea level and the rocks below. While crossing, visitors are advised not to look down. If they do, they can regain their courage at the world’s oldest continuously operating whiskey distillery in the historic village of Bushmills.

This seven-day tour’s magic includes

-castles watching over world-class gardens

-the flora and fauna of national parks. moorlands and glens

-villages where weavers still ply their trade

-morning walks on Ireland’s holiest mountain

-bike rides along the famous Western Greenway

-museum visits

-kayak outings on sea and river

-playing a prehistoric sport, hurling

-wondering at ancient Neolithic stone circles and Celtic ring forts

Leaving the coastline to return to Dublin, guests pass near where John Ford in 1951 filmed “The Quiet Man” (think John Wayne) and near a site where “Game of Thrones” was filmed.

The Vagabond staff curate locally owned accommodations, pubs, and restaurants that help serve their goal of authenticity. In the end, the mission is to have their guests “love Ireland as much as we do.” Transport is in a 4x4 Land Rover or Mercedes 'Vagatron' that allows access beyond where regular tour buses go.

Trip Giveaway Contest

Through Dec. 31, 2017, Vagabond Small Group Tours of Ireland invites individual and referred subscriptions to its newsletter. Names of new and current subscribers will be entered into a promotion to win a 7-Day Magnetic North Adventure Tour of Ireland for two, including flights to Dublin and pre-and post-tour accommodation in Dublin. To participate, simply subscribe to their newsletter through the link below. Additional contest entries can be achieved by visiting the company’s Facebook page, following them on Twitter and/or Pinterest, and referring a friend. To enter and for all the details see: https://vagabondtoursofireland.com/win-2-places-7-day-magnetic-north-adventure-tour-ireland/.

About Vagabond Small Group Tours of Ireland

Since 2002 Vagabond Adventure Tours has been creating opportunities for visitors to embrace Ireland by walking, biking, horseback riding and kayaking its lands and waters, imbibing history and culture along the way. In 2013 the company was honored by National Geographic Traveler with a Top 50 Tour of a Lifetime distinction. In 2015 and 2017 Vagabond Small Group Tours of Ireland was named a “Best Adventure Experience” at the Irish Tourism Awards. And in 2016, Vagabond became Ireland’s first tour operator to achieve Ecotourism Gold Level Certification.

In 2013 the company launched Driftwood Journeys of Discovery that explores in a less strenuous manner many of the same routes of Vagabond Adventure Tours. Itineraries in both divisions focus on high yield, low impact tourism which means that local economies benefit from the company’s and guest’s contributions to local, rural Irish economies (including accommodations, meals, nightlife, attractions and shopping). For details on all of Vagabond Small-Group Tours of Ireland itineraries, availability and for 2018 reservations, please visit vagabondtoursofireland.com or contact Vagabond by phone at (toll-free US) 1-833-230-0288; or (in Ireland) at 00353 (0) 1-5634358. You may also email Vagabond Adventure Tours at [email protected] or Driftwood Journeys of Discovery at [email protected].