Eight Unforgettable Experiences to Celebrate Ireland's Reopening
Ireland is reopening to international visitors from July 19th, so it is time to return to the Emerald Isle. What better way to do so than with some off-the-beaten-path experiences that you’ll never forget?
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
Ireland is one of our all-time favorite destinations, and like so many others, we have missed it endlessly during the months of travel closures. Imagine our joy, then, when Ireland announced they will be reopening for international travel on July 19th using the European Union’s vaccination certificate program!
In our excitement, we have put together a list of some of our favorite hidden gem experiences in Ireland. These go more in-depth than your average walking tour, giving you a peek at true Irish culture and memories to last a lifetime. No one forgets a trip to a place as stunning as Ireland, but these eight experiences will really knock your socks off.
1. Become a Sheepherder for the Day
The Burren, County Clare
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
County Clare is a place unlike any other, and a visit here will cause you to feel you’ve been transported to another world. At the heart of the county is The Burren National Park and its extremely diverse landscape of plateaus, woodlands, and wetlands. This is the part of Ireland that’s home to the world-famous Cliffs of Moher, which of course you’ll stop in to see during any visit to County Clare.
While it’s absolutely worth seeing famous sites such as the cliffs, we also love discovering more unexpected experiences within this unique region, and we think this sheepherding experience definitely qualifies. During your day of explorations, make time to stop in at a family-run farm, located beside an ancient preserved stone fort in the Burren.
Your hosts, whose family have raised sheep for many generations, will introduce you to their Border Collies. These dogs would give Lassie a run for her money, and you will marvel as they demonstrate their stunning abilities herding rare sheep breeds. After the demonstration, you’ll even get to tour the ringfort, an important archaeological site.
2. Discover Your Irish Roots
Dublin
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
If you’re an Ireland enthusiast, you may have already heard of EPIC, the still-quite-new and award-winning Irish Family History Centre in Dublin. Any visit here provides the incredible experience of discovering or expanding upon your own Irish genealogy research, but their bespoke experiences are out of this world.
If your family has roots in Ireland, we would recommend commissioning one of the EPIC experts to research your family history before you arrive. When you step through the doors of EPIC, not only will you be treated to a guided tour with the skilled museum staff, but the tour will be totally tailored to your family’s own history. After your personal consultation, you’ll head to the museum vaults to sit down for afternoon tea and a presentation about your family’s Irish heritage.
3. Cycle Past Castles on the Coast
Connemara
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
An expert driver-guide will be able to show you around Connemara, a gorgeous region of Ireland that is rich in culture. During any day of exploration, your knowledgeable guide will be able to show you around based on your interests, and you’ll take in all the sights of coastline, lakes, mountains, and more.
If you’re feeling active, though, why not get out of the car for part of the day and hop onto a luxury bicycle? With options for electric or traditional cycles, all experience levels are welcome for this nine-to-twelve-mile route which will take you along some of the most stunning stretches of coast you’ll ever lay eyes on. Cycle a route overlooking Clifden Bay to the south and Kingstown Bay to the north, and keep your eyes peeled for the ruins of Clifden Castle while you’re at it.
4. Explore the Aran Islands via Pony & Trap
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands, located off Ireland’s west coast, are often missed by visitors. Your drive-guide can accompany you for the day and show you around, showing off the ancient stone walls and forts along with the breathtaking coastal views. It can be a lot of fun, however, to spend part of the day exploring in a more traditional way: pony and trap!
“Pony and trap” is better known by the term “horse-drawn carriage,” and you’ll feel as though you’ve stepped back in time as you hop onboard your very own today to explore beautiful Inishmore. Your host will regale you with the unique history of the islanders as you meander through the landscape at a slow pace, perfect for taking pictures along the way. There are plenty of chances for stops during your carriage ride, including chances to spot seals or even hike up to Dún Aonghasa, a prehistoric hill fort, before hopping back in the trap for the rest of your jaunt.
5. Create a Signature Scent at a Celebrated Perfumery
The Burren
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
Back in The Burren National Park, a renowned perfumery awaits for your private perfume-making experience. Why not visit the Cliffs of Moher in the morning and then spend the afternoon creating a scent that is all your own?
This perfumery is family-run and creates small batches of soaps, perfumes, and other goods to delight you, all of which are inspired by the other-worldly landscape they call home. In fact, all of their products are scented with products they grow in their garden or find elsewhere in the fields of the Burren.
After a tour of the perfumery, the owner of the perfumery will aid you in creating and bottling your signature scent. Not only will this give you a behind-the-scenes look at how they create their divine aromas, but you will also have a firsthand and intimate opportunity to create your own fragrance, tailored just to you.
6. Go Behind the Scenes at Guinness
Dublin
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
A stop at the Guinness brewery is a must-do while in Dublin, but this isn’t your average brewery tour. During this exclusive tour, you’ll gain access to places within Guinness that are typically closed to the public.
Follow in Arthur Guinness’s historic footsteps over railway lines and cobblestones. See where the barley is roasted in Guinness’s roast house, and follow an underground tunnel to Brewhouse 4, where Guinness is brewed in today’s day and age. After your explorations, you’ll be rewarded with a specially-designed food and beer tasting, and again, this isn’t your average tasting. You’ll be treated to limited-edition brews to cap off this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
7. Sample Cheeses at a Goat Farm
County Clare
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
Throughout any good journey across Ireland, you should find no shortage of delicious artisan cheeses, but any real cheese-lover will want to stop in at this 65-acre goat farm where some of Ireland’s best cheeses are produced.
You’ll get to see where the prized goats live and view the milking parlor, and best of all, you will get a chance to pet the goats. Need we say anything else?! And yet, there’s more—you’ll also be treated to a talk on the history of the farm and cheese-making in Ireland in general, learning much about farming, goat breeding, and milking. Finally—and we know you were waiting for this—you’ll get to watch a cheese-making demonstration and experience a tasting of the full range of cheeses. Yummy!
8. Visit Castles and Stately Homes on Lough Derg
County Donegal
Photo courtesy of Celebrated Experiences
Lough Derg is a special region within an already special country, and this experience gives you the chance to delve deep and discover some hidden gems. Head out in either a RIB boat or a luxury yacht—the choice is yours!—to gain invaluable insights into life here on the water.
Visit a 16th-century castle, which is accessible only by boat, where you’ll learn how the owners restored it from a ruin into what it is today. Cap off this visit with some traditional 16th-century food and drinks, which will feel quite apropos in this setting.
Next, visit a Georgian stately home for a tour with the owner. Your tour will culminate in her beautiful kitchen, where you’ll sample some locally-made artisan cheeses. (We told you there are cheese aplenty in Ireland, didn’t we?) After you’ve gotten your cheese-fix, you’re in for a delightful surprise as you head out to the back of her house to an old stone building that has been converted into an Irish Shebeen, which is like a speak-easy or hidden bar! Learn the history of these Irish hideaways as you sample craft gins, and then enjoy entertainment by a traditional Sean Nos Irish dancer.
Finish your day by traveling to a peat bog, where you’ll meet a local like no other who creates exquisite sculptures from pieces of “bog oak.” This wood has been preserved for millennia in the bog, and you will be blown away by his incredible artwork.
Ireland is a destination for so many: families, couples, history buffs, active travelers, beer drinkers, cheese eaters, genealogy seekers, and really anyone who enjoys delving deep into unique cultures to learn more about how life is for the locals now or how it once was. All of these experiences will do just that.
If you would like to get away to Ireland (or anywhere else in the world), simply contact us, and we will set you on your way.