Hello Friends and Fans,
I am very excited to have the opportunity to host another backroads music tour of Ireland with Ireland’s Enchanted Way Tours. Enchanted Way has partnered with my dear friend Johnsmith and other American singer-writers like myself for the past ten years, leading unique insider explorations of this very special place.
On my eighth trip to Ireland—yes I am in love with the country and its people—I will be hosting my second tour for friends-fans-and-family in the late summer of this year. Twenty-two of us (plus driver and guide) will be visiting Counties Waterford, Cork and Kerry in the south and southwestern parts of the country. These counties are home to some of the most spectacular places on this earth, and as we travel we’ll be soaking in all that the south and west coasts have to offer—an experience I promise you will never forget.
These extraordinary places feature rugged coastlines with crashing waves, calm beaches, roadways lined with glorious, flowering hedgerows, and much, much more. I promise you will never take the color of green for granted again!
By day we may visit castles or abbey ruins, stone circles and fascinating archeological sites, making stops along the way for lunch or shopping in a fishing village or a mountain pass cottage, all the while taking in the breathtaking Irish scenery.
And at night… we’ll be wining, dining and listening to some of the finest live music you’ll ever hear.
We’ll fly to Shannon and meet up there, and our group will travel in a small luxury coach/bus. We’ll stay in small hotels and the occasional B&B—3 nights in Dungarvan (County Waterford), 3 nights in Skibbereen (County Cork), 2 nights in Dingle (County Kerry) and our final night back in Shannon (County Clare). We’ll ride to nearby Shannon airport the following morning so you can catch your flight home… or to any other destination.
(If you wish to come early or extend your stay, we’ll be happy to suggest travel and sightseeing within the country. Bus and train transportation in Ireland is excellent and affordable.)
This is no ordinary tour where you rush from town to town so quickly you forget where you are. This is a small, personal tour that is centered on the arts and culture of Ireland, especially the amazing music. We’ll be stopping in local pubs and venues for back–room sessions where virtuoso Irish players will charm us with their whistles, fiddles, guitars, and bodhrans (Irish drum). These tours are one of a kind, and you will get a taste of Irish life at an Irish pace.
One of the advantages of touring with a small group like ours is the flexibility it offers, and that flexibility is one of the reasons our tours are very special. While we will follow a schedule for our daily plans, it’s always possible that weather or other circumstance won’t permit an activity. If that’s the case, there will always be an equally excellent option at hand.
For more information click here for a Tour FAQs page.
To register, or for more info or support, please contact my good friend Vicki Belinoski.
(Vicki’s been on these trips many times, and she coordinates registration and logistics for participants with care, skill and much heart!)
Peace,
Tom
P.S. I’ve written a couple of stories about unforgettable experiences I’ve had in Ireland. If you’d like to read my most recent one, click here.
