Tour Ireland With Johnsmith

Tour

2012:
Tour Schedule

Hello Folks, and welcome to my page about the guided tours of Ireland I lead along with my dear Irish partner Tom Pigott. I have led twenty-six of these musical tours of Ireland over the last seven years. All the trips have been hugely successful and great fun, creating lifelong friendships and memories.

Here is a nice YouTube link of some of the places we visit in Ireland. Blackie, the piper, is a friend of ours and plays for many of our groups in Doolin County Clare. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uTxitmHzy0

I will be leading five tours in 2012 plus helping some friends fill another tour below:

June 12-21 Counties Waterford, Kerry, and Clare 4 SLOTS OPEN

June 24-July 3 Counties Cork, Kerry, and Clare SOLD OUT - wait list only

July 18-27 Counties Mayo, Galway, and Clare (yoga tour) 2 SLOTS OPEN
This tour is being co-led with Yoga Master Thomas Fortelle who I met at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. There will be an hour of yoga practice each morning. He has first chance to fill from his list, and then I can open it to my list in the next weeks. I'm very excited about this one.

Sept 6-15 Counties Waterford, Kerry, and Clare 1 SLOT OPEN

Sept 18-27 Counties Mayo, Galway, and Clare 10 SLOTS OPEN

PLUS
I am helping dear friends who are also leading a tour. I am organizing and they will lead the tours. So if you don’t fit in one of my tours and really want to go in 2012 or their dates suit you better, let me know and I will get you a remaining slot with them.

April 19-28 Counties Kerry Clare, Galway - led by Jackson Hole, WY folks (4 SLOTS OPEN)

Contact John to inquire about tours in 2012

I lead these tours with my trusty Irish partner Tom Pigott from Limerick who has been in the tour business for many years and is also a great singer. We take 20 guests and travel in a small luxury coach/bus. We stay 3 nights in one town, 2 in another, 3 in another, and our last evening back near the Shannon airport. We stay in small hotels and an occasional B & B.	Stone Fort County Donegal - August, 2008 Group
By day we will hike scenic landscapes, visit old castles and abbey ruins,	Hiking on Inishbofin Island
and stone circles,	Ancient settlement on Dingle Peninsula
sightseeing along gorgeous coastal scenery,	on the road in County Kerry
visiting beaches, mountain tops, bogs, small fishing villages, islands, festivals, etc.	Kinsale Village, County Cork
And by night we share music with local Irish singers and players.	A "session" at Ballyshannon in County Donegal
Some original music, some traditional, and many songs by yours truly and any others from our group who may wish to share a song or two.	Gerry O'Beirne & Rosie
There's lots of great music in the pubs in Doolin, Country Clare.	Doolin, County Clare
The trips to County Kerry include a tour of the Dingle Peninsula, exploring the Sleas Head drive and other scenic destinations.	Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry
Trips to County Clare include the Cliffs of Moher,	Cliffs of Moher, County Clare
and the dramatic landscapes of The Burren.	The Burren, County Clare
Stops in Galway include a walking tour of colorful 'Shop Street'	Shopping in Galway
Also in County Galway is the beautiful Connemara area and the village of Clifden. Some trips include a boat ride to Inishbofin Island where time has stood still. Gorgeous walking along one lane roads around the island.	The Village of Clifden, the "Twelve Bens" in the background
Our last night will be back near the Shannon-Limerick area.	Sunset over the Irish Countryside
Cost for 2012 tours is $2150 per person based on double occupancy. We will do our best to match up room mates if preferred. Single rooms are an additional $350 total per person for all 9 nights. The fee also includes all ground transportation, all lodging. including full breakfast. We also provide 3 evening group meals, and the cost for our featured Irish musicians, poets, writers, etc. Guests pay for their own flights to and from Shannon International Airport SNN, all lunches, 6 dinners on your own, free day activites, drinks and tips, etc.	Sharing a song along the way.
If interested contact: john@johnsmithmusic.com A $500 deposit is required to hold slots after confirmation from me. Balance is due in two payments, 6 months and 3 months prior to the tour dates. Ireland does require a passport. So let me know if you want to join us, and if you are alone or with family or friend/partner, male or female, and what order of preference you have in which tour and dates. Any thing else you can think of helps sort everybody out in the end. Please bear with me as we do our best to fairly fill the slots. Any questions? . Just ask.	Tom Pigott and Johnsmith
We look forward to sharing Ireland with as many of you as possible. Thanks for the interest. Johnsmith 608-534-6656 johnsmithmusic.com Thanks to Ann & Paul Schatzkin for the photos, taken on their tour of Ireland in October, 2006.	Inishbofffin, painted by September 2005 tour guest Tom Browning of Bend, Oregon

Dunmore Head
Aran Island Farm House
Ballyshannon Donegal
Ireland '08
Rosie & Gerry
Stone Circle

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Testimonials

Is it possible to smell a country?
I picked up a sweater I'd worn in Ireland
tossed in the closet
on the floor
awaiting handwash
still these three weeks later.
I picked it up and took in its scent.
There it is. A whiff. A flash.
Out walking by the ocean. Dingle Peninsula.
or was it the smell of Inis Oirr?
a pub.
the oratory.
the Burren.
My mind wanders through
the many roads we travelled
trying to single out this smell.
Now I have it.
It's smokey
from the fire in the restaurant
that last chilly night.
We're sitting in a circle.
It's not the stone circle
but I imagine us there
eyes closed
all hands linked
as we sing and sway.
We are connected.
Reluctantly
I open my eyes
and throw the sweater
back on the closet floor.
I'm not ready to wash it yet.

Maryl Neff - June 2009

"It was truly the trip of a lifetime. We knew we'd fall in love with the Irish landscape we'd seen in pictures, but we were shocked at the diversity we encountered: lush farmlands, barren and rocky plains, mountains, seaside vistas galore, and even sub-tropical vegetation. The castles were spectacular, as were the islands off the west coast we visited. "

Tour Guest

"If you are not interested in seeing beautiful countryside, the most stunning color of green you could ever imagine, hearing fantastic music from the incredible natives of Ireland, hearing historical stories of family, both of struggle and of hope, experiencing Ireland from two of the most wonderful storytellers (John and Tom of course), .then I suggest you don't go on this trip. But if you want ANY of the above then SIGN UP TODAY! "

Tour Guest

"All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime for me. I'll be doing a return trip at some point, down the road."

Tour Guest

"It was a trip that will be hard to beat. It was so personalized by having John and Tom Pigott as our own tour guides. We did not have to plan where to eat or where to stay. Everything was taken care of for us yet we had free time to do as we pleased. We went places that the average tourist would not go, yet we saw a lot of Ireland’s famous sites. We got a history lessons on Ireland from folks who grew up and still live there. I would not hesitate for a moment to encourage you to go on this trip. I can’t imagine ever having an opportunity like this again."

Tour Guest

"We can honestly say that this was one of the best trips we have ever taken (and we have traveled extensively). This is the way to see Ireland, for sure. The small size of the group makes the experience very special; people in the group bonded very quickly and strongly. You will get to see parts of the country that very few tourists get to see."

Tour Guest

Tour Ireland With Johnsmith

2012: Tour Schedule

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Testimonials

2012:
Tour Schedule