Barging Ireland

7 days
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5/5 Excellent
81 reviews  
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Small Ship Cruise
In Ireland, history is built upon history. Castle ruins lie over older castle ruins, monasteries vandalized by vikings were reclaimed to be rebuilt, and ghosts vie with other ghosts coveting their favored haunting sites. Ireland’s rolling emerald green hills and winding waterways are home to ruins, villages, and lochs where history breathes and myths persist.
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From$4,400
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Overview

Trip type
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Luxury - 5 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Flexible schedule

Highlights

    • Tour the legendary 6th Century Clonmacnoise ruins
    • Full day excursion to Portumna Castle and Galway City
    • Traditional Guinness and oyster lunch
    • Visit the unusual haunted Leap Castle
    • Tour Birr Castle’s Gardens and Science Centre
    • Visit the Craggaunowen Re-Creation Project
    • Tour of the Kilbeggan Whiskey Distillery
    • Visit a traditional Irish hand-weaving workshop

What's this trip about?

    In Ireland, history is built upon history. Castle ruins lie over older castle ruins, monasteries vandalized by vikings were reclaimed to be rebuilt, and ghosts vie with other ghosts coveting their favored haunting sites. Ireland’s rolling emerald green hills and winding waterways are home to ruins, villages, and lochs where history breathes and myths persist.

Details

Itinerary focusClassic Highlights
Group sizeSmall Group - max of 20 people
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportAll internal ground transport included
Start CityDublin, Ireland
End CityDublin, Ireland

Travel Themes

  • Cultural
  • Small Ship Cruise

Destinations

  • Europe
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland

Attractions

  • Dublin
  • Galway

Activities

  • Culture
  • Historic sightseeing
  • History
  • River cruise

Trip includes

    • Transfer to & from Barge in our Luxury Touring Vehicle
    • Full board in Twin/ Double Cabin with Modern Bathroom
    • Full use of Barge Facilities Including WIFI, Bikes etc
    • Welcome Aboard & Farewell Cocktail Receptions
    • Guided Shore Excursions
    • All Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Culinary/ Gourmet Dining
    • Open Bar, and Wine with Meals
    • Unlimited Tea/Coffee. Complimentary Fruit & Snacks
    • Complimentary Organic Toiletries

Popular Trips

Itinerary

Travel Map

Day 1: Glasson

Meals: Dinner

Our tour of the Irish countryside begins in the rural village of Glasson. Glasson lies in the County Westmeath and derived its name—Glasan, meaning “small stream”—from the River Tullighan which flows from the village’s northern end into Lough Ree....

Day 2: Glasson to Athlone

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning begins our journey along River Shannon to the mystical inner lakes of Lough Ree—the Lake of Kings. Lough Ree may be the second largest lake that the River Shannon feeds into, but it is also the geographical center of...

Day 3: Athlone to Shannonbridge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We breakfast on board as The Shannon Princess takes us through the serene waters of Athlone Locke south toward Shannonbridge. Our descent takes us through the county of Offally, a green and watery county often unvisited by touris...

Day 4: Shannonbridge to Terryglass

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Our morning cruise takes us further down the River Shannon as we pass through rolling green hills, fog-topped bogs resting quietly, and busy locks such as Victoria Lock, also known as Meelick Lock. We pause briefly at Portumna sw...

Day 5: Terryglass to Mountshannon

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning we cruise from Terryglass toward Galway City, or Gaillimh. Often thought of as the ‘most Irish’ of Ireland’s bustling cities, Galway City’s Irish ambience can be found in its vibrant yet hybrid culture where the myst...

Day 6: Mountshannon to Killaloe

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning we cruise through southern Lough Derg and her numerous islands to rejoin River Shannon. Our travels take us to Killaloe--the birthplace of the 11th century  High King of Ireland Brian Boru who defeated the vikings in...

Day 7: Killaloe

Meals: Breakfast

We breakfast early on the boat amongst goodbyes before we travel by coach to the designated drop off point in Dublin unless otherwise specified. What better way to conclude your journey throughout Ireland’s mystic-laden waterways by returning t...

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Dates & Availability

Price From $4,400
Price per day$629
Last Updated: 3/3/2024

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with ROW Adventures.

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

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ROW Adventures Reviews & Ratings

5/5  Excellent
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Other ROW Adventures Reviews

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Andrew

Mar 2020

Provided byROW Adventures

Great trips--great company

I have travelled with ROW numerous times, including four trips on the Rogue River. Every trip has been wonderful and every person associated with ROW has been nice, ...

P

Pip

Mar 2020

Provided byROW Adventures

most memorable holiday

Wow, wow, wow, wow. As a family group of six adults we have just returned from four day Whale Camp at Magdalena Bay. We were so well looked after by Monica, ‘Sherman...

J

Jackie

Dec 2019

Provided byROW Adventures

My dad and I had a wonderful time, and would not hesitate to recommend ROW!

My dad and I booked this trip as a special experience to share together, and we knew we wanted to go with ROW because we had taken a family rafting trip with ROW 20 ...

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Tour Operator

ROW Adventures

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Connecting people to culture, wildlife, and nature

If there is water, there is ROW Adventures! While we started out as a Northwest whitewater rafting company in 1979, we have since expanded our reach to include tours on five continents and over 25 countries. Our ultimate focus is providing life-enriching journeys around the world that not only benefit you, but also our guides, and the people and places we visit. Rated by National Geographic Adventure as one of the “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth,” and voted “World’s Best Tour Operator” by Travel & Leisure magazine readers, we continue to pioneer new trips and ways of adventuring in both popular and remote places of the world.

ROW offers a wide variety of trips that cater to many different activities - rafting, kayaking, hiking, biking, fishing, multisport, etc. – interests – family-focused vacations, lodge-based tours, wildlife viewing, custom itineraries – and locations – camping in the Galapagos Islands, hiking in Machu Picchu, ecolodges in the Amazon, safaris in Africa, yachting in Europe, wildlife viewing in Antarctica, sea kayaking in Baja, kayaking with orcas in British Columbia, and more.

At our core, we are all about “sharing nature, enriching lives.” We strives to connect you to the places we visit in a meaningful and personally relevant way, inspiring you to be a part of the culture and lifestyle, and creating a safe-space for you to grow and gain new insight through your travel experiences.

The driving force behind our company is a team of people passionate about travel and customer service. Setting the pace and tone are the original ROW owners and founders Peter Grubb and his life partner Betsy Bowen. With our superlative team who have an average of eight years of guiding experience, many with extensive wilderness medical training, and natural and cultural history interpretation training in order to share a deeper understanding and appreciation for the incredible places you visit, we continue to set the high watermark in adventure and guest service.

ROW has a high guide-to-guest ratio, allowing our guides to be more involved with you – joining in on meals, ensuring your comfort, answering questions, telling stories, entertaining, and sharing in on the fun and adventure. And not only are our guides there to lead the adventure, they also do all of the heavy lifting, food preparation, gear transfers, camp setup, and more, so that you can focus on your vacation.

Our guides prepare each meal for you using fresh, healthy ingredients, and there is beer and wine to boot. Luxury camping, with spacious tents, dining tables, chairs and sun showers, provides a high level of comfort even when you’re exploring remote wilderness areas. ROW provides all camping gear including tents, sleeping bags, and thick foam mattresses, and watercraft for our trips; you just need to bring clothes, yourself, and enjoy being on your adventure! And of course, we are passionately dedicated to “Leave No Trace” camping ethics and supporting a variety of conservation efforts around the world. 

We have it all covered, and we are here to provide you with the best travel experience out there. But don’t take our word for it; check out our reviews, join us for an adventure, and go home with incredible experiences and lifelong memories!

Tweets by ROWadventures

Why we love this operator
They’ve been recognized by major travel publications for their pioneering adventure travel expertise that spans back to their founding in 1979.
What they’re known for
Industry-leading adventures for outdoor enthusiasts that want a comfortable but exciting experience and all equipment included.

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Logistics

What's excluded

    • Any alcohol off the Barge
    • Crew gratuity, 5-7% paid to the Captain

Accommodation

,The Hotel Barge of today was the cargo barge of yesteryear - these barges were built to carry goods along shallow and narrow waterways. Today these remodeled hulls are luxury accommodations for small groups of travelers looking to enjoy life at a slower pace. The cruises include all gourmet meals with wine, all shore excursions, "open bar" and bicycles for the use of the guests and various other luxury facilities.   Generally the hotel barges accommodate between 4 and 14 guests however there are a couple that can accommodate up to 20 guests
Cancellation policy

Cancellation Policy:

If you find it necessary to cancel your trip, please notify us as soon as possible. If written cancellation is received by ROW (call to verify) before the final balance is due, you will be given a refund less the amount of deposit. Deposits are non-refundable. If cancellations are made on or after the final due date, no money will be refunded. You are welcome to find a replacement for yourself. Please understand that once you’ve signed up, we lose the right to sell your reserved spaces to other individuals or groups. Therefore, we regret that we cannot make exceptions for personal emergencies. For this reason we a strongly recommend you consider purchasing a travel protection plan.

 

Trip Protection Plan

We offer a comprehensive cancellation and trip protection plan through our office and recommend this coverage which protects your payments if you have to cancel for medical or other covered reasons.

Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Meals Included

6 Breakfasts, 5 Lunches and 6 Dinners

Age Requirements
No age restrictions
Additional Information

Every day will see guided tours to historical or cultural sites including castles, historic buildings, market towns, gardens and museums. Some cruises have a special theme like golf, wine tasting. Guests can stroll along the tow path or cycle into neighboring towns and just play catch up with the barge.

 

  • On alternate weeks the cruise will be in the reverse direction. This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change.
  • The designated meeting and drop off point is Dublin. Other options are available for charter groups.
  • This is a sample itinerary subject to change.

Trip ID
rowadv-BarIreRow

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