FAQ’s

With a private tour, you can decide the number of people on the tour. We cater for a private group of between 5 and 15 people. It can be great fun to travel together with your own group of family or friends. Maybe you are a member of a church or sports association? Maybe you would like to celebrate a special event here in Ireland? If you have the group, we can arrange a full itinerary to suits your needs. Email us at Mark@ConnectTheDotsTours.Com or call +353868108934 with any questions. We are here to help.

We have a maximum of 12 people on our small group tours. But we have a 16 seater mini bus. It’s great to have a few empty seats for seat rotation and the option to leave a coat or bag on a separate seat. It’s all about your comfort. Once 2 people book a tour, then the tour is confirmed to run.

Many other tour companies advertise “small group tours”, but can actually have between 25, 35 or even 40 people on board the bus.

All tours are guided by Mark Doherty.

• Born and raised in a small country hotel in South Eastern Ireland
• Mark has travelled to over 50 countries across all 7 continents
• He is the first Irish man to pedal a bicycle around the world. Visit his Global Cycle Ride blog to read more about this exciting adventure
• Mark is a certified tour guide of Ireland
• He has been guiding tours around Ireland since 2008
• He founded Connect the Dots Tours of Ireland in 2019
• He will fill your days with talks on Irish history, heritage, geography, geology, literature, music, food, archaeology, agriculture, leprechauns, Irish whiskey, jokes, singing, poetry, culture and whatever other random stuff comes up in conversation.

Yes, we have free 4G WiFi, so you can keep your friends and family updated with your photos on tour.

Connect the Dots Tours chooses Small Irish Family Owned Hotels across Ireland. Our Regular Hotels on our Small Group Tours are;
The Sea View Rooms is the 400 year old Ballygally Castle on the Causeway Coast

The Bay View Rooms is the Central Hotel in Donegal town

The Wyatt Hotel in the heart of Westport town – Voted by the People of Ireland as their Favorite Town in Ireland

The Doolin Inn at the village of Doolin – The Traditional Music Capital of Ireland

Benners Hotel in Dingle – No vacation to Ireland is complete without Dingle.

The Sea View Rooms is Watersedge Hotel in the Historic town of Cobh

The Hibernian Hotel in Kilkenny – Just across the road from one of Ireland’s Finest Castles

We also use the Castlecourt Hotel in Westport, the Greenmount House in Dingle and the Pembroke Hotel in Kilkenny

In Ireland, it’s not unusual for it to be raining and then 15 minutes later the sun is shining. We generally recommend that you dress in layers. Bring a light raincoat, bring a warm jacket, bring comfortable shoes and bring sun cream.

Any additional costs are detailed in the separate tour itineraries. Generally speaking – Flights, Airport Transfers, Travel Insurance, Lunch, Dinner, Drinks and Shopping are not covered in your tour. Email us at Mark@ConnectTheDotsTours.com or call +353868108934 if you need any clarification.

Over 40 Days from start date of tour: Deposit is non refundable but can be deferred to another tour. Full refund excluding deposit

Under 30 Days: Deposit is non-refundable (cannot be deferred to another tour).
No refund.

See Full Terms & Condition’s Here

There is no toilet on the bus. We never drive more than 1.5 hours without stopping for a toilet break. And if we need to make any additional stops, that is no problem.

Transfers between Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre are not included in the tour. The best way to get between the city and the airport is the Aircoach. This service operates every 15 or 20 minutes in both directions. Its €7 per person each way.

There is loads of taxis shuttling people between the airport and city centre. They cost about €30 per cab.

All our 2023 Small Group Tours pick up from 3 Dublin city-centre locations
1 – Stauntons on the Green Hotel, St Stephens Green Dublin
2 – Jurys Inn Hotel, Christchurch, Dublin
3 – Grand Canal Hotel, Dublin

Other Great Dublin City Hotels include;

• Buswells Hotel (3 Star)
• Brooks Hotel (4 Star)
• Shelbourne Hotel (5 Star)

Top Hotels within 30 mins Drive of Dublin City Centre

• Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire
• Clontarf Castle

The summer months of June, July and August are the best months to visit Ireland.

• The weather is warmer.
• There is very little rain.
• There is more daylight.

March, April, May, September, and October is also a really good times to come.

• Flights and accommodation are cheaper
• Popular attractions are less crowded
• St Patricks Festival

Ireland is described as having a moderate climate. It’s never too hot in the summer and never too cold in the winter.

• Average summer temperature is around 60F
• Average winter temperature is around 30F
• Average spring and autumn temperature is around 50F

Children of all ages are welcome on private tours. Children aged between 8 and 18 are welcome on our small group tours. Children are charged 80% of the full adult rate

Our coach is not wheelchair accessible. If we can help in any way, we will. But you need to be able to get on and off the coach unaided. You could bring a lightweight foldable wheelchair on tour. We can store it in the luggage compartment. It is important to let us know before booking, so that we can keep a space for your wheelchair in our luggage compartment.

One suitcase per person and one carry-on bag per person. Portage between the coach and hotel room is not included

The suitcase must not exceed 30.5”x22”x12.5” (77.5 x 56 x 32cm). Carry-on bags should not exceed 12″x11″x6″(30 x 28 x 15cm). Wheeled carry-on bags are not suitable as hand luggage on our mini coach. Carry-on bags must be small enough to store in overhead bins or under the seat in front of you.

• We generally advise €50 per person per day for our small group tours.
• Accommodation and breakfast and most attractions are covered
• Lunch, dinner, shopping and drinks are not covered.

Credit Cards and debit cards are widely accepted. We will pass an ATM each day on tour. Note that you should advise your bank of the dates that you will be in overseas in case they block access to your bank cards

American Express is not generally accepted in Ireland

Tipping is usually discretionary in Ireland. Most Irish people would not tip in a bar. They would usually tip between 10% – 15% in a restaurant. If you tip them more than 20% the service staff may possibly do handstands…

In Ireland we use a 3 prong adapter. We would recommend bringing an adapter. We do have some spare adapters on our bus.

Yes, It’s no problem. We regularly stay 2 nights at the one hotel. So it’s no problem getting laundry done while we are out on tour. Sometimes we visit laundromats, other times we get it done at the hotel

VAT (Value Added Tax) is included in the price of all goods in Ireland. Non-European citizens can claim the tax back on goods that have bought, if the purchaser plans to take the goods back home with them. Essentially this means you get up to 23% back on goods purchased depending on the products bought. Each non-European passenger on our tours are given a ‘Horizon’ card, as this is the easiest way to claim back your tax.