About This Trip

There comes a point in life when the group chat stops making plans and starts making excuses.

Someone’s busy. Someone’s tired. Someone says, “Maybe next year.” Someone has a kid’s soccer tournament, a weird work thing, or a spouse who has somehow convinced them that spending New Year’s Eve on the couch is a reasonable life choice.

This trip is for everyone who saw that happening and thought:

Not me. Not yet. I’m still out there.

This is Ireland for the people who still want the big trip, the wild coastline, the late-night pub session, the live music, the ridiculous story, the new friends, the old jokes, the dramatic scenery, and the unforgettable New Year’s Eve that does not involve watching a ball drop on television while wearing sweatpants.

Still Out There was built for adults who have outgrown backpacker hostels and bargain-bin party tours — but have absolutely not outgrown adventure. You want a real hotel, a real dinner, a smart itinerary, and a trip that runs smoothly. You also want the freedom to have a legendary night in a pub, make friends on a bus ride, sing badly with strangers, and wake up the next morning with just enough dignity left to enjoy the cliffs.

That is the sweet spot.

This 7-night New Year’s journey takes you from Dublin across the wild west of Ireland, through Donegal, Galway, Dingle, Kilkenny, and back to Dublin. It blends jaw-dropping landscapes, historic sites, traditional music, great pubs, festive nights, and the kind of group energy that turns a vacation into a story people are still talking about years later.

We begin in Dublin and immediately head north toward Donegal, stopping at the Ulster American Folk Park before kicking off the trip properly with dinner and live music at the Reel Inn. From there, we take on the towering Slieve League Cliffs, explore Donegal’s rugged coastline, and settle into the rhythm of Ireland the way it was meant to be experienced: with music, conversation, scenery, and probably a Guinness within reach.

Then we head down the Wild Atlantic Way toward Galway, passing Benbulbin, Kylemore Abbey, and Cong before a group dinner and a proper night out in one of Ireland’s best pub cities. Galway has a way of making even responsible adults believe they are one fiddle tune away from joining a traveling folk band.

From Galway, we continue south by way of the Cliffs of Moher and the Shannon ferry before rolling into Dingle, one of the most beautiful, musical, dangerously charming towns in the country.

And Dingle is where we ring in the New Year.

We’ll explore the Slea Head Loop, visit Paudie O’She’s, and celebrate New Year’s Eve with live music, dancing, pubs, and the type of night that may need to be reconstructed later through photos, witness statements, and whatever cryptic notes you wrote in your trip journal.

After New Year’s, we make our way through Adare and Kilkenny before returning to Dublin for one final dinner, one final night in Temple Bar, and one final chance to make a memory your more sensible friends will pretend not to envy.

The trip ends with a morning transfer to Dublin Airport, where you’ll fly home tired, happy, possibly hoarse, and fully reminded that life did not end when your friends started going to bed early.

This is not just a tour of Ireland.

This is your official notice that you are still alive, still curious, still social, still adventurous, and absolutely Still Out There.

Dublin to Donegal

This is where the group chat becomes real life.

Your trip begins in Dublin, where we’ll collect guests from Dublin Airport and offer a second pickup option in Dublin city centre for anyone arriving early or spending the night before in town. We ask that all guests either arrive in Dublin the night before or land before 10:00 AM so everyone is ready when the wheels start rolling.

Once you meet your Still Out There host, local guide, and private driver, you’ll board the coach, grab your complimentary Still Out There amenity package, and officially enter the “Well, I guess we’re doing this” portion of the trip.

The first day is all about shaking off the airport fog, settling into the group, and realizing very quickly that you did not accidentally sign up for a quiet historical lecture tour with matching windbreakers. This is the day everyone starts as strangers, then somewhere between Dublin and Donegal, the first inside jokes are born.

As we leave the city behind and head northwest, we’ll stop for lunch in Eskra before visiting the Ulster American Folk Park, a brilliant open-air museum that tells the story of Irish emigration and the journey from the old world to the new. It is the perfect first stop: history, culture, movement, and a reminder that the Irish have been dramatically leaving places and making a scene about it for centuries.

From there, we continue on to Donegal, one of Ireland’s most underrated towns and the perfect place to begin the trip properly. After checking into The Abbey Hotel, we’ll gather for a welcome dinner at The Reel Inn, followed by live music and the first real night of the journey.

This is not the night to disappear to your room and “just get some sleep.” You can sleep when you’re back in America.

Tonight is about meeting the people you’ll be traveling with, raising the first glass, getting your bearings, and beginning the slow, beautiful process of becoming the version of yourself who says yes to the trip instead of “maybe next year.”

By the end of the night, you’ll know a few names, have a few laughs, and probably already suspect that this was a very good idea.

Meals: Lunch stop in Eskra, not included. Group welcome dinner at The Reel Inn included.
Attraction: Ulster American Folk Park
Accommodation: The Abbey Hotel, Donegal
Entertainment: Live music at The Reel Inn at 7:00 PM

Today, Ireland stops being charming and starts showing off.

We’re heading to Slieve League, home to some of the highest sea cliffs in Europe and one of the most breathtaking views in the entire country. The Cliffs of Moher may get the postcards, but Slieve League is where Ireland goes full cinematic — towering Atlantic cliffs, roaring wind, endless ocean, mountain paths, and the very real feeling that you have wandered into the opening scene of an epic.

These cliffs rise nearly 2,000 feet above the Atlantic and stand almost three times higher than the Cliffs of Moher. This is not a polite scenic overlook. This is Ireland grabbing you by the jacket, pointing at the horizon, and saying, “You’re welcome.”

For those brave enough, we’ll take on the optional Pilgrim’s Path hike, a rugged route through one of the wildest landscapes in the country. Bring comfortable shoes or hiking boots. This is not the moment for fashion sneakers, airport loafers, or the kind of footwear that says, “I thought this trip was mostly pubs.”

You’re about to experience one of the rawest places in all of Ireland: Atlantic wind, ancient paths, cliffs that make your stomach drop, and views so ridiculous they make your phone camera look underqualified.

After the cliffs, we’ll stop for lunch at The Rusty Mackerel, which is exactly where you want to be after staring into the abyss and pretending you handled it casually.

Then we return to Donegal for another night in town. Your host will guide the group toward great live music, local atmosphere, and the kind of pubs where the night has a way of becoming a chapter.

No forced fun. No clipboard energy. No “mandatory cultural enrichment seminar.”

Just Ireland doing what Ireland does best: scenery that knocks you sideways, music that pulls you in, and a group of people slowly realizing they are no longer strangers on a bus — they are co-conspirators in a very good decision.

By the end of the day, you’ll have seen one of the great natural wonders of Ireland, earned your pint, and fully understood why Donegal does not need to brag.

It just waits for you to show up.

Meals: Breakfast at The Abbey Hotel included. Lunch stop at The Rusty Mackerel, not included.
Attraction: Slieve League Cliffs with optional Pilgrim’s Path hike
Accommodation: The Abbey Hotel, Donegal
Dinner Recommendation: McCafferty’s, Donegal

Benbulbin, Kylemore Abbey & The Quays

Today we trade the wild edge of Donegal for the bright, buzzing madness of Galway.

By now, the group has survived the welcome night, taken on the cliffs, and started the sacred transformation from “people on the same trip” into “new friends with increasingly questionable inside jokes.” Perfect timing, because Galway is waiting.

After breakfast, we check out of The Abbey Hotel and head south, beginning with a scenic drive around Benbulbin — a mountain so dramatic it looks like Ireland hired a production designer. It rises out of the landscape like something from an old myth, reminding everyone that the west coast is not done showing off.

From there, we continue to Kylemore Abbey, one of the most stunning landmarks in the country. Tucked against the mountains and reflected in the lake, Kylemore is the sort of place that makes even the least sentimental person on the bus quietly admit, “Alright, that’s pretty ridiculous.”

Then we stop for lunch in Cong, the picture-perfect village made famous by The Quiet Man. Stone walls, old bridges, village lanes, Irish cinema history — it is almost aggressively charming. After one walk through town, you may briefly start wondering what property costs in rural Ireland.

Then it’s on to Galway.

And Galway does not ease you in.

Galway is buskers in the streets, music pouring out of doorways, crooked lanes, colorful storefronts, old stone, young energy, and the sudden realization that this city knows exactly what it’s doing.

After checking into The Harbour Hotel, we’ll gather for a group dinner at M. Fitzgerald’s. From there, your host will lead the group into Galway’s nightlife, beginning at The Quays — a legendary pub with an interior design that answers the question: “What might have happened if Dr. Seuss had discovered Irish music, stained glass, carved wood, and excellent Guinness?”

This is the night the trip shifts gears.

Donegal was the opening act. Slieve League was the epic landscape. Galway is where the story starts collecting witnesses.

Meals: Breakfast at The Abbey Hotel included. Lunch in Cong, not included. Group dinner at M. Fitzgerald’s included.
Attractions: Benbulbin scenic drive, Kylemore Abbey, Village of Cong
Accommodation: The Harbour Hotel, Galway
Entertainment: Host-led Galway pub crawl after dinner, beginning at The Quays.

The Cliffs of Moher, the Shannon Ferry & the Road to the Gaeltacht

Today we leave Galway behind and make our way toward Dingle — but Ireland is not letting us get there without one more dramatic flex.

After breakfast, we check out of The Harbour Hotel and head south toward one of the most famous landscapes in the country: The Cliffs of Moher.

Yes, they are iconic. Yes, you have seen them in photos. No, the photos do not count.

The Cliffs of Moher are one of those rare places that actually live up to the hype. The Atlantic crashes below, the cliffs stretch across the horizon, the wind immediately starts acting like it has a personal problem with you, and suddenly everyone understands why Ireland keeps getting cast as itself in movies.

This is a big-sky, big-coastline, “stand there and feel small in the best possible way” kind of stop.

From there, we continue south and cross the River Shannon by ferry, because apparently regular roads are not dramatic enough for this trip. It is a classic Ireland travel moment: water, wind, coastline, and the feeling that you are slowly being pulled deeper into the good stuff.

Then we continue on to Dingle.

And Dingle is not just another stop.

Dingle sits in the Gaeltacht, one of Ireland’s Irish-speaking cultural regions, where the language, music, food, landscape, and local traditions still carry the feeling of Ireland as it once was. This is not museum-piece Ireland. This is living, breathing, wind-battered, music-filled Ireland at the edge of the Atlantic.

It is remote. It is colorful. It is wildly charming. It is a little bit strange in the best possible way. And it feels different the moment you arrive.

Dingle is where you find some of the freshest seafood in the country, pubs where music seems to appear out of the walls, roads that wrap around cliffs and sheep fields, locals who can tell a story better than most people can tell the truth, and experiences you simply do not get in the more polished corners of Ireland.

Upon arrival, we check into The Dingle Skellig Hotel, beautifully set on Dingle Bay and perfectly positioned for the next chapter of the trip.

Tonight, dinner is yours to choose. Dingle has a fantastic food scene, from fresh Atlantic seafood to cozy local restaurants, so guests can explore the town, find the place that calls to them, and settle into one of Ireland’s great small-town nights.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve.

Tonight is the warm-up — and Dingle does not waste a warm-up.

Meals: Breakfast at The Harbour Hotel included.
Attraction: Cliffs of Moher
Accommodation: The Dingle Skellig Hotel
Dinner: Guests may choose from Dingle’s excellent local restaurants.

Slea Head Loop, Páidí Ó Sé’s Pub & the Big Night

This is the night the whole trip has been building toward.

New Year’s Eve on the edge of Ireland, in a remote Gaeltacht town wrapped around the Atlantic, with music in the pubs, fireworks over the bay, and a group of people who started the week as strangers now fully locked into the same story.

But first, Dingle shows off.

After breakfast and some leisure time at The Dingle Skellig Hotel, we set out along the Slea Head Loop, one of the most spectacular drives in Ireland. This is the Dingle Peninsula at full power: cliff roads, ancient stone walls, crashing Atlantic surf, green fields, offshore islands, sheep with better views than most humans, and scenery so dramatic it feels like Ireland saved its best material for the last day of the year.

We’ll make multiple scenic stops along the way, giving everyone time to take photos, breathe it in, and quietly accept that their camera roll is about to become deeply annoying to everyone back home.

Lunch is at Páidí Ó Sé’s Pub, a legendary local pub with deep roots in Irish sport, storytelling, and Dingle culture. It is exactly where you want to be on New Year’s Eve afternoon: warm, local, full of character, and sitting in the middle of a landscape that makes normal life feel very far away.

Then we return to Dingle for free time in town. Shop, wander, recharge, grab a coffee, find a quiet corner, or mentally prepare yourself for the fact that tonight is not just another night out.

Tonight is the crescendo.

We’ll gather for dinner at The Dingle Pub, followed by live music and a performance from world champion dancer David Geaney. This is the kind of Irish night people think they’re going to find everywhere — but rarely do. Music, dancing, energy, tradition, and the entire town starting to lean toward midnight.

After dinner, your host will lead the group through some of Dingle’s best pubs before finishing at Geaney’s Pub to ring in the New Year in true Irish fashion.

Picture it: the countdown rising in the street, the town alive around you, music spilling from the pubs, fireworks lighting up the sky across Dingle Bay, and that perfect moment where everyone realizes they are exactly where they were supposed to be.

Not home on the couch.

Not watching someone else’s night through a screen.

Not saying “maybe next year.”

Here. In Dingle. At midnight. Still out there.

This is the big one.

Meals: Breakfast at The Dingle Skellig Hotel included. Lunch at Páidí Ó Sé’s Pub (not included). Dinner at The Dingle Pub included.
Attractions: Scenic drive along Slea Head Loop
Accommodation: The Dingle Skellig Hotel
Entertainment: Live music and performance by world champion dancer David Geaney after dinner, followed by a host-led night through Dingle’s pubs and New Year’s Eve at Geaney’s Pub.

New Year’s Day, Recovery Brunch & Carmody’s Pub

Let’s be honest: you haven’t had a drink since last year.

New Year’s Day begins with a slow exhale, a scenic departure from Dingle, and the comforting knowledge that the trip is not over just because the calendar changed. We are keeping the good times moving — just at a slightly more civilized January 1st pace.

After an optional breakfast at The Dingle Skellig Hotel, we depart for Kilkenny.

Carmody’s Pub in Hospital, County Limerick.

This is not a tourist pub pretending to be authentic.

This is the real thing.

Carmody’s is a tiny, family-run house pub owned by cousins of the Still Out There founder. The pub itself has only a few seats and a small bench, but the welcome is enormous. On the right day, the action spills beyond the bar and into the family living room, because in places like this, hospitality does not stop at the doorway.

The group is expected, the music is local, and the experience is impossible to manufacture. No velvet ropes. No gift shop. No fake “authentic Irish experience” laminated for tourists.

Just a tiny pub, a family story, live music, and a room full of people realizing they have stumbled into something special.

After Carmody’s, we continue on to Kilkenny, one of Ireland’s great medieval cities. Upon arrival, we check into the Ormonde Hotel, giving everyone time to settle in, freshen up, and choose their own dinner spot in town.

Kilkenny is exactly where you want to spend the first night of the new year: historic, lively, walkable, and full of character. After dinner, your host will lead the group through Kilkenny’s pub scene, beginning at Syd Harkin’s and ending the night at Matt the Millers.

New Year’s Eve may have been the crescendo, but New Year’s Day is the victory lap.

The year is new.

The trip is still rolling.

And somehow, against all odds, so are you.

Meals: Optional breakfast at The Dingle Skellig Hotel. Brunch/lunch in Adare, included. Dinner at guests’ choice in Kilkenny, not included.
Attractions: Adare, Carmody’s Pub in Hospital, County Limerick
Accommodation: Ormonde Hotel, Kilkenny
Entertainment: Live local music at Carmody’s Pub, followed by a host-led night through Kilkenny’s pubs, beginning at Syd Harkin’s and ending at Matt the Millers.

Howth Cliff Walk, The Norseman & One Last Night in Temple Bar

Sadly, all great Irish adventures must eventually start aiming back toward Dublin.

But we are not limping quietly to the finish line.

After breakfast at the Ormonde Hotel, we check out and make our way from Kilkenny toward Dublin, with one final dose of Irish coastline before the city pulls us back in. Our stop is Howth, a seaside village just outside Dublin known for harbor views, fresh sea air, fishing boats, cliff paths, and the kind of scenery that makes you feel like Ireland is giving you one last wink before sending you home.

We’ll take a stroll along the Howth Cliff Walk, where the Irish Sea opens up beside you, the cliffs roll along the coast, and Dublin feels close enough to touch but just far enough away to pretend the trip is not ending yet.

This is the final scenic exhale.

Donegal gave us the wild north. Galway gave us the energy. Dingle gave us New Year’s Eve at the edge of the Atlantic. Kilkenny gave us the first night of the new year. And now Howth gives us one last walk, one last view, and one last chance to look around and think, “Yeah… this was the right call.”

From Howth, we continue into Dublin and check into The Temple Bar Hotel, putting us right in the heart of the city for the final night.

Tonight, we gather for a farewell dinner at The Norseman, right in the middle of Temple Bar and perfectly placed for one final Dublin night. By now, this is not just a group dinner. This is a room full of inside jokes, new friendships, half-confirmed stories, and people already pretending they are not going to get emotional saying goodbye tomorrow.

After dinner, your host will lead the group into the Temple Bar district for one last night of live music, Dublin energy, and end-of-trip glory.

This is the final chapter.

The last night.

The last round of songs.

The last “remember when…” before everyone scatters back to real life.

No, you do not have to go crazy.

But you did come all this way.

And tomorrow morning, when the airport transfer arrives, the trip becomes a story. So tonight, we give it the ending it deserves.

Meals: Breakfast at the Ormonde Hotel included. Farewell dinner at The Norseman included.
Attraction: Howth Cliff Walk
Accommodation: The Temple Bar Hotel, Dublin
Entertainment: Host-guided evening through the Temple Bar district with live music.

The Final Day… Or Is It?

This is the part where we pretend we’re emotionally prepared to leave.

After one last included breakfast at The Temple Bar Hotel, the official trip comes to a close. By now, your suitcase is somehow both heavier and less organized, your phone is full of photos that only make sense to the people who were there, and your group chat has likely evolved into something that will survive long after everyone gets home.

There is no group coach transfer today, so guests will arrange their own transport to Dublin Airport by taxi, ride share, or airport bus. Dublin makes this easy, and your host can point you in the right direction before everyone starts making dramatic farewell speeches in the hotel lobby.

For some, this is goodbye.

For others, this may simply be the end of Chapter One.

Guests who want to stay longer in Ireland can arrange an extension through Still Out There and Doc’s Tours. Add a few extra nights in Dublin, head north to Belfast, take the train down to Cork, explore Ireland’s Ancient East, chase one more cliffside view, or give yourself a softer landing before returning to real life.

Just ask, and we’ll help make it happen.

The official itinerary may end here, but the whole point of this trip is remembering that your best stories are not behind you.

You are still curious.

Still social.

Still moving.

Still out there.

Meals: Breakfast at The Temple Bar Hotel included.
Departure: Guests arrange their own airport transfer by taxi, ride share, or airport bus.
Optional Extension: Additional nights or custom post-trip travel can be arranged through Still Out There and Doc’s Tours.