Shamrocker All Ireland Rocker Tour Review

The more I read up about Ireland, the more I bumped it up on my bucket list and in April 2019, I finally checked it off with Shamrocker Adventures and a 3 day stay in Dublin, which will be covered in a separate blog post. Here is my review of the 7-day All Ireland Rocker Tour with Shamrocker Adventures.

Ireland has a lot to offer in terms of history, culture, food and extremely friendly people, so I would highly recommend exploring different counties. It is also home to Game Of Thrones, among many other shows and movies whose filming locations can be seen all around the country. My 7 days with Shamrocker Adventures All Ireland Rocker were willed with fun, laughter, nature, food and absolute ‘craic’, I learned a lot about the country, made some amazing friends and drowned myself in Guinness.  Speaking of Guinness, make sure to visit the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and also checkout my post on Must Try Food In Ireland.

Who are Shamrocker Adventures?

Basically Shamrocker Adventures is a group of young Irish men and women who take you around Ireland on a low-budget 3 to 8 day guided backpacking tour to give you a true Irish experience. The tours set off from the capital, Dublin, and take you through different counties in the country. Accommodations (with breakfast) are included in dormitory rooms shared among the travellers from the tour, however, option of private rooms are also available at an extra cost. Click here to check them out.

Shamrocker Adventures 7-Day All Ireland Rocker

Day 1

Just after a morning coffee at Four Courts Hostel in Dublin, I met our guides Gemma and Kevin, and the people with whom I was going to spend the next 1 week with. We loaded up in a bus and left the Republic to the capital of Northern Ireland, BELFAST. For those of you who don’t know, Ireland is divided into 2 countries, Republic Of Ireland and Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom.

Once in Belfast, we went for the famous Black Cab Tour with a local cabbie who tells us all about the troubles in the 70s and the Peace Walls which divide the Catholics and the Protestants. Honestly speaking, I was quite shocked to hear how much Belfast has been through in the past few decades and that it can still be seen to this very day. Cheers to Big E for the tour, make sure to give him a shout to take a tour of Belfast in his black cab, you can reach out to him here.

After learning all the grim details of the past we had some time to ourselves which means it was time for food. ‘St. George’s Market’ is an indoor food market filled with delicious food, buzzing tourists and live music. The market had a variety of choices and deciding where to fill my belly was not an easy task, but we settled on burgers flipped by a very sweet Spanish lady who also helped me brush up my Spanish.

Unfortunately our time in Belfast was restricted to just a few hours, but we had a lot of exciting things up ahead. However, if you do visit Belfast and have some extra time at hand, make sure to check out the ‘Titanic Museum’ to learn more about the famous RMS Titanic ship which met its tragic fate in the waters of the Atlantic ocean, the Titanic was built in Belfast.

We left the capital early afternoon to a cosy little village in the country side north of Belfast called BALLINTOY, where we spent our first night of the shamrocker all Ireland rocker tour. SHEEP ISLAND VIEW HOSTEL was our home for the night, a small family owned hostel surrounded by green fields and a lot of sheep. It was entirely reserved for the shamrocker tour group, like a big shamrocker family. I was loving it already.

A couple of hours on foot in this town would reveal a lot of picturesque places like ‘Larrybane Quarry’, ‘Ballintoy Harbour’ and a few filming locations of Game Of Thrones, which is what I did in the few hours before dinner.

Our first day of the Shamrocker All Ireland Rocker tour ended with a group dinner and drinks in ‘The Fullerton Arms’, a local pub with a variety of options for food and even a Game Of Thrones themed room.

Day 2

The sun was out, the sky was clear, I was surrounded by nature and we had just spent the night on the northern coast of Northern Ireland. I took this opportunity to start an early day with my headphones on, camera strapped to my neck and a morning coffee in hand among the cliffs next to the ‘Carrick-a-Rede bridge’, a rope bridge connecting the main land to a small island that can be crossed for a small fee.

Back up on the shamrocker tour bus to the one place I was most excited for in Northern Ireland, ‘Giant’s Causeway’, an area of thousands of hexagonal shaped basalt columns formed by an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. Legend has it, that the columns are actually the remains of a causeway built by a giant, hence the name. This place is a national nature reserve and has been declared as a world heritage site by Unesco which makes it the biggest tourist attraction of the country. The entrance to the causeway comes at a small fee which was covered by shamrocker adventures.

We spent a couple of hours exploring this magnificent place, clicking hundreds of pictures and resting our feet at the café with coffee and scones, before heading off to our final stop for the day.

DERRY (a.k.a. Londonderry) is the second largest city in Northern Ireland and the most unique feature of this city are the walls that run through the city. These walls were built in the early 1600s to defend the city, now they form a great walkway around the city. Apart from its brutal past, Derry is also known for the famous sitcom DERRY GIRLS, a story set in the early 1990s about the everyday life of 5 teenagers during the troubles in Derry. Check it out on Netflix for a good laugh, just make sure to switch the subtitles on, you will know why. I spent my afternoon exploring the city on foot, discovering hidden gems and alleyways, before ending the day at ‘Peadar O’Donnell’s Pub’ with my travel buddies.

It was Easter and almost everything in the city was closed for the holiday, including the food places I wanted to check out. ‘Pyke n Pommes’ and ‘Primrose’ are 2 food places I had marked on my map and although I never got to try them, I would love it if you do so and let me know about your experience, what did you order? was it worth the hype?

Shamrocker Adventures spoiled us with a bit more luxury this day, hotel rooms at TRAVELODGE DERRY, a budget hotel located in the heart of the city, right next to a ‘Boojum’ joint, just FYI boojum makes epic burritos.

Day 3

We said goodbye to Northern Ireland and headed back to the Republic today. This was our longest journey on the shamrocker tour bus and it included a bunch of stops along the way. During the ride, we learned some basic Gaelic phrases and heard some interesting stories of the world famous Irish poet W.B. Yeats, through Kevin’s love of poetry and Irish literature. We even stopped to visit his resting place, W.B. Yeats’s not Kevin’s, kind of a creepy attraction but when in Ireland…

Lunch stop was in a beautiful little town in County Mayo called ‘Westport’. This town was filled with lovely streetside cafes and restaurants; I followed my nose into ‘An File Pub’ and treated myself with a juicy chunk of salmon.

While Gemma told us about the Irish Famine, our eyes were locked on to the beautiful drive through ‘Connemara National Park’. Mountains, lakes, fishing villages, everything you could imagine in rural Ireland was right in front of us, it was like staring into a fairy tale.

Our last stop on today’s journey was at ‘Gaynors Bar’ for their brilliant Irish Coffee at a breathtaking location in County Galway. This bar had a homely feeling to it, wooden interiors and a fireplace that used the Irish Turf for warmth, it was as Irish as it could be.

At last, GALWAY, the lively culture capital of Ireland and my favourite city in Ireland. Galway is among the top friendliest cities in the entire world, the atmosphere here just draws you in and makes you never want to leave. Whether it’s admiring the colourful Claddagh, walking down the bustling Quay Street or just bird watching at the banks of River Corrib, it’s just magical.

KINLAY HOSTEL GALWAY was going to be our home for the next 2 nights, it was the best hostel we stayed at in the entire tour and once again shamrocker adventures picked the best possible location for our accommodation.

I didn’t know what I wanted more, a nap or a big meal, who am I kidding, the answer is always food. With a couple of other shamrocker buddies, we stopped at the famous ‘McDonagh’s Restaurant’ for fish and chips. I was so hungry I got myself the classic fried cod as well as a portion of fried salmon, it was not a good idea.

What is the best way to enjoy a city full of pubs and music? A Pubcrawl, and on our first evening in Galway, the guys at shamrocker adventures gave us just that. Needless to say it was the best 12 Euros I spent, we had a blast hopping from one bar to another, screaming our hearts out to backstreet boys and the cranberries, till the last of us had to be dragged back to the hostel. Liz, Chandler and Rob, hope you doing well.

Day 4

In the entire All Ireland Rocker 7-day tour, it was this morning that I needed the collective energy of all my dorm mates to get out of bed, pub crawl aftermath. Half asleep with heavy heads and sunglasses on a cloudy day, we were on a never-ending bus ride to catch a ferry to the ‘Aran Islands’. Once we hit the rough waters and cold winds of the North Atlantic Ocean, our hangovers got cured instantly, it was then when we could see Inishmore.

INISHMORE, gaelic for BIG ISLAND, is the largest of the Aran Islands, it’s famous for the authentic Irish Culture and loyalty to the Gaelic language. We had a good 4 hours on this Island and there was a lot to explore so we pedalled away along the coastline on our bikes which we just hired for 20 EUR. It was the first time on the tour we had enough time to spoil ourselves with dozens of photo stops and off-track hidden gems. We saw seals on the ‘Seal Colony’, snacked on the ‘Kilmurvey Beach’, discovered ‘The Wormhole’ and burned all those Guiness pints away on our bikes before heading back to Galway city.

Gemma was right, we were totally exhausted from our daytrip to Inishmore and I was all ready to eat a cow. After a shower at the hostel I headed over to the one food place I was really looking forward to in Galway, ‘The Dough Bros’. I will be writing an exclusive blog post on the “must try food in Ireland”, shortly.

The day ended with drinks in a bar right beside our hostel across the Eyre Square called ‘O’Connells’. This pub boasts a traditional style Irish bar and a beautiful beer garden which was also the filming location of Ed Sheeran’s music video of ‘Galway Girl’.

 Day 5

I have no idea how to play the fiddle but I definitely fell in love with this Irish city. I just didn’t want to let go of Galway so I woke up before the city did and went out for a walk with the new album of Eluveitie in my ears. At this point, a light drizzle and a heavy overcast engulfed the city, we finally got the Irish weather.

Did you know the Leprechaun was actually a fairy? And a mischievous one too. Our journey continued into Country Clare and on the bus Gemma told us about fairies and their strong belief among the Irish people. Interesting isn’t it? Our next destination was the one place where every tourist in Ireland goes to, the ‘Cliffs Of Moher’, a place used as a backdrop for ‘Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince’ and ‘The Princess Bride’. On the ride to the cliffs, a scary thought kept me occupied, the end of this trip was getting closer.

As busy and touristy these gigantic cliffs are, the views are breathtaking. Can you believe a big portion of the cliffs have no safety barriers? None at all. An analysis done by the Journal Of Travel Medicine confirmed that between 1993 to August 2017, 66 people have died at the Cliffs Of Moher for various reasons. So please be careful because the winds are quite fierce. At the visitor’s centre, you could also learn the history of the cliffs in a small museum, shop at the massive souvenir shop or enjoy the panoramic views from the café.

Welcome to ENNIS, the home of Irish music was also our home for the night. We checked in ‘Rowan Tree Hostel’ and set out for a quick stroll down Abbey Street, passing by the ‘Ennis Frairy’, exploring interesting alleys and followed back the River Fergus to our hostel where Gemma and some of the other shamrocker buddies gathered for dinner at ‘Rowan Tree Café Bar’.

Lady Gaga once said ‘Music is one of the most powerful things the world has to offer. No matter what race or religion or nationality or sexual orientation or gender that you are, it has the power to unite us’, that power was very strong in the common room of Rowan Tree Hostel that afternoon. Local musicians jammed their irish hearts out while the travelers swayed heads and tapped feet in their pjs with a smile on their faces. I wanted to live in that moment forever.

The entire shamrocker crew took the party to ‘Cruises Pub’ with live traditional music and pints and pints of the their signature dark stuff for the rest of the evening.

Day 6

Today was all about gorgeous scenery and photo stops. We drove along the coastline, through villages of thatched cottages into County Kerry to a small town called ‘Dingle’, probably the most instagrammable place in Ireland. Dingle is a major fishing port and is home to Fungi, a common bottle-nose dolphin who’s known to live very close to the people of this town.

Dingle is a town out of a a children’s colouring book, it sits on the Atlantic ocean, filled with colourful buildings in every corner and it’s symbol is a real-life dolphin, that’s not all, Dingle is also where the Murphy’s Ice Cream originated from.

Once out of dingle, the shamrocker tour bus made a bunch of stops all around the dingle peninsula. We gave 2 EUR to a farmer to hold his sheep, wet our feet at ‘Coumeenoole Beach’, visited a few filming locations of Star Wars and enjoyed the panoramic view points around the area before heading to our final night at NEPTUNE’s HOSTEL in Killarney.

KILLARNEY of County Kerry is the party town known for its vibrant nightlife, if that’s not what you fancy, one could spend hours and hours with nature at ‘Killarney National Park’. It was close to sundown and after such an eventful day, we were all pretty beat, besides, we needed to re-energise ourselves for our last night together *sniff*.

Later that evening, you could hear the music from every single pub down the street from our hostel and based on Gemma’s recommendation we kicked off the night at ‘Killarney Grand Pub’ with live music, more pints of Guinness and a group of people who would probably never be together under one roof after this night.

Day 7

Why does this have to end?? Didn’t I arrive in Ireland just yesterday? Unfortunately the final day of the shamrocker All Ireland Rocker tour was here and there was only one thing on the agenda for today, hang upside from the top of a castle to kiss the Blarney stone for luck. ‘Blarney Castle’ is gorgeous castle with a postcard surrounding in County Cork which attracts a lot of tourists, mainly for the Stone Of Eloquence.

On our journey back to Dublin, we were all staring out the window, admiring the Irish country side and recollecting the memories of the past few days, as we let it sink that it was time to say Goodbye.

What I liked about the Shamrocker All Ireland Rocker Tour?

The tour was very well organised, the guides were very knowledgeable and super friendly, the whole trip was a lot of fun. I took the 7 day All Ireland Rocker tour and the package is very true to the name. It gave me a little bit of everything in the 7 days and I could see the difference between the different regions of this country. My group was quite diverse with travellers from all around the world across many different age groups, so the 30 year old me connected well with most of them, which was quite important since I was travelling solo. The pub crawl was a great addition which I wasn’t expecting.

What I didn’t like about the Shamrocker All Ireland Rocker Tour?

Although the tour had all that one could ask for, the one thing that I really missed was hiking. In a country full of greenery and nature, I was really looking forward to sometime in off-the-beat nature trails, which would’ve completed this tour.

My Verdict

I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone out there. Ireland is not only Dublin and Guinness, shamrocker tours take you deep into the Irish culture and frankly speaking, there is no better way to see this country. You will return home with unique and memorable experiences which you will be telling your grandchildren someday.

A massive thank you to Gemma, Emma and Kevin of Shamrocker Adventures for giving me the actual all Ireland experience and making me fall in love with their country.  ‘Slàinte’ to all the lovely people of my All Ireland Rocker group, without you guys there would be no ‘craic’ on this tour.

Shamrocker Adventures have a sister company called ‘Haggis Adventures’ who do similar tours in Scotland. Do check out my review of the Haggis Adventures Tour here.