Sandeman FREE Walking Tours

Reader Contribution…

Check out the following website for specific cities:  http://www.neweuropetours.eu/

Sandeman offers free, English-speaking walking tours in major cities around Europe.  My father and I took their tour of Amsterdam, and it was incredibly informative and entertaining!  Our guide was very
engaging and was a wealth of information on the history and culture of Amsterdam.  The three-hour tour flew by, and it really was FREE!  Sandeman guides are friendly, insightful and fun!  The guides work for
tips only, so they ensure that their guests have a great time.  We had people of all ages on our tour, and the guide ensured that the pace was appropriate for everyone.  The tours run every day of the year,
rain, snow, or shine.  Of course, you get the obligatory pitch at the end of the tour for some of Sandeman’s specialized paid excursions, but the guides were not pushy about these.  These tours are a great alternative to walking around a city with your nose stuck in a guide book or listening to a recording on a bus as the landmarks whiz by. 

Ireland

Courtesy of the American Spouses of Brunssum Travel Information Guide

“We made a short trip to Shannon, Ireland in June. We spent 3 days there. We flew Ryan air out of Brussels Charleroi to Shannon. Arriving late the first night, the car rental places do stay open for those late flights but make sure you have booked a car ahead. If you aren’t comfortable with a standard shift you may want to ask about automatic, but I do not know for sure if they are available. Yes, you do drive on the left there. My difficulty was shifting with my left hand, otherwise the driving went well.

Day 1: We stayed at Lynchhotel in Ennis, they offered a special rate 79 euros /night for 2 adults and 3 kids. www.lynchhotels.com Rooms were clean and fair size, it is run by Best Western chain I believe. This did not include breakfast but you could purchase that daily in their restaurant. There was a pool and kids play area at the hotel and it was a 10 minute walk to the town center. Our first day there we did go into town and had lunch. In the afternoon we went to Bunratty Castle for a medieval dinner. These should be booked in advance. The kids absolutely loved this, the castle grounds are incredible as well. There are 3 other castles in the area that offer the dinners as well, check out www.shannonheritage.com

Day 2: We were off to Blarney Castle and yes to kiss the Blarney stone. It was about 2 hours from where we stayed. Kids found this to be a lot of fun. They had some nice woolen mills near the castle for shopping- also crystal, glass and other things from Ireland. After that we headed to Killarney. Originally, our plan was to take a horse and buggy ride around the lake-district but, we arrived too late so just meandered around the town and did some shopping. We ate dinner there as well and then headed back to Ennis. It was beautiful scenic driving along the way.

Day 3: We tried out horse riding, I have to admit it really does pay to research this before you decide on a place. I was not impressed but my youngest really enjoyed her first time on a pony. After that we headed to the Cliffs of Moher, breath taking and worth the drive. It was then time to head back to the airport.

We had a lot of fun in 3 days, if you have more time there is lots more to do in that area. Kids enjoyed it all. Great Pub food and most things I found reasonably priced.”

Websites:

www.lynchhotels.com

www.shannonheritage.com

www.ryanair.com

www.blarneycastle.ie

www.budgetcarrental.ie

www.killarneyonline.ie