FAQs and Terms

What languages are the tours offered in?

Fluent Dublin-English. Dublin-English is just like English but with a twist of dry wit, a dash of sarcasm, a generous splash of irreverence, and just a hint of mild profanity.

Distance and pace

Each tour has a duration and distance posted. However our tours are typically between 2 and 4 hours in duration and 2 to 6km in distance taken at a leisurely walking pace. We usually talk a bit, walk a bit, find something interesting to talk about so we stop walking and start talking, then we walk and talk again, etc., you get it.

When we get to some of the more interesting sites we’ll stop for a bit so you can look around before the talking and the walking starts again.

How much do you charge?

Our tours last on average 2 hours. We charge €15 per earner and €7 for non-earners (e.g., Students, unwaged, and retired - but not retired on some mega-buck gilt-edged pension, ok?). Children under 14 are free. Payment is at the commencement of the tour. Cold hard cash is preferred but if you are "hip" you can “Revolute” us. We can’t do card (yet) sorry. And we don’t take amber beads, potions of enchantment, nor livestock – so no goats, chickens, nor doves, sorry again.

How big are the tour groups?

To ensure a quality and personal experience we limit participation to 12 guests. Sometimes we allow a few more rather than split a party. After all, who wants to be billy-no-mates sitting in a bar and nursing a flat pint of Guinness for 3 hours while their friends are off having a blast on Dublin’s best tour? The smallest group is one; as in just you.

Do I need to book?

Yes, booking in advance is required. Firstly it allows us limit attendance to 12 which we honestly think is about the most we can handle and still provide a personal experience. It also means we can notify you by email if - for some unforeseeable reason - the tour needs to be cancelled. Booking is free and if for some reason you can't make your tour a cancellation email is always welcome.

Please show up no later than 10 minutes before the start of the tour. This is to ensure the tour starts in time and to allow us time to collect the tour fee.

Can children participate?

Yes, we find children particularly fascinated by gory tales of battlefield carnage and the destitute living conditions of 17th century slums. They must be accompanied by a parent/guardian if they are aged 17 or under; ostensibly to mind them but actually to provide post-tour trauma counseling for the aforementioned gore, carnage, and destitution.

School groups must be accompanied by teacher(s) in the ratio of 1 teacher to 6 pupils. Schools are requested not to bring the class jackass, we don’t need any more incidents of small kids being stuffed into canons.

Are tours wheelchair and disabled accessible?

Our tours take place on public streets and parks, across grassland, at times on poorly maintained pavements (thank you Dublin City Council), and oftentimes where roadworks are being undertaken. Consequently we do not recommend these tours for persons who are mobility restricted. Unfortunately our guides are not in the position to provide mobility assistance and if this is necessary guests are required to be accompanied by a companion.

Are we going to get "Comfort Breaks"?

We will always try to factor in a “comfort break” in the tour. HOWEVER sometimes due to repairs or restrictions with the various hospitality providers this may not be possible. So worst case scenario, you may have to do without coffee or a bathroom for the full duration of the tour.

What should I wear?

Our tours are outdoors and in Irish weather so check the weather forecast (https://www.met.ie/) and dress appropriately. Remember, Irish weather is four seasons in one day. We recommend you dress in layers to allow for a change in temperature, and remember on any given day there is a 50% chance of either light or heavy rain.

Good comfortable walking shoes are advised; the Manola’s are certainly not advised, particularly for muddy parks.

Photography and recording

Can you take pictures of your guides? Of course you may, we are terribly vain! However we may also photograph or record you to post on our social media channels and website for advertising purposes. If you do not want that to happen please tell your guide before the tour commences.

Are site admissions included?

Our tours often pass through the public space of national historic sites (such as the Kilmainham Gaol or Collins Barracks) where there is no charge for entry. Some parts of these sites do have sections that charge an entry fee but they do not form part of our tours.

This is a long way of saying you don't we won't be visiting the insides of paid attractions and therefore you won't have to pay anything extra to participate in the tour.

Disclaimer

Your participation in our tours is strictly on a voluntary basis. Neither Rare Ireland Tours, nor the self-employed freelance guides will be held responsible in any way for injuries to body or property incurred during tours.

Are your tours safe?

Ok, these tours are fun so please (please, please) be nice: Smile at the other guests and say hello to eachother, hold doors, giggle politely at the slightly off colour anecdotes, smile at the locals and don't block their path, after all they are not on vacation like you are. So just be like Ashton Kutcher or Jennifer Aniston in pretty much every movie they have ever been in.

BUT in order to provide a safe and enjoyable tour experience for all our guests we have a ZERO TOLERANCE approach to intoxication, loud or aggressive behaviour, any form of harassment, non-mild profanity, and any form of nasty“-ism”.

Our tour guides emphatically reserve the right to deny participation in any tour, to any person, for any reason. Thank you for your understanding.

Are you insured

Yes, Rare Ireland Tours carries Public Liability Insurance to conduct walking tours in Dublin.

Are your guides qualified

Yes. All Rare Ireland Tour guides are required to have gone through the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) qualification for Local, Regional, or National Tour Guiding. The QQI is Ireland's state agency responsible for promoting the quality, integrity of Ireland's further and higher education system.

Reliance on Information Posted and Presented

Whilst we try to ensure that the information on this site and presented on our tours is correct there is a chance we are going to get something wrong. Heck, its history which is mainly opinion anyhow! So no warranty, express or implied, is given as to the accuracy of the content on our website, social media channels, printed material or presented on the tour and we do not accept any liability for any error or omission. So if you loose a pub quiz because we told you the Battle of the Boyne was 1725 (it was not) then sorry and hard luck; anyhow it's Ireland, there probably was SOME battle on the Boyne that year.

Your Data and our Privacy Policy

We are a group of passionate tour guides – not Facebook – so we don’t really want any of your personal data. But sometimes we may need it:

To allow us take and manage a booking: So this is your name and BTW it can be whatever name you would like us to know you by – it doesn’t even have to be real, Mr. Bond! We also ask for your email and phone number which we will only use to remind you the tour is starting, contact you should the tour need to be cancelled, and send you a nice follow up "Thank You" email.
To respond any emails or phone calls from you: so this can be your email address and phone number
In photographs and video clips for advertising: as we said you may be included in photos we take of our tours and subsequently use for advertising purposes. If you don’t want this to happen please tell the guide in advance of the tour. And if we do post a photo and you don’t like the light, the person beside you, or your hair just send us an email and we’ll take it down ... or disguise you with a huge big smiley face.

You may also post reviews of our tours on our website and other social media channels. For this content you are assumed to be the data controller.

Regarding sharing your data with third parties: We won’t: We won’t share it, we won’t use it for mailing lists, and we most certainly will NEVER sell it. That’s not to say our website hosting provider, WiX, won’t, and you can read their privacy policy below.

If you think we have your data and you’d like us to delete it, no problem, just send an email to rareirelandtours@gmail.com describing what it is you want us to delete and we’ll delete it.

Our website is hosted by WiX which technically makes them our Data Processor (we’re the Data Controller) so in addition to our pretty simple data policy the WiX Privacy policy also applies: https://www.wix.com/about/privacy. Note in the WiX Privacy Policy we, Rare Ireland Tours, are the “User” and you are the “Users-of-Users” – whatever. Your data may be stored through Wix.com’s data storage, databases and the general Wix.com applications. They told us to tell you that they store your data on secure servers behind a firewall.

Unless otherwise stated, the copyright and all other rights in all material on this site are owned by Rare Ireland Tours. All such rights are reserved. You are permitted to print and download extracts from this site under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.

Where you post reviews on our website you are deemed to have published under the Creative Commons license CC BY.

Terms dated: 15th March 2022