THIN PLACES Tour of Western Ireland
September 8-16
8 days – 20 major sites -land pkg. $1690
Travelers will follow a Maryland writer on a pilgrim’s tour of spiritual transformation, visiting mystical sites in Ireland where the veil between this world and eternal world is “thin.”
The tour focuses on Western Ireland including Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Fermanagh, Clare with an optional tour of the Aran Islands, and will include stone circles, sacred hills, castles, abbey ruins, passage tombs and holy mountains.
Author and expert on mystical places, Mindie Burgoyne will guide travelers on an eight-day journey to thin places in Ireland from September 8 – 16, 2012. The group will traverse eight counties visiting twenty sacred sites where they’ll experience the spiritual energy of places where the veil between this world and the Otherworld is thin. As a bonus, the tour will stay at least two nights in three popular Irish towns – Galway, Sligo and Westport which allows for a taste of Irish culture along with the spiritual experience.
Mystical sites in Ireland have been referred to as “thin places.”
This short video shows places on the tour. Mindie Burgoyne offers commentary on the thin places concept.
More videos on Thin Places featured on the Travel Hag Video Channel.
Thin places are those places where the veil between the physical world and the eternal world is thin. The two worlds intersect or seem woven together.
Not Affiliated With Any Particular Religion
The tour is not targeted to travelers of any particular religion. All faiths are welcomed. At each sacred site tour guests will learn about its history, learn about its legend of spiritual power, and contemplate what that means in today’s world. Burgoyne will offer hints on how to notice signs and symbols along the way and interpret their meanings, how to journal as a means of continued spiritual growth after the tour is over, and how to sense the mingling of two worlds and how that connection helps the human spirit listen better to the Divine voice.
“These tours are not about piling into a bus and stopping to see some standing stones and abbey ruins,” states Burgoyne. “Our tours are about becoming an image in an ancient landscape and traveling within the context of a story. At the end of our tours, guests feel a spiritual transformation.”
On March 9, 2012 the New York Times published an article on the thin places concept. Best-selling author Eric Weiner who wrote The Geography of Bliss, wrote and article for the Travel section entitled Where Heaven and Earth Come Closer. Weiner makes a case for travel with purpose and travel with the intent to exercise the spirit as a means to finding happiness.
About the Tour Guide
Mindie Burgoyne, a Maryland author and travel writer, has been traveling to Ireland researching thin places for twenty years. She is the author of several books including Haunted Eastern Shore: Ghostly Tales from East of the Chesapeake published by the History Press, 2009. She has a successful blog on thin places and a travel blog called the Travel Hag. Her writing and photographs have been published by CBS News, National Geographic Television Network, the Vancouver Sun, MDBiz Media and Maryland Tourism website. She is currently writing Thin Places: Irish Gateways to the Otherworld, due to be published in 2013
IRELAND TOUR ITINERARY DETAILS
ITINERARY FOR THE 2012 TOUR – Sligo sites include Knocknarae (the burial place of Queen Maeve of Connaught) and Carrowmore megalithic cemetery, followed by a tour of the ancient royal sites at Rathcroghan in Co. Roscommon. An optional trip to Caldragh Cemetery in County Fermanagh to see the famous Janus figure is included as are the Knock Shrine, Ballintubber Abbey, Croagh Patrick and Murrisk Abbey in County Mayo. Guests will take a scenic drive on the Sky Road around the Twelve Bens and through the hills of Connemara and visit the seaside town of Clifden. The Burren, Lady Gregory’s Coole Park and the castle home of W.B. Yeats – Thoor Ballylee are also on the tour.
Complete itinerary is posted on the Thin Places Tour Itinerary.
A Walk through Western Ireland
EXPERT TOUR GUIDES
Mindie Burgoyne will be with the tour from start to finish. She is an expert on mystical and sacred sites in Ireland, having researched thin places for over a decade and traveled thousands of miles across Ireland doing conducting the research.
Mike Croghan will lead the tour of Rathcroghan in Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. Rathcroghan is a complex of ancient royal sites used for burial, coronations and other community rituals. Mike is native to the area and an expert on the history of the complex.
COST – $1690
Cost is $1690 (based on double occupancy), and is for the land only. It includes lodging in 3 star hotels, breakfasts, four dinners, transportation, admission costs, and some private guides. Scroll through the posts on this blog site to see more about the sites on the tour.
DISCOUNTS
$50 per person for paying by check or money order
$50 for Thin Place Tour alums (those who went on previous thin places tours)
ITINERARY DETAILS – Check the itinerary to see expanded tour details. Space is limited to 25 so reserve your spot soon.
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
- 8 nights in premiere town-center hotels (3* all w/ private baths)
- Double, Triple & Single Occupancy available
- All hotel taxes/fees
- Airport Transfers to/from city centers while in Ireland
- Transportation via luxury coach between towns & for daily touring
- Traditional full Irish breakfast every morning
- Full time host & guide – Mindie Burgoyne
- Additional Expert Guide for Tulsk Sites- Mike Croghan (Rath Croghan)
- Emergency Local Contact available 24/7
- Daily Private Tours of Thin Places to include sights listed below.
Hill of Uisneach – County Westmeath
Fore Abbey – The Seven Wonders of Fore
Sligo Town
Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery – County Sligo
Knocknarae – Tomb of Queen Maeve
Drumcliff Cemetery
Keshcorran
Rathcroghan – County Roscommon
Boa Island – Caldragh Cemetery, – County Fermangh (Northern Ireland)
Drumskinny Stone Circle – County Fermanagh
Knock Shrine – County Mayo
Ballintubber Abbey – County Mayo
Town of Westport – County Mayo
Croagh Patrick, County Mayo
Murrisk Abbey – County Mayo
National Famine Memorial – County Mayo
Galway City
Sky Road Drive through Connemara
Town of Clifden (seaside)
The Burren – Poulnabrone Dolmen – Corcomroe Abbey
Thoor Ballylee, County Galway
Coole Park – County Galway
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION TODAY.
$500 per person deposit needed to reserve your spot. Final balance due to be paid by August 1, 2012.
To book your reservation go to the Reservations page and download the registration form. Tour is being facilitated by Harrigan Holidays.
Still have questions? Email Mindie at mindie@travelhag.com
Thin Places Mystical Tour of Ireland 
I am signed up and looking forward to the tour! I have two days in Dublin and am considering taking the train to Tullamore to see the Parkland Sculpture Park.
I’d be interested to know what sights in Dublin we might be visiting (other than those listed) so I can make the most of my plans for my other free day. Any suggestions?
Hey, Kathleen. Can’t wait to meet you. Dan and I will be in Dublin the day before and may doing some touring of the city. The sites I want to see are the National Museum, Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). For the tour we’re visiting Newgrange, then perhaps the Hill of Tara. I’ll be sending an email out to all of you in the next few days.
If you decide to go to Tullamore, you may want to visit the Hill of Uisneach – the geographic center of Ireland. It’s near Athlone. I may have a blog post about it. Very thin place. Hope this helps. Looking forward to meeting you.
How much walking is involved on rough terrain? Thanks, Judi
Hi Judy. I have some specifics which include the activity level on the Reservations page
http://thinplacestour.com/reservations-and-tour-specifics/
ACTIVITY LEVEL
The Thin Places tours are active with considerable walking, standing and outdoor exploring. Guests should be in good health and be able to …
walk on uneven pavement and open fields
carry luggage a few blocks, and up stairs several flights of stairs.
be on your feet for 3 to 5 hours over the course of the day
To be honest – there is a lot of walking on unpaved surfaces – dirt roads and fields mostly. There is always the option of staying on the bus if the walk is particularly long. Last year we had two women who used canes and had challenges with heavy exercise. They went at their own pace … did what they could and had a wonderful time.
Will there be a 2012 tour?
Peter, I’d love to do a tour for 2012 covering the West and North – that is Clare, Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon, Fermanagh, Donegal and Armagh. We’ll have to be able to attract interest. If we can get 20 people for the tour, we’ll make it happen. Stand by and spread the word. Tell folks to post here if they’re interested. Thanks for the comment.
Mindie, may I firstly welcome you to Ireland. Firstly to tell you a few things about Ireland that might be helpful – Dublin is a Unesco City of Literature , and you can learn about Joyce, Wilde and Becket. Last weekend I was in Sligo which is the north west of Ireland it is very beautiful and you can visit the grave of William Butler Yeats the Irish Poet. If you like surfing Ireland is hosting the European Surfing Championships this year in Donegal in September. When my brother was home from London , his children learnt to surf in Strandhill in Sligo. People from all over the world come to surf in Ireland. Galway is a beautiful city and has a festival in July this year. All the best and enjoy your visit to Ireland. Rosemary
I have been thinking about visiting Ireland for quite a while. My main interest is historic places, celtic tradition. Since I am not Irish, this project is being postponed.
But reading Peter’s mail and your answer, I would really love to join you in 2012.
Please keep me informed.
Marta – Portugal
Wow
Come with us, Albert. 🙂
The 2011 tour was wonderful. I highly recommend it. Mindie, this tour looks great, too… hmmm… I wonder if I can make it? 🙂
Well of course you can make it, Kathleen. Just see yourself there. We’d be so excited if you were to join us again. Give it some thought. Love seeing you on Facebook. 🙂
Connemara missing from Thin Places would like to help you explore our area
Don’t worry, Rose. We’ll be spending a day traveling across Connemara taking the sky road to Clifden. Please let me know how you can help? We are scheduled to be there on Friday, May 18th. I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi there
are there any other 2012 tours? I am thinking of signing up for the May one, but the dates are a bit tricky for me. June would be better. Will there be anything in Wales?
Thanks
Katherine Pettus
Hi Katherine. WE would love to have you on our May tour for 2012. Once June hits the prices go very high and the destinations get crowded. So we schedule for May. This will be a great tour because we have three experts that will be leading us through some of the sites. I hope you’ll consider joining us. Please feel free to call me if you have questions. 301.648.2010.
I am looking for a trip in October. Do you offer a trip at that time?
Thanks,
Betty
Betty, I don’t have a trip in October but you may want to check with the tour companies I use to book my tours.. Harrigan Holidays and Tenon Tours. Both are reputable companies that make arrangements for tours to Ireland and have people on the ground in Ireland to assist travelers. Good luck.
OMG….Im so jealous this looks fantastic! Right up my alley & I’m curious to know the stories behind why these places are suspected to be “thin” which I have NO DOUBT they are. Irishmen always knew what they were talking about:)
Well, come and join us, Katie. 🙂
Hi Mindie.
I’ve shared a link to the prweb story about youyr 2012 tour on the Aran Islands facebook page.
If you could in clude a link to the Aran Islands information website in your blog post that would be great, (http://www.aranisland.info).
We’d love to have you write a guest post on our popular Aran islands blog ( http://www.aranisland.info/wordpress ) sometime.
Kind regards and good luck with your 2012 tour.
John.
John, I’ll be happy to add your webpage address to the post as well as to future posting on the Aran Islands. And I’d be happy to help with a guest post. What a magical land you live in!
Thanks Mindie.
Just register for the blog at http://www.aranisland.info/wordpress/wp-login.php?action=register
You will automatically then be a subscriber, As a subscriber you can submit your post whenever suits you. If you want to add photo’s you’ll need to email them to me for inclusion.
Kind regards.
John.
Hi Mindie,
Would it be alright if a wrote a post about your 2012 thin places tour of Ireland? It would be a good fit with my humble music/etiquette site.
Hey Brian. So sorry I didn’t see this until now. Hope you know that we are ALWAYS excited to have others talk about our tours (and their tours). We’re all in this together. If you do write about this tour, let me know and I’ll sprinkle the link everywhere. Slainte!
Brian, so sorry I missed this comment when you wrote it. I’m always appreciative when writers and artists want to mention my tours. Feel free to contact me via the CONTACT link on the menu at the top of each page. I wish you well with your music.