Free Time on RS Tours (Heart of Ireland)

The afternoons are usually free. Send RS office an email for specifics. Sometimes itineraries change due to weather, etc.

Free time means free time on your own.

Sounds like an ideal first small group tour experience plus extended unguided time, Melissa. Read the tour itinerary closely and definitely, wherever you lay your head for more than 1 night, consider planning something in addition to the RST schedule if something interests you. Not knowing how you'll feel or respond to the pacing of an organized bus tour, I'd suggest making other plans with a 'no pressure' mindset and be flexible. Weather, unseen delays, serendipity, all can wreak havoc (or delight) on tightly timed outings. The tour will keep you happily engaged and I found that many times the free time available was perfect for parking it somewhere comfy with food, drink and at minimum human-scape view and simply absorb your international surroundings. There will be suggestions your guide will be able to advise. Have a fabulous trip.

I love the free time on an RS tour. My advice is to only schedule a ticketed or pre-paid event if it is very important to you. The reason for this is that sometimes the posted itinerary is slightly changed by the guide for practical reasons. You won't know exactly where you will be at the beginning of your free time and you can't predict what your energy will be like. It is good to have some available down time. I booked a food tour in Copenhagen which was awesome and important to me, but had to skip a scheduled walking tour because of a time overlap. If you aren't sure of timing on a particular day, you can call or email the tour office for more information.

I always plan for 3 or so activities for my free time and then have a lot to choose from and pick based on how I feel on the day.

Have a great trip!

The guide will probably offer recommendations for free time, and may offer to help set something up for those interested. They will certainly be as helpful as possible if you ask for advice, but they can't plan for 20+ people. And you can't be certain what time you'll be "freed" until the actual day, or maybe the day before.

I try to have some kind of plan for each significant chunk of free time, which is usually in the afternoon. But I wouldn't book something for a specific time without checking with the guide. You can bail out of a group activity after notifying the guide (and your "tour buddy") as long as your absence won't delay a departure or something else for the group. I skipped a cooking class in Florence to visit a couple more museums, then met the group for an evening event.

An evening cooking class, to use your example, would be fine, preferably on an evening when you don't have a group dinner, but you could still skip the dinner. Only you can decide whether you're more comfortable with plans or with spontaneity. Both have pros and cons.

It’s been awhile since we took this tour and they have tweaked the itinerary so your stops/activities are different. The day of the week the tour hits a stop can impact what the guide will suggest. Also, your stamina may be different. On our tour there were lots of music fans who were ready and able to stay late at a pub for music. When we visited Dingle, the guide recommended a concert at a local church and instructed us on how and where to buy tickets ahead. You’ll have some experiences we didn’t have, like the falconry demonstration in Dingle, stay in Kilkenny and a visit to Powerscourt. Kilmainham Gaol might be something you’d want to book on your own. Our tour went to Newgrange (Bur Na Boinne) which might/might not be of interest to you, but it’s outside of Dublin and would require more time. If you wanted an evening cooking class, it looks like Day 6 would give you the time you want.

Thanks for all your insight. The cooking class is only offered once a week and it’s on a free night of the tour starting at 6pm. I also wanted to book tickets for kilmainham gaol. Most other things I can do in 7 days I have in my own. I had just seen an RS video where he talked about guides sending people in the group on recommended outings in the free time and I wasn’t sure how common that was. I will go ahead and book these two things.