Program Reviews

I had a great time on the trip. Met some great people and visited some great places. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to do it! I knew I wanted to travel going into my gap year, but didn’t want to do anything longer than a month. This 3 week program was perfect for me and the locations were exactly what I had in mind. Venice and Prague had been on my bucket list for a while and it was cool to explore Austria and Montova as well. I’m glad we got to stay in Clarks house and meet Italians and explore an Italian city.

The experience I had here not only gave me a foothold for living in Ireland from now on it also provided me a place where I can gain work experience until getting a job in the field I want to work in. The trips we took weekly gave me a good reference of what to expect from Ireland and showed me where I can have fun and the activities that are around. I also learned a lot about the history of certain parts of Ireland and the culture of it as a whole. 10/10 would recommend to anyone interested and would do it all over again

I had an amazing time and I got to see the world, eat crazy food, learn new languages and meet new and interesting people. The Irish Gap year staff facilitated a safe and welcoming environment where everyone felt comfortable to be themselves and have fun. We stayed in several hostels and they were all great, within the hostels we were also able to meet fellow travelers. Group activities and trying new things like boating and bouldering. Many laughs and inside jokes were shared on this experience. Thank you so much Irish Gap Year.

The Irish Gap Year staff are amazing, and not only did they check in with us weekly, we also went on trips and they always made sure that we were safe and happy. Being able to intern at a company has really helped me feel more certain on my future and what I would like to study in university. It was a very rewarding experience, I got to truly experience what it is like to be an independent adult. I grew as a person on this journey and made some lifelong friends along the way. I met people from all over and I learnt from them as well. Thank you so much, Irish Gap Year!

To be completely honest after having lived in Dublin for two months I was feeling a bit fatigued and was ready to go home. However spending this time backpacking and staying in new locations was almost refreshing in a way! Every single location we visited was beautiful and filled with things to do. I made some wonderful friends who I hope to see as soon as we get home! With such a small group it’s easy to get very close with these people which is exactly what happened with us! I think this program is the perfect way to help get someone out of there shell! Especially new students

I have absolutely zero complaints about this program. from day one i was given loads of support and guidance considering i was sent out on my own. My job placement was fantastic and inspirational to say the least. I was paired with a host family that lived incredibly close to town but i still felt completely safe! Living in Dublin was an experience in its own, and an amazing one at that. I made lifelong friends and would do it again in a heartbeat! The city is large but comforting! there’s always something to do, I cannot wait to go back for uni in the fall!

This experience was incredible, not just because of the locations we visited but also the people you got to travel with and meet. And, it helped provide a bit of independence to discover myself. I’d never been outside of the States before, and having this group as a sort of training how to navigate Europe was quite helpful. Made me significantly more confident in being able to embark on independent travels by myself. If you want to be able to hop across Europe and see a wide variety of places and people, the European Explorer program is a great fit.

This trip has been a huge highlight of my gap year. We have been to so many amazing places, and the daily itinerary has been jam-packed. We have seen so much beautiful nature and art and have experienced many different cultures and perspectives. I have learned so much about how societies differ in these different places. I have a lot more travel experience under my belt, and I now leave the program with way more confidence in my independence, which is exactly what I was looking for. I definitely recommend this trip.

Having been looking for an outdoorsy, social experience, this program met my expectations and more. Each week was filled with activities such as surfing, hiking, bushcraft, and exploring various towns and cities, with each being very enjoyable. There was something for everyone. that said, the best part for me was the tight-knit group. Being in such close quarters creates a strong social connection between everyone through exciting activities. As someone who didn’t quite feel prepared for college. I feel like Irish Gap Year gave me a social experience comparable to it but with far more exciting days and a beautiful backdrop in Bundoran. amazing experience would highly recommend it.

This was an interesting program, and overall I enjoyed my time here. Some mental health things made it a little hard to enjoy it sometimes. Overall the program directors were good at addressing that, and kept us safe. There were a few times they made decisions that I felt were unwise or perhaps not thought out completely, and while concerning those decisions never actually put anyone in danger. The art was amazing, and I feel like I grew a lot as a person and as an artist. Living on my own in a house full of people was really usefull as a way to grow, and I hope to take what I have learned in this program onwards in my life.