Do You Need An Ireland Vacation Coach?

This post and its photos may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy.

As much as I travel you’d think I’d be all set and wouldn’t consider using a travel coach for my Ireland vacation. However, like any other job, my job keeps me busy and leaves little time to actually PLAN my own vacation. When I travel for work most things are preplanned. This time, though, I’ll be traveling for pleasure and need to set everything up on my own. Thankfully, my friend Jody at Ireland Family Vacations was willing to help me out.

If you are wondering if you need a vacation coach for your Ireland vacation answer these questions:

Are you familiar with the destination?
Do you have time to plan a vacation?
Are you overwhelmed by all that there is to see and do? {I was a big YES YES YES to this one}

Jody can give you the help you need whether its a few suggestions or a full on vacation coach session.

(c)IrelandFamilyVacations.com

WHAT IS AN IRELAND VACATION COACH?

A vacation coach is exactly what it sounds like. It’s someone to work with you to plan your trip.

“Unlike a travel agent selling a package vacation, I don’t receive a commission for booking you into a specific hotel or with a specific car company. I make recommendations based on your group’s likes, interests, goals, and budget.” Jody, Ireland Family Vacations

That’s what I love about a vacation coach. They aren’t out to sell me the biggest package deal. They have my best interest in mind because they don’t receive a kick back from anyone. A coach takes into account my likes/dislikes and helps me plan the perfect vacation and that is exactly what happened.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN AN IRELAND VACATION COACH SESSION?

Each coach will be different, but with Jody we jumped online and chatted, via live streaming, about what I wanted to experience and see. When I first started researching Ireland I wanted to go everywhere. The downside, I only have 5 nights in the country so she helped me narrow down where to go and what to see.

Since I’m traveling solo I’m using public transportation. We talked about public transport vs. car rental at length. They each have their pros and cons, but I decided to stick with public transportation. That is something a travel coach can help with because they know the reality of driving and using public transportation in the country.

I also had questions about money exchange, airport wait times, what to eat, what to buy, the best distilleries (lol) and more. Jody patiently answered each and everyone of my questions .

We spent about thirty minutes chatting about everything Ireland and after we were done I had a much better handle on my vacation plans.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A IRELAND VACATION COACH SESSION?

A couple days after our conversation Jody provided me with a written itinerary that included everything from what transportation to use & when, links to hotel services, what day to be where AND how to get there. Beyond that she knew that I wanted to keep it fairly flexible because I like to wander around and not be on a strict schedule.

She did mention that when she works with families she can give a complete itinerary including all attractions, hotels, transportation and more. Basically, she can send you a vacation plan and you show up and enjoy!!

(c)https://irelandfamilyvacations.com/

CAN YOU CHANGE THE IRELAND VACATION ITINERARY?

When my itinerary arrived it was set up for Dublin to Cashel to Kilkenny to Cork back to Dublin with a day trip to Glendalough. I loved this itinerary, however, I’m exhausted and I wanted to not move around so much. I kept the same general idea, but reduced the number of times I moved. It now looks like this: Dublin to Kilkenny (day trip to Waterford) back to Dublin (day trip to Belfast/Giants Causeway).

IS AN IRELAND VACATION COACH WORTH IT?

In my opinion, if you are short on time or feeling overwhelmed trying to get everything together than absolutely YES a vacation coach is worth it. Without Jody’s help I’d still be sorting through the internet trying to decide where to visit and what to see. Ireland may be a small country, it’s about the size of Indiana, but there is a lot to see and I really needed help narrowing it all down.

(c)Family Rambling/IrelandFamilyVacations.com

HOW CAN I HIRE AN IRELAND VACATION COACH?

If you are planning an Ireland vacation Jody has a wonderful resource for family vacation planning on her site. If your ready to take that vacation and need a little extra help click here to see the options for vacation coaching.

If you have more questions feel free to drop it in the comments below. I’m happy to help and if you ever need help planning a vacation around the midwest feel free to ask!