Program Reviews

A great opportunity to get outside with great leaders, amazing itinerary, and with a tight knit group. The best program for low stakes and high reward; surfing, hiking, city hopping, volunteering, and pubbing is only the half of what you can do here. Coming right out of high school or after one year or college is the perfect time to come here, without being completely overwhelmed. Everyone’s journey leading up to coming here makes this all the more interesting and meaningful. Say yes to IGY!!!!

I really enjoyed my time in Ireland. I’d never really been away from home this long or this far but the IGY team was and is very supportive and understanding and helpful .
I learned a lot about myself and was able to push myself on the hikes, surfs, and overall.

I gained more confidence because of the hikes and time outside .

Bundoran is a wonderful town with kind locals and walking into town was one of my favorite things .

I would recommend this program to anyone and everyone . I’ve grown so much as a person .

It's an amazing program that provides not only fun experiences, but deep self-discovery for young adults. The housing situation is very nice, the portbeg houses are clean and comfortable. The program is quite accommodating, no one will make you do something you are uncomfortable with, but the staff will encourage you to push yourself. The trips are definitely some of the most fun I've had traveling solo (technically being in a group but responsible for yourself), and will show you the highlights of the Irish country side. Some things to note is that the program is quite intense. Regular early mornings (at least from the notes of a night owl), and high levels of physical activity on a daily basis, which while fun, can burn you out if you don't watch your energy. Other than that, I heavily recommend it for people interested in adventure.

This Gap year program is a great opportunity to take a break from sitting down in a classroom and exploring new places as-well as making new friends. One of my favorite experiences was the surf, and hiking you will get to see the side of Ireland most tourist don’t see but also the landmarks like cliffs of Moore and big cities like Dublin and Galway which are a must if you haven’t visited. One thing I loved from Dublin was visiting the Guinness factory and getting to drink Guinness at the top of Dublin.

I had a really good time and met some life long friends. I highly recommend this program if you’re looking for an adventure and to meet some good people. The surfing was some of the best I have had in my life.

This program was a great program for me personally. It helped me grow as a person and in many ways that will help me throughout my life. The surfing here is really fun. There’s tons of different beaches that we go to and the waves are always great. We also go to all different cities in Ireland and explore those different places. Some of the cool trips that we take are we go to Dublin and galway. We also go to smaller cities around Ireland and we get to explore those cities as well. Overall this was a great experience for me and I recommend it for everyone!

This program was a really good choice for me. I came out of high school not really knowing what I want to do in life. I did some researching and found this program. I noticed that there was hiking and surfing and was instantly gravitated towards this program. The staff are super nice and will support you with whatever you need. Definitely recommend looking at this program, it has a lot to offer. The program is held in a small town called Bundoran there is good pubs and tons to do in town. This experience has helped me grow a lot as a person

I absolutely loved my time with the Irish Gap Year. I have learned so much and have a new spark lit under me. The leaders are amazing, I’ve made life long best friends. I’m so excited to see where my new sense of adventure takes me in the next chapter of my life which would not have been possible without this program. The surfs and hikes were my favorite part both of which I hadn’t done much of until coming to Ireland and will definitely continue them with my return back to the states. Highly highly recommended doing this program!!!!

I had an amazing time in the Irish gap year program. Consistent support and activities was exactly what I signed up for. People always around you and learning to live within a group. Consistent adventure including hiking, surfing, and climbing. Amazing leaders with you the entire time who are amazing people and extremely easy to talk to. Diverse people from mostly America with completely different backgrounds and experiences that you will learn about and become friends with everybody. Cold and rainy weather but if you pack correctly will not matter that much. Cool town that you are allowed to explore and embrace on the weekends when you have free time.

I had a blast here. I learned from all the traveling around Ireland that we did. We went to Dublin, Galway, Derry, the Aran islands, and basically everywhere else. On top of that, we really got a chance to settle into the town we were staying in, Bundoran. The town is cute and safe and a relatively easy walking distance from where we stay, so we went in all the time.
As for the program, we did a ton of hiking and surfing, and we explored every mountain and waterfall we could find. And, we did a lot of volunteering like beach cleanup day and liquid therapy, which were both pretty unique and special experiences.