Traveling to Ireland and Italy with Radford University & Discovery Tours was the best time that I have ever had in my life. I will always remember the wonderful time that I had in Europe. ... Being able to experience life in Ireland was amazing ... I can not thank you or Jolanta enough for giving me a new out look on life !
Brittni Derickson, Radford University, European Literary Trails
Student comments from recent tours
"A very well-crafted experience. . . . we became aware of history-in-the-making."
"The lessons grasped from this Irish trip cover political, social, economical, and culinary points that can only be discovered firsthand."
"I have learned more about people and culture in nine days than I have in my whole life. Thank you for an amazing experience!"
"I’ve learned so much from this trip that I wish I could stay forever. Thanks to everyone who organized this trip!"
Letter of thanks from Dr Dan Fichtner
Dear Keith and Debbie,
Our two educational vacations to Ireland with Discovery Tours were veritable literary and historical feasts. We adults found our students to be enthusiastic and well focused each and every day of the tours. They relaxed and learned much: a little geography, a little history and a little literature. What was most interesting was that we truly felt the effects of prejudice and stereotypes.
Our meetings with young Irish people and our home stays helped us to personalize our experiences. Our educational vacation was quality time spent by us. We learned to appreciate the proximity of the visited iconic sites associated with Yeats, Markievicz, and the 1916 Irish National Emergence. Staying near and visiting these locations helped us gain a sense of the action that took place around them and the struggle and pain of the emerging Ireland of that time.
One example of this was this past visit to Kilmainham, and our reading of “Easter 1916” by Yeats as we sat in the bus in a drizzling rain waiting to enter the jail. That was a somber reminder of the human toll of that time, and we were again afforded a chance to “feel” the pain caused by different political and religious affiliations. After these life-altering experiences, many of the students told relevant stories from their pasts. That was inspiring for us, for the students were applying what they had learned to their own lives! A big step in their life journeys!
An historical, geographical, and literary feast is what we experienced. We look forward to again working with you on more of the same fine tours that match our personal goals. Thanks so much for helping us to make some brilliant memories of Ireland, especially its wonderfully warm people. Are we ever happy that the fairies got a hold of us, and led us to you at Discovery Tours!
Sincerely,
Dr. Dan Fichtner
September 2008.
The Ireland trip was absolutely amazing. I was able to experience Ireland in an extraordinary way that I would not have been able to if I had gone there on a normal family vacation or school trip. One of the most valuable parts of the whole experience was interacting with the local people. I was able to meet students my age and to stay with an Irish family for a few days. Meeting people made the experience more relevant, and it opened my eyes to a greater world view, one outside of the U.S. With Keith, our tour guide, we dove headfirst into the incredible history and rich culture of Ireland. It enabled me to better understand the current political, economic, and social changes that are developing. If I had a chance to repeat this trip in Ireland or any other country, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Thank you for the experience of a lifetime!
Emily Lowe, Spring 2008 Tour My trip to Ireland has been the best experience of my young life so far. I could never have fathomed to understand how important it is to travel and Live cooped up in a classroom. Ireland is beautiful and the people there are extraordinary. If you get a chance to go, Go! You’ll be part of its historic transition from conflict to peace; Ireland is changing before our eyes.
Ashley Lin, the Humanitarian from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School I first want to start out by thanking you for all the time you put in making this the best trip I have ever taken. I really had the time of my life. I would have never got to see half of the amazing things that I did without you and your knowledge about Ireland. Throughout this trip, I thought of you more of a friend than as a tour guide. You really went beyond my expectations by helping us out every possible way you could such as driving me around trying to find a way to send a package home (which did make it home by the way....thanks so much again for that :-) :-) !!!!!) and having us all at you home for dinner which really gave us an onlook of how "real Irish families" live. (Not much different from us) Thank you again for all that you did and helping me have the time of my life in Ireland!!