Driver-Less Bus Tours Of Ireland

Butlers Tours Launch The First Ever Driver-Less Bus Tour of Ireland.

Save Money !

Our tour guides can now handle 4 tours of Ireland at one time from our futuristic HQ.

 

When Nature Calls!

In keeping with our ethos of making every tour tailor made to our customers requirements we are taking it to the next level.

Kevin Butler himself developed an App for your smart phone to communicate privately with your guide in HQ.

This is perfect if you find yourself caught off guard when nature calls or you fancy relaxing with cup a tea and scone in a local artisan Irish Coffee shop.

Self Cleaning Buses!

You get to clean them yourself.

Just to enhance the authentic experience, we will supply your group with top quality Irish made cleaning supplies and a check list for cleaning the coach after the tour daily. 

Disaster Plan.

As ever at Butlers Tours we always put safety first so we have produced a brief "How to drive a Bus" video.

So if your Driver-Less bus loses wi-fi connection with HQ and you find you need to manage the winding roads of Ireland yourself. 

No problem!! Just look a our "How to" video in our app and take control.

 

Book now to experience your exciting tour.

Happy 1st of April 😄

From all at Butlers.        

St. Patrick's Day (10 Facts )

1. St. Patrick wasn't Irish.

Patrick's parents were Roman citizens living in Scotland or Wales.


2. There were never any snakes in Ireland to banish!

Ireland never had any snakes!

It is believed snakes refer to pagan religious beliefs and practices.

3. March 17th is the day St. Patrick died

4. St. Patrick's Day was an alcohol free holiday.

In Irish law from 1903 to 1970, St. Patrick's Day was declared a day of religious observance.

Which meant all pubs were closed for the day.

This law was overturned in 1970, when St. Patrick's Day was reclassified as a national holiday.


5. St Patrick's colour was actually blue not green.

In fact most of the country, including its flag, were represented by blue.

In 1798 the colour green became officially associated with the day.

6.The shamrock is not the symbol of Ireland.

The Harp is!!

The shamrock is the national flower of Ireland.


7. The 1st St Patrick's Parade was in America.

The first recorded St Patrick’s Day celebration was in New York in 1762.


8. St Patrick's Day is celebrated in Space.

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries across the globe, and even in lower orbit.

It’s been marked several times on NASA’s International Space Station.

9. Don't pinch me!

The tradition in America is to pinch anyone who isn't wearing green on St. Patrick's Day.

Legend has it that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns.......who pinch anyone they see!


10.Happy Maewyn Day.

St Patrick's given name was Maewyn Succat.

We could be celebrating “Maewyn Day” instead of “St Patrick’s Day” if his name was not changed when he was ordained as a priest.


One Bonus fact!!

11.Did he even use a Shamrock?

Although it’s widely believed that Saint Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to describe the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there’s no written mention of this until as late as the 1600's.

When is the best time to visit Ireland weather wise?

• When is our weather most favourable for touring?
• What are the average temperatures?
• And what clothes should you bring?

Ok let's talk about the weather in Ireland!

Irish people just love to talk about the weather. It has got to be our favourite national pastime (being obsessive on the subject would be a fair accusation). I suppose our ever contrasting climate does give us oodles to converse about.

The good news is ...?

The good news is that we have a moderate climate with no extremes. Our winters are not too cold and our summers are not too hot.

However be warned that we can experience all 4 seasons in one afternoon on occasion.

Rest assured though that the old saying holds true "If you don't like the weather now, just wait a few minutes"

Although we spend a lot of time bemoaning our weather, Irish people in general are an incredibly optimistic bunch as we never have an umbrella and we rarely dress appropriately for any season.

What do Irish people do on a sunny day?

It's a common sight on a beautiful sunny summers day to see milk white Paddys and Patricias stripped off to the bare minimum getting as much exposure to the blazing sun as humanly possible. (Think pig on a spit!)

After all, this nice weather could very well just be a "once off" and it could be raining tomorrow so one feels it is almost his/her patriotic duty to make the very most of it. 

Sun cream - what's that? 

The conversation later that evening while cooling off by skulling back pints of "The Black Stuff" in the local pub would be centered around on what a great colour was got by all that day.

The following day off course, mother nature would expose hungover lobsters galore. Lesson learnt? Not at all - "shure wasn't it all great craic after all - can't wait for next year!"

Time for the facts.

Although amusing to the informed tourist, the above information is not going to help you very much with your visit to Ireland so here is my best advice based on my very own personal experience:

The best weather is from May to September peaking in July but April and October are still viable options. 

Averages

December to February are the coldest months with average temperatures of 3° to 8°C. (37.4° to 46.4°F)

Record low temperatures of -18°C (-0.4°F) have been recorded back in January 1979

March and April can be somewhat pleasant with an average 4° to 12°C (39.2° to 53.6°F)

May to September are our warmest months with an average of 6° to 19°C (42.8° to 66.2°F) peaking in July. It's not unusual to reach the mid 20's and sometimes even to record temperatures in the low 30's

October is not too bad at 6° to 13°C (42.8° to 55.4°F) but November starts to get cooler again heading into averages of 4° to 10°C (39.2° to 50°F)

We also get a whopping 18 hours of daylight during our peak summertime with days getting bright around 5am and getting dark around 11pm.

My advice

Even with our best weather the evenings can be cool so you will need to bring a sweater (or a Jumper as we call it). Always bring a light raincoat that you can pack away easily. A foldable umbrella can be handy anytime of the year (personally I prefer a baseball cap which is good for sun and rain). Of course do bring your shorts as you will get plenty of opportunity to wear them too.

November to February can be a bit on the coolish/damp/misty side and the days are quite short. Our shortest day is about 8 hours.
These months see a significant decrease in tourist numbers for perhaps those very reasons but if you like to get away from the crowds and get a lot more bang for your buck then I recommend going for it!

Ireland is genuinely the most beautifully enchanting country in the whole world all year round no matter what the weather. 

And of course the Irish people are the same no matter what time of the year you travel so you can always expect a warm welcome when you arrive.

So when are you coming......

I am always happy to answer any questions about your visit to Ireland - Leave a comment below.