We could tell you how great our alumni tours are. But we’d rather let the people who’ve been on them do the talking.
Over the past several years, Celtic RnR has designed and led reunion tours for alumni groups ranging from twelve travellers to sixty-plus. Every group is different — different universities, different ages, different ideas about what a perfect day looks like. But the feedback has a few things in common.
Here are five stories from five groups that trusted us with their reunion — and what they’d want you to know.
1. “It felt like coming home.”
Midwestern University Alumni · 28 travellers · Wild Atlantic Way
The organiser of this group told us upfront: “Half of us have been to Ireland. The other half think they know what to expect. Surprise all of us.” We built a seven-day itinerary that mixed iconic stops with places nobody had heard of — a private oyster farm visit in Galway Bay, a storytelling evening with a local seanchaí, and a sunrise walk on a beach that doesn’t appear in any guidebook. The feedback from this group centred on one word: connection. Connection to the land, to each other, and to something they couldn’t quite name.
2. “Our members are still talking about it.”
East Coast Professional Association · 42 travellers · Edinburgh to Skye
This wasn’t a college alumni group — it was a professional association whose members had been attending the same annual conference for fifteen years. They wanted to try something different. We designed a Scottish Highlands tour that replaced conference panels with castle dinners and whisky tastings. The association’s executive director reported a measurable increase in membership renewals following the trip.
3. “I haven’t laughed that hard in twenty years.”
Southern University Class of ‘98 · 35 travellers · Dublin & the West
This was a classic reunion group — college friends reconnecting after two decades. The organiser was nervous about managing personalities and expectations across a wide age range (some had brought spouses and adult children). Celtic RnR built in flexible options every day: active excursions for the energetic crowd, heritage visits for the history buffs, and pub sessions for everyone. By midweek, the subgroups had dissolved and the whole group was travelling as one.
4. “The logistics were invisible.”
Northeastern Alumni Chapter · 18 travellers · Causeway Coast & Donegal
A smaller, more intimate group with a heritage focus. Several members wanted to visit specific ancestral parishes in Donegal, which we wove into the itinerary alongside group activities. The organiser — who had been dreading the logistical complexity of rural Northern Ireland — told us afterward that the most remarkable thing about the trip was how effortless it felt. “We never waited for a bus, never ate a bad meal, and never wondered what was happening next. It was all just… there.”
5. “We booked again before we left.”
West Coast University Alumni · 55 travellers · Grand Ireland Tour
Our largest alumni group to date. Ten days. Multiple regions. A complex itinerary with coach travel, ferry crossings, and a farewell gala at a country estate. The challenge with a group this size is keeping the energy high and the logistics seamless. We broke the group into smaller pods for certain activities, reunited them for meals and evening events, and assigned dedicated Celtic RnR coordinators to each pod. Three return groups have since travelled with us.
The common thread
Every group tells us the same thing: “We didn’t want to leave.” And every organiser tells us the same thing: “You made my job easy.”
That’s the Celtic RnR promise. Your story. Our expertise. An experience your members will carry with them long after they get home.
Read more traveller reviews or start planning your group’s tour.
— Mike Healy, Celtic RnR Tours
