Adventure & Leadership – Spring ’27
| Dates | Feb 22nd to May 8th |
| Arrive | Dublin |
| Depart | Dublin |
| Length | 75 Days |
| Group Size | Up to 16 Students |
| Tuition | €17,500 |
Adventure & Leadership – Autumn ’27
| Dates | Sept 8th to Nov 24th |
| Arrive | Dublin |
| Depart | Dublin |
| Length | 77 Days |
| Group Size | 16 Students |
| Tuition | €17,500 |
Adventure & Leadership Skill Building Program
What’s it all About?
The best adventures don’t just create unforgettable memories—they change the way we see ourselves.
That’s the idea behind the Irish Gap Year Adventure & Leadership Skill-Building Program. Through outdoor adventure, immersive travel, cultural experiences and everyday life with a close-knit group of friends, you will build the practical skills, resilience and independence that come from taking on real adventures, real responsibility and real-world experiences.
Nature, home and community are at the heart of the program and provide a holistic environment for growth to occur. Whether you’re paddling into your first wave, hiking in the wild Irish weather, preparing dinner with your housemates, volunteering locally or setting off on a road trip, every experience has a purpose and contributes to building a bigger you. And you won’t just experience Ireland—you will get to become part of our community, sharing adventures with our Irish Arts & Culture Gappers and Interns, as well as the larger community in Bundoran, Donegal – Your home away from home.
If you are looking for a supportive, fun environment that nurtures connection, builds real-world skills and confidence and is big on community, this program could be a great fit!
The Philosophy
We believe that the most meaningful growth happens when you’re trusted to take on real responsibility and learn from your lived experience. Our job is to create an environment on our programs that promotes this process in a supportive and consistent manner. We ask that our students give their best effort and come prepared to challenge themselves and their comfort zone.
Three Real-World Classrooms
Based in the charming seaside town of Bundoran, County Donegal, the program is built around three real-world classrooms—each offering its own opportunities for adventure, challenge, connection and growth.
NATURE
Nature provides challenge, uncertainty and adventure—and plenty of opportunities to have fun, connect with others and try something completely new. From learning to surf to hiking, sea kayaking, rock climbing and outdoor challenges, Ireland’s wild coastline and mountains become a place to explore, play and build confidence.
No previous outdoor experience is required. In fact, being new to adventure is part of what makes it so rewarding. With experienced instructors and mentors alongside you, you’ll learn new skills, take on challenges at your own pace and share plenty of laughs along the way.
These experiences naturally build resilience, adaptability, problem-solving and perseverance, while giving students the chance to unplug, connect with nature and rediscover how much fun it is to simply be outside.
HOME
Home is where independence gets practiced every day.
For many students, this is the first time they’ve ever had a place of their own—and there’s something pretty exciting about sharing a house in Ireland with a group of new friends. Cooking together, hanging out after a day of adventures, deciding what’s for dinner and figuring out how to make a shared home actually work are all part of the experience.
Having your own place also comes with real responsibility. Students learn to cook, budget, keep their home clean, manage their time and share household responsibilities, while navigating the very human side of living with others: communicating, compromising, resolving disagreements and being considerate of the people around them.
The IGY team provides structure, guidance and support, but we don’t do everything for students. It’s a supported first taste of independent living—shared with friends and full of opportunities to practice everyday independence.
COMMUNITY
One of the most special parts of spending a semester with Irish Gap Year is becoming part of the community we call home. IGY has deep roots in Bundoran, and those relationships open doors for our students. Rather than simply passing through as visitors, you will get to know the local people, volunteer with community organizations, experience Irish culture firsthand and find your own place within the community.
Most of all, community is about connection. Connection to others, to place, to culture and ultimately to yourself. Through becoming active members of the community you will become more comfortable communicating with different people, contributing to something beyond themselves and navigating the wider world.
By the end of the semester, Bundoran and the northwest of Ireland aren’t simply places students have visited. They’re places where they’ve lived, contributed, made friends and become known. They’re not tourists being shepherded from one experience to the next—for a little while, they get to belong somewhere new.
What You’ll Be Doing
There’s a daily rhythm to life at Irish Gap Year, but no two weeks look exactly the same. Most weeks include a surf session or two on the Atlantic, time in the mountains hiking, volunteering in the local community, an experiential group challenge and plenty of time simply enjoying life in Bundoran with friends.
Then there’s Flexi-Friday, when our wider cohort of Adventure & Leadership, Irish Arts & Culture and our Interns all come together for a shared adventure. You might explore castle ruins by boat as part of a giant scavenger hunt, head off on a road trip, discover a new part of Ireland, visit a cultural site or take on a challenge together.
Every other week you’ll set off with our program leaders an overnight trip to a different part of Ireland. Six trips across the semester take students from three days exploring Dublin to Galway and the Aran Islands, national parks and wild landscapes, building toward bigger challenges like the Amazing Race and our final Bushcraft Expedition. They’re a chance to travel together, experience more of Ireland and put growing skills and independence into action. These are structured, group adventures where we will take you to our favorite places in Ireland and are always a big program highlight!
Across the semester you’ll surf, hike, sea kayak, rock climb, volunteer, travel and take on new challenges—but we deliberately leave a few surprises for you to discover along the way.
Your Week at a Glance
Here’s what a local week in Bundoran might look like:
| Morning | Afternoon | Evening | |
| MON–THURS | 9:30am start with your IGY leaders. Surfing, hiking, volunteering, outdoor skills or your weekly Student Challenge. | Lunch around 1pm, followed by an afternoon activity—or continue a full-day adventure. | Dinner around 6pm, followed by free time with friends. |
| FLEXI-FRIDAY | Whole-cohort adventure day. Adventure, Arts & Culture and Internship students head out together. | Road trips, cultural experiences, challenges and exploring Ireland. | Back home with friends—or away together on an overnight trip. |
| SATURDAY | Relaxed start. Housekeeping Day begins around 11am with a leader check-in and time to reset. | Groceries, laundry, house jobs, downtime and catching up with family. | Shop for and cook a big family-style house dinner together. |
| SUNDAY | Free day. | Explore Bundoran, hit a café, go to the beach, the flea market, relax or spend time with friends. | Get yourself organized for the week ahead. |
Make it Your Own
Over the years we’ve moved toward more flexible program integration based on student feedback, this means that our Adventure students can jump into selected half-day Arts & Culture workshops with our local artists, while Arts & Culture students can join Adventure activities. How much you mix and match is up to you, but the idea is that a more intergrtated, flexible experience is good for everyone!
Support Without Hand-Holding
It is very important to us that you are supported, but that you are also responsible for your own actions during your time with us. Our leaders mentor, encourage, teach and step in when needed—while also knowing when to step back and let students figure things out for themselves. As the semester progresses, studenst are trusted with larger responsibilities and challenges.
Of course, mistakes are part of that process and are encouraged as learning opportunities. Missing a bus, burning dinner or realizing your plan isn’t going to work can teach a lot! Our job isn’t to remove these obstacles—it’s to foster a mindset that promotes challenge as opportunity through a supportive environment where you can take on hurdles safely, learn from the experience and try again.
It’s independence with a safety net—not independence with someone holding your hand.
What You’ll Take Home
| INDEPENDENCE Greater confidence managing everyday life, making decisions and doing things for yourself. | PRACTICAL LIFE SKILLS Cooking, budgeting, time management, travel, household responsibilities and looking after yourself. |
| RESILIENCE Adapting when plans change, working through challenges and trying again when things don’t go perfectly. | COMMUNICATION & PROBLEM-SOLVING Living with others, navigating differences, speaking up for yourself, making decisions and figuring things out together. |
| REAL-WORLD CONFIDENCE The confidence that comes from actually doing things—not simply being told you’re capable of them. | FRIENDSHIPS THAT LAST Living, travelling and adventuring together creates strong bonds, shared memories and connections that often continue long after Ireland. |
Is This Program Right for Me?
You don’t need any previous surfing, hiking or outdoor experience. In fact, this program can be even more rewarding if much of this is new to you. What matters more is a willingness to participate, give things a go, contribute to the group and gradually take on more responsibility for yourself.
This could be a great fit if you’re looking for an experience before college that gives you space to figure out what’s next, become more independent, active and confident in your abilities, meet new people and experience a completely different way of life.
While there’s plenty of support, this isn’t a program where everything is done for you. Students are expected to make their best effort and participate, help around the house, engage with the community and take responsibility for their own experience.
Come ready to get involved. We’ll meet you where you are and build from there.
Here is what our former students have to say about who this program is for, in their own words
What’s Included
- All accommodation in our cosy shared student houses, including linens and towels
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners throughout the semester, including groceries and the household food budget for student-led meals (excluding the occasional lunch during free time on city trips)
- Full support and guidance from experienced Irish Gap Year leaders throughout the program
- 24/7 on-call emergency support for students and families, including assistance accessing local medical care and support services if needed
- All transportation, road trips and program travel throughout Ireland
- Six overnight trips around Ireland, including accommodation, meals, transportation and program activities
- Surfboards, wetsuits, outdoor equipment and specialist gear used during program activities
- Professional instruction and coaching across a wide range of outdoor activities and skill-building experiences
- Volunteering projects, Student Challenges, Flexi-Friday adventures and experiential programming
- Access to selected Arts & Culture workshops
- Airport pickup and transfers at the beginning and end of the program
- Laundry facilities and Wi-Fi access
- Post-program support including letters of recommendation, college and travel guidance, and continued mentorship from the IGY team
What’s Not Included
- Flights
- Supplemental travel insurance
- Personal spending money (we recommend budgeting up to €100 per week)
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have a question about the Adventure & Leadership Skill-Building Program? Take a look at our FAQs for practical details about travel, packing, phones, dietary requirements, spending money and life in Bundoran.