Check out our Reviews on Go Overseas.com
We take great pride in delivering excellent programs and want to share our reviews on Go Overseas.com with all potential future Irish Gappers. Go Overseas is the the ‘Trust Pilot’ of the gap year / internship / study abroad world where you can read un-edited and impartial student reviews.
We are especially proud to have earned the #1 Top Overall Gap Year Provider as voted by gappers in 2021. Having been selected from a field of 13,000 program providers listing on Go Overseas.com this is quite the feather in our cap!
Irish Gap Year
“Irish Gap Year was a great choice for me. The program was a good balance of structure with freedom and flexibility. I really appreciated how the group leaders were understanding when downtime was needed and accommodating when I wanted to do certain activities. Everyone involved, our day-to-day leaders especially, was positive and kind and helpful, I got to know some truly amazing people on this trip.
Bundrowes House is large and very nice, though living with eight other teenagers can have its challenges. Bundoran is a very cute little town, though very quiet.
The adventures and activities have been very cool, rock climbing was the most terrifying experience of my life and it was awesome, learning to surf was so much fun despite the cold. We went on loads of cool hikes, ranging in difficulty from short hikes on paths to day long treks.”
Molly
Chicago, Illinois
Irish Gap Year
“I’ve truly enjoyed my time in Ireland over the past three months. I have learned how to surf, gone on many hikes, and made many new friends here. I never thought I would enjoy being as active as I am here. I wasn’t such an outdoors person before but now I know that going surfing and pushing myself on hikes makes me happy. My goal when I first started this trip was to feel more ready for college, and although I don’t feel completely ready I can say I’ve grown up a lot from all the new experiences I have had.”
Liam
Fairfield Ct
American University
An Authentic Irish Experience
“I came to Ireland after already being out of high school for a year, spending my previous gap year on an academic program in England and two culturally immersive volunteer programs in both Asia and South America, so when it came time for me to search for my next program, I had a clear picture of what I wanted. To be in a long-term group setting, to live in one place but still take trips and explore my surroundings. To be active and outdoors, but I also wasn’t looking for something too extreme. I wanted balance, something that would be good for someone who wouldn’t call themselves “athletic” or “outdoorsy.” I wanted to be pushed out of my comfort zone, but not too far out! Irish Gap Year seemed to fulfill all of my requirements, and thus far it has met my expectations, and even surpassed some of them! For the first two months of the program we went out surfing at least two-to-three times a week, more if you were really keen! And we usually included two hikes every week exploring the beauty that is Northwestern Ireland. We also ventured out of our little bubble into the wider Ireland, taking three day trips into places like Dublin, Galway, and Belfast, a nice break from small town living especially as the weather turned and it was no longer pleasant for the more “outdoorsy” portion of the program. You get a full picture of Ireland and its people, who, by the way, are five-star. Our leaders too are amazing, easy to talk to and come with a wealth of experience, and are truly amazing people to learn from and get to spend three months with. The town of Bundoran is small, very small. During the summer season and all through September and October this was not a problem as it is a popular surf and outdoor destination. It is therefore full of new and exciting people to keep the town’s vibe young and vibrant and your Friday and Saturday pub night’s interesting! But as the good weather passed so did most of the tourists, and weekends in Bundoran grew slower. But fear not! Our program leaders allowed for the schedule to be flexible, so if we needed a change of scene, they wouldn’t hesitate to see our needs met, sometimes taking us out of town for the weekend, etc. Living in a house with eight other 18 year-old’s is been interesting to say the least, and is just as complicated as it should be expected. Kitchen and bathroom habits will always be a point of contention! Living with the same people and doing all of my activities with the same people was, for a self-admitted loner, a challenge, but all in all has taught me many valuable lessons and is not something I regret, no matter how difficult or out of my comfort zone it was. The leaders do try to help in this regard, they are attentive to the needs of both the individual and the group. As one of the guinea pigs in their first gap year program, I can honestly say that the program has been a success and I would whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone interested in signing up for it in the future.”
Sophia
Houston, Texas
Transition Adventure Program Reviews
What a great summer experience before college!
“I am an educational consultant based out of NYC and spent a week in Ireland visiting the Tap and Gap Year program. I also had four students there that I had recommended to the program that were in the TAP program. The location, housing, people and education were all beyond my expectations. My students reported the same. They all said they had a lot of fun, while learning valuable skills that they will be able to use in high school, college and beyond. I highly recommend this program for any young person that wants to have a unique experience in a beautiful and safe environment.”
Jeff
Huntington Station, New York
TAP Review
“Hi I’m Meghan, and in the summer of 2016 I participated in the Transition Adventure Program for three weeks. It was an enriching and amazing program where we had modules that taught us critical life skills such as time management, strengths and weaknesses, and how to work effectively in groups. The skills we covered in the modules will not only help in college, but also allow us to succeed throughout life. The modules were interactive learning sessions with group discussions held in an open environment and fun activities where we applied what we had learned. We also toured around the country in the beginning and the end of the trip seeing beautifully stunning historical and geographic landmarks such as the Cliffs of Moher, Derry/Londonderry, and Giant’s Causeway. In between traveling around we stayed in Bundoran where we did lots of fun group activities like camping, cliff jumping, surfing, paddle boarding, and kayaking. We also got to see what the town was like by going to the fair they had and walking around the shops. The house in Bundoran was absolutely beautiful with horses surrounding it, large rooms, and fantastic views of the rolling green hills and the ocean. Lastly the food they had at the Bundoran house was amazing their cook Rita made delicious meals every night. Overall, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to take part in this program, and if I had the chance I would happily do it again!”
Meghan
Havertown
Transition Adventure Program with Irish Gap Year
“Hi, my name is Julen and I undertook the Transition Adventure Programme last summer. The course took 3 weeks in time, but millions of good moments in practice. The programme was based on preparing High School students who want to be socially prepared for College life.
To achieve the aim, we had some morning lessons most of the days. The contents were related to some learning valuable skills (time management, goal setting, leadership, …) together with knowing ourselfes better to improve our habits and characteristics.
I thought that those lessons would be as the traditional ones (the teacher speaks while students pay attention) but luckily, the lessons were so well designed that we did everything in a much more collaborative way. Activities we did were focused on team work and we could discuss and argue any subject, as a group. In other words, we learned useful things in an interactive and funny way.
What’s more, we did uncountable outdoor activities dealing with Ireland beautiful landscapes and culture. For example, we went surfing several times, SUPing, kayaking, etc. We also did some activities to reforce teamwork such going camping by ourselves or hiking.
The thing is that the TAP is divided in 3 parts to do all those activities while you are visiting Ireland and lerning it’s culture. In this way, the first part takes 5 days to visit some fantastic places of Ireland while you are meeting new people. The second one, takes 10 days in Bundoran. Students are located in a marvelous house where they will live with each other and do all the activities I have mentioned before (lessons, surfing, etc). Tha last part is the same as the first one and it takes another 5 days.
To sum up, I highly recommend this programme to any young person who wants to know about Ireland, improve as a human and learn some useful things for life. Every thing, of course, acompanied by lots of funny activities, free time, and lovely staff.
Pd: I’m sorry if I have done some mistakes, I’m from Spain!”
Julen
Tolosa
University of Navarre