Tour summary & highlights
County Sligo is a scenic and culturally rich county in northwestern Ireland, famed for its natural landmarks, ancient history, literary heritage, and outdoor adventure opportunities.
The county is part of the Wild Atlantic Way allowing for activities like surfing and beachwalks at Strandhill, Rosses Point and Mullaghmore.
County Sligo combines stunning natural landscapes, ancient history, literary legacy and modern cultural life. From hiking iconic mountains and exploring prehistoric cemeteries to enjoying traditional music and surfing along the Wild Atlantic Way, Sligo offers a unique blend of adventure, culture and history.
Its combination of scenic, historical, and artistic richness makes it one of Ireland’s most compelling counties to explore.
General Overview
County Sligo (Irish: Contae Shligigh) is part of the province of Connacht and lies in Ireland’s northern and western region. The county town and administrative centre is Sligo with a population of 70,000.
Covering an arear of 1838 square kms (710 square miles) Sligo is bordered by Counties Leitrim, Roscommon and Mayo with the Atlantic Ocean forming its western boundary.
History
Sligo was officially established as a county in 1585 with boundaries reflecting historical 0 Conchobhair Sligigh territories of Lower Connacht. Archaelogical evidence such as the Carrowmore megalithic cemetery and neolithic sites like Miosgan Medhbh on Knocknarea highlight its ancient settlements and ritual traditions.
Irish medieval manuscripts, including the Book of Ballymote and the Great Book of Lecan were created here and the county played a role in the patronage of the Annals of the Four Masters
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Geography
Sligo features diverse landscapes including mountains, peat bogs, lakes, and a rugged coastline. Key natural landmarks include:
- Benbulben mountain, a table-top shaped mountain and symbol of the county
- Knocknarea, with the cairn of Queen Maeve.
- Lough Gill, celebrated for its scenic beauty and connection to the poet W.B. Yeats
- Caves of the Kesh, Carrowkeel and Carrowmore megalithic cemeteries for prehistoric exploration
Attractions and Activities
Visitors and locals enjoy a mix of historical, cultural, and outdoor activities:
- Benbulben and Knocknarae for hiking and panoramic views
- Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery for ancient monumental exploration
- Sligo Abbey, a 13th century Dominican ruin and Markree castle for historical tours
- Lough Gill for boating, kayaking and lakeside walking.
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The model, a contemporary arts centre showcasing Irish art
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Hidden gems like Hazelwood forest and Culleenamore Strand for nature and tranquility
Culture and Literature
County Sligo is famously known as Yeats County, inspiring much of the work of William Butler Yeats, who spent his childhood in the area and is buried at Drumcliffe near Benbulben
Traditional Irish music flourishes here, with notable figures such as Michael Coleman and bands like Dervish highlighting Sligo’s rich musical heritage. Festivals include the Queen Maeve International Summer School in Sligo Town.
Economy and Transport
Sligo town serves as a hub for commerce, education and cultural events. The county is connected via the N4 road, Dublin – Sligo railway and the nearby air transport via Ireland West airport. Tourism, agriculture and cultural activities contribute significantly towards the economy.
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Notable People
Sligo has produced distinguished figures in literature, music, and other fields, including:
- W.B. Yeats, poet and Nobel laureate
- Jack Butler Yeats, painter
- Traditional musicians such as Michael Coleman and James Morrison
- Contemporay musicians Kian Egan and Shane Filan of Westlife
Tour itinerary
Private tour price for the 8 passenger seater mini-bus & driver/tourguide, i.e. the tour price for a private group of min. 1 and max 8 passengers
Private tour price for the 8 passenger seater mini-bus & driver/tourguide, i.e. the tour price for a private group of min. 1 and max 8 passengers
Country Sligo could
- either be part of your longer extended private multi-day Northern Ireland tour with Coast, sea Highlands & Islands – Unicorn Tours
- or be part of our longer private multi-day extended Wild Atlantic Way Irish Westcoast tour
but could also be added on to it for a day or two:
Personalised & private small group tours all over Scotland (100+ itineraries: ½ – 7 day tour options & discounted multi-day tours to choose from) – with a set daily tour price for our tour guide driver & 8 passenger seater mini-bus (due to the fixed same overall cost for up to 8 passengers, the cheapest per person price for a private small group tour is if 8, 7, 6 or 5 are travelling together to share the set fixed daily cost, which is the same total cost, no matter if there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 passengers on a private mini-bus tour)
All of these private & personalised, small group tours of Scotland
are available on any available green calendar days for private tours
| 5, 6, 7 days | 4 days | 3 days |
| 2 days | Scottish destinations/Tour extensions & add ons | 1 day |
| Activities, special interests & tour themes | Walking tours | ½ & short day tours |
- Choose any private & personalised tailormade 1/2 day tour on any available green calendar day.
- Choose any private & personalised tailormade 1 day tour on any available green calendar day.
- Choose any private & personalised tailormade 2 day tour on any 2 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 2 day tours will already show a 2.5% discount.
- Choose any private & personalised tailormade 3 day tour on any 3 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 3 day tours will already show a 5% discount.
- Choose any private & personalised tailormade 4 day tour on any 4 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 4 day tours will already include a 7.5% discount.
- Choose any private personalised & tailormade 5 day tour on any 5 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 5 day tours will already include a 10% discount.
- Choose any private personalised & tailormade 6 day tour on any 6 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 6 day tours is discounted by 12.5%.
- Choose any private personalised & tailormade 7 day tour on any 7 consecutive available green calendar days. Any private 7 day tour prices already show the 15% discount.
Additionally from September to May there is a 12.5% student discount, which also applies to seniors over 65 and to children up to 17 travelling as part of a family group.
Extra costs & ferry info (if applicable)
Tour links
Tour options
Information about tour options for a private tour in general
Private & personalised tailormade tours to suit your group’s preferences
This is your very own private tour for you and your friends and family members of up to 8 people travelling on this tour together.
Before any private tour, we always discuss with you and check for your must-see stops, interests, hobbies, activities, preferences, priorities and any special requests you might have and we ask you about your preferred pace of travel so to tailor make and personalise the tour to suit your needs.
The route, the stops and the itinerary we give on our website for any private tour are for information and guidance only, as in the end it is you, who decides, what you wish to do, where you wish to stop and what you wish to do and see.
Any private tour itinerary can be shortened, extended or amended, if you wish to do so.
Flexibility on private tours
We also like to keep things flexible as our experience is that there are places, once you arrive and see them, you just fall in love with and wish to spend more time and longer.
whereas some other times we arrive at a place and they are different from what you had expected and you are ok to have a shorter stop and to move on quicker.
Flexibility is also good as on a beautiful gorgeous blue sunny day when all colours in nature and the landscapes are sparkling and you have clear and amazing far distant visibility and the scenery and places are at their best, you probably prefer to spend more time outdoors, while on a stormy, wet, dark, grey and cold day, you are likely to prefer more indoor venues during your stops.
Travelling at your own pace on private tours
Some guests are on a whirlwind tour with little time and wish to pack as much into a short time as possible and are ok with just short photo stops,
whereas other tour guests prefer to travel at a more leisurely pace to be able to explore and discover and soak it all in and leaving the tour with a memorable and lasting experience.
All of this is possible within the constraints of your chosen route, the distances involved
and during the winter season the shorter daylight hours we have.
Lunch breaks on private tours
Some guests put a lot of emphasis on a good quality lunch in a good atmospheric restaurant and we can prebook lunch venues,
whereas other guests are ok to just stop at a supermarket for a sandwich to eat on the go
or just need a short lunch stop for some light snack to eat.
Your tour options on any private tour are unlimited and endless
Same place, same route – but one one private tour, the private tour guests would want to visit the castle, while on another tour at the same place, they want a whisky tour instead and yet again same place on the next tour the private tour guests, want to just go for a walk on the beach there, while another time at the same place, they just want to go shopping, visit the museum or stop at the golf course – so same place, but on each private tour at this very same place, we visit different places and the itinerary, stops and experience is different.
As this is a private & personalised tour to suit your interests, preferences, hobbies and activities, it is up to you and we can either offer our normal tour itinerary for the location with all the many local highlights and sights and be flexible depending on the season, the weather, the time we have and also be fully flexible during the tour (as some places, you will love and stay longer and at other places you come to, you might wish to just take a photo and then leave, so in the end you might on the day of the tour decide to stay longer or shorter at some of the places we visit or you might still decide to add in some additional stops and places you had not thought about before) and also partially or fully adjust it to suit your interests and preferences or entirely turn it into a specialist interest tour “a whisky tour”, “a castle, cathedral, historic sights tours”, a “walking tour”, a “nature & wildlife tour”, a “golf tour”, an “activity tour”, etc. depending on what you request (also see our full range of Activities, special interests & tour themes.)
If it says on the tour itinerary, the tour starts in A and ends in Z and on our journey from A to Z we are travelling and can be stopping at B, C, D, E, F…… X & Y,
it might be the same route on every such private tour, but with every private tour group and individuals, it could still be an entirely & very different tour after all,
as there are so many different special interests & tour themes
so that the main focus of some private tour groups could be
- architecture & charming towns & villages
- castles, history
- child-friendly stops
- churches, abbeys & religious sites
- dining & and having a great lunch eating out
- events based, such as visiting the Highland games while on the tour with us
- family history & genealogy
- gardens, flowers & parks
- golf, football or other sports’ venues
- literature, film or movie fictional based tour, i.e. visiting filming locations of Outlander, Harry Potter, Shetland crime series, Downtown Abbey. etc.
- nature & wildlife, seabirds, puffins or whale
- watching
- the scenery, the coast & beaches
- snow and wintry landscapes
- tourist steam train in conjunction with our tour
- walking
- waterfalls
- whisky distilleries, gin and breweries
- etc.
Pick ups & drop offs anywhere on private tours
As mentioned in the pick up section, on a private tour we can pick up from anywhere and drop off anywhere and offer staggered free pick ups and drop offs, which are dependent on the distance from our Alloa home base near Stirling. Our home base is 30 miles from Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth in the heart of the Scottish Central belt:
- for short & half day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 15 miles of our Alloa home base (which includes Stirling, Falkirk, Dunfermline & Gleneagles)
- for 1 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 35 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Edinburgh, Glasgow & Perth)
- for 2, 3 & 4 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 50 miles of our Alloa home base (which additionally includes Dundee, St. Andrews & the entire Scottish Central belt)
- for 5, 6 & 7 day tours the free pick up/drop off zone is within 75 miles of our Alloa home base
Additionally as stated we sometimes offer free pick ups for places on the route to our destination, even though they might exceed the free mileage zone, so for example for a West Coast tour and we need to head westbound anyway for the tour, we could be pick up at locations west free of charge, depending on the exact route and distances involved.
(During a few weeks every year we are also Shetland, Orkney, Hebridean Isles or regionally based
and the free pick ups will then be based from that local area, such as on the Shetland, Orkney or on some of the Hebridean Isles for example.)
Accommodation on multi-day tours is your choice
Some of our guests are budget travellers, whereas others are luxurious travellers, while others chose a mid-range 3* hotel.
We are happy to give you tips, links and info about your accommodation options for the towns and villages we are staying overnight, but in the end it is up to you, where you would like to stay, at which hotel or guesthouse and for which price.
However much or however little you wish to spend for your overnight accommodation is your choice.
On a private tour we will pick you up from any accommodation in the morning and in the evening drop you off at any accommodation of your choice for your overnight tour accommodation and and chosen location.
Free time & activities
Tour pick up/start, drop off/end & joining options near to & along our tour route
Tour booking
To book or enquire about a private & personalised Irish small group (max.8 passengers) multi-day tour starting in Scotland – email contact@unicorntours.co.uk
(it is up to you where you wish to end and finish the tour, in the Republic of Ireland, in Northern Ireland, back in Scotland or other parts of the UK)