Special-Interest Vacations

Structured group tours usually include everything from airfare to hotels, meals, tours, classes, walks, sightseeing, and admission costs.

These tours -- whether they're navigated by bus, motorcoach, train, or boat -- let you sit back and enjoy the trip without having to drive or worry about details, and they ensure that your trip focuses on something that interests you. They can be a great way to meet people who share your interests.

On the downside, you'll have little opportunity for serendipitous interactions with locals. The tours can be jampacked with activities, leaving little room for individual sightseeing, whim, or adventure -- plus they often focus on the heavily touristed sites, so you miss out on many a lesser-known gem.

Ask Before You Go -- Before you invest in a package deal or an escorted tour:

• Always ask about the cancellation policy. Can you get your money back? Is a deposit required?
• Ask about the accommodations choices and prices for each. Then look up the hotels' reviews in a Frommer's guide and check their rates online for your specific dates of travel. Also find out what types of rooms are offered.
• Request a complete schedule (escorted tours only).
• Ask about the size and demographics of the group (escorted tours only).
• Discuss what is included in the price (transportation, meals, tips, airport transfers, and so on; escorted tours only).
• Finally, look for hidden expenses. Ask whether airport departure fees and taxes, for example, are included in the total cost -- they rarely are.

History & Architecture Tours

The Dublin bus company Dublin Bus (tel. 01/873-4222; www.dublinbus.ie) operates several tours focusing on Irish history and architecture, all of which depart from the Dublin Bus office at 59 Upper O'Connell St., Dublin 1. You can buy your ticket from the bus driver or book in advance at the Dublin Bus office or at the Dublin Tourism ticket desk on Suffolk Street.

Gray Line (tel. 01/605-7705; www.irishcitytours.com) offers a range of full-day and multiple-day excursions from Dublin, to the historic monastic site at Glendalough, as well as to the prehistoric remains at Newgrange, and the architecturally significant Powerscourt.

The national bus company, Bus Éireann (tel. 091/562000; www.buseireann.ie), provides a good range of tours throughout Ireland. You can tour Dublin and around to Glendalough or Newgrange by bus, or travel by boat to Waterford, and it also offers good tours of Galway, taking in the Maam Cross, Recess, Roundstone, and Clifden.

For a more historical, intellectual approach to Ireland's famous history, try Mary Gibbons Tours (tel. 01/283-9973; www.newgrangetours.com), which leads absorbing, in-depth tours of Dublin and Glendalough.

Adventure & Wellness Trips

For touring the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough, try Discover Dublin (tel. 01/280-1899; www.discoverdublin.ie), which offers a tour it has dubbed the "Wild Wicklow Tour." Wild might be too strong a word, but it is certainly lively and enjoyable, and includes visits to the mountainous area around Avoca and the scenic Sally Gap.

Political Tours

The best tours in Belfast are the extraordinary Black Taxi Tours (tel. 0800/052-3914 or 0289/064-2264; www.belfasttours.com), which take you through the areas where the Troubles had the most impact, and explain it all in intelligent, compassionate, unbiased, firsthand terms.