Highlights of Ireland and Scotland Tour
Rosanne Van Cura | Published on 10/1/2026
What a great time exploring Ireland and Scotland! 17 EISC members joined this trip. Those of us who flew out on together September 3rd, had no issues. Unfortunately, Jim and Brenda Steinke were not as fortunate. They were to arrive a day before us, but due to mechanical issues with the plane, they arrived just a few hours before us. We were so sorry that Chip and Diane had to cancel due to illness. We missed both of you. Cosmos did a great job for us! Our tour guide, Peter was wonderful. A native of Ireland, very knowledgeable and he could sing. Such a delight. Jurgen, our bus driver was simply amazing. He is from Germany and I have no idea how he learned to maneuver that bus. Such narrow roads and tight spots. Our travel companions from other parts of the US and around the world were all very nice.
Our weather was what you would expect, some rain, some mist, some days cool, some days warm and sunny. We never had a total rain out. Both countries are beautiful! I will say the Highlands of Scotland was my favorite. Rugged country, waterfalls and beautiful valleys. The people in both countries are very friendly and very dog friendly. Ask anyone who had to walk around with me. Pet a dog, talk about the dog, talk about our dogs. All of the Cosmos excursions were great. Probably a favorite of all was the Irish pub with drinks and music. This is where we learned about Peter singing. Many of us attended the medieval dinner in a castle and a Scottish dinner with bagpipes and dancing. Some brave souls tried the Hagis. I was not one of them. We walked around the famous St. Andrews Old Course and also toured Edinburgh Castle. Needless to say, we did lots of walking. The Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and the Giant's Causeway are marvels of nature. All in all a great trip. Thank you to Diane Scholl for organizing this for us.