Newgrange Tours by Mary Gibbons

Who they are

A small Dublin company that has spent more than thirty years running a single tour: the Boyne Valley. It is named after Mary Gibbons, the guide who created it, who besides Ireland has guided travellers around Pompeii and Herculaneum, Stonehenge, Jerusalem, Rome, the Vatican and the Great Wall of China. Her tour is recommended in several travel guides. The website, in English, adds articles on the history of Brú na Bóinne and its rediscovery in the 17th century.

What they do

A day by coach from Dublin to Newgrange, the passage tomb of Brú na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and to the Hill of Tara, the seat of Ireland's ancient kings. At Newgrange you enter the passage and the chamber and walk around the great decorated stones that ring the mound, one of the finest groups of Neolithic art in Europe. Tara is a separate site, about 17 km from the visitor centre.

It costs €80 per person with all tickets. One part of its website says that guaranteed access also includes Knowth, the other great tomb in the valley; it is worth confirming this when booking, because Knowth can only be visited from 1 March to 1 November and its chambers cannot be entered.

Why guaranteed access matters

Newgrange, built around 3200 BC, cannot be visited independently. According to Heritage Ireland, which manages the site, all visits start at the Brú na Bóinne visitor centre, from where a shuttle bus takes you to the monuments, and only with a guided tour: anyone who goes directly to the mound does not get in. Places are very limited and must be booked in advance, with booking windows of 30 days from April to early November and 7 days for the rest of the year. In season they sell out, and that is the advantage of this tour, which has its entry secured.

The site is open all year except 23 to 27 December and 1 January. On the winter solstice days, 18 to 22 December, normal morning visits are suspended.

How to book

By email to [email protected], by phone or with the form asking them to call you. Give the date, how many of you there are, where you are staying and a mobile number; they reply with availability and the pick-up point. The website does not publish the day's timetable, the group size, the method of payment or the cancellation terms, so ask when you book. The website is only in English and does not mention guiding in other languages.