Hostelworld.com provides on-line confirmed bookings for hostels, budget accommodation centres and package tours, as well as comprehensive content such as city and country guides.
Hostelworld.com is fully owned by Web Reservations International Ltd. (WRI) For further information on WRI please visit www.webresint.com.
All bookings are made securely, in real-time and are guaranteed for you.
Our staff are from all over the world and have years of experience in the budget travel industry, having travelled extensively throughout over 75 countries around the world, for both business and pleasure.
Hostelworld.com received the best e-Commerce Award and the overall ESAT BT Award at the 2002 Golden Spiders Internet Awards ceremony held in Dublin, Ireland.
Hostelworld.com was chosen for each award from over 1800 entries in twenty different categories. The judges, comprised of experts in online and technology businesses, praised Hostelworld for its combination of innovation, clarity, spectacular growth and its profitable business model.
Winners - 2003 Ernst & Young, Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
Hostelworld.com founders Tom Kennedy and Ray Nolan have been awarded the Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Now in its sixth year, the Awards Programme aims to identify, salute and support the businessmen and women whose vision, drive and dedication have singled Ireland out as having one of the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity in the world.
Winners - 2003 World Summit Awards
Hostelworld.com has been voted one of the best sites in the E-business category in the World Summit Awards held in Dubai in October 2003. The awards recognise the best content producers on the web and Hostelworld.com has been selected for this award from over 800 websites worldwide.
Second Place - Deloitte Technology Fast 50
Hostelworld’s parent company Web Reservations International (WRI) was placed second in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Programme. This programme recognises and ranks the fastest growing technology companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland over the period 2000 to 2002. The winners show how to survive and thrive in today’s market.
Sponsorship
Hostelworld.com would like to inform our users that we are now donating a portion of our service charge from every booking to UNICEF.
UNICEF provides assistance to and works for long term improvement in the lives of children living in the world's poorest countries by supporting programmes aimed primarily at protecting children through immunisation, education, health and the long term eradication of poverty as well as emergency relief.
Meet the Hostelworld.com Team
Ray NolanThere aren’t too many corners of the world which haven’t been visited by Ray! Over the years he has managed to visit cities throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the US. A keen snowboarder, Ray’s trips are now centred around developing his rapidly improving skills on the slopes. His work with Hostelworld also presents him with the opportunity to travel and he will typically visit between 3 and 5 cities in any given month.
Niamh Ní MhírNiamh (seen here on the left) has travelled extensively in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US. She has lived and worked in Austria, Germany and Australia, with Sydney being her ‘home away from home’. During her time there she managed to set up the Hostelworld Aussie office in just 6 months! Working with Hostelworld gives her a great opportunity to travel and to research her next ‘dream destination’! Having just returned from a holiday in South Africa, Niamh’s next big trip will be to South America.
Lorraine O'ReillyLorraine epitomises the ‘eternal backpacker’. Before heading to Sydney to establish the Australian office, her travels consisted of trips to her local pub, the famed Rody Bolands pub in Rathmines, Dublin. Lorraine’s trip ‘down under’ has enabled her to travel the length and breadth of Australia and New Zealand. She has since developed a passion for adventure activities such as scuba diving, sailing, snorkelling, skiing and sky-diving. Once a traveller of the ‘wheely suitcase’ variety, Lorraine has now well and truly converted to backpacking.
Catherine GilvarryA student exchange programme to France when she was 14 was when Catherine (seen here on the right) was first bitten by the travel bug. Since then she has lived and worked in the US and has visited New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Jacksonville and New Orleans during her time there. She also studied for six months in Paris and has visited several European countries the most recent of which was Greece but her lifetime ambition is to follow the Inca Trail in South America. Earlier this year she joined Lorraine in Hostelworld's Sydney office.
Elaine SmithElaine has completed extensive travel in North America, having visited both the east and west coasts of the US as well as Vancouver, Toronto and the Niagara Falls in Canada. She has also visited the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK. She is soon going to be visiting Italy - for the second time!
Ben CroweBen enjoys doing stuff, and has been to such exotic locations as Holland, Greece, Sweden, the Canaries, Indonesia, Australia and, of course, Limerick. He highly recommends them all (even Limerick)!
Ciara TwohigCiara escapes from Ireland whenever she gets the chance. Throughout university she has spent all of her summers in exotic locations such as Spain and Germany! Whilst studying in Innsbruck, Austria for a year she made sure she had the time to explore practically every surrounding country including Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Her stint working on a cruise ship around the Caribbean and Mexico after completing university fuelled her passion for travel even more and Ciara intends to explore the wilds of South America when the time is right.
Emily LynamSince Emily began college in 1998 she has always utilised her three month gap by moving away from her home town of Limerick, Ireland. Some of the countries she lived in during her college years include Greece and America. A big fan of snow, Emily has skied down the slopes of Switzerland, France and Austria and is fairly nifty at this stage! Having returned from a tour of the world nearly a year now, Emily’s next journey will be closer to home this time in the shape of Stockholm.
Erica MurphyErica has spent time living and working in the south of France, and Rhode Island in New York. She then spent a year studying in Madrid and travelled extensively throughout Spain. Erica has also visited Turkey, Portugal and Belgium, as well as New York and Boston in North America. Her most recent trips have taken her to Liverpool to see her favourite football team play, Paris and Italy. In the future she hopes to visit South Africa, Australia and Cuba.
JD FitzGeraldJD, from Hostelworld’s computer programming team, has enjoyed trips around many European countries including Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Greece. Away from Europe, Dallas and Calgary in Canada have been his first ports of call in North America, although more are to follow. In the near future he hopes to make his way around Eastern Europe and maybe even China.
Sandra DoranSandra has travelled extensively throughout North America, making her way through Indiana, Ohio and Illinois to meet people she’d met on the internet! Not content with living in the USA, she lived in Canada for a year too. Sandra has also visited many European countries along with Thailand. She is presently studying for a diploma in Information Systems in Trinity College Dublin and has just returned from her second trip to Thailand.
Orla O'LearyOrla has always loved travelling - so much so that she chose to study it in college! In her younger years she travelled to a lot of ‘far flung’ destinations like Galway, Wales and England. She has also sunned herself in Majorca, Tenerife, France and Spain. More recently, Orla has enjoyed the sights of Prague, Chicago, New York and Nice. In the future, she plans to visit Croatia and Australia, among other places.
Irene BreenIrene started travelling eight years ago and since then has had a longing to explore! Her travels so far have taken her to the four corners of Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Before starting at Hostelworld, she just returned from a tour of Eastern Europe. Her passion lies in blending into new places and soaking up the atmosphere. Just recently back from New York, Irene is looking forward to her next adventure!
Elaine KellegherElaine first caught the travel bug following a family holiday in Portugal. Since then she has done some travelling around Europe including England, Wales, France, Spain and Portugal. For the summer of 2003 she went further afield, working in San Diego for 3 months. Taking advantage of the fact that she was living on the west coast of America, she also managed to visit Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but most exciting of all was her journey south of the American border to Mexico. She plans to stay closer to home (Meath, Ireland) for her next trip which will be a short break in Paris.
Nell WardWhen her encounter with travelling while she worked as an au-pair in France 8 years ago didn’t put her off travelling forever, Nell knew it was the start of a beautiful relationship! Since then she has travelled extensively through Europe, South-East Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. She has a ravenous appetite for the unknown and loves that feeling of never knowing what lies around the corner. Who knows where she’ll be off to next?
Shane BarronShane is the sports nut of the bunch and is an avid hurler, golfer and squash player. His keen interest in sport brought him half way across the world in 2003 when he hopped on a plane and went Down Under for the Rugby World Cup. Taking advantage of the fact that he was in the Southern Hemisphere, he stopped in Thailand for a week of sunshine too. Always one to pick up new sports, he is soon to become an expert skier when he travels to Andorra to don a pair of skis and conquer the slopes of the Pyrenean country.
Yvonne KellyDuring her college years studying French and German, Yvonne began mapping out her path of discovery of other languages. It was during her year studying in Berlin that she grew a real zest for travelling and managed to visit many European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Her passion for travel was ignited further whilst working in the airline industry for over 3 years and visiting places such as India, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and New Zealand (among others). Over the years she has found the poorer countries to be richer in culture, and would love to one day visit Tibet.
Aislinn SheehanAislinn first got the travel bug when she spent two years in the Basque Country in Northern Spain. On her return she saved her pennies and headed off to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. She also spent time in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Since then she has made several visits to the America, visiting everywhere from Hawaii to Alabama! Next stop? Who knows…
Tom KennedyTom has centred his whole life around backpacking – he started at 17 with a European trip which progressed the following year to America and Asia, and then finally to Australia. After becoming so accustomed to living in hostels, he decided to build one in Dublin, Ireland. While researching the backpacker market in Ireland he met his Australian wife in a hostel in Dingle and together they proceeded to build Avalon House youth hostel. Tom travels extensively for Hostelworld and his travel plans for the future include Seoul and Sydney.
Carmel DunneCarmel first got itchy feet when she left Ireland five years ago to visit friends in Germany. From there she went to Greece and the Netherlands where she worked long and hard to fund her backpacking trip around Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Australia! She is always looking forward to the next adventure and has recently returned from a 6-month tour of India and Sri Lanka.
Feargal MooneyFeargal has spent five years living and working in New York and has also worked in the UK and Germany. He has travelled extensively throughout the US and as well as visiting Tokyo, Sydney, Bermuda and the Caribbean. On his home continent he has been to Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, France and Portugal – not bad for someone who describes himself as the “laziest, most inactive and unexciting person in the company”. Oh and he doesn’t do any “skiing, snowboarding or any of that stuff either”.
Itziar GonzalesItziar is a native of the Basque country in Spain and has also visited both the Balearic and Canary Islands. She has spent three years living and working in London and has also visited Morocco, Finland, Belgium and Italy. Next up is a trip to South America.
Amy GrangeAmy has spent a year in Australia where she travelled to all the major backpacking destinations. She has also travelled throughout much of Europe, spending a week or two in each place. Ideally she would like to live and work in a host of European cities to observe the culture and learn the various languages. She also hopes one day to travel further afield visiting the Americas and Asia. Africa is now off the list as she has just returned from a 3-week holiday in South Africa.
Yvonne FinlayYvonne has backpacked around Egypt and Thailand and has also explored Edinburgh, Paris, Lyon, Venice and Nice. She had her sights set on India as the next destination to explore but the arrival of her first born has curtailed this for now – well just until he is able to carry his own backpack and keep up with Mum and Dad!!!
Rob GillRob originally hails from the UK and moved to Dublin about three years ago. As a keen racing cyclist, he is part of a group which has travelled to the US and various locations in Europe in order to indulge their pastime. His next trip will take him to La Belle France where he will pedal his way through the Loire Valley.
Chadia AmmadChadia has recently moved to Ireland from the south of France and has taken a real liking to her new home, in particular West Cork and Kerry. As a keen climber, she has hiked in the Pyrenees and the Alps as well as other areas throughout the south of France. She has also visited Spain, Switzerland and the UK and enjoyed a cruise to Tunisia.
Brian McIntyreBrian has travelled extensively through Europe, having visited everywhere from Turkey to Switzerland and Scotland to Portugal. He has also spent some time on the far side of the Atlantic, living on the east coast of America for a summer along with visiting Cuba.
Andrew FassnidgeHaving first caught the travel bug after a school trip to Russia, Andrew has since travelled extensively around Europe, visiting Portugal, Italy, Germany, Israel and more. He also spent a summer slugging it away as a waiter on the Channel Island of Jersey. During his college years he went to America on three separate occasions, living in Boston and San Diego among other cities. Andrew has recently returned from a year and a half in Australia. During his time in the Southern Hemisphere he also made it to Thailand and the Cook Islands before returning home to Ireland. He hopes to go to South America next.
Colm HanrattyHaving travelled to many European countries such as France, Spain, Portugal and Germany, along with one trip to America, Colm (pictured on the right) first discovered he wanted to do some long haul travelling after a two week trip to Greece one summer. His next trip was a year long break in Australia where he got to see everything but the west coast and Tasmania. From Oz he travelled to Thailand before getting back home to Ireland. Just back from a spot of island hopping around Croatia’s archipelago, his next trip away will be to Prague on a stag party!
Grainne EdwardsGráinne first got the urge to see the world when she was growing up. Different family holidays all over Ireland just gave her the travel bug! Her first opportunity to go further afield brought her to the UK. After that she managed to visit Spain, Greece, Germany and the Czech Republic. Past the European borders, she has lived, worked and travelled extensively around Australia and backpacked throughout Thailand and Malaysia. South Africa has been her latest destination and she is looking forward to planning her next adventure.
Nicole KrabiellNicole left her hometown of Hamburg, Germany in September 2002 to go to Ireland on a year’s work experience. She is a big fan of travelling and has graced many other European countries with her presence such as Italy, Spain and France. Of all the holidays she has been on, her highlight was a trip to the Dominican Republic which was ‘incredible’. Nicole has now made Dublin her home from home and is really enjoying her time in the Irish capital. Some countries she wishes to visit in the future include the USA and she hopes to continue working in the tourism or advertising industries.
Caren CarruthersSummer holidays spent with family in Germany are what gave Caren the urge to travel. Since then she has spent a year in France and has also travelled to Spain, Portugal, and Italy. She admits that North America is her absolute favourite destination and has spent time in New York, New Jersey and Dallas. She is currently planning a trip to the West Coast of America, hoping to visit LA and Las Vegas.
Linda LatinoLinda moved to Dublin from European fashion capital Milan. She lived in Ireland previous to that, studying in Galway in the west of the country so has seen pretty much everything the Emerald Isle has to offer! She concluded her studying at the University of Sicily and once she was finished she packed her bags and explored mainland Europe, visiting Spain (where she worked for a few months) Holland, Denmark, Malta, France and more. In the near future she hopes to make her way around Central and South America, learning more about its various cultures on the way
Rory GardinerBorn and bred in Dublin, Rory first began travelling during his college years when he really spread his wings! Over his four years studying he ventured to USA, India, portions of Africa as well as Central and Eastern Europe. Now the proud father of two children, his travels to such far off destinations have been put on hold for a while so to compensate he now plays a wide range of sports such as golf, tennis and football.
Serena RossiSerena moved to Ireland from her hometown of Bologna, Italy, in November 2003. She started travelling before she was even born as her mother did a lot of travelling when she was pregnant with her. Since then she has continued travelling around the world and has paid visits to France, Morocco, Finland and even the US of A. Her next city break will be in Prague, while once she gets the chance she will be flying across the Atlantic Ocean to Argentina.
Rita PappacodaMs Rita Pappacoda is from the Amalfi Coast in Italy. As this is one of the most enchanting places on the planet, before she left for Irish shores she was on one eternal holiday. She has travelled around most of Italy along with other parts of Europe including Portugal and England. Her sights are set on destinations further afield and she is planning on going to Brazil next.
Hostelworld.com received the best e-Commerce Award and the overall ESAT BT Award at the 2002 Golden Spiders Internet Awards ceremony held in Dublin, Ireland.
Hostelworld.com was chosen for each award from over 1800 entries in twenty different categories. The judges, comprised of experts in online and technology businesses, praised Hostelworld for its combination of innovation, clarity, spectacular growth and its profitable business model.
Hostelworld.com founders Tom Kennedy and Ray Nolan have been awarded the Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Hostelworld.com has been voted one of the best sites in the E-business category in the World Summit Awards held in Dubai in October 2003. The awards recognise the best content producers on the web and Hostelworld.com has been selected for this award from over 800 websites worldwide.
Second Place - Deloitte Technology Fast 50 
UNICEF provides assistance to and works for long term improvement in the lives of children living in the world's poorest countries by supporting programmes aimed primarily at protecting children through immunisation, education, health and the long term eradication of poverty as well as emergency relief.
There aren’t too many corners of the world which haven’t been visited by Ray! Over the years he has managed to visit cities throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the US. A keen snowboarder, Ray’s trips are now centred around developing his rapidly improving skills on the slopes. His work with Hostelworld also presents him with the opportunity to travel and he will typically visit between 3 and 5 cities in any given month.
Niamh (seen here on the left) has travelled extensively in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US. She has lived and worked in Austria, Germany and Australia, with Sydney being her ‘home away from home’. During her time there she managed to set up the Hostelworld Aussie office in just 6 months! Working with Hostelworld gives her a great opportunity to travel and to research her next ‘dream destination’! Having just returned from a holiday in South Africa, Niamh’s next big trip will be to South America.
Lorraine epitomises the ‘eternal backpacker’. Before heading to Sydney to establish the Australian office, her travels consisted of trips to her local pub, the famed Rody Bolands pub in Rathmines, Dublin. Lorraine’s trip ‘down under’ has enabled her to travel the length and breadth of Australia and New Zealand. She has since developed a passion for adventure activities such as scuba diving, sailing, snorkelling, skiing and sky-diving. Once a traveller of the ‘wheely suitcase’ variety, Lorraine has now well and truly converted to backpacking.
A student exchange programme to France when she was 14 was when Catherine (seen here on the right) was first bitten by the travel bug. Since then she has lived and worked in the US and has visited New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Jacksonville and New Orleans during her time there. She also studied for six months in Paris and has visited several European countries the most recent of which was Greece but her lifetime ambition is to follow the Inca Trail in South America. Earlier this year she joined Lorraine in Hostelworld's Sydney office.
Elaine has completed extensive travel in North America, having visited both the east and west coasts of the US as well as Vancouver, Toronto and the Niagara Falls in Canada. She has also visited the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK. She is soon going to be visiting Italy - for the second time!
Ben enjoys doing stuff, and has been to such exotic locations as Holland, Greece, Sweden, the Canaries, Indonesia, Australia and, of course, Limerick. He highly recommends them all (even Limerick)!
Ciara escapes from Ireland whenever she gets the chance. Throughout university she has spent all of her summers in exotic locations such as Spain and Germany! Whilst studying in Innsbruck, Austria for a year she made sure she had the time to explore practically every surrounding country including Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Her stint working on a cruise ship around the Caribbean and Mexico after completing university fuelled her passion for travel even more and Ciara intends to explore the wilds of South America when the time is right.
Since Emily began college in 1998 she has always utilised her three month gap by moving away from her home town of Limerick, Ireland. Some of the countries she lived in during her college years include Greece and America. A big fan of snow, Emily has skied down the slopes of Switzerland, France and Austria and is fairly nifty at this stage! Having returned from a tour of the world nearly a year now, Emily’s next journey will be closer to home this time in the shape of Stockholm.
Erica has spent time living and working in the south of France, and Rhode Island in New York. She then spent a year studying in Madrid and travelled extensively throughout Spain. Erica has also visited Turkey, Portugal and Belgium, as well as New York and Boston in North America. Her most recent trips have taken her to Liverpool to see her favourite football team play, Paris and Italy. In the future she hopes to visit South Africa, Australia and Cuba.
JD, from Hostelworld’s computer programming team, has enjoyed trips around many European countries including Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Greece. Away from Europe, Dallas and Calgary in Canada have been his first ports of call in North America, although more are to follow. In the near future he hopes to make his way around Eastern Europe and maybe even China.
Sandra has travelled extensively throughout North America, making her way through Indiana, Ohio and Illinois to meet people she’d met on the internet! Not content with living in the USA, she lived in Canada for a year too. Sandra has also visited many European countries along with Thailand. She is presently studying for a diploma in Information Systems in Trinity College Dublin and has just returned from her second trip to Thailand.
Orla has always loved travelling - so much so that she chose to study it in college! In her younger years she travelled to a lot of ‘far flung’ destinations like Galway, Wales and England. She has also sunned herself in Majorca, Tenerife, France and Spain. More recently, Orla has enjoyed the sights of Prague, Chicago, New York and Nice. In the future, she plans to visit Croatia and Australia, among other places.
Irene started travelling eight years ago and since then has had a longing to explore! Her travels so far have taken her to the four corners of Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Before starting at Hostelworld, she just returned from a tour of Eastern Europe. Her passion lies in blending into new places and soaking up the atmosphere. Just recently back from New York, Irene is looking forward to her next adventure!
Elaine first caught the travel bug following a family holiday in Portugal. Since then she has done some travelling around Europe including England, Wales, France, Spain and Portugal. For the summer of 2003 she went further afield, working in San Diego for 3 months. Taking advantage of the fact that she was living on the west coast of America, she also managed to visit Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but most exciting of all was her journey south of the American border to Mexico. She plans to stay closer to home (Meath, Ireland) for her next trip which will be a short break in Paris.
When her encounter with travelling while she worked as an au-pair in France 8 years ago didn’t put her off travelling forever, Nell knew it was the start of a beautiful relationship! Since then she has travelled extensively through Europe, South-East Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. She has a ravenous appetite for the unknown and loves that feeling of never knowing what lies around the corner. Who knows where she’ll be off to next?
Shane is the sports nut of the bunch and is an avid hurler, golfer and squash player. His keen interest in sport brought him half way across the world in 2003 when he hopped on a plane and went Down Under for the Rugby World Cup. Taking advantage of the fact that he was in the Southern Hemisphere, he stopped in Thailand for a week of sunshine too. Always one to pick up new sports, he is soon to become an expert skier when he travels to Andorra to don a pair of skis and conquer the slopes of the Pyrenean country.
During her college years studying French and German, Yvonne began mapping out her path of discovery of other languages. It was during her year studying in Berlin that she grew a real zest for travelling and managed to visit many European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Her passion for travel was ignited further whilst working in the airline industry for over 3 years and visiting places such as India, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and New Zealand (among others). Over the years she has found the poorer countries to be richer in culture, and would love to one day visit Tibet.
Aislinn first got the travel bug when she spent two years in the Basque Country in Northern Spain. On her return she saved her pennies and headed off to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. She also spent time in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Since then she has made several visits to the America, visiting everywhere from Hawaii to Alabama! Next stop? Who knows…
Tom has centred his whole life around backpacking – he started at 17 with a European trip which progressed the following year to America and Asia, and then finally to Australia. After becoming so accustomed to living in hostels, he decided to build one in Dublin, Ireland. While researching the backpacker market in Ireland he met his Australian wife in a hostel in Dingle and together they proceeded to build Avalon House youth hostel. Tom travels extensively for Hostelworld and his travel plans for the future include Seoul and Sydney.
Carmel first got itchy feet when she left Ireland five years ago to visit friends in Germany. From there she went to Greece and the Netherlands where she worked long and hard to fund her backpacking trip around Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Australia! She is always looking forward to the next adventure and has recently returned from a 6-month tour of India and Sri Lanka.
Feargal has spent five years living and working in New York and has also worked in the UK and Germany. He has travelled extensively throughout the US and as well as visiting Tokyo, Sydney, Bermuda and the Caribbean. On his home continent he has been to Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, France and Portugal – not bad for someone who describes himself as the “laziest, most inactive and unexciting person in the company”. Oh and he doesn’t do any “skiing, snowboarding or any of that stuff either”.
Itziar is a native of the Basque country in Spain and has also visited both the Balearic and Canary Islands. She has spent three years living and working in London and has also visited Morocco, Finland, Belgium and Italy. Next up is a trip to South America.
Amy has spent a year in Australia where she travelled to all the major backpacking destinations. She has also travelled throughout much of Europe, spending a week or two in each place. Ideally she would like to live and work in a host of European cities to observe the culture and learn the various languages. She also hopes one day to travel further afield visiting the Americas and Asia. Africa is now off the list as she has just returned from a 3-week holiday in South Africa.
Yvonne has backpacked around Egypt and Thailand and has also explored Edinburgh, Paris, Lyon, Venice and Nice. She had her sights set on India as the next destination to explore but the arrival of her first born has curtailed this for now – well just until he is able to carry his own backpack and keep up with Mum and Dad!!!
Rob originally hails from the UK and moved to Dublin about three years ago. As a keen racing cyclist, he is part of a group which has travelled to the US and various locations in Europe in order to indulge their pastime. His next trip will take him to La Belle France where he will pedal his way through the Loire Valley.
Chadia has recently moved to Ireland from the south of France and has taken a real liking to her new home, in particular West Cork and Kerry. As a keen climber, she has hiked in the Pyrenees and the Alps as well as other areas throughout the south of France. She has also visited Spain, Switzerland and the UK and enjoyed a cruise to Tunisia.
Brian has travelled extensively through Europe, having visited everywhere from Turkey to Switzerland and Scotland to Portugal. He has also spent some time on the far side of the Atlantic, living on the east coast of America for a summer along with visiting Cuba.
Having first caught the travel bug after a school trip to Russia, Andrew has since travelled extensively around Europe, visiting Portugal, Italy, Germany, Israel and more. He also spent a summer slugging it away as a waiter on the Channel Island of Jersey. During his college years he went to America on three separate occasions, living in Boston and San Diego among other cities. Andrew has recently returned from a year and a half in Australia. During his time in the Southern Hemisphere he also made it to Thailand and the Cook Islands before returning home to Ireland. He hopes to go to South America next.
Having travelled to many European countries such as France, Spain, Portugal and Germany, along with one trip to America, Colm (pictured on the right) first discovered he wanted to do some long haul travelling after a two week trip to Greece one summer. His next trip was a year long break in Australia where he got to see everything but the west coast and Tasmania. From Oz he travelled to Thailand before getting back home to Ireland. Just back from a spot of island hopping around Croatia’s archipelago, his next trip away will be to Prague on a stag party!
Gráinne first got the urge to see the world when she was growing up. Different family holidays all over Ireland just gave her the travel bug! Her first opportunity to go further afield brought her to the UK. After that she managed to visit Spain, Greece, Germany and the Czech Republic. Past the European borders, she has lived, worked and travelled extensively around Australia and backpacked throughout Thailand and Malaysia. South Africa has been her latest destination and she is looking forward to planning her next adventure.
Nicole left her hometown of Hamburg, Germany in September 2002 to go to Ireland on a year’s work experience. She is a big fan of travelling and has graced many other European countries with her presence such as Italy, Spain and France. Of all the holidays she has been on, her highlight was a trip to the Dominican Republic which was ‘incredible’. Nicole has now made Dublin her home from home and is really enjoying her time in the Irish capital. Some countries she wishes to visit in the future include the USA and she hopes to continue working in the tourism or advertising industries.
Summer holidays spent with family in Germany are what gave Caren the urge to travel. Since then she has spent a year in France and has also travelled to Spain, Portugal, and Italy. She admits that North America is her absolute favourite destination and has spent time in New York, New Jersey and Dallas. She is currently planning a trip to the West Coast of America, hoping to visit LA and Las Vegas.
Linda moved to Dublin from European fashion capital Milan. She lived in Ireland previous to that, studying in Galway in the west of the country so has seen pretty much everything the Emerald Isle has to offer! She concluded her studying at the University of Sicily and once she was finished she packed her bags and explored mainland Europe, visiting Spain (where she worked for a few months) Holland, Denmark, Malta, France and more. In the near future she hopes to make her way around Central and South America, learning more about its various cultures on the way
Born and bred in Dublin, Rory first began travelling during his college years when he really spread his wings! Over his four years studying he ventured to USA, India, portions of Africa as well as Central and Eastern Europe. Now the proud father of two children, his travels to such far off destinations have been put on hold for a while so to compensate he now plays a wide range of sports such as golf, tennis and football.
Serena moved to Ireland from her hometown of Bologna, Italy, in November 2003. She started travelling before she was even born as her mother did a lot of travelling when she was pregnant with her. Since then she has continued travelling around the world and has paid visits to France, Morocco, Finland and even the US of A. Her next city break will be in Prague, while once she gets the chance she will be flying across the Atlantic Ocean to Argentina.
Ms Rita Pappacoda is from the Amalfi Coast in Italy. As this is one of the most enchanting places on the planet, before she left for Irish shores she was on one eternal holiday. She has travelled around most of Italy along with other parts of Europe including Portugal and England. Her sights are set on destinations further afield and she is planning on going to Brazil next.
