Based in Dublin

Katharine Prior

It's Nice To Meet You

My name is Katharine and I am a travel counsellor based in Dublin. I started my career in the travel industry in Belfast over 11 years ago working for an award-winning travel agency and am now based in the vibrant city of Dublin.

After university, I was really bitten by the travel bug. I embarked on a trip around the World which took me to South Africa, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Cook Islands and North America.

Working in the Travel Industry for over a decade has allowed me to travel extensively, from experiencing the luxurious Belmond Hiram Bingham train from Cusco to Machu Picchu, seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise and taking the Toy Train to Shimla in the Northern Himalayas. As well as sleeping in a floating tent over a lake in Koh Sok National Park in Thailand to staying in a beautiful over water villa in the Maldives. Most recently I embarked on a cruise to Alaska and travelled from Bangkok to Singapore on the luxurious Eastern & Oriental Express, amazing!

It’s hard to pick a favourite place as everywhere has something so different to offer. I love the variety that South Africa has to offer, from cities to beaches to winelands to safaris and more. South East Asia is another firm favourite, having travelled extensively around Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore. Having travelled all over Australia and New Zealand I can help you plan the trip of a lifetime to one, or both, of these incredible countries.

My considerable experience of First & Business Class airline products, luxury resorts and hotels, cruise lines and unique and tailormade luxury tours will help me put together your perfect travel experience, whatever the occasion.

As a professional Travel Counsellor it is my priority to make your travel plans as stress free and enjoyable as possible, from start to finish!

Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you soon!

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Contact Me

Whatever your holiday needs I'm here to help you, so simply give me a call or send me an email with your contact details on and I can get things started for you:

My Blog

I absolutely live and breathe travel and I love to write about my experiences! Please take a look through my posts - you might find your own holiday inspiration.

Family Luxury in Portugal

18 December 2019

I was lucky enough recently to be invited to Portugal to visit the Martinhal hotels & Resorts on the Algarve, Lisbon and Cascais. They pride themselves on providing luxury family holidays with each hotel designed with families in mind. The first two nights where spent at the Martinhal Sagres located within a protected natural park set back from a long stretch of beach – the setting is truly stunning with beautiful sunsets. This is not like any family resort I have been to before, oozing in elegance but the children love it! There is a huge variety of accommodation across the resort to suit every size of family, from hotel rooms to apartments to villas, there is something for everyone. The facilities here are great for families of all ages and you don’t need to leave the resort at all – if you don’t want to. There is a great play park, multiple swimming pools heated in the cooler seasons as well as a covered pool. There is even a supermarket onsite and they have all the boxes ticked for your every requirement. I loved how even the menu in the restaurants is split into categories and designed for children of all ages in mind. This resort is luxurious, the food and service here is excellent, and the children, and parents, are smiling – what more could you ask for! Next stop was a visit to the Martinhal Quinta Do Lago located in the famous Quinta Do Lago region of the Algarve. Very different from the last resort, this is an all villa resort, smaller in size, but in keeping with their ethos. The villas are all well equipped to provide a home from home each with a private swimming pool but there is a resort pool as well bustling with activity. Again, there is a fantastic supermarket on site and excellent kids club. Safety is a huge aspect across all properties with screens around the private pools and stair gates in the villas to name but a few. Onwards to Martinhal Chiado in Lisbon and this was a surprising property. An elegant city-centre family hotel with a supervised Kids Club open until late, this hotel makes city breaks with children so simple. The apartments are beautiful and very luxurious, I would love to go back with a group of friends, even though it’s designed with families in mind. They even have buggies available so that families don’t have to travel with their own, again they have thought of everything. The location was great, right in the heart of Lisbon, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Last, but not least, was a stay at the Martinhal Cascais 5 Star hotel and what a beautiful property it is. Very much a hotel but also with a selection of Villas, aiming to accommodate all families. The rooms are beautifully appointed with many rooms accommodating a family of 4 with pull-down beds for the children. Every little detail is thought of, with little robes and slippers for the kids so that everyone is included. There is a fantastic kids club at the resort and a huge beautiful swimming pool as well as a Spa and heated pool which allows children also. Like the other resorts there are on-site restaurants and the quality of the food is exceptional. All 4 properties are fantastic and I cannot recommend them enough for a luxury family hotel in Portugal. If you would like any further information or are interested in booking one of these hotels please feel free to get in touch.

Amazing Alaska

13 December 2018

I never had a huge inclination to visit Alaska let alone go on a cruise holiday probably because I feel the cold more than the average person and I don’t have great sea legs! Once I realised, I might see all sorts of sea life, never mind a glacier, I was sold! Our cruise departed from Seattle, a surprisingly amazing city, where it is well worth spending a few days exploring. From the iconic Space Needle, offering incredible views of the city and coastline below, to Chihuly Gardens, Pike Place Market and the many museums there really is something for everybody! Once we hit the Alaskan coast I was blown away by the incredible scenery and blue skies… this was not what I had pictured but I hadn’t really known what to expect. Our first port of call was Juneau, a pretty little port with quirky shops and bars and quite a significant craft beer scene. We embarked on a bicycle trip to Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau’s grandest attraction at about 13 miles long located in the Mendenhall Valley, a real visual treat! After such an adventurous afternoon it would have been rude not to sample some of the local brew. Most Alaska cruises will have a scenic sailing day, our sailing took us to the well-known ‘Glacier Bay’ in the southeast of the Inside passage. I can’t begin to describe the excitement buzzing through the ship as we entered the bay. The water was eerily still as the ship navigated through the huge chunks of floating ice to get close to the largest glacier, Margerie, which looks like a huge river of ice pouring down from the valley above. The captain opened the bow of the ship so that we could get closer and slowly rotated the ship. We stayed there for hours simply looking and listening, every so often you could hear the crunch of ice separate from the glacier and thunder into the water below. It was simply amazing! Although I wasn’t lucky enough to see any it is not uncommon to spot humpback whales in Glacier Bay. Along with Glacier Bay, my highlight of the trip was an ocean raft trip to explore the rugged volcanic coastline from Sitka. This was a real eco-adventure. Within half an hour we were spotting playful sea otters, sea lions, puffins and Bald-headed eagles – I was in wildlife heaven! Having already felt like my trip was complete, to top it all off, we had the company of humpback whales as we headed back to shore. To be so close to such massive amazing mammals was just surreal and I was completely overwhelmed. Top tip – book any trip like this for the morning when wildlife is at its most active. To experience the beautiful scenery of Alaska from the water and on land was quite a trip. The stunning surroundings along with the high level of comfort offered on a cruise, with fantastic food and entertainment, was quite an adventure. One that I would recommend to anyone. If you fancy making a trip like this a reality please get in touch, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Golden Triangle and the Toy Train

13 December 2018

I’ve always loved Indian food and I always wanted to see the Taj mahal. That was enough to make me want to travel to India, but obviously, there is so much more to this amazing and colourful country. Arriving in Delhi is mad! It is quite a culture shock but doesn’t take long to realise that the locals have such friendly and warm personalities and suddenly the city doesn’t seem so daunting. I loved Delhi! For me, the most exciting part of the day was travelling on a rickshaw in Old Delhi through the narrow winding streets with hundreds of electrical cables hanging down above, like nothing I had ever seen. The funniest experience – being approached by locals asking for a photograph, of me, with them. Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, was next. Even the drive to reach Agra was interesting. How the locals travel with 20 odd people to one vehicle was amusing and the waves and beaming smiles received along the way was heart-warming. Everyone will have seen photographs of the Taj Mahal but seeing it in person is truly something special. It is just the most amazing and beautiful thing created by man to stand in front of and I was in awe! I was lucky enough to visit the Taj Mahal at both sunset and sunrise and would recommend anyone visiting the Taj Mahal to do the same. It was only after being approached by family after family for photographs that I learnt from my guide that I’d be hanging on walls all over India in no time. Next, and last, stop of the ‘Golden Triangle’ was Jaipur, the capital and largest city of Rajasthan. We stopped at Amer Fort just outside Jaipur, another amazing fort set high on a hill, surrounded on one side by a lake and mountains on the other. The setting, and scenery, is amazing! I wouldn’t say I am a history fanatic, but India’s history is fascinating. Jaipur is also known as the Pink City because of the colour of the Palace of Winds and what a beautiful palace it is. The next part of my trip I was most excited about from the start. The famous Toy Train to Shimla in the Northern Himalayas! The Toy Train is a narrow-gauge train that travels at a leisurely pace (approximately 11 miles per hour) and it is like travelling back in time. I took the Toy train from Kalka to Shimla however it is better to board the train in Chandigarh to cut out some of the journey without missing out on the dramatic views of the hills and surrounding villages or the many tunnels and bridges along the route. It is truly amazing to experience the gradual climb as the train crawls uphill into the Himalayas leaving Delhi far behind. If you are interested in India for your next adventure, I’d be delighted to hear from you!

Maldives - 100 shades of Blue

14 January 2020

My expectation of the Maldives was an ultimate paradise and it didn’t disappoint. Arriving into the Maldives really wets the appetite for what lies ahead. A window seat is a must to catch the first glimpse of the tiny atolls below that make up this picture postcard paradise destination. I was lucky to spend three weeks experiencing what the Maldives has to offer. Our first destination was the Amari Havodda - so far south and secluded that it took a domestic flight and speedboat to get to, but it was well worth it. I easily took 50 photographs on the way. This little island, that you could walk round in less than 20 minutes, felt untouched and a million miles from anywhere. It was impossible not to be in awe of the beautiful surroundings. We stayed in a beach villa and felt like the whole beach was ours alone. The sand was so white and the crystal-clear sea so enticing that we didn’t even dip a toe into the beautiful infinity edge pool. I never wanted to leave. Our next atoll was almost as far south as the last and couldn’t be more different, who knew! The Six Senses Laamu is barefoot luxury – literally, and I fully embraced the ‘no shoes’ concept for the 5 days that we spent here. This atoll was much larger than the last and the way to get around – bicycle! This place felt like a jungle paradise and the many beaches surrounding it wild and exotic. The overwater villa we stayed in was amazing, from the glass bath in the outdoor bathroom to the upstairs sun deck and main sun terrace it was complete understated luxury. The snorkelling here was fantastic – our first venture out was in search of turtles in the seagrass that grows between two of the water villa jetties. We only saw the turtle, but it was huge! Our second snorkelling adventure was with the marine biologist on the house reef, our expectations where exceeded when she pointed out a family of four Manta rays gracefully circling below us where, to our delight, they happily stayed and so did we. Onwards to the Huvafen Fushi, a luxury resort on an island much smaller in size but just as beautiful. The absolute highlight of my stay here was seeing the Stingrays every evening as they came close to shore for feeding by the marine biologist. A surreal and once in a lifetime experience to wade in the water surrounded by these beautiful, tame and graceful creatures. The fantastic house reef here also attracts reef sharks which makes for an exciting snorkel or dive trip! I have never seen so many shades of blue or so many amazing sunsets, this truly is a place of paradise and a destination that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime! If the Maldives appeals to you and you would like more information, please get in touch!

My customer stories

Sent by John G

Katharine was great. It was so easy, no complications, and very professional one to one excellent service!

Sent by Patricia B

I have never had anything but first-class service and would recommend Katharine to anyone. She has been our travel agent for many years, knows my preferences, and does her utmost to find the best itinerary possible, no matter where I hope to go. I can’t praise her highly enough.

Sent by Mary L

Outstanding service! Katharine has been so helpful, patient, and friendly at all times.

Sent by Kathy Reynolds

Katharine has been really friendly and helpful in organising my trip. She has taken the time to look into various itineraries for me and managed to put together a fantastic itinerary for a trip that I am excited to take!

Sent by Danielle Morgan

Fabulous service. Quick and efficient. Katharine provided me with impressive options very quickly. I'd highly recommend Katharine and will be booking with her again.

Sent by R Hogan

Always consistent and excellent service from Katharine. She is always open to changes and gets the right travel options we need when we plan our travel.

Sent by Emma McCaughey

Katharine has planned and booked my holidays for numerous years. Her planning and consideration of my holiday, is always of the highest standard. The professional service received its second to none. I wouldn’t consider booking with any other travel operator.

Sent by Mark Adrain

Excellent, well informed, assuring and very quick response.

Sent by S Byrne

10 is not a high enough number to rate Katharine's service, 100% is better. I have spoken to a lot of my friends and rated her service as PERFECT.

Sent by K Anjorin

Katharine was fantastic in organising a very last minute river cruise in New York for myself and two others and even went so far as linking our booking with other friends who were already booked on the same cruise so we would be sat together whilst dining. And when the tour operator cancelled the cruise the day before it was due to take place Katharine went above and beyond and called me in New York to inform me and advise about refunds. I really appreciated the personal touch and friendliness Katharine showed in all my interactions with her. I will definitely book again with Katharine and highly recommend her to friends and family. She is an asset to Travel Counsellors!

Sent by Aine O'Murchu

Katharine was extremely helpful throughout my time organising my holiday. In particular, I had to change my destination and Katharine made me feel very relaxed about having to make this change. If a friend was looking for a travel agent to go through when booking a holiday I would have no hesitation in suggesting Katharine.

Sent by Stella Rosborough

Katharine was fantastic, nothing was a hassle for her and she has personalised the trip to our needs . It's going to be an amazing trip.