This year, I celebrate 46 years in the Travel business and 17 as a Personal Travel Counsellor. Over the years I have availed of wonderful travel opportunities which have helped me put together amazing, special itineraries for my clients.
I specialise in bespoke holidays for those coming up to or recently retired. I think the new acronym for this group is ‘SKI’ - ‘Spending the Kids Inheritance’! Everyone nowadays has their ‘bucket list’ and once the kids have finished College and left home, it is time to start putting a few ticks on it.
Many of you, like me, will probably have children living in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Isn’t that a great excuse to travel? I have been to all three places visiting my children and have put together fantastic itineraries for myself and my husband and would be only too delighted to help you ‘kill two birds with one stone’ and plan a fabulous holiday and visit your kids at the same time.
Of course, you don’t have to have children living in these far-flung destinations in order to travel. Fabulous bucket list holidays include Vietnam combined with Cambodia, Alaska cruise combined with either a self-drive or train ride through the Canadian Rockies or a South America tour taking in several countries if you wish. Just contact me for a chat and we can get the ball rolling.
Honeymoons and special anniversary holidays continue to be a large part of my business and when booking that ‘special’ holiday, you do not want to leave anything to chance. Travel Counsellors are licensed and bonded here in Ireland with the Irish Aviation Authority, licence No TA 621 and so your money is completely safe. Furthermore, my years of experience are an invaluable asset and the fact that all my business comes from referrals is testament to the high level of customer satisfaction I receive. I take great pride in matching the right holiday with the right person.
So, if you are planning that special, once in a lifetime holiday, why not give me a call. As I work from home, I am not restricted to the 9-5 working day and can chat in the evenings when you have more time to talk. If you would prefer a face to face meeting, that can also be arranged, and I would be happy to meet you in the evenings or at weekends at a place suitable to you and together we can plan your special holiday.
Travel – tailor made for you, with care.
My customer stories
Sent by Eleanor Ruddy
Dublin 04/05/2023
As usual Mary came up with a trip that was tailored perfectly to our needs. We were celebrating a big anniversary and after a few false starts she managed to get us on a magnificent two week tour to Japan. Our guide was excellent and went well beyond the trip suggestions and was helpful to the extreme. Our hotels were central in cities and staying at Ryokans in the smaller towns gave us the authentic sleeping/ eating and onsen experiences. We have taken many trips using Mary’s guidance and have been happy to recommend her unreservedly to family and friends.
Eleanor
Sent by Paula Cahill
Galway 24/06/2022
The minute I spoke with Mary I was confident that she knew exactly what we were looking for and that she had the expertise to give us the advice we needed. Previous to speaking with Mary, I was all confused about options/flights/ accommodation and each time I opened the computer it got more expensive. Mary gave great advice and I felt we got great value. Thanks Mary.
Sent by Glenn McCarthy
Cork 13/02/2022
As a family planning a significant holiday we found Mary's advice, speed of reply and assistance with our ever-changing requests an absolute dream to deal with. We simply didn’t have the time or patience to review all the online options, booking times, transfers etc., and Mary guided us through this effortlessly. We would highly recommend her services.
Sent by Sheila Devitt
Cork 11/02/2022
Mary is always professional. She is friendly & available to answer any questions. It is always a pleasure planning a trip with Mary’s help. I trust her judgement completely.
Sent by Caroline Callanan
Cork 11/02/2022
I have over the years recommended Mary Foyle to so many of my friends and family. She is the ultimate professional who always has time for any query or customer. A pleasure to deal with and her organisation of any trip I have undertaken has been just amazing.
Sent by Clare Carroll
Meath 11/02/2022
Mary was a pleasure to deal with. She made booking our honeymoon totally stress free, listened to what we wanted and gave us plenty of options to choose from. Mary was very quick at getting back to us and excellent at communication. We would highly recommend Mary for booking any holiday through and definitely plan on using her services in the future. Thanks again for everything Mary! Clare & Tadhg.
Sent by Joan Coppinger
Cork 11/02/2022
Highly professional service. Everything explained simply and thoroughly. Installed the myTC app as advised-full itinerary etc available to view. No stress involved when making plans for trip. Contacting Mary was a smart move. Personal requests seen after, and advice given on all matters related to travel. Mary has done the hard work and I am feeling reassured and content..I highly recommend Mary Foyle as your Travel Counsellor.
Sent by Patrick Silke
Cork 16/10/2019
I couldn’t recommend using Mary Foyle and Travel Counsellors any higher. I have booked two separate bucket list trips through Mary - one to South America and more recently to climb Kilimanjaro in September of this year which finished off with a safari in the Serengeti. We’d looked at planning the trip ourselves but with everyone working it was difficult to find the time and to organise everyone’s flights from different cities etc. Mary made it all so simple and bang on the budget we’d hoped for. The app made payment simple for everyone also. 10/10
Sent by Margaret Dewhurst
10/11/2018
Mary, Peter and I want to thank you so much for organising our wonderful holiday and every minute of it was so enjoyable. Your dedication, listening skills, organisation, open to suggestions, help when wanting to change things and prompt replies, gave us great security and a memorable holiday of a lifetime. Thank you.
Sent by Joan Dinneen
Macroom, Co. Cork. 02/10/2017
With my husband we booked our first cruise with Mary. She was professional, efficient and planned our trip perfectly to make it a very memorable holiday. She was always on the other side of the phone to answer any queries for us. Mary was also on the phone to me on a Sunday night when our flights were cancelled and I couldn't get any information at the airport. I would recommend Mary to assist in holiday planning that will be tailor made for you.
Sent by Marie Jolly
Carrigaline, Co. Cork 02/10/2017
Mary I will always be grateful to my sister's friend Ger for recommending you to me. You are always a pleasure to deal with. So pleasant, helpful, extremely efficient. I actually feel safe when I travel through you. As I know should anything go wrong (which has actually happened as you may remember) you are only a phone call away. I can feel/see you "talking with a smile". Continued success Mary and I wouldn't have any hesitation in recommending you.
Sent by Denise Moynihan
Cork 02/05/2017
Mary was recommended to me by a friend who had previously booked holidays with her, and I’m delighted that she was! Mary was so helpful in planning our recent 2 week trip to Sri Lanka. She made the trip completely hassle free. Six of us travelled together and Mary listened to our requests and budgets and took them into consideration. We stayed in some lovely hotels around the country. We had an extremely modern van and very knowledgeable driver. It was great piece of mind having the stress of organising a holiday completely taken out of our hands. As mentioned we were a group of 6, but I could see why couples or smaller groups would also use Mary's services. This was our first time travelling with Mary's services, and certainly not our last! I have no hesitation in recommending her expertise to anybody.
Sent by Emma Scanlon
Dublin 8 15/04/2017
Mary literally "came to the rescue" when another trip we had booked through another company fell apart at the last minute. In three days Mary had come up with a range of itineraries and we ended up with the most perfect, luxurious holiday in Phuket, Thailand a few days later. For hassle free travelling in beautiful places, with a personal touch (e.g. travel documents arriving in the post in a handy document wallet), I couldn't recommend Mary more highly.
Sent by Anne Travers
Cork 08/04/2017
We like to book our special holidays with Mary, she is such a professional! Mary has vast experience and always comes up with great suggestions if one is not too sure what they want. She has endless patients when one keeps changing their mind. We have never been disappointed with anything Mary has booked for us and we are really looking forward to our latest adventure to South Africa... will let you know how it goes. Thank you Mary for all your help and hard work.
Sent by Anne O'Neill
Dublin Ireland 07/04/2017
Mary has organised several holidays for a group of 4 of us on a number of occasions. We have always received exceptional service from Mary and will continue to book our holidays through her in the future. It is of huge comfort to us that Mary is always available to us should we need her services while on holiday. We all would recommend booking with her very highly.
Sent by Oliver Kennelly
Ennis Co.Clare 07/05/2016
Thank you for all your help and patience in organising our Asia trip. An absolute professional in dealing with the four of us, getting everybody’s wish list on the trip organised and at the same time keeping everyone happy.
It was only as we expected because the recommendation of your ability to organise given to me by my sister Kathleen was second to none.
Sent by Geoffrey Hayes
Cork 16/10/2015
For the past 6 years I have booked my long haul trips with Mary Foyle of Travel Counsellors. My trips consisted of Australia (Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin Melbourne & Sydney) and also Thailand, Malaysia & Laos. I have found Mary to be extremely efficient and professional and offers very competitive value for the services rendered. I have never had any hitch whatsoever and it has been of great reassurance to know that she is there if I ever needed her help. Any tours she recommended and organised for me were excellent and really enjoyable.
Sent by Sally O'Driscoll
Dublin 14/10/2015
Great service as always from Mary Foyle at Travel Counsellors. Service is so good that I recommend Mary Foyle to all my friends and family. Mary is not related to me & I can assure you she gives a first class service.
Sent by Kevin O'Keeffe
Cork 10/10/2015
Thank you for arranging my recent trip to Bali .
Caroline and I had given you an outline of what we were looking for and you turned our trip into a "WOW" in 3 different locations in Bali.
Each location had a different theme and couldn't have been better for us.
All of our travel arrangements, by air, land and sea worked seamlessly allowing us to enjoy every moment of our trip.
Thanks again Mary.
Sent by Anne O'Neill
Dublin 09/10/2015
Over a number of years and following a recommendation from a colleague, we have been using Mary Foyle as our Travel Counsellor. Mary now has a really good insight into what our preferences and requirements are and uses that knowledge to tailor holidays/trips for us. Mary delivers every time! We will certainly be using her services in the future.
Sent by Anne Hegarty
Cork 09/10/2015
As a group of girlfriends planning to organise a 'birthday' holiday trip, Mary was personally recommended as someone we should work with. Mary has a wealth of experience in the travel industry and so we trusted her judgement and handed everything over to her. She has handled a variety of requests from us including an unexpected change of date and negotiated some fantastic deals for us so we didn't have to do a single thing - only pay the money of course!! I would have no hesitation in recommending Mary to you too.
Sent by Catherine O Neill
Bishopstown Cork 09/10/2015
Paddy and myself asked you to organise our holiday in Australia this year. It was a great decision on our part. We had such a wonderful time from start to finish. The flights, the hotels, car hire and transfers were all in place for us and it made our holiday stress free and allowed us to enjoy our time there without the hassle of bookings, phone calls and looking for available Wi-Fi. Thank you Mary for choosing lovely hotels for us to stay in but in particular we really appreciated your time, care and attention to detail while dealing with us. We would highly recommend you to anybody undertaking a holiday big or small.
Sent by Dan Cronin
Cork 07/10/2014
I have been using the services of Mary Foyle Travel Counsellor for the past 6 years and I can safely say that I would not change. From the outset Mary comes up with great recommendations to suit my travel needs and from there the booking process could not be more simpler. Mary has consistently ensured that our holiday and travel plans have been top quality. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Mary to my friends, family and contacts.
Sent by Patricia Carey
Cork 24/04/2014
My husband & I have been using Mary's services in Travel Counsellors for many years and they have never failed to impress us. Mary has an incredible wealth of information on all aspects of travel and her valued 'tips' have made our travelling to far-flung and exotic places very pleasant and added to our enjoyment. Our most recent trip to Dubai excelled. Her recommendations regarding hotel and travel were just wonderful.
We highly recommend Mary Foyle and assure that once you indicate to her what your wishes and budgets are, that she will arrange a super holiday.
I can't wait for my next trip!
Sent by Blaithin Quinlan
Dublin 22/04/2014
Mary has been so helpful from our very first conversation. She has organised all aspects of our holiday taking away any worries around doing it ourselves, leaving us to look forward to our holidays.
Sent by Adrian Butson
Cork 19/04/2014
Mary sourced our long-haul flights so we could attend a wedding in Australia. We got dates that suited us, easy stopovers and great value. Mary gave us great advice on accommodation and other activities in the area. The details provided with our itinerary made our trip very easy and more relaxing.
Sent by Finbarr Twomey
Cork 17/04/2014
I have been dealing with Mary for several years and she had handled requests from sun holidays to city type holidays in both Europe and America. On all occasions she has provided a most professional and very knowledgeable service in respect of the areas visited.
Mary's experience in the travel business is very reassuring and has proved very beneficial when planning trips where multi connections are involved, so I would have no hesitation in recommending Mary as a person to contact to deal with your personal travel arrangements in a very competent manner.
Sent by Mary Day
Cork 14/04/2014
Mary Foyle Travel Counsellor is an excellent resource from start to finish in planning and identifying holidays for you and putting together a package to meet individual or group’s needs. Mary provided a range of prices and advice on planning trips, flights, accommodation, excursions etc.
Mary has vast experience and knowledge which she has developed over the years. I have booked both short and long holidays with Mary and in my experience, her professional services were exemplary. I was also impressed by the way the travel package tickets, visa etc were organised in time and delivered to you. No job is too big or too small. A strong recommendation!
Sent by Edmond Fitzgerald
Cork 23/07/2013
The best day for us was when we were told about Mary! So when it comes to planning one of our bucket wishes the only person we could rely on to do the job competently and to our satisfaction was Mary. We had the most wonderful trip on the Rocky Mountaineer through the Canadian Rockies. Then a week in Vancouver and everything went perfectly never a worry. Another triumph for Mary.
Sent by Billy Harty
Limerick 17/06/2013
We booked our honeymoon with Mary in June 2013. We were very impressed with Mary's professionalism from the very start. Her experience and know how made her very well equipped to cater for whatever holiday we had in mind. From start to finish, the holiday was perfect. Every tiny detail was looked after in terms of transfers, baggage, etc. I would recommend Mary to anybody.
Sent by Eugene & Carmel Lucey
Castleknock, Dublin 09/06/2013
We were delighted with the holiday to Alaska/Vancouver drawn up by Mary. Flights at reasonable hours, centrally located hotels and an excellent cruise. We were very impressed by the timely service provided at all times - confirmation of bookings, processing of payments, provision of tickets ,etc. We have never met Mary as we live in Dublin but this didn't impact in any way on the excellent service provided.
Sent by Jacinta Cussen
Limerick 03/06/2013
We cannot thank Mary enough for organising a truly unforgettable holiday. From Beijing to Xi'An on to Shaghai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Halong Bay,Hoi An & on to Ho Chi Minh. It was a holiday of a lifetime. I will be recommending the service to my friends. From start to finish it was a dream holiday. Fantastic service.
Sent by Kenneth and Samantha Aherne
Cork 27/05/2013
Over our 3 week honeymoon we took 3 flights, drove 100's of miles and stayed in a variey of hotels, lodges and B&B's, all perfectly suited to us and our over enthusiastic plans. This was secured with ease by Mary who would take our calls/emails night and day, providing clear and expert advice along with hints and tips from her own travels. The fact that we are booking our next holiday with her basically speaks for itself, great service and a friendly attitude will always work for us. Thanks again Mary
Sent by Mortimer O'Connor
Blarney 27/05/2013
My wife and I used Mary for our honeymoon. She was recommended to us by a friend who used her service. We can only say fantastic things from start to finish. Planning was top class and follow up afterwards was something we never experienced before. Mary was always at the end of a telephone if we needed her but we never did as the planning was so top class. We will be using Mary for years to come.
Sent by Hugh Collins
Cork 24/05/2013
My wife and I have been dealing with Mary for the past few years. Mary has organised and managed fly/drive holidays for us in Canada, from Vancouver down the US West Coast to San Fransisco,to the Southern States of the US taking in the US Masters, to the French speaking region of Eastern Canada. Her knowledge of airline options, hotels, car rentals etc. has proven invaluable to us.
Sent by Michele Johnson
Cork 24/05/2013
Mary suggested a number of options for a summer holiday break for me, my husband and teenage daughter. She had a lot of information on each location and was very knowledgeable about activities etc. and their suitability for us. As a result we are really looking forward to our summer holiday in Dubrovnik which Mary has arranged for us very efficiently and as always with a smile!!!!
Sent by Benjamin Martin
Ireland 24/05/2013
I have now used Mary's services on a number of occasions including one trip for my honeymoon to South Africa and also my a flight back to visit family in Australia. I cannot speak highly enough about the service that Mary provides. Nothing is too much hassle and she is always so prompt to respond to any enquiry (even at the oddest times of the night!)
Sent by Aileen Sheehan
Galway 24/05/2013
I've been dealing with Mary for years. Almost every time I leave the country Mary books it for me. She did a Zero birthday trip for me and nine others to Vietnam which was fab. She books ski trips for me as a family and girl holidays matching costs, hotels, and locations to people involved. She provides a fantastic service . I recommend her to all my friends. She goes the extra mile.
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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.
I was so lucky and felt so privileged to have been invited to experience a 5 star, ultra luxury cruise onboard the Silver Spirit. The ship, recently renovated, is the largest in the Silversea fleet and holds just over 600 passengers and has a crew of just over 400. Our cruise commenced in Athens and visited the Greek islands and mainland before heading to Montenegro and finishing in Dubrovnik, C
Over the past few years, I have noticed a marked increase in the number of people asking me to design holidays for them to New Zealand. This magnificent country is high on everybody’s bucket list but generally speaking, when people approach me, they are thinking of the South Island – mountains, lakes, fjords, glaciers, adventure sports – so much to do and the scenery is incredible. On my recent
I had a fabulous trip to Canada back in 2018 and was so lucky to have experienced the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Banff. This year I decided to revisit and see the country from another perspective - a self-drive tour. I also had the added incentive to go as our son, Kevin who moved there just over a year ago.
We flew into Vancouver and spent the first 4 nights there. We did all the ‘touri
Another tick on the bucket list! I have just returned from a fantastic trip starting in Vancouver and journeying through the Rockies on the iconic ‘Rocky Mountaineer’ followed by 2 nights in magical Banff before finishing off with a night in Calgary.
We arrived to glorious sunshine on Sunday afternoon and checked into the lovely Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Vancouver. We took it easy that e
What magnificent scenery! Think Kerry but with bigger mountains, bigger forests and bigger lakes – New Zealand far exceeded my expectations.
We arrived into Christchurch in late November to visit our daughter who has been living there for the past few years. After a welcome barbecue to meet Eileen’s friends, we headed off on a whistle stop tour of the South Island.
First stop was Nelson,
Sri Lanka – another tick on my bucket list!
In October 2017, I was lucky to experience an amazing trip to Sri Lanka hosted by Turkish Airlines and our superb local agent Columbus Tours. Like so many other countries in Asia, Sri Lanka has it all – history, culture, beaches, wildlife, weather and lovely people.
Sri Lanka is basically a year round destination with 2 monsoon seasons – the sou
This year our annual ‘girls’ city break took us to Lisbon. At this stage we have narrowed down our criteria – warm weather, good value, interesting sights and a good choice of bars and restaurants.
Lisbon is known as the City of the Seven Hills and is twinned with San Francisco. They both still have the old-fashioned tramcars and the 25th April Bridge spanning the River Tagus resembles the Go
South Africa is definitely the ‘in’ place at the moment. With the fabulous exchange rate of euro v rand and the extra flight availability, it is now one of the best value destinations to visit. And yes – it has everything - beaches, scenery, wildlife, great food and wine and fabulous accommodation.
I spent 2 wonderful weeks there from the end of November to mid-December. The weather was magn
I just knew I was going to love Argentina! I love the fact that it is Spanish speaking. I love the variety it offers – the sophisticated capital city of Buenos Aires, the majestic glacier region at el Calafate in Patagonia, fabulous Bariloche the ‘little Switzerland’ of Argentina, superb wines from the Mendoza region and the thundering Iguazu Falls in the north of the country on the Brazilian bo
I have just returned from a fabulous trip to South Vietnam and the Central Coast; it was my first time to visit Vietnam and it won’t be my last. Vietnam is a long very narrow country - over 2000 miles in length but in parts of the Central Coast, only 25 miles wide. Due to its size, each area has a totally different climate and it is so important when planning a trip, to visit the right part at the
A trip to Cambodia has long been on my hit list and I finally managed to combine it with a trip to Thailand in October 2011.
The first morning, my husband John had planned out our sightseeing. He hired a local taxi driver (tuk tuk driver really) and arranged that he would stay with us until we had seen everything we wanted to see. We set off and it was lovely and cool flying round in the tuk
I was very fortunate to win a place on a trip to Barbados with British Airways, Elegant Hotels and the Barbados Tourist Board. We flew business class with BA and stayed at three fabulous hotels in Barbados - Turtle Beach, Crystal Cove and the Tamarind.
Every day we were brought on the most fantastic excursions and I was amazed at how much there is to see and to do on Barbados. Here I will giv
What a holiday! We arrived into Kuala Lumpur Airport on 3rd Dec to catch our connecting flight to the island of Langkawi. We landed late in the evening and headed to our beautiful hotel The Danna. The hotel is small – only 125 rooms and consequently, the service was very personal and at all times we were greeted by name. There was a marina right beside the hotel with a collection of excellent
Last April, I headed to Dubai for a week with a friend of mine. I had seen a sharp rise in the number of enquiries for this destination and really had to see what it was all about. I couldn’t make up my mind whether to stay in Dubai ‘Downtown’ or out by the beach and so I solved the problem by splitting the holiday between 2 hotels.
We started off at the beach hotel ‘The One and Only Royal
Viva Las Vegas!
Our ‘Gold’ conference this year took place over 5 days in Las Vegas in June. I have to say that Las Vegas was never on my wish list, but I thought it was the most fantastic place and I can see why it is so popular with clients of all age groups.
We arrived on a Thursday and were transferred to our hotel in a stretch limousine. The strip was buzzing and we just sat back and
After years of pressure from our 4 children, we finally succumbed to their request for a holiday to Orlando. After careful consideration, we decided to include a few days sightseeing in New York at the beginning of the holiday and a Caribbean Cruise at the end of the trip for the purposes of relaxation. We made our plans early and announced them to the family at dinner on Christmas Day. It was
This year, the girls and I decided to return to Barcelona for our annual ‘catch-up’.
We flew out at the end of February and booked into the Hotel Catalonia Princesa – a 3 star central hotel. We arrived in the evening and as it was dark outside, we were directed along the main road by the reception staff to Las Ramblas, the centre of tourism in Barcelona. I was a bit worried as it seemed to t
We arrived at Orlando Airport late evening 1st July 2007. The first thing to hit us was the humidity as we made our way by taxi to our accommodation. We were all a bit tired what with the heat and the jet leg and we headed to bed determined to be fit and ready to tackle the theme parks the following day.
The next day we were up early and headed off to Universal Studios. I had purchased the Orl
It is quite a while since anyone asked me to quote for a holiday to Bali. It seems to have disappeared off the radar during the past few years. This was mainly due to the bombing at Kuta some years ago and also the fact that Irish citizens had to apply in advance for visas to enter Indonesia.
However, this changed recently and John (my husband) and I decided to head off in September. This w
Every year, myself and 3 buddies meet up for a short city break. Three of us live in Cork but Marie lives in Edinburgh and so the main reason for the weekend is to catch up on each others news. Our criteria is simple – good restaurants, a couple of decent pubs (not the loud disco variety) and some easy sightseeing.
In February 2007, we headed to Madrid for 3 nights. We all arrived at more or
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