Our Story
Play videoRural Adventure Tours is an award-winning family-owned tour business based in the heartlands of Ireland.
Started by husband and wife, Marcus and Julie Magee, the seed of Rural Adventure was planted when Marcus, who grew up in rural Ireland headed off on his many years traveling around the world. Here he found his love of meeting new and different people and sharing extraordinary experiences. As he returned home, he set about developing the vision of a company that could marry the spirit he felt on the road, with his love of Ireland, its music and beautiful outdoors. In 2015 Rural Adventure Tours was formed when Julie, whom he met travelling, returned to Ireland with him to start a family.
We loved this sort of personal connection when we travelled across the globe ourselves. Seeing the main tourist destinations was always a priority, but it was in meeting the locals, getting an in-depth insight into the culture, and sharing rare and uncommon experiences that our hearts were especially filled with connection and treasured memories.
RURAL ADVENTURE FARM
One experience that sets Rural Adventure Tours apart is that all groups are invited to their family home and farm for a night of music and food. Our focus is always on giving you, our guest, the most authentic and personal Irish cultural travel experience imaginable.
Find out moreOUR VALUES
- Real connection to the authentic Ireland
- Creating lifetime experiences for all our guests
- Supporting our local suppliers and rural communities
- Eco-friendly and sustainable ethos
Furthermore, we have added measures to offset our travel impact on the planet:
- Part of your tour is to plant a tree on the Rural Adventure Farm.
- 5% of our profits go to renewable energy projects
- Reusable water bottles are supplied to all our guests
- Rural Adventure Tours have protected 8 acres of native forestry on their farm and plan to plant another 15 acres of native forestry in 2022 to offset their future carbon footprint.
OUR MISSION
Being a leading small-group adventure tour operator, dedicated to connecting travellers with an authentic Ireland and creating lifelong memories, while giving back to our local economy in a sustainable way.
Meet the owners
Marcus is most happy when he is jamming in a music session, chatting over a pint of Guinness or submerged in the great outdoors. He is on the Ireland’s government tourism body (Fáilte Ireland) steering group for Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, a former board member of Ireland’s Association for Adventure Tourism and is also on the Cavan County Tourism Steering group. He is a keen mountaineer, kayaker and is known to sing a lot when on activity.
He is also passionate about Renewable Energy and is involved in wind energy projects in Ireland.
Julie is originally from Denmark but fits right in, as she can sing more Irish songs than most people. She is responsible for the background work and managing of Rural Adventure Tours. Julie loves all things outdoors, especially hiking, climbing and getting her hands muddy in her garden or pottery shed.
We met on a scuba diving course in South East Asia in 2007. Now, over a decade and three kids later, we’ve built our haven back in Cavan, on the Rural Adventure Farm, providing tours, which offer our guests the kind of experiences we both treasure most in traveling and living.