Coastal Guiding, (6N20280 – QQI Level 6 Special Purpose Award), is aimed at people who are passionate about their environment and exploring its coastal landscape, heritage, culture and ecology with an enthusiasm for getting outdoors and sharing this with others.
The course is located in An Corrán, Achill, in the heart of the Gaeltacht, along the Wild Atlantic Way and beside the Great Western Greenway. Achill is an ideal location for this course, it offers an unrivalled diversity of ecosystems, habitats and cultures to explore and learn about. It has a rich maritime culture and heritage, spectacular mountains, beaches, blue ways with regular sightings of cetaceans, basking sharks, seals. Achill has a well-established tourism industry, with a particular focus on ecotourism, flora, fauna and the outdoors.
As part of the course, we also visit heritage, cultural, ecological and archeological sites in other parts of County Mayo and beyond for field trips, training and guiding opportunities.
Participants can also apply to the Erasmus Programme to travel abroad: accommodation, travel and living expenses covered.
A work placement in a related field is an integral part of the programme.
This is a one year full time course and runs from September to June
This course will provide you with the relevant knowledge, skills and competencies to provide a variety of guiding experiences to visitors in a safe and professional manner in accordance with relevant statutory guidelines.
This Course meets the criteria to be included in the Fáilte Ireland Industry Qualified Tour Guide Directory and the Regional Tour Guide Badge (yellow) is issued to you on successful completion of the course.
You will be ideally placed to source employment or self-employment in several guiding and responsible tourism related sectors.
Edel
“I absolutely love this course. Both the Coastal and National Tour Guiding courses provide a wealth of information into ecology, geology, archaeology, history, culture, folklore and much more. A mix of in classroom and outdoor activities, field trips, hikes, and guiding skills, provides a varied learning experience and opens the mind to future employment options.”
There are no fees to study this course.
6N20229 – Irish Tour Guiding
6N20257 Coastal and Maritime Ecosystems and Culture
In addition to qualifying as a Coastal Guide, you can gain additional accreditation and skills in other related areas:
This course will include classroom-based learning, online learning, as well as regular field trips, site visits, guest speakers and workshops from regulatory bodies, local Agencies/Service providers, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Wild Nephin National Park as well as relevant tour operators and industry experts.