When I mentioned the tour guides I was talking about individual tour guides who take you out for a day or a few hours and then back to your base. Check this website: http://www.nitga.co.uk/ You can contact the tour guides who interest you for pricing.
My 2 sisters and I plan to visit Northern Ireland in the spring. We are seniors aged 75 to 80. Mobile but with some limitations. We do not want to drive ourselves or take tours of any kind as we do not want to be forced into other people's schedules. Is the cost of hiring a private tour guide prohibitive? Is it practical to headquarter in possibly Derry in a B&B, holiday cottage or short term apartment and hire a day driver. Would one day excursions be practical for seeing most of the area or are they too far apart to return to a headquarter location every night? Thank you.
If you are looking for a chauffeur-driven car it is going to cost 200-300 euro per day and up, depending on who you choose. You can hire taxis to take you on day trips and agree on a fixed price in advance. Whether it is practical to base in Derry depends on what you want to see and do from there. Do you have a connection to Derry?
There are some tour guides that custom make a tour just for you. That means no other tourists along for the ride. You set the schedule, etc.
Here is another possible source for you. Terry Flynn Tours has been in the Ireland travel business for 48 years and they have a chauffeur driven option for the two of you. They do customized tours and have a U.S. office based in Minnesota that you can call with your questions about cost etc. 1-800-678-7848 You can also visit their web site.
www.terryflynntours.com
We have always driven ourselves while in Ireland, but would love to do it your way. Hope you can work it out.