Donegal English Language School (Donegal, Ireland)

ABOUT THE SURF CAMP

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LOCATION AND SURF CONDITIONS

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Bundoran, popularly known as Ireland’s Premier Seaside Resort and Surf Capital, is located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean along the Wild Atlantic Way. This is an ideal place to live, visit, or simply to relax. Bundoran and the surrounding area offers a wealth of activities and facilities to suit all tastes.

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CAMP OPERATOR

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Gina Witherow is the Director/Owner of Donegal English Language School (DELS). DELS has 33 years of expertise in providing language and activity holidays for students from all over the world.

Gina’s love for languages started at an early age when her Mother opened DELS in 1989. The buzz of meeting students of various European nationalities throughout her childhood was an overriding reason for her taking over the school in 2007. She has over 25 years’ experience in the tourism & marketing industry, as well as 15 years in teaching English. Gina holds a degree in European Languages & Business and CELTA in teaching English. When not working, Gina enjoys spending time with her family, a bit of surfing, swimming, cycling or going for a walk with her dog, Mika. Gina’s has a passion for nature, sustainability and is very involved in her local community.

ACCOMMODATION AND CATERING

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ACCOMMODATION TYPES

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We provides premium accommodation through our Residential sites and a selection of Host Families. Self Catering, Bed & Breakfast and Hotel Accommodation can also be booked.

Adult Accommodation:

We have a choice of superb accommodation for our Adult students including our Residential Centre and selection of Homestays.

Residential
- 5 min walk to School
- Sea/mountain Views
- Rooms en-suite
- 5 min walk to Town
- Fully equipped kitchen
- Private, twin or triple rooms

Homestay
- A warm welcome
- A home from home
- Short walk to school

Junior Accommodation:

There is a choice of both Residential and Homestay accommodation.

Residential
- A small complex of spacious 4 bedroom houses
- 4 bedrooms, 3 to 4 bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, sitting room and all mod cons
- A quiet cul de sac less than one minute’s walk from the Atlantic Ocean and 3 minutes from school
- 15 minutes walk from the town centre
- Based on 8 – 11 students (three to four students per room and 1 coordinator per house

Homestay
- Carefully selected hosts
- All hosts police vetted, inspected and interviewed
- A warm Irish welcome
- Home from home experience
- 5-15 minutes from school
- Breakfast and dinner are provided by the host. A warm lunch is provided at the canteen
- Rooms are single or shared with another student from a different country
- Students are dropped to school by the host and dropped home by the host or school bus

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CATERING

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Self catering providers, bed and breakfasts and hotels all within a short distance of the school.

SURF COURSE AND ACTIVITIES

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SURF COURSE DETAILS

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Our lessons are broken into three categories.

Beginners: This is an introduction course to surfing. We work on the correct techniques to position on the board, paddle, getting through the waves and stand up. At this level our goal is to get you surfing the white water on your own, with a basic knowledge of currents, etiquette and technique. Ratio of students to instructor 1:8 max. We use a range of beginner soft boards from 7 foot to 9 foot.

Intermediate: Students focus on surfing techniques such as effective paddling, wave knowledge and selection, take off and bottom turning, trimming and duck diving. The courses also focus on surfing etiquette. We use video analysis to correct faults when appropriate. Ratio of students to instructor 1:8 max. We use a range of Torq intermediate soft top boards from 5’11 to 7’6.

Advanced: We are happy to accept students at advanced level. Please note that you will receive tuition on a Torq intermediate soft top board. Students work mainly on posture correction and technique, timing, positioning, turns and wave selection. We use video analysis to correct faults when appropriate. Ratio of students to instructor 1:8 max.

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SURF MATERIALS

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- all sizes of boards from 5’11 up to 9 foot
- 5/3mm wetsuits and 3mm boots provided
- changing rooms, hot showers and post surf hot chocolate provided
- 4 surf spots within a short driving distance
- male and female surf shop with 10% discount exclusive to Donegal English Language School students. (does not include Surf Co, own brand t-shirts and hoodies)

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OTHER ACTIVITIES

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We offer a wide range of Social activities, from learning how to cook irish food to weekly cultural excursions on the Wild Atlantic Way:

-Tour of Bundoran                                     
- Water activities
-Team building events                              
- Nature and seaside explorations
- Irish history and culture lesson              -
- BBQ’s
- Movie nights                                              
-Traditional pub nights out
- Bowling nights                                          
- Gaelic football
- Celli nights                                                  
- Irish Music and dance show
- Quiz nights                                                  
- Photo and video competitions
- Food days                                                   
- Book club
- Weekly cultural excursions to places including Glenveagh National Park, Queen Meabh’s Grave and Sligo town, Slieve League, Lisadell House, Parkes castle, Marble Arch Caves and Derry City.

* The number of evening activities organised varies according to the number of students in English Language Courses but is generally two – three per week.

MORE INFO, HOW TO GET THERE & FAQ

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 SURROUNDINGS / REGION

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Annual festivals in and around Bundoran provide excellent opportunities for international visitors to make friends easily. These include Sea Sessions, Rory Gallagher Festival, October Country Music Festival and Ballyshannon Folk Festival to name but a few.

With many traditional Irish pubs offering live music, nightclubs, shows, restaurants, it is easy to find something to do during the evenings.

For the outdoor enthusiast activities include golf, hill walking, surfing, kayaking, horse riding, deep sea fishing and cycling.

If you are coming with the family, there is a wide range of  activities to choose including  bowling, cinema, waterworld, adventure park, indoor play centre.

Whichever course is chosen, Bundoran provides a good base for travelling along the Wild Atlantic Way including Slieve League, Glenveagh National Park, Donegal Castle, Lisadell House, Mullaghmore, Glencar Waterfalls, Sligo Town, Parkes Castle, Omagh Folk Park to name a few.

Students can also easily visit some of Ireland’s major cities and cultural sites:
- Sligo 30 minutes           
- Derry 1.5 hours
- Galway 2.5hours           
- Belfast 2.5hours
- Dublin 3 hours

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 JOURNEY

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Ways to get to the camp

Bundoran is located on the west coast of Ireland on the Wild Atlantic Way. The majority of students coming to Donegal English Language School come through Dublin airport where we organise regular transfers every Sunday. From Dublin you can also arrive by public bus, where we offer free collections on your arrival at Ballyshannon which is 10 minutes by car from Bundoran. We also organise transfers to and from Knock airport every Saturday.

Important details

Dublin:
We organise supervised transfers to and from Dublin airport every Sunday between 10 – 6.00pm. Collections are between 10am – 5.30 pm and drop offs are between 11am – 6 pm (these times may vary slightly off season). Prices Easter, June –  Mid September are €90 each way. Outside of these dates prices may vary. Private transfers can also be arranged for €280 each way.

Knock:
We organise supervised transfers to and from Knock airport every Saturday. Prices are €70 per person each way for a shared transfer. Individual transfers are €150 each way. Flights to and from Knock include: Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Munich with Aerlingus and Barcelona, Lanzarote, Malaga and Tenerife with Ryanair.

Public Bus:
There is a public bus to and from Dublin airport every two hours. The fee for the bus is around  €19.00 each way. We then offer free collections from Ballyshannon between 10 – 8.00pm every day.
There is a public bus to and from Knock airport every two to three hours. The fee for the bus is around €16 each way. We the offer free collections from the local bus station (West End Bus Station).

Other Airports:
Group transfers can also be arranged from Belfast or Derry Airport.

From Sligo:
When coming from Sligo, simply follow the main road straight for about 21 miles. On first entrance into Bundoran go through the first roundabout and continue straight for about 750 metres (roughly 45 seconds). The holiday homes are the second turnoff on the left and the Language School is the fourth turnoff on the left. Signs for both are visible from the road.

From Ballyshannon direction:
Take the first roundabout into Bundoran and follow the main street for about 2 miles (about 7 minutes) out to the west end. The Language School is the first turnoff on the right after the speed sign (60kph). The Language School’s residential accommodation is a further 2 turns up on the right. There are signs for both visible from the road.

PACKAGES & PRICES

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Adult Course - from 800€ per Week

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| Age 18+ | Arrival Day Sunday |

This package includes:

- 15 hours of English per week + 5 Surfing sessions
- Choice of accommodation
- Transfers to & from surfing sessions
- Evening and Saturday activities
- A teachers report & certificate of attendance & achievement
- Free bike rental on a first come first served basis (host family)
- Free WIFI
- Free transfers from Ballyshannon arrival/departure

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Junior Course - from 890€ per Week

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| Age 12-17 | Arrival Day Sunday |

This package includes:

- 15 hours of English per week + 5 Surfing sessions
- Choice of accommodation
- Full board in residential or host family accommodation
- Hot lunch
- Transfers to & from riding sessions
- 5 evening activities (2 if host family) and cultural excursion each week
- A tailor made English language programme to suit you
- A teachers report & certificate of achievement
- Free WIFI
- Free DELS bag

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Family Adult Course - from 600€ per Week

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| Age 18+ | Arrival Day Sunday |

	Shared room per week	High Season supplement per week
Homestay per Adult	€200	€20
Residential  (Self-catering)	€220	€20

Holiday Homes (2, 3 & 4 bedroom)

€500 – €1500  depending on size and time of year.  Please contact us for further detail

This package includes:

- 15 hours of English per week + 5 Surfing sessions
- Transfers to & from surfing sessions
- A social activity programme
- A welcome pack on arrival
- A teachers report & certificate of attendance & achievement
- Free bike rental on a first come first served basis (host family)
- Free WIFI
- Free transfers from Ballyshannon arrival/departure

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Family Junior Course - from 590€ per Week

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| Age 12-17 | Arrival Day Sunday |

 

	Shared room per week	High Season supplement per week
Homestay per Junior	€195	€20
Residential  (Self-catering)	€220	€20

Holiday Homes (2, 3 & 4 bedroom)

€500 – €1500  depending on size and time of year.  Please contact us for further detail

This package includes:

- 15 hours of English per week + 5 Surfing sessions
- Hot lunch Monday to Friday
- Transfers to & from activity sessions
- 2 evening activities and cultural excursion each week
- A tailor made English language programme to suit you
- A teachers report & certificate of achievement
- Free WIFI
- Free DELS bag