The British & Irish Lions
Tour FAQ's

British & Irish Lions Tour FAQs

In order to give you a better understanding of what our official British & Irish Lions Tour packages will include and also to help you prepare you for booking your tour, you can view the answers to the most frequently asked questions we receive from our tour guests below. If you have another question or have a further query relating to the below questions, you can always contact us and we will assist you.

Before I Book

The British & Irish Lions Tour will take place in Australia 2025.

The first match in Australia for The British & Irish Lions will take place on 28 June 2025 against the Western Force. Over the following five weeks, The Lions will play a further 8 matches including three Test matches against The Wallabies. The 1st Test match takes place on 19 July in Brisbane, the 3rd Test on 26 July in Melbourne and the 3rd Test on 2 August in Sydney. The full match schedule can be viewed here.

Our packages are scheduled to go on sale on Thursday 4 April at 9am.

We have tour packages that cater for all needs from our nine match / six week tour through to the very popular all three Test tour and even Test match weekend only packages.

We are offering the following three payment plans. If you are looking for an alternative, then let us know – we are very flexible!

Option A: Full payment upon booking (25% is non-refundable)

Option B: 25% non-refundable deposit upon booking, 25% by 31 October 2024 and Final Balance by 30 March 2025

If your booking is made on or after 30 March 2025 full payment is required.

We appreciate that you are spending a lot of money on your package and want to reassure you that it is financially protected. We are fully bonded and licensed with the Irish Aviation Authority (Tour Operators Licence No. T.O. 260). Further details are available at http://www.aviationreg.ie/

Unfortunately, this was the case for all our hundreds of guests booked with us for The British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa in 2021. Every single guest of ours received a full refund or chose to take a credit note for future tours. The same would apply in the unlikely event of this happening again in 2025.

We have been in business for eleven years and are fully licenced and bonded assuring you of financial security including our COVID-19 Customer Charter refund guarantee.  

We have built a very strong reputation for delivering great tours where everyone is genuinely cared for and has great craic. It’s a rugby tour after all!

Our first ever tour was the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa in 2009 and since then we have been official agents for the British & Irish Lions in 2013, 2017, 2021 and now again for 2025. We have also been official agents for RWC 2011, RWC 2015, RWC 2019 and RWC 2023.

It is this level of experience that we offer you coupled with an unbeatable level of customer service from the first time you contact us through to post tour.

We always have a great mix of Irish, Welsh, Scottish and England supporters on our Lions tours and it is this level of diversity that the Lions is and should be all about.

 

The best way to make your booking with Rugby Travel Ireland is to do so via our online booking process on our website. There is a “Book Now” button against each tour and this takes you into a simple process to make a booking. Here you can decide to make a payment (there are three choices as defined in our “WHAT IS REQUIRED TO SECURE MY BOOKING?” or you can choose to “PAY LATER”. In doing any of these you are provisionally securing your place/s. If you have any questions or bespoke requirements please contact us at lions2025@rugbytravelireland.com and we will respond ASAP.

Please note that when we go on sale our telephone lines will be very busy so if you cannot get through please leave a message or email us your query and we will reply accordingly.

Yes, and there are no age restrictions but we strongly advise you that many of the experiences on offer may not be suitable for small children in terms of noise and the volume of fans in attendance. It is important to note that one match ticket is required per person for entry to the stadium regardless of their age. This means that there are no price reductions for children on any of our tour packages.

We have a very experienced Operations Team who have already been on a three-week site inspection visit to Australia. They inspected all the hotels that we are offering to ensure that they meet and exceed the standards that we demand.

If international flights are not required, then we can offer the tour that you wish to book less €1,500 per person. You can choose this option within the online booking process. Please note that if you choose this option then airport-hotel-airport transfers for international flights are not included in the service that we provide.

You are booking your Lions Tour because you want to watch the best rugby imaginable as well as experiencing everything that Australia has to offer. Our official status is your guarantee that your tickets are 100% official and that you will not be refused entry on admission to the stadiums.

Financial protection is guaranteed by booking with Rugby Travel Ireland and this is critical in the current climate.

Furthermore, our escorted packages provide you with our “switch off” guarantee in that we look after your flights, transfers, hotels, excursions and events. Just make sure you catch your flight to Australia and we look after everything else!

Our policy has always been to not treat customers like sheep. We will lay on plenty of inclusive excursions, optional excursions and events as well as giving you plenty of time at each destination to do your own thing.

Yes. As an official sub-agent (OSA) and exclusively appointed in Ireland, the tickets within our packages are 100%, guaranteed and official. We have worked with the British & Irish Lions to protect your tickets and this is reflected in our official ticket stamp (below) which you will see on all our marketing and booking confirmation collateral to give you the complete peace of mind and reassurance you need. Any company without this ticket stamp can in no way guarantee match tickets. Official British & Irish Lions Tour Match Ticket Guarantee In the UK and Ireland, only the Lions and appointed official sub agents (including Rugby Travel Ireland) have the rights to include tickets as part of a package. Any tickets you see elsewhere are likely to be unofficial and would not guarantee your access into the stadium. If you are unsure as to whether a travel company is part of the official programme then please get in contact with us and we will be able to help.

Currently, our packages provide for a guaranteed match ticket. As in previous tours, we expect to be offering an upgrade programme in

Yes. If you would like to fly with a particular airline, please get in touch with our team and we can quote accordingly.

Unfortunately there are no child discounts available because of huge demand across the entire hotel, ticket and flight program.

Package prices are based on a half twin / half double room occupancy basis so the single supplement makes up for the unsold “half” of the room.

Yes. We are happy to help pair you with another tour guest with the same request. We will put you directly in touch with each other and you can both make the decision whether you are suitable to share throughout the tour. If a suitable person cannot be found the single room supplement will be payable in full no later than eight weeks prior to your tour.

Yes we do, and we encourage it! If you are a member of a rugby club, school, corporate incentive group, etc. you can nominate a member of the group to act as the liaison for the booking and they will receive all correspondence from us regarding the booking.

No. It is not possible to buy tickets outside of our travel package or hotel + ticket package.

All our prices are in Euros so please bear that in mind when making price comparisons!

When you book with Rugby Travel Ireland you have booked on an official Lions Tour and the host of additional benefits this brings including official tickets, superbly located hotels all inspected by us and of course, the craic! We are competitively priced and we are guaranteeing you of a highly organised tour that will run smoothly and be the trip of a lifetime. There are significant commercial rights fees attached to tickets that customers don’t see along with staffing, merchandise and associated costs of delivering a tour of this size for the Lions.

There are also significant other benefits, including our COVID-19 Customer Charter, flexible payment terms, over fifteen years of rugby tour experience and much more. 

Beware of cheap unofficial imitations.

No. Rugby Travel Ireland is the exclusively appointed British & Irish Lions agency in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Accommodation is on a bed and breakfast basis throughout. Many of our packages have extra meals and drinks, but please check our packages for full details.

 

Executive coach transfers are included on all our fully escorted packages. These include airport to hotel, hotel to hotel, hotel to airport and hotel to stadium to hotel where applicable.

In 2017 in New Zealand we had Donal Lenihan, Alan Quinlan, Martyn Williams and Brent Pope tour with Rugby Travel Ireland. Other legends that joined us at various events included Ian Jones, Rob Henderson, Ryan Jones, Mike Mullins and Kurt McQuilken. For the Lions 2025 both Donal and Quinny have already confirmed their participation and will be joined by Craig Chalmers. Please note that due to the various tours that we have on offer we cannot guarantee that the rugby legends will be on your exact tour but we do guarantee that you will have the opportunity to meet them at various events or over a casual beer.

For sure! This is a key element of any Lions tour and we will have a number of events planned throughout each tour. These usually consist of rugby legends, food, drink and fun!

Rugby Travel Ireland packages for the British & Irish Lions Tour cannot be used as a prize for any promotion.

We strongly suggest that you read our Terms & Conditions. We draw special attention to the Special Terms relating to Travel Insurance and COVID-19 / Other Communicable Diseases.

My Booking

It is a condition of booking with Rugby Travel Ireland that you and the rest of your group MUST have travel insurance in place. Your travel insurance should cover the cost of cancellation, medical expenses, loss of luggage or money, personal liability claims, participation in activities and costs of assistance (including repatriation) in the event of accident, injury, illness or death. You should check any exclusions and, in particular, that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. We strongly recommend that you are covered from the time of booking as this may assist you in recovering monies paid in the unfortunate event of you having to cancel your trip.

We recommend the services of our preferred travel insurance partner, Blue Insurance. If you are a resident in the Republic of Ireland, click here for a quotation.

Yes you can, subject to availability. During the booking process you can make this request and we will quote accordingly.

 

Due to the nature of group contracts with airlines, airmiles cannot be exchanged for a reduction in the tour price. The miles themselves can usually be added to your account.

Please note that online check-in is also unlikely and this is due to the limitations imposed by group contracts with airlines. You will instead be sent your booking reference as part of your tour itinerary.

Group hotel contracts mean that reward points cannot be used to reduce the tour price. However, you should be able to avail of benefits at the hotel depending on the status of your reward points with a particular hotel group.

No, but we will be offering flights with very good connection times.

We only ever work with high-quality and reputable airlines.

Only if the upgrade options is listed within your booked tour package.

Some of our properties may have triple or family rooms available – please speak to a member of our team for more details.

Yes! If you would like to extend your tour beyond the tour dates please get in touch with our team and we will be more than happy to quote accordingly. We will have optional tours after the Third Test to Fiji and also the Maldives.

Yes, subject to availability. Please get in touch with our team to organise your flight deviation. Please note, there may be a price difference due to different flights.

Yes. Executive coach transfers are included in our flight inclusive tour packages but if you book your own flights, or deviate from the flights included in the tour, then airport-hotel-airport transfers are not included.

Many of our packages include a number of excursions such as game drives already included in the price and these are detailed within each tour brochure. Later in the year we will be offering an optional excursion programme which you can pick and choose from at an additional cost.

Included in your tour package is merchandise that will include official British & Irish Lions garments. This will include a backpack, wide brimmed hat and a lightweight jacket. A Lions jersey is NOT included.

Please note that guests with delivery addresses outside of the UK and Ireland may incur additional postage costs for tour packs.

You will be emailed your tour itinerary a few weeks before you depart.

We will be in touch closer to the Tour to confirm how and when you will receive your tickets. These are likely to be in electronic format so they will be emailed to you but this is subject to final confirmation.

Our policy has always been not to treat customers like sheep. We will lay on plenty of inclusive and optional excursions and events as well as giving you plenty of time at each destination to do your own thing.

This is to be finalised, but we are expecting to include an official Canterbury gilet, backpack and bobble/beanie hat.

Due to the number of guests travelling to Australia, it will not be feasible for tour packs to be collected in Australia.

Yes. Escorted tours offered by Rugby Travel Ireland require a minimum of 20 passengers to proceed. A tour may be cancelled if the numbers of travellers is less than the number of travellers required. A refund or transfer to another escorted tour will be made available

Yes. Residents of Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and Europe need a travel visa to enter Australia and stay for a duration of up to 90 days. You can get further information and apply free of charge for the eVisitor (subclass 651) visa by clicking here.

You may cancel your package at any time prior to the start of your trip subject to the cancellation charges set out below.

The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025 – Cancellation Provisions:

  • Prior to 30 Jun 2024 / 25% Deposit
  • 01 Aug 2024 – 31 Oct 2024 / 50%
  • 01 Nov 2024 – 31 Jan 2025 / 70%
  • 01 Feb 2025 – 28 Feb 2025 / 90%
  • 01 Mar 2025 Onwards / 100%

On Tour

If you miss a transfer while on tour, it is your responsibility to reach the next destination at your own expense.

The average daytime temperatures range from 18° in Perth and Sydney, 21° in Brisbane, 26° in Cairns. Melbourne averages are around 14° and rain is most likely here.

The Australian dollar is the currency used in Australia. The exchange rate as od is €1 = $1.65 & £1 = $1.94. Rate correct as of March 2024. 

It is important that you speak to your GP or to a travel clinic before travelling to make sure that you have taken all the necessary health precautions. 

You may find the following links of assistance:

Ex ROI: The Tropical Medical Bureau: https://www.tmb. It is important that you speak to your GP or to a travel clinic before travelling to make sure that you ie/ 

Ex UK: Fit for Travel: https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home

For the latest travel advice including security, local laws, plus passport and visa information visit:

For Irish Citizens – Department of Foreign Affairs https://www.dfa.ie/

For UK Citizens – the Foreign & Commonwealth Office https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

Need help? Get in touch with our superb team at hello@rugbytravelireland.com now!

© Copyright 2024
OTP Travel Services Ltd (497583) T/A Rugby Travel Ireland is Licenced by the Irish Aviation Authority, TO 260 .