Originally Posted by UKtravelbear

This is not going to be cheap.

As well as renting the bus and hiring the driver who will come with restrictions on how long they can drive for without a break / possible rest day requirements - which will take priority over your needs - you'll also need to factor in the cost of a hotel room for them as well.

Originally Posted by lwildernorva

Here's a suggestion. If you know any golfers who have taken a trip to Ireland, see if they've had any experience with coaches/drivers. From researching similar issues for golf trips to Scotland, I've learned that the economies of scale don't start to kick in until you've got a group larger than 12.

UKtravelbear has rightly pointed out one of the hidden costs of such a method of transportation--if you stick with one driver throughout your travels, you have to factor in his lodging and food costs as well as the costs for your travelers and that will either be a separate line item or built in to the quote you receive. Here's another: if your group is 12-15 but the companies you contact can only offer a 19-seater coach, you're probably going to pay the same price for the coach as if your group had 19 passengers.

Originally Posted by MADPhil

I was in a group that hired a 12 passenger bus for a week from Scales of Ennistymon for daily trips up and down the West Clare coast. We were based in Ennistymon so it was home every night. The cost was EUR2,000 not including meals. It would complicate things but if you could base yourselves in a couple of places and use local companies it might work out cheaper than a single bus. It also meant that if the driver timed out (such as if we were in a pub for a session) the driver could go home and Scales could send out another driver.