Europe's greatest selection of international summer camps
A paradise for children and teenagers with dedicated teamers!
Amazing landscapes, impressive coastlines and a rich cultural heritage. Our camp in Greenhill.
Join in and experience great adventures in our beautiful location in Northern Ireland while improving your English Language Skills! On the slopes of a mountain in Newcastle you can enjoy great views over the coastal town and across the sea. It only takes 10 minutes by foot to get to the beach or the highest mountain of the province. Our location is called YMCA Greenhill and makes the perfect place for adventures, sports and creative activities. Whether it is a high rope course, a soccer court or a fireplace, all those features can be found on our campgrounds. YMCA Greenhill just offers facilities at its best to guarantee unforgettable holidays in Northern Ireland. Enjoy your summer with lots of free time activities in a fully English environment and make new friends with other students from all over the world!
Amazing landscapes, impressive coastlines and a rich cultural heritage. Northern Ireland has it all plus numerous exceptional attractions to visit including Belfast, the capital city which is only 30 miles away from camp. The fabulous Giant’s Causeway, Slieve Donard – the highest mountain of the province, the Ulster American Folk Park and last but not least the warmhearted people who will make your stay an adventure to remember!
Our camp is based at Greenhill YMCA, an outdoor education centre set in a unique 17-acre site on the slopes of Slieve Donard Mountain in the heart of the Kingdom of Mourne, only one and a half hours drive north of Dublin. With panoramic views over the coastal town of Newcastle and Dundrum Bay the site is unique with the mountains behind and the sea in front and with views that have to be seen to be believed. Superb on-site facilities such as a high rope course, soccer courts and fireplaces offer best conditions for fun-filled holidays.
Our accommodation also leaves nothing to be desired. You will stay in traditional wooden chalets, sharing rooms of four. All Chalets consist of three bedrooms, bathrooms and offer additional features such as comfortable common rooms, kitchenettes plus spacious timber balconies overlooking the sea.
At Greenhill, we leave it up to you whether you would like to attend our English classes or prefer joining our Adventure & Survival Camp. Both courses take place in the morning so that afterwards students can join our activity program all together. When making your booking please tick the profile you wish to attend.
Wake up in the morning with our famous “Polar Bear Club”, designed for those tough campers who like a swim in the cold natural ponds close by, fed with fresh spring water streaming down the hills. We offer a big variety of different activities throughout the day. To get prepared for the challenging tasks to come, we start with a couple of teambuilding activities. Afterwards we might head up to the high rope course, where you can show us your balance and climbing skills and will learn all about safety knots to be able to climb safely. There is even a 100m long zipline for you to try out. Pure adrenaline! We will also teach you the basic techniques of canoeing and kayaking and you will get the chance to experience some real canyoning. Shooting arrows like Legolas? No problem! Our coaches will show you how to do so. Next to our outdoor, adventure and survival activities we offer lots of different classic sport such as football, volleyball and other team games, for example laser tag. Although the weather in Northern Ireland is not really known to be very dry and hot we always get beautiful sunny days that we like to spend at the nearby beach. The evenings are fun filled with big group activities such as discos, talent shows, sports tournaments, BBQs, camp fires and night hikes. We make sure that there are always plenty of activities on offer matching everyone’s taste!
Every Wednesday we will take all campers on an exciting excursion. In the first week, our day trip takes us to Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland. Belfast is packed with culture and history, especially marked by the origin of the famous Titanic, but also well known for super shopping… it just offers the perfect mix of tradition and vibrant 21st century city life. We will have a look around and learn more about the city the locals are so proud of. The week after you will be able to experience the biggest attraction of Northern Ireland – “Giant’s Causeway”. The area of about 40.000 interlocking basalt columns was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1986 and just impresses with stunning beauty and impressive views.
The icing of the cake and definitely the highlight of the stay for most of our campers is our incredible weekend hike to the top of Slieve Donard Mountain including a night under the beautiful star spangled sky enjoying our home cooked food, prepared in the outdoors. A truly unique experience!
English Classic
Improve your language skills in a fun way by attending our interactive Classic Courses. They are designed to match your holidays. Nevertheless, they are intense and efficient. Our teachers put a strong focus on oral practice and make sure that you build up your confidence and improve your communication skills in a playful way and without even noticing. You will breathe new vocabulary and internalize the right pronunciation by using the language and not by memorizing boring work sheets. All our Language courses are solely carried out by native speakers in internationally mixed classes with no more than 12 students. At the beginning of the stay your level will be assessed by our experienced teachers to ensure that you are placed in the right class, according to your language abilities. Our courses comprise 20 units of 45 minutes per week but no worries – our lessons are not like being at school. We focus on fun and interactive education. The use of modern teaching methods in and outside the classroom, incorporating topics that are suitable for the different age groups and levels guarantees a positive outcome and a pleasant classroom experience.
Adventure & Survival
Are your ready for the ultimate outdoor adventure? Each journey into the forest will teach you something new about the natural world around you. We all know that fires can be started without matches, but how does it actually work? If you were stranded in the woods, how would you keep dry? If you were stuck in the forest, what would you eat. We demonstrate exciting survival techniques and show you how to cope in the wild, by building shelters out of forest materials, identifying edible plants and navigating the landscape without even a map or a compass. There is also a strong focus on orienteering as this is a highly important skill to get around safely in the wild. The highlight of the profile will be our famous night hike, where you can use the survival skills you have obtained so far. If you are excited about nature and like the idea of a night spent under the stars, this is the profile to choose! A real challenge and the ultimate outdoor experience!
