Turning travel dreams into reality
For more than thirty years, Planet Earth Adventures has been turning travel dreams into reality and we love what we do—delighting travelers with active, out of the ordinary adventures in two of the most legendary locales on the planet: Texas and Ireland.
Local heroes
To make it all possible, we’ve assembled the finest bunch of local heroes who love nothing more than to share their knowledge, understanding and passion for the places they call home with missionary zeal. We’re rightly proud of these folks – our trip leaders, B&B and hotel owners, food providers, and transport partners. With us for years, they’re like family. Shucks, in many instances we’ve even witnessed their own families grow from toddlers to adulthood.
Some of our passionate trip leaders on our Ireland Coast to Coast guided tour
What Guides Us
Planet Earth Adventures was born out of a never-ending sense of curiosity, an unquenchable thirst for adventure and a deep desire to be active in the outdoors, values that still guide our path today. We feel extremely fortunate to have experienced all this right at our own doorstep. Our mission is quite simply to share our personal connections in our own backyard with you.
One of our groups posing in front of an iconic backdrop in Marfa, West Texas on the Ultimate Big Bend Adventure
Of all places, why Texas and Ireland?
In a word – because we’re from here (how we got here, that’s another story…). Our focus has always been and will always be solely on these two world-renowned destinations. We firmly believe our commitment to places we know by heart make a world of difference for you, the traveler, our guest and friend-to-be. And strange as it may seem, while one might be forgiven for thinking that Texas and Ireland are as different as day and night, they’re much more alike than you might imagine. Some of the friendliest folks on the planet, unique larger-than-life cultural identities, distinctive indigenous music and dance, and incredible natural landscapes – these are just a handful of the similarities.
“We firmly believe our commitment to places we know by heart make a world of difference for you, the traveler, our guest and friend-to-be.”
PEA founder Tim Cookingham in Santa Elena Canyon, 1973
Founder’s Story
Planet Earth Adventures founder and director Tim Cookingham grew up in Texas where, by the early 1970’s, his voracious appetite for hiking and bicycling were firmly rooted in repeated visits to Big Bend National Park and regular outings throughout Texas with college friends. Ditching a TV career in 1980 to run a bicycle shop in Austin, he earned a reputation as a respected leader in the outdoor community and was later recruited to help start a chapter of American Youth Hostels in Texas. AYH, whose tours originally began in the 1930’s, was one of the earliest pioneers in “adventure travel.” Discovering he could combine his love of the outdoors and travel was a watershed moment for Tim, and soon thereafter, he embarked on a journey as tour leader, leader trainer and ultimately, tour organizer for AYH.
Tim and Valerie pictured here at Culros Cottage
In 1987 Tim created and operated some of the first mountain bike tours in Big Bend National Park for AYH with the “Big Bend Triple Treat,” a biking-hiking-and river-rafting adventure.
In 1989, his first tour in Ireland followed and what started as an act of pure serendipity, designing and leading a tour in the west of Ireland, would turn out to be the simple twist of fate that changed his life and led to a more-than-30-year love affair with the Emerald Isle. Later that same year, Planet Earth Adventures was born.
In the ensuing years, Tim’s passion for adventure in both Ireland and Texas has never waned, only now he shares it with his wife, Valerie Schuster. Brought together by a mutual love of West Texas, they married at the iconic Gage Hotel in 1994 and honeymooned in the Big Bend. Ten years later, they embarked upon the dream to move to Ireland and build a cottage in Connemara. Now that was a real adventure, and thankfully is now a reality. Dividing their time between Texas and Ireland, they welcome you to experience the love and pride of the culture and people of both magical places.
Culros Cottage, Connemara, Ireland