13 days/11 nights/21 meals
- Group transfers on arrival and departure
- Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
- Services of a professional Irish driver/guide
- Deluxe & superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 11 nights
- 11 full Irish breakfasts (B)
- 10 dinners (D) including - Dinner and traditional Irish entertainment in
Dublin - Farewell dinner at Cabra Castle Hotel - 8 table d'hote dinners
- Welcome get-together drink
- Tours of Dublin & Belfast with local guides
- Whiskey tasting and tour of Old Midleton Distillery
- Guided walking tours of Kinsale & Derry
- "The Quiet Man" walking tour of Cong
- Minibus excursion to Slieve League Sea Cliffs
- Handweaving demonstration with tea & scones at Triona Design
- Visits and admissions to Dublin Castle, Glendalough Visitor Centre, Muckross
House & Gardens, Blasket Experience, Gallarus Oratory, Foynes Flying Boat
Museum, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Museum of Country Life, Knock Shrine,
W. B. Yeats' Grave, Belleek Pottery Factory, Giant's Causeway, St. Patrick
Centre and Down Cathedral
- Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
- All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per
person
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Deluxe & Superior First Class Hotels - 13 Day Coach Tour
This 13 day tour takes in the highlights of the complete island of Ireland giving you the opportunity to experience North, South, East and West. Lively towns and cities with spectacular scenery and lots of history.
Day 1: Depart U.S. for Dublin
Travel to Dublin on an overnight flight to start your vacation. Relax with inflight meals and entertainment.
Day 2: Dublin Castle & City Tour
Arrive in Dublin Airport, complete immigration formalities and pick up your
luggage. Go to the CIE Tours desk in the Arrivals Hall to arrange a group
transfer to your hotel between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives
later, you will need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:00 pm
tour Dublin city center with a local guide to see elegant Georgian squares with
the famous colorful doorways, Trinity College, Leinster House, St. Stephen's
Green and O'Connell Street. Tour the State Apartments of Dublin Castle, which
date from early Georgian times and contain magnificently-furnished chambers withWaterford Crystal chandeliers. Back at your hotel enjoy a welcome drink to learn
more about your tour.
Day 3: Glendalough Monastery & Traditional Music
This morning take a drive south through the lovely Wicklow Mountains to visit
the Glendalough Visitor Centre and learn about St. Kevin's 6th century
monastery. Walk through the ruined churches and round tower, which are set in a
peaceful valley between two lakes. Return to Dublin where the afternoon is free
for independent sightseeing or shopping. In the evening head to one of Dublin's
popular venues for dinner and a show of traditional music and step-dancing. (B,
D)
Day 4: Midleton Distillery & Kinsale
Drive south and pause for photos at the Rock of Cashel, a stately limestone
outcrop topped with medieval ruins. Continue past the Galtee Mountains to visit
the Old Midleton Distillery. Here learn about Irish whiskey as you walk through
preserved buildings. Sample the finished product before heading to Kinsale, a
delightful old town on a narrow inlet of the sea. Formerly a fishing and
merchant town, today it is renowned for sailing and gourmet food. Check into
your waterfront hotel and join a local guide for a short walking tour around
historic places. (B, D)
Day 5: Muckross House & Killarney
This morning drive via Macroom to Killarney. Tour the 19th century Muckross House with a guide to tell you about influential owners and visitors. Take a
walk around the charming gardens with mature trees in a parkland setting.
Explore Killarney on your own before driving via Killorglin along the Dingle
Peninsula, the most westerly landmass in Europe. Enjoy views of heathery
mountains, sandy beaches and rocky headlands. Check into your hotel, set in a
wonderful location overlooking Dingle Bay with ocean and mountain vistas. (B, D)
Day 6: Explore Dingle Peninsula
Today discover the glorious Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies, "Ryan's
Daughter" and "Far & Away." Enjoy great scenic views as you drive Slea Head
at the westernmost tip. Tour the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the
Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy families who eked out a living by
farming and fishing. Next visit Gallarus Oratory, a small church built between
the 6th and 9th centuries. It was built with corbel vaulting and no mortar, but
has remained watertight through the centuries. Drive to the Conor Pass for
sweeping 360° views before returning to Dingle. Enjoy the facilities at your
hotel or take a stroll before dinner. (B, D)
Day 7: Flying Boat Museum & Galway
Visit the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, near the River Shannon. During the 1930's
and early 1940's, the Port of Foynes was a hive of activity with Pan Am's
Clipper traffic between the United States and Europe. The museum's exhibits and
memorabilia recall this era. Travel alongside the River Shannon Estuary, passing
Limerick and through the County Clare countryside on the way to Galway. Take a
brief drive around Galway before checking into your hotel, located overlooking
Galway Bay. You may like to stroll along the bay shore or use the hotel's
leisure facilities before dinner. (B, D)
Day 8: Quiet Man Walk & Connemara Tour
Drive through Headford to Cong, a charming village where the 1952 movie, "The
Quiet Man," was filmed starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. A short walking
tour will show you movie locations and the ruins of Cong Abbey. Travel throughConnemara, renowned for delightful landscapes with misty hills. Sheep graze
freely over the open land and in places people cut peat, which is used for home
heating. Visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, which specializes in
intricate designs in colored crystal, before returning to Galway. (B, D)
Day 9: Museum of Country Life & Belleek China
Outside Castlebar visit the Museum of Country Life. View collections of domestic
goods, used in everyday living from 1850 to 1950. Exhibits and a movie explain
how country people lived by farming. Make a brief stop in the pilgrimage town of Knock and view W. B. Yeats' Grave, situated near the distinctive outline of Ben
Bulben mountain in County Sligo. Continue to Belleek for a tour of the Belleek
Pottery Factory, founded in the mid-19th century to create employment. Drive to
Donegal town for your next overnight stop. (B, D)
Day 10: Slieve League Cliffs & Donegal
Drive to the fishing port of Killybegs and on to Teelin to view Slieve League
sea cliffs, which reach 1,972 feet, making them the highest in Europe. The
cliffs drop straight down to the wild Atlantic waves and the views are
marvelous. Continue through the majestic Glengesh Pass to Ardara. Visit Triona
Design to see demonstrations of spinning, weaving and knitting as well as sample
home-made scones with tea. Return to Donegal town for free time before returning
to your nearby hotel. (B, D)
Day 11: Derry Walk & Giant's Causeway
Travel to Derry for a walking tour with a local guide around the city center to
see the medieval city walls, the Diamond and St. Columb's Cathedral. Visit the Giant's Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60
million years ago. Continue south to experience wonderful views of mountains,
valleys and bays along the "Nine Glens of Antrim." Drive to your centrally
located hotel in Belfast. You will have time to take a walk or you may like to
visit the ornate Victorian bar, Crown Liquor Saloon, just across the street. (B,
D)
Day 12: Belfast & St. Patrick's Burial Site
Tour Belfast with a local guide to see Victorian buildings, the Harland &
Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built and the Falls Road and Shankill
residential areas. Drive south to the St. Patrick Centre where you will learn
about Ireland's Patron Saint and view his reputed grave at Down Cathedral.
Travel past the gentle slopes of the Mountains of Mourne and continue to
Kingscourt to your castle hotel, built in 1760. After a farewell dinner in the
Court Restaurant, enjoy some informal entertainment. (B, D)
Day 13: Leave Dublin for Home
This morning take a 90-minute group transfer to Dublin Airport, leaving the
hotel at either 6:00, 9:00 or 11:00 am. After check-in you will have time to
shop at the duty-free stores. (B)
B=Breakfast, CB=Continental Breakfast, D=Dinner
Hotels on this tour
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