- 13 days/11 nights/21 meals
- Group transfers on arrival and departure
- Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
- Dublin open-top bus tour & Guinness or Jameson visit
- Services of a professional Irish tour driver/guide
- 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, Medieval banquet and entertainment at Bunratty Castle, Farewell dinner at Dunboyne Castle Hotel, 7 table d'hote dinners
- Welcome get-together drink
- Ferry ride across Strangford Lough
- Tour of Dublin & Belfast with local guides
- Walking tours of Derry & Waterford with local guides
- Day tour to Achill Island
- Horse-drawn jaunting car ride in Killarney
- Visits and admissions to Book of Kells at Trinity College, Glendalough Visitor Centre, Down Cathedral, Mount Stewart House and Gardens, Giant's Causeway, Donegal Castle, Belleek Pottery Factory, Cliffs of Moher, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Muckross Gardens, Blarney Woollen Mills, Cobh Heritage Centre, Waterford Crystal Factory and Irish National Stud & Japanese Gardens
- Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
- All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person
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| Superior First Class Hotels - 13 Day Coach Tour
Our longest and most comprehensive tour of Ireland offers an enticing itinerary around the varied Irish coastline. Enjoy unspoiled natural features from the Cliffs of Moher to the Giant's Causeway. Learn about farming and emigration at the Ulster American Folk Park and Cobh Heritage Center. Special evenings include a medieval banquet in Shannon and traditional Irish entertainment in Dublin.
Day 1: Depart U.S. for Dublin
Welcome aboard your overnight flight to Dublin. Relax with dinner and entertainment.
Day 2: Arrive Ireland & Dublin Castle
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*. Your hotel, an elegant Victorian mansion, overlloks Dublin Bay and Dun Laoghaire Harbour. At 2:00 pm tour the city center to see elegant Georgian squares with rows of townhouses and their famous colorful doors, pass the colorful St. Stephen's Green and cross the River Liffey to drive along the wide O'Connell Street. Visit Trinity College's Old Library where the priceless 8th century Book of Kells is housed. Learn about the monastic tradition of creating Biblical manuscripts and see the intricate workmanship of the book itself. In the evening meet your fellow travelers over a welcome drink and your tour director will assist you in choosing a local restaurant to dine independently.
Day 3: 6th Century Glendalough & Traditional Music
This morning discover the Wicklow Mountains, located south of Dublin. Drive through the lovely scenery and visit Glendalough, a 6th century monastic site founded by St. Kevin. Learn about monastic life in early Christian Ireland and then walk through the ruins of the many churches and a round tower. Return to Dun Laoghaire where the afternoon is at leisure for independent activities. In the evening drive to a popular Dublin venue for a great dinner of Irish specialties, which is followed by a lively show of traditional Irish songs and intricate step-dancing. (B, D)
Day 4: Downpatrick & Mount Stewart
Drive north via Warrenpoint, past the gentle slopes of the Mourne Mountains and follow the shoreline to Downpatrick. Visit Down Cathedral to learn about Ireland's patron saint and see his reputed burial place. Cross Strangford Lough by ferry to visit Mount Stewart House and Gardens. The famous gardens at Mount Stewart were planted in the 1920's by Edith, Lady Londonderry, and have been nominated a World Heritage Site. The house tour includes world-famous paintings and stories about the prominent political figures to whom the Londonderry family played host. Check into your hotel in Belfast. (B, D)
Day 5: Belfast, Giant's Causeway & Derry
See the highlights of Belfast with a local guide, including Victorian buildings, the Harland and Wolff Shipyards, where the Titanic was built and some of the suburbs around the Shankill and Falls Road. Drive north to experience wonderful views of mountains, valleys and coastline as you travel along the "Nine Glens of Antrim", a famous scenic drive. Stop at the Giant's Causeway, hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. The enormous rocks have spawned legends about the mythical giant, Finn McCool. Drive to Derry and in the evening join a local guide for a short walking tour around the ancient city center, surrounded by the medieval city walls. (B, D)
Day 6: Donegal & Belleek China
Journey south to Ballybofey and through the scenery of the Blue Stack Mountains to Donegal town. Visit Donegal Castle, built by the O'Donnell chieftains in the 15th century, remodeled in the 17th century and today is furnished throughout. Take a guided tour around the Belleek Pottery Factory to see craftspeople making delicate and ornate pieces in fine china. Travel through Sligo, often referred to as "Yeats' Country", and the rocky landscape of Mayo. Continue to Westport where your hotel is located in the central square. (B, D)
Day 7: Achill Island Excursion & Westport
After a late breakfast travel around Clew Bay, reputed to have 365 islands, and cross the Curraun Peninsula to Achill Island, joined to the mainland by a bridge. Follow the Atlantic Drive to capture wonderful views of steeply-sloped mountains plunging into the shimmering Atlantic Ocean. Near Slievemore see the Deserted Village, the remains of nearly 100 stone cottages abandoned around the time of the 1840's Famine. Also see stretches of windswept bogland and golden beaches. Return to Westport in time to take a stroll to explore this attractive estate town, which was laid out in 1780. (B, D)
Day 8: Cliffs Of Moher & Bunratty Banquet
Travel to Galway City and take a tour to see the main sights. Afterwards spend some time on your own before driving through the Burren, limestone hills with unique flora and prehistoric stone monuments. View the majestic Cliffs of Moher, a rocky wall that rises nearly 700 feet above the foaming Atlantic Ocean. Drive to Bunratty and check into your hotel, located beside Bunratty Castle, the Bunratty Folk Park and Durty Nelly's Pub. In the evening head to 15th century Bunratty Castle for a jolly medieval-style dinner where the Lords and Ladies serenade you with favorite songs. (B, D)
Day 9: Flying Boat Museum & Killarney's Lakes
Drive through the outskirts of Limerick and along by the River Shannon to Foynes to visit the Flying Boat Museum. In the early days of flight, during the 1930's and early 1940's, this was the landing place for Pan Am Clippers from the United States and Europe. The museum recreates the infancy of aviation through displays of memorabilia. Journey into the mountainous scenery of County Kerry and stop in Listowel. This town is renowned as the birthplace of J. B. Keane, a popular 20th century playwright. Continue to Killarney and check into your hotel in the center of town. (B, D)
Day 10: Jaunting Car Ride & Moll's Gap
Take a traditional horse-drawn jaunting car ride to view Ross Castle to view Lough Leane, largest of Killarney's lakes. Drive to the delightful town of Kenmare where traditional buildings are gaily painted and enhanced with flowers. At Moll's Gap, a wonderful vantage point, stop to view the mountains. Continue along part of the Ring of Kerry route to enjoy the scenery. Pause at Ladies' View and stop at Muckross Gardens. Take a walk around the charming gardens, laid out along the lakeshore in the 19th century. Admire wonderful mature trees and shrubs, as well as colorful flowers, before returning to Killarney. (B, D)
Day 11: Cobh Heritage & Waterford Crystal
Drive through the mountains of Kerry and make a brief stop at the Blarney Woollen Mills. Next visit Cobh Heritage Centre, located in the old train station through which all emigrants passed to embark on the journey to the United States. Displays show the many hardships that travelers endured. Continue to Waterford to tour the Waterford Crystal Factory and watch how this popular crystal is created. In the showrooms see a wide range of tableware and special trophies. Check into your hotel, once the home of Thomas Francis Meagher, first governor of Montana. After dinner, join a local guide for a stroll around the historic city center. (B, D)
Day 12: Medieval Kilkenny & National Stud
Drive north to Kilkenny and stop to look around the town. In medieval times the town was a prosperous trading center and the narrow streets still follow ancient routes. Travel north to Kildare and visit the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens. As a nation, the Irish are very interested in horses and the Stud will tell you about the valuable breeding industry. The Japanese Gardens symbolize the "Life of Man" through plants and rocks. Then head to the village of Dunboyne, on the outskirts of Dublin. Check into Dunboyne Castle Hotel and relax for a while before enjoying a farewell dinner with your group. (B, D)
Day 13: Dublin to U.S.A.
Complimentary group transfers are provided to Dublin Airport to arrive at 6:00 am, 9:00 am and 12:00 noon. After check-in, you'll have time to shop at the duty-free stores before U.S. Immigration pre-clearance and boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)
B=Breakfast, D=Dinner
Hotels on this tour
*If your flight arrives later than noon, you will need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense.
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