• 12 days/10 nights/19 meals

• Group transfers on arrival and departure
• Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Services of a professional Irish driver/guide
• Superior & first class hotels with private bath/shower for 10 nights
• 10 full Irish breakfasts (B)
• 9 dinners (D) including, Traditional Irish evening with dinner and entertainment at the Abbey Tavern, Farewell dinner at Cabra Castle Hotel, 7 table d'hote dinners
• Welcome get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with a local guide
• "Titanic" walking tour of Cobh
• Guided walking tour of Derry
• Visits and admissions to Dublin Castle, Malahide Castle, National Botanic Gardens, Blarney Woollen Mills, Muckross Gardens, Blasket Centre, Cliffs of Moher, Kylemore Abbey, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Knock Shrine, W. B. Yeats' Grave, Giant's Causeway, Ulster American Folk Park and Boyne Valley Visitor Centre & Newgrange or Knowth Tomb
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

This tour enables you to discover some popular Irish places such as cosmopolitan Dublin, ancient Blarney Castle and soak up the beauty of Killarney. Also visit the spectacular scenery of the Dingle Peninsula, Connemara and the Giant's Causeway. Start your tour in Dublin with a lively Abbey Tavern evening and a tour of the city center. First class hotels offer excellent value for money and the final night is reserved in a delightful castle.

Day 1: Depart for Dublin
Board your flight to Ireland and enjoy inflight meals and entertainment as you start your vacation.

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 join a local guide on a Dublin city center tour to see some of the important public buildings such as Trinity College , the General Post Office and St. Patrick's Cathedral. End with a visit to Dublin Castle 's State Apartments where you can see magnificently decorated chambers that are used for many state functions. In the evening meet your fellow travelers over a welcome drink and, as you are free for independent dining, your tour guide will assist you in selecting a suitable venue.

Day 3: Malahide Castle & Abbey Tavern
Take the coastal route to Malahide Castle, which was owned and inhabited by the Talbot family from 1185 until 1973. Visit the main chambers, rich with furnishings and portraits to learn about the long history of the castle. Next take a guided tour around the National Botanic Gardens founded in 1790. The devastating potato blight virus was first recorded here on August 20, 1845. See wonderful Victorian glasshouses and many different types of gardens. The afternoon is at leisure and in the evening head to a popular Dublin venue for Irish cuisine and a lively session of traditional songs. (B, D)

Day 4: "Titanic" Walk & Cork City
Head south through farming country, pausing for photos at the Rock of Cashel , a stately limestone outcrop topped with medieval ruins. Then visit the harbor town of Cobh , the last port of call for the Titanic. Take a walk around this picturesque town and the dockside with a local historian to see places relating to the Titanic's last stop. Drive around Cork city center before checking in to your hotel, overlooking the famous River Lee. You may like to use the superb leisure facilities before dinner. (B, D)

Day 5: Blarney & Muckross Gardens
Drive to the Blarney Woollen Mills, offering excellent Irish-made products all under one roof. If you wish, you may climb to the top of Blarney Castle independently or walk around the village. Continue through Macroom to Killarney and check into your centrally-located hotel. Drive to the Killarney National Park for a guided walk around Muckross Gardens, set out along the shores of Muckross Lake. The gardens contain many fine trees planted in the 19th century as well as colorful shrubs and flowers. Head back to Killarney to look around the town before dinner. (B, D)

Day 6: Dingle Peninsula Tour
Today discover the glorious Dingle Peninsula , made famous by two movies that were enhanced by the scenery - "Ryan's Daughter" and "Far & Away." Drive along the south shore and stop to admire views of heathery mountains, sandy stretches of beach and rocky headlands. Pause for a while in Dingle before continuing to the western tip of the peninsula. 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. Return to Killarney and enjoy free time to use the leisure facilities in your hotel or take a walk around town. After dinner in your hotel you may like to visit some of the cozy pubs featuring live music. (B, D)

Day 7: Bunratty Village & Cliffs of Moher
Travel north from Killarney and through Limerick to the village of Bunratty. Stop for a look around on your own - shop, visit Durty Nelly's Pub or tour the Folk Park . Drive to the coast to view the Cliffs of Moher , an impressive wall of rock that rises 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. In the newly-opened Visitor Centre learn about the formation of the cliffs and the nearby Burren , an area of rounded limestone hills. Continue your drive via Corkscrew Hill to Ballyvaughan and around Galway Bay to Galway . Take a drive around the to see the main places of interest and browse around the city center, full of specialty shops, cafes and pubs, before checking in to your hotel. (B, D)

Day 8: Clifden & Kylemore Abbey
Today tour Connemara and admire sweeping views of misty mountains and shimmering lakes. You will see sheep grazing freely and tracts of bogland where people hand-cut peat for home heating. Stop in Spiddal where you may hear locals chatting in the Irish language. Continue to Clifden , a delightful market town set between the Twelve Bens and sandy bays. Visit Kylemore Abbey , a 19th century neo-Gothic mansion, which is now a prestigious girls' school. Tour the exquisite chapel and reception rooms and stroll by the peaceful lake shore. In Moycullen watch skilled craftsmen cutting fine crystal at the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory. (B, D)

Day 9: Knock Shrine & Derry Walk
Head north to the village of Knock , a popular place of pilgrimage, and through County Sligo to view W. B. Yeats' grave in Drumcliffe Churchyard. Follow the shoreline of Donegal Bay to Donegal town and stop in the center to take a look around before continuing your drive through the majestic Donegal countryside to Derry . Take a guided walking tour around the ancient city, which will include the Guildhall, St. Columb's Cathedral, the Diamond and 16th century city walls. (B, D)

Day 10: Giant's Causeway & Ulster American Folk Park
This morning explore the Giant's Causeway , huge hexagonal columns formed over 60 million years ago. The oversized rocks have given rise to many legends. Drive past the Sperrin Mountains to visit the Ulster American Folk Park. See many cottages including the boyhood home of Thomas Mellon, who emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1818 and founded the Mellon Bank. The Park traces the story of Ulster emigrants and shows how rural lifestyles in both Ireland and America in Colonial times. Travel south to Kingscourt to your castle hotel, built in 1760. (B, D)

Day 11: Megalithic Tombs & Cabra Castle Stay
This morning discover the Boyne Valley. Stop at the Boyne Valley Visitor Centre to learn about the passage burial tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, both of which are over 5,000 years old. Visit one of the tombs to see how primitive people managed to align these buildings precisely with the sun or the moon. Return to your hotel where the afternoon is free so that you can play the 9-hole golf course, enjoy the extensive parkland setting or just relax in the hotel. After a farewell dinner in the Court Restaurant, enjoy some informal entertainment. (B, D)

Day 12: Dublin to USA
This morning take a group transfer from Kingscourt to Dublin Airport where your tour concludes at 10:00 am. After check-in you will have time to shop at the duty-free stores. If you need to arrive at Dublin Airport before 10:00 am, your guide will arrange an early group transfer. (B)

B=Breakfast, CB=Continental Breakfast, D=Dinner

Hotels on this tour

• Mont Clare Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
• Kingsley Hotel, Cork (1 night)
• Killarney Towers Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
• Salthill Hotel, Salthill, Co Galway (2 nights)
• City Hotel, Derry (2 nights)
• Cabra Castle Hotel, Cavan (1 night)