Highlights

Highlights:

• Dinner & Traditional Entertainment Show at Dublin's Abbey Tavern
• Walk Cobh's “Titanic Trail” & Derry's Medieval Walls
• Boyne Valley Ancient Burial Tombs
• Dingle Peninsula Tour
• Foynes Flying Boat Museum
• Giant's Causeway
• Walking Tour in Ulster American Folk Park
• Award-Winning Cabra Castle Hotel Stay

Your Hotels:
Stay at the following (or similar):

• Davenport Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
• Kingsley Hotel, Cork (1 night)
• Killarney Plaza Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
• Salthill Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
• City Hotel, Derry (2 nights)
• Cabra Castle Hotel, Cavan (1 night)
• Clarion IFSC Hotel, Dublin (1 night)

Tour Includes:

• Group transfers on arrival and departure
• Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Dublin open-top bus tour
• Visit and a drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
• Services of a professional Irish driver/guide
• Superior and first class hotels with private bath/shower for 11 nights
• 11 full Irish breakfasts (B)
• 9 dinners (D) including
  - Traditional Irish evening with dinner and entertainment at the Abbey Tavern
  - Dinner and Irish step-dancing display 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
• “The Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
• Walking tours of Derry and Ulster American Folk Park
• Visits and admissions to Kilmainham Gaol, Boyne Valley Visitor Centre & Newgrange or Knowth Tomb, Rock of Cashel, Blarney Woollen Mills, Bantry House & Gardens, Blasket Centre, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Cliffs of Moher, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Knock Shrine, Tobernault Mass Rock, W. B. Yeats' Grave, Tower Museum, Giant's Causeway and Malahide Castle
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person
  

Itinerary

13 Day Itinerary Including Airfare from USA

Day 1 - Thu: Overnight Flight to Dublin
Depart your North American gateway city and travel through the night to Dublin. Land only tour starts on day 2.

Day 2 - Fri: Dublin City Tour & Kilmainham Gaol
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 city-center 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 city center tour to see Trinity College, General Post Office, St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Famine Memorial. Visit Kilmainham Gaol where many of Ireland's leaders, including Robert Emmett, Eamon DeValera and Padraig Pearse, were imprisoned during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the evening meet your fellow travelers over a welcome drink.

Day 3 - Sat: Megalithic Tombs & Abbey Tavern
This morning visit the Boyne Valley Visitor Centre to learn about the passage burial tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, both over 5,000 years old. Tour one of the tombs to see how primitive people managed to align huge boulders precisely with the sun or the moon. Return to Dublin for a boat ride on the River Liffey to see the elegant Custom House, Dublin's new financial center and much more. Drive to the Abbey Tavern for dinner with Irish specialties and an Irish coffee followed by a lively show of music, songs and step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 4 - Sun: Rock of Cashel & “Titanic” Walk
Head south to visit the Rock of Cashel, a stately limestone outcrop topped with the 12th century highly-decorated Cormac's Chapel, the large cathedral and a round tower. Continue to Cobh for a walking tour with a local historian to see places relating to the Titanic's last port of call. Drive to the Blarney Woollen Mills, offering excellent Irish-made products under one roof. If you wish, you may climb to the top of Blarney Castle independently before heading to your hotel in Cork. (B, D)

Day 5 - Mon: Bantry House & Killarney
Explore Kinsale, an old fishing port that is popular for sailing and gourmet restaurants. Discover County Cork's coastline with great scenery and cozy towns such as Clonakilty and Skibbereen. Visit Bantry House, a stately Georgian mansion built in 1740 to see furnishings collected from all around Europe and walk through delightful gardens. Continue to Glengarriff, renowned for its palm trees, Kenmare and along part of the Ring of Kerry route via Moll's Gap to Killarney. (B, D)

Day 6 - Tue: Dingle Peninsula Tour
Explore the scenic Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies - “Ryan's Daughter” and “Far & Away.” Admire views of heathery mountains, sandy beaches and rocky headlands. Pause in Dingle before continuing to the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the offshore Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy farming and fishing families. Return to Killarney and enjoy some free time. After dinner you may like to visit local pubs featuring live music. (B, D)

Day 7 - Wed: Flying Boat Museum & Cliffs of Moher
Travel north to Foynes Flying Boat Museum to learn about the early days of flight when Pam Am Clippers landed on the River Shannon Estuary. Drive to the village of Bunratty and look around Durty Nelly's Pub or the Bunratty Folk Park. Head to the coast to view the Cliffs of Moher, an impressive wall of rock that rises 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Continue to Galway for a panoramic drive before checking in to your hotel, which overlooks Galway Bay. (B, D)

Day 8 - Thu: “Quiet Man” Walking Tour & Connemara
Drive to Cong where “The Quiet Man” movie was made in 1952. A guided walk will show you places featured in the production. Travel through Connemara for sweeping views of misty mountains and shimmering lakes. Stop briefly at Kylemore Abbey Visitor Center before continuing to Clifden, a delightful market town set between the Twelve Pins Mountains and sandy bays. In Moycullen watch skilled craftsmen cutting fine crystal at the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory. (B, D)

Day 9 - Fri: Yeats' Grave & Belleek China
Travel through County Mayo to Knock Shrine, a popular place of pilgrimage and on to County Sligo to pause in Drumcliffe Churchyard at the grave of the writer, W. B. Yeats. Follow the shoreline of Donegal Bay to visit the Belleek Pottery Factory where craftspeople mold, shape and decorate clay, creating the world-famous fine china. Continue your drive through the majestic Barnesmore Gap to Derry. Enjoy free time to relax or take a walk before dinner. (B, D)

Day 10 - Sat: Derry Walk & Giant's Causeway
Join a local guide for a walking tour around Derry's ancient city center including the Guildhall, St. Columb's Cathedral, the Diamond and the 16th century walls. Visit the award-winning Tower Museum. Drive along the north coast, stopping for photos at the ruined Dunluce Castle and explore the Giant's Causeway, huge hexagonal basalt columns formed over 60 million years ago. The oversized rocks have given rise to many legends. Return to Derry for leisure time. (B, D)

Day 11 - Sun: Ulster American Folk Park & Cabra Castle Stay
Near Omagh visit the Ulster American Folk Park, which traces the story of Ulster emigrants and shows rural lifestyles in Ireland and Colonial America. See many cottages including the boyhood home of Thomas Mellon, who emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1818 and founded the Mellon Bank. Travel south to Kingscourt to arrive mid-afternoon so you may relax and enjoy the facilities at your castle hotel, built in 1760. After dinner in the Court Restaurant, youthful dancers display intricate Irish step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 12 - Mon: Dublin at Leisure & Open-Top Bus
After a leisurely breakfast, drive to a different Dublin hotel, this time overlooking the River Liffey. You will have most of the day at leisure so you may take an open-top bus tour and stop off at various attractions throughout the city center. Also visit either Guinness or Jameson to see how their products are made and enjoy a complimentary drink. (B)

Day 13 - Tue: Depart from Dublin Airport
Your hotel offers a shuttle service to Dublin Airport every two hours starting at 7:20 am. So choose a suitable transfer time to arrive at the airport to check in for your flight. If you need an earlier transfer, your tour escort will arrange one for you. (B)

Optionals

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