We create or refine any itinerary to reflect your group's interests, needs, time frame and budget.

If you have a group that wants to do something special, the Group Department staff will build a program to suit your group and discuss all aspects of your tour itinerary, hotels, budget, sightseeing program or airlines. The types of tours that we can offer are endless! We have included some suggested itineraries and inclusions to give you some ideas. If your knowledge of Ireland, Britain or Italy is not up to speed, you can rely on one of our group travel professionals for up-to-date information.

The cost of a customized tour depends on the duration, hotels and features selected. We use mainly 3- and 4-star hotels to provide a good value-for-money tour. With a bigger budget, we can book 5-star and castle hotels that are extremely popular. Special meals or sightseeing can be included wherever you wish. The program is quoted to you as a net rate and we include complimentary tour conductor places in the land-only cost.

Advantages in setting up a customized group tour

o Freedom to design any itinerary for any season
o CIE negotiates keen rates and the benefit is passed along to you
o Include special interest features not offered on scheduled tours
o Your group travels on their own exclusive coach

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Customized Group Request Form

Ideas & Inclusions

Looking for some ideas for a special type of group tour? Travelers to Ireland relish the historical aspects and many are proud of Irish ancestry. Irish pubs are legendary as meeting places and writer's haunts. Any of these groupings can be used as a base for a special interest tour or pick out individual visits to spice up a general interest itinerary.

Some Suggestions:

o Literary Tour
o Pub Tour
o Shopping & Craft Trip
o Historic Sites Tour
o Ancestry Programs
o 19th & 20th Century History Tour

As Ireland is renowned for its writers, a literary interest tour could include:

o Writer's Museum, Dublin — manuscripts and memorabilia from many of Dublin's foremost writers
o James Joyce Cultural Centre, Dublin — a collection of manuscripts, documents and memorabilia in a Georgian house in the heart of the area where he lived
o James Joyce Tower, Sandycove, Dublin — used as his setting for the opening of "Ulysses" and contains manuscripts and memorabilia
o George Bernard Shaw birthplace, Dublin — small house which recreates the writer's youth in Victorian style
o Abbey Theatre, Dublin — Ireland's national theater where works by Irish playwrights are performed
o Thoor Ballylee, Gort, Co. Galway — tower-house owned by William Butler Yeats
o Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara, Co. Galway — medieval-style banquets with a literary theme

Ireland's pubs are legendary — not just drinking places, but also social and entertainment centers:

o The Brazen Head, Merchant's Quay Dublin — Dublin's oldest pub which was founded in 1198. Other long established watering holes include The Old Stand, Davy Byrne's, Mulligan's, Toner's, Stag's Head, Doheny & Nesbitt's, Ryan's and The Bailey
o Guinness Store House — see how the famous stout is brewed and sample a pint at the end of the tour
o Durty Nelly's, Bunratty — beside Bunratty Castle this popular bar overflows with conversation and music
o Burke's Oyster Inn, Clarenbridge, Galway — famous for its oysters and for the Galway Oyster Festival in September

Shopping can be regarded as a pastime or an art! A shopping and crafts trip could include:

o Waterford Crystal, Waterford — see the blowing and cutting of this fine crystal
o Blarney Woollen Mills, Blarney, Co. Cork — specializing in woolens but stocking Irish made goods of all types
o Avoca Handweavers, Co. Wicklow — oldest weavers in Ireland dating from 1723
o Irish Linen Center, Lisburn, Co. Antrim — see the production of linen
o Belleek Pottery Factory, Belleek, Co. Fermanagh — established in 1857 and renowned for delicate porcelain china
o Kilkenny Design Center, Kilkenny — offers the finest work from Irish artisans
o Aran sweaters — originally handknitted in the Aran Islands but now sold throughout Ireland

Historical places, especially ancient sites, are popular with visitors from the United States:

o Boyne Valley Visitor Center, Slane, Co. Meath — visit the underground burial sites of Newgrange and Knowth which date from 3,000 BC
o Ceide Fields, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo remains of a Stone Age farm — one of the best examples from that era in the world
o Craggaunowen Bronze Age Project, Limerick — reconstruction of a crannog, a bronze age lake dwelling
o Hunt Museum, Limerick — excellent collection of early Celtic antiquities, also medieval art
o National Museum, Dublin — "Or", a collection of Bronze Age gold ornaments and many other Irish treasures

With over 40 million people in the United States claiming Irish Ancestry, heritage programs are popular:

o Genealogical Office, Dublin — operates consultation service on how to start a search
o National Library, Dublin — extensive records and other genealogical materials
o Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast — official records from 1820 onwards
o Cobh Heritage Center, Cobh, Cork — story of emigration from Ireland to United States
o Bunratty Folk Park, Bunratty — traditional cottages and town houses from various parts of Ireland
o Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh — traditional farming methods and lifestyles in Ireland

Ireland has undergone many changes in the past century and the following are of interest to historical buffs:

o G.P.O. Dublin — the headquarters of the Irish Volunteers in the fight for independence in 1916
o Leinster House, Dublin — built in 1745 and became the seat of government in 1924
o Dublin Castle, Dublin — the center of British rule in Ireland until taken over by the Irish Government in 1922
o Kilmainham Jail, Dublin — the prison where leaders of the 1916 rising were held and executed
o Avondale House, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow — former home of the great Irish 19th century leader, Charles Stewart Parnell
o Cobh Heritage Center. Cobh, Co. Cork — retells the story of emigration from Ireland to the United States over the past 150 years
o Derrynane House. Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry — home of Daniel O'Connell, "the Liberator," with displays of documents

Click to download Letterhead shells
Customized Group Request Form