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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Ideas & Inclusions

With Britain's wealth of history and literature, the choice of interesting visitor attractions is overwhelming. Travelers can enjoy a balance of education and fun in varied scenic settings and visit places that feature prominently in history or current events. Use one of these themes for your unique tour of Britain or just pick out a couple of features to add interest to any itinerary.

Some Suggestions:

o Literary Interests Tour
o Historic Castles & Houses Tour
o Gardens Tour
o Cathedrals & Abbeys Tour

British literature has influenced writers around the world. This is a sample of the vast number of writers' homes that are open to the public:

o Chawton, outside Bath — visit Jane Austin's home where she wrote Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park
o Haworth, Yorkshire — visit the parsonage where the Bronte sisters wrote and see samples of writings, sketches and furniture
o Alloway — visit the 18th century cottage where Robert Burns was born and the Tam O'Shanter Experience. Also Auld Kirk and Auld Brig O'Doon
o Stratford-upon-Avon — Shakespeare's Birthplace, an Elizabethan half timbered and furnished house. In Shottery visit Anne Hathaway's Cottage, family home of his wife
o Windermere — home of Beatrix Potter at Hill Top Farm and nearby Towers Bank Arms
o Geoffrey Chaucer — Canterbury. Visit Canterbury Pilgrims' Way, a medieval adventure evoking characters from Chaucer's writings. Also see the Cathedral, a mix of styles dating from 1100 A.D. with stunning stained glass
o Thirsk — where James Herriot wrote his stories. See the exterior of his veterinary surgery and visit the local museum with its collection of memorabilia
o Shrewsbury — where Peter Ellis set his Brother Cadfael mysteries. Sites are identified by "footsteps" through the town
o Abbotsford, near Melrose — home of Sir Walter Scott which is full of memorabilia and period furnishings

Historic castles and houses of many different styles and sizes abound throughout Britain. Here are a few which would add interest to any itinerary:

o Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh — official residence of the Queen in Scotland which dates from 1498 and has many connections with Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie
o Stirling Castle — childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots and has many connections with Robert the Bruce
o Blenheim Palace, near Oxford — birthplace of Winston Churchill. Britain's largest private house, built by the Duke of Marlborough
o Hampton Court Palace, Surrey — Tudor mansion built by Cardinal Wolsey for Henry VIII
o Windsor Palace — owned by the Queen. Royal State Apartments, St. George's Chapel and the round tower are open to the public
o Chartwell — home of Winston Churchill from 1924-1965 containing memorabilia from his life, especially his paintings
o Chatsworth, Derbyshire — home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire where 26 elaborately decorated rooms are on view with art treasures and furnishings
o Castle Howard, York — spectacular 18th century mansion set amidst gardens and parkland
o Powis Castle, Welshpool — medieval castle containing fine collection of paintings and furniture, owned by the Clive family. See the treasures brought to Wales by "Clive of India"
o Cardiff Castle — some Roman stonework and a Norman keep, but the interior mainly dates from the mid 1890s, at the height of Cardiff's prosperity

British gardens are famous for their design, scope and creativity.

These are some of the gardens open to the public:

o Kew Gardens, London — one of the world's great botanic gardens with the largest collection of plants in Britain
o Inverewe Gardens, Poolewe — in a wonderful Highland setting with a wide range of plants which flourish due to the influence of the Gulf Stream
o Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent — series of small, romantic gardens created by Vita Sackville-West and her husband
o Bodnant Garden, near Colwyn Bay — set on River Conwy with excellent collections of magnolias and camellias and terraced gardens best seen in summer months
o Blenheim Palace, Woodstock — a water garden, Italian garden, maze and parklands laid out by "Capability Brown," the great 18th century pioneer of landscape design
o Hever Castle Gardens, Kent — wonderful collection of shrubs and trees with a lake, Italian garden and a maze
o Sezincote, Gloucestershire — water garden created in the "Indian" style with exotic shrubs against a backdrop of trees
o Packwood House, Warwickshire — Tudor gardens, especially noted for its topiary garden which symbolizes the Sermon on the Mount

Britain has a marvelous collection of cathedrals and abbeys which were the focal point of life throughout the Middle Ages:

o Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury — legendary burial place of King Arthur and one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain
o Chichester Cathedral — founded in 1091 and contains Romanesque stone carvings and artifacts from many centuries up to the present with a window by Marc Chagall
o Ely Cathedral — completed in 1351 and is one of the finest Norman cathedrals with its Octagon Tower and Lady Chapel
o Winchester Cathedral — fine Norman cathedral modernized to Perpendicular style at the end of the 14th century
o Salisbury Cathedral — established in the 13th century with the tallest spire in England and very fine stained glass
o Buckfast Abbey — built by monks in the middle ages and still a working monastery, producing tonic wine, honey and pottery
o York Minster — the largest cathedral in Britain and built over a period of 250 years. Particularly noted for its fine stained glass
o Coventry Cathedral — completed in 1962 with huge stained-glass windows and richly colored interior to replace the earlier building which was destroyed in World War II
o Wells Cathedral — started in 1185 and finished 4 centuries later. 14th century clock where 4 knights do battle every 15 minutes. Wide facade with many statues

Click to download Letterhead shells
Customized Group Request Form