Choose your vacation
Irish Explorer 9 &10 Day Coach Tour
Tour Highlights
- Traditional Dinner/Show in Dublin
- Boyne Valley Neolithic Tombs
- Slieve League Sea Cliffs
- Ring of Kerry Tour
- Deluxe Clontarf Castle Stay
Day 1: Dublin Touring & Book of Kells
Start your tour at Dublin Airport with a group transfer to your hotel between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later than noon, you will transfer to the hotel at your own expense. Your hotel is located in fashionable Ballsbridge on the south side of the city. At 2:00 pm tour the city centre with a local guide to see elegant Georgian squares, public buildings and monuments such as the Famine Memorial. Visit Trinity College’s Old Library to view the priceless 8th century Book of Kells. Enjoy a welcome drink with your fellow travellers and talk about your trip.
Day 2: Glendalough Monastic Site & Irish Evening
Drive south from Dublin through delightful scenery of the Wicklow Mountains. Visit the Glendalough Visitor Centre to learn about St. Kevin’s 6th century monastery and walk through the site to see its round tower, church ruins and Celtic crosses. Return to Dublin where the afternoon is free for you to take an open-top bus tour all around the city centre. Use your voucher for the Guinness Storehouse and sip a creamy pint of stout. Or visit the Old Jameson Distillery to see how whiskey is distilled and sample the finished product. In the evening head to a Dublin pub for Irish cuisine and a lively session of traditional songs. (B, D)
Day 3: Neolithic Tombs & Donegal
This morning visit 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. Drive through the Lakeland region of County Cavan and along the scenic shores of Lower Lough Erne to your hotel on the outskirts of Donegal town where you will have time to relax or use the extensive leisure facilities before dining with your group. (B, D)
Day 4: Slieve League Cliffs & Glengesh Pass
Drive to the fishing port of Killybegs and on to Teelin to view Slieve League sea cliffs, where the highest point reaches 1,972 feet making them the highest in Europe and creating marvellous vistas as they drop to the wild Atlantic waves below. Sample home-baked scones with coffee or tea before continuing through the majestic Glengesh Pass. In Ardara visit Triona Design to see demonstrations of spinning, weaving and knitting as Donegal is renowned for wool production. Drive to Donegal town for free time in the town centre before returning to your nearby hotel. (B, D)
Day 5: Belleek & Museum of Country Life
Visit the Belleek Pottery Factory to see how the craftspeople mould, shape and decorate clay, creating the world-famous fine china. Pause at Drumcliffe Churchyard to view the grave of W. B. Yeats, the Nobel prize-winning poet, who based many poems on the delightful countryside around Sligo. Continue through County Mayo to Castlebar to visit the Museum of Country Life. See collections of domestic goods, in daily use from 1850 to 1950. Exhibits and a movie explain how Irish people made a living from the soil. Drive to Galway and check in to your hotel. (B, D)
Day 6: Catamaran Cruise & Kylemore Abbey
Drive through the heart of Connemara, past granite hills and sparkling lakes on the way to Leenane for a short cruise of Killary Harbour, a 9-mile fjord. Enjoy views of hills where traces of pre-Famine “lazy beds” of potato ridges can still be seen. Keep an eye out for seabirds as you pass mussel and salmon farms. Rejoin your coach and stop for photos at the Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre. Drive through lovely countryside where sheep graze freely and stop to look around Clifden, the principal town of the region. Continue to Moycullen to visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, which specializes in intricate designs in coloured crystal, before returning to Galway. (B, D)
Day 7: Cliffs of Moher & Flying Boat Museum
Drive around Galway Bay to view the Cliffs of Moher, an impressive wall of rock. Continue to Bunratty for a brief stop to have a drink in Durty Nelly’s or shop at the Bunratty Woollen Mills before travelling through Limerick and along the Shannon Estuary to Foynes to visit the Flying Boat Museum. 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 recalls the early days of aviation. Arrive in Killarney, check in to your hotel and relax before dinner. (B, D)
Day 8: Ring of Kerry & Skellig Experience
Take a drive around the Ring of Kerry where every bend in 100 miles of road reveals breathtaking views. Stop at Kells to meet a local farmer, Brendan Ferris, for a taste of farm life with a sheepdog demonstration of herding flocks. At the tip of the peninsula visit the Skellig Experience, which explains the history, flora and fauna on the nearby rocky islands. Return through the attractive village of Sneem and pause at Moll’s Gap for panoramic views of Killarney and its lakes. You might like to take a stroll around Killarney before dinner. (B, D)
Day 9: Blarney & Clontarf Castle Hotel
Drive through County Cork to the Blarney Woollen Mills where quality Irish-made products are gathered under one roof. If you wish, you may climb Blarney Castle independently to kiss the famous stone. Drive north to visit the stately Rock of Cashel, a limestone outcrop containing 12th century church ruins. Continue to Dublin once more and check in to Clontarf Castle, a luxurious haven located a short distance from the city centre. The castle dates back to 1172 and today offers guests all the splendour of a royal experience. Enjoy a special farewell dinner in the hotel’s old-world dining room. (B, D)
Day 10: Tour Ends at Dublin Airport
Complimentary group transfers are provided to Dublin Airport to arrive at 6:00 am, 9:00 am or 12:00 noon to check in for your flight home. (B)
YOUR TOUR INCLUDES
- Group transfers at start and end of tour
- Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
- Dublin open-top bus tour with complimentary visit and a drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
- Professional tour director throughout
- Superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 9 nights
- 9 full Irish breakfasts (B)
- 8 dinners (D) including:
- Dinner and traditional show in Dublin
- Farewell dinner at Clontarf Castle Hotel
- 6 table d’hote dinners
- Welcome get-together drink
- Tour of Dublin with a local guide
- Slieve League sea cliffs followed by home-baked scones with coffee or tea
- Catamaran cruise of Killary Fjord
- Sheepdog trials on Ring of Kerry
- Visits and admissions to Book of Kells at Trinity College, Glendalough Visitor Centre, Boyne Valley Visitor Centre & Newgrange or Knowth Tomb, Triona Design, Belleek Pottery Factory, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Museum of Country Life, Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Cliffs of Moher, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Skellig Experience, Blarney Woollen Mills and Rock of Cashel
- Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
- All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person
YOUR HOTELS
Stay at the following (or similar):
- Herbert Park Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
- Mill Park Hotel, Donegal (2 nights)
- Meyrick Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
- Killarney Avenue Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
- Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin (1 night)
Tour starts Tour ends 9Day 10Day Dublin Dublin* Sun Mar 10 Mon Mar 18 1258 1425 Sun Mar 17 Mon Mar 25 1258 1425 Sun Mar 24 Mon Apr 01 1258 1425 Sun Mar 31 Mon Apr 08 1358 1526 Sun Apr 07 Mon Apr 15 1458 1626 Sun Apr 14 Mon Apr 22 1458 1626 Sun Apr 21 Mon Apr 29 1458 1626 Sun Apr 28 Mon May 06 1608 1768 Sun May 05 Mon May 13 1758 1898 Sun May 12 Mon May 20 1758 1898 Sun May 19 Mon May 27 1758 1898 Sun May 26 Mon Jun 03 1758 1898 Sun Jun 02 Mon Jun 10 1758 1898 Sun Jun 09 Mon Jun 17 1758 1898 Sun Jun 16 Mon Jun 24 1758 1898 Sun Jun 23 Mon Jul 01 1758 1898 Sun Jun 30 Mon Jul 08 1758 1898 Sun Jul 07 Mon Jul 15 1758 1898 Sun Jul 14 Mon Jul 22 1758 1898 Sun Jul 21 Mon Jul 29 1758 1898 Sun Jul 28 Mon Aug 05 1758 1898 Sun Aug 04 Mon Aug 12 1758 1898 Sun Aug 11 Mon Aug 19 1758 1898 Sun Aug 18 Mon Aug 26 1758 1898 Sun Aug 25 Mon Sep 02 1758 1898 Sun Sep 01 Mon Sep 09 1758 1898 Sun Sep 08 Mon Sep 16 1758 1898 Sun Sep 15 Mon Sep 23 1758 1898 Sun Sep 22 Mon Sep 30 1758 1898 Sun Sep 29 Mon Oct 07 1623 1786 Sun Oct 06 Mon Oct 14 1488 1668 Sun Oct 13 Mon Oct 21 1488 1668 Sun Oct 20 Mon Oct 28 1488 1668 Sun Oct 27 Mon Nov 04 1434 1588 Sun Nov 03 Mon Nov 11 1296 1358 * 10 day tour returns from Dublin one day later than shown above Single room supplement: 9 day $538, 10 day $598