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Irish Interlude 9 Day Coach Tour
Tour Highlights
- Traditional Irish evening in Dublin
- Giant’s Causeway
- Belfast City Tour
- Killary Fjord Catamaran Cruise
- Jaunting Car Ride in Killarney
Day 1: Shannon Arrival & Ennis Walking Tour
Land at Shannon Airport and transfer to the charming marketing town of Ennis. Complimentary transfers are available between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later than 12:00 noon, transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:00 pm join a local guide for a walking tour around the main points of interest. Meet your fellow travellers and tour director over a welcome drink before dinner in your hotel. (D)
Day 2: Cliffs of Moher & Galway
Travel to the coast to view the Cliffs of Moher, a five-mile wall of limestone rising above the foaming Atlantic breakers. See the rounded limestone hills of the Burren and the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a huge stone monument marking a Neolithic burial place. Stop in the attractive village of Ballyvaughan and continue to Moycullen, just north of Galway. Head to Galway for a panoramic city tour before continuing to your hotel in good time for dinner. (B, D)
Day 3: Connemara & Catamaran Cruise
Today explore Connemara, a scenic region of misty hills and shimmering lakes. At Leenane embark on a catamaran cruise through Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord. See steep hills where ridges of potato fields, reminders of the 1840’s Famine, are still visible and see mussel and salmon farms. Stop for photos at the Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre and drive to Cong for a short walking tour around movie locations used in the 1952 production of “The Quiet Man. Visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, which specializes in intricate designs in coloured crystal” (B, D)
Day 4: Country life & Belleek China
Outside Castlebar tour the Museum of Country Life to see collections of domestic goods, used when most people lived by farming. Stop at Knock Shrine to see the church where locals saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1879. Cross into County Sligo and stop at the grave of W. B. Yeats before continuing to the Belleek Pottery Factory to watch skilled craftspeople create delicate china. Continue your journey past the hazy Blue Stack Mountains to Stranorlar. (B, D)
Day 5: Glenveagh Castle & Grand Atlantic Drive
Travel into the heart of Donegal to Glenveagh National Park where Captain Adair evicted 225 tenants to build Glenveagh Castle in 1870. Learn about the history of the mansion, owners and guests as you tour the rooms and walk around the extensive gardens filled with exotic plants. Then experience the glorious natural beauty of the Grand Atlantic Drive, which winds through Downings and Rosapenna and around the coastline. Return to Stranorlar in time for dinner. (B, D)
Day 6: Giant’s Causeway & Nine Glens of Antrim
In Derry join a local guide for a walking tour to see medieval city walls, the Diamond and St. Columb’s Cathedral. Drive along the north coast, pausing for photos at Dunluce Castle. Explore the Giant’s Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. Experience wonderful scenery along the coastal “Nine Glens of Antrim” route. Drive into Belfast to your city centre hotel where you will have free time before dinner. (B, D)
Day 7: Belfast & Dublin Pub Evening
Tour central Belfast with a local guide to see Victorian buildings, the Harland & Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built, Shankill and the Falls Road. Visit Down Cathedral to see the reputed burial place of St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. Also visit the St. Patrick Centre to learn about his life and times. Travel to Dublin and check in to your hotel. Head to dinner, which is followed by a show of traditional music and step-dancing. (B, D)
Day 8: Dublin Tour & Book of Kells
Tour Dublin city centre to see elegant Georgian squares with colourful doorways; pass the peaceful St. Stephen’s Green and the bustling shopping areas around Nassau Street; cross the River Liffey to O’Connell Street and view the General Post Office where the 1916 Rebellion started. Walk through the campus of Trinity College to view the 8th century manuscript of the Book of Kells. The afternoon is free for you to use independent vouchers for an open-top bus tour all around central Dublin and a visit to either Guinness or Jameson. (B)
Day 9: Return Home
Complimentary group transfers are provided to Dublin Airport to arrive at 6:00 am, 9:00 am or 12:00 noon. (B)
YOUR TOUR INCLUDES
- Group transfers on arrival and departure
- Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
- Dublin open-top bus tour with complimentary visit and a drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
- Services of a professional Irish tour director
- Deluxe & superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 8 nights
- 8 full Irish breakfasts (B)
- 7 dinners (D) including:
- Dinner and traditional Irish show at a Dublin pub
- 6 table d’hôte dinners
- Welcome get-together drink
- Walking tours of Ennis and Derry with local guides
- Catamaran cruise of Killary Fjord
- “The Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
- Tours of Belfast and Dublin with local guides
- Visits and admissions to Cliffs of Moher, Poulnabrone Dolmen, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Museum of Country Life, Knock Shrine, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Belleek Pottery Factory, Glenveagh Castle & National Park, Giant’s Causeway, Down Cathedral, St. Patrick Centre, Book of Kells at Trinity College
- 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):
- Old Ground Hotel, Ennis (1 night)
- Galway Bay Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
- Kee’s Hotel, Stranorlar (2 nights)
- Europa Hotel, Belfast (1 night)
- Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
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