Northern Gems 9 Day Coach Tour

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Tour Highlights

• Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet
• Killary Fjord Catamaran Cruise
• Slieve League Sea Cliffs
• Giant’s Causeway
• Cabra Castle Hotel

Day 1: Cliffs of Moher & Banquet

Your starts in Shannon airport with a transfer to your hotel in Bunratty.

At 2:30 pm depart for the Cliffs of Moher, a dramatic wall of rock that plunges to the Atlantic Ocean. Return to Bunratty to experience dinner at the Mediaeval Banquet at the 15th century Bunratty castle. (B, D)

Day 2: Burren & Galway bay

In Kilfenora visit the Burren Display Centre to learn about the Burren, an area of rounded limestone hills. Then view the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a Neolithic burial place dating to 4,000 BC and take a look around the village of Ballyvaughan. Drive into Galway where you will have some free time in the city centre before checking in to your hotel overlooking Galway Bay and the Burren. (B, D)

Day 3: “Quiet Man” Walking Tour & Catamaran Cruise

Drive to Cong for a guided walk around the village where “The Quiet Man” movie was made in 1952. Drive through the lovely scenery of Connemara to embark on a short cruise of Killary Harbour. Enjoy an Irish coffee as you view traces of pre-Famine potato “lazy beds.” Make a brief stop at Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre before heading to Clifden, a delightful market town, and then return to Galway. (B, D)

Day 4: Museum of Country Life & Belleek China

Outside Castlebar visit the Museum of Country Life. View collections of domestic goods, used in everyday living from 1850 to 1950. Stop in the pilgrimage town of Knock and in County Sligo view W. B. Yeats’ Grave. Continue to Belleek for a tour of the Belleek Pottery Factory, founded in the mid-19th century and today renowned for fine china. Drive to Donegal town for your next overnight stop. (B, D)

Day 5: Slieve League Cliffs & Donegal

Drive along the coast of Donegal to view Slieve League sea cliffs, the highest in Europe reaching 1,972 feet. The cliffs drop straight down to the wild Atlantic waves creating marvellous views. Enjoy coffee or tea with home-baked scones before driving through Glengesh Pass to Ardara to visit Triona Design for demonstrations of spinning and knitting. Stop in Donegal town for free time before returning to your hotel. (B, D)

Day 6: Derry Walk & Giant’s Causeway

Take a walking tour with a local guide to see Derry’s medieval walls, the Diamond and St. Columb’s Cathedral. Pause for photos at Dunluce Castle before visiting the Giant’s Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. Continue along the scenic coastal drive of the “Nine Glens of Antrim” to your stylish hotel in Belfast, close to the waterfront and the attractions in the city centre. (B, D)

Day 7: Belfast & Cabra Castle

Tour Belfast with a local guide to see Victorian buildings, the Harland & Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built, the Falls Road and Shankill. Continue past the Mourne Mountains to Kingscourt to your lovely castle hotel, built in 1760. Arrive in time to enjoy the facilities, including a 9-hole golf course. After dinner, youthful dancers will display intricate Irish step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 8: Battle of the Boyne Centre & Leisure Time in Dublin

Outside Drogheda visit the Battle of the Boyne Centre to learn about the 1690 conflict between King William III and his father-in-law, King James II. Then travel into Dublin. The balance of the day is free so you may take an open-top bus tour and visit Guinness or Jameson, (B)

Day 9: Depart from Dublin Airport

Your Tour ends today with a group transfer to Dublin Airport.  (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
• Superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 8 nights
• 8 full Irish breakfasts (B)
• 7 dinners (D) including:

-              Mediaeval Banquet at Bunratty Castle

-              Dinner and Irish step-dancing display at Cabra Castle Hotel

-              5 table d’hôte dinners

• Welcome get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with local guide
• Walking tour of Derry with local guide
• “The Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
• Catamaran cruise of Killary Fjord with an Irish coffee
• Slieve League Sea Cliffs followed by home-baked scones with coffee or tea
• Visits and admissions to Cliffs of Moher, Burren Display Centre, Poulnabrone Dolmen, Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre, Museum of Country Life, Knock Shrine, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Belleek Pottery Factory, Triona Design, Giant’s Causeway and Battle of the Boyne Centre
• 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):

• Bunratty Castle Hotel, Bunratty (1 night)
• Galway Bay Hotel, Galway  (2 nights)
• Millpark Hotel, Donegal  (2 nights)
• Radisson Blu Hotel, Belfast  (1 night)
• Cabra Castle Hotel, Kingscourt (1 night)
• Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire (1 night)

Departure Date            End Date                    Per Person