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Irish Classic
Superior First Class Hotels: 12 Day Coach Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Taylor’s
Three Rock Dinner/Show
Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet
Giant’s Causeway
Guided Tours of Dublin & Belfast
Achill Island Tour
Foynes Flying Boat
Museum
Traditional Music & Irish Coffee in Dungarvan
Historic Derry & Waterford Walks
Day 1: Arrive Ireland & 6th
Century Glendalough
Arrive in Dublin Airport,
complete immigration formalities and pick up your luggage. Go to the CIE
Tours desk in the Arrivals Hall to arrange a group transfer to your hotel
between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later, you will need
to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. Your hotel, an elegant
Victorian mansion, overlooks Dublin Bay and Dun
Laoghaire Harbour.
At 2:00 pm drive through the lovely scenery of the Wicklow Mountains to visit Glendalough,
a 6th century monastic site founded by St. Kevin. Learn about life
in early Christian Ireland and walk through the many church ruins and a round
tower. In the evening meet your fellow travellers
over a welcome
drink and your tour director will help you choose a local
restaurant to dine independently.
Day 2: Dublin
Castle & Taylor’s Three Rock Evening
This morning tour the city centre to
see elegant Georgian townhouses and their famous colourful
doors, pass St. Stephen’s Green and cross the River Liffey
to view the Famine Memorial and drive along O’Connell Street. Visit Dublin Castle’s
State Apartments where a guide will relate events from Irish history as you
walk through gracious Georgian chambers. The afternoon is at leisure so
return to Dun Laoghaire to relax or stay in
the city centre for an independent open-top bus tour with a
visit to Guinness or Jameson. This evening’s destination is Taylor’s Three
Rock Pub for dinner and a lively show of traditional Irish
songs and intricate step-dancing. (B,D)
Day 3: Downpatrick
& Mount Stewart
Drive north past the Mourne
Mountains to Downpatrick. Visit Down Cathedral to learn about
Ireland’s
patron saint and see his reputed burial place. Cross Strangford Lough
by ferry to explore Mount Stewart House and Gardens.
The famous gardens at Mount
Stewart were planted in
the 1920’s by Edith, Lady Londonderry, and have been nominated a World
Heritage Site. The house tour includes world-famous paintings and stories
about the prominent political figures to whom the Londonderry family played host. Check in to your hotel
in Belfast.
(B,D)
Day 4: Belfast, Giant’s Causeway & Derry
See the highlights of Belfast with a local guide,
including Victorian buildings, the Harland and Wolff Shipyards, where the
Titanic was built and areas around the Shankill and
Falls Road. Drive north along the “Nine Glens of Antrim,” a
scenic route with lovely views of mountains, valleys and coastline. Stop at
the Giant’s Causeway, hexagonal columns
formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. The enormous rocks
have spawned legends about the mythical giant, Finn McCool. Continue to Derry and join a local guide for a short walk
around the ancient city centre and surrounding medieval city walls. (B,D)
Day 5: Ulster
American Folk
Park& Belleek
China
Drive south for a walk around the Ulster American Folk
Park. The Park traces the story of Ulster
emigrants and shows rural lifestyles in both Ireland and Colonial America.
Take a guided tour around the Belleek Pottery Factory
to see craftspeople making delicate and ornate pieces in fine china. Travel
through Counties Sligo and Mayo to Westport where your
hotel is located in the town centre. (B,D)
Day 6: Achill Island
Excursion & Westport
After a late breakfast travel around Clew Bay,
reputed to have 365 islands, to Achill
Island, joined to the
mainland by bridge. Follow the Atlantic
Drive to capture wonderful views of
steeply-sloped mountains plunging into the shimmering Atlantic
Ocean. Near Slievemore see the Deserted Village, the remains of nearly 100
stone cottages abandoned around the time of the 1840’s Famine. Also see
stretches of windswept bogland and golden beaches.
Return to Westport
in time to stroll around this attractive estate town, which was laid out in
1780. (B,D)
Day 7: Cliffs of Moher
& Bunratty Medieval Banquet
Travel to Galway City
for a panoramic tour and free time before driving through the limestone hills
of the Burren. View the Poulnabrone Dolmen,
a pre-Christian burial site marked by huge boulders. Walk along the majestic Cliffs of Moher, a rocky wall that rises nearly 700
feet above the foaming Atlantic Ocean. At Bunratty check in to your hotel, right beside Bunratty Castle, the Bunratty Folk Park
and Durty Nelly’s Pub. In the evening head to
15th century Bunratty Castle
for a jolly medieval-style dinner where the Lords and Ladies serenade you-. (B,D)
Day 8: Flying Boat
Museum & Dingle Peninsula
Drive through the outskirts of Limerick and alongside the River Shannon to visit Foynes Flying Boat Museum.
In the early days of flight, during the 1930’s and early 1940’s,
Pan Am Clippers from the United States
and Europe landed here. The museum’s
memorabilia recreates the infancy of aviation. Journey into the mountains of County Kerry
and out along the Dingle
Peninsula for glorious
scenic views of mountains and sandy beaches. Stop for a while in the town of Dingle before going up the Connor Pass
for panoramic views. Then head to Killarney and check in to your hotel in the
centre of town. (B,D)
Day 9: Jaunting Car Ride &
Moll’s Gap
Take a traditional horse-drawn jaunting
car ride to Ross Castle to view Lough
Leane, largest of Killarney’s lakes. Drive to
the delightful town of Kenmare
where traditional buildings are gaily painted and enhanced with flowers. At
the vantage point of Moll’s Gap, view the mountains and continue along
part of the Ring of Kerry to enjoy the scenery. Pause at Ladies’ View
before stopping at Muckross House.
Take a guided tour through this lovely 19th century mansion to
admire elegant antiques while learning about the previous owners and their
important guests. Return to Killarney where you will have some free time
before dinner. (B,D)
Day 10: Cobh
Heritage & Traditional Music Session
Travel through the mountains of Kerry
and make a brief stop at the Blarney Woollen Mills. Next
visit Cobh
Heritage Centre, located in the old train station through which
all emigrants passed when travelling to the New World.
Displays show the many hardships that travellers
endured. Drive to Dungarvan to the Marine Bar
for a creamy Irish coffee and an informal traditional music session. Continue
to Waterford and check in to your hotel, once
the home of Thomas Francis Meagher, first governor of Montana. After dinner, join a local guide for a
stroll around the historic city centre. (B,D)
Day 11: Medieval Kilkenny
& National Stud
Drive north to Kilkenny
and stop to look around the town. In medieval times the town was a prosperous
trading centre and the narrow streets still follow ancient routes. Travel
north to Kildare and visit the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens. As a nation,
the Irish are very interested in horses and the Stud will tell you about the
valuable breeding industry. The Japanese
Gardens symbolize the
“Life of Man” through plants and rocks. Then head to the village of Dunboyne, on the outskirts of Dublin. Check in to Dunboyne Castle Hotel and relax for a while before
enjoying a
farewell dinner and some informal music. (B,D)
Day 12: Home
Complimentary group transfers to Dublin Airport are provided to arrive at 6:00
am, 9:00 am or 12:00 noon. After check-in, you’ll have time to shop at
the duty-free stores before boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)
Tour
runs 13 March – 13 November 2010
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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Departure dates Saturday
only 13 March – 27 March
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$2535
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Departure dates 3 April
– 28 October Thursdays &
Saturday
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3 April > 24 April
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$2660
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29 April > 27 May
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$2980
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29 May > 25 September
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$3085
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30 Sept > 23 October
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$2835
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28 October – 13
November
(Saturday’s only
30 Oct – 13 Nov)
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$2490
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All
rates are Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single
supplement $850
YOUR
TOUR INCLUDES
• Group
transfers on arrival and departure
• Sightseeing
by luxury coach throughout
• Dublin open-top bus tour
• Visit and a
drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
• Services of
a professional Irish driver/guide
• Superior
first class hotels with private bath/shower for 11 nights
• 11 full
Irish breakfasts (B)
• 10 dinners
(D) including:
- Dinner and traditional Irish entertainment
at Taylor’s
Three Rock Pub
- Medieval banquet and entertainment at Bunratty
Castle
- Farewell dinner with entertainment at Dunboyne Castle Hotel
- 7 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• Ferry ride
across Strangford Lough
• Tours of Dublin & Belfast
with local guides
• Walking
tours of Derry & Waterford with local guides
• Day tour to
Achill Island
• Horse-drawn
jaunting car ride in Killarney
• Irish
Coffee and music session at the Marine Bar in Dungarvan
• Visits and
admissions to Glendalough Visitor Centre, Dublin
Castle, Down Cathedral, Mount Stewart House and Gardens, Giant’s
Causeway, Ulster American Folk Park, Belleek
Pottery Factory, Poulnabrone Dolmen, Cliffs of Moher, Foynes Flying Boat
Museum, Muckross House & Gardens, Blarney Woollen Mills, Cobh Heritage Centre and Irish National
Stud & Japanese Gardens
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket
wallet, luggage tags & strap
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All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage
for one suitcase per person
YOUR HOTELS
Stay
at the following (or similar):
Royal
Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin (2 nights)
Europa Hotel, Belfast (1 night)
City
Hotel, Derry
(1 night)
Hotel
Westport, Westport (2 nights)
Bunratty Castle Hotel, Bunratty (1 night)
Killarney
Plaza Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
Granville
Hotel, Waterford (1 night)
Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa, Dunboyne (1 night)
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