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Irish Odyssey
Superior First Class Hotels: 12 Day Coach Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Dinner & Traditional Entertainment Show
at Dublin’s
Abbey Tavern
Walk Cobh’s “Titanic Trail”
& Derry’s Medieval Walls
Boyne Valley Ancient Burial Tombs
Dingle Peninsula Tour
Foynes Flying Boat
Museum
Giant’s Causeway
Walking Tour in Ulster
American Folk
Park
Day 1: Dublin City
Tour & Kilmainham Gaol
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 is located near Trinity College and Merrion Square.
At 2:00 pm join a local
guide on a city centre tour to see Trinity College,
General Post Office, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Famine Memorial.
Visit Kilmainham Gaol
where many of Ireland’s
leaders, including Robert Emmett, Eamon DeValera and Padraig Pearse, were imprisoned during the 19th and
early 20th centuries. In the evening meet your fellow travellers over a welcome drink.
Day 2: Megalithic Tombs & Abbey
Tavern
This morning visit the Boyne Valley Visitor
Centre to learn about the passage burial tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, both over 5,000 years old. Tour one
of the tombs to see how primitive people managed to align huge boulders
precisely with the sun or the moon. Return to Dublin to take a short cruise on the river Liffey to see the custom House, Dublins
financial centre and much more. In the evening drive to the Abbey Tavern
for dinner with Irish specialties and an Irish coffee followed by a lively
show of music, songs and step-dancing. (B,D)
Day 3: Rock of Cashel
& “Titanic” Walk
Head south to visit the Rock of Cashel, a stately limestone outcrop topped
with medieval ruins. See the 12th century highly-decorated Cormac’s Chapel, the large cathedral and a round
tower. Continue to Cobh for a walking tour
with a local historian to see places relating to the Titanic’s last
port of call. Drive to the Blarney Woollen Mills,
offering excellent Irish-made products under one roof. If you wish, you may
climb to the top of Blarney
Castle independently
before heading to your hotel Cork. (B,D)
Day 4: Bantry
House & Killarney
Explore Kinsale,
an old fishing port that is now popular for sailing and gourmet restaurants.
Then discover the coast of County Cork
with great scenery and cosy towns such as Clonakilty and Skibbereen.
Visit Bantry House, a stately Georgian
mansion built in 1740 to see furnishings collected from all around Europe and walk through the delightful gardens.
Continue to Glengarriff, renowned for its palm
trees, Kenmare and along part of the Ring of Kerry route via Moll’s Gap
to Killarney. (B,D)
Day 5: Dingle Peninsula
Tour
Today explore the scenic Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies
– “Ryan’s Daughter” and “Far & Away.”
Drive along the south shore to admire views of heathery mountains, sandy
beaches and rocky headlands. Pause in Dingle before continuing to the Blasket Centre
in Dunquin to learn about the offshore Blasket
Islands, inhabited
until 1953 by hardy farming and fishing families. Return to Killarney and
enjoy some free time. After dinner you may like to visit local pubs featuring
live music. (B,D)
Day 6: Flying Boat Museum &
Cliffs of Moher
Travel north to Foynes
on the River Shannon Estuary to learn about the early days of flight at the Flying Boat Museum.
This was the landing place for Pam Am Clippers from the United States and Europe.
Drive to the village of Bunratty and look around Durty Nelly’s Pub or the Bunratty Folk Park.
Head to the coast to view the Cliffs of Moher, an
impressive wall of rock that rises 700 feet above the Atlantic
Ocean. Continue to Galway for a panoramic drive before checking
in to your hotel, which overlooks Galway
Bay. (B,D)
Day 7: “Quiet Man”
Walking Tour & Kylemore Abbey
Drive to the village of Cong
where “The Quiet Man” movie was made in 1952. A guided walk
will show you places that featured in the production. Drive through Connemara for sweeping views of misty mountains and
shimmering lakes. Stop briefly at Kylemore Abbey, a
19th century neo-Gothic mansion. Continue to Clifden,
a delightful market town set between the Twelve Bens and sandy bays. In Moycullen watch skilled craftsmen cutting fine crystal at
the Connemara
Celtic Crystal Factory. (B,D)
Day 8: Yeats’ Grave & Tobernault Mass Rock
Travel through the rugged country of County Mayo to Knock Shrine, a popular place
of pilgrimage. In County
Sligo
view Tobernault Mass Rock, a place of
worship during harsh penal times. In the shadow of Ben Bulben,
see W. B.
Yeats’ grave in Drumcliffe
Churchyard. Follow the shoreline of Donegal
Bay and stop in Donegal town to look
around before continuing your drive through the majestic Barnesmore
Gap to Derry. Enjoy free time to relax or
take a walk before dinner. (B,D)
Day 9: Derry
Walk & Giant’s Causeway
This morning join a local guide for a
walking tour
around the ancient city, which will include the Guildhall, St. Columb’s Cathedral, the Diamond and 16th
century city walls and visit the award-winning Tower Museum. Drive along the
north coast, stopping for photos at the ruined Dunluce Castle
and explore the Giant’s Causeway,
huge hexagonal basalt columns formed over 60 million years ago. The oversized
rocks have given rise to many legends. Return to Derry
for leisure time before dinner in your hotel. (B,D)
Day 10: Ulster American
Folk Park
& Cabra Castle
Stay
Drive past the Sperrin Mountains to visit the Ulster American Folk
Park. See many cottages including the boyhood home of Thomas
Mellon, who emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1818 and founded the Mellon
Bank. The Park traces the story of Ulster
emigrants and shows rural lifestyles in both Ireland and Colonial America.
Travel south to Kingscourt to your castle hotel,
built in 1760. Arrive mid-afternoon so you may relax and enjoy the
facilities, including the 9-hole golf course. After dinner in the Court Restaurant,
enjoy youthful dancers display intricate Irish step-dancing. (B,D)
Day 11: Dublin at Leisure & open top bus tour
After Breakfast, drive to a different
Dublin hotel,
this time overlooking the River Liffey. You will
have the balance of the day at leisure so you may take an open-top bus tour and
visit Guinness or Jameson and the many other attractions Dublin has to offer. (B)
Day 12: Depart from Dublin Airport
Your hotel offers a shuttle service
to Dublin Airport every two hours starting at
7:20 am. So choose a suitable transfer time to arrive at the airport to check
in for your flight. If you need an earlier transfer, your tour escort will
arrange one for you. Then you’ll have an opportunity to shop at the
duty-free shops before boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)
Tour
runs 5 March – 19 November 2010
Departure
days Friday
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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5 March > 26 March
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$2260
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2 April > 23 April
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$2495
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30 April > 24
September
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$2875
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October > 22 October
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$2645
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29 October > 19 November
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$2230
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All
rates are in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single
supplement $700
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
and first class hotels with private bath/shower for 11 nights
• 11 full
Irish breakfasts (B)
• 9 dinners
(D) including:
- Traditional Irish evening with dinner and
entertainment at the Abbey Tavern
- Dinner and Irish step-dancing display at Cabra Castle Hotel
- 7 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with a local
guide
• River Liffey Sightseeing cruise
•
“Titanic” walking tour of Cobh
• “The
Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
• Walking
tours of Derry and Ulster
American Folk
Park
• Visits and
admissions to Kilmainham Gaol,
Boyne Valley Visitor Centre & Newgrange or Knowth Tomb, Rock of Cashel,
Blarney Woollen Mills, Bantry
House & Gardens, Blasket Centre, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Cliffs of Moher,
Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Knock Shrine, Tobernault
Mass Rock, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Tower Museum and Giant’s Causeway.
• 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):
Davenport
Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
Kingsley Hotel, Cork (1 night)
Killarney
Plaza Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
Salthill Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
City
Hotel, Derry
(2 nights)
Cabra Castle Hotel, Cavan (1 night)
Clarion
IFSC Hotel, Dublin (1 night)
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