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Irish Pub
& Folk
First Class Hotels: 8 Day Coach Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Dinner & Traditional Music at the
12th Century Brazen Head Pub
National Stud
Old Jameson Distillery with tasting
Kiss the Blarney Stone
Learn How to Make a Perfect Irish Coffee
Killary Fjord Catamaran Cruise
Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
with a Pint at Guinness Brewery
Day 1: Dublin Tour & Old Jameson Distillery
Arrive at Dublin Airport.
After customs formalities and luggage reclamation, head 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. Passengers arriving later will transfer to the hotel at
their own expense. In the afternoon get together with a Dublin guide
to tour Dublin
city centre to see elegant Georgian squares with the famous colourful doorways and the peaceful St. Stephen’s
Green. Cross the River Liffey to O’Connell Street and view the
General Post Office where the 1916 Rebellion started and pause to view the
somber figures of the Famine Memorial. Visit the Old Jameson Distillery to
learn about the many stages involved to create a smooth whiskey and, at the
end of your tour, try one for yourself. Back at your hotel enjoy a welcome drink and
discuss your itinerary with your tour group and guide. You are
free for dinner and Ryan’s of Parkgate Street, a
traditional Victorian pub, is close to your hotel with a full restaurant and
informal pub grub.
Day 2: National Stud & Medieval Kilkenny
Depart Dublin and stop in Kildare to visit the Irish National Stud.
Horseracing is a passion for the Irish and you will see some of the finest
stallions and learn about breeding. Walk through the charming Japanese Gardens, created to
symbolize life from birth to death. Arrive in Kilkenny
and check in to your centrally-located hotel. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure
– Kilkenny is a fun place to explore on your
own. You may like to tour Kilkenny Castle,
first built in 1192 and constantly added to and changed until the 19th
century. You may visit the Kilkenny Design Workshop
near the castle or Kyteler’s Inn, a tavern established in 1324 and reputedly owned
by a witch. (B,D)
Day 3: Blarney Castle & Killarney
Stop for photos at the Rock of Cashel, a magnificent limestone outcrop high above the
surrounding countryside before continuing south to Blarney, just outside
Cork. Visit Blarney Castle and climb to the
ramparts to kiss the well-known “Stone of Eloquence.” Enjoy some
time for shopping at the Blarney Woollen Mills or take
a break in the pub hidden between the shops! Travel through County Cork
to Macroom and stop for a brief look at the
imposing castle, which was the boyhood home of William Penn. Continue your
drive to Killarney and check in to your hotel in the centre of the town. In
the evening you may like to explore some of the cosy
pubs where traditional Irish music is played. (B,D)
Day 4: Ring of Kerry Tour
Explore County
Kerry’s popular scenic region
with Ireland’s
highest mountains on one side and a varied Atlantic coastline on the other.
As you drive, every turn will reveal new vistas of mountains, cliffs and
beaches and there will be plenty of photo stops. Stop at Kells
to meet a local farmer, Brendan Ferris, for a taste of farm life with a
sheepdog demonstration of herding flocks and see different breeds of sheep.
Cross to Valencia
Island by bridge to
visit the Skellig Experience. Learn about
early Christian monks who braved a harsh existence on the rocky offshore
islands. Continue your trip through the remote villages of Cahirciveen and Waterville
at the western end of the peninsula. Stop in the colourful
village of Sneem and pause at Moll’s Gap for
a look at the Lakes of Killarney. (B,D)
Day 5: Irish Coffee & Cliffs of Moher
Drive north through Listowel and along by the River Shannon to Foynes to visit the Flying Boat Museum, which
recalls the early days of air travel, during the 1930’s and early
1940’s, when Pan Am Clippers from the United States and Europe landed
here. Irish coffee was first created here to warm frozen, weary travellers and you will learn how to make a perfect one
and then savour it. Travel through the outskirts of
Limerick and have a look around Bunratty Village
before viewing the Cliffs
of Moher that rise to heights of
almost 700 feet above the churning Atlantic swells. Continue through the Burren and around the shores of Galway
Bay to Galway.
Check in to your hotel, which is near all the shops, cafés and pubs in Shop
and Quay Streets. (B,D)
Day 6: Clifden
& Killary Fjord Cruise
Today’s route takes you through
the heart of Connemara and along the Inagh Valley
to see the granite hills of the Twelve Bens and sparkling lakes on the way to
Leenane. Embark on a short cruise of Killary
Harbour,
a 9-mile fjord (Mar 27 – Oct 23 departures) to 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 drive south to the town of Clifden, known as
the “Capital of the West.” Stop for a look around the shops and
pubs before heading back to Galway for
dinner and a second overnight stay. (B,D)
Day 7: Guinness & 12th
Century Brazen Head Pub
This morning travel from the west
coast back to Dublin
on the east coast and check in to a different city-centre hotel, close to the
lively Temple Bar area. The afternoon is free for you to use your open-top bus voucher
to take you all around the city centre. Use your voucher to go to the Guinness Storehouse
and explore the many levels, ending in the rooftop bar for a view over the
city while you sip a creamy pint of stout. Head out for a great evening to
end your Irish vacation. The Brazen Head Pub is Dublin’s
oldest, dating back to 1198 and is one of Dublin’s best live music venues.
Enjoy an evening of “Food, Folk and Fairies” where you’ll
learn about life in Ireland
in times past through a varied program of song and stories. (B,D)
Day 8: Homeward bound.
Complimentary group transfers are
provided to Dublin
Airport 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 shops before boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)
Tours runs 10 March – 4 December 2010
Departure
date every Saturday all year
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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10 March >27 March
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$1515
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3 April > 24 April
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$1660
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1 May > 22 May
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$1835
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29 May > 25 Sept
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$1875
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2 October > 23
October
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$1700
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30 October > 4
December
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$1490
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All
rates are in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single
supplement $495
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
• Services of
a professional Irish driver/guide
• First class
hotels with private bath/shower for 7 nights
• 7 full
Irish breakfasts (B)
• 6 dinners
(D) including
- Food, Folk and Fairies dinner/show at the
Brazen Head Pub
- 5 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with a local
guide
• Tour and
tasting at the Old Jameson Distillery
• Sheepdog
trials on Ring of Kerry
• Foynes
Flying Boat
Museum and an Irish
Coffee
• Catamaran
cruise of Killary Fjord (Mar 27 – Oct 23
departures)
• Visits and
admissions to Irish National Stud &
Japanese Gardens, Blarney Castle, Blarney Woollen
Mills, Essence of Kerry AV show, Skellig Experience
and Cliffs of Moher
• 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):
Ashling Hotel, Dublin (1 night)
Ormond
Hotel, Kilkenny
(1 night)
International
Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
Harbour Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
Jurys Christchurch Inn, Dublin (1 night)
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