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Northern Gem
Superior First Class Hotels: 9 Day Coach Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Slieve League
– Europe’s Highest
Sea Cliffs
“Quiet Man” Walk
Catamaran cruise
Historic Derry Walking
Tour
Giant’s Causeway
Tour Belfast
Open-Top Dublin
Tour
Day 1: Ennis Arrival & Cliffs of Moher
Land at Shannon Airport,
pass through immigration and pick up your luggage. Locate the CIE Tours desk
in the Arrivals Hall where our staff will arrange a group transfer to your
hotel in 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 2:30 pm depart for the Cliffs of Moher,
a dramatic wall of rock that plunges to the Atlantic
Ocean. Return to Ennis for dinner with some informal
entertainment in your hotel. (D)
Day 2: Poulnabrone
Dolmen & Connemara Crystal
In Kilfenora
visit the Burren Display Centre to learn
about the Burren, an area of rounded limestone
hills. Then drive through the weathered hills, which contain ancient
monuments, especially dolmens. View the Poulnabrone Dolmen,
a Neolithic burial place dating to 4,000 BC. Stop for a look around the village of Ballyvaughan.
In Moycullen visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory
to see a skilled glass cutter at work and learn about the symbolism of the
Celtic motifs. Drive into Galway to check in to your central hotel
overlooking Galway
Bay. (B,D)
Day 3: “Quiet Man”
Walking Tour & Catamaran cruise
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. Embark on a short cruise of Killary
harbour. Enjoy an Irish coffee as you enjoy the
scenery. Keep an eye open for sea birds as you pass Salmon and mussel farm.
Make a brief stop at Kylemore Abbey visitor centre
before heading to Clifden, a delightful market town
set between the Twelve Bens and sandy bays before returning 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. Exhibits and a movie explain how country
people lived by farming. Make a brief stop in the pilgrimage town of Knock
and view W. B.
Yeats’ Grave, situated near the distinctive outline of Ben Bulben
Mountain in County Sligo. Continue to Belleek for a tour of the Belleek Pottery Factory,
founded in the mid-19th century to create employment. Drive to
Donegal town for your next overnight stop. (B,D)
Day 5: Slieve
League Cliffs & Donegal
Drive to the fishing port of Killybegs and on to Teelin
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 the majestic Glengesh Pass to Ardara.
Visit Triona Design to see demonstrations
of spinning, weaving and knitting. Return to Donegal town for free time
before returning to your nearby hotel. (B,D)
Day 6: Derry
Walk & Giant’s Causeway
Travel to Derry
for a walking
tour with a local guide to see the medieval city walls, the
Diamond and St. Columb’s Cathedral. Pause for
photos at the ruins of Dunluce
Castle before visiting the Giant’s
Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by
volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. Continue south to experience
wonderful views of mountains, valleys and bays along the “Nine Glens of
Antrim.” Drive to your centrally-located hotel in Belfast. You will have time to take a walk
or you may like to visit the ornate Victorian bar, Crown Liquor Saloon, just
across the street. (B,D)
Day 7: Belfast & St. Patrick’s Burial
Site
Tour Belfast with a local guide to see Victorian
buildings, the Harland & Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built and
the Falls Road and Shankill residential areas.
Drive south via the town of Newry and pass the
gentle slopes of the Mourne Mountains
to Kingscourt to your castle hotel, built in 1760.
Arrive mid-afternoon so that you will have time to enjoy the facilities and
ambience of your lovely hotel. You may like to play the 9-hole golf course.
After dinner in the Court Restaurant, enjoy youthful dancers display
intricate Irish
step-dancing. (B,D)
Day 8: Battle
of the Boyne Centre & Dublin
Drive to Drogheda
to visit the Battle
of the Boyne Centre. Learn about the 1690 conflict between King
William III and his father-in-law, King James II, for dominance over the
British throne and religious power in Ireland. Then travel into Dublin and check in to
your hotel 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. (B)
Day 9: 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 stores before boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)
Tour
runs 12 April – 27 October
Tour
departs Wednesdays only
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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21 April > 28 April
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$1835
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5 May > 26 May
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$2035
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2 June > 22 September
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$2055
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29 September > 27
October
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$1835
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Rates
are in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single
supplement $585
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 8 nights
• 8 full
Irish breakfasts (B)
• 7 dinners
(D) including:
- Dinner with music at the Temple Gate
Hotel in Ennis
- Dinner and Irish step-dancing display at Cabra Castle Hotel
- 5 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• “The
Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
• Catamaran
cruise of Killary Fjord
• Slieve League Sea Cliffs followed by home-baked scones
with coffee or tea
• Walking
tour of Derry with a local guide
• Tour of Belfast with a local guide
• Visits and
admissions to Cliffs of Moher, Burren
Display Centre, Poulnabrone Dolmen, Connemara
Celtic Crystal Factory, 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):
Temple
Gate Hotel, Ennis (1 night)
Radisson
SAS Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
Millpark Hotel, Donegal (2
nights)
Europa Hotel, Belfast (1 night)
Cabra Castle Hotel, Kingscourt (1 night)
Clarion
IFSC Hotel, Dublin (1 night)
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