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Romantic Ireland
Deluxe & Superior First Class Hotels: 8 or 9 Day Coach Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Gourmet Killeen House Restaurant
Abbey Tavern Traditional Show & Dinner
Strokestown House Famine
Museum
Killary Fjord Catamaran Cruise
Cliffs of Moher
Jaunting Car Ride
Dingle Peninsula
Bantry House & Gardens
Day 1: Dublin Arrival & Book of Kells
Arrive at Dublin Airport
and proceed through immigration and pick up your baggage. Go to the CIE Tours
desk in the Arrivals Hall and personnel will arrange a group transfer to your
hotel between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If you arrive later than noon, you will
need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. Your hotel, an elegant
mansion built in 1750, is set in delightful formal gardens. At 2:00 pm your
tour director will introduce you to Dublin’s
River Liffey, the wide O’Connell Street, tranquil St.
Stephen’s Green, the seat of government at Leinster
House and other public buildings. See some of Dublin’s famous Georgian houses and
pause at the Famine
Memorial, a reminder of the mid-19th century
disaster. Visit
Trinity College’s
campus and the Old Library to view the priceless Book of Kells.
Join your fellow travellers for a welcome drink
and your tour director will advise where to dine independently.
Day 2: Strokestown Park House & Galway
Leave Dublin
and journey across the rolling pastures of Ireland’s
heartland to visit Strokestown Park House
in County Roscommon. There are three parts to
see – the 18th century mansion with its original
furnishings; the four-acre walled garden, restored to look as it would have
during the heyday of the estate; and the Famine Museum, which uses a
combination of original documents and images to explain the circumstances of
the 1840’s Great Irish Famine. Drive to Galway
and view the main sights of the city before checking into your deluxe,
Victorian-era hotel, located in the city centre. Enjoy some free time to
browse around on your own before dining in your hotel. Galway
has many pedestrianised streets and lots of fun
specialty stores and pubs. (B,D)
Day 3: Connemara & Catamaran
Cruise
Drive through the heart of Connemara,
past granite hills and sparkling lakes on the way to Leenane
to embark on a short
cruise of Killary Harbour, a 9-mile fjord
(Apr 4 – Oct 24 departures). 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 see lovely countryside where sheep graze freely over open land and
people cut peat, which is used for home heating. Travel to Clifden, the principal town of the region, and stop to
take a walk around. Continue to Moycullen to visit
the Connemara
Celtic Crystal Factory, which specializes in intricate designs
in collared crystal, before returning to Galway.
(B,D)
Day 4: Cliffs of Moher
& Killarney’s Jaunting Car
Travel south around Galway Bay
to see the Cliffs
of Moher, which rise almost 700 feet
above the pounding Atlantic surf. Then cross the wide River Shannon Estuary
on a short ferry
ride to Tarbert and travel through Listowel and Castleisland to
Killarney. This little town is world-famous due to its exquisite location
beside lakes and mountains. Check in to your deluxe hotel, in a peaceful
setting just outside the town. Head out to view some of the scenery by taking
a horse-drawn
jaunting car ride through the grounds of the Killarney National Park
to Muckross House. Tour this mansion to
see period furnishings and learn its important guests and owners. Then stroll
through the mature gardens before returning to Killarney. (B,D)
Day 5: Dingle Peninsula & Killeen
House Restaurant
Today discover the glorious Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies
that showcased the scenery – “Ryan’s Daughter” and
“Far & Away.” Drive along the south shore to admire views of
heathery mountains, sandy stretches of beach and rocky headlands. Stop for a
while in Dingle before continuing to the Blasket Centre
in Dunquin to learn about the offshore Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy families
who eked out a living by farming and fishing. Return to your hotel and enjoy
free time to use the hotel’s leisure facilities or relax. This evening
head to the award-winning Killeen House Restaurant for a warm welcome and a
superb dinner. (B,D)
Day 6: Kenmare & Bantry House
Today see the highlights of the Ring
of Kerry drive as you head to Ladies’ View and Moll’s Gap for
great views over Killarney and its three lakes. Stop in the charming town of Kenmare for a look around at the colourful
houses and perhaps do some shopping before crossing the Caha Mountains to Glengarriff,
renowned for its mild climate with palm trees. Nearby visit Bantry House,
a stately Georgian mansion built in 1740 for the Earls of Bantry.
Tour the house to see the wealth of furnishings collected
from all around Europe and take a
walk through the delightful gardens before continuing to your hotel. (B,D)
Day 7: Blarney Castle
& Abbey Tavern
This morning drive through the
pleasant countryside of County Cork to Blarney.
Climb to the ramparts of Blarney Castle to kiss the
famous “Stone of Eloquence.” Journey past the gentle slopes of
the Galtee
Mountains and through some of Ireland’s
prime dairying country. Stop in Cashel for
something to eat, take a look around the town, or photograph the Rock of Cashel, a huge limestone outcrop with many ecclesiastical
ruins Travel to Dublin and to your hotel in
the elegant village
of Malahide,
on the coast just north of the city. In the evening drive to the Abbey Tavern
for dinner and a lively show with traditional Irish music, story-telling and
step-dancing. (B,D)
Day 8: Leisure Day in Dublin or depart for
Home
For those booked on our 8-day tour,
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 before boarding your flight for the journey home.
If you have booked our 9-day tour,
you may plan out your day in Dublin as you
wish, using your independent Dublin open-top bus tour
pass to get around (valid for 24 hours) and visit to Guinness
or Jameson for a tour and a complimentary drink. In the evening you are free
to choose from the many restaurants near your hotel and in the Temple Bar area. (B)
Day 9: Depart Ireland
Today take a taxi transfer to Dublin Airport allowing plenty of time to
reach the airport and for check-in formalities. You will then have time to
shop at the duty free shops before boarding your flight home. (B)
Tour runs 14 March – 21 November 2010
Departs on a Sunday only
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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14 Mar >
21 March
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$1830
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28 March
> 25 April
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$1995
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2 May >
26 September
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$2165
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3 October
> 24 October
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$2015
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31 October
> 21 November
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$1805
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All rates are in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single supplement $535
To extend this tour to 9 days add an extra $215 p.p twin share or an extra $45 to the single supplement
YOUR
TOUR INCLUDES
• Transfers on
arrival and departure
• Sightseeing
by luxury coach throughout
• Dublin open-top bus tour
(9-day tour only)
• Visit and a
drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery (9-day tour only)
• Services of
a professional Irish tour director
• Deluxe
& superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 7 or 8 nights
• Full Irish
breakfast daily (B)
• 6 dinners
(D) including:
- Dinner at award-winning Killeen House
Restaurant
- Dinner and traditional Irish
entertainment at the Abbey Tavern
- 4 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with your tour
director
• Catamaran
cruise of Killary Fjord (Apr 4 – Oct 24
departures)
• Ferry ride
across the River Shannon
• Horse-drawn
jaunting car ride in Killarney
• Visits and
admissions to Book of Kells at Trinity College, Strokestown Park House & Famine Museum, Connemara
Celtic Crystal Factory, Cliffs of Moher, Muckross House & Gardens, Blasket
Centre, Bantry House & Gardens and Blarney
Castle
• 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):
Radisson
SAS St. Helen’s Hotel, Dublin (1 night)
Meyrick Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
Brehon Hotel, Killarney
(2 nights)
Kingsley Hotel, Cork (1 night)
Grand
Hotel, Malahide, Dublin
(1 or 2 nights)
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