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Southern Gem
Superior First Class Hotels: 7 Day Coach Tour
Tour Highlights:
Taylor’s
Three Rock Irish Night
Glendalough
Monastic Site
Tour Dublin
Historic Kinsale Walking Tour
Foynes Flying Boat
Museum
Stay in off-the-beaten-track towns
of Kinsale, Dingle and Ennis
Day 1: Dublin Castle
& City Tour
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. At 2:00 pm tour Dublin city centre with a local guide to see elegant
Georgian squares, Trinity
College, St.
Stephen’s Green, the Famine Memorial and O’Connell Street. Find out about
Irish history as you tour the State Apartments of Dublin Castle, which contain
magnificently-furnished chambers. Back at your hotel enjoy a welcome drink
and discuss your tour.
Day 2: Glendalough
Monastery & Taylor’s Three Rock
This morning take a drive south
through the lovely Wicklow Mountains
to visit St.
Kevin’s 6th century monastery, picturesquely set in a
peaceful valley between two lakes. Walk through the ruined churches, round
tower and Celtic crosses. Return to Dublin
where the afternoon is free to take your independent open-top bus tour and
Guinness or Jameson visit. In the evening head to Taylor’s Three Rock Pub
for dinner and a great show of traditional music, songs and step-dancing.
(B,D)
Day 3: Rock of Cashel
& Historic Kinsale Walk
Depart Dublin and travel south to visit the Rock of Cashel, where Brian Boru
was crowned King of Munster in 977. See the 12th century
highly-decorated Cormac’s Chapel, the large
cruciform cathedral and a round tower. Continue past the Galtee Mountains and through the outskirts of Cork to Kinsale, a delightful old town on a narrow inlet of the
sea. Formerly a fishing and merchant town, today it is renowned for sailing
and gourmet food. Check in to your waterfront hotel and join a local guide
for a short
walking tour around Kinsale’s
historic places. (B,D)
Day 4: Muckross
House & Killarney
This morning drive via Macroom to Kenmare and along part of the Ring of Kerry
route for splendid views of lakes and mountains. Just outside Killarney tour
the 19th century Muckross House
with a guide to tell you about influential owners and visitors before heading
into the famous town for some free time. Continue your drive out along the Dingle Peninsula,
the most westerly landmass in Europe. Enjoy
views of heathery mountains, sandy beaches and rocky headlands. Check in to
your hotel, set overlooking Dingle
Bay. (B,D)
Day 5: Dingle Peninsula
& Gallarus Oratory
Today discover the glorious Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies,
“Ryan’s Daughter” and “Far & Away.” Drive
to Slea Head at the westernmost tip and tour the Blasket Experience
to learn about the Blasket Islands,
inhabited until 1953 by hardy farming and fishing families. Next visit Gallarus Oratory,
a small church dating from the 6th to 9th centuries. It
was built with corbel
vaulting and no mortar, but has remained watertight through the
centuries. Travel up to the Conor Pass
for sweeping views before returning to Dingle for some free time before
dinner. (B,D)
Day 6: Flying Boat Museum &
Cliffs of Moher
Visit the Foynes Flying Boat Museum,
near the River Shannon. During the 1930’s and early 1940’s, the Port of Foynes was a hive of activity with Pan Am’s Clipper traffic between the United States and Europe.
The museum’s exhibits and memorabilia recall this era. Travel through
the outskirts of Limerick on the way to Ennis, the main marketing town of County Clare, and check in to your centrally
located hotel. 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. (B,D)
Day 7: Home from Shannon
Complimentary group transfers are
provided to Shannon
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 boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)
Tours
depart April – Oct
Tours runs every Friday
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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16 April > 23 April
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$1585
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30 April > 24
September
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$1720
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1 Oct > 22 October
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$1615
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All
above rate are in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single
supplement $445
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 6 nights
• 6 full
Irish breakfasts (B)
• 5 dinners
(D) including
- Dinner and traditional Irish
entertainment at Taylor’s
Three Rock Pub
- Dinner with music at the Temple Gate
Hotel in Ennis
- 3 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with a local
guide
• Walking
tour of Kinsale with a local guide
• Visits and
admissions to Dublin Castle, Glendalough Visitor
Centre, Rock of Cashel, Muckross
House & Gardens, Blasket Experience, Gallarus Oratory, Foynes Flying
Boat Museum and Cliffs of Moher
• 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)
Trident
Hotel, Kinsale
(1 night)
Skellig Hotel, Dingle (2
nights)
Temple
Gate Hotel, Ennis (1 night)
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