Taste of Ireland-Music
7 Night Prebooked Drive Tour
DAY 1:
Dublin City (12km)
Welcome to Dublin.
After you pick up your car, transfer to your city centre hotel. In the afternoon you
can explore this capital city with its many historic buildings, Georgian streets
and colourful gardens. Take the opportunity to visit some of its many
attractions such as the GAA Museum and Croke Park. A visit to the GAA (Gaelic
Athletic Association) Museum is a must for those interested in Irish
history and culture and in the development of Ireland’s national games
of hurling and football. You can also visit one of the other famous Irish
institutions, the Guinness Storehouse, where a tour will be followed by the
opportunity to sample the world famous stout in the Gravity Bar, which
overlooks Dublin
City.
This evening why not join the
Traditional Irish Musical Pub Crawl is led by two professional musicians
who perform tunes and songs while telling the story of Irish Music and its
influences on contemporary world music.
Overnight : Mount
Herbert Hotel
or similar
Day 2:
Galway City & Ennis (285km)
This morning, you travel west from Dublin
City and across the central plains
of Ireland to Galway, called the “City of the Tribes”
after the fourteen most prominent families in this area. En-route to Galway and before you cross the
River Shannon, Ireland’s longest river you can visit Clonmacnoise a 6th century Christian site.
Arrive into Galway, which has long
traded with Spain
and the Spanish influences are many in the city. Galway long traded with Spain and the Spanish
influences are many in the city. Of note is Spanish Arch, a gateway in the
old city walls and the Spanish Parade, where wealthy merchants and their
families enjoyed a stroll along the promenade. Following time to explore some
of the many pubs and restaurants this University City
has to offer, continue on to Ennis, in County Clare
which many feel is the home of traditional Irish music.Many pubs, such as Brogan’s Bar in Ennis offer night time Irish
Music entertainment, so the choice is endless.
Overnight: Queens Hotel, Abbey Street, Ennis, Co. Clare or
similar
Day 3: Bunratty Folk Park & Glór –The Irish Music Centre (100km)
Today you will have an opportunity to tour County Clare.
In Ennis you can visit Glór –The Irish Music Centre, the national centre of excellence
for the performance of Irish music. The state-of-the-art centre provides a
forum for musicians and artists to showcase their work to audiences in an
environment, which respects and supports the traditions and evolution of
Irish music. You can also visit the nearby Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
and explore the beautifully restored
Castle rooms, the traditional thatched cottages in the Folk Park and
reconstruction of a typical turn of the century village, complete with
schoolhouse, hotel and pub, potters, millers, weavers, print shop, post
office, portrait studio and doctors house.
This evening why not return to Bunratty to attend
“Style” - Stories of Irish Dance at the Corn Barn Venue. This is an evening
entertainment with a difference, nowhere else can you experience the fun of
what the Irish do best; enjoy
themselves! This highly acclaimed show features a spectacular fusion
of traditional and contemporary Irish Dance. The show interprets the story of
Irish Dance from earliest times to the present day modern dance phenomenon.
The dance sequences are interspersed with music and song including a
specially commissioned piece - "Style".
Overnight: Queens Hotel,
Abbey Street, Ennis, Co. Clare or similar
Day 4:
The Aran Islands – Wednesday (85km)
Today, why not visit Inishmore, the largest of the three Aran
Islands. The Island is accessible by ferry from Doolin in the
heart of Clare and is still largely
Gaelic speaking, and maintain much of the
traditional Irish
Island customs, which
reflect the harshness of the island life. See some local ladies hand knit
the traditional Aran sweater. Take your time to explore the island either
on foot, by bicycle or by mini-coach. Visit the mystic fort of Dun
Aengus, a 2000-year-old fort with its imposing position overlooking the Atlantic. Return to Doolin and time permitting visit
the Cliffs of Moher an impressive range of cliffs which rise to a height of 700 feet above
the sea and stretch for a distance of about 5 miles along the coast. Return
to Ennis for overnight.
This evening you can relax and enjoy
some of the many nightly Irish music sessions Ennis has to offer.
Overnight: Queens Hotel, Abbey Street, Ennis, Co.
Clare or similar
DAY 5:
County Kerry (150km)
Depart Ennis and continue south into County Kerry.
En route, you could stop in the medieval city of Limerick
and perhaps visit King John’s Castle which was built between 1200 and
1210 and has been at the centre of Limerick’s
turbulent history. Leaving Limerick, you can head into north Kerry and
visit the Foynes Flying Boat Museum which tells
the story of the port of Foynes and its
association with flying boats during the period from 1939-1945. You can
also sample an Irish coffee where Chef Joe Sheridan made the first Irish
Coffee to warm up some damp miserable passengers in 1942.
Continue on to Tralee, the principal
town of Kerry
and perhaps visit “Kerry the Kingdom”. This includes a
photographic exhibition, a collection of artefacts of Kerry origin and
“Geraldine Tralee” which tells the story of Tralee
and the Kerry area. This evening you can attend a performance at Siamsa Tire – the national Folk Theatre of
Ireland for a performance featuring Irish music, dance and folklore.
Overnight
in Bed & Breakfast
Accommodation – in Tralee/Dingle area.
DAY 6: Dingle Peninsula
(125km)
Today you can set off to tour the Dingle Peninsula with its dramatic scenery,
including Dunquin, on the westernmost tip of the
peninsula, to visit the Blasket Centre. Here you will discover what life
was like on the remote Blasket
Islands. This living Islanders. Return to Dingle where a visit to
the Celtic Garden Café is a must. Here (and subject to availability) Benny
O’Carroll, the well known Irish musician who has travelled
extensively with his “Sessions from the Hearth” group performs
a lunchtime concert. This evening you can relax and enjoy some of the many
nightly Irish music sessions Tralee or Ennis
has to offer.
Overnight
in Bed & Breakfast Accommodation – in Tralee/Dingle area.
DAY 7:
Dublin
(350km)
This morning, we depart Tralee and head
towards Dublin.
En-route, why not visit the Rock of Cashel, which rises dramatically from
the flat countryside. This site has the best set of varied monuments in any
Irish site. The rock is crowned by a
group of buildings, both ecclesiastical and royal, including a round tower,
a 13th century Romanesque chapel and the beautifully restored
Hall of the Vicar Choral. At the foot of the Rock of Cashel is Bru
Boru, a cultural village
and home to the study and celebration of native Irish music, song, dance,
theatre and Celtic Studies. “Sounds of History” recounts the
stout of Ireland’s
history.Continue on to Dublin
and to your hotel located in Killiney in the
suburbs of Dublin
and overlooking Dublin Bay.This evening, why not
take in the dinner and Irish music show at Taylors
Three Rock Pub. Entertainment is by Dublin’s
top ballad group, the Merry Ploughboys and the Taylors
Three Rock dancers.
Overnight
: Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel or similar
DAY 8:
Depart from Dublin
Airport (50km)
Departure from Dublin Airport.
7 Nights Prebooked Irish Music Self Drive Tour
(Excluding Car)
Standard
Programme
|
|
Per Person Sharing
|
|
January
– April
|
$720.00
|
|
May
|
$780.00
|
|
June -
September
|
$805.00
|
|
October
– December
|
$720.00
|
|
Single
Supplement
|
$420.00
|
|
Children 3 to 12 yrs
|
$480.00
|
Price Includes:
ˇ
4 night accommodation in
a 3 star hotel, 3 nights in Bed & Breakfast (Town & Country
Homes/Farmhouse) Accommodation and 1 night accommodation in a Castle based
on per person sharing a twin/double room with bath/shower inclusive of
service charges.
ˇ
Heritage Island Touring
Guide and discount card
ˇ
All prices quoted in
$AUD p.p. twin share basis
Child Policy
Children supplements apply when a child
between 3 & 12 years is sharing with 2 full paying adults to a maximum of
2 children in the room. A child sharing with a single adult is charged the
normal per person rate. Children sharing 0 - 2 years are free and meals
paid directly to the hotel.
Notes:
Clients that they should check-in to their hotels/bed and breakfast
accommodation no later than 6pm. If clients are going to be later that 6pm,
they should call their accommodation and advise of
their approximate check in time. Failure to do this could result in their
reservation being cancelled and rooms released.
Note: The services and activities recommended in this programme are
accurate at the time of printing. It is essential, however, that they are
checked to ensure that they are operating prior to travelling.
Self Drive Tours
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Tour details
