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Taste of Scotland
& Ireland
Superior First Class Hotels: 10 or 11 Day Coach Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Scottish Pub Evening & Ghost Tour
Taylor’s
Three Rock Evening with Traditional Music
Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet
Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness
Edinburgh Ghost
Tour
Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Defeat at Culloden
Kiss the Blarney Stone
Cliffs of Moher
Day 1: Glasgow Highlights
Land in Glasgow Airport
where you’ll meet your CIE Tours driver/guide or representative. Take a
group transfer to your hotel, departing at 8:00 am, 10:00 am or 12:00 noon.
If you arrive later than noon, you must transfer to the hotel at your own
expense. At 3:00 pm set out on a coach tour to discover the main attractions
of Glasgow, a
city that flourished in Victorian times due to the shipbuilding industry on
the River Clyde. Drive around George
Square with its ornate City Chambers and nearby
Glasgow Cathedral. Visit extensive collections in Kelvinqrove Art Gallery and
Museum, originally opened in 1901 and recently refurbished.
Back at your hotel, join your fellow travellers for
a welcome drink before dinner. (D)
Day 2: Loch Lomond & Urquhart
Castle
Depart Glasgow
and travel alongside the famous Loch Lomond,
renowned in song and also for unsurpassed beauty of the lake and mountains.
Travel across the haunting Rannoch Moor and through the deep valley of Glencoe,
notorious for the Campbell
massacre of the Clan Macdonald in 1692. Continue through Fort William
and stop in Fort
Augustus, located at
the southern tip of Loch Ness. Drive beside Loch Ness to enjoy delightful
scenery and keep an eye out for “Nessie”.
Visit Urquhart Castle
to see the ruins of what was once the largest castle in Scotland. Enjoy views of the
scenic promontory where the castle is located. Continue to Nairn where your hotel was a favourite
summer residence of Charlie Chaplin. Experience Scottish culture in your
hotel this evening when a Scottish piper and step-dancer perform for you. (B,D)
Day 3:
Culloden Battlefield & Edinburgh
Ghost Tour
Visit the Culloden Visitor Centre to
learn about the Battle of Culloden where Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated
by the British army in 1746 in a fierce combat that lasted just one hour. The
Scottish defeat changed the traditional way of Highland
clan life forever. Drive south through the majestic peaks of the Grampian
Mountains to visit Edradour Distillery,
Scotland’s smallest, to see how whisky is distilled and sample some.
Continue south to Edinburgh
and check in to your hotel, located on a golf course a few miles from the
city centre. In the evening head to the cosy Beehive Inn
for an informal pub dinner and then join a local guide for a fun walking tour
to discover the haunts of Edinburgh’s many colourful
characters. (B,D)
Day 4: Edinburgh Castle & City Tour
This morning an Edinburgh city guide will point out the
principal sights of this interesting capital city. Drive along the bustling Princes Street
and through the gracious, wide streets of the 200-year-old Georgian New Town.
See the compact medieval section along the Royal Mile where some houses reach
11 stories tall. Visit
Edinburgh Castle,
which dominates the city centre and contains the Scottish Crown Jewels and
the Stone of Scone. The balance of the day is free for further sightseeing,
shopping and dining. On August 03, 08, 15, 17 and 22 departures enjoy the Military Tattoo
at Edinburgh Castle. (B)
Day
5: Larne Ferry & Drive to Dublin
Depart Edinburgh early this morning and drive
south through part of the Southern Uplands and along the coastline. At Cairnryan take a ferry ride across the narrow
channel between Scotland
and Ireland to Larne, just
outside Belfast.
Drive south to Dublin
and check in to your hotel, located in the Georgian section of the city,
where the evening is at leisure for independent dining. (B)
Day 6:
Viking Dublin & Taylor’s Three Rock Pub
This morning join your fellow travellers for a tour of central Dublin in the company of a local guide. Pass Trinity
College, where the Book
of Kells is housed; Dail Eireann, where the government meets; and rows of Georgian
houses with gaily-collared doorways. Stop at Dublin Castle for a guided tour
through the elegant State Apartments, which are filled with elaborate
Waterford Crystal chandeliers and furnishings. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure
or use your open-top
bus and Guinness or Jameson vouchers to explore the city on
your own. In the evening drive to Taylor’s Three Rock Pub
for a great dinner of Irish specialties, which is followed by a lively show
of traditional Irish songs and intricate step-dancing. (B,D)
Day 7:
Blarney Castle & Killarney
Depart Dublin
and travel through the centre of Ireland, stopping to view the stately
church ruins atop the Rock of Cashel. Continue your
drive south to visit Blarney Castle and kiss the
famous “Stone of Eloquence.” Also visit the Blarney Woollen
Mills where you can find quality Irish-made goods. Drive into County Kerry where the scenery becomes more
mountainous to Killarney, picturesquely set beside lakes and mountains. Check
in to your downtown hotel and relax before dinner. Afterwards you may like to
head to a “singing pub.” (B,D)
Day 8:
Ring of Kerry & Skellig Experience
Today embark on the Ring of Kerry
drive – a winding route with breathtaking sights of mountains and
coastal views. Stop near the Gap of Dunloe to see Essence of Kerry,
an audio-visual presentation. As you travel, there will be plenty of stops
for photos. Meet a local farmer for a taste of farm life with a sheepdog demonstration
of herding flocks. Cross to Valencia
Island by bridge to
visit the Skellig Experience which describes
the life of early monks who led austere lives on the nearby islands. Drive through
Waterville
and stop in Sneem to admire brightly-painted
houses. Pause at Moll’s Gap for stunning views and take a guided walk
around Muckross Gardens before returning
to Killarney in time to relax before dinner. (B,D)
Day 9:
Cliffs of Moher
& Bunratty Castle
Drive to Tarbert
for a ferry ride
across the River Shannon Estuary. Continue to the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular wall of limestone that
reaches 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.
Drive to Bunratty to check into Bunratty
Castle Hotel, located very close to Bunratty Castle
and Folk Park. If you wish, you may visit the Folk Park,
have a drink in the 200-year-old Durty
Nelly’s Pub or shop at the Bunratty Mills. In
the evening head to Bunratty Castle for a memorable
medieval-style feast. During and after the meal the lords and ladies will
serenade you with song and harp music, evocative of the middle Ages. (B,D)
Day 10:
Shannon Airport
or Dublin
Extension
Clients on the 10-day tour will take
a group transfer to nearby Shannon
Airport where your tour
concludes at 10:30 am. Those on the 11-day tour will drive through the
outskirts of Limerick and through the midland region of Ireland to Kildare. Here visit
the Irish
National Stud and Japanese Gardens. You can learn about horse
breeding and see some of the valuable animals before touring the lovely Japanese Gardens,
considered the best in Europe. Drive to your
hotel in the centre of Dublin
and you are free this evening for independent activities and dining. (B)
Day 11:
Depart from Dublin
Airport
As your hotel is convenient to Dublin Airport, a hotel shuttle service will
transfer you to the airport terminal. After check-in, you’ll have time
to shop at the duty-free shops before boarding your flight for the journey
home. (B)
Tour
runs 4 April – 14 November
Departure
day Sunday only
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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4 April > 25
April
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$2250
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2 May > 23 May
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$2530
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30 May > 25 July
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$2560
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1 August > 22
August
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$2780
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* Tues 3 & 17
August
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$2780
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29 August > 26
September
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$2560
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3 October > 24
October
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$2380
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31 October > 14
November
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$2185
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Rates
are in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single
supplement $720
To
extend this tour to 11 days add an additional $155 p.p. plus single supplement of $75
YOUR
TOUR INCLUDES
• Group
transfers on arrival and departure
• Ferry from Scotland to Ireland
• Dublin open-top bus tour
• Visit and a
drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
• Sightseeing
by luxury coach throughout
• Services of
a professional driver/guide
• Superior
first class hotels with private bath/shower for 9 or 10 nights
• Full
Scottish & Irish breakfast daily (B) (except day 1)
• 7 dinners
(D) including
- Pub dinner at the Beehive Inn in Edinburgh
- Dinner and traditional Irish
entertainment at Taylor’s
Three Rock Pub
- Medieval banquet and entertainment in Bunratty
Castle
- 4 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• Display of
Scottish piping and step-dancing in Nairn
• Whisky tasting
and tour of Edradour Distillery
• Ghost
walking tour of Edinburgh
• Reserved
seats for Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 03, 08, 15, 17 and 22
departures
• Tours of Edinburgh and Dublin
with local guides
• Ferry ride
across the River Shannon
• Sheepdog
trials on Ring of Kerry
• Visits and
admissions to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum,
Urquhart Castle, Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, Edinburgh Castle,
Dublin Castle, Blarney Castle, Blarney Woollen
Mills, Essence of Kerry AV Show, Skellig
Experience, Muckross Gardens, Cliffs of Moher and Irish National Stud & Japanese Gardens
• 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):
Thistle
Hotel, Glasgow (1 night)
The
Newton Hotel, Nairn
(1 night)
Marriott
Dalmahoy Hotel, Edinburgh
(2 nights)
Burlington
Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
Killarney
Avenue Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
Bunratty Castle Hotel, Bunratty (1 night)
Ashling Hotel, Dublin (1 night – 11-day tour only)
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