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Irish Explorer
Superior First Class Hotels: 10 Day Coach Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Merry Ploughboy Pub
Traditional Entertainment/Dinner
Boyne Valley Neolithic Tombs
Slieve League - Europe’s Highest Sea
Cliffs
Aran
Islands Day Tour
Killarney’s Jaunting Car Ride
Ring of Kerry Tour
Rock of Cashel
Day 1: City Touring & Book of Kells
Arrive at Dublin Airport
in the morning, pass through immigration and collect your luggage. Head 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 than noon,
you will transfer to the hotel at your own expense. Your hotel is located in Ballsbridge on the south side of the city. At 2:00 pm
tour the city centre with a local guide to see elegant Georgian squares, public
buildings, charming parks and monuments such as the Famine Memorial. Visit Trinity College’s
Old Library where the priceless 8th century Book of Kells
is housed. Learn about early Christian techniques of creating manuscripts and view the intricate book itself.
Enjoy a welcome
drink with your fellow travellers and
talk about your trip.
Day 2: Malahide Castle & Merry Ploughboy Pub
Take the coastal route to Malahide Castle, which was owned
and inhabited by the Talbot family from 1185 until 1973. Visit the main
chambers, rich with furnishings and portraits to learn about the long history
of the castle. Next take a guided tour around the National Botanic Gardens
founded in 1790. The devastating potato blight virus was first recorded here
on August 20, 1845. See wonderful Victorian glasshouses and many different
types of gardens. The afternoon is at leisure and in the evening head to the Merry Ploughboy Pub
for Irish cuisine and a lively session of traditional songs. (B,D)
Day 3: Megalithic Tombs & Donegal
This morning discover visit the Boyne Valley Visitor
Centre to learn about the passage burial tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, both of which are over 5,000 years
old. Visit one of the tombs to see how primitive people managed to align
these buildings precisely with the sun or the moon. Drive through the Lakeland region of County Cavan and along the scenic
shores of Lower Lough Erne to your hotel on the
outskirts of Donegal town where you will have time to relax or use the
extensive leisure facilities before dining with your group. (B,D)
Day 4: Slieve
League Cliffs & Donegal
Drive to the fishing port of Killybegs and on to Teelin
to view Slieve League sea cliffs, where the
highest point reaches 1,972 feet making them the highest in Europe.
The cliffs drop straight down to the wild Atlantic waves below and you will
see marvellous vistas. Sample home-baked scones
with coffee or tea before continuing through the majestic Glengesh Pass. In Ardara
visit Triona Design to see demonstrations
of spinning, weaving and knitting. Donegal, with its windswept hills where
only sheep can thrive, is renowned for wool production. Drive to Donegal town
for free time in the town centre before returning to your nearby hotel. (B,D)
Day 5: Belleek
& Museum of Country Life
Travel south around Donegal Bay and
stop in Belleek to visit the Belleek Pottery Factory
to see how the craftspeople mould, shape and decorate clay, creating the
world-famous fine china. Pause at Drumcliffe
Churchyard to view the grave of W. B. Yeats, the Nobel prizewinning poet, who
based many poems on the delightful countryside around Sligo. Continue through County Mayo
to Castlebar to visit the Museum of Country Life. See
collections of domestic goods, in daily use from 1850 to 1950. Exhibits and a
movie explain how Irish people made a living from the soil. Drive to Galway and check in to your hotel. (B,D)
Day 6: Aran
Islands & Dun Aengus
Take a short ferry ride from Rossaveal to Inis Mor, the largest of the three Aran Islands. These rocky islands are
renowned for the hardy islanders who maintained traditional fishing and farming
methods and where the popular intricately-patterned fishermen’s
sweaters originated. The Irish language is still spoken widely. Take a
minibus ride to Dun
Aengus, a huge pre-historic fortress
perched on sheer cliffs, which fall away to the Atlantic
below. In Kilronan, the main town, visit the Aran Heritage Centre
to learn about unique local customs. Return to the mainland and your hotel
for some free time before dining in your hotel once more. (B,D)
Day 7: Cliffs of Moher & Flying Boat Museum
Drive around Galway
Bay to view the Cliffs of Moher, an impressive wall of rock that
rises 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.
Continue to Bunratty for a brief stop to have a
drink in Durty Nelly’s or shop at the Bunratty Woollen Mills before
travelling through Limerick and along the Shannon Estuary to Foynes to visit the Flying Boat Museum. During
the 1930’s and early 1940’s, this was the landing place for Pan
Am Clippers from the United States
and Europe. The museum’s displays
recall the early days of aviation. Arrive in Killarney, check in to your
hotel and relax before dinner in your hotel. (B,D)
Day 8: Jaunting Car & Ring of
Kerry
Start your day with a leisurely jaunting car ride
through the Killarney
National Park to Ross
Castle for views of Lough Leane,
the largest of Killarney’s famous lakes. Then begin the Ring of Kerry
drive where every bend in 100 miles of road reveals breathtaking views of
mountains and Atlantic Ocean. You will have
stops to admire or photograph scenic vistas. Stop at Kells
to meet a local farmer, Brendan Ferris, for a taste of farm life with a
sheepdog demonstration of herding flocks and see different breeds of sheep.
At the tip of the peninsula visit the Skellig Experience,
which explains the history, flora and fauna on the nearby
rocky islands. Return through the attractive village of Sneem and pause at
Moll’s Gap for panoramic views of Killarney. Back in Killarney enjoy
free time before dinner. (B,D)
Day 9: Blarney & Clontarf Castle Hotel
Leave Killarney and drive via Ballyvourney and Macroom to
visit the Blarney
Woollen Mills where quality
Irish-made products are gathered under one roof. If you wish, you may climb
the steps of Blarney
Castle to kiss the
famous stone independently. Drive north to visit the stately Rock of Cashel, a limestone outcrop containing 12th
century church ruins. Continue to Dublin once
more and check in to Clontarf Castle,
a luxurious haven located in a quiet area, yet just a short distance from the
city centre. The castle dates back to 1172 and today offers guests all the splendour and charm of a unique and royal experience.
Enjoy a special
farewell dinner in the hotel’s old-world dining room.
(B,D)
Day 10: Homeward bound
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 at the duty-free stores before boarding your flight for the journey
home. (B)
Tour
runs 20 March – 13 November 2010
Departure
days Saturday only
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Tour Dates
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Prices
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20 March > 27 March
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$2055
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3 April > 24 April
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$2160
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1 May – 22 May
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$2525
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29 May > 25 September
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$2595
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2 October > 23
October
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$2375
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30 October > 13
November
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$2050
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All
rates are in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single
supplement $780
YOUR
TOUR INCLUDES
• Group
transfers on arrival and departure
• Sightseeing
by luxury coach throughout
• Services of
a professional Irish driver/guide
• Superior
first class hotels with private bath/shower for 9 nights
• 9 full Irish
breakfasts (B)
• 8 dinners
(D) including:
- Dinner and traditional Irish
entertainment at the Merry Ploughboy Pub
- Farewell dinner at Clontarf
Castle Hotel
- 6 table d’hôte dinners
• Welcome
get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with a local
guide
• Slieve League Sea Cliffs followed by home-baked scones
with coffee or tea
• Day tour to
Inis Mor, largest of the
three Aran Islands
• Jaunting
car ride in Killarney
• Sheepdog
trials on Ring of Kerry
• Visits and
admissions to Book of Kells at Trinity College, Malahide Castle, National Botanic Gardens, Boyne Valley
Visitor Centre & Newgrange or Knowth Tomb, Triona Design, Belleek Pottery Factory, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Museum
of Country Life, Dun Aengus Fort, Aran Heritage Centre, Cliffs of Moher,
Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Skellig
Experience, Blarney Woollen Mills and Rock of Cashel
• 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):
Herbert
Park Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
Mill
Park Hotel, Donegal (2 nights)
Westwood
Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
Killarney
Avenue Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin (1 night)
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