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Castle, Tearoom and Pub Discovery Tour of Ireland
offered by supplier M15375 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 17
day(s)
Group Size: 6
- 10
people
Destination(s):
Ireland
Northern Ireland
Specialty Categories:
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
Season: October
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: Yes
Minimum Per Person Price: 4295 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 4295 US Dollar (USD)
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** Please Read** We are a very small tour company that arranges and conducts each of our tours personally. Because of this we only offer each tour once a year. We do not offer any other tours except with the dates listed for each tour. This tour is offered from September 25th - October 11th 2009 only!
Highlights include:
Cliffs of Moher
Galway and Galway Bay
Cong and Cong Abbey
Connemara and Kylemore Abbey
Strokestown Park House and Famine Museum
Boyle Abbey
Sligo
Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery
Lough Gill and Parke's Castle
Belleek Pottery
Ulster-American Folk Park
Derry and the Walls of Derry
Old Bushmills Distillery
Giants Causeway
Belfast
Irish Linen Centre and Museum
Newry Cathedral
Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb
Hill of Tara
Dublin City Bus Tour
A small intimate tour of Ireland limited to 8 - 10 people in order to provide a more personal experience. In keeping the tour size small we are able to take advantage of accommodation, restaurant and sightseeing options that would not be available to a larger group. With a small tour size we can veer off the main tourist areas and get a real feel for these warm wonderful countries. We will not rush you from venue to venue and each tour is designed to spend as little time on the minibus as possible. You may find yourself experiencing a delightful city guest house, a warm country house hotel, a fine country farmhouse and a 200 year old coaching Inn all in the same visit.Full Irish breakfast each morning and all meals as indicated in itinerary. All accommodations. Guided minibus tour with luggage handling. All sightseeing including any entrance fees.All taxes and service charges.$2595USD/€1895Eur/£1295GBP per person double occupancy.$395US/€295Eur/£195GBP single occupancy supplement.$500 deposit per person to secure your place on the tour.
Tour Itinerary
Day 1 - September 25th- Depart for Shannon Ireland
Day 2 - Arrive in Shannon, Ireland. Our first stop of the tour will be Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. The Folk Park is a meticulous recreation of rural life at the end of the 19th century. After exploring the park and this 15th century formidable castle the highlight of the day will be a Medieval Banquet for which the castle is famous! Banquet Dinner and Overnight Bunratty.(D)
Day 3 - Our first stop today is the charming village of Adare which is billed as Ireland's Loveliest Village with all its thatched roof cottages lining the main street. Pub Lunch in Castleisland on our way south. Next we take in the wilds of the Dingle Peninsula. A drive around Dingle reveals fascinating antiquities ranging from Iron Age Stone Forts to Inscribed Stones, early Christian Oratories and Beehive Huts. Stops include Dunbeg Fort, Slea Head, Ballyferriter, Kilmalkedar and Gallarus Oratory Drystone Church. Enjoy a few free hours in the attractive fishing port village of Dingle before returning to Killarney. Dinner on your own in Killarney. Overnight Killarney.(B,L)
Day 4 - Our first stop this morning is Muchross House, an imposing Victorian Mansion that was built in 1843 and overlooks the spectacular Lakes of Killarney. We then take a drive through the lakes to The Ladies View made famous by Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting upon here visit here. Our drive will eventually take us to Kenmare which is the Gourmet and Lace capitol of Ireland. Afternoon Tea at Sheen Falls Lodge followed by the rest of the day is free to investigate the many shops to be found here in Kenmare before we return to Killarney. Dinner and Music Night in Killarney. Overnight Killarney.(B,L,D)
Day 5 - Our first stop today is Blarney Castle in County Cork. If the gift of gab has not been bestowed on you, you may want to kiss the Blarney Stone. The castle itself sits in spectacular grounds and is well worth a visit along with the Blarney Woollen Mills Outlet with 3 floors of wonderful shopping. We then take in a lovely coastal drive from Cork through Youghal and to Tramore for Afternoon Tea. Then on to Waterford and the Waterford Crystal Factory. The original glass factory was founded in 1783 and visitors can follow all stages of production. Dinner on your own tonight in the many eateries to be found in Kilkenny. Overnight Kilkenny.(B,L)
Day 6 - This morning we will take some time to investigate Ireland's loveliest inland village of Kilkenny before we visit Kilkenny Castle. Built in the 1190's, Kilkenny Castle was occupied right up to 1935. High spots of the tour include the library, the wood-paneled dining room and the Chinese bedroom. Sumptuous Afternoon Tea at the Kilkenny Ormonde before a visit this afternoon to Jerpoint Abbey, one of the finest Cistercian ruins in Ireland. Built in 1160, the fortified medieval complex flourished until the dissolution of the Monasteries. Dinner tonight at Kyteler's Inn, a 14th century Coaching Inn haunted by Dame Alice Kyteler. Overnight Kilkenny.(B,L,D)
Day 7 - On our way to Dublin today we will stop at Browne's Hill Dolmen which has the biggest capstone in Europe, weighing 100 tons. The stone dates back to 2000 BC. Our next stop is Kildare and St. Brigid's Cathedral, which commemorates the saint who founded a religious community on this site in 480. Afternoon Tea at the Kildare Courtyard Hotel before continuing on to Dublin. Once in Dublin we will take the rest of the afternoon for sightseeing, shopping and exploring the many restaurants to be found in Dublin. Dinner on your own in Dublin. Overnight Dublin.(B,L)
Day 8 - Following a late breakfast you will tour the city aboard an Open Top Tour Bus. After the tour you will want to spend time shopping on Grafton Street or taking in Trinity College and the Book of Kells. You can also visit St. Patrick's Cathedral or Christ Church Cathedral. We'll meet this evening for Dinner and Traditional Music Night. Overnight Dublin.(B,D)
Day 9 - This morning's adventure us to the North of Ireland. Our first stop of the day is at Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb. Newgrange was built about 3200 BC. The kidney shaped mound covers an area of over one acre and is surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are richly decorated with megalithic art. Afternoon Tea in Newry at the Canal Court Hotel. Following tea we stop in Lisburn and visit the Irish Linen Centre and Museum in a 17th century Market House where in times gone by cottage weavers brought their cloth to sell. The centre tells the story of the Irish Linen industry, with skilled demonstrations of hand spinning and handloom weaving and a display of historic linen treasures. Dinner on your own in Belfast. Overnight Belfast(B,L,D)
Day 10 - This morning we spend in Belfast, Northern Ireland's largest city and one of my favorite European cities! You will board an Open Top Bus for a Tour of the City. You can get off an on all day long with your ticket. You may want to make a lunch stop at the Crown Liquor Saloon, a flamboyant Victorian drinking palace. Belfast's downtown is full of wonderful shops. Other places of interest are City Hall, The Linen Library and St. Anne's Cathedral. After a day of investigating the city we will meet up for Dinner. Overnight Belfast. (B,D)
Day 11 - This morning we take in the Causeway Coast and The Giants Causeway where 37,000 basalt columns extend from the cliffs and into the sea. No matter how many times I have seen this, the sheer wonder and magic of the columns never fails to impress! We will continue along the coastline of Northern Ireland on our way to Bushmills and the Old Bushmills Distillery, the oldest distillery in the world! We will tour the distillery and end up with whiskey sampling in the 1608 bar. Pub Dinner at the Railway Arms. Overnight Coleraine. (B,D)
Day 12 - Our first stop this morning is the Ulster-American Folk Park which is one of the best open-air museums of its kind! The park has over 30 historic buildings examining why 2 million people emigrated to the States in the 18th and 19th century. This morning we visit the little border village of Belleek where the world famous Belleek Pottery was founded in 1857. We will stop at the Visitors' Centre and Museum for a tour of the facility. Yeats Tavern Pub Dinner and Overnight Sligo. (B,D)
Day 13 - This morning we visit the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery. Carrowmore is the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland. The tombs are spread out over 1.5 square miles in the shadow of the Knocknarea and Misgaun Maeve(the name suggests that it was built for Maeve, the Iron Age queen of Connacht) with each monument standing on its own little eminence. Lovely Pub Lunch on the shores of Lough Gill before we visit Parke's Castle, a restored plantation castle of the early 17th century, picturesquely situated on the shores of the Lough. After a lovely drive around the Lough we will find ourselves back in Sligo for Dinner on your own. Overnight Sligo.(B,L)
Day 14 - This morning finds us at Boyle to visit Boyle Abbey, an impressive and well preserved Cistercian Monastery which was founded in the 12th century under the patronage of the local ruling family, the MacDermotts. Although a ruin, Boyle Abbey nevertheless retains its ability to impress the visitor as one of the most formidable of the early Cistercian foundations in Ireland. Our next destination is Strokestown Park House, an 18th century mansion which has been faithfully restored. It is unique in that it retains its original furnishings and professionally guided tours allow visitors to browse freely through the stately surroundings. There is also a Famine Museum which uses a combination of original documents and images from the Strokestown Park collection to explain the circumstances of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840's. We are then on our way to Galway, the center for the Irish-speaking regions in the West and a lively university city. The center of the city lies on the banks of the River Corrib which flows down from Lough Corrib. Traditional Pub Dinner at Donnellys in Barna. Overnight Galway. (B,D)
Day 15 - This morning we travel through the beautiful Connemara National Park in the heart of Connemara, a combination of bogland, lakes and mountains. Along the way we visit Kylemore Abbey sheltered by the slopes of the Twelve Bens, this lakeside castle is a romantic, battlemented Gothic Revival fantasy. Fish and Chips Lunch in Clifden, framed by the grandeur of the Twelve Bens mountain range. We then return to Galway where you can take some time to investigate the city before checking out one of the many lovely restaurants to be found in Galway. Dinner on your own in Galway. Overnight Galway.(B,L)
Day 16 - This morning on our way south we visit The Burren, a unique botanical environment in which Mediterranean and alpine plants rare to Ireland grow side by side. In the southern part of the Burren, limestone gives away to black shale and sandstone to form the dramatic Cliffs of Moher. Even when shrouded in mist, the Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking, rising to a height of 650 feet out of the sea and extending for 5 miles. We then travel to Ennis with narrow streets and quaint shops in every nook and perhaps, the most endearing town in Ireland. Tonight we are out to Farewell Dinner and a Traditional Music Night in Ennis. Overnight Ennis.(B,D)
Day 17 - Following breakfast we are off to the Shannon International Airport for the return home.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price includes:
- Full Irish breakfast each morning and all meals as indicated in itinerary
- All accommodations
- Guided minibus tour with luggage handling
- All sightseeing including any entrance fees
- All taxes and service charges
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Ireland
Northern Ireland
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
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