9 Day Tours 2012 IRISH INTERLUDE TOUR
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Irish Interlude - from $1498 9 Day Tour including Superior & First Class Hotels |
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The Package
Highlights:
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Your Hotels
Superior & first class:
- Old Ground Hotel, Ennis (1 night)
- Galway Bay Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
- Kee's Hotel, Stranorlar (2 nights)
- Europa Hotel, Belfast (1 night)
- Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
Tour Includes:
- Airport transfers at start and end of tour
- Sightseeing by luxury coach
- Professional tour director
- 8 nights in hotels listed above
- Full breakfast daily except on day 1 (B)
- 7 dinners (D) including:
- Dinner and traditional entertainment at the Merry Ploughboy Pub
- 6 table d'hote dinners - Welcome get-together drink
- Walking tours of Ennis and Derry with local guides
- Catamaran cruise of Killary Fjord
- “The Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
- Tours of Belfast and Dublin with local guides
- Dublin open-top bus tour with a visit and drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
- Visits and admissions to Cliffs of Moher, Poulnabrone Dolmen, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Museum of Country Life, Knock Shrine, W. B. Yeats' Grave, Belleek Pottery Factory, Glenveagh Castle, Giant's Causeway, Titanic Belfast, Down Cathedral, St. Patrick Centre and Book of Kells at Trinity College
- Deluxe carry-on backpack, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
- All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person
Itinerary
Day 1
Day 1 - Arrival & Ennis Walk
Land at Shannon Airport and transfer to the charming marketing town of Ennis. Complimentary transfers are available between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later than 12:00 noon, transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:00 pm join a local guide for a walking tour around the main points of interest. Meet your fellow travelers and tour director over a welcome drink before dinner in your hotel. (D)
Day 2
Day 2 - Cliffs of Moher & GalwayTravel to the coast to view the Cliffs of Moher, a five-mile wall of limestone rising above the foaming Atlantic breakers. See the rounded limestone hills of the Burren and the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a huge stone monument marking a Neolithic burial place. Stop in the attractive village of Ballyvaughan and continue to Galway for a panoramic tour of the city's main attractions before checking in to your hotel. (B, D)
Day 3
Day 3 - Connemara & Catamaran CruiseToday explore Connemara, a scenic region of misty hills and shimmering lakes. At Leenane embark on a catamaran cruise through Killary Harbour, Ireland's only fjord. See steep hills where ridges of potato fields, reminders of the 1840's Famine, are still visible and see mussel and salmon farms. Stop for photos at the Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre and drive to Cong for a short walking tour around movie locations used in the 1952 production of “The Quiet Man.” Visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, which specializes in intricate designs in colored crystal. (B, D)
Day 4
Day 4 - Museum of Country Life & Belleek
Outside Castlebar tour the Museum of Country Life to see collections of domestic goods, used when most people lived by farming. Stop at Knock Shrine to see the church where locals saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1879. Cross into County Sligo and stop at the grave of W. B. Yeats before continuing to the Belleek Pottery Factory to watch skilled craftspeople create delicate china. Continue your journey past the hazy Blue Stack Mountains to Stranorlar. (B, D)
Day 5
Day 5 - Glenveagh Castle & Donegal
Travel into the heart of Donegal to Glenveagh National Park where Captain Adair evicted 225 tenants to build Glenveagh Castle in 1870. Learn about the history of the mansion, owners and guests as you tour the rooms and walk around the extensive gardens filled with exotic plants. Then experience the glorious natural beauty of the Grand Atlantic Drive, which winds through Downings and Rosapenna and around the coastline. Return to Stranorlar in time for dinner. (B, D)
Day 6
Day 6 - Derry & Giant's Causeway
In Derry join a local guide for a walking tour to see medieval city walls, the Diamond and St. Columb's Cathedral. Drive along the north coast, pausing for photos at Dunluce Castle. Explore the Giant's Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. Experience wonderful scenery along the coastal “Nine Glens of Antrim” route. Drive into Belfast to your hotel where you will have free time before dinner. (B, D)
Day 7
Day 7 - Belfast & Merry Ploughboy Pub
Tour central Belfast with a local guide to see Victorian buildings, the Harland & Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built and visit Titanic Belfast to learn abouth the famous liner. Visit Down Cathedral to see the reputed burial place of St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint. Also visit the St. Patrick Centre to learn about his life and times. Travel to Dublin and check in to your centrally-located hotel. Head to the Merry Ploughboy Pub for dinner, which is followed by a show of traditional music and step-dancing. (B, D)
Day 8
Day 8 - Dublin Tour & Book of Kells
Tour Dublin city center to see elegant Georgian squares with colorful doorways; pass the peaceful St. Stephen's Green and the bustling shopping areas around Nassau Street; cross the River Liffey to O'Connell Street and view the General Post Office where the 1916 Rebellion started. Walk through the campus of Trinity College to view the 8th century manuscript of the Book of Kells. The afternoon is free for you to use independent vouchers for an open-top bus tour all around central Dublin and a visit to either Guinness or Jameson. (B)
The Hotels
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