10 Day Best of Ireland

Tour Description

A travel experience that combines Ireland’s medieval heritagae with its most striking landscapes.

Tour Highlights

• Kilkenny: Visit the medieval city.
• Kildare: Visit the Irish National Stud Farm and the Japanese Garden.
• Waterford: Visit the Crystal Showroom (when open).
• Blarney: Visit the castle and the famous Blarney Stone.
• Killarney: See the beautiful lakes.
• Ring of Kerry: Visit Killorglin, Cahirciveen, Waterville and Moll’s Gap.
• Adare: Visit the prettiest village in Ireland.
• Limerick: See St. Mary’s Cathedral and King John’s Castle.
• Bunratty: Visit the castle and folk park.
• Cliffs of Moher: See the stunning cliffs and see the Burren country.
• Galway Bay: Panoramic views. Galway orientation tour. Visit Connemara, Dunmore Abbey, Sligo.
• Dublin: Visit Trinity College, view St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Phoenix Park.

First Class Travel Highlights

• All hotel service charges and tips, baggage handling fees and local taxes included.
• Touring by luxury air-conditioned coach with reclining seats and a washroom onboard.
• The services of one of Trafalgar’s top professional Tour Directors.
• Stay in twin-bedded rooms with private facilities.
• A qualified local city guide in Dublin.
• A stylish wallet, tour documents and map book journal.
• Airport transfers are provided on Day 1 and Day 10.

Your Hotels

Stay at the following (or similar):

• Maldron Cardiff Lane, Dublin
• Days Hotel, Waterford
• Eviston House, Killarney
• Radisson SAS, Limerick
• Carlton, Galway
• Yeats Country Hotel,Sligo
• Mespil Hotel, Dublin

Dining Highlights

• 9 full Irish breakfasts
• 2 three-course dinners
• ‘Be My Guest’ (BMGD) speciality dinner in an Irish family’s farmhouse
• Local highlight restaurant dinner with wine in Sligo
• Farewell Dinner with wine and an Irish coffee in Dublin

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Dublin

Welcome to Ireland and Dublin! After check-in the afternoon is free to relax and unwind. This evening we enjoy a Welcome Drink with our Tour Director and fellow travelling companions. Stay: Maldron Cardiff Lane

Day 2: Dublin – Kildare – Waterford

After breakfast we make our way to Kildare to the Irish National Stud, where we will enjoy a walking tour to see some of the finest stallions in the world. We will also have time to visit the Japanese Garden. We continue to Kilkenny where we view the medieval city dominated by its Norman Castle and ancient cathedral. Finally on to Waterford. (B/D) Stay: Days Hotel

Day 3: Waterford – Killarney (2 nights)

This morning we visit the Waterford Crystal Showroom and our Tour Director tells us that a Hidden Treasure will be revealed to us today! On to Cork and Blarney Castle where we kiss the stone and aquire the ‘gift of the gab’. We travel across the Derrynasaggaret Mountains before we reach the town of Killarney. (B/D) Stay: Eviston House

Day 4: Ring of Kerry excursion

Enjoy a full day of spectacular scenery through plunging cliffs and lakes, granite mountains and jagged coastlines as we tour the Ring of Kerry. Our route passes Killorglin (of Puck Fair fame), Daniel O’Connell’s Cahirciveen, Waterville and Moll’s Gap in the Black Mountains before returning to our hotel in Killarney. Tonight we enjoy a delicious dinner in an Irish family’s farmhouse and are entertained with unique story-telling! (B/BMGD)

Day 5: Killarney – Limerick

This morning we drive through the Glanaruderry Mountains and into County Limerick. We pause a while in Adare – with its thatched cottages, it is one of the prettiest villages in Ireland. Then on to the mouth of the River Shannon and to Limerick, where on arrival an orientation tour shows us St. Mary’s Cathedral, King John’s Castle and the Treaty Stone. Then we visit the Bunratty Castle and folk park before going on to our hotel in Limerick. (B) Stay: Radisson SAS

Day 6: Limerick – Cliffs of Moher and the Burren – Connemara – Galway

Our first stop today is to see the beautiful Cliffs of Moher, then we follow the coastline enjoying splendid views of Galway Bay and the Aran Islands. Soon we come to the Burren country, a haven for geologists and botanists because of the unusual rocks and flora. Then we head for Galway city where our orientation tour shows us the Spanish Arch and Galway cathedral. Finally we take a drive through the barren mountainous region of Connemara before continuing via Lough Corrib to our hotel. (B/D) Stay: Carlton

Day 7: Galway Bay – Sligo

This morning we depart for County Sligo, an area rich in ancient ruins, travelling via the County of Mayo. Our first stop is in the village of Knock, the place of pilgrimage where villagers saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Finally via the small market town of Tobercurry to splendid Sligo Bay and our overnight hotel. Time to relax or to take an excursion to Drumcliff to see the church where Yeats is buried and across the border into Northern Ireland to visit the famous pottery at Belleek in County Fermanagh. Tonight we enjoy a Highlight Dinner in a local pub restaurant. (B/HD) Stay: Yeats Country Hotel

Day 8: Sligo – Dublin (2 nights)

Today we travel via Boyle – famous for its Cistercian abbey – and along the valley of the mighty River Shannon back to Dublin. You’ll have time to perhaps visit a beautiful monastic site this afternoon. Why not take the opportunity this evening to attend an Irish cabaret and enjoy the unique entertainment and atmosphere plus the Irish sense of humour? (B) Stay: Mespil

Day 9: Dublin sightseeing and at leisure

Morning sightseeing tour with a local guide includes views of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Phoenix Park and visits Trinity College to see the famed 8th century Book of Kells, which is renowned for its extravagance and complexity as an illuminated manuscript. Tonight, we enjoy a Farewell Dinner with wine with our Tour Director and new-found friends. (B/D)

Day 10: Depart Dublin

This morning after breakfast,it is time to bid farewell to our Tour Director and fellow travellers as our tour of Ireland comes to an end. (B)

Dates and Prices for 2011

Dates and Prices for 2012

Compare Coach Tour Costs and See where the Real Value
for your $ is!

Accommodation rating Represents the standard of hotel used most frequently throughout this tour

Extras Represents the individual operators suggested budget to pay for additional activities on tour (dinners,entertainment,excursions etc) NOT included in base tour price

Hotel legend:
D deluxe | SF superior first | F first | MF moderate first | ST superior tourist | T Tourist