12 Day 2011 Irish Odyssey Tour

Tour Highlights

• Dinner/Show at Dublin’s Abbey Tavern
• Waterford Crystal
• Walk Derry’s Medieval Walls
• Belfast’s Titanic Quarter
• Dingle Peninsula Tour
• Giant’s Causeway
• Award-Winning Cabra Castle

Your Hotels

Stay at the following (or similar):

• Davenport Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
• River Lee Hotel, Cork (1 night)
• Killarney Avenue Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
• Salthill Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
• City Hotel, Derry (2 nights)
• Cabra Castle Hotel, Cavan (1 night)
• Burlington Hotel , Dublin (1 night)

Tour Includes

• Group transfers on arrival and departure
• Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Dublin open-top bus tour with complimentary visit and a drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
• Services of a professional Irish tour director
• Superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 11 nights
• 11 full Irish breakfasts (B)
• 9 dinners (D) including
• Traditional Irish evening with dinner and entertainment at the Abbey Tavern
• Dinner and Irish step-dancing display at Cabra Castle Hotel
• 7 table d’hote dinners
• Welcome get-together drink
• Tours of Dublin and Belfast with local guides
• “The Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
• Walking tour of Derry with a local guide
• Visits and admissions to Kilmainham Gaol, Boyne Valley Visitor Centre & Newgrange or Knowth Tomb,Dunbrody Emigrant Ship, Waterford Crystal Visitor Centre, Blarney Castle, Blarney Woollen Mills, Blasket Centre, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Cliffs of Moher, Kylemore Abbey Visitor Center, Museum of Country Life, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Belleek Pottery Factory, Tower Museum and Giant’s Causeway
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

Itinerary

Day 1 – Wed: Dublin City Tour & Kilmainham Gaol

Arrive in Dublin Airport, complete immigration formalities and pick up your luggage. Go to the CIE Tours desk in the Arrivals Hall to arrange a group transfer to your city-centre hotel between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later, you will need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:00 pm join a local guide on a city centre tour to see Trinity College, General Post Office, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Famine Memorial. Visit Kilmainham Gaol where many of Ireland’s leaders, including Robert Emmett, Eamon DeValera and Padraig Pearse, were imprisoned during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the evening meet your fellow travellers over a welcome drink.

Day 2 – Thu: Megalithic Tombs & Abbey Tavern

This morning visit the Boyne Valley Visitor Centre to learn about the passage burial tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, both over 5,000 years old. Tour one of the tombs to see how primitive people managed to align huge boulders precisely with the sun or the moon. Return to Dublin for a free afternoon. Use your included vouchers for an open-top bus tour and visit either Guinness or Jameson to see how their products are made and enjoy a complimentary drink. Drive to the Abbey Tavern for dinner with Irish specialties and an Irish coffee followed by a lively show of music, songs and step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 3 – Fri: Dunbrody Famine Ship & Waterford Crystal

Drive to New Ross to visit the Dunbrody Emigrant Ship. This is a replica of a sailing vessel built in 1845 to transport emigrants from Ireland to North America. The visit will give you an insight as to what life on board ship was like as well as filling you in on the history of the famine years. In nearby Waterford tour the Waterford Crystal Visitor Centre for a demonstration of glass blowing and cutting and see some magnificent trophies on display. Continue along the south coast for your next overnight stay in Cork. (B, D)

Day 4 – Sat: Blarney Castle & Killarney

A few miles outside Cork, visit Blarney Castle and climb to the battlements to kiss the famous “Stone of Eloquence.” Also visit the Blarney Woollen Mills where you can find quality Irish-made goods of all types, conveniently displayed under one roof. Drive into the mountainous scenery of County Kerry to the attractive town of Kenmare. Stop at Moll’s Gap for great views and continue along part of the Ring of Kerry route into Killarney. Check in to your hotel and relax before dinner. (B, D)

Day 5 – Sun: Dingle Peninsula Tour

Explore the scenic Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies – “Ryan’s Daughter” and “Far & Away.” Admire views of heathery mountains, sandy beaches and rocky headlands. Pause in Dingle before continuing to the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the offshore Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy farming and fishing families. Return to Killarney and enjoy some free time. After dinner you may like to visit local pubs featuring live music. (B, D)

Day 6 – Mon: Flying Boat Museum & Cliffs of Moher

Travel north to Foynes Flying Boat Museum to learn about the early days of flight when Pam Am Clippers landed on the River Shannon Estuary. Drive to the village of Bunratty and look around Durty Nelly’s Pub or the Bunratty Folk Park. Head to the coast to view the Cliffs of Moher, an impressive wall of rock that rises 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Continue to Galway for a panoramic drive before checking in to your hotel, which overlooks Galway Bay. (B, D)

Day 7 – Tue: “Quiet Man” Walking Tour & Connemara

Drive to Cong where “The Quiet Man” movie was made in 1952. A guided walk will show you places featured in the production. Travel through Connemara for sweeping views of misty mountains and shimmering lakes. Stop briefly at Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre before continuing to Clifden, a delightful market town set between the Twelve Pins Mountains and sandy bays. Return to your hotel to relax before dining in your hotel once again. (B, D)

Day 8 – Wed: Yeats’ Grave & Belleek China

Travel north to Castlebar to the Museum of Country Life which displays articles used in everyday life during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Continue to County Sligo and pause in Drumcliffe Churchyard at the grave of the writer, W. B. Yeats. Follow the shoreline of Donegal Bay to visit the Belleek Pottery Factory where craftspeople mould, shape and decorate clay, creating the world-famous fine china. Continue your drive through the majestic Barnesmore Gap to Derry. Enjoy free time to relax or take a walk before dinner. (B, D)

Day 9 – Thu: Derry Walk & Giant’s Causeway

Join a local guide for a walking tour around Derry’s ancient city centre including the Guildhall, St. Columb’s Cathedral, the Diamond and the 16th century walls. Visit the award-winning Tower Museum. Drive along the north coast, stopping for photos at the ruined Dunluce Castle and explore the Giant’s Causeway, huge hexagonal basalt columns formed over 60 million years ago. The oversized rocks have given rise to many legends. Return to Derry for leisure time. (B, D)

Day 10 – Fri: Belfast Tour & Cabra Castle Stay

Drive direct to Belfast where a guide will show you all around the city centre with its Victorian buildings as well as the docks where the Titanic was built and areas around the Malone Road and Falls where the struggles of the latter part of the 20th century took place. Take some free time to look around on your own before travelling south to Kingscourt and your castle hotel, built in 1760. Arrive mid-afternoon so that you have time to enjoy the atmosphere and facilities of this lovely property and maybe play the 9-hole golf course. After dinner in the Court Restaurant, youthful dancers display intricate Irish step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 11 – Sat: Dublin & Open-Top Bus Tour

After a leisurely breakfast, drive to Dublin and check in around midday to a different Dublin hotel in the Georgian section of the city. The afternoon is free and you may use your vouchers for an open-top bus tour and Guinness or Jameson visit if you did not use them at the start of your vacation. Dine independently at one of Dublin’s great restaurants or create your own pub crawl through the nearby Temple Bar area. (B)

Day 12 – Sun: Depart from Dublin Airport

Complimentary group transfers are provided to Dublin Airport to arrive at 6:00 am, 9:00 am or 12:00 noon to check in for your flight. If you need an earlier transfer, your tour escort will arrange one for you. (B)

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner

Dates and Prices for 2011

Dates and Prices for 2012

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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