14 Day 2012 Jewels Of Ireland Tour

Tour Highlights

• Taylor’s Three Rock Irish Night
• Knappogue Castle Medieval Banquet
• Killary Fjord Catamaran Cruise
• 2-Night Stay on Dingle Peninsula
• Slieve League Sea Cliffs
• Giant’s Causeway
• Belfast Tour
• Cabra Castle Hotel

Your Hotels

Stay at the following (or similar):

• Davenport Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
• Carlton Hotel, Kinsale (1 night)
• Benner’s Hotel, Dingle (2 nights)
• Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis (1 night)
• Galway Bay Hotel, Galway (2 nights)
• Millpark Hotel, Donegal (2 nights)
• Radisson Blu Hotel, Belfast (1 night)
• Cabra Castle Hotel, Kingscourt (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 13 nights
• 13 full Irish breakfasts (B)
• 11 dinners (D) including
• Dinner and traditional Irish entertainment at Taylor’s Three Rock Pub
• Medieval banquet and entertainment in Knappogue Castle
• Dinner and Irish step-dancing display at Cabra Castle Hotel
• 8 table d’hote dinners
• Welcome get-together drink
• Sightseeing tours of Dublin & Belfast
• Walking tours of Kinsale & Derry with local guides
• “The Quiet Man” walking tour of Cong
• Catamaran cruise of Killary Fjord with an Irish coffee
• Slieve League sea cliffs followed by home-baked scones with coffee or tea
• Visits and admissions to Dublin Castle, Glendalough Visitor Centre, Rock of Cashel, Muckross House & Gardens, Blasket Experience, Gallarus Oratory, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Cliffs of Moher, Burren Display Centre, Poulnabrone Dolmen, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre, Museum of Country Life, Knock Shrine, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Belleek Pottery Factory, Triona Design, Giant’s Causeway and Battle of the Boyne Centre
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

Itinerary

Day 1 – Fri: Dublin Castle & City Tour

Arrive in Dublin Airport and go 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, you will need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:00 pm tour Dublin city centre with a local guide to see elegant Georgian squares, Trinity College, St. Stephen’s Green, the Famine Memorial and O’Connell Street. Tour the State Apartments of Dublin Castle, which contain magnificently-furnished chambers. Back at your hotel enjoy a welcome drink and discuss your tour.

Day 2 – Sat: Glendalough Monastery & Taylor’s Three Rock

Take a drive through the lovely Wicklow Mountains to visit 6th century Glendalough monastery, picturesquely set in a peaceful valley. Walk through ruined churches, a round tower and Celtic crosses. Return to Dublin where the afternoon is free to take your independent open-top bus tour and visit Guinness or Jameson. Head to Taylor’s Three Rock Pub for dinner with traditional music, songs and step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 3 – Sun: Rock of Cashel & Historic Kinsale Walk

Travel south to visit the Rock of Cashel, where Brian Boru was crowned King of Munster in 977. See the 12th century highly-decorated Cormac’s Chapel and other ancient ruins. Continue past the Galtee Mountains and through Cork to Kinsale, a delightful old fishing town which is now renowned for sailing and gourmet food. Join a local guide for a short walk around Kinsale’s historic centre and then drive a few miles to your elegant resort hotel. (B, D)

Day 4 – Mon: Muckross House & Killarney

Drive via Macroom to Kenmare and along part of the Ring of Kerry route for splendid views. Tour Muckross House with a guide to tell you about influential owners and visitors before heading into Killarney for free time. Continue your journey along the Dingle Peninsula, enjoying views of heathery mountains, sandy beaches and rocky headlands. Check in to your hotel, located in the centre of this lively, attractive town. (B, D)

Day 5 – Tue: Dingle Peninsula & Gallarus Oratory

Today discover the glorious Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies, “Ryan’s Daughter” and “Far & Away.” Drive to Slea Head at the westernmost tip and tour the Blasket Experience to learn about the Blasket Islands. Visit Gallarus Oratory, a small church dating from the 6th to 9th centuries, which has remained watertight through the centuries. Travel up to the Conor Pass for sweeping views before returning to Dingle. (B, D)

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

Visit the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, which recalls the era during the 1930′s and early 1940′s when Pan Am’s Clipper traffic created a hive of activity. Travel through Limerick on the way to Ennis and check in to your centrally-located hotel. At 2:30 pm depart for the Cliffs of Moher, a dramatic wall of rock that plunges to the Atlantic Ocean. Return to Ennis for dinner with some informal entertainment in your hotel. (B, D)

Day 7 – Thu: Poulnabrone Dolmen & Connemara Crystal

In Kilfenora visit the Burren Display Centre to learn about the Burren, an area of rounded limestone hills. Then view the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a Neolithic burial place dating to 4,000 BC and take a look around the village of Ballyvaughan. In Moycullen visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory to see a skilled crystal cutter at work. Drive into Galway and check in to your hotel overlooking Galway Bay and the Burren. (B, D)

Day 8 – Fri: “Quiet Man” Walking Tour & Catamaran Cruise

Drive to Cong for a guided walk around the village where “The Quiet Man” movie was made in 1952. Drive through the lovely scenery of Connemara to embark on a short cruise of Killary Harbour. Enjoy an Irish coffee as you view traces of pre-Famine potato “lazy beds.” Make a brief stop at Kylemore Abbey Visitor Centre before heading to Clifden, a delightful market town, and then return to Galway. (B, D)

Day 9 – Sat: Museum of Country Life & Belleek China

Outside Castlebar visit the Museum of Country Life. View collections of domestic goods, used in everyday living from 1850 to 1950. Stop in the pilgrimage town of Knock and in County Sligo view W. B. Yeats’ Grave. Continue to Belleek for a tour of the Belleek Pottery Factory, founded in the mid-19th century and today renowned for fine china. Drive to Donegal town for your next overnight stop. (B, D)

Day 10 – Sun: Slieve League Cliffs & Donegal

Drive along the coast of Donegal to view Slieve League sea cliffs, the highest in Europe reaching 1,972 feet. The cliffs drop straight down to the wild Atlantic waves creating marvellous views. Enjoy coffee or tea with home-baked scones before driving through Glengesh Pass to Ardara to visit Triona Design for demonstrations of spinning and knitting. Stop in Donegal town for free time before returning to your hotel. (B, D)

Day 11 – Mon: Derry Walk & Giant’s Causeway

Take a walking tour with a local guide to see Derry’s medieval walls, the Diamond and St. Columb’s Cathedral. Pause for photos at Dunluce Castle before visiting the Giant’s Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. Continue along the scenic coastal drive of the “Nine Glens of Antrim” to your stylish hotel in Belfast, close to the waterfront and the attractions in the city centre. (B, D)

Day 12 – Tue: Belfast & Cabra Castle

Tour Belfast with a local guide to see Victorian buildings, the Harland & Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built, the Falls Road and Shankill. Enjoy free time to look around on your own before taking an afternoon drive south past the Mourne Mountains to Kingscourt to your lovely castle hotel, built in 1760. Arrive in time to enjoy the facilities, including a 9-hole golf course. After dinner, youthful dancers will display intricate Irish step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 13 – Wed: Battle of the Boyne Centre & Leisure Time in Dublin

Outside Drogheda visit the Battle of the Boyne Centre to learn about the 1690 conflict between King William III and his father-in-law, King James II. Then travel into Dublin and check in to your hotel overlooking the River Liffey. The balance of the day is free so you may take an open-top bus tour and visit Guinness or Jameson, if you did not use your vouchers at the start of your tour. (B)

Day 14 – Thu: Depart from Dublin Airport

Complimentary group transfers to Dublin airport to arrive at 06:00, 09:00 or 12 noon. If you need an earlier transfer, your tour escort will arrange one for you. (B)

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner

Jewels of Ireland 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