CIE Tours: Jewels of Ireland
Day 1: Dublin City Tour & Pearse Lyons Distillery
Hotel: The Gibson Hotel
Day 2: Powerscourt Estate and Whiskey Distillery & Taylors Three Rock
Visit the breathtaking Powerscourt Estate in County Wicklow, to explore the stunning gardens and discover the art of traditional whiskey-making at the Powerscourt Distillery, famous for its award-winning Fercullen Irish whiskeys. Enjoy a traditional Irish dinner with a lively show at Taylors Three Rock pub.
Hotel: The Gibson Hotel
Meals: (B, D)
Day 3: Blarney Castle & Kinsale Walking Tour
Travel to Blarney Castle; climb the winding staircase to kiss its famous stone or enjoy the gardens. Go to Kinsale, a picturesque old fishing town known for art galleries and gourmet food. Join a local guide for a fascinating walk around its historic streets, once besieged by the Spanish Armada, before dinner at your hotel.
Hotel: Kinsale Hotel & Spa
Meals: (B, D)
Day 4: Killarney, Jaunting Car & Dingle
Drive to Killarney, where you’ll take a classic jaunting car ride to Ross Castle, then enjoy free time to explore the town and have an independent lunch. Next, visit Moriarty’s in the Gap of Dunloe, a CIE Tours preferred shopping partner. Continue on to Dingle, where you will dine at your hotel.
Hotel: Dingle Skellig Hotel
Meals: (B, D)
Day 5: Slea Head Loop, Blasket Centre, Murphy’s Ice Cream & Dingle
Set out on the Slea Head Loop, one of Ireland’s most beautiful drives, through scenic ocean and mountain vistas. Visit the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the Blasket Islands, visible off the coast. These islands were a lively outpost of the Irish language before being abandoned in 1954, and their legacy lives on. You’ll learn a few words or “cúpla focal” for yourself! Return to Dingle and visit Murphy’s Ice Cream; taste their distinctive flavors like Irish Orange Marmalade, Brown Bread, and Dingle Gin. Take the rest of the day to wander and dine as you wish in this quaint seaside town.
Hotel: Dingle Skellig Hotel
Meals: (B)
Day 6: Cliffs of Moher & Medieval Castle Banquet
Visit the Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum, which recalls air travel in the 1930s and 1940s. Drive to the magnificent Cliffs of Moher, soaring 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. In the evening, visit a castle for a medieval-style banquet with traditional songs and stories.
Hotel: Treacys Oakwood Hotel
Meals: (B, D)
Day 7: Sheepdog Demonstration & Galway
Travel through the rounded limestone hills of the Burren to Caherconnell and watch skilled dogs round up sheep. Stop in a charming Burren village to explore independently. Continue on to lively Galway for a walking tour with a local guide – check out the medieval history evident in the city walls, the narrow streetscape, and Lynch’s Castle. Explore the charming shops and listen to street musicians before dinner at your hotel.
Hotel: Galway Bay Hotel
Meals: (B, D)
Day 8: Killary Harbour Catamaran Cruise & Kylemore Abbey
Drive through Connemara to Leenane for a catamaran cruise (seasonal) of Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord. Travel on to see Kylemore Abbey, a beautiful castle in a lakeside setting. Enjoy an evening free to explore vibrant, artistic Galway city.
Hotel: Galway Bay Hotel
Meals: (B)
Day 9: Belleek Pottery & Donegal Castle
Travel north through County Mayo. Stop in County Fermanagh and visit Belleek Pottery to see craftspeople create their renowned fine china. Visit Donegal Castle, built by the O’Donnell chieftains in the 15th century and restored in the 1990s after falling into ruin for centuries. Enjoy free time in Donegal town before dinner at your hotel.
Hotel: Abbey Hotel Donegal
Meals: (B, D)
Day 10: Slieve League Cliffs & Triona Design Demonstration
Enjoy a coastal drive to view Slieve League, Europe’s highest sea cliffs. Continue on to CIE Tours preferred shopping partner, Triona Design, in Ardara; see demonstrations of spinning, weaving and knitting. Enjoy free time to explore and dine independently this evening.
Hotel: Abbey Hotel Donegal
Meals: (B)
Day 11: Derry Walk & Giant’s Causeway
Meet with a local guide for a walking tour to see Derry’s medieval walls, the Diamond, and St Columb’s Cathedral. Explore the Giant’s Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed over 60 million years ago. Travel along the scenic Nine Glens of Antrim before arriving in Belfast. Your evening will be free to explore and dine independently in this vibrant city.
Hotel: Grand Central Hotel Belfast
Meals: (B)
Day 12: Titanic Belfast, Glyde Inn & Dublin
Take a panoramic tour of Belfast, then visit Titanic Belfast to explore the story of the doomed ocean liner, which was built in the neighboring shipyards. Next visit the Glyde Inn for an entertaining lunch featuring traditional Irish music and songs. Continue on to Dublin for a free evening.
Hotel: The Croke Park Hotel
Meals: (B, L)
Day 13: Tour Ends in Dublin
Your tour ends after breakfast.
Meals: (B)
Meal Abbreviations: B: Breakfast, L: Lunch, D: Dinner
Belfast
Belfast is popular with travelers who come to discover the city’s physical beauty and renewed tranquility. Enjoy performances at the Grand Opera House, shopping along trendy Donegall Place and visiting numerous pubs along The Golden Mile. St. Anne’s Cathedral, also known as Belfast Cathedral, is the principal church of the Anglican Church of Ireland and contains stones from every county in Ireland. Located next to Europa Hotel, the Grand Opera House boasts an impressive mix of large productions of opera, ballet, musicals and drama. Known as the Big Ben of Belfast, the Albert Memorial Clock Tower was built in 1869 to commemorate the Prince Consort. Built in 1849 as one of Queen Victoria’s colleges, Queens University is one of the foremost universities in the British Isles. The classical-style building of Stormont, erected in 1928-32 to house the Parliament of Northern Ireland, stands 3.5 miles outside the city. The Prince of Wales Avenue is exactly one mile long and is bordered by rose beds containing 600 of the famous Korona roses noted for their scarlet blooms.
Excursions
Belfast - Tour of Antrim Coast - Full Day Tour
Belfast - Tour of Antrim Coast - Full Day Tour
Depart Port by luxury vehicle accompanied by local professional guide. Leaving Belfast behind, head north on a scenic, northbound journey. Travel to the port of Larne and then join the spectacular Antrim Coast road. Onwards through the villages of Ballygalley and Glenarm to Cushendall, know as the "Capital of the Glens" and Ballycastle, host of the annual 'Oul Lammas Fair'.
Arrive at The Giants Causeway Centre. 
Next, travel to the famouse village of Bushmills, which is home to the legendary Bushmills Whiskey Distillery.
Enjoy a 2 Course lunch with tea/coffee in the wonderful Distillers Arms restaurant.
Following lunch you will travel along the Coast up to the fantastic Dunluce Castle. It is thought by some to be the most picturesque of all Irish castles. Situated in the most north-easterly tip of Ireland and first built by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster in the 13th century, the ruins of the castle are a huge tourist attraction.
The castle is surrounded by terrifyingly steep drops at either side; these would have been essential features to the Vikings and early Christians, who were drawn to this magnificent place where an early Irish ring-fort once stood. It is situated on a 100 foot high basalt stack with a sea cave underneath. The earliest features of the castle, the two large drum towers, about nine metres in diameter, can still be seen on the eastern side.
Return to Belfast Port on the motorway which runs close to some scenic inland countryside.
Inclusions:
- Private Driver Guide
- Giants Causeway visitor Centre
- Entrance to Dunluce Castle
- Lunch Including Tea and Coffee
Belfast: Cultural Belfast - 8 hours
Belfast: Cultural Belfast - 8 hours
Belfast may be a small city, but it has a wealth of culture and excitement on offer for you to discover! Firstly, visit the purpose-built iconic ‘Titanic Belfast’. With over nine galleries, the Titanic story is brought to life for you with exhibitions, rides, full-scale reconstructions and lots
of interactive fun.
After a hearty Irish lunch (payable locally) head into Belfast city where your guide unravels stories related to “the troubles” of Northern Ireland. You cannot miss the murals across Belfast that offer a fascinating history in pictures. Although huge strides have been made in the fight to combat sectarianism in the city, the marks of the past can still be witnessed across the city, adorning the sides of buildings and walls. A tour of Belfast wouldn’t be complete without enjoying a pint of Guinness at the famous Crown Bar in the city centre. This 19th-century bar is an experience that is unique to Northern Ireland. You are privately transferred back to board your cruise after your tour.
Highlights:
- Explore the 'Titanic Belfast' and learn about the ship's fascinating history
- Learn about Belfast's turbulent past and visit the famous Crown Bar in the city centre
Tour Duration: 8 Hours
Tour Can Operate: Morning / Afternoon
Wheelchair Accessible: Please enquire for more information
Physical Activity Level: Light
Inclusions:
- Private transport by luxury car or minivan
- An expert local guide for 8 hours
- Entrance fees to all sights and museums
- All taxes
Exclusions:
- All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
- Gratuities
Belfast: Highlights of Belfast - 6 hours
Belfast: Highlights of Belfast - 6 hours
Today you are met by your expert local guide for a sightseeing in Belfast and the surrounding area. Spend the morning on a panoramic tour of the city centre, where you see the impressive City Hall in Donegall Square, St. Anne’s Cathedral and the buildings of Queen’s University. During this tour, your guide talks to you about the sectarian divisions that have been so prominent in Belfast in recent years. You also visit the Titanic Quarter, so-called as it was here that the ill-fated liner was being constructed a century ago. Your guide shows you where the ship was constructed and the Thomson Dock where it had its final fit-out.
Highlights:
- Take a panoramic tour of Belfast’s city centre to see the impressive City Hall and the buildings of Queen’s University
- Visit the Titanic Quarter where the ill-fated liner was constructed a century ago
Tour Duration: 6 hours
Tour Can Operate: Morning / Afternoon
Wheelchair Accessible: Please enquire for more information
Physical Activity Level: Light
Inclusions:
- Private transport by luxury car or minivan
- An expert local guide for 6 hours
- Entrance fees to all sights and museums
- All taxes
Exclusions:
- All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
- Gratuities
Galway
Galway is a city, a county, and an experience to be savoured and remembered. The historic city of the tribes dances to a beat uniquely it's own. There is a certain chemistry and vibrancy to this friendly university city, which many delight in, and few forget. Music, festivals, horse racing, pubs, restaurants, shops, theatres and most of all -Galway people, combine to create this atmospheric medieval city of culture. From this pulsating heart the rest of the county flows.
Galway Bay, immortalised in song, its beauty unchanging. Scenic Gaeltacht areas including the Aran Islands. Connemara, with the picturesque town of Clifden as its capital. Mountains, castles and stone walls, banks of turf, long sandy beaches, clear lakes, joyful leaping streams and flowing rivers. The mighty Shannon, delightful countryside punctuated by pretty villages, traditional pubs.
Photo used with permission
from Joe Desbonnet, www.galway.net
Excursions
Inishmore, Aran Islands - 8 hours Full Day
Inishmore, Aran Islands - 8 hours Full Day
On the very edge of Europe, is an Island rich in the language, culture and heritage of Ireland, unique in its geology and archaeology and in its long tradition of gentle hospitality. Here is a place to sense the spirit of Gaelic Ireland, to touch the past, but with all the comforts and facilities of the present. Aran will take you back to an Ireland of Celts and Early Christians. This is an island of great peace and tranquility, but it is also an island of great fun and activity. A timeless land in an endless sea, weathered monuments on awesome cliffs, great labyrinths of limestone, meandering walls, patchwork fields, quiet beaches and a welcoming island people.
This morning we will depart from Galway and take a ferry to Inishmore, the largest of the three islands, the other islands being Inishmaan and Inisheer. The Islands are located off the West Coast of Galway about 18km out from Rossaveal Harbour in Connemara. Inishmore is approx. 13km long, and contains 3,092 ha. with a native population of about 900. Kilronan the chief center and port.
Landing in Kilronan on Inishmore, you are met by your driver in a horse drawn buggy for a guided tour of the Island and visiting one of its more impressive stone forts called Dun Aonghasa. It is semi-circular structure, resting on the edge of a perpendicular cliff rising 100 meters out of the ocean. The fort consists of an inner court 50 meters across surrounded by a wall six meters high and five meters thick at the base.
Visit the Aran Islands Interpretative Centre which highlights the unique history, spirit and landscapes of the Aran Islands. The center details the geology, history and present lifestyle of the islands. See how the legendary currachs, those open-topped, often tar-coated, boats that skim over the waves, are made. Also on display are details of the fish species off the islands and how the islanders have long used seaweed to create patches of soil that could be cultivated for crops, in between the dry stone walls that crisscross the islands and divide its tiny fields. The islands' other craft traditions, including weaving of the famous Aran sweaters, are also documented.
Duration: 8 hours
Included:
Enjoy a pub lunch on Inishmore
Departing the island by ferry you return to Galway City.
Note: it is also possible to fly to Inishmore.
Pricing: Please inquire
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