Detailed Daily Itinerary

Day 0
Depart home on the airline of your choice to Dublin, Ireland

Day 1
Fly from your hometown, on the airline of your choice, to arrive in Dublin this morning. After going to our well-located, 4-star, historic hotel, you have the rest of the day to explore this ancient Viking city. Maybe you'll visit Trinity College and see the ancient Book of Kells, or take a tour of the city on a local touring bus, where you can get on or off all day at a variety of stops. Tour the 200 year-old Guinness Brewery, or visit one of our favorites, the Dublin Writer’s Museum.  We'll meet later this day for a tour orientation, and get-aquainted dinner at our lovely hotel.            Overnight/Dublin (D)

Day 2
After enjoying breakfast, you'll board your comfortable coach for a journey to Brú na Boinne, where we visit the megalithic tombs of the first settlers of Ireland at Newgrange. It dates from 3200 BC, making it older than both Stonehenge and the Egyptian Pyramids. After a lunch opportunity there, we'll back travel back to Dublin, where you'll have the rest of the afternoon and evening free . Overnight/Dublin (B)

Day 3
We'll leave historical Dublin after breakfast and journey by coach through the wild Wicklow Mountains to the magnificent 18th C. estate and gardens at Powerscourt, thought to be among the finest in Europe, often called the "Versailles of Ireland".  Maybe you’ll recognize the setting for such movies as “Barry Lyndon”, “Excalibur” and “Henry V”. We'll continue through the lovely Wicklow Mountains to Roundwood, Ireland’s highest village; make a visit to incomparable Glendalough, arguably one of the two most important historic monastic sites, and continue our trip through time as we journey to what many consider to be one of the loveliest towns in Ireland:  Kilkenny, on the River Nore. There, we'll savor the history of the 12th C. stronghold of the Butler Family, Kilkenny Castle.  After our exciting day we'll retire to our 4-star, historic hotel for dinner and lodging. Overnight/Kilkenny (B,D)

Day 4
After breakfast, take a coach trip through County Tipperary for a visit to one of Ireland’s most spectacular archaeological sites, the Rock of Cashel. It has Ireland’s finest Romanesque chapel, and was the Munster seat of power for Kings and Clergy for over 1000 years. See the 13th C. Hore Abbey, of the Mellifont Cistercian Order, close by. Then, take our trusty transportation 10 miles south to the town of Caher.   You'll enjoy a delicious lunch at a quaint hotel before walking (or riding) by the lovely River Suir to our next stop, the elegant thatched-roof Swiss Cottage, the finest cottage orné in Ireland. Return to our well-placed hotel for dinner and overnight in Kilkenny.  Maybe you'll want to visit one of Kilkenny's famous pubs.        Overnight/Kilkenny (B,L)

Day 5
Leaving lovely Kilkenny we'll have a short hop to the beautiful riverside town of Waterford, and its Crystal Factory established in 1783, for a guided tour.  You'll marvel at the work of the artisans in glass. We'll enjoy a lunch opportunity here and then travel for a visit to an Icon of Ireland, Blarney Castle. Maybe you'll kiss the Blarney Stone to gain the gift of eloquence.  You'll have an opportunity to go shopping (shop 'til you drop?) here at the extensive offerings of Blarney Woolen Mills. We'll leave Blarney and travel to the gourmet capital of Ireland, Kinsale, where we'll enjoy a gourmet dinner together in this lovely village.  

Overnight/near Cork  (B,D)

Day 6
Today, after our sumptuous breakfast, take our coach along the Southern Coast road through Clonakilty, Skibbereen, and glimpse Bantry House, the 17th C. residence of the Earls of Bantry where the movie “Moll Flanders” was filmed. We'll venture to the Beara Peninsula and on to the town of Glengarriff.  There we'll catch a boat for the short trip to Ilnacullin to visit the Italianate gardens of Harold Peto, seeing plants never before grown in Ireland. Due to the temperate climate afforded by the nearby Gulf Stream, these exotic plants have flourished. Maybe you'll want to watch for another potential Napoleonic invasion from the 19th C. Martello Tower. After our 20 min boat ride back, take our coach through the small, colorful town of Kenmare before we travel out the Ring of Kerry where we'll have afternoon "High Tea" at the beautiful Great Southern Hotel at Parknasilla.  After our sumptuous meal we'll take our coach through Moll's Gap, by Ladies' View, and along the lakes of Killarney to our 4-star hotel.                 Overnight/Killarney   (B, High tea)

Day 7
Take our coach to Kate Kearney’s Cottage where we pick up our "jaunting cars" and drivers for an unforgettable journey through the Gap of Dunloe, past the Wishing Bridge and through the Black Valley. After a lunch opportunity at Lord Brandon's Cottage, we'll join our boats which will slowly cruise across the three Lakes of Killarney , with views of the Macgillycuddy Reeks, the Meeting of the Waters, and Ladies' View to 14th C. Ross Castle, the last place to succumb to Oliver Cromwell’s forces in Munster. We'll then take our coach for a short hop back to our lovely hotel where we'll have a great dinner together, after which it's off to an evening of Irish cabaret, traditional song and dance.  Then we'll coach back (a few minutes) to our hotel for a good nights sleep.               Overnight/Killarney (B,D)

Day 8
After finishing our great buffet breakfast, we stroll over to visit the magnificent, 19th C. Muckross House and Estate . Then, rather than all-day touring the bus-crowded and touristy Ring of Kerry, we take you on our favorite tour, the even more beautiful and archaeologically significant Dingle Peninsula. Lets stop in Dingle town and maybe catch a glimpse of their resident bottle-nosed dolphin, Fungie.  We'll have lunch together in Dingle Town and then leave to visit the greatest concentration of ancient sites in all of County Kerry, if not all of Ireland. As we travel west past the sites for the films “Ryan’s Daughter” and “Far and Away”, we arrive at the magnificent Blasket Centre, the impressive $5 million heritage center where an ancient language and culture are celebrated.  We're deep in a Gaeltacht, an area where Irish is the first-spoken language.  We continue our journey to visit the 1300-year-old, perfectly intact Gallarus Oratory, an early Christian stone church with a uniquely corbeled stone roof, which has remained watertight to this day. We might just see some Beehive Huts along the way, and have a few special surprises. Are you beginning to see some history here? We’ll take our coach back to our comfy hotel, where we will have dinner together and spend our last night in Killarney. 

It will be so hard to leave. Maybe you'll want to explore some musical pubs tonight.    Overnight/Killarney (B,D)

Day 9
After savoring our bountiful breakfast, we will journey on our magic coach toward County Limerick. There we’ll stop in ”Ireland’s prettiest village”, Adare, and see the excellent heritage center before hopping aboard to coach off to the 13th C. Bunratty Castle, with its adjoining Folk Park;  a must-see near Limerick. Time for a lunch opportunity (and some excellent shopping nearby); and maybe a visit to Durty Nelly’s Pub, built in 1620. Then we'll venture forth through the verdant Irish countryside where we'll take our coach to visit two of the geologic wonders of Ireland: the 600-ft-high Cliffs of Moher with its breathtaking views, and The Burren, a most unique, extraordinary, limestone moonscape. We'll see the little seaside, musical village of Doolin; the 6000-yr-old Poulnabourne Dolmen, and the High Crosses of Kilfenora.  We'll view Lisdoonvarna, the matchmaking capital of Western Ireland with its healing- water mineral springs. Then we'll continue on by the shores of Galway Bay to our seaside hotel for dinner and lodging.  Galway is well-known for it's trad music pubs!   Overnight/ Galway  (B, D)

Day 10
As you arise in view of beautiful Galway Bay and enjoy your breakfast, you'll understand it's inspiration for the song of the same name.  And it was here that we spotted our first Galway Hooker. We’ll try finding one for you, too. After breakfast we'll travel along the bay to the loverly seaside village of Kinvara for a guided visit to Dunguaire Castle, the home of Dr. Oliver St. John Gogerty, of Irish literary fame.  On our way back to Galway we'll stop for a lunch opportunity at a wonderful seafood restaurant by the sea, and then take our spacious coach to our special, sea view hotel and have the rest of the day/evening free to explore Galway, with it's wonderful shops, great restaurants, historic haunts, and musical pubs.   Overnight/ Galway  (B)

Day 11
Today, after a tasty breakfast we will take our roomy coach to the wild, windblown, Irish-speaking region known as the Connemara. This is the home to the Twelve Bens (mountains), the "central glory of the Connemara" as author Brendan Lehan has written; an area of spectacular myth-making geography of glacial lakes, magnificent mountains, lonely lanes, and silent bog lands, where the sheep easily outnumber the people.  On the way we'll stop to visit a Connemara Pony Stud Farm,travel an old bog road through Roundstone and Ballyconneely, and stop for a lunch opportunity in Maam's Cross.  After lunch,we'll go on to the "Capital of the Connemara", Clifden for a visit to a mountain sheep farmer that we know who can tell us of his families’ generations on his land, and the tragedy and triumph of human events that colored this country. He describes the famine graves, megalithic tombs, and his visit by the President of Ireland and the Queen of the Netherlands. Ask him nicely and he’s sure to tell a Fairy Story or two.  And tonight we'll have dinner together with a very special guest.    Overnight/Clifden (B,D)

Day 12
Today’s adventure is one of Pattie's favorite journeys.  It’s here, near Clifden, that we'll ride through the hauntingly lovely Lough Inagh Valley to visit the picture-postcard beauty of 19th century Neo-gothic Kylemore Abbey, and learn of its romantic past. We'll have lunch together here then back to our cozy hotel where you'll have the afternoon/evening free to explore the quaint village of Clifden.  Overnight/Clifden  (B, L)

Day 13
After breakfast, we head our wheels back toward Dublin through the Midlands of Ireland. But not before visiting one of our two favorite landmarks, founded in the 6th century, Ireland’s most important monastic site at Clonmacnoise, overlooking the beautiful Shannon River. We see the burial sites for many of Ireland’s High Kings, Round Towers, High Crosses, and other antiquities. We'll see peat (or turf as it's known here) being harvested for fuel, and learn of its importance in Irish history.  After a lunch opportunity at a beautiful, lakeside restaurant we are whisked back to Dublin to our historic 4-star hotel and our farewell dinner together.           Where has the time gone?     Overnight/Dublin (B,D)

Day 14
After breakfast, the tour is over and you may depart for the airport to fly home, or… stay in Dublin for a few more days and really see this ancient and exciting city.  (B)

Return to tour information                                           Rev. 11/13/05