On arrival in Dublin Airport, reclaim your baggage and enter the Arrivals Hall. Here, you will meet your tour guide (who is also your driver). There will be 3 group airport transfers this morning between 7:00 am and 1200 noon. To ensure a smooth start to your tour, it is advisable to aim for an arrival time in Dublin Airport before 11:00 am, as clearing immigration and reclaiming baggage typically takes around 1 hour.
Board your luxury air-conditioned coach and transfer to the Dunboyne Castle Hotel. This afternoon you might like to take a stroll around the grounds of the hotel.
At 6:00 PM this evening, all participants will gather for dinner in the Dunboyne Castle Hotel restaurant where you will become acquainted with your fellow travellers and the coming days can be discussed at leisure with your tour guide.
| Time | Arrival Transfer details |
|---|---|
| Between 07:00 and 12 (noon) | Dublin Airport There are 3 group airport transfers this morning, between 7am and 12 noon, from Dublin Airport to Dunboyne Castle Hotel. |
After some much-needed sleep and a hearty full Irish breakfast, depart for Northern Ireland, also referred to as the six counties of Ulster. The province of Northern Ireland was created with the partition of the island of Ireland in 1921. Your destination today will be Belfast City, the only city in Ireland to fully experience the Industrial Revolution. Linen, rope making, tobacco and most famously shipbuilding including the building of the Titanic Belfast on the Harland & Wolff shipyard, were the main industries. The Troubles took their toll on the economic life of Belfast, but the past fifteen years of peace have returned much prosperity, while the genuine friendliness of the city never left.
Travelling north, your route today will take you through County Meath, the Royal County — owing to its history as the seat of the High King of Ireland. Visit Trim Castle. The largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland. Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter built it over a 30-year period and finished it in 1206. Trim Castle was also a film location for the movie "Braveheart".
Continue onto Belfast City via County Louth. On arrival in Belfast City, you will discover the history of the Titanic Belfast in the world's largest Titanic-themed visitor attraction, located on the very slipways where she was built in the heart of Belfast.
Tonight, you will overnight and dine at Clayton Hotel Belfast.
In the morning, continuing on your tour of Belfast City, you will be joined by a specialised step on local Belfast City Guide to see and hear all about the history of this once troubled city — including the Belfast Murals of the Loyalist Shankill Road and Nationalist Falls Road.
In the afternoon, travel south of the city to Hillsborough Castle & Gardens. Located in County Down, Hillsborough Castle is the official Northern Ireland residence of the British Royal family during their time in the region. In 2014, the castle and its gardens — set across 100 acres of stunning waterways, lawns and woodlands — were officially opened to the public.
Return to Belfast City. Overnight and dine in Clayton Hotel Belfast.
This morning depart for Derry/Londonderry City. The city fortifications are amongst the best preserved in Europe and were completed in 1618 to defend the city from Gaelic chieftains in Donegal.
Your route today will take you via the spectacular Antrim Coastal Route through the nine Glens of Antrim and picturesque villages of Ballygalley, Carnlough, Cushendall and Cushendun to Ballycastle. Continue onto Bushmills. Here you will visit the Bushmills Distillery. Known around the world as the oldest licensed distillery. We will stop here for a whiskey tasting. Its grant to distil whiskey was given in 1608, but it is believed that the spirit was probably made here 200 years before that!
Further north On the coast, you will visit Giant's Causeway. This prehistoric geological phenomenon is the subject of many myths and legends. There are an estimated 37,000 basalt columns extending from cliffs down into the sea.
This afternoon you will continue west to Derry/Londonderry City for an overnight stay at the Maldron Hotel Derry. Dine at the hotel tonight.
This morning after breakfast, you will discover the famous Derry City Walls. You will be joined by a specialised local guide at the Derry Guildhall for a walking tour of the historic Derry City Walls.
Later this morning, depart for Enniskillen. This beautiful town is found in the heart of County Fermanagh. It occupies an island between Upper and Lower Lough Erne.
Your route will take you via Strabane and Omagh in County Tyrone to the Ulster American Folk Park. An open-air museum located on the restored boyhood home of Judge Thomas Mellon, founder of the Pittsburgh banking dynasty. The Park's permanent exhibition, called 'Emigrants', examines why two million people left Ulster for America during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.
Dinner and overnight will be in the Westville Hotel, located in the heart of Enniskillen's historic waterside quarter.
After breakfast, you will venture on a Lough Erne Cruise. Boasting a rich combination of natural and historic sights, a haven for many species of water birds. You will visit Devenish Island. Here you will see the monastery founded by St. Molaise in the 6th Century. The most spectacular sight on this tiny, windswept island is a perfectly preserved 12th Century round tower that stands 82ft high.
Depart for Galway City, known as the "City of the Tribes". Today, it is a vibrant bustling harbour town with medieval origins and with a long tradition of Irish language, music, song, and dance.
Travelling south, your route today will take you via Leitrim, Sligo and Mayo. Visit Drumcliffe County Sligo, where you can read the epitaph on the grave of W.B. Yeats. Continue onto Galway.
Tonight, you will overnight and dine in the Menlo Park Hotel.
Today you will tour the sights of wild Connemara via the villages of Moycullen, Oughterard, Maam Cross and Recess, before travelling up the spectacular Inagh Valley with the 12 Bens of Connemara on your left and the Maumturks Mountains on your right as you travel to Kylemore.
You will visit Kylemore Abbey. An historic building nestled at the base of Duchruach Mountain, on the northern shore of Lough Pollacappul — in the heart of the Connemara Mountains. It is regarded as one of Ireland's most romantic buildings.
Travel on via the shores of Killary Fjord. This is Ireland's only fjord and is a Wild Atlantic Way signature discovery point, on the Mayo - Galway border, Ireland's only fjord, before crossing into Mayo and continuing on to the village of Cong, the film location of "The Quiet Man" for a brief stop.
Return to Galway City via the shores of Lough Corrib, the largest lake in the Republic of Ireland and is considered by many as the best fishing lake in Europe.
Tonight, you will dine in the Menlo Park Hotel.
This morning bright and early, your route will take you down the Atlantic seaboard on the west coast of Clare to Killarney Town. Travel via the famous Galway Bay, Dunguaire Castle and the fishing village of Kinvarra.
You will see The Burren, which is Gaelic for rocky land—an apt name for this vast limestone plateau. In the 1640s, Cromwell's surveyor described it as "a savage land, yielding neither water enough to drown a man, nor tree to hang him, nor soil enough to bury".
On the coast, you will travel to the Cliffs of Moher. Braced against the ocean, on the coast of County Clare. Here you will stand on the dramatic 702ft (214m) high and 9 miles (14km) long cliffs, a Wild Atlantic Way signature discovery point, to gaze out on the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. Further south in County Limerick, take time to stroll the main street of the beautiful thatched village of Adare, before travelling on to Killarney Town.
Tonight, you will overnight & dine in Dromhall Hotel.
This morning, after breakfast, you will set off on the world-famous Ring Of Kerry. It is officially known as the Iveragh Peninsula. You will travel via Killorglin, Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen, Waterville, Coomakesta Pass with its magnificent views over Derrynane, home of Daniel O' Connell, known as "The Liberator", to Caherdaniel. Travel on via the hamlet of Castlecove, the colourful village of Sneem and on via Moll’s Gap, Ladies View, Killarney National Park and along the Lakes of Killarney to Killarney town.
Enjoy a break at the Blind Piper Pub. Here you will have a traditional Irish Pub Lunch. Located in the village of Caherdaniel, locals and visitors alike have been drinking here since 1865. Who is the Blind Piper, you may ask? The Blind Piper is Mici Cumba O'Sullivan, who was born nearby in 1835 and became one of Ireland's most famous pipers.
Continue via the pretty village of Sneem, Moll's Gap, Ladies View and along the Killarney Lakes to the town of Killarney Town.
Tonight, you will dine in the family-owned Dromhall Hotel.
After a hearty Irish breakfast, this morning you will depart for Cork City. Founded on the banks of the River Lee. The rebel city is home of Murphy's Original Irish Stout, and is considered by many Corkonians to be the real capital of Ireland!
Journey west through the "county bounds" via the wild Derrynasaggart Mountains, sometimes referred to as the Cork/Kerry Mountains and made famous in the ballad - "Whiskey in the Jar".
On this journey you will see the village of Macroom where lie the ruins of Macroom Castle. Once home to Sir William Penn, whose son later founded the state of Pennsylvania. (This is a drive-by only, and is noted for historical reasons, as the castle is in ruins).
Travel on to the village of Blarney via the valley of the River Lee. Here you will visit Blarney Castle. Built on this site in 1446 by Dermot McCarthy. You will have the chance to kiss the legendary Blarney Stone. You will also have an opportunity to shop at Blarney Woollen Mills, boasting a huge selection of Irish arts, crafts and produce.
Continue onto Cork City.
Dinner and overnight tonight in the Maldron Hotel South Mall in the heart of Cork City.
After breakfast this morning, take time to wander through some of the quaint streets of Cork City.
Later this morning, you will travel to the historic town of Kinsale. The Gourmet Capital of Ireland. Originally a medieval fishing port, historic Kinsale is one of the most picturesque towns on the southwest coast of Ireland. Boland's Craft Shop is just one of the many unique stores that are well worth a visit. Here you will also visit Charles Fort. This star-shaped fort was built in the 1670s by the English to protect Kinsale harbour against foreign naval forces.
Dinner & overnight in the Maldron Hotel South Mall.
This morning, after breakfast, you will depart for Dublin, Ireland's capital city.
Visit The Rock of Cashel. Rising dramatically from the grassy plains of county Tipperary. This was the seat of kings and medieval bishops for 900 years and flourished until the early 17th century. Brian Ború was crowned King of Munster here in 977, before becoming High King of Ireland in 1002.
Enjoy a Traditional Farm Lunch. This will be on a Family Farm outside Kilkenny. You can chat with your hosts and hear about their life and times farming in this rural part of Ireland.
For those that start their tour on the 11th of May, 8th of June, 13th of June, 17th of August, 31st of August and the 28th of September you will enjoy lunch at Mikey Ryan's Bar & Kitchen. With a focus on local and traditional fare, this distinctly Irish bar and restaurant is a treat in the town of Cashel, County Tipperary.
You will visit the Irish National Stud. This is a state–run bloodstock farm, which was founded in 1900 by an eccentric Anglo–Irish man by the name of Colonel William Walker. On finishing the tour of the stud farm, take a walk through the Japanese Gardens—laid out in 1906 to represent the "Life of Man".
This afternoon you will once again be back in Dublin City.
Overnight and dine tonight in the Clayton Hotel Charlemont.
After breakfast this morning, you will explore Dublin City.
Take a journey to EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum. Voted, recently, as "Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction", this museum tour tells the story behind the millions of people who fled, or were forced from, Ireland over the past three centuries. Located in Dublin's Docklands.
You will also visit Christ Church Cathedral. Founded by the Viking King Sitric almost 1000 years ago in 1034. The cathedral crypt is one of the largest in the UK and Ireland, dating back to the 12th Century. Here, in the crypt, you can see the mummified remains of the Cat and the Rat which were found in the cathedral organ, and a rare 14th century copy of the Magna Carta.
Visit Guinness Storehouse. With an address at the world-famous St. James's Gate. Here you will tour the world-renowned brewery and enjoy a perfect complimentary pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar — located at the top of a glass tower that commands spectacular views of Dublin City.
Your farewell dinner and evening entertainment includes a Traditional Music Night at The Merry Ploughboy Pub—one of Dublin's iconic trad music venues.
Overnight: Clayton Hotel Charlemont.
Today marks the end of the 14 Day Iconic Tour of Ireland.
After a final great Irish breakfast this morning, there will be 3 group airport transfers between 0500 and 1100 to transfer you to Dublin Airport for your return flight home. The confirmed transfer times will be advised 10 days prior to the tour start date.
| Time | Departure Transfer details |
|---|---|
| Between 05:00 and 11:00 | Clayton Hotel Charlemont There are 3 group airport transfers this morning, between 5am and 11am, from Clayton Hotel Charlemont to Dublin Airport. |