DAY 1 | ARRIVE IN IRELAND
Saturday, October 12th

“Cead Mile Failte,” a hundred thousand welcomes! After clearing passport control, please claim your luggage to complete the arrival formalities. You will then exit through the Arrivals Hall, where your travel director will meet you and take you to your coach. Once settled, you will have a leisure day to enjoy the hotel and Dublin.

DAY 2 | DUBLIN
Sunday, October 13th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. Meet your driver and guide at your hotel at 9am. Next, we venture to Trinity College in Dublin to view the Book of Kells, an exquisite combination of intricate illuminations and Latin text. A 9th-century masterpiece, the Book of Kells is a unique insight into a rich part of Ireland’s culture for bibliophiles and non-bibliophiles alike. Learn how the famous medieval manuscript was created, explore a spectacular library home to more than 200,000 texts, and come to understand an ornate part of history.

Next, we depart to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A stunning stalwart of medieval Dublin, St. Patrick’s Cathedral offers a rich cultural experience with its 800-year history. The largest cathedral in the country and one-time post of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travel, St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a stunning work of gothic architecture, with its Lady Chapel, dating from 1270, recently being restored to its original glory.

Be sure to explore the building, stopping into the Lives Remembered exhibition and its specially commissioned tree sculpture in memory of World War 1. A true highlight is its choir, which performs during school terms and in the Lady Chapel. Following the cathedral, we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant. Please note that drinks are payable directly.

DAY 3 | GLENDALOUGH & WATERFORD
Monday, October 14th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. Following breakfast, we are off to Glendalough. Known as ‘the valley of the two lakes’, Glendalough is a true escape from the rush and pull of Dublin. A hotbed for hikers and walkers alike, Glendalough is rich in history and scenery, with a restorative sense of tranquility. Make the short climb to the top and luxuriate in unfiltered views of swirling scenery and gentle lakes. While there, visit Monastic sites including historic churches, high crosses, and round towers dating back to the 6th-century.

We then venture to Waterford where we will enjoy lunch in a local venue. Following lunch, we will visit the House of Waterford Crystal whose wares are coveted by connoisseurs and collectors alike. Browse through the extensive showrooms with a chance to purchase a memento in the Gallery Store.

DAY 4 | KILLARNEY
Tuesday, October 15th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. Following breakfast, we will experience the true ‘spirit’ of Ireland in the Jameson Distillery, a whiskey museum and visitor centre, located in the historic Old Midleton Distillery in County Cork. A bracing piece of local history, you’ll have the chance to see the largest pot still ever built, take a walking tour past the old kilns, mills, maltings, and distiller’s cottage, see the micro-distillery in action, and visit a live maturation warehouse all washed down with whiskey tasting along the way.

Next, we are off to visit Blarney Castle, built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains. Legend tells us that the Blarney stone situated on the grounds of Blarney Castle imparts the gift of eloquence to those who kiss it. Later, we arrive in Killarney, and enjoy the town on the lakes. It is renowned for its lively pubs and open, cheerful atmosphere, full of what the Irish call ‘craic’!

Our accommodations for the next two nights includes the spectacular architecture of this magnificent Victorian building melded with effortless service and genuine hospitality has made the Great Southern Hotel Killarney an iconic retreat for over 160 years. Originally opened as The Railway Hotel in 1854 & later named The Great Southern Hotel, stands proudly as Killarney’s Premier Historic Hotel.

DAY 5 | DINGLE PENINSULA
Wednesday, October 16th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. Today you are taken on a tour of the Dingle Peninsula, thrusting out into the Atlantic it claims Ireland’s most westerly point. Here majestic hills soar green and purple over vast bowls of unspoiled valleys, and glittering mountain streams which tumble down to lakes. Drive on to Dingle, a market town and fishing port.

Next, we are on to visit Gallarus oratory, Ireland’s best preserved early Christian Churches and a must see on any tour of the Dingle peninsula.

This evening enjoy dinner at your hotel. Drinks are payable directly.

DAY 6 | ENNIS
Thursday, October 17th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. We will enjoy a visit to the Ennis Friary today. Here you will get to see a number of fifteenth and sixteenth century sculptures carved in local hard limestone as well as the ornate east window. We will get lunch in a local venue in Ennis. Please note that drinks are payable directly.

Following lunch, we will travel on to Galway, a thriving, bohemian & cultural city. The city is a joy to explore with its labyrinthine cobbled streets, colourful shop facades and busy café/ bar culture.

DAY 7 | CONNEMARA
Friday, October 18th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. Today you tour Connemara, a wild land of rocky mountains, sparkling brooks, and rivers. Stop at lakeside Kylemore Abbey, a castellated neo-Gothic mansion, occupied today by the Irish Benedictine community of nuns who came from Ypres after World War I. Continue on to Clifden, one of the prettiest towns in Connemara. Travel through bog land and villages and visit the Connemara Marble Factory and learn of the origin and uses of the area’s splendid marble.

DAY 8 | ADARE
Saturday, October 19th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. Today, we travel to the Burren, an Irish word “Boíreann” meaning a rocky place. The rough, intriguing and attractive landscape was formed 320 million years ago. A natural masterpiece, the Cliffs of Moher are a must-see for any trip to Ireland. Set against the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean, the Cliffs tower a striking distance above the sea.

Named a UNESCO Global Geopark, the Cliffs are best experienced on a walk or trek across the clifftop. Watch birds, study plants, and keep an eye on the water for breaks of dolphin pods or sharks. Come to know the myths and magic of the Cliffs of Moher with sights including the Tower viewpoint, the Aran Islands, and the Hags Head.

We move on to visit the picturesque village of Adare, which is billed as the prettiest village in Ireland with its thatched roof cottages and Tudor style houses. Lastly, we will enjoy a farewell dinner this evening at your hotel. Drinks are payable directly.

DAY 9 | FAREWELL
Sunday, October 20th

Breakfast is included at your hotel this morning. You will be transferred to Shannon airport for your flight home.