September 2015 - Ireland
Our planned itinerary for the Irish portion of our trip with friends. I was born in Dublin and have made many trips over the years first with my parents and then with my husband. Our last trip was in 2007 so this is our longest gap. I am really excited to be travelling with friends who have never been to Ireland. We've traveled with them in the past and always have fun.
B found a private tour for us and we booked with
Irish Luxury Tours. That means that we won't be spending time saying "I don't know, what do you want to do?". And we (really, John, my husband) don't have to worry about driving and he gets to sit back and enjoy. It also means, not waiting around for everybody to be ready and getting on and off tour buses.
We leave Toronto on September 2 at 11:10 PM in row 4D and F and friends in 3. We should arrive in Dublin around 11AM on the 3rd.
I decided to use photos from various other trips we've taken. The hotels I have taken from various online sites.
"Real" photos to come in daily updates.
3rd September 2015: ARRIVE DUBLIN. CEAD MILE FÁILTE. Upon arrival at Dublin airport, you will
be met by one of our top class driver/guides and escorted to a luxury vehicle and privately transferred
into Dublin City.
Your driver/guide will conduct an orientation tour of the city including some of the
major sights. You will see O’Connell Street and the General Post Office which was the location where
the Proclamation was read for the first time on Easter Sunday 1916, you will see the Garden of
Remembrance, The Custom House and get a feel for this great city. We also include entrance to Trinity
College to see the Book of Kells and a self-guided tour at The
Guinness Storehouse where you can sample the black stuff.
In
the evening you will check in 2 nights in 2 queen bedded double
rooms at the luxurious and centrally located 5 star Shelbourne
Hotel, a Renaissance Hotel, this property boasts a picture-perfect
location overlooking St. Stephen's Green, just moments from
some of Dublin's most famous historic landmarks, The
Shelbourne Hotel successfully marries traditional splendour and
contemporary convenience.
4th September 2015: HALF DAY TOUR TO NEWGRANGE AND A WALKING TOUR OF THE CITY.
After your full Irish breakfast this morning, at 9am you will
meet your driver/guide for a half day tour to Newgrange.
Your visit includes entrance to the visitor centre and a
scheduled guided tour of the 4,500 year old portal tombs on
the site. There is no better introduction to Ireland’s
incredible history and during your Irish experience your
driver/guide will narrate 10.000 years of history and culture
bringing alive the heritage and character of our great
country.
You will return to Dublin before 1pm and there will be
time for an optional lunch. At 2.30pm you will meet
an expert local guide for a 3 hour walking tour. Your
tour will focus on the highlights of the city centre and
give an informed and fun perspective of life and
history in Ireland’s capital. The walking tour will end
at 5.30pm back at your hotel or elsewhere in the city
centre (you can discuss with your guide if you’d like to
finish up in Temple Bar or another part of the city
where you can explore further on your own or have an
early dinner).
5th September 2015: DUBLIN TO CORK: THE LAND OF THE SAINTS AND SCHOLARS. After
breakfast you will be collected by your driver/guide in a luxury vehicle. You will travel south west,
first stopping at The Rock of Cashel. The site where St Patrick chose to make the head of his church in
Ireland, the Rock of Cashel is a spectacular group of medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone
in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th
century Gothic cathedral, 15th century Castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral.
After your
visit you will continue to Blarney Castle where you will have the chance to kiss the famous Stone of
Eloquence and time to pillage the adjacent woollen mills.
Later you will continue to Kinsale where you
will check into the stunning Perryville House for a 2 night stay in a deluxe king bedded room and a
standard double room (we have waitlisted for a 2nd superior or deluxe room but currently there is only
a standard available).
Situated right in the heart of beautiful Kinsale, Perryville House is an up to date
take on a new style of family run Kinsale hotel - original, relaxed and sitting comfortably within its
environment.... A touch of luxury combined with a homely charm. This 200 year old country house is
warm, comfortable and interesting. Decorated in beautiful muted shades it has evolved rather than
been interior designed. Perryville House evokes the sense of old world elegance and relaxed intimacy
you cannot help but fall in love with. The Corcoran family and a small team dedicated to your
wellbeing will warmly welcome you to Perryville House Kinsale with a sincere will to please and make
you feel at home.
The evening is free for you to relax and explore Kinsale and try any of the fine
restaurants that make Kinsale known as the Gourmet Capital of Ireland.
6th September 2015: EXPLORING CORK: Today we include a full day
with your driver/guide to explore Cork City and the English market.
You will also visit the Queenstown Story in Cobh and the Midleton
Distillery. At the Queenstown Story you will learn about the tragedy of
the Irish Famine and the story of Irish Emigration. You will also learn
through story boards about the sinking of the US ship Lusitania, and
the last stop of the ill-fated Titanic at the port of Cobh.
Later you will
visit the Midleton Distillery. A tour of the Jameson Experience is a
journey through the story and making of Irish whiskey. Guided tours
are available throughout the year and all tours commence with an audio-visual presentation, retracing
the history of whiskey in Ireland. Guests are then guided through the old distillery, where they can
admire the old kilns, mills, maltings, water wheel, still house, distiller’s cottage, cooperage and
warehouses.
In the late afternoon its back to Kinsale for an evening at your leisure
7th September 2015: CORK TO KILLARNEY. THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY. After breakfast you will
meet with your driver/guide and depart Kinsale. You will travel along the wild and rugged south and
west coast, part of Ireland’s famous tourist route the Wild Atlantic Way. First you can make a stop to
view the breath-taking scenery at the Old Head of Kinsale and travel along the coastline to Skibbereen
and around Bantry Bay, One of the world’s largest natural harbours. Today is all about the very best of
Irish scenery truly breath-taking panoramas that present a new vista with every mile. There will be
plenty of photo stops your will also travel onto the
Beara Peninsula and over the Caha Pass where you can
walk from Cork to the Kingdom of Kerry enjoying
some stunning views. There will be time for lunch in
any of the picturesque villages and also time to stop in
Kenmare for some shopping.
In the late afternoon you
will arrive in Killarney which will be your bases for 2
nights. Accommodation is included at The Aghadoe
Heights Hotel in a lake side deluxe room. A superb 5
star hotel located with incredible views over Killarney
and Lough Leane the largest of the lakes.
You will bid farewell to your driver/guide this evening. The
hotel offers a free shuttle to town to enjoy Ireland’s most famous tourist town and all of the great pubs
and restaurants.
8th September 2015: THE RING OF KERRY: After breakfast this morning you will meet with your
driver/guide for a day tour around Ireland’s most famous scenic route the Ring of Kerry. This circular
drive around the Iveragh Peninsula gives offers some incredible scenery. You will travel via
Killorglin, to Waterville and Sneem and inland past Ireland highest peak Carrantuohill. From here you
will travel to Molls Gap along the beautiful Lakes of Killarney, through the national park and back to
Killarney Town. Your driver/guide will conduct a tour of the town where you can see Ross Castle and
Muckross House and much more.
There will be some free time in the town before being dropped back
to Aghadoe Heights Hotel.
In the evening we include round trip transfers to Kate Kearney's Cottage
for dinner followed by traditional Irish music dancing and craic.
9th September 2015: THE DINGLE PENINSULA. After breakfast at 9am today you will meet your
driver/guide and travel west onto the edge of a continent. The Dingle Peninsula is a journey that takes
in the wild and rugged beauty of the Slea head Drive. The peninsula is littered with Archaeological
remains and secluded sandy beaches, here you can walk on one of them and feel the splendid isolation
that the Neolithic settlers must have felt in
4,000 BC when they made the area their home.
Dingle Town is one of Ireland’s quickly
disappearing Gaeltacht regions where Irish is
the first language and one can almost sense the
difference here. Your driver/guide will teach
you a “cupla focal”, a few words in Irish. You
will spend the day exploring the region and in
the afternoon check in for an overnight stay in
2 deluxe sea view rooms at Emlagh House.
{Emlagh House in Dingle, Ireland, via Tourism Resources}
Dingle comes alive in the evening with music
and craic and the evening is free for to relax,
dine at your leisure and enjoy some great
traditional Irish music
10th September 2015: IRELAND'S PRETTIEST TOWN BUNRATTY CASTLE AND FOLK PARK.
After breakfast today you will meet with your new driver/guide and travel over the Connor Pass and
via Tralee to the pretty town of Adare regarded as Ireland's prettiest
town.
You will make a stop here to explore the town and later you will
bypass Limerick City and travel to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park where
we include entrance and a guided tour of the famous castle. Bunratty
Castle is the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland.
Built in 1425 it was restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendour
and now contains mainly 15th and 16th century furnishings, tapestries,
and works of art which capture the mood of those times.
Adjacent to
the castle is Bunratty Folk Park where you can enjoy the sights, sounds
tastes, scents, of this enchanting place as you stroll from house to house or around the charming village
street complete with school, post office, doctor's house, hardware shop, printers and of course
McNamara’s pub!
There will be time for lunch perhaps at Durty Nellie’s beside the castle and nearby
are The Woollen Mills where there is a chance to buy a wide range of Irish goods and souvenirs at
great prices.
In the mid-afternoon you will check into Dromoland Castle for 2 nights in 2 Queen Anne
rooms (upgraded rooms may be possible on request). With a reputation built on its unparalleled
warmth and hospitality, you will understand just what a special experience it is to stay at one of the
finest 5 star hotels in Ireland.
The balance of the day and the evening are free to enjoy the wonderful
facilities at Dromoland
11th September 2015: HALF DAY TOUR TO THE CLIFFS OF MOHER AND THE BURREN: After
breakfast at the Castle today you will meet with your driver guide and travel northwest to The Cliffs of
Moher - a sheer precipice that stretches for 5 miles along the
Wild Atlantic Way. The Cliffs of Moher rise to a height of 668
feet above the Atlantic and is one of the most impressive
coastlines in Ireland. In nesting season the cliffs are home to a
variety of seabirds. Entrances to Cliffs of Moher Visitors
Centre included.
There will also be some time to see the
Burren Region a remarkable landscape of Limestone and
littered with Neolithic sites dating back 6,000 years.
In the
early afternoon you will return to Dromoland Castle for free
time to enjoy the castle
12th September 2015: GALWAY: After breakfast today we include a direct transfer to Galway, meet
with your driver at 11am for the transfer. (We can adjust this if you prefer earlier). On arrival in
Galway you will be dropped off at the centrally located Park House Hotel where we include one night
in 2 deluxe double rooms.
The afternoon is free for you to explore this great city. Arty, bohemian
Galway (Gaillimh) is renowned for its pleasures. Brightly painted pubs heave with live music, while
cafes offer front-row seats for observing street performers, weekend parties run amuck, lovers
entwined and more. Steeped in history, the city nonetheless has a contemporary vibe. Students make
up a quarter of its population, and remnants of the medieval town walls lie between shops selling Aran
sweaters, handcrafted Claddagh rings and stacks of second-hand and new books. Bridges arch over the
salmon-filled River Corrib, and a long promenade leads to the seaside suburb of Salthill, on Galway
Bay, the source of the area's famous oysters.
13th September 2015: TRANFER TO DUBLIN: Today we include a private transfer to Dublin, you will
check in for 3 nights at the 4 star Ashling Hotel in 2 superior double rooms. The time is free for you to
explore Dublin further.
14th September: Dublin on our own.
15th September: Dublin on our own.
16th September: DEPARTURE: Our services end after breakfast today you can take a taxi to the airport
for your return flight home.
We are heading to Berlin and our friends are heading home to Toronto.
