Best of Ireland

$3.198
Per Person / Taxes incl.

PACKAGE INCLUDES

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
HOTELS
BREAKFASTS
ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDE
EXCURSIONS

7 NIGHTS / 9 DAYS

Day 1: Canada – Dublin (Ireland)

Flight with a good itinerary.

Day 2: Dublin

Arrival at the airport in Dublin. After exiting the customs, make your way and check in at your hotel in Dublin. The rest of your day is free for you to relax or to start your exploration of Ireland’s capital. Dinner at your hotel and overnight in Dublin. (Dinner)

Day 3: Dublin – Blarney Castle – Kerry

After a first Irish breakfast at your hotel, you will meet with your tour leader and leave for County Kerry. En route, you will stop in the town of Blarney to visit its historic castle. Here, you will find the legendary Stone of Eloquence. According to legend, if you kiss it you’ll never again be lost for words. Enjoy some time to do some shopping at Blarney Woollen Mills. During the great famine, the presence of the Woollen Mills shielded Blarney from the worst effects due to the employment of local workers. In 1976, a mill worker bought the old mill property and transformed it into what is perhaps the largest quality craft shop in Ireland. Continuation toward Killarney where you will spend the night. (Breakfast)

Day 4: Ring of Kerry

Breakfast at your hotel. Today, you will enjoy a superb tour of the Iveragh Peninsula, also dubbed the Ring of Kerry, taking in spectacular scenery such as mountains, peat, bogs, lakes and magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean. Leaving Killarney, you will pass through Killorglin, famous for its Puck Fair, and Glenbeigh where the cliff road allows panoramic views of the Dingle Bay. Passing through the peat bogs, you will arrive at the coastal town of Waterville.

Along the Ring of Kerry, you will stop at a local farm for a sheepdog demonstration. Your visit starts with an overview of the different breeds of sheep, followed by an introduction to the farmer’s most important tools, his border collies. Next, you will see a superb demonstration of sheep herding as the farmer with his dogs demonstrate how, by working together, he can take a flock of sheep from the mountain top to the sheep pen close to the farmyard. Continuation to the village of Sneem, famous for its brightly coloured houses, before arriving back in Killarney. Enjoy dinner on your own in one of the many restaurants or pubs in town. Overnight in Killarney. (Breakfast)

Enjoy an optional Jaunting Car Ride ($) in Killarney National Park: A pony and trap (also known as a Jaunting Car) helps you discover areas of Killarney National Park that you might not otherwise visit. Relax aboard a jaunting car as your Jarvey – driver – takes you through the magnificent scenery of the National Park.

Day 5: Kerry – Cliffs of Moher – Burren – Limerick

After your Irish breakfast at the hotel, you will leave northward to the Cliffs of Moher. You will take a ferry across the mouth of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, before travelling along the coast to the Cliffs of Moher, the most majestic cliffs in Ireland which rise from the Atlantic Ocean and spread over 7 kilometers. On a clear day, you can admire the Aran Islands and the Connemara Mountains. It’s a great time to take some nice pictures! You will then drive through the Burren, a strange and unique region consisting in a high plateau of porous limestone. The limestone is bare, with no trees growing here or land covering the stone except for cracks allowing different types of flowers to grow all year round and caves. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to explore Limerick at leisure.

In the evening, enjoy an optional medieval banquet ($) at Bunratty Castle, a castle built in the 15th century by the Earl of Thomond which stands on the banks of the River Raite. The Earl was known for his generosity and his lavish entertainment and banquets. The entertainment is provided by the superb Bunratty Singers and it is a fitting complement to the lively mead reception, a four-course meal with good wine. Guests are invited to enjoy an unforgettable evening in the splendour of this magnificent castle and take a true step back in time to Medieval Ireland. Overnight in Limerick. (Breakfast)

Day 6: Limerick – Lough Corrib – Galway

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning, you will leave Limerick to Galway where you will start a panoramic tour of this beautiful place which has attracted many musicians and artists. You will visit the cathedral, one of the largest and most impressive buildings in Galway built between 1958 and 1965.

In the afternoon, you will leave the bustling city to enjoy a cruise along Lough Corrib including scones and Irish coffee. This journey on the Corrib Princess cruise ship will take you along the stunning Lough Corrib and onto the lake. You will see unsurpassed views of the historic monuments and natural amenities that makes this lake one of the most spectacular waterways in Ireland. You will drive back to Galway for your dinner and overnight at the hotel. (Breakfast-Dinner)

Day 7: Galway – Connemara

After breakfast, you will travel through the scenic region of Connemara filled with lakes, rivers, bogs and mountains. Enjoy some time at leisure in the beautiful Connemara National Park. Just outside the park on the shore of Lough Pollacapall, you will visit Kylemore Abbey, built in 1868 by Mitchell Henry, and see its most famous feature: the miniature gothic cathedral at Kylemore Abbey. It has been home to the Irish order of Benedictine nuns since 1920.

Next you will visit a bodhrán maker (traditional Irish drum). Roundstone Music and Crafts is located in a former Franciscan monastery in Roundstone, in the heart of Connemara. It is here that you will find the workshop of Malachy Kearns, better known as Malachy Bodhrán, who is famous for the manufacture of bodhráns, the oldest instruments that accompany traditional Irish music. Malachy makes bodhráns for the world famous Riverdance troupe and he is currently the only full-time bodhrán maker in Ireland. Dinner at leisure and overnight in Galway. (Breakfast)

Day 8: Galway – Dublin

Breakfast and departure toward Dublin. The north side of the city offers striking monuments such as the General Post Office on O’Connell Street and Phoenix Park, the largest public park in Europe. The south side appears more sophisticated with its vast Georgian squares and it is also home to Trinity College, Dublin Castle and two Anglican cathedrals. You will visit the epic Irish Emigration Museum. This is a state-of-the-art interactive experience located in the beautiful vaults of the 1820 Custom House Quarter building located in Dublin’s Docklands, the original departure point for so many of Ireland’s emigrants. It will inspire and guide you on a journey to discover the stories of Irish emigration around the world, from early times to the modern day. (Breakfast)

In the evening, enjoy an optional dinner and show ($) at Taylor’s Three Rock, a lively pub in Rathfarnham, for an excellent night of music and dance. A ballad group will regale visitors with songs both happy and sad and will surely have visitors singing along with them after a few pints. The music will be interrupted for a short while to enjoy the best of Irish Dancing with feet tapping guaranteed. Visitors will later be sent into the night with fond memories of a memorable night in a Dublin Pub. Overnight in Dublin. (Breakfast)