Ireland Around the Emerald Isle

Day 1 Arrive in Dublin
Arrive in Dublin today. We can arrange flights from a variety of airports around the UK on Aer Lingus at extra cost. You will be met at the airport for a transfer to your landmark hotel on St Stephen’s Green in the city centre. This evening you will meet your fellow travelling companions for welcome drinks and dinner.

Meals: Dinner

Day 2 Dublin
Your morning tour of Dublin will begin at Trinity College, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth II. On its 40-acre site retains some of its ancient seclusion and its cobbled squares, gardens and parks have a tranquil atmosphere compared to the bustling streets outside. The campus contains a unique collection of buildings dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. You will also see the Book of Kells, a ninth century illuminated manuscript featuring the books of Durrow and Armagh and an early Irish harp. These are displayed in The Colonnades exhibition Gallery and the Long Room, which is the most impressive library in the College housing over 200,000 of Trinity’s oldest books. You will continue through the city and visit Saint Patrick’s Cathedral where, it is said, the Saint baptised converts to the Christian faith in a well alongside the building. Jonathan Swift who was Dean of St Patrick’s (1713-1745) is buried in the Cathedral beside Stella. The rest of the afternoon is yours to stroll the lively streets of central Dublin, along the Liffey or down O’Connell Street.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 3 Dublin to Belfast
After a leisurely morning to see some more of Dublin you’ll travel north through County Louth and arrive in Belfast, a city which is experiencing a resurgence after some turbulent years. On arrival in Belfast you will have a tour of the city centre, seeing the Stormont Assembly building and the impressive yet thought provoking murals depicting northern Ireland’s past and its politics. Continue to the new Titanic Museum, a moving exhibition of the Titanic recently opened in an impressive modernist building near the Harland & Wolff shipyard in which she was built. Later arrive at your hotel set in attractive gardens overlooking Belfast Lough, perhaps to enjoy a dip in the pool.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 4 Giant’s Causeway
A short journey this morning along the Antrim coast will bring you to the famous Giant’s Causeway, now a World Heritage Site. The north Antrim coastline in renowned for its scenic beauty and the jagged promontory of neatly packed columns of hexagonal rocks that make up the Giant’s Causeway were created some 6 million years ago by a flow of basaltic lava. The story goes that mythical Irish giant Finn MacCool built the causeway to get to Scotland and battle with a rival giant called Benandonner and all that remains are the ends, here at the Giant’s Causeway and on the island of Staffa in Scotland where similar formations are found. After some free time you will return to the hotel to relax in the pleasant surroundings of the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 Belfast to Bundoran, Donegal
This morning you’ll head away from Belfast towards the north west and pass through in the city of Derry for a panoramic tour. You will then continue to Letterkenny and the Glenveagh National Park, Ireland characterised by its brooding lakes and mountains. You will have some free time for lunch in the beautiful scenery. Later today arrive in the popular tourist town of Bundoran and settle in to your hotel set on the coast of Donegal Bay.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 Bundoran to Galway
Departing Donegal this morning you’ll pass through the county of Sligo and stop at pretty Drumcliffe village to visit the church which is the final resting place of the poet William Butler Yeats. Continue on to Carrowmore where you visit the Megalithic Site, the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland. Over 60 tombs have been located by archaeologists, a variety of dolmens, stone circles and passage graves, some dating from 4000 BC, and a restored cottage houses a small exhibition relating to the sites. Later in the afternoon you’ll arrive in the city of Galway and your historic, city centre hotel on Eyre Square.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 7 Connemara
Today’s full day tour to Connemara reveals the land contained by Killary Harbour, the Maam Valley and Lough Corrib to the sea at Barna, and the Atlantic ocean. You will travel on the Sky road to the town of Clifden for some free time. Later in the afternoon you will visit Kylemore Abbey, the estate features include a Victorian Walled Garden, restored Abbey reception rooms, a Gothic Church, and a craft shop and pottery. Yet Kylemore Abbey’s greatest attraction is its location. Nestled at the base of Duchruach 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. Later this afternoon return to Galway, where you can easily explore this attractive city known as Ireland’s cultural heart.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 8 Galway via Clare & the Cliffs of Moher to Killarney
This morning depart Galway for Killarney travelling via the spectacular Burren

region of Co Clare. On your trip through the Burren you will see the vast expanses of bare limestone rock which give the entire area a rather moonlike appearance. Some of the rarest varieties of flowers in the world are found here, growing in between the stones and cracks in the rocks. Stone age settlers lived in the region between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago – their wedge shaped tombs, cairns and dolmens can still be seen. Onwards then to the Cliffs of Moher, standing 213 meters above the wild Atlantic Ocean and home to thousands of seabirds. The view on a clear day is spectacular with Mount Brandon and the Aran Islands often visible on the horizon. Continue on to Killimer where you cross the River Shannon by ferry and then travel on to Killarney in the beautiful county of Kerry.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 9 The Ring of Kerry
Today’s full day tour will take you to the scenic Iveragh peninsula around what is known as the Ring of Kerry. The route travels through Killorglin, by Caragh Lake, and on to Glenbeigh where one gets the first view of the Atlantic Ocean at Rossbeigh. The journey then continues along the southern shores of Dingle Bay to Kells, where you’ll stop at a farm and see a sheep dog demonstration. Continuing south to Cahersiveen, Valentia Island comes into view with envigorating sea views. Then it’s onwards to Waterville and along the coast via the Coomakista Pass back to Killarney via Moll’s Gap and Ladies View which give superb views of the lakes. This evening enjoy an evening of dinner and entertainment of traditional Irish music and dance at Kate Kearney’s Cottage near Killarney.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 10 Killarney to Cork
Today you will have most of the day. You might like to take an optional tour by jaunting car to Muckross House and Gardens or just explore the town of Killarney, which is great for shopping or a an Irish pub lunch. Later in the afternoon depart south over the scenic Cork and Kerry mountains and arrive at your country house hotel in Cork.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 11 Blarney Castle and Cork
After a short tour of Cork city centre you will travel a short way into the country to the famous Blarney Castle, where if feeling energetic you can try and kiss the Blarney stone. The nearby Blarney House and gardens is a fine Scottishstyle Baronial House, formal gardens affording a fine view of Blarney Lake. You will also have some time for shopping at the famous Blarney Woollen Mills. This afternoon continue on to the seaside town of Cobh. Visit the Queenstown Story at the Cobh Heritage Centre. For thousands of emigrants to America, Cobh was their last sight of Ireland, so too for thousands of convicts sentenced to transportation to Australia. Here you will discover Cobh’s unique origins, its history and legacy and also view the exhibition at the restored Victorian Cobh Railway Station. Cobh was also the last port of call for the ill fated Titanic. The day is rounded off in Kinsale, the attractive harbour town at the mouth of the River Bandon which is a centre for the boating fraternity in summer.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 12 Cork to Dublin via the Rock of Cashel
Your journey comes full circle today as you head towards Dublin. However before you return you will see another of Ireland’s romantic highlights in the beautiful central plains with a visit to the Rock of Cashel. The large Cathedral, ancient round tower and the very early Romanesque Cormac’s Chapel, perched on a dramatic outcrop of rock, were silent witnesses to many of the stirring events of Irish History; St. Patrick converted the local King Aenghus, here in the 5th century; Brian Boru was crowned King of Ireland on this spot in the early 11th Century and indeed it was visited by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011. Your journey continues with a visit to the National Stud in Kildare. Established in 1946, the Irish National Stud combines an active role in the development and promotion of Irish bloodstock and is the only Stud farm in Ireland open to the public. There are also the wonderful Japanese Gardens which were created by Colonel William Hall-Walker, almost 100 years ago with the help of two Japanese gardeners. This afternoon you will arrive in Dublin and this evening meet up for a farewell dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 13 Depart Dublin
Check out of your hotel and depart Dublin on your preferred transport. You might like to spend one or two extra nights to see more of Dublin which can of course be easily arranged.

Tour includes:

Maximum group size: 25
JOD Tour Manager in Ireland
Welcome drinks party
Inspirational sightseeing programme
Hotel luggage porterage service
12 breakfasts, 2 dinners
Giant’s Causeway, Ring of Kerry and Dublin

On a Journey of Distinction, you are not merely a bystander. They believe that the wonders, customs and cultures you experience will live on in the core of your being. They even go so far as to say that one of their holidays will change your life forever.

Their combination of Tour Managers and Local Guides is what makes Journey of Distinction so distinctive. When you’re embarking on a voyage of discovery, it’s reassuring to know that a seasoned traveller is with you every step of the way; planning, organising, checking details and offering their advice and support. Their groups all depart from the UK, and no one joins us along the way, so you have the reassuring constancy of always knowing your travelling companions.

Our Opinion
“Limited to just 25 travellers per departure, every Journeys of Distinction escorted tour has an intimate, personal feel that makes for a more enjoyable experience.”