Ireland – 7 Days

You’ll depart on your flight.

Today you’ll enjoy a guided walk through Dublin. As you stroll from site to site in this charm-laden city, hear fun facts and tales about its rich history, culture and people. You’ll see the General Post Office, a place of symbolic importance for Irish people as it was the headquarters of the Irish provisional government during the 1916 rebellion which led to independence. You’ll then continue through the Henry Street Shopping district and on to the Italian Quarter located on the north side of the River Liffey. Next you’ll stop in Temple Bar where you’ll explore the “cultural” quarter and nightlife neighborhood with it’s charming cobbled streets. You will then head past Dublin City Hall, Dublin Castle and the former House or Parliament. Then you’ll continue to Trinity College.

You’ll enter the Old Library and the Book of Kells exhibition. Located in the heart of Dublin City, a walk through the cobbled stones of Trinity College Dublin will bring you back to the 18th century, when the magnificent Old Library building was constructed. Inside is housed the Book of Kells – a 9th-century gospel manuscript famous throughout the world.

This evening you will enjoy a welcome dinner in Dublin.

Today you will have a free day in Dublin to explore on your own.

You’ll check out of your hotel and board your bus for the drive towards Galway to Ireland’s west coast.

You’ll visit one of the most iconic sites in Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher. Featured in modern film and Irish folklore, the cliffs reach 700 ft at the highest point and provide sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean and on clear days, the islands in Galway Bay. Despite being one of the most visited sites in Ireland, the landscape remains untouched, and standing on the cliffs is a bit like going back in time.

Next you will step back in time and experience Ireland’s most traditional mode of transport with a jaunting car tour. Tours operate where no motor traffic is permitted and as you ramble along on your tour you are informed of the history, legends and folklore of the area – with some Irish wit thrown in for good measure! You will end the evening with dinner.

To begin the day, you’ll visit and drive through the Ring of Kerry (or Iveragh Peninsula to give it its correct name). This mystical & unspoiled region of Ireland has attracted visitors for hundreds of years. Its spectacular beauty is beyond question and it is a natural centre for outdoor pursuits. You’ll drive through the towns of Killarney, Beaufort, Killorglin, Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel, Sneem, and Kenmare.

Afterward, you will visit Blarney. Built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, this site has been attracting attention ever since. Over the last few hundred years, millions have flocked to Blarney making it a world landmark and one of Ireland’s greatest treasures. That might have something to do with the Blarney Stone, the legendary Stone of Eloquence, found at the top of the tower. Legends say that if you kiss the stone, you’ll never again be lost for words.

Today you’ll take an excursion to Kinsale. Located in County Cork, it is one of the most picturesque, popular and fashionable resorts of the south-west coast of Ireland. It can easily claim its place amongst Ireland’s most historic locations for it has been a centre of population, commerce, trade and fishing far beyond memory and record. Kinsale town nestles between the hills and the shoreline, a maze of narrow streets, never far from the water and little changed in hundreds of years. Amongst buildings of later periods are those of another age with historical links to the French, Spanish, British and Americans.

After your visit you’ll begin the drive back to Dublin for your last night in Ireland.

You’ll check out of your hotel room and then have some free time (if available) prior to heading to the airport for your return flight home.