Ireland Adventure

8 DAYS/7 NIGHTS – GROUP TRAVEL SUGGESTED ITINERARY - CAN BE CUSTOMIZED

Experience the diverse and mysterious landscape of Northern Ireland and the west coast of INCLUSIONS the Republic. Ireland is a land steeped in a brew of rugged beauty, ancient traditions and modern culture. Your adventure begins in Belfast, once the largest city in Ireland due to its  2 nights in Belfast industrial boom in the late 19th century. Walk through the volcanic rock formations of the  2 nights in Derry nearby Giant’s Causeway. Sample genuine Irish whiskey. Travel north to Derry to see the  1 night in ancient city walls and hear the tale of tragic "Bloody Sunday." Continue to Donegal where  2 nights in Galway you will stay overnight in a 15th century castle. Head south down the coastline to Galway,  Breakfast daily stopping in Yeats’ country and Knock, a historic place of religious pilgrimage. From the City of  Lunch and dinner Tribes, you will venture into Connemara, where chances are you will hear some Irish spoken per itinerary by the locals. Stop in at Kylemore Abbey, home of a Community of Benedictine nuns since  Ground transport 1920. Shop for Irish hand knits and other regional specialties in a quaint market town. via air conditioned luxury coach  English speaking DAY 1 ~ ARRIVAL IN Cushendall. Travel through the nine green assistant and guides BELFAST Glens of Antrim on the way to the Giant's  Admission tickets Arrive in Belfast Airport Causeway, often described as the "Eighth as outlined in where your Irish Driver- Wonder of the World". Stop in at the itinerary Visitors Center and enjoy a short audio- Guide will meet your group and escort it to HIGHLIGHTS the hotel by private coach. On your way to visual presentation before beginning the the hotel enjoy a panoramic sightseeing circular walk around the spectacular rock  Panoramic Tour of Belfast City, the tour of Belfast City, the birthplace of the formations, formed by an ancient volcanic eruption. Then it's on to the small town of birthplace of the Titanic. Rich in history and culture, today's Titanic Bushmills, where you will visit the world's Belfast is as famous for its stylish shops,  See the gourmet restaurants and nightlife as it is oldest whisky distillery. Return to Belfast unforgettable for its troubled past. Some of the notable where you are free for the balance of the Giant’s Causeway sights you will see are Belfast City Hall, day.  Walking Tour of Derry and its Linen Hall Library, Stormont House, Grand DAY 3 ~ DERRY ancient city walls Opera House, St. Anne's Cathedral, the This morning after  Castle stay near Museum and the Botanic Gardens. breakfast, travel to Derry. Donegal At the end of your tour you may wish to  Explore the lively Along the way you will stop visit one of the city's fine art galleries or city of Galway to visit the Ulster American Folk Park, an museums. Tonight, gather with your fellow  See the famous open-air museum that tells the story of Connemara region travelers for a welcome dinner in your emigrants who left for a different life in where a John hotel. America. Continue past the standing stones Wayne movie was DAY 2 ~ BELFAST in Strabane and arrive to Derry in the filmed After breakfast board your afternoon where you will be free for the coach, driving north along rest of the day. Dinner will be at the hotel the magnificent coastal tonight. road through Larne, Carnlough and DAY 4 ~ DERRY of Tribes" after the fourteen most prominent families that settled this area. Londonderry, also known as Travel through Donegal Bay, through Derry, has a long and and Sligo, passing Drumcliffe fascinating history. A city of Churchyard where William Butler Yeats, many contrasts, ancient and modern sights one of Ireland's finest poets, is buried. sit alongside one another: You could be Onwards through the market towns of sipping a cappuccino in the middle of a 21st County Mayo and the village of Knock, century shopping center, and a few Ireland's place of pilgrimage, arriving in minutes later you might be standing beside Galway in the afternoon. Before checking a 1595 cannon on ancient ramparts looking into our hotel, you can enjoy a tour of the over streets and buildings that have city visiting the new Cathedral and the Old survived for centuries. The Gateway to Claddagh area. Ireland's northwest, the city is most famous for its historical walls. This morning, enjoy a DAY 7 ~ GALWAY walking tour. This afternoon you will be This morning, after a hearty free to enjoy all that this city has to offer. Irish breakfast, you will Socializing is never a problem in Derry as head out to explore the there is a huge variety of pubs and clubs rugged, yet serene, Connemara area which and an unequalled selection of live music. John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara made DAY 5 ~ DONEGAL famous in the classic, "The Quiet Man." This rocky land of broad-backed mountains Today after breakfast, a and pearl-like lakes is the largest Irish- drive through beautiful and speaking section of the country and a place rugged country awaits you where the old traditions and way of life can en route to Donegal. Drive through still be experienced. Drive along the shores and north to the coastal town of Lough Corrib and then west through of Dunfanaghy, where Killahoey Beach Maam Cross to Leenane and Kylemore. fringes the Atlantic Ocean. Continue south Here visit Kylemore Abbey, the only Irish through the charming towns of home of the Benedictine Nuns. and Ardara, to the fishing village of and along Donegal Bay. You will Built originally as a Castle, it is one of the see wild mountains that flow down to the best examples of Irish neo-gothic sandy coast and through the patchwork architecture. The estate's features include a glens, dotted with stone walls and small Victorian Walled Garden, restored Abbey cottages. It is here that every field, path reception rooms, Gothic Church, tranquil and ruin has its memories and every last walks, craft shop, potter, and restaurant. corner has its own story. There will be time Return to Galway via the coastal route, to shop for the famous tweeds that are stopping at Spiddal, a market town where hand-woven in this area. Tonight, stay in a you can explore Staunton's Shoppe, which magnificent 15th century castle where you offers a wide selection of Irish hand knits will enjoy 5-star service and dinner with and other regional products. views of the lake. DAY 8 ~ GALWAY DAY 6 ~ GALWAY After breakfast, bid farewell to Galway as This morning, you will leave you board your coach for your transfer to Donegal and head south to Shannon Airport for your return flight to Galway, known as the "City the US.