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Irish Adventure - CIE8S

2010 Irish Adventure 8 day
Highlights:

• Abbey Tavern Dinner & Irish Show
• Cliffs of Moher
• Dunbrody Famine Ship
• Walking Tours of Viking Waterford & Medieval Derry
• Giant's Causeway
• Panoramic Belfast Tour

Itinerary:
Day 1: Dublin Tour & Book of Kells
Arrive at Dublin Airport and proceed through immigration and pick up your baggage. Go to the CIE Tours desk in the Arrivals Hall where personnel will arrange a group transfer to your hotel, located near Trinity College, between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If you arrive later than noon, you will need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:00 pm join a local guide for a half-day guided tour of Dublin to see elegant Georgian squares with colorful doorways, O'Connell Street and the evocative statues of the Famine Memorial. Visit Trinity College's campus and the Old Library to view the illuminated manuscript of the Book of Kells. Back at your hotel, enjoy a welcome drink and a briefing on your tour. You are free to dine independently this evening.

Day 2: 6th Century Glendalough & Waterford Walk
This morning leave Dublin to see the delightful scenery of the Wicklow Mountains on the way to Glendalough. Learn about St. Kevin's 6th century monastery in the Glendalough Visitor Centre and walk through the site to see its round tower, church ruins and Celtic crosses. Continue your drive south to Dunbrody where a walk through a reconstructed Famine Ship will demonstrate the harsh conditions that emigrants endured during the 19th century. Drive to Waterford and check in to your city center hotel. Before dinner take a brief walking tour around the narrow streets of the historic city center with a local guide. (B, D)

Day 3: Titanic Walk & Blarney
Travel along the south coast via Dungarvan to the port town of Cobh, the last scheduled stop of the Titanic. A walking tour will reveal many of the places associated with emigrants as they left Ireland to head to the United States. Drive through the outskirts of Cork city to get to the Blarney Woollen Mills, which stocks an excellent range of Irish goods all under one roof. While Blarney Castle is not included in your tour, you will have time to kiss the “Stone of Eloquence” on your own. Then journey west through rugged countryside to Killarney, widely celebrated for its setting overlooking lakes and mountains. Settle in to your centrally-located hotel or walk around the town. (B, D)

Day 4: Ring of Kerry & Skellig Experience
Enjoy the highlights of Ireland's natural scenery on the Ring of Kerry route. The road winds between the Macgillycuddy's Reeks Mountains on one side and the Atlantic coastline on the other. Start by viewing the Essence of Kerry audio visual show at the Gap of Dunloe and then drive through Killorglin and Cahirciveen to cross by bridge to Valencia Island. Visit the Skellig Experience to learn about the rocky islands off the end of the peninsula where monks lived in early Christian times. Today the islands form a protected bird sanctuary. Stop in the colorful village of Sneem and also at Moll's Gap to view the Three Lakes of Killarney. Enjoy some free time in Killarney before dining in your hotel. (B, D)
Day 5: Flying Boat Museum & Cliffs of Moher
Drive north through Listowel to Foynes to visit the Flying Boat Museum, which recalls the early days of air travel, during the 1930's and early 1940's, when Pan Am Clippers from the United States and Europe landed here. Travel through the outskirts of Limerick and have a look around Bunratty Village before heading to the coast of County Clare. View the Cliffs of Moher rising to heights of almost 700 feet above the churning Atlantic swells and walk along the top of the cliffs to O'Brien's Tower for great views. Drive through the Burren and around the shores of Galway Bay. Take a short orientation tour around central Galway before checking in to your hotel. (B, D)
Day 6: Yeats' Grave & Derry Walk
Head north to visit the pilgrimage town of Knock, one of the world's leading shrines. See the church where villagers saw a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1879. Travel through County Sligo and stop to view W. B. Yeats' grave in Drumcliffe Churchyard, in the shadow of Ben Bulben mountain. Follow the shoreline of Donegal Bay to Donegal town and past the lovely Blue Stack Mountains to Derry. On arrival in Derry take a brief drive around the city, including the Bogside area, before meeting a local guide for a walking tour of the medieval walls, which date from 1613 AD and encircle the old city center. (B, D)
Day 7: Giant's Causeway & Abbey Tavern
Today explore the north coastline, stopping for photos at the sprawling ruins of Dunluce Castle. Visit the Giant's Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. Continue south to experience wonderful views of mountains, valleys and bays along the “Nine Glens of Antrim.” Take a drive around Belfast to see Victorian buildings, the Harland & Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built, and the Falls Road and Shankill residential areas. Continue south to check in to another hotel in Dublin. This evening drive to the popular Abbey Tavern for a hearty dinner and an evening of entertaining traditional Irish songs and step-dancing. (B, D)
Day 8: Depart for Home
Complimentary group transfers are provided to Dublin Airport to arrive at 6:00 am, 9:00 am or 12:00 noon. After check-in, you'll have time to shop at the duty-free stores before U.S. Immigration pre-clearance and boarding your flight for the journey

Highlights:

• Group transfers on arrival and departure
• Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Services of a professional Irish driver/guide
• Superior & first class hotels with private bath/shower for 7 nights
• 7 full Irish breakfasts (B)
• 6 dinners (D) including - Traditional Irish evening with dinner and entertainment at the Abbey Tavern - 5 table d'hote dinners
• Welcome get-together drink
• Tour of Dublin with a local guide
• “Titanic” walking tour of Cobh
• Walking tours of Waterford and Derry with local guides
• Panoramic drive around Belfast
• Visits and admissions to Book of Kells at Trinity College, Glendalough Visitor Centre, Dunbrody Famine Ship, Blarney Woollen Mills, Essence of Kerry AV show, Skellig Experience, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Cliffs of Moher, Knock Shrine, W. B. Yeats' Grave and Giant's Causeway
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

Hotels:
Stay at the following (or similar):

• 1 night Mont Clare Hotel, Dublin
• 1 night Dooleys Hotel, Waterford
• 2 nights International Best Western Hotel, Kerry
• 1 night Westwood House Hotel, Galway
• 1 night Everglades Hotel, Derry
• 1 night Burlington Hotel, Dublin

Dates& rates:
May 3 7 May 10: $1378
May 12 – May 31: $1446
Jun 2 – Sep 20: $1486
Sep 27 & Sep29: $1438
Oct 4 - Oct 13: $1398
Oct 20: $1298
Oct 25 & Oct 27: $1198
Nov 1 – Dec 6: $1098

Single Supplement: $398
All prices in US Dollars

Tour Leaves and returns Dublin Mondays and Wednesdays.