Tripology

Commercial Flight

Board your over­night transatlantic flight.

Upon arrival, you are met and transferred to your hotel.

Sightseeing

Spend the afternoon relaxing or travel a short distance and visit the beautiful 18th century Anglo-Irish Powerscourt Gardens.

Food and Dining

This evening, enjoy a Welcome Dinner with your traveling companions. (D)

Hotel

Stay at Grand Canal (F).

Sightseeing

Glimpse Viking and medieval times as you pass by Christ Church to St. Patrick''s Cathedral, a legacy of religious power from the 12th century.

Sightseeing

Spend the rest of your day exploring the city on your own. (B)

Historical and Educational Tours

On to the seat of learning at the heart of Dublin - Trinity College. Walk across the cobbled squares to the Old Library and see the famed 8th-century Book of Kells.

Sightseeing

Leaving Dublin, travel to Belfast where you enjoy a living history tour with a local guide. See the landmarks that have played their part in the city’s colorful development.

Shopping

The balance of the day is free to explore on your own, shop or simply relax. (B,D)

Hotel

Stay at Jurys Inn (F).

Sightseeing

This morning explore the white cliffs and wide idyllic bays of North Antrim. Visit the Giant''s Causeway and walk on top of this volcanic formation, sometimes referred to as the "eighth wonder of the world."

Sightseeing

Next, wind your way through the sheltered Nine Glens, whose woodlands and seaside villages are still rich in legend and folklore before continuing to Derry. (B,D)

Hotel

Stay at City Hotel (F).

Sightseeing

While in Derry, one of the longest continuously inhabited places in Ireland, join your local guide on a walking tour of the city walls. They date from 1613 and make Derry the only city in Ireland completely encircled by walls.

Sightseeing

Then visit the Ulster American Folk Park, celebrating Ireland's links with America. (B,D)

Sightseeing

Stop in County Sligo, and bid your own farewell to W.B. Yeats, Ireland's great poet, at quiet Drumcliff churchyard where his simple tombstone reads: "Cast a cold eye / On life, on death / Horseman, pass by!” Next, visit the Victorian mansion, Clonalis House, ancestral home of the O''Conors, descendants of the last High Kings of Ireland. Continue on to medieval Galway, the “City of the Tribes.” Tour the city and visit impressive Galway Cathedral before heading out to your hotel on the Connemara coast. (B,D)

Hotel

Stay at Connemara Coast (SF).

Sightseeing

Today tour Connemara, a wild land of rocky mountains, sparkling brooks, and rushing rivers. Stop at lakeside Kylemore Abbey, a castellated neo-Gothic mansion, occupied today by the Irish Benedictine community of nuns who came from Ypres after World War 1. Travel through bogland and villages to the Connemara Marble Factory and learn of the origin and uses of the area's splendid marble.

Food and Dining

Tonight, local entertainers liven up the evening after dinner at your hotel. (B,D)

Sightseeing

Drop in for coffee at Rathbaun Farm. Meet an Irish farming family as they carry out their everyday chores. Continue west across the Burren, a stark and barren landscape, to see the Cliffs of Moher, rising approximately 700 feet above the Atlantic waves.

Later, take the Tarbert ferry across the Shannon estuary and contiune your journey to the lively town of Killarney. (B,MC,D)

Hotel

Stay at Killarney Avenue (SF) or Killarney Towers (SF).

Sightseeing

A truly scenic day. Take the road that winds around the beautiful Iveragh Peninsula, better known as The Ring of Kerry. Here mountains, valleys, lakes and sea blend into a breathtaking landscape.

Sightseeing

Before returning to your hotel, why not take an optional jaunting car ride? (B)

Sightseeing

This morning, travel to 15th century Blarney Castle with its magical stone that gives the gift of eloquence for a kiss.

Shopping

Stroll across to the Blarney Woollen Mills to shop for fine knitwear and handicrafts.

Bus

Then on to the seaport town of Waterford with its colorful houses overlooking the mile long quayside.

Arts, Crafts and Antiques

Visit the impressive Waterford Crystal Factory and watch master craftsmen at work in the centuries-old tradition of glass cutting and engraving, then stroll through the splendid showrooms. (B,D)

Hotel

Stay at Granville Hotel (F).

Sightseeing

This morning enjoy a walking tour of Waterford, where your guide brings the city's fascinating history alive. Then, travel through the Wicklow Mountains to the monastic ruins at Glendalough, founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century.

Relaxation

Finally, continue on to Dublin, where the balance of the day is at leisure. (B)

Hotel

Stay at Jurys Croke Park (SF).

Today you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to the USA. (B)