Tread in the footsteps of James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, through the lyrical streets of Dublin – your launch pad to a memorable encounter with Ireland’s iconic highlights. After a leisurely morning, meet a Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour with views of Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the stately Georgian Squares. Indulge in a little Irish craic this evening, joining your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner.
We journey to Galway, the ‘City of Tribes’, where we’ll see its stone cathedral on the banks of the Corrib and spend some free time exploring its stone façades. Irish traditions and heritage are explored next, during a visit to Bunratty Castle and its Folk Park, a living history museum that reveals insights into life in Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries. Continue to Limerick, for an orientation tour and view the 13th-century King John’s Castle overlooking the Shannon.
We leave Limerick and stop at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher on the famous ‘Wild Atlantic Way’. Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience with your Local Specialist to truly appreciate this breath-taking landscape. You’ll feel like you’ve gone back to an ancient time as you gaze across the water, all the way to the Aran Islands if the weather is good. Visit the interactive visitor centre where this incredible UNESCO-listed natural phenomenon comes to life in a way you would not get to see with your own eyes. Go beneath the surface to see how the sediment has stacked up over 300 million years to create this towering backdrop. Inspired by the irresistible beauty of this special place, you’ll continue to your hotel in Killarney with a scenic drive to the ferry departure point and journey across the Shannon Estuary. Our home for the next two nights is the colourful little town of Killarney.
Circle the spectacular Ring of Kerry – its emerald green hills, centuries-old stone villages and vivid blue seascapes provide a soul-stirring backdrop. We’ll see Daniel O’Connell’s Cahirciveen, Moll’s Gap and the Black Valley, renowned for being the last place in Ireland to get electricity and telephone networks. Consider joining an Optional Experience to Muckross House and its beautiful gardens. With a backdrop of oak-clad mountains, enjoy taking in the towering azaleas and rhododendrons, alongside the shores of the lake. The 19th-century house contains some wonderful examples of furniture and paintings, including a portrait of King James VI, for whom Shakespeare wrote Macbeth.
Cross the rugged Kerry Mountains and travel to Blarney Castle to kiss the stone and acquire the ‘gift of the gab’. In the afternoon, arrive Waterford, where you can immerse yourself in the vibrant culture with an optional folk experience, enjoying traditional Irish music and warm hospitality. You’ll then return to the hotel for a delightful group dinner.
Dive Into Culture and witness the centuries-old tradition of crafting fine glass at the House of Waterford Crystal. Here you will watch the talented master crafters in their workshop creating exquisite pieces. Your next stop is in the town of New Ross, where you’ll see the monument to John F. Kennedy who travelled to his ancestral family hometown in 1963. You’ll visit the three-masted famine ship Dunbrody and Dive Into Culture yet again, gaining insights into the tragic plight of the Irish emigrants who fled the potato famine during the 1800s. Continuing through County Wexford and the lush countryside of County Wicklow, for a stop at Glenealy Farmhouse to meet the Fulvio family over dinner at your Be My Guest experience before continuing to Dublin.
For now, it’s time to say a fond slán abhaile to your fellow travellers as you close the curtain on an unforgettable journey through the ‘Emerald Isle’.
