12 Day Irish Odyssey

B: Breakfast; L: Lunch; D: Dinner

Tour Includes:

Day 1: Dublin Tour & Kilmainham Gaol

• Meet your tour guide at 2pm at your hotel in Dublin.
• Take a tour of Dublin’s most famous attractions such as Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the General Post Office.
• Afterwards, visit Kilmainham Gaol, where Irish rebellion leaders, such as Robert Emmett, Eamon De Valera, and Padraig Pearse, were imprisoned in the 19^th and 20^th
• Meet your tour guide for a welcome drink in the evening

Day 2: Russborough House & Taylor’s Three Rock Pub

• Drive to Blessington though the beautiful scenery of the Wicklow Mountains.
• Take a guided tour of Russborough House, a stately mansion which houses many interesting treasures of art and photography.
• The afternoon will be free to use your open-top bus voucher to visit the Guinness Storehouse or the General Post Office.
• Enjoy dinner at the Taylor’s Three Rock Pub with some traditional music, songs, and step-dancing.

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Day 3: Farmhouse Visit & House of Waterford Crystal

• Drive through Kildare and visiting a traditional farmhouse and meet the owners. Learn about life in the Irish countryside and enjoy tea and freshly-bakes scones.
• Head south to Waterford to take a tour of the House of Waterford Crystal. Learn about traditional glass blowing, cutting and polishing techniques from experienced craftspeople.
• Visit the Medieval Museum nearby, which has a 13th-century Choristers’ Hall and 15^th century Mayor’s Wine Vault.
• Next, we will may our way to Cork where we will spend the night.

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Day 4: Blarney Castle & Killarney

• Take a brief walking tour of Cork city and the English market with a local guide.
• Visit Blarney Castle, just outside the city and get the chance to kiss the famous Blarney Stone
• Visit Blarney Woollen Mills for beautiful Irish-made goods and gifts of all types.
• Journey through Cork and Kerry to the town of Kenmare.
• Have your camera ready to capture some great views at Moll’s Gap on the Ring of Kerry and see how train dogs herd sheep.
• Check into your hotel and enjoy some free time before dinner.

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Day 5: Jaunting Car Ride & Dingle Peninsula

• The next stop is Killarney, where you can enjoy a traditional horse-drawn jaunting car ride to Ross Castle to see Lough Leane, the largest of Killarney’s lakes.
• Journey along the Dingle Peninsula and capture stunning views of heathery mountains, rugged headlands, and sandy beaches.
• Tour the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the life of the hardy farming and fishing families that lived on the Blasket Islands until 1953.
• Head to Dingle town for a light lunch before returning to Killarney where you will be free to enjoy the rest of the day.

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Day 6: Cliffs of Moher & Galway

• Visit Listowel and J.B Keane’s family pub for scones and tea.
• Drive north and cross the River Shannon Estuary by ferry to travel along the coast of County Clare.
• See the amazing Cliffs of Moher, a majestic wall of solid rock that rises 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean walk to O’Brien’s Tower to get views of Connemara as well as the Aran Islands.
• Head to Galway for a walking tour before your check-in your hotel, overlooking Galway Bay.

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Day 7: “The Quiet Man” & Connemara

• The day starts by driving to Cong, the place where “The Quiet Man” movie was made in 1952. Take a tour of locations that featured in the production.
• Journey through Connemara for wide-ranging views of the mountains and shimmering lakes.
• We will then stop at Kylemore Abbey for a walk through the famous mansion, which is set beside a peaceful lake.
• Have lunch and watch crystal cutting at Connemara Celtic Crystal before heading back to Galway.

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Day 8: Country Life Museum & Belleek China

• Next, we will go to Castlebar in County Mayo and visit the Museum of Country Life which shows articles used in daily life in the 19^th and 20^th
• Head to Country Sligo and stop at Drumcliffe Churchyard, where the writer W.B. Yeats was buried.
• Explore the Belleek Pottery Factory to see how craftspeople used to create delicate clay pieces and make a stop in Donegal town.
• Drive through the amazing Barnesmore Gap to County Derry.

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Day 9: Derry Walk & Giant’s Causeway

• Begin your day with a local walking guided tour around the ancient city of Derry.
• See St. Columb’s Cathedral, the Guildhall, the Diamond and the 16^th century walls.
• Take photos of the medieval ruins of Dunluce Castle.
• Walk on the Giant’s Causeway’s giant hexagonal basalt columns which formed over 60 million years ago.
• Visit Shean’s Heritage Farm to see turf cutting, before heading back to Derry to enjoy the rest of the day.

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Day 10: Titanic Belfast & Cabra Castle Stay

• The next stop is Belfast for a city tour.
• Next, visit Titanic Belfast and learn about this world famous liner and her maiden voyage
• Drive to Kingscourt and your castle hotel, which was built in 1760.
• Enjoy the lovely facilities, which includes a 9-hole golf course.
• Have dinner in the Court Restaurant and watch an Irish step-dancing show.

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Day 11: Megalithic Tombs & Historic Drogheda Walk

• Explore the Boyne Valley Visitor Centre and learn about the 5,000-year old burial tombs, of Newgrange and Knowth.
• You can then visit one of them and see how primitive people aligned huge boulders with accuracy.
• Visit the town of Drogheda; join a local guide for a walking tour to see the head of St. Oliver Plunkett, who was the first Irishman was to be canonized in 700 years and St Laurence’s Gate, built in the 13^th
• Enjoy a farewell dinner in the evening, with live music, at Wm Cairnes Gastropub which was previously a brewery.

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Day 12: Tour Ends in Drogheda

Your tour ends after breakfast. Drogheda is 30 miles north of Dublin Airport so ensure you have appropriate transfer arrangements made.
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B: Breakfast; L: Lunch; D: Dinner