7 Day Treasure Ireland Tour

Tour Includes:

• Journey of discovery in a Driftwood mini coach tour vehicle.
• Services of highly trained professional Driftwood tour guide
• 7 FULL days on tour • Six nights’ accommodation
• Six Full Irish breakfasts • Most daily activities and visits
• Entrance fees to Blarney Castle and Rock of Cashel
• Shannon ferry tickets
• All relevant taxes
• Guaranteed tour price from the moment you make your deposit
• Loads of laughs

Optional Extras:

• Lunches and evening meals
• Some optional entrance fees and additional activity options, for example:
  • Visit to Bantry House €8 or Muckross House €7.50
  • Visit to a working sheep farm – €7
  • Entrance to Bantry House and Gardens – €8
  • Jaunting Car ride in Killarney National Park – €15
  • Boat trip to Garinish island – €15

Revel at some of Europe’s very best scenery:

• Elevate your mood along the wild and rugged Atlantic Ocean coastline
• See Ireland’s highest mountain range, The Macgillycuddy Reeks
• Be mystified by the savage beauty of Connemara
• Behold the lunar limestone landscape of The Burren
• Feel the magic on the world famous Ring of Kerry

Relish some of Ireland’s most worthwhile tourist destinations:

• Stand in awe at the towering Cliffs of Moher
• Kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle and Gardens
• Discover magnificent Killarney National Park
• Wonder at the iconic Rock of Cashel

Visit Ireland’s great houses and gardens:

• Blarney Castle and Gardens
• Bantry House and Gardens
• Muckross House Gardens
• Kylemore Abbey and Gardens
• Garnish Island Gardens

Some fun little side trips:

• Visit a working sheep farm for a sheep herding and shearing demonstration
• Take a boat trip to see Dingle’s most friendly resident – Fungie the Dolphin
• Relive Tom Crean’s tale of extraordinary endurance at The South Pole Inn
• Meet master weavers, craft brewers and artisans of crystal carving

Explore three diverse south western peninsulas:

• Majestic Iveragh – better known as the Ring of Kerry
• Rugged Beara – the ‘undiscovered peninsula’
• Knife edge cliffs and patchwork fields of the Dingle Peninsula

Wonder at some of Ireland’s historical treasures:

• Shout from the battlements of mythical castles
• Peer into portal tombs older than the pyramids
• Stand in awe at Neolithic stone circles and Celtic ring forts
• Admire the world’s finest medieval Celtic crosses at Monasterboice

And at night:

• Live traditional music in some of Ireland’s best pubs.
• Delicious fresh and locally sourced food from Ireland’s clean waters and green farms
• Overnight in comfort at quality local guesthouses and boutique hotels, located in small,
  friendly communities.
• Live like lords and ladies with a stay in a castle-style country home.

• Greet your guide, meet your fellow Driftwooders and board your super-comfy, slick Mercedes Benz/Volkswagen mini-coach for the adventure of a lifetime.
• Head west, through counties Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon, Longford and Mayo, crossing the River Shannon into Connacht.
• Explore the beautiful ruins and grounds of the 12th Century Augustinian Cong Abbey or Ross Errilly Friary.
• Picnic by the shore of the River Corrib or pub lunch in the village of Cong, film set of the John Wayne Classic movie The Quiet Man.
• Enter the savage beauty of Connemara, a region famous for its misty mountains, wild
  moorlands and dark lakes.
• On the mountainous shores of Killary Fjord, you’ll experience a hands-on visit to Tom’s sheep farm including a sheepdog demonstration.
• There’s a quick photo stop at Kylemore Abbey – one of Ireland’s most scenic historic buildings

• Optional trip to the Aran Islands – €25 per person

How it works:

• We start the day on the North side of Galway Bay.
• You have the option of taking the ferry to one of the three Aran Islands (which one depends on tides and ferry timetables).
• You can then spend much of the day out on the islands before taking another ferry south to Doolin in County Clare, on the south side of Galway Bay.
• In the meantime, the driver-guide and vehicle (plus any passengers who opt not to go to the Islands) drive around Galway Bay, via Galway city and meet you on the other side.

Non-Islands day options Galway city for lunch Kinvarra village with:

• Dunguire Castle – ancient seat of the High Kings of Munster,
• Hookers – Traditional Sailing boats,
• Visit Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient Megalithic tomb and one of Ireland’s greatest treasures,
• Drive down and through the Burren Region, and its Limestone Lunar landscape.

Spectacular natural light show in the sky above your accommodation tonight; the Wild Atlantic Lodge in beautiful Ballyvaughan

(Driving time for day 3.5 hours)

• Hold onto your hat! It’s the world famous Cliffs of Moher. Stand in awe atop these magnificent 700ft high sea cliffs.
• Watch out for dolphins as we take a ferry across the mighty mouth of the Shannon – the longest river in Ireland or Britain.
• Your guide will select a lunch stop along the route.
• We move onward, to Tralee. The largest town in Kerry is home of the Rose of Tralee festival and a beautiful rose garden.
• Refresh yourself with an ice cold pint at the South Pole Inn. Hear the extraordinary tale of endurance suffered by its one time Antarctic explorer landlord, Tom Crean.
• Dingle awaits… Revel in a wealth of dinner and entertainment options, with plenty of free time to explore this bustling little town. There’s a pub for every 40 residents!

Enjoy traditional Irish warmth and comfort at the centrally located Dingle Benners Hotel tonight and tomorrow.
(Driving time for day 3.5 hours)

• This morning is yours to design. Relax and soak up Dingle’s charms, with the option for some quality downtime.

Or enjoy one or more of the following activities:

• Taste authentic locally-distilled whiskey and gin on a tour of Dingle Distillery (Tour Option – €15 per person);
• Meet Fungie the Dolphin, resident in Dingle Bay since 1983, on a boat trip (Tour Option – €15-20 per person);
• Keen golfers can take advantage of Dingle’s excellent links course. This is an all day activity (Tour Option – Ask your guide about cost).

Get ready! You’re about to experience some of the most beautiful sights in Ireland.

• The Rugged beauty and knife edge drops are guaranteed on the route around Slea Head, Europe’s westernmost point.
• Look out for the Blasket islands, a visit to the Dingle Crystal workshop, the holy Mount Brandon as well as picture perfect patchwork fields and cottages.
• Whatever you do in Dingle, don’t miss an Irish traditional music session or a stroll around the town’s plentiful art galleries and craft shops.

(Driving time for day 1.5 hours)

• Enjoy a scenic drive along the southern coast of the Dingle Peninsula, with a photo stop and perhaps a stroll along the beach at Inch Strand.
• You’ll pay a visit to the stunning Killarney National Park. Take a horse-drawn ‘jaunting car’ around this magnificent parkland (Tour Option – €15 per person).
• You can also admire the charming 19th century Muckross House Gardens and visit the nearby 15th century Muckross Abbey.
• A short hop on your bus and there’s a scenic walk and photo stop at the multi-tiered Torc
  Waterfall.
• After lunch, your Drifter will join the world famous Ring of Kerry scenic route. Prepare to have your socks knocked off! You’ll get the chance for at least one mountain top photo stop and even some craft shopping if time allows.
• We’ll cross into Cork over the mountainous Caha pass and hit vibrant Glengarriff in the early evening.

Overnight in the Glengarriff Park Hotel, Glengarriff
(Driving time for day 3 hours)

• This morning we head out onto the Beara. This peninsula is truly off the beaten track. Expect rugged roads, superb scenery and livestock-induced traffic jams a-plenty.
• One of our favourite pastimes here in Ireland is dancing around ancient stone circles. Luckily, the Beara peninsula has a plethora to choose from. No one truly knows what the circles were used for. So let your imagination run wild!
• We’ll gaze out over the cloud-wrapped Caha mountains with a rugged drive up the Healy
  Mountain pass, Ireland’s bendiest road.
• We’ll board a boat to Garnish Island and the wonders of its Italian formal gardens (Tour Option – €16 per person).
• Look out for cheeky seals in and around the harbour area of Glengarriff.
• Visit stately Bantry House, one of the few grand Irish homes still in private hands; owned by the same family since the 18th century.
• There’s one more drive today, a coastal ride that snakes along Bantry Bay before cutting inland.
• Random snapshots of beauty appear and disappear – a black stallion behind a stone wall; a mute swan on a misty lake; an elderly farmer outside his brightly painted cottage. We hope you’ll understand West Cork’s mantra, ‘a place apart’.

Overnight in the stunning the Gougane Barra Hotel 
(Driving time for day 4.5 hours)

• Before we say goodbye, there’s still time for some of Ireland’s top highlights.
• We’ll trace the River Lee, passing through scenic countryside filled with charming cottages and typical Irish agriculture.
• Then it’s time to kiss the famous Blarney Stone. Afterwards, explore the extensive grounds and lush, landscaped gardens of Blarney Castle.
• We’ll grab lunch either close to Blarney or near our next stop, the monastery at the Rock of Cashel.
• A self-guided walking tour of the epic Rock of Cashel is a fitting way to end our odyssey.
• This is one of Ireland’s most iconic sights; its story combines elements you’ll have noticed everywhere on your tour: a deep and complex history; a stunning natural setting; the marvelous architecture; and a heartfelt human aspect.

Arrive back in Dublin at about 6pm
(Driving time for day 4 – 4.5 hours)