6 Day Northern Island

Tour Includes:

• A journey of discovery in a super-comfy, slick Mercedes mini-coach
• The services of a highly-trained and professional driver guide
• 6 full days on tour
• 5 nights’ accommodation
• 5 delicious and filling hot Irish breakfasts
• Most daily activities and visits (see Tour Options for extras)
• Live like lords and ladies with a one night stay in a castle
• Entrance into the world famous Giant’s Causeway
• Entrance into Donegal Castle
• Entrance into Dunluce Castle
• Entrance into Hillsborough Castle
• A guided walking tour of Derry/Londonderry

Optional Extras:

• Boat Trip at Slieve League Cliffs** – €25.00 (approx. $27) 
• Atlantic Sheepdog Demos Sligo** – €10.00 (approx. $11)
• Bushmills Whiskey Tasting – £10.00 (approx. $11)
• Black Cab Tour** – £20.00 (approx. $25)
• Titanic Experience – £24.95 (approx $32)

• Experience the historic cities and spectacular natural scenery of Northern Ireland and the rugged northwest region. Visit the geological wonder that is the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland’s World Heritage site. Board a boat trip to Slieve League, the highest accessible sea cliffs in Europe.
• Traverse mountain passes and pristine beaches in Donegal, one of Ireland’s most beautiful but undiscovered counties.

• Take a history tour with a local guide to see street murals and learn about the ‘Troubles’ in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Relive epic battles on a historic walking tour of Ireland’s only fully intact walled city; Derry/Londonderry. Overnight in high quality
• Take a guided tour of the castle where the British Royal Family stay in Northern Ireland. Meet master craftspeople and skilled artisans in working craft studios.
• Encounter authentic culture and local experiences in off-the-beaten-track destinations.

Meet your guide and fellow Driftwooders at the Grand Canal Hotel, Dublin, at 8.10am. Board your Mercedes tour vehicle for the trip of a lifetime!

We’ll leave the city, going 1000s of years back in time…

Unearth secrets of the Iron Age trackway, or Togher, at Corlea. Constructed circa 150BC, this is the largest prehistoric roadway in Europe. Discover Ireland’s rich rural heritage at the Museum of Country Life’s modern exhibition space and Victorian landscaped gardens.

Arise and go now, your second day exploring Ireland awaits… 

• Watch shepherd and dog working perfectly in tandem during a sheepdog demo (Tour Option). 
• Alternatively, take a scenic drive to Mullaghamore Head, stopping by Creevykeel Court Tomb; this Stone Age monument is at least 4,500 years old. 

Choose to take a guided boat trip under 600m/2000ft high Slieve League sea cliffs (Tour Option). Sea legs are definitely required.

If you’d prefer dry land, choose from the following: 

• Take a guided tour of 15th-century Donegal Castle (Fee Included). 
• Drive to Slieve League to view these dramatic sea cliffs on land. 
• Alternatively, stroll the shops and craft studios in Donegal town.

Watch for wild deer and golden eagles in the pristine wilderness of Glenveagh National Park. Take a guided history tour of Glenveagh Castle (Tour Option) or simply revel in this serene landscape. Buses run from the car park to the castle (Tour Option) or you can enjoy this scenic lakeside journey on foot. Duration: approx 40 minutes. 

Panoramic 360° vistas await you at the beautifully preserved Celtic stone ringfort at Grianán of Aileach. 

Cross the border into Northern Ireland (remember, UK £ sterling  required). 

We’ll pass through historic city gates to enter Derry/Londonderry. Take a guided historical walking tour along the walls of Ireland’s only intact walled city (Fee Included).

Cameras at the ready! You’re about to experience one of the world’s most spectacular coastal drives; the Causeway Coastal Route. 

40,000 hexagonal basalt columns make up the Giant’s Causeway (Fee Included), a World Heritage Site.

Choose to walk in the footsteps of mythical giant Finn McCool on a steep 1km (1.6 mile) descent/ascent. Or simply follow an accessible path to the Giant’s Causeway viewing point. 

Anyone for a wee dram? Visit Bushmills, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, for a tasting (Tour Option), followed by a stop at clifftop Dunluce Castle (Fee Included).

This morning we’ll roll into Belfast, the vibrant capital of Northern

Ireland. Tour Options (Choose A, B or C):

• A. Take a highly recommended Black Cab Tour, explaining the history of the Troubles era. 
• B. Or a self-guided visit to the Titanic Centre. 
• C. Alternatively, explore Belfast at your own pace. 

Are you the king of the castle? Visit Hillsborough Castle & Gardens this afternoon to find out. Take a guided castle tour (Fee Included) of the British Royal Family’s official residence in Northern Ireland.

Before we wave goodbye — slán in Irish — there’s still time to take in some of Ireland’s highlights.

Step back in time to discover the historical burial place of Saint Patrick at Down Cathedral (Tour Option). Then imagine rival lords battling over 12th-century Dundrum Castle. 

Of course, you’re taking the scenic route back to Dublin, passing the rolling granite peaks of the Mourne Mountains. Cross the border into the Republic of Ireland and the euro currency zone (€). 

Crane your neck to view the finest — and tallest — Celtic high crosses in Ireland, at Monasterboice. It’s an epic way to conclude our northern odyssey.

You’ll disembark your Drifter tour vehicle back at the Grand Canal Hotel in Dublin between 5-6pm. Farewell elbow bumps all around for your new friends.