Day 1: Dublin
Highlights:
Trinity College Dublin
The Book of Kells
Temple Bar
Guinness Storehouse
Old Jameson Distillery
National Museum
Christchurch Cathedral
Kilmainham Jail
Dublin, City, Ireland
You will travel through Dublin city to see historic buildings such as Trinity College, where the Book of Kells is housed; rows of Georgian houses and the new buildings around the Financial Centre beside the River Liffey. Hit the Guinness Storehouse for a pint of the black stuff and pull your own pint! Why not take a tour of Dublin Castle, which was the seat of power and government for many centuries and today plays a leading role in European Union activities.
Day 2: Cork
Highlights:
Blarney Castle
Blarney Woollen Mills
Cobh Heritage Centre
Cork City
Kinsale fishing town
Old Midleton Whiskey Distillery
Cork City, Ireland
Depart Dublin and travel through the midlands of Ireland, which has some of the best farmland in Ireland. You will be itching to stop for photos at the majestic ruins on the Rock of Cashel, rising high above the surrounding countryside where you will fall in love. You will continue your drive south and, just a few miles outside Cork City, you will want to visit Blarney Castle to kiss the famous “Stone of Eloquence.” We recommend you stop at the Blarney Woollen Mills where you can find quality Irish made goods of all types to take back home with you.
Day 3 & 4: Kerry
Highlights:
The Ring of Kerry
Staigue Fort
Killarney National Park
Muckross House & Gardens
Killarney’s Traditional Music Pubs
Dingle
Tom Crean’s Pub
The Ring of Kerry, Kerry, Ireland
Today you will experience one of Ireland’s most stunning scenic drives – the 100 miles long Ring of Kerry. You will inhale the breathtaking sights of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks as well as coastal views of beaches and cliffs. Learn about the off-shore islands where early Christian monks lived in austere conditions and how they were used as one of the locations for “Star Wars VII” movie. Stop for a stroll around Sneem, with its brightly-painted houses and again at Moll’s Gap for panoramic views of Ireland’s highest mountains and deepest valleys. You will stop and get a flavour of farm life with a sheepdog demonstration of herding flocks, a shearing demonstration and see different breeds of Irish sheep with the Irish farmers at their farm house.
Day 5: Clare
Highlights:
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
Cliffs of Moher
The Poulnabrone Dolmen
The Burren
Doolin Village
The Burren Smokehouse
Cliffs of Moher, Clare, Ireland
You will continue your journey to Clare, and drive north to Tarbert for a 20-minute ferry ride across the wide River Shannon Estuary, the longest river in Ireland or the UK. You will want to continue along the Clare coast to the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular wall of sandstone that reaches to almost 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Head onto the market town of Ennis and then hit Bunratty, visit the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and maybe stop at Durty Nelly’s to grab some great traditional Irish food.
Day 6: Galway
Highlights:
Galway City
Galway Crystal
Kylemore Abbey
Athenry Castle
Galway City Port, Ireland
Travel northwards to Galway City for a real treat and take in the unforgettable views. Take some time to look around the city before travelling out along the famous Galway Bay to Spiddal where the locals still speak the Irish language. You will head across the rugged boglands of Connemara to Moycullen to visit the Connemara Marble Factory. You will see how locally-quarried marble is made into attractive products and enjoy the good auld tea and scones.
Day 7 & 8: Donegal
Highlights:
Slieve League
Belleek Pottery Factory
Glenveagh National park
Killybegs fishing port
Mount Errigal
Donegal Castle
Fanad Lighthouse
Leos Tavern (home of Clannad and Enya)
Daniel O’Donnell Visitor Centre
Glengesh Pass
Donegal Castle, Ireland
County Donegal is a largely Irish-speaking region bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the north west Ireland. Donegal is known for its castles, rugged coastline and mountains such as the iconic, quartzite Mount Errigal. Glenveagh National Park encompasses forests, lakes and bogland in the central Derryveagh Mountains. Its 1870s manor house, the Scottish Baronial-style Glenveagh Castle, is renowned for its Victorian-era gardens, Donegal is one of Ireland’s untouched and unspoilt, romantic and authentic counties and one you will remember forever with the friendly, warm locals.
Day 9: Meath
Highlights:
Newgrange
Boyne Valley
Hill of Tara
Trim Castle
Trim Castle, Co. Meath, Ireland
Travel to the mysterious County of Meath known as the Royal County which derives its name from the Second Century AD as a territory for the High Kings of Ireland.
The abundance of historic monuments within this area testifies to the ancient importance of this region and some of the most important historic sites and monuments in Ireland dot the landscape here, for example the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Brú na Bóinne. (Newgrange)
The famous River Boyne flows gently through County Meath and along Co. Louth before flowing into the Irish Sea at Drogheda. You will be able to get picture perfect images of the Boyne in Navan. The Valleys of Meath’s fertile soil has ensured that it has been inhabited continuously from the end of the Ice Age.
