Irish Experience

Day 1
Welcome to Ireland
Embrace your playful side and discover the allure of the lively Irish capital - a small city with a lot of heart and yours to explore before meeting your Travel Director and fellow travellers this afternoon for a sightseeing tour with your Local Specialist. See the stately Georgian Squares and Trinity College before enjoying a whiskey tasting at a local distillery.The excitement will build this evening over drinks, good food and great company as your Travel Director gives you a taste of what’s to come.

Day 2
Journey to Colourful Belfast
Leaving the cosmopolitan streets of Dublin behind, we travel to Northern Ireland and the bustling city of Belfast, where you will have some free time to enjoy a spud for lunch or perhaps an Irish stew. Later, we meet our Local Specialist 'Cabbie' for an insider view of the city’s living history during a journey through its vibrant streets in a real taxi. We spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure, or perhaps join an Optional Experience.

Day 3
Venture to the Giant’s Causeway and on to Derry/Londonderry Make Travel Matter
Dive into Culture during a visit to the award-winning Titanic Belfast Experience. Gain insights into the tragic story of the Titanic and its passengers who lost their lives in the icy Atlantic. Leave the city behind, travelling to your Be My Guest experience near Ballycastle for lunch. Then onto the Giant's Causeway as we walk in the footsteps of Finn McCool. Our visit will help to conserve this iconic natural landmark. Take some time to admire the natural spectacle of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns before continuing to Derry/Londonderry, our home for the next two nights.

Day 4
Discover Derry/Londonderry’s Past
Join your Local Specialist for a walk along the 17th-century city walls and see the formerly turbulent Bogside neighbourhood, with its street murals depicting the history of the 'Troubles'. Spend a free afternoon walking along the pretty Foyle River or consider joining an Optional Experience to Inishowen Peninsula, with its rich history. This evening enjoy dinner at your hotel.

Day 5
Onwards to Scenic Galway Dive Into Culture
Journey through the lush countryside to Belleek, where you'll Dive into Culture and witness talented pottery crafters create the exquisite collectables that have graced homes since the mid-19th century. Arrive in Galway later, where you will stay for the next two nights.

Day 6
Connemara Excursion
The rugged beauty of Connemara was captured in the film 'The Quiet Man' with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Its loughs and mountains are yours to explore today during a scenic drive. Arrive at Kylemore Abbey later to visit the country's most romantic castle and ramble through the hidden nooks of its Victorian walled garden. Returning to Galway, enjoy some free time to explore its imposing stone Cathedral or stroll through Eyre Square, which John F. Kennedy visited in 1963.

Day 7
Explore the Cliffs of Moher and Killarney
Marvel at the towering Cliffs of Moher as they rise over 200 m (650 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean. Take part in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, gaining a deeper understanding of this UNESCO-listed landscape with your Local Specialist. At the ‘Atlantic Edge’ exhibition, discover how thousands of years of wind and sea shaped the cliffs, and enjoy views from the perspective of nesting seabirds who call this place home. Continue your journey along the Wild Atlantic Way, soaking up more coastal views before crossing the waters of the Shannon Estuary. Arrive in Killarney, where your evening is free to explore or you can opt in for a traditional Irish ceilidh, full of music, dance and craic.

Day 8
A Day on the Ring of Kerry
The soul-stirring landscapes of Iveragh Peninsula provide a mesmerising backdrop for our scenic coastal drive around the Ring of Kerry – an unimaginably beautiful natural setting. En route we will see Killorglin, famous for its annual 'Puck Fair', as well as Daniel O'Connell's Cahirciveen, the fishing village of Waterville, the Black Valley and Moll's Gap.

Day 9
Off to Blarney, Waterford and Kilkenny Dive Into Culture
Today you might acquire the 'gift of the gab', bending over backwards to kiss the Blarney Stone before you travel to Waterford. Admire the delicate creations of fine crystal during a visit to the House of Waterford Crystal where you will Dive into Culture and witness a demonstration by master crafters. This evening, arrive in Kilkenny with its imposing 12th-century castle, once the seat of the Butlers of Ormonde.

Day 10
Through County Wicklow’s Countryside to Dublin Dive Into Culture
After a morning exploration of Kilkenny, depart for New Ross where you'll see the monument to John F. Kennedy, who visited his ancestral family hometown in 1963. Dive into Culture and gain insights into the tragic plight of Irish emigrants during the potato famine of the 1800s on your visit to the nearby three-masted Dunbrody Famine Ship. Journey through the lush Irish countryside of County Wicklow, the 'Garden of Ireland', and back to Dublin where you’ll spend your final evening with travel companions sharing stories of your memorable journey through Ireland at dinner.

Day 11
Farewell Dublin
It’s time to say a fond farewell to Ireland and newfound friends as you prepare to end your wonderful Irish experience.

Dining Summary
5 Dinner (D)
10 Breakfast (B)
1 Lunch (L)
Be My Guest
Ballycastle: Join your hosts, the Cole family, at their home, Broughgammon Farm near Ballycastle, where you'll enjoy farm life and a delicious meal of local favourites.
Dive into Culture
Belfast: Experience Belfast from the comfort of your dedicated Black Cab with expert 'Cabbie' commentary. 
Belfast: Discover the full story of the Titanic at the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction in Belfast.
Belleek: See traditional craftsmen at work at the Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre, one of the oldest working potteries in the world.
Waterford: Learn how crystal is crafted at the House of Waterford Crystal during a workshop tour.
New Ross: Explore the tragic history of Ireland's famine emigration with a Local Specialist at the Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience, a replica of one of the original ships used in the 1800s.
Iconic Experience
Dublin: A Local Specialist will show you Dublin's elegant Georgian squares, O'Connell Street and the Custom House.
Bushmills: In Northern Ireland you'll discover the legend of the Giant's Causeway as you explore this iconic natural landmark. 
Londonderry: With a Local Specialist explore inside the city walls. See the Gothic Guildhall and the Georgian houses of Shipquay Street.
Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden: Visit the turreted Neo-Gothic Kylemore Abbey. This monastery was founded in 1920 for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I.
Galway: Explore the historic heart of Galway. See landmarks such as the Spanish Arch and the cathedral, or perhaps admire the distinctive Claddagh rings.
Ring of Kerry: Admire Ireland's enduring scenic beauty on one of the most beautiful drives in the world.
Blarney: It is said that those who kiss the Blarney Stone are bestowed with the power to persuade, flatter and coax. But to do so, you must dangle from the ramparts! Visit Blarney Castle and see the famous Stone of Eloquence. 
New Ross: Visit the port town of New Ross. On the quayside, perhaps see the Dunbrody replica famine ship and statue of John F. Kennedy.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
Lahinch: Gain a deeper understanding of the Cliffs of Moher on a guided walk with a Local Specialist in conservation. Learn how wildflowers support rare bird species like the red-billed chough and explore the cultural ties between the land and local communities. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land. 
Must-see Highlights
Explore Dublin, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry
Discover Galway and Waterford
Visit the Titanic Experience in Belfast, the UNESCO World Heritage site at the Giant's Causeway, Belleek to see how the famous pottery is made, Kylemore Abbey, the Cliffs of Moher, Blarney's Castle to kiss the stone and gain the 'gift of the gab', the Crystal Showroom at Waterford and the Dunbrody Famine Ship in New Ross
View Belfast City Hall, the City Walls and Murals of Derry/Londonderry and Trinity College in Dublin
See Galway Cathedral
Scenic Cruise cross the Shannon Estuary
Scenic Drive through Connemara and along the Ring of Kerry