Your Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Depart for Dublin
Board your flight to Ireland and enjoy inflight meals and entertainment as you start your vacation.

Day 2: Dublin Castle & City Tour
Arrive in Dublin Airport, complete immigration formalities and pick up your luggage. Go to the CIE Tours desk in the Arrivals Hall to arrange a group transfer to your hotel between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later, you will need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:00 pm join a local guide on a city center tour to see some of the important public buildings such as Trinity College, the General Post Office and St. Patrick's Cathedral. End with a visit to Dublin Castle's State Apartments where you can see magnificently decorated chambers that are used for many state functions. In the evening meet your fellow travelers over a welcome drink and, as you are free for independent dining, your tour guide will assist you in selecting a suitable venue.

Day 3: Megalithic Tomb & Abbey Tavern
Travel north from Dublin to the Boyne Valley. Stop at the Boyne Valley Visitor Centre to learn about the nearby passage burial tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, both of which are over 5,000 years old. Visit one of the tombs to see how people using primitive tools and knowledge managed to align these buildings precisely with the sun or the moon. Return to Dublin where the afternoon is at leisure for further sightseeing or shopping. Head to the Abbey Tavern for some traditional Irish cuisine, an Irish coffee and a lively session of popular songs. (B, D)

Day 4: Rock of Cashel & "Titanic" Walk
Head south through farming country to visit the Rock of Cashel, a stately limestone outcrop topped with medieval ruins. See the roofless cathedral, round tower and Cormac's Chapel, which is the earliest building on the site, dating from 1127. Continue past the Galtee Mountains and dairying country to the south coast and the harbor town of Cobh, the last port of call for the Titanic. Take a walk around this picturesque town and the dockside with a local historian to see places relating to the Titanic's last stop. Drive a few miles into Cork and check in to your hotel, which overlooks the famous River Lee. (B, D)

Day 5: Blarney & Muckross House
Drive through the outskirts of Cork city to visit the Blarney Woollen Mills, offering excellent Irish-made products all under one roof. If you wish, you may climb to the top of Blarney Castle independently or walk around the village before driving along the River Lee valley through Macroom. Continue into the mountainous countryside of County Kerry to Killarney and check into your centrally-located hotel. Drive to Muckross House, an elegant 19th century mansion set beside tranquil Muckross Lake. Learn about local history and U.S. family connections on a guided tour of the elegant and richly-furnished rooms. Take a stroll through the gardens before heading back to Killarney where you may look around the town before dinner. (B, D)

Day 6: Dingle Peninsula Tour
Today discover the glorious Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies that were enhanced by the scenery - "Ryan's Daughter" and "Far & Away." Drive along the south shore and stop to admire views of heathery mountains, sandy stretches of beach and rocky headlands. Pause for a while in Dingle before continuing to the western tip of the peninsula. Tour the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy families who eked out a living by farming and fishing. Return to Killarney and enjoy free time to use the leisure facilities in your hotel or take a walk around town. After dinner in your hotel you may like to visit some of the cozy pubs featuring live music. (B, D)

Day 7: Bunratty Village & Cliffs of Moher
Travel north from Killarney and through Limerick to the village of Bunratty. Stop for a look around on your own - shop, visit Durty Nelly's Pub or tour the Folk Park. Drive to the coast to view the Cliffs of Moher, an impressive wall of rock that rises 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. In the newly-opened Visitor Centre learn about the formation of the cliffs and the nearby Burren, an area of rounded limestone hills. Continue your drive via Corkscrew Hill to Ballyvaughan and around Galway Bay to Galway. Take a drive around the to see the main places of interest and browse around the city center, full of specialty shops, cafes and pubs, before checking in to your hotel. (B, D)

Day 8: Clifden & Kylemore Abbey
Today tour Connemara and admire sweeping views of misty mountains and shimmering lakes. You will see sheep grazing freely and tracts of bogland where people hand-cut peat for home heating. Stop in Spiddal where you may hear locals chatting in the Irish language. Continue to Clifden, a delightful market town set between the Twelve Bens and sandy bays. Visit Kylemore Abbey, a 19th century neo-Gothic mansion, which is now a prestigious girls' school. Tour the exquisite chapel and reception rooms and stroll by the peaceful lake shore. In Moycullen watch skilled craftsmen cutting fine crystal at the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory. (B, D)

Day 9: Museum of Country Life & Yeats' Country
Head north to Castlebar to visit the Museum of Country Life. An open-plan building houses collections of domestic goods, once used as part of daily life from 1850 to 1950. Exhibits and a movie explain how Irish people made a living from the soil before the machine age. Travel through County Sligo and stop to view W. B. Yeats' grave in Drumcliffe Churchyard. Follow the shoreline of Donegal Bay and continue your journey through Donegal and past the lovely Blue Stack Mountains to Derry for dinner and overnight. (B, D)

Day 10: Giant's Causeway & Derry
This morning drive along the north coast of Ireland to explore the Giant's Causeway, huge hexagonal columns formed over 60 million years ago. The oversized rocks have given rise to many legends, especially involving the giant, Finn McCool. Return to Derry for a guided walking tour around the ancient city, which will include the Guildhall, St. Columb's Cathedral, the Diamond and 16th century city walls. You may like to spend some time browsing through the compact city center with its many historic places on your own in the afternoon. (B, D)

Day 11: Ulster American Folk Park & Cabra Castle Stay
Drive past the Sperrin Mountains to visit the Ulster American Folk Park. See many cottages including the boyhood home of Thomas Mellon, who emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1818 and later founded the Mellon Bank. The Park traces the story of Ulster emigrants by showing how they lived in the "Old Country" and sailed across the Atlantic to settle in the "New World" in Colonial times. Travel south to Kingscourt to your castle hotel, built in 1760. After a farewell dinner in the Court Restaurant, enjoy some informal entertainment. (B, D)

Day 12: Dublin to USA
This morning take a group transfer from Kingscourt to Dublin Airport where your tour concludes at 10:00 am. After check-in you will have time to shop at the duty-free stores. If you need to arrive at Dublin Airport before 10:00 am, your guide will arrange an early group transfer. (B)


B=Breakfast, CB=Continental Breakfast, D=Dinner