Your Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 - Wed: Depart U.S. for Shannon
Travel to Shannon on an overnight flight to start your vacation. Relax with inflight meals and entertainment.

Day 2 - Thu: Shannon Arrival & Leisure Time in Galway
Land at Shannon Airport, pass through immigration and pick up your luggage. Locate the CIE Tours desk in the Arrivals Hall where our staff will arrange a group transfer to your hotel in Galway. Complimentary transfers will be offered from Shannon Airport at 9:00 am and 11:30 am. If your flight arrives later than 11:30 am, you must transfer to the hotel at your own expense. Your first hotel in Galway is 60 miles from Shannon and the drive takes 1½ hours. Enjoy some free time to rest, take a stroll along the seashore or browse around central Galway. In the evening join your driver/guide and fellow travelers to discuss your vacation over a welcome drink, followed by dinner in the hotel restaurant. (D)

Day 3 - Fri: Quiet Man Walk & Connemara Tour
Drive through Headford to Cong, a charming village where the 1952 movie, "The Quiet Man," was filmed starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. A short walking tour will show you movie locations and the ruins of Cong Abbey. Travel through Connemara, renowned for delightful landscapes with misty hills. Sheep graze freely over the open land and in places people cut peat, which is used for home heating. Visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, which specializes in intricate designs in colored crystal, before returning to Galway. (B, D)

Day 4 - Sat: Museum of Country Life & Belleek China
Outside Castlebar visit the Museum of Country Life. View collections of domestic goods, used in everyday living from 1850 to 1950. Exhibits and a movie explain how country people lived by farming. Make a brief stop in the pilgrimage town of Knock and view W. B. Yeats' Grave, situated near the distinctive outline of Ben Bulben mountain in County Sligo. Continue to Belleek for a tour of the Belleek Pottery Factory, founded in the mid-19th century to create employment. Drive to Donegal town for your next overnight stop. (B, D)

Day 5 - Sun: Slieve League Cliffs & Donegal
Drive to the fishing port of Killybegs and on to Teelin to view Slieve League sea cliffs, which reach 1,972 feet, making them the highest in Europe. The cliffs drop straight down to the wild Atlantic waves and the views are marvelous. Continue through the majestic Glengesh Pass to Ardara. Visit Triona Design to see demonstrations of spinning, weaving and knitting as well as sample home-made scones with tea. Return to Donegal town for free time before returning to your nearby hotel. (B, D)

Day 6 - Mon: Derry Walk & Giant's Causeway
Travel to Derry for a walking tour with a local guide around the city center to see the medieval city walls, the Diamond and St. Columb's Cathedral. Visit the Giant's Causeway, enormous hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago. Continue south to experience wonderful views of mountains, valleys and bays along the "Nine Glens of Antrim." Drive to your centrally located hotel in Belfast. You will have time to take a walk or you may like to visit the ornate Victorian bar, Crown Liquor Saloon, just across the street. (B, D)

Day 7 - Tue: Belfast & St. Patrick's Burial Site
Tour Belfast with a local guide to see Victorian buildings, the Harland & Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built and the Falls Road and Shankill residential areas. Drive south to the St. Patrick Centre where you will learn about Ireland's Patron Saint and view his reputed grave at Down Cathedral. Travel past the gentle slopes of the Mourne Mountains and continue to Kingscourt to your castle hotel, built in 1760. After a farewell dinner in the Court Restaurant, enjoy some informal entertainment. (B, D)

Day 8 - Wed: Dublin to U.S.
This morning take a 90-minute group transfer to Dublin Airport, leaving the hotel at either 6:00, 9:00 or 11:00 am. After check-in you will have time to shop at the duty-free stores. (B)


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