Book any of our wonderful self-drive vacation packages before the 31st of May 2024 to receive a 15% discount off your tour price!
This offer cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts or special event packages.
Stephanie was an amazing source of help, assistance and knowledge for our first trip to Ireland. She kept us informed of the every changing covid rules as well as adapted to our many - at least three- Read more »
Staff was extremely attentive and very flexible when it came to organizing our trip. All questions were answered quickly and in great detail. When some aspects of our selected trip had to be altered d Read more »
Stephanie at Irish Tourism booked our trip- she was wonderful to work with. I am picky about my rooms - when we booked the trip I requested more spacious accommodations and paid accordingly. We had Read more »
Your route will allow you to visit Ireland’s most popular sights including Trinity College and Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, the Monastic Settlement at Glendalough and Powerscourt House in Wicklow, Waterford Crystal in the South east, Blarney Castle and Kinsale in County Cork, Killarney and the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher and the ‘Burren Landscape’ of County Clare as well as the Aran Islands and Connemara in County Galway.
While in Ashford Castle, you will also have time to pop next door to the famed setting for that John Wayne Classic, ‘The Quiet Man’.
Your accommodations include the best that Ireland has to offer in terms of service, location and gastronomy, with tasting menus available upon request.
Travelling the coastal route, you will first arrive at Powerscourt House & Gardens. Surrounding this 18th Century Palladian House in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains, you will find a sublime blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes together with secret hollows, rambling walks and over 200 varieties of trees and shrubs. Shortly after this, you will arrive at the ancient monastic settlement at Glendalough. The monastic settlement has been a centre for pilgrims and visitors since its foundation by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Continue on to Avoca where you will find the Avoca Handweavers factory, famed worldwide for the quality of its woven fabrics. On to the Dunbrody Famine ship in New Ross before the final leg to Waterford City and the Waterford Crystal Interpretive centre.
While you may wish to relax in Waterford city and soak up the Viking heritage, or take a short drive out to the quaint picturesque fishing village of Dunmore East. You have the opportunity to travel inland to the county of Tipperary and visit two historic sites today. First of these is the Rock of Cashel. Cashel was once the seat of the Kings of Munster and capital of this southern province. Kings of Ireland as well as Munster came to this spot and St. Patrick is known to have preached on the rock and converted the local King, Aenghus, here in the 5th Century. Ireland’s most famous High King Brian Boru also used this location from which to continuously thwart the Viking raiders. Next stop is Cahir Castle, once an important stronghold of the powerful Butler family, which retains its impressive keep, tower and much of its original defensive structure. It is one of Ireland’s largest and best-preserved castles.
You will have quite a long journey today from Waterford to Kenmare. The following route includes visits to Midleton, Youghal & Cobh. Youghal is famous for its point lace (point d'Irlande) which is distinguished by its vivid patterns as well as the fact that the film ‘Moby Dick’ starring Gregory Peck was filmed here in 1956. After Youghal, you will travel to the village of Cobh. Cobh, situated on one of the world’s largest natural harbours, was the last port of call for the ill-fated Titanic in 1912 and was the closest port to the site of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. The heritage centre sympathetically recounts these events and tells the story of emigration from Ireland to the United States and Australia from the time of the famine in 1847 up to the 1950s. A stop to climb to the Blarney Castle ramparts to ‘Kiss the Blarney Stone’, said to bestow the gift of eloquence, and is a must for those who dare. Across the village green you will find the Blarney Woolen Mills store, a one stop shop for Irish knitwear, crystal, linen and much more. From here you will travel to Kenmare. Kenmare is an excellent location from which to tour the Ring of Kerry or indeed the less travelled but unspoilt Beara Peninsula to the south of Kenmare.
Kenmare is the perfect base for you to tour the famous Ring of Kerry, which is a journey through some of Ireland’s most outstanding scenery around the Iveragh Peninsula. Stunning mountain and coastal scenery combined with colourful towns and villages will make this journey one of the highlights of your vacation. For those who wish to take a rest from driving we can pre-arrange a coach tour through this route from Killarney. Muckross House is a stop on your route that you are sure to visit. Muckross House is a wonderful Victorian manor built in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert. The location of the House is impressive, close to the eastern shore of Muckross Lake and set below the impressive backdrop of the Torc and Mangerton Mountains. As a substitute to the Ring of Kerry tour you may prefer to take a wonderful tour by pony and trap that takes you through the Black Valley in the Gap of Dunloe and after a snack at Lord Brandon’s Cottage, you can return to Killarney by boat via the beautiful Lakes of Killarney. This evening you will spend another fabulous overnight stay in the luxury Kenmare Park Hotel, perhaps tonight enjoying a sumptuous dinner in the George Bernard Shaw restaurant. Named after the Irish playwright who famously said ‘there is no sincerer love than the love of food.
Today your journey brings you to Co. Clare to Dromoland Castle. From Kenmare travel to Killarney and onwards the village of Adare in County Limerick. Adare is regarded by many a seasoned traveller as Ireland’s prettiest village with its charming thatched cottages, manicured public park and ancient church. After leaving Adare travel along the N20 towards Limerick City of ‘Angelas Ashes’ fame and home to King Johns Castle. From here continue to Bunratty where you can visit Bunratty Castle. Built in 1425, this majestic castle was restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendour. Within the grounds of the Castle is Bunratty Folk Park where 19th century Irish life is vividly recreated. Continue from here to Newmarket-On-Fergus where the Castle is located. Dromoland Castle, one of finest castle hotels in Ireland, offers guests the experience of living like landed gentry, surrounded by luxury, beauty and service. The castle, a magnificent Renaissance structure built in the 16th Century, was once the royal seat of the O'Brien Clan. Refurbished and transformed into a luxury castle hotel in 1962, it retains priceless reminders of the castle's historic past.
This morning travel to the magnificent ‘Cliffs of Moher’. The majestic Cliffs of Moher are without doubt one of Ireland’s most spectacular sights and overlook the Atlantic Ocean and the Aran Islands on the coast of West Clare. Just north of the cliffs is the village of Doolin. Doolin is world-famous for its wealth of Irish folk music and in recent years has been attracting crowds to spontaneous sessions in any one of its excellent pubs. You then have the lunar like Burren region and the ancient Poulnabrone Dolmen Tombs nearby. An alternative to walking the cliffs and Burren region is to see them from the sea. With an early start, you may take the ferry to the Aran Islands from Doolin Pier. Aran will take you back to an Ireland of Celts and Early Christians. Take a pony and trap, or a guided tour from the pier up the island to the stone fort of Dun Aonghus. The fort is located on top of a 300ft high sea cliff and is one of the finest prehistoric monuments in Western Europe. This evening, perhaps attend the Bunratty Castle Medieval banquet just 10 minutes from Dromoland.
From Dromoland Castle travel less than an hour north to Galway City. Galway City, known as the ‘City of the Tribes’ is Ireland’s Cultural and festival capital. Sites in Galway include Ireland’s largest medieval parish church, the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas of Myra dating back to 1320. Christopher Columbus reputedly worshipped in this church in 1477. Also nearby are Galway Cathedral, the Spanish Arch and Eyre Square. On to Ashford Castle. At Ashford Castle, each guest room is individually designed to provide stylish personal comforts, from the marble fittings of bathrooms to soft coordinated fabrics and furnishings. Ashford Castle’s spacious suites allow an abundance of time to relax in a grand manner and experience the tranquillity which nature provides.
While there are plenty of activities in and around the Castle Estate to keep you entertained including golf, falconry, clay pigeon archery, bicycle hire and water sports, if you decide to tour the area surrounding the Castle, you will not be short of things to see. Take a cruise on Lough Corrib and visit the ancient ruins on Inchagoill Island, the ferry terminal for which can be found near the village of Cong. Also in the village you can take the Quiet Man Tour which visits the film locations and settings used in the making of the epic film starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara – The Quiet Man. You could easily travel south to Clifden which is the principle town of Connemara. Here you can peruse the local shops including sweater shops, quality gift shops, enticing boutiques, antique shops as well as many quirky souvenir shops. If not already visited, Kylemore Abbey may also be on your visit list! Known as Ireland’s most romantic Castle the grounds also contains a Gothic Church and a beautiful Victorian walled garden. Just south of the beautiful town of Westport you will find Croagh Patrick which is known locally as Ireland’s 'Holy Mountain' and according to legend St. Patrick spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting and praying here. Return to Ashford Castle this evening for another overnight stay in your superb castle surroundings!
Today’s journey to Dublin takes in some of Ireland’s most historical landmarks. First of these is the ancient monastic settlement at Clonmacnoise. This is an early Christian site founded by Saint Ciaran in the 6th century on the banks of the River Shannon and includes the ruins of a cathedral, eight, two round towers, three high crosses and a large collection of early Christian grave slabs. From here, we travel either to Dublin or take a slight detour to the megalithic tombs of Newgrange. One of the great wonders of the ancient world, Newgrange is older than Stonehenge, Mycenae or even the Pyramids of Egypt and is foremost among the passage-tombs of Europe. From here, we travel south to Dublin City. Dublin city centre is a compact area, with all points of interest being easily accessible on foot. As a result you will find a large number of walking tours available, the most popular of which include the “Historical Walking Tour” and the “Literary Pub Crawl”. You may of course wish to visit many of the sights in your own time either on foot or with the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus service that stops at all of the major attractions including Dublin Castle, Trinity Castle & the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, the National Museum of Ireland and The Guinness Storehouse to name just a few.
There is no better place to start your honeymoon tour of Ireland, than in our capital city, Dublin! Honeymooners who love theatre, art and music will appreciate their time in Dublin. Stroll around Trinity College, one of Dublin’s most famous buildings which educated the likes of Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett. Catch a show in Dublin’s famous Abbey theatre or soak up the atmosphere in one of Dublin’s famous music pubs such as the Cobblestone and the Auld Dubliner. These are just some of the many things to do in Dublin city, your Irish Tourism detailed itinerary will provide you with many more options. This evening check into Brooks hotel, a contemporary but luxurious four star hotel, close to Dublin’s many touring attractions.
Book any of our wonderful self-drive vacation packages before the 31st of May 2024 to receive a 15% discount off your tour price!
This offer cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts or special event packages.
Below, you will find a price for this self drive tour including your car rental. Pricing for other accommodation and transport options is also available upon request. Please also note that all of our driving tours itineraries and sightseeing guides are available to those wishing to avail of one of our experienced driver guides.
Accommodation Type | Tour With Standard Rooms | Tour With Deluxe Rooms |
---|---|---|
Jan-Mar & Nov-Dec | €3,059 | €4,348 |
April & October | €4,090 | €5,435 |
May-June | €4,790 | €6,390 |
July -September | €4,790 | €6,390 |
Notes
Prices in other currencies are indicative only. Please note that we charge in Euro.
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