Irish Legends Tour
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Day 1 –Sun: Depart U.S. for Dublin
Board your aircraft and settle down for an overnight flight across the Atlantic with inflight meals and entertainment.
Day 2 - Mon: Dublin Tour & Kilmainham Gaol
Arrive at Dublin Airport, reclaim your baggage and head 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. Passengers arriving later will transfer to the hotel at their own expense. At 2:00 pm a local tour guide will introduce you to Dublin's River Liffey, the wide O'Connell Street, tranquil St. Stephen's Green, the seat of government at Leinster House and other public buildings. See some of the elegant Georgian houses for which the city is famous and visit Kilmainham Gaol to understand the penal system in times past. See where many of Ireland's leaders, including Robert Emmett, Eamon DeValera and Padraig Pearse, were imprisoned while striving to create an independent nation. Enjoy a welcome get-together drink with your fellow travelers in the Bleeding Horse Pub, next door to your hotel.
Day 3 Tue: Boyne Valley & Abbey Tavern
This morning visit the Boyne Valley visitor Center to learn about the ancient burial tombes of Newgrange and Knowth and tour one of them. Return to Dublin and take an open-top bus tour with a visit to Guinness or Jameson. This evening drive to the Abbey Tavern for a Hearty dinner and traditional Irish songs.
Day 4 - Wed: National Stud & Kilkenny
Depart Dublin this morning and travel to Kildare and visit the Irish National Stud & Japanese Gardens. As a nation, the Irish are very interested in horses and the Stud will tell you about the valuable breeding industry. See some of the magnificent horses before taking a walk around the delightful Japanese Gardens, established a century ago. Continue to Kilkenny, a medieval city where narrow streets still follow the ancient layout but are lined with attractive stores and restaurants. Drive to your country home, meet your host family and settle in for a 2-night stay. Enjoy a home-style dinner and learn about life in rural Ireland. (B, D)
Day 5 - Thu: Titanic Tour & Blarney
Travel south, pausing for photos at the Rock of Cashel, a magnificent collection of ruins perched on a rocky outcrop. Continue to Cobh, the main port for emigration from the 18th to mid-20th centuries. Take a "Titanic" walking tour to discover places, including the docks, associated with the famous liner which made its last scheduled stop in Cobh. Take a short drive to Blarney to visit the Blarney Woollen Mills, which offer excellent Irish-made products. If you wish, you may climb Blarney Castle on your own to gain the "Gift of Eloquence" or walk around the village green. Drive through Macroom to Killarney and check into your hotel in the center of town. (B, D)
Day 6 - Fri: Dingle Peninsula
Today discover the glorious Dingle Peninsula as you drive past heathery mountains and sandy beaches. Stop in Dingle before continuing to the Blasket Center in Dunquin to learn about the offshore Blasket Islands. Return to Killarney and enjoy free time to relax or walk around town. (B,D)
Day 7 – Sat: Flying Boat Museum & Cliffs of Moher
Leave Killarney head North to visit the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, which recalls the ealy days of air travel when Pan Am Clippers landed here. Travel to the village of Bunratty, before viewing the Cliffs of Moher, majestic walls of rock which extend five miles along the coast. Walk up to O'Brien's Tower for the best views and also catch a glimpse of the Aran Islands. Drive through part of the Burren, a unique region of rounded limestone hills, where rare wildflowers thrive in sheltered crevices. There are many prehistoric dolmens, large capstones erected on two uprights. Travel into the city of Galway and take a look around the city center before checking into your hotel. (B, D)
Day 8 - Sun: Aran Islands & Dun Aengus
Take a short ferry ride from Rossaveal to Inis Mor, the largest of the three Aran Islands. These rocky islands are renowned for the hardy islanders who maintained traditional fishing and farming methods and where the popular intricately-patterned fishermen's sweaters originated. The Irish language is still spoken widely. Take a minibus ride to Dun Aengus, a huge pre-historic fortress perched on sheer cliffs, which fall away to the Atlantic below. In Kilronan, the main town, visit the Aran Heritage Centre to learn about unique local customs before returning by ferry to the mainland. Enjoy some leisure time and dine with your group in the hotel once more. (B, D)
Day 9 -Mon: Stokestown Park House & Dunboyne Castle
Visit the 18th Century Stokestown Park House and spen time in the famine Museum with its many documents relating to the 1840's. Drive to Dunboyne Castle Hotel, oon the outskirts of Dublin. Check in and relax brfoe enjoying a farewell dinner with yur group.(B,D)
Day 10 - Tue: Return Home from Dublin
Complimentary group transfers are provided to Dublin Airport. After check-in, you'll have time to shop at the duty-free stores before U.S. Immigration pre-clearance and boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)
B=Breakfast, CB=Continental Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner