We had a wonderful time! This was the first time I've traveled out of the country and wasn't sure how the trip would go. I was nervous, but everything went as planned. Tina did a terrific job and I ha Read more »
I wrote a review a year ago. Just want to re-emphasize, 15 months later, how grateful I am to Linda Larkin for organizing an absolutely wonderful trip. Our hotel in Port Rush was a bit worn but not a Read more »
I am writing to highly praise Irish Tourism. Our agent, Linda Larkin, provided a high level of customer service as we planned our tour to Ireland. She was very thoughtful and helpful. I also want t Read more »
The staff at Irish Tourism is extraordinary! My friends and I found ourselves in Ireland when the travel ban began. Maria and everyone at Irish Tourism worked hard to ensure we had places to stay, eve Read more »
Your tour begins in Dublin where we pay a visit to the National Museum of Decorative Arts. Here you can catch a glimpse of how Irish people in the past lived through their clothing and textiles. The next day in Dublin we will have a ‘knitting with wire’ workshop and you will be introduced to Tunisian crochet with one of our expert designers. Leaving Dublin, we will head for Connemara in the West of Ireland. Connemara is characterised by coastal coves and bays, fishing villages and by its vast expanse of mountainous scenery. Before we leave Galway we will enjoy a knitting workshop with Anne O’Maille of Ó'Máilles of Galway. Established in 1938, this shop became famous in the 1950s for outfitting the entire cast of the film The Quiet Man. The next two days of your trip will be spent on Inis Oirr (Inisheer), one of the famous Aran Islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay. You will enjoy knitting and dyeing workshops and learn the traditional methods and stitches the Aran Island way! Your time on the islands will include sightseeing and even a bit of Irish music and dance! The next part of the tour takes place in the south of Ireland where we visit the famous Ring of Kerry with its stunning ocean vistas and we will enjoy a knitting workshop with Carol Feller and Liz Spillane. Return to Dublin via the famous Blarney Castle where legend has it if you kiss the stone you will never be lost for words and have as the Irish say, ‘the gift of the gab’!
The group meets up with the guide at 6.30pm in the bar of The Abbey Hotel in the centre of Donegal Town (ph 074-9721014). This is our meeting point only and not where we will be staying. If you are unexpectedly delayed please call the hotel and leave a message for the guide as to when you expect to arrive. After an introductory talk, an evening meal is organised in the hotel bar while your luggage is being transferred to our central guesthouse accommodation in Donegal that night. There is a chance later on this evening to meet again in a local pub to hear some music.
After being fitted out with your bike you then begin the tour with a cycle out of Donegal town towards the wonderful coastline where we continue to our lunch stop in village of Carrick. After lunch we cycle up to a viewing point of the spectacular Slieve League Cliffs one of the highest marine based cliffs in Europe. In the afternoon we head to our night stop in the village of Glencolumcille passing freshly cut peat drying in the surrounding bogs.
Today we head up into wild highland country along quiet back roads with a wonderful open landscape. There follows a wonderful descent down the dramatic Glengesh Valley to the beautiful Maghera beach. The beach is well worth stopping at for a walk across its wonderful white sands to explore the caves of Maghera. You can also go for a swim in the lagoon here and pretend you are in the Caribbean(!) before heading to the village of Ardara for a pub lunch. In the afternoon we continue along a quiet bog road before heading to the coastal town of Dungloe where again we stay in local guesthouses.
We continue through a rolling landscape through quiet sleepy villages and can visit Leo's pub where Enya and Clannad first sang. Later we cycle toward the spectacular Mount Errigal and stop for lunch at the base of this mountain. In the afternoon we cycle up to take in a view of the Poison Glen and then descend through an empty mountainscape towards Dunfanaghy. You also have the option of visiting Glenveagh National Park in the afternoon.
The hotel overlooks Portnablagh Beach and dunes where you can swim, swing a golf club or saddle-up for a gallop down along the beach.
The morning’s cycle takes you through isolated highland country roads with a worthwhile detour to Doe Castle. We stop for lunch in Downings on the Rosguill Peninsula. A roller coaster ride around the coast affords spectacular views of white sandy beaches as we wend our way down to our evenings accommodation in the town of Ramelton.
Today we cycle the beautiful and remote Fanad Pennisula stopping for lunch in Port Salon. We continue along the shores of Lough Swilly through Rathmullan from where the last Earls of Ireland fled to Europe in 1607, thus ending the old Irish Order. The final leg of the cycle brings us to Rathmelton where we will then transfer you back to Donegal town for a farewell night on the town together before heading home the following morning.
Do you have a partner or friend that doesn't knit? They are welcome to come along, ask our sales representatives about our non-knitter discount!
Accommodation Type | Price |
---|---|
Price per person sharing | €990 |
Single Supplement | €281 |
Notes
Package A
Package B
Prices in other currencies are indicative only. Please note that we charge in Euro.
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