Best of Ireland & Scotland - Small Group

Best of Ireland & Scotland - Small Group

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14 Days From

$7825

$6188

Best of Ireland & Scotland - Small Group

14 Days Starting in Dublin and ending in Edinburgh

Visiting: Dublin, Kildare, Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Connemara, Sligo Bay, Londonderry, Giant's Causeway, Ballygalley, Cairnryan, Ardgowan House, Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, Inverness, Culloden, Blair Atholl, St Andrews, Edinburgh

Tour operator:

Insight Vacations

Tour code:

SB935ZN19

Guide Type:

Fully Guided

Activities:

Hiking, Walking

From:
$7825
$6188 (USD) Operator discount: -$1637 -21%

This tour is no longer available, please see similar tours below or send an enquiry

Tour Overview

Experience centuries of rich Gaelic history as you take High-Tea at the Ardgowan Estate near Glasgow and see the Queen’s residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Glencoe offers a glimpse of Britain’s highest mountain Ben Nevis ahead of a cruise on Loch Ness and the chance to seek out Scotland’s most infamous bonnie monster. Up in the highlands, a whiskey tasting at a distillery, to uncork tales of smugglers before the vacation embarks on a grand tour of the Scottish capital. Edinburgh doesn’t disappoint with the Royal Mile, home to Edinburgh Castle, Scotland’s Crown Jewels and the Scottish Parliament. Not to be outdone, Dublin impresses with the cobbled courtyards of Trinity College and the millennia old Book of Kells.

Highlights

  • Choose between two carefully selected activities

  • Killarney: Enjoy a memorable ride on a horse-drawn jaunting car with the local jarveys as you explore the lush scenery of Killarney National Park.

  • Killarney: Join a gentle hike with a nature guide in Killarney National Park and admire stunning mountains, lakes, woods and waterfalls. Stroll along the lake shore and past the impressive 15th Century Ross Castle and the famous Muckross Estate, a charming 19th Century mansion and grounds. Alternatively, enjoy a memorable ride on a horse-drawn jaunting car with the local jarveys.

  • : Enjoy the comfort of Insight's luxurious, air-conditioned, 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.

  • : Experience enhanced hygiene protocols to align with the latest guidance following COVID-19.All Travel Directors, Well-Being Directors and Drivers have completed training in enhanced well-being and hygiene protocols.

  • : We only work with establishments we are confident will consistently adhere to our high well-being standards, which include hotels, restaurants and sight-seeing venues.

  • : Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

  • : "Towering mountains, glittering lochs, beautiful forests, crumbling toothy ancient castles, rushing rivers, grand vistas, clear air... there's nowhere else like the Highlands, in how it looks but also how it feels: strong, bright, impressive and light."

  • : "The trick to really connecting with Ireland is not taking the Irish weather too seriously. If you don't like it, give it a few minutes and it's bound to change."

  • : "One person my guests love to meet is a real musician because they love Irish music and love to experience it in its own land."

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Places You'll See

Cliffs Of Moher

Itinerary

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Day 1: Welcome To Dublin

Location: Dublin

Accommodation: Clayton Hotel Charlemont, Dublin.

Meals Included: Dinner with Wine

On arrival at Dublin airport, your airport transfer service leaves for your hotel at 08:30, 11:00 and 13:00. Join your Travel Director at 18:00 for a warm and friendly Welcome Dinner, an opportunity to get to know each other over a meal with wine at your hotel.

Day 2: In Dublin’S Fair City

Location: Dublin

Accommodation: Clayton Hotel Charlemont, Dublin.

Meals Included: Breakfast

An orientation with your Local Expert will take you past the Custom House and travel along the River Liffey. See the Guinness Brewery, Christchurch Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Enjoy entrance to the 9th century Book of Kells and a walk through the cobbled courtyards of Trinity College to gain insight into the establishment's impressive history.

Day 3: Kildare And Cork

Location: Dublin, Kildare, Cork

Accommodation: Maldron Hotel South Mall Cork City.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Witness life behind the scenes of the National Stud Farm, where many legendary racehorses are bred. Then see the finest Japanese gardens in Europe, where the gardens portray the symbolism of life and trace the journey of a soul, designed by master horticulturists, Tassa and Minoru Eida. Continue on to Cork, Ireland's second most populous city, built on the River Lee. Travel along Grand Parade to see Cork's City Hall and Georgian Buildings.

Day 4: Blarney Castle And Killarney Relaxed Start

Location: Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney

Accommodation: Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Visit the ruined 15th century Blarney Castle, home of the famous Stone of Eloquence - once kissed, never forgotten! Or enjoy a sensory walk in the extensive and varied estate gardens. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure.

Day 5: Ring Of Kerry Experience Relaxed Start

Location: Killarney, Ring of Kerry

Accommodation: Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Explore Killarney with Insight Choice. Choose a memorable ride on a horse-drawn jaunting car with the local jarveys. Alternatively, join a gentle hike with a Local Expert along the lake shore and past the grounds of Ross Castle, admiring the incredible scenery of the National Park. While there aren't any mountains to climb, walkers should be fit, have good walking shoes or boots, sunscreen and rain gear. Tour the superb seascapes, towering cliffs and spectacular mountains of the Ring of Kerry. Journey past lush lakelands and through delightful villages like Sneem. Cross the peat bogs of the Black Mountains to Moll's Gap and admire Queen Victoria's Ladies View. Upon returning in the mid-afternoon, the rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 6: The Cliffs Of Moher

Ethan

Location: Killarney, Cliffs of Moher, Galway

Accommodation: The Galmont Hotel & Spa, Galway.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Begin the day with a short ferry ride across the Shannon estuary. Enjoy magnificent views of the Clare coast, as you journey to the Visitors' Centre at the 700-foot Cliffs of Moher.Continue on to your hotel, located at the heart of the Wild Atlantic Way. Join your Travel Director in Galway to see the infamous Lynch Memorial and the Church of St. Nicholas, where Christopher Columbus reputedly prayed before his discovery of America. Also see the aged Spanish Arch and Eyre Square, dedicated to the late US President, John F. Kennedy.

Day 7: Glorious Galway To Sligo Bay Relaxed Start

Location: Galway, Connemara, Sligo Bay

Accommodation: Clayton Hotel, Sligo., Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Tour the wild Connemara region, a scenic wonderland of rivers, lakes and silent hills.Drive along the scenic shores of Sligo Bay.

Day 8: Walk In The Giant’S Steps

Location: Sligo Bay, Londonderry, Giant's Causeway, Ballygalley

Accommodation: Ballygally Castle Hotel, Co. Antrim.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Cross into Northern Ireland to visit Londonderry. What better way to experience sightseeing than with one of Northern Ireland's best storytellers, Ronan, as he walks with you inside the city walls, still topped with cannons. Walk down steep Shipquay Street, with its elegant Georgian houses, to the Gothic Guildhall. Journey to the iconic Giant's Causeway for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. This geological masterpiece was created by the cooling of lava which burst through the earth's crust millions of years ago. Learn how the National Trust is enabling farming and biodiversity to work together, supporting both wildlife and quality food production. Next, take a spectacular drive along the Antrim Coast to your hotel, overlooking the sea at the head of Ballygally Bay.

Day 9: High Tea At Ardgowan Estate Relaxed Start

Location: Ballygalley, Cairnryan, Ardgowan House, Glasgow

Accommodation: Hotel, Radisson Blu Glasgow.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Afternoon Tea

Cross the Irish Sea by ferry and journey to Ardgowan. Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart welcomes you to his family castle, set on a 10,000-acre coastal estate. Explore the history of the area and learn the Shaw Stewart family's conservation efforts to protect the land on this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, followed by delightful traditional Scottish tea and scones. Continue to Glasgow where your Travel Director will show you the city's grand public buildings, including George Square and St. Mungo's Cathedral.

Day 10: Glencoe And Loch Ness

Location: Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, Inverness

Accommodation: Hotel, Kingsmills Inverness.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner, with Wine

A scenic drive takes you along the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond. Absorb the dramatic landscape of Glencoe, still echoing with the cries of massacred clansmen. Pause at the Commando Memorial for a view of Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis before reaching the Great Glen. Continue on to Loch Ness and embark on a cruise to soak up the scenery, historic monuments and intriguing tales of Nessie in the heart of Scotland's great glen.

Day 11: A Highlands Experience Relaxed Start

Location: Inverness, Culloden

Accommodation: Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

In the morning, see the sights of Inverness, before travelling to the Culloden Moor Visitor Centre, where Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite army was finally defeated. Then have a 'wee dram' during a visit to a local distillery, hear stories of the whisky smugglers as you delve into the fascinating world of the single malt.

Day 12: St. Andrews And Edinburgh

Location: Inverness, Blair Atholl, St Andrews, Edinburgh

Accommodation: Hotel, Sheraton Grand & Spa Edinburgh.

Meals Included: Breakfast

A scenic drive takes you through the Grampian Mountains past the Duke of Atholl's Blair Castle. Drive down and cross the Tay to visit St. Andrews. As you arrive, pass the Old Course, the home of golf since its invention in the 15th century. Enjoy free time to explore. Why not wander to St. Andrews University where the love story of Kate Middleton and Prince William began? Alternately, stroll to West Sands Beach where the famous 'Chariots of Fire' scene was filmed. Continue across the majestic Forth Road Bridge to the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. In the evening, select departures attend The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Day 13: Scotland’S Capital Of Culture

Location: Edinburgh

Accommodation: Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel., Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

In the morning, join a Local Expert to see the highlights of the city. Drive along Princes Street to the ornate Scott Memorial, then see the 18th century New Town with its neoclassical Georgian facades. In the Old Town see the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official Scottish residence of the King. Venture up the Royal Mile to visit Edinburgh Castle, home of Mons Meg, the Stone of Destiny and Scotland’s Crown Jewels, the Honours of Scotland. In the afternoon, you are at leisure to continue exploring as you wish, or perhaps go shopping. Join your friends in the heart of Edinburgh at a Celebration Dinner of modern Scottish cuisine served with wine.

Day 14: Farewell Edinburgh

Location: Edinburgh

Meals Included: Breakfast

Your journey comes to an end after breakfast with transfers arriving at Edinburgh airport at 06:15 and 09:00.

What's Included

  • Our highly-skilled Travel Director will ensure your journey is seamless, serving as your expert guide, consummate organiser, and friend overseas.

  • Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.

  • We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.

  • Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.

  • Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).

  • From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.

  • If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport.

Mode of Transport

Cross the Irish Sea by ferry and journey to Ardgowan. Your journey comes to an end after breakfast with transfers arriving at Edinburgh airport.

Accommodation

Stay at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow, the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness, and the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa in Edinburgh among other comfortable accommodations throughout the tour.

Check out our Q&As

  • Can I join the tour once it has departed?

    We regret that no refunds can be made for absences from a tour, including experiences such as missed meals or sightseeing.

  • How long has the tour company been trading?

    Since 1978.

  • What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?

    Insight Vacations is a founding member of the TreadRight Foundation, a joint initiative created by the brands within The Travel Corporation (TTC) almost 15 years ago to ensure our impact through tourism is positive. Our ethos to #MakeTravelMatter guides our decision-making at every level of our business.

  • Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?

    Yes

  • Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?

    You have two options as a solo traveller. Either choose to be matched with a same sex partner for a room share - at no extra cost. Or choose a room of your own with a reduced or even free private room upgrade on select tours.

  • What policies are in place for Covid-19?

    Please contact us for latest COVID-19 policies

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Dates & Availability

Instant Booking Available

Sunday - Saturday

May 05, 2024 - May 18, 2024
$7825 $6188 (USD)

Operator discount: -$1637 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Sunday - Saturday

May 19, 2024 - Jun 01, 2024
$7825 $7735 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Thursday - Wednesday

Jun 06, 2024 - Jun 19, 2024
$7975 $7885 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Sunday - Saturday

May 04, 2025 - May 17, 2025
$8175 $8085 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Sunday - Saturday

May 18, 2025 - May 31, 2025
$8175 $8085 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Thursday - Wednesday

Jun 05, 2025 - Jun 18, 2025
$8325 $8235 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Tuesday - Monday

Jun 17, 2025 - Jun 30, 2025
$8395 $8305 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Tuesday - Monday

Jul 15, 2025 - Jul 28, 2025
$8425 $8335 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Instant Booking Available

Thursday - Wednesday

Sep 11, 2025 - Sep 24, 2025
$8350 $8260 (USD)

Operator discount: -$90 (USD)

Book with Confidence

  • Low Deposit

    Insight Vacations requires a minimum deposit of 350 USD per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 90 days before departure.

  • Cancellation Policy

    We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of insight vacations charges.

    Up to 91 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.

    At 90 days before tour starts: Forfeit 50% of booking price.

    At 29 days before tour starts: Forfeit 80% of booking price.

    At 1 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.