Country Roads of Ireland - End Belfast, Small Group, Winter

Country Roads of Ireland - End Belfast, Small Group, Winter

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12 Days
From

$4244

$4231

Country Roads of Ireland - End Belfast, Small Group, Winter

12 Days Starting in Dublin and ending in Belfast

Visiting: Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Cahir, Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, Adare, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Londonderry, Giant's Causeway, Ballygalley, Antrim Coast, Belfast

Tour operator:

Insight Vacations

Tour code:

SW909ZN18

Guide Type:

Fully Guided

Trip Styles:

Luxury, Small Group

Activities:

Hiking, Walking

From:
$4244
$4231 (USD) Operator discount: -$13

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

Tour Overview

Let the luck of the Irish be with you on this 12-day guided tour across Ireland. Start the tour in Dublin, where you get up close to the Book of Kells, an ancient Gospel manuscript filled with mythical beasts and Celtic knots. In Kilkenny, visit the majestic Kilkenny Castle with a Local Expert. A chef will share traditional Irish recipes at a farm-to-table feast in Killarney. You'll see the Ring of Kerry, a mystical, verdant peninsula dotted with seaside villages. Finally, step onto Giant's Causeway with it's basalt columns carved onto the coast by volcanic lava, or a giant's feet, if Irish myth is to be believed.

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.

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

  • : 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.

  • : "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."

  • : "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."

  • Dublin: Join your Travel Director for a warm and friendly Welcome Dinner, an opportunity to get to know each other over a meal with wine.

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Places You'll See

Cliffs Of Moher

Itinerary

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Day 1: Welcome To Dublin
Location: Dublin
Accommodation: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin.
Meals Included: Dinner with Wine

On arrival at Dublin airport, transfers leave 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, with the opportunity to mingle and get to know each other over a meal with wine.

Day 2: In Dublin’S Fair City Relaxed Start
Location: Dublin
Accommodation: Trinity City Hotel, Dublin., Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Accompanied by a Local Expert, become acquainted with Dublin’s elegant squares during an orientation of the city. Discover Custom House, 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.

Day 3: A Journey From Dublin To Cork
Location: Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Cahir, Cork
Accommodation: Hotel, Maldron South Mall Cork City.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Travel to the medieval city of Kilkenny to visit the majestic Kilkenny Castle. With a Local Expert, learn how the castle was built in 1195 after the Norman Conquest of Ireland and admire its beautifully restored Victorian era rooms. Continue through Cahir and see its imposing 13th century castle, featured in the film 'Excalibur', on the way to Cork. On arrival, your Travel Director will show you around the compact university city, with its vibrant waterfront and grand Georgian parades.

Day 4: Across The Mountains To Killarney Relaxed Start
Location: Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney
Accommodation: Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Travel to the ruined Blarney Castle. Will you hang upside down from the ramparts to kiss the stone and ensure a lifetime of eloquence? Or enjoy a sensory walk in the extensive and varied estate gardens. Travel across the majestic Derrynasaggart Mountains to the lively town of Killarney. For your Farm-to-Table dining experience, enjoy some Irish home cooking in the kitchens of chef John Sheehan. Join John and Freda, your hosts at the 19th Green Guesthouse, and savour the delicious flavours of fresh local cuisine on this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Gather together at a Farm-to-Table dinner, using responsibly sourced ingredients from the local community, and gain personal insight into classic Irish recipes that are loved throughout the world.

Day 5: Ring Of Kerry Experience Relaxed Start
Location: Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Killarney
Accommodation: Killarney Plaza Hotel and Spa.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Start your day 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. Explore around the magnificent Ring of Kerry. Here, mountains, valleys, lakes and sea blend into a landscape that is breathtaking beyond words. Journey past lush lakelands and around towering cliffs as you appreciate sweeping sea views. Continue through delightful villages like Sneem and cross the peat bogs of the Black Mountains to Moll’s Gap to admire Queen Victoria’s Ladies View. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure. Maybe take the opportunity to hire a bicycle and enjoy one of the many scenic trails around the lake or through the National Park.

Day 6: Around The Dingle Peninsula
Location: Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Adare
Accommodation: Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel & Spa, Limerick.
Meals Included: Breakfast

In the morning, take to the wide skies, peaceful towns and coastal scenery of the Dingle Peninsula - the setting for the film Ryan’s Daughter. Drive to dramatic Slea Head at the peninsula’s far end, then continue through the picturesque thatched village of Adare before reaching your hotel.

Day 7: The Cliffs Of Moher And Galway
Ethan
Location: Adare, Cliffs of Moher, Galway
Accommodation: Harbour Hotel Galway.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Journey to the Visitor Centre at the 700-foot Cliffs of Moher. Enjoy breathtaking views of the Clare Coast before a delightful drive through the strange, rocky landscape of the Burren to Galway Bay. On arrival, see the Lynch Memorial and Church of St. Nicholas, where Christopher Columbus reputedly prayed before his voyages to America. See the Spanish Arch and Eyre Square, dedicated to the late US President, John F. Kennedy.

Day 8: Free Day Galway Or Kylemore Abbey Relaxed Start
Location: Galway
Accommodation: Harbour Hotel Galway.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Spend a day at leisure to relax and enjoy Galway. Perhaps join an Optional Experience to Kylemore Abbey, fo unded for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I?

Day 9: Londonderry
Location: Galway, Londonderry
Accommodation: Maldron Hotel Derry, Londonderry.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Admire the Blue Stack Mountains of Donegal as you cross into Northern Ireland, bound for the ancient walled city of 'Derry.' What better way to experience sightseeing than with one of Northern Ireland's best storytellers, Ronan, as he takes you on a tour inside the city walls, still topped with cannons. Walk down steep Shipquay Street, with its elegant Georgian houses, to the Gothic Guildhall.

Day 10: Walk In The Giant’S Steps Relaxed Start
Location: Londonderry, Giant's Causeway, Ballygalley
Accommodation: Ballygally Castle Hotel, Co. Antrim.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Journey to the iconic Giant's Causeway for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Learn how the National Trust is enabling farming and biodiversity to work together, supporting both wildlife and quality food production. Next, prepare yourself for miles of breathtaking beauty as you travel along the road clinging to the Antrim Coast. Continue onto your hotel, overlooking Ballygally Bay. For those who are brave enough, perhaps check out The Ghost Room, in one of the castle’s turrets? In the evening, please join us for a finale Celebration Dinner, where old-fashioned hospitality is blended with good food and wine for an experience that delights the senses.

Day 11: The Antrim Coast To Belfast Relaxed Start
Location: Ballygalley, Antrim Coast, Belfast
Accommodation: Europa Hotel, Belfast.
Meals Included: Breakfast

Continue around the Antrim Coast, past the huge Norman castle at Carrickfergus, to arrive in the Northern Ireland capital of Belfast. Meet Hilda, your Local Expert, for a passionate city tour including views of the City Hall, Queen's University, the Parliament Building at Stormont and murals in different locations indicating political sentiments of local residents.

Day 12: Depart Belfast
Location: Belfast
Meals Included: Breakfast

Departure transfers arrive at Belfast George Best City Airport at 08:00 and Belfast International Airport at 08:45.

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.

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

Reviews of this Operator

Peggy Lindenborn  

Country Roads of Southern Italy and Sicily

02-Nov-2021

Country Roads of Southern Italy and Sicily is a delightful trip and our travel guides and driver, Enzo, Chris and Greg were amazing and made the trip very memorable. We saw so many places and had great experiences along the way! Thanks to them for such a wonderful vacation.!

Feefo Trusted Reviews
Trusted Customer  

Best of Spain & Portugal

11-Jan-2023

Great itinerary, good pace, tour director was friendly and very knowledgeable and organised. Bus was very spacious and driver was great. Yes would recommend insight to friends and families

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Jacqueline Thornberry  

Scenic Iceland and the Northern Lights

31-Oct-2021

The number is our group was small which meant we got to know each other. Our tour guide, Laura Spiers, was excellent as was our driver. The food was good, and of course everything we saw in Iceland was beautiful and educational.

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Kathryn Ronca  

Enchanting Canyonlands

08-Nov-2021

The trip was fantastic. Everything was well planned and exceeded my expectations. All insight personal were courteous helpful and professional Ann Manual and Kevin were a topnotch team There was attention to every detail and at all times felt safe and always a personal touch to the trip. The motor coach was clean and roomy and there was multiple wipe downs during the day All hotels were top notch and all staff at the hotels and restaurants were helpful and courteous I would recommend this trip as it gave you a fantastic view of the natural wonders of the the West.

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Patrick Ong  

Italian Intermezzo

12-Jan-2023

This trip is absolutely amazing! Worth every Penny! Our Tour guide did not Disappoint.

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Dates & Availability

Instant Booking Available

Monday - Friday

Apr 22, 2024 - May 03, 2024
$4244 $4231 (USD)

Operator discount: -$13 (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.