Celebrating 70 Years
Of Great Vacations

ESCORTED COACH TOURS - IRELAND

From $1,362
(Including Land & Air)

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Jurys Irish Cabaret Dinner & Show
• Pub Dinner & Music at Padraicins
• Laurels Pub Ballads
• Tea & Scones at a Sheep Farm
• Lough Erne Cruise
• Kilkea Castle Dinner & Overnight
• Clontarf Castle Extension

Click on the phrases below for full details:

• Your Day-by-Day Itinerary
• What Your Tour Includes
• Your Hotels
• Departure Dates & Rates
• Early Payment Discount
• General Conditions for All Tours

"The Irish Explorer was our very first trip to Ireland and it surpassed all expectations! Our travel agent advised that CIE Tours was the best touring company for Ireland. Thanks for a well-organized, well-paced itinerary and a great stay at Kilkea Castle. Also our tour director made the trip very enjoyable with his information, history and good humor."
~ Orlando & Rosemary L., Albuquerque NM

Day 1: Depart U.S. for Dublin
Welcome aboard your overnight flight to Dublin. Dinner and continental breakfast are served on board.

Day 2: Dublin Arrival & Jurys Cabaret
Arrive at Dublin Airport in the morning, pass through immigration and collect your luggage. Head to the CIE Tours desk in the Arrivals Hall to arrange a hotel transfer between 7:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later than noon you will transfer to the hotel at your own expense. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure to relax after your journey or do some exploring on your own. Chat with your tour guide and fellow travelers over a welcome drink. Dine at Jurys Irish Cabaret in your hotel and enjoy a lively program filled with dance, song and storytelling. (D)

Day 3: Dublin's Highlights
This morning discover the delights of central Dublin with public buildings, elegant Georgian townhouses and squares as well as modern sculptures and busy shopping hubs. Visit Kilmainham Gaol to see what punishment was like during its years of operation from 1796 to 1924. Learn about political prisoners, especially from the 1916 Rising, detained here because of their efforts to shape Ireland's history. Stop at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, an 8th century illuminated manuscript of the gospels and see the Old Library. Spend the afternoon shopping or sightseeing independently and in the evening you may like to sample Dublin's traditional pubs. (B)

Day 4: Kells Heritage Centre & Lough Erne
Drive to Kells, associated with the Book of Kells which is currently housed in Dublin. Visit the Kells Heritage Centre, located in the newly restored courthouse. "The Splendor of Ireland" exhibit focuses on early Christian Ireland when monasteries were centers of learning and produced decorated Celtic crosses and richly illuminated manuscripts. Continue through farming country to Cavan, a lake-filled region and on through Enniskillen to your manor house hotel located in Killadeas on the shores of Lough Erne. In the afternoon take a short boat ride to view the scenery around the lake including monastic ruins and a round tower on Devinish Island. (B, D)

Day 5: Belleek & Glencolumbcille
Drive around Lough Erne to visit the Belleek Pottery Factory. Founded in 1849 to assist people after the Famine, today this company continues to produce fine china masterpieces. Watch the craftspeople create these decorative items from start to finish. Travel around Donegal Bay and through Donegal town to Killybegs, an important fishing port. Continue through craggy scenery to visit Glencolumbcille Folk Village. Visit traditional cottages showing period furnishings and farming equipment to get a flavor of country life in past centuries. Drive through Glengesh Pass and return to Donegal town. Head back to Killadeas to relax before dinner. (B, D)

Day 6: Yeats' Country & Knock Shrine
Travel to Drumcliffe Visitor Centre to view the grave of W.B. Yeats, the Nobel prizewinning poet, who based much of his work on the natural features around Sligo. Continue south to see the Holy Well and Mass Rock at Tobernault which was used as an open-air church in Penal times and still serves as a place of devotion. Visit the pilgrimage town of Knock, one of the world's leading shrines. Journey south to Galway, the capital of the west of Ireland. Check into your hotel overlooking Galway Bay with views of the Aran Islands and the Burren Country. (B, D)

Day 7: Connemara & Kylemore Abbey
Today tour Connemara and admire the sweeping views of boglands and misty mountains. Stop in the quaint village of Spiddal which retains the Irish language and many traditional lifestyles. Continue to Clifden, a delightful town on the western seaboard. Visit 19th century Kylemore Abbey, now a girls' school run by Benedictine nuns. Stroll around delightful gardens and see the chapel. In Moycullen watch skilled craftsmen cutting fine crystal at the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory. Enjoy a pub dinner with entertainment in the cozy setting of Padraicins, near your hotel on Galway Bay. (B, D)

Day 8: Cliffs of Moher & Killarney
Drive around Galway Bay and through the Burren Country, a unique region of limestone hills renowned for its flora and prehistoric stone monuments. Stop to view the majestic Cliffs of Moher, a rocky wall that rises nearly 700 feet above the foaming Atlantic Ocean. Take a ferry ride across the River Shannon Estuary to the mountainous countryside of Kerry. Arrive in Killarney and check into your hotel in the town center. You will have some time to relax or stroll around town before dinner. (B, D)

Day 9: Ring of Kerry Tour
Enjoy the Ring of Kerry drive where every bend in 100 miles of road reveals breathtaking views of mountains and Atlantic Ocean. Depart Killarney and travel through Killorglin and Cahirciveen. All along the route you will have opportunities to get out of the coach to admire or photograph the scenic vistas. Head back through the attractive village of Sneem and pause at Moll's Gap for a panoramic view of the three lakes of Killarney. Take a guided tour of 19th century Muckross House, an elegant mansion set on the shores of Muckross Lake. After dinner visit the Laurels Pub for a lively session of Irish ballads and step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 10: Blarney Stone & Kilkea Castle
Leave Killarney and drive via Mallow to Blarney, a village of great charm with a spacious central green. Climb the steps of Blarney Castle to kiss the stone located in the battlements and gain "the gift of the gab." Then drive north through pleasant dairy farmlands of Cork. Near Cashel visit a sheep farm for tea and scones and learn about farm life. Continue to Castledermot to check into your special castle hotel in the early afternoon. Enjoy the surroundings and facilities of this wonderful hotel, reputed to be the oldest inhabited castle in Ireland. If you are a golfer, you'll have time to fit in a round before dinner. (B, D)

Day 11: Depart for Home or Dublin
For guests on our 11-day vacation, transfer to Dublin Airport to arrive by 11:00 am. Passengers on our 12-day program (Tour EXB) will visit the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin. Founded in 1795, the gardens contain wonderful Victorian glasshouses which have been restored to their former splendor. Stroll around the many different types of gardens containing numerous collections of plants and trees from all over the world. Check into your hotel — another delightful castle situated overlooking Dublin Bay. Evening at leisure for independent dining. (B)

Day 12: Return to U.S.
Transfer to Dublin Airport by taxi allowing plenty of time to check in for your return flight to the United States. You will have an opportunity to do some last minute shopping in the duty free stores. (B)

What Your Tour Includes

11 days/9 nights/17 meals or 12 days/10 nights/18 meals

• Round trip flights between U.S. & Ireland
• Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Services of a professional Irish tour director
• Superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 9 or 10 nights
• Full Irish breakfast daily (B)
• 8 dinners (D) including
  - Jurys Irish Cabaret and dinner
  - Entertainment and dinner at Padraicins in Galway
  - 6 table d'hote dinners including a farewell dinner at Kilkea Castle
• Welcome get-together drink
• Tea and scones at an Irish sheep farm
• Boat trip on scenic Lough Erne
• Ferry ride across the River Shannon
• Ballad session at the Laurels Singing Pub in Killarney
• Visits and admissions to Kilmainham Gaol, Book of Kells at Trinity College, Kells Heritage Centre, Belleek Pottery Factory, Glencolumbcille Folk Village, Drumcliffe Visitor Centre & W. B. Yeats' Grave, Tobernault Holy Well and Mass Rock, Knock Shrine, Kylemore Abbey, Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory, Cliffs of Moher, Muckross House, Blarney Castle & National Botanic Gardens
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

Your Hotels

Stay at the following (or similar):

• Jurys Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
• Manor House Country Hotel, Killadeas (2 nights)
• Connemara Coast Hotel, Furbo, Galway (2 nights)
• Killarney Avenue Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
• Kilkea Castle Hotel, Castledermot (1 night)
• Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin (1 night - 10 night tour option only)

Departure Dates & Rates

Early Payment Discount

Inclusive air prices reflect savings of between $85 & $170 per person when airfare is paid at least 90 days prior to departure. Book early and save. For travel from Chicago ask about special airfares with Aer Lingus.

General Conditions for All Tours