CDB Option: Day 01,
Saturday:
U.S. to Ireland. Depart U.S. for your overnight flight to
Ireland. Dinner is served on board.
Day 02, Sunday: Dublin.
Morning arrival at Dublin Airport. Having cleared Irish customs
we are greeted by our Celtic Tours driver/guide. Transfers from Dublin Airport
to our hotel are available at approximately 7:30 am and 10:30 am. (Individual
passengers arriving after 10:15 am and before noon, will receive a private
transfer provided you have booked your air with Celtic Tours, otherwise, you
will be required to transfer to the hotel at your own expense.)
Check into our Dublin hotel, with free time to relax. Afternoon departure for a visit to the Whitefriar
Church, which holds the remains of St. Valentine. In 1835 Pope Gregory XVI decided to make the Church a gift of St. Valentine's body. The Whitefriar Shrine
to St. Valentine has been and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for those celebrating love, gained or lost. The Church also has shrines to the Black
Madonna and St. Albert. Next, we visit the famed Guinness Storehouse
to learn about the world famous Irish beer and enjoy a sample brew in the rooftop bar. Have your camera ready for some magnificent panoramic views of Dublin City. Return to our hotel where the evening is free. Overnight in Dublin.
Maldron
Hotel Cardiff Lane.
Day 03, Monday: Dublin
.
Our 12-day CDA passengers will be met at Dublin Airport. Transfers from Dublin
Airport to our hotel are available approximately 7:30 am and 10:30 am. Our
13-Day CDB passengers enjoy the morning free to shop or browse in
Dublin.
All passengers: early afternoon departure for a panoramic tour of
Dublin which shows us statue filled O'Connell St., elegant Georgian Houses and
Trinity
Collegewhere we view the
priceless 8th century manuscript of the Book of Kells. This evening enjoy an
Irish Cabaret show and dinner at the Merry Ploughboy. Overnight in
Dublin.
 Day 04, Tuesday: Dublin - Kilkenny - Cobh - Cork.
Morning departure from Dublin. We travel south to historic Kilkenny for a visit
to Kilkenny Castle. Enjoy some free time to browse in this quaint town before we
continue south to County Cork and visit to Cobh
Heritage Center , which
documents the history of Irish emigration and the story of the ill-fated
superliners—the Lusitania and the Belfast-built Titanic. Cobh was the last port
of call for the Titanic, before she crossed the Atlantic. Dinner and overnight
in Cork. Rochestown
Park Hotel.
Day 05, Wednesday: Cork - Blarney -
Killarney. Leaving our Cork Hotel, we travel to Blarney for an optional
visit to Blarney Castle where we have a optional chance to kiss the famed
Blarney Stone, said to bestow eloquence on all who dare. Optional shopping for
tweeds, knitwear, crystal and china at Blarney Woollen Mills. We travel over the
scenic Cork and Kerry Mountains to Kenmare and the Lakes of Killarney before
descending to Killarney town for dinner and overnight. Optional pub
entertainment in Killarney tonight. - Killarney
Towers.
Day 06, Thursday: Killarney - Dingle
Peninsula. Enjoy the scenic beauty for which this region is renowned
and made famous by such movies as “Ryan's Daughter” and “Far & Away.” See
the long, sandy stretches of Inch Strand and admire views across the bay to the
Iveragh Peninsula. See beehive huts where early Christian monks lived and visit
Gallarus Oratory, dating from the 8th century. Stop for some free time in Dingle
and drive up the Conor Pass for panoramic views before returning to Killarney.
Enjoy dinner at our hotel tonight. Overnight in Killarney.
Day
07, Friday: Killarney - Foynes - Limerick. After breakfast, we depart
Killarney and travel via Tralee and Listowel, home to the late playwrite and
storyteller John B. Keane. Continue on to Tarbert and travel along the Shannon
River to Foynes, a small seaport on the Shannon River. Foynes gained prominence
as the transatlantic stop for the first seaplane service between the U.S. and
Europe. Our visit includes a tour of the Foynes
Flying Boat Museum and the Boeing 314
“Yankee Clipper.” Irish coffee was first introduced here in 1942 by the
restaurant Chef Joe Sheridan. From Foynes, we travel to nearby Limerick for
overnight. Tonight enjoy a Medieval Castle Banquet. Radisson Blu Hotel.
 Day 08,
Saturday: Limerick - Bunratty - Galway - Claremorris. Morning departure
from our Limerick hotel. We travel via Ennis to the scenic Cliffs of Moher,
where we stop for a photo-op. Continue to Ardrahan in County Galway, where we
pause for morning tea/ coffee and scones at Rathbaun
Farms .
Here, we will see a farming family carry out everyday chores, including sheep
shearing and watch as the sheepdogs maneuver the flock. We continue on to
Galway and scenic Galway Bay before reaching our Claremorris, Co Mayo
Hotel for dinner and overnight. McWilliam
Park 
Day 09, Sunday: Claremorris - Knock Shrine - Sligo
- Beleek - Donegal. This morning we travel to nearby Knock Shrine,
where we have approximately 75 minutes free timne to explore and visit the old
church, the cathedral and grounds. Knock is Ireland's National Marian Shrine.
Departing Knock, we travel via Sligo, birthplace of W.B. Yeats to County Donegal
where we cross over the border for a visit to the Belleek Pottery Showroom.
After a short stop, we continue on through Donegal town to Glenveagh Castle and
National Park. Watch out for the Golden Eagles that have returned here to nest.
Then on to our Redcastle
Hotel, overlooking Lough Foyle, for dinner and overnight.
Day
10, Monday: Donegal. Have your cameras ready as you tour
scenic and historic Donegal. Visit Glenveagh Castle and National Park. Watch out
for the Golden Eagles. Continue on via Rathmullen and scenic Lough Swilly
to Buncrana, where we stop and visit the old military fort, Dunree
Fort . Enjoy scenic
views over Lough Swilly. Historical interests here fo back to the Norsemen, the
Angle Normans and the "Flight of the Earls." The fort has many artifacts and
large guns dating from the 20th century. Return to our Redcastle Hotel for
dinner and overnight. 
 Day 11,
Tuesday: Donegal - Coleraine - Giants Causeway - Belfast. Morning
departure from our Donegal hotel. We travel just a few miles to the ferry that
will take us on the short cruise across Lough Foyle to Northern Ireland. We
continue via Coleraine to Portrush on the Atlantic Ocean. We visit the Giants
Causeway Museum, before we are transferred by a small bus to the Giants
Causeway and its volcanic
columns, which were formed over 60 million years ago. Our tour continues along
the scenic Antrim Coast to our Belfast hotel, The
Dunadry, for dinner and overnight.
Day 12, Wednesday:
Belfast - Titanic Tour - Newry - Dublin. This morning we depart on a
historical tour of Belfast and the Titanic
Dock and Pump House where the Titanic and her sister ships,
Britannic and Olympic, were built. The Titanic keel was laid here in 1910. We
will tour the Thompson and Alexandra docks and see the HMS Caroline, one of the
last remaining ships from WWI. Inside the pump house, we will see the pumps, old
workshops and view an audio visual display of how the ship was built and the
people involved. The tour will end at the visitor center. We then  travel on and
enjoy a panoramic tour of downtown Belfast. Departing Belfast, we travel south
to Dublin arriving at our hotel, Maldron
Cardiff Lane, around 4:00 pm. Tonight we are free to dine on our
own.
Day 13, Thursday: Dublin - U.S. Morning transfer to
Dublin Airport. Ample time allowed for check-in and duty free shopping before
boarding your flight home. Arrive home in the U.S. the same
day.
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