Ireland (9 days)

Upon arrival at Dublin airport you are met in the arrivals hall by your local representative and privately transferred to your hotel. Your representative assists you with check-in procedures.

This morning join an expert Dublin city guide for a panoramic tour of the Irish capital. On the tour, see Leinster House where the Irish government is based, the Presidential Palace in Phoenix Park, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, grandiose O'Connell Street, and the elegant Georgian squares that are so symbolic of the city.

Visit Trinity College, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I on the site of an Augustinian monastery. Originally a Protestant college, it was not until the 1970s that Catholics started to attend the university. Trinity’s lawns and cobbled quads provide a pleasant haven in the heart of the city and the Book of Kells is housed in the Old Library, with its superb barrel-vaulted ceiling.

This afternoon you have two choices:

Option 1

Visit the National Museum of Ireland. In the Treasury see some of the finest examples of medieval Celtic metalwork, including the Tara Brooch and the Ardagh Chalice. Walk round to the National Gallery of Ireland, which houses a fine collection of Irish paintings dating from the 17th to the 20th century among its fine old master collections.

Option 2

Step back in history and visit the shrine of Irish Independence: Kilmainham Gaol. Between 1796 and 1924 Kilmainham Gaol housed many political prisoners, the last being Eamon De Valera, later to become Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and then President of the Republic of Ireland. It was here that the ringleaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly were shot by firing squad in the stone breaking yard. The jail is now a museum, restored to its original grim condition with dark passages, punishment cells and an execution yard.

Meet your driver-guide to enjoy a full-day excursion into the Wicklow Mountains that lie to the south of Dublin.

Your first stop is the magnificent Powerscourt House. The avenue leading to the Palladian house echoes the magnificence of the whole estate, stretching out over a mile long and lined by over 2,000 beech trees. In addition, the 47 acres of gardens are remarkable for their grandeur of scale whilst combining great delicacy and refinement of detail. The charming walled garden, the striking terraces, fine statuary, and varied trees are linked by carefully designed walks and set in the beautiful surroundings of the Wicklow Mountains. An exhibition brings to life the rich history of the estate, which is now home to the best of Irish design in gifts, clothes, and furniture in the Avoca Stores and the interiors gallery.

From Powerscourt, continue on to Glendalough, known as the Valley of the Two Lakes. Glendalough is one of Ireland’s national monuments for scenic, religious, historic and archaeological reasons. Travelling through the Wicklow Gap is like entering an Irish Shangri-La, so shrouded is it in beauty, mystery, and tranquillity. In the distance, the Wicklow Mountains fold gracefully into one another. The mountain forests of pine and spruce are reflected in the clear waters of the two lakes that give the valley its name.

Glendalough was a place of religious pilgrimage for centuries following its establishment as a monastic centre by St. Kevin in the 6th century and an important diocese by the 12th century. However, Viking raids took their toll and, after a great fire in 1398, it began a long period of decline. The tour takes you through the remains of the main monastic complex, through the remarkably well-preserved St. Kevin’s Church and the imposing 100ft high Round Tower.

Enjoy a full day of touring with your driver-guide as you travel through rich pasturelands. The inland countryside route passes into County Tipperary, home to the Rock of Cashel that dramatically overshadows the town below. The ruined 13th-century cathedral and the Round Tower perch dramatically on top of this outcrop.

From here you can choose to visit either the town of Cobh or Blarney Castle.

Option 1

Blarney Castle is a small, ruined tower house that dates back to the 15th century and has become a national icon as the home of the Blarney Stone. This stone, rumoured to have been brought to Ireland in the time of the Crusades, is embedded in the parapet of the castle, and is said to bestow the 'gift of the gab' on all those who kiss it. The castle is situated in beautiful grounds which are adjacent to the Blarney Woollen Mills complex, one of the largest retail outlets in Ireland where fine local goods can be purchased.

Option 2Steep narrow streets climb the hill above Cobh’s fine natural harbour, giving wide views across the bay. Its name (pronounced ‘cove’) is simply the Irish for ‘haven’. Now a popular resort and yachting centre, Cobh was the headquarters of the Royal Yacht Club, founded in 1720 and the oldest such club in the world, as well as the main departure point for emigrants to America in the 19th and 20th centuries and a stopping place for transatlantic liners. The Sirius sailed from Cobh in 1838 to make the first ever Atlantic steamer crossing and the doomed Titanic called here in 1912. Towering over Cobh is the magnificent Gothic-style cathedral which was built in 1868, faced with blue granite and supported inside by pillars made from local marble topped with intricately carved capitals. Its carillon of 42 bells is claimed to be the largest in Ireland.

Today tour one of the best-loved coastal drives in Europe with your driver-guide on a full-day excursion (8 hours) around the Ring of Kerry. The road follows the shoreline of the Iveragh Peninsula, passing some of the most beautiful mountain and moorland scenery in the whole of Ireland. Between the mountains and coast, this route passes by many land and seascapes and you enjoy fabulous views over the bays to the neighbouring Dingle and Beara peninsulas. En- route pass Derrynane House, the home of Daniel O'Connell, the 'Great Liberator' of Ireland.

In the midst of Killarney National Park stands Muckross House, set in the shadow of Macgillycuddy's Reeks. You can explore its lovely gardens and traditional farms which recreate farming methods that were used back in the 1930s. Between April and July, the gardens are even more attractive as they are beautifully embellished with red and pink rhododendrons.

Depart Kerry with your driver-guide for a full day excursion. You can choose here whether to visit the Cliffs of Moher, or whether to visit the village of Adare, Limerick and Bunratty Castle.

Option 1Reach the towering Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s highest at over 600 feet. They are exposed to the fiercest of Atlantic storms and large colonies of cliff nesting seabirds can be spotted here. From the cliffs, views stretch as far as the Aran Islands and Galway Bay. Continuing on from the cliffs, drive through the Burren, an area of limestone rock covering the majestic mountains and tranquil valleys with gently meandering streams. The coast road then takes you around Galway Bay, famed for its oysters.

Option 2

Explore the picturesque village of Adare, well known for its thatched cottages and medieval ruins. Cross the River Shannon at Limerick into County Clare and head on to Bunratty Castle, where you can see the largest 15th-century tower house in Ireland, in the grounds of which are a series of traditional thatched cottages that have been carefully reconstructed.

Continue past Galway City to your hotel, which enjoys a delightful setting overlooking a bay.

Enjoy a full day with your driver-guide to explore the windswept landscape of Connemara, where barren mountains surround small lakes. Jutting out into the Atlantic, the Connemara coast is wrapped around the Twelve Pins and makes for a landscape of wild, rocky bog land and ragged coastline, coloured with the autumnal shades of seaweed and pine trees on tiny pincushion islands mirrored in the Loughs. On the shores of one such lake sits Kylemore Abbey, still home to a living community of nuns. The walled garden in the grounds of the abbey has been faithfully restored to its former glory.

Drive north past Killary Harbour, Ireland's only fjord, into County Mayo, where you pass the holy mountain of Croagh Patrick, to which there locals hold a pilgrimage each year. Return to your hotel from here.

For your final full day of touring, your driver-guide will take you back to Dublin. Visit Galway City and either Castletown House or Strokestown House. In Galway you can have time at leisure to explore the quaint city, perched on the edge of the bay.

Visit Castletown House, Ireland’s largest and earliest Palladian-style house. It is very important in terms of European architectural heritage, famous for its stucco work and elaborate Baroque style.

Today you are privately transferred to Dublin airport for your departure flight.