May 31-June 11, 2018

*Significant walking required

Highlights:

• Scottish Evening in Edinburgh
• Dublin Canal Cruise Dinner
• Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet
• Cruise Loch Ness
• Cliffs of Moher
• Killarney’s Jaunting Car
• Farmhouse Tea & Scones

Hotels:

Superior First Class:

• Glasgow Thistle Hotel
  Glasgow (1 night)
• Newton Hotel, Nairn (1 night)
• Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel, Edinburgh (2 nights)
• Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin (2 nights)
• Killarney Avenue Hotel, Killarney (2 nights)
• Bunratty Castle Hotel, Bunratty (1 night)
• Maldron Hotel Cardiff Lane, Dublin (1 night)

Tour Includes:

• Roundtrip Airfare from Atlanta
• Sightseeing by luxury coach
• Group transfer to/from the airport (subject to a minimum of 10 people)
• Professional tour director
• 10 nights in hotels listed
• Full breakfast daily (B) except on day 1
• 6 dinners (D) including
  • Scottish Evening in Edinburgh
  • Canal Cruise dinner and live music
  • Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet
  • 3 table d’hote dinners
• 2 lunches (L)
• Welcome get-together drink
• Tours of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin
• Loch Ness scenic cruise
• Blair Athol Distillery whisky tasting and tour
• Visit to St Andrew’s
• Ferries from Scotland to Ireland and across the River Shannon
• Walking tours of Dublin’s Trinity College and Galway
• Farmhouse tea and scones with sheepdog display
• Horse-drawn jaunting car ride in Killarney
• Visits and admissions to Provand’s Lordship, Spean Bridge Woollen Mill, St Andrews, Edinburgh Castle, Titanic Belfast, Book of Kells at Trinity College, Blarney Castle, Blarney Woollen Mills, Skellig Experience, Cliffs of Moher, Clonmacnoise Monastic Site
• Headsets for walking tours
• Deluxe carry-on backpack, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person
• Free Wi-Fi on coaches and in hotel lobbies

2018 Taste of Scotland & Ireland 11 Days / 10 Nights itinerary*

B: Breakfast; L: Lunch; D: Dinner

Day 1: Glasgow Highlights
Your Scottish trip starts at 2:30 pm when you meet your tour director at your Glasgow hotel and set out on an introductory tour of central Glasgow. This is a city that flourished in Victorian times due to the shipbuilding industry and international trade. Drive around George Square with its ornate City Chambers and visit Provand’s Lordship, Glasgow’s oldest house built in 1471. The house was originally part of a hospital and has been extensively restored and furnished. Join your tour director and travel companions for a welcome drink before dinner.
(D)

Day 2: Loch Lomond & Loch Ness Cruise
Travel alongside the famous Loch Lomond, renowned for its unsurpassed beauty. Travel through the deep valley of Glen Coe, notorious for the Campbell massacre of the Clan Macdonald in 1692. Continue through Fort William and stop at the Spean Bridge Woollen Mill, which offers a good selection of quality Scottish goods. At Fort Augustus embark on a short cruise on Loch Ness to keep an eye out for “Nessie.” Continue your journey north to Nairn for your next overnight stay.
(B, D)

Day 3: Whisky Tasting & St Andrews
Drive to Blair Athol Distillery in Pitlochry to see how whisky is distilled and sample some. Continue south to St Andrews, renowned as the “Home of Golf” and for its university, Scotland’s oldest. Spend some time to explore on your own. Drive south to Edinburgh and to your gracious manor house hotel, set on 1,000 acres with two golf courses and spa facilities a few miles from the city. Dine at a Scottish Evening on some excellent Scottish cuisine followed by a lively show with songs, stories and traditional dancing. (B, D)

Day 4: Edinburgh Castle & City Tour
This morning tour the principal sights of Edinburgh with a local guide. Drive along the bustling Princes Street and through the gracious, wide streets of the 200-year-old Georgian New Town. Walk along part of the Royal Mile where compact medieval houses reach 11 floors tall. Visit Edinburgh Castle, which dominates the city and contains the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone. The balance of the day is free. On Aug 02 to 23 departures, seats are reserved for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
(B)

Day 5: Ferry to Ireland & Titanic Belfast
Depart Edinburgh early this morning and drive south through Ayrshire and along the coast. At Cairnryan take a ferry ride to Belfast and enjoy a casual lunch on board. Visit Titanic Belfast to learn about this famous liner which was built in the adjacent docks. State-of-the-art displays describe working conditions in the shipbuilding industry and the construction of the Titanic. Drive south to Dublin and check in to your hotel, located overlooking Dublin Bay. The evening is free.
(B, L)

Day 6: Dublin Sightseeing & Canal Dinner Cruise
Tour central Dublin today to see fashionable shopping areas around Grafton and Nassau Streets, view elegant Georgian squares and pass the General Post Office, where the 1916 Uprising started. Walk through the campus of Trinity College with a student guide to view the illuminated manuscript of the 8th century Book of Kells and learn how monks created this and other masterpieces. In the evening
enjoy a canal dinner cruise with traditional Irish music aboard a former Guinness barge through central Dublin.
(B, D)

Day 7: Farmhouse Tea & Blarney Castle
Travel through the midlands of Ireland, stopping for photos at the stately Rock of Cashel. Visit a farmhouse for tea with scones and watch skilled sheep dogs herd sheep. Continue south to visit Blarney Castle and kiss the famous “Stone of Eloquence.” Also visit the Blarney Woollen Mills where you can find quality Irish-made goods. Drive to Killarney, picturesquely set beside lakes and mountains. Check in to your hotel and relax before dinner. Afterwards you may like to explore some of Killarney’s famous “singing pubs.”
(B, D)

Day 8: Ring of Kerry & Skellig Experience
Take a jaunting car ride to view Ross Castle set on Lough Leane. Then embark on the Ring of Kerry drive – a winding route with breathtaking sights of mountains and coastal views. Cross to Valentia Island by bridge to visit the Skellig Experience which describes the austere lives of early Christian monks on the nearby islands. Enjoy a casual lunch and stop in Sneem to admire brightly painted houses. Pause at Moll’s Gap for stunning views before returning to Killarney where you have an evening free for independent dining and activities.
(B, L)

Day 9: Cliffs of Moher & Bunratty Castle Banquet
Take a ferry ride across the River Shannon to reach the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular wall of sandstone that reaches 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Check in to Bunratty Castle Hotel, close to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. If you wish, you may visit the Folk Park, have a drink in the 200-year-old Durty Nelly’s Pub or shop at the Bunratty Mills. In the evening head to Bunratty Castle for a memorable medieval-style feast where the lords and ladies will serenade you with song and harp music, evocative of the Middle Ages.
(B, D)

Day 10: Dublin Extension via Galway
Drive to Galway for a walking tour around the central part of the city. Visit Clonmacnoise Monastic Site, founded in 546 AD by Saint Ciaran. View elaborate Celtic crosses, round towers and ruins of medieval churches. Drive to Dublin and check into a different hotel and you are free for independent activities and dining.
(B)

Day 11: Depart Dublin for Home
Your program ends after breakfast today. (B)

*All components of this tour (hotels, meals, visits and attractions) for 2018 are subject to change until finalized in September 2017.