DAY 1 Friday Dublin

• Arrive at Dublin Airport (DUB) and meet your tour leader Ebony
• Enjoy a welcome lunch at the Pig’s Ear, overlooking the playing fields of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s oldest college (if arrival time is before noon)
• Check in at the charming Harding Hotel in Dublin’s historic center
• Visit the famous Long Room at the Old Library and see the magnificent Book of Kells, a stunning 9th century manuscript

The Old Library at Trinity College houses over 3 million volumes, including first editions by literary heavyweights. Authors Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, and Samuel Beckett are all graduates of this famous college.

• Nighttime suggestion: Catch a play at the Abbey Theatre
• Meal: Lunch

DAY 2 Saturday Dublin

• Take a walking tour of Dublin with a local historian beginning at Dublin Castle. Learn about Dublin’s incredible history all the while experiencing its stunning scenery and hidden corners.
• Enjoy a delicious lunch at Avoca, known for its homemade and artisanal fare
• Visit the National Gallery of Ireland which has an impressive collection of both Irish and international art
• Immerse yourself in the history of Ireland’s most famous export, and learn to pull the perfect pint at the Guinness Storehouse!
• Nighttime suggestion: Enjoy Riverdance at the historic Gaiety Treatre
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 3 Sunday Carlow

• Travel an hour outside Dublin to the picturesque county of Carlow and visit Huntington Castle. Huntington was built in 1625 and is still owned and lived in by the Durdin-Robertson family!
• Enjoy a tour of the castle including the house, the gardens and in an eccentric twist, a temple dedicated to the goddess Isis
• Lunch at the award winning Shae Roe Bistro and experience “a treasure in gastronomy”
• Check into your lodging (The Gate Lodge B&B or similar as available – castle room upgrades available too)
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 4 Monday Galway City

• Continue west to the county of Galway, a place of breathtaking scenery and foot-tapping traditional Irish music
• Arrive at Galway City, the designated European Capital of Culture in 2020
• Check into Menlo Park Hotel
• Learn how to make a traditional Irish Claddagh Ring (if available)
• Lunch at a top restaurant
• Learn traditional Irish ‘Sean-Nos’ dancing with All-Ireland Champion Emma O’ Sullivan
• Evening suggestion: Explore the bustling nightlife of the city, starting at Tig Cóilí for a céilidh (a traditional Irish gathering of music and dance)
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 5 Tuesday Connemara and County Clare

• Arise early and enjoy a scenic drive to the region of Connemara. Sculpted by Atlantic winds over millennia, the area is ruggedly beautiful.
• Visit ‘Cnoc Suain’ for an immersive experience into the traditional Irish way of life: language, music, dance, customs and traditions
• Visit the oasis that is Kylemore Abbey. Its exceptional neo-Gothic architecture and unique position perched on the edge of a lake make it one of the most iconic buildings in the country
• Have lunch at Kylemore Abbey
• Continue to County Clare and visit the moon-like limestone landscape of the Burren National Park
• Check into your cottage
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 6 Wednesday Day trip to Inis Oirr

• Take a ferry to the island of Inis Oirr, the smallest of the Aran Islands with only 250 inhabitants

A stronghold of Irish culture, the people of the islands wore traditional dress until the 1930’s and electricity didn’t arrive until the 1960’s. A pony and trap will meet you from the ferry to take you on a tour of the island.

• Have lunch at ‘Teach an Tae’
• Continue your tour of the island. See the traditional wood and goatskin canoes known as currachs then visit O’ Brien’s castle for beautiful views of the island and the ocean
• Catch ferry back to the mainland
• Visit the Cliffs of Moher for one of Ireland’s most stunning vistas

Option 1: staying one more night in County Clare

• Return to your cottage

Option 2: returning to Dublin

• Travel back to Dublin (approximately 3 hours drive)
• Check in at the Clayton Airport Hotel or similar