Traditional Ireland Tour

Day 1: Kilkenny & Kildare
On arrival in Dublin airport, pick up your car and travel towards Kilkenny for the first 2 nights of your trip. En-Route to Kilkenny you might like to stop in the town of Kildare to visit the National Stud and Japanese Gardens. From Kildare, travel directly to Kilkenny. Kilkenny city, Ireland Medieval Capital, is a small city easily seen on foot and is full of fascinating historical buildings, galleries and restaurants. Take time on this first day to explore the city itself. Some of the main attractions include Kilkenny Castle, Saint Canice’s Cathedral and cityscope. Kilkenny offers a great range of evening entertainment with live music, restaurants and bars.

Day 2: Kilkenny & Wicklow or Waterford
Kilkenny offers a great base from which to tour. On this day take a trip to Wicklow on the East coast of Ireland. Wicklow Mountains National Park is well worth a visit, covering almost 20,000 hectares this area is well known for its landscape and wildlife. Nearby you will find Glendalough, “the glen of the two lakes”; an ancient monastic settlement nestled in a glacial valley. The surviving buildings date between the 8th and 12th century and the famous Round Tower is still in near perfect condition despite its 1000 years. Before traveling back to Kilkenny take a trip to Powerscourt House and Gardens.

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Waterford is only a short trip from Kilkenny and is well worth a visit. Being the oldest city in Ireland Waterford is steeped in history and retains much of its medieval character. The famous Waterford Crystal Visitor centre is well worth a visit. The centre, although no longer producing the crystal, boosts the largest collection of Waterford Crystal in the world as well as a tour of the production facility where you will see the crystal being produced. Another site worth seeing in Waterford is the Waterford Museum of Treasures which chronicles over 1000 years of history. On leaving Waterford I would suggest traveling into Co Wexford and taking in the town of NewRoss. Here you will find the Dunbrody Famine ship which gives visitors a world class interpretation of life on an emigrant ship. Before retiring to Kilkenny take a trip to the Hook Head lighthouse and the Kennedy Homestead.

Day 3: Kerry, Tipperary & Cork
From Kilkenny travel to Killarney Co Kerry for your next 2 nights. On route from Kilkenny you will have the opportunity to stop at the Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle in Co Tipperary. You may also like to take a side trip to Blarney Castle and Kiss the Blarney Stone as well as visit the Blarney Woollen Mills store. On arrival in Killarney you may like to take in the town for the rest of the day. You could take a jaunting car ride through the National Park or visit the Muckross House and Gardens. Killarney offers great entertainment including traditional Irish music sessions.

Day 4: Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula
Take this day to travel the Ring of Kerry. At 112 miles long the journey will take you through some of the country’s most outstanding coastal and mountain scenery. This day trip will take you from Killarney to towns such as Killorglin, home of the “Puck Fair”, Glenbeigh, Cahirciveen, Valentia Island, Waterville and Kenmare. On route there are many side trips and sites to see, Cahirciveen Heritage Centre, Bog Village, Staigue Fort and Killarney’s 3 lakes as well as many more. We do recommend giving a full day to this tour especially in the peak season as it can be busy on the route.

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This day could be spent relaxing in Killarney town or if you prefer, you could travel the Dingle Peninsula. The Dingle Peninsula has more interesting antiquities, historic sites and varied mountain scenery than any other part of Ireland. Parts of the area are Gaeltacht (Irish Speaking districts). The Dingle Peninsula is quieter than the Ring of Kerry but offers equally outstanding scenery. There are many locations to stop and take in on the tour including Slieve Mish Mountains, Inch Beach, the village of Annascaul, Minard Castle, Dingle Town, Dunbeg Fort, The Blasket Islands, and Slea Head as well as many more sites.

Day 5: Clare and Limerick
One of your longest but most dramatic days of your tour brings you from Killarney to the west coast of County Clare. First stop will be the Village of Adare in County Limerick. Adare is regarded by many a seasoned traveller as Ireland’s prettiest village with its charming thatched cottages, manicured public park and ancient church. From Adare continue towards Limerick City of ‘Angela’s Ashes’ fame and home to King Johns Castle. Shortly after this, you arrive at Bunratty Castle. Built in 1425, this majestic castle was restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendour. Within the grounds of the Castle is Bunratty Folk Park where 19th century Irish life is vividly recreated. Continuing on to the village of Doolin from where you can visit the Cliffs of Moher. The majestic Cliffs of Moher are without doubt one of Ireland’s most spectacular sights and overlook the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of West Clare. Doolin is world-famous for its wealth of Irish folk music and in recent years has been attracting crowds to spontaneous sessions in any one of its excellent pubs. Just north of the Cliffs you then have the lunar like Burren region and the ancient Poulnabrone Dolmen Tombs.

Day 6 & 7: Limerick and Dublin
Travel from Doolin to Dublin via Limerick. This would be the best possible route for your journey today. You can take the main route along the N7 to Dublin. Dublin city centre is a compact area, with all points of interest being easily accessible on foot. As a result you will find a large number of walking tours available, the most popular of which include the “Historical Walking Tour” and the “Literary Pub Crawl”. You may of course wish to visit many of the sights in your own time either on foot or with the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus service that stops at all of the major attractions including Dublin Castle, Trinity Castle & the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, the National Museum of Ireland and The Guinness Storehouse to name just a few. Temple Bar is the entertainment centre of the city offering a large range of pubs and restaurants. Around the city there are many shows which take place offering traditional Irish entertainment and cuisine. These tours include the Irish House Party or the evening of Food Folklore and Fairies and are well worth a visit.

For day 8, 10, 12 and 14 night tour itineraries please enquire using the enquiry form or call Toll Free on 1800 963 9260 to speak to one of our Ireland Guides.