|
The Scots Irish
Superior &
First Class Hotels: 11 Day Coach
Tour
Tour
Highlights:
Scottish Cabaret & Dinner in Edinburgh
Brazen Head Pub Dinner & Traditional
Music
Edinburgh & Blair Castles
Loch Ness
Panoramic Cruise
Blair Athol Whisky Distillery
Derry’s
Medieval Walls
Ulster American Folk
Park
Westport & Achill Island
Tour
Day
1: Glasgow
Highlights
Land in Glasgow Airport
where you’ll meet your CIE Tours driver/guide or representative.
Take a group transfer to your hotel, departing at 8:00 am, 10:00 am or
12:00 noon. If you arrive later than noon, you must transfer to the
hotel at your own expense. At 3:00 pm set out on a coach tour to
discover the main attractions of Glasgow,
a city that flourished in Victorian times due to the shipbuilding
industry on the River Clyde. Drive around George Square with its ornate
City Chambers and nearby Glasgow Cathedral. Visit extensive collections
in Kelvinqrove
Art Gallery and Museum, originally opened in 1901 and
recently refurbished. Back at your hotel, join
your fellow travellers for a welcome drink before
dinner is served. (D)
Day
2: Loch Lomond & Loch Ness Cruise
Depart Glasgow
and drive alongside the famous Loch Lomond,
renowned in song and also for unsurpassed beauty of the lake and
mountains. Travel across the haunting Rannoch Moor and through Glencoe,
notorious for the Campbell
massacre of the Clan Macdonald in 1692. Continue through Fort William and stop at the nearby Ben Nevis
Highland Centre, which offers a good selection of quality
Scottish goods. At Fort Augustus embark on a short cruise on Loch Ness to admire enchanting scenic
views and perhaps spot the famous monster. Motor alongside the loch and
through Inverness. Continue to Nairn
where your hotel was a favourite summer residence of Charlie Chaplin.
(B,D)
Day
3: Blair Castle & Scottish Cabaret
Head through the steep
Grampian Mountains to visit 13th century Blair Castle, home of
the Earls and Dukes of Atholl. This stately mansion contains a variety
of portraits, china and armour to show the life of Scottish nobility.
Nearby visit Blair
Athol Distillery to learn about the creation of whisky
and enjoy a sample. Continue south to Edinburgh, in time to check in to
your hotel. In the evening attend a Scottish cabaret where
you dine on local specialties, including the famous haggis, and enjoy
traditional entertainment. (B,D)
Day
4: Edinburgh
Castle & City
Tour
This morning an Edinburgh city guide
will point out the principal sights of this interesting capital city.
Drive along the bustling Princes
Street and through the gracious, wide
streets of the 200-year-old Georgian New Town. See the compact medieval
section along the Royal Mile where some houses reach 11 stories tall. Visit Edinburgh Castle, which
dominates the city centre and contains the Scottish Crown Jewels and
the Stone of Scone. The balance of the day is free for further
sightseeing, shopping and dining. On August 10 and 24 departures enjoy
the Military
Tattoo at Edinburgh
Castle. (B)
Day
5: Larne Ferry & Belfast Historic Tour
This morning depart Edinburgh after
breakfast and drive south through part of the Southern Uplands and
along the coastline. At Cairnryan take a ferry ride across the
narrow channel between Scotland
and Ireland
to arrive in Larne. Drive the short distance to Belfast
and see the highlights of Belfast
with a local
guide, including Victorian buildings, the Harland and
Wolff Shipyards, where the Titanic was built and areas around the
Shankill and Falls Road. Check in to your centrally-located hotel and
relax before dining in the hotel. (B,D)
Day
6: Giant’s Causeway & Walls of Derry
Walk
Drive north to experience
wonderful views as you travel along the “Nine Glens of
Antrim,” a scenic route past mountains, valleys and coastline.
Stop at the Giant’s Causeway,
hexagonal columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years
ago. The enormous rocks have spawned legends about the mythical giant,
Finn McCool. Continue to Derry to
check in to your hotel. Join a local guide for a short walking tour
around the ancient and historic city centre, which is completely
surrounded by medieval city walls. (B,D)
Day
7: Ulster American Folk
Park & Westport
Travel south to visit the
Ulster
American Folk Park in Omagh. The Park traces the story of
Ulster emigrants to
the Appalachians where they became
known as the “Scotch Irish.” See how people lived in the
“Old Country” before sailing across the Atlantic to settle
in the “New World” in
Colonial times. One third of all U.S. Presidents had Scots
Irish heritage. Drive along the northern rim of scenic Lower Lough Erne
and along the shoreline of Donegal
Bay, pausing to
view the grave of the Nobel-winning writer, W. B. Yeats. Continue
through County Sligo and the open, windswept landscapes of County Mayo
to your next overnight stay in Westport.
Check in to your hotel in the centre of this lovely town and enjoy free
time to browse around before dinner. (B,D)
Day
8: Achill Island & Deserted Famine Village
After a leisurely
breakfast, travel around Clew Bay to reach Achill Island,
joined to the mainland by bridge. Follow the Atlantic Drive to capture
wonderful, wild views of steep mountains and stretches of golden
beaches. Near Slievemore see the Deserted Village,
the remains of 100 cottages abandoned in the 1840’s Famine.
Return to Westport
for an afternoon at leisure so you may look around the town on your
own. The estate town was laid out in 1780 and has many fine Georgian
houses and a tree-lined mall. After dinner in your hotel you may like
to explore some of the lively pubs, including Matt Malloy’s Pub,
of Chieftains fame. (B,D)
Day
9: Strokestown Park House & Viking Dublin
Drive through Castlebar
to visit Strokestown
Park House in County
Roscommon. There
are three parts to see – the 18th century mansion with its
original furnishings; the four-acre walled garden, restored to look as
it would have during the heyday of the estate; and the Famine Museum,
which uses a combination of original documents and images to explain
the circumstances of the 1840’s Great Irish Famine. Continue your
journey across Ireland
to the east coast and Dublin’s
Temple Bar area where your hotel is located. In the evening head to the
nearby Brazen
Head Pub, which dates from the 12th
century. Here enjoy a great dinner and a lively show of
traditional Irish songs and intricate step-dancing. (B,D)
Day
10: Kilmainham Gaol & Guinness
Relax on a half-day guided
tour of Dublin,
originally founded by Vikings over 1,000 years ago. See elegant
Georgian townhouses and colourful doors and cross the River Liffey to
view the wide thoroughfare of O’Connell
Street with the General Post Office where
the 1916 Rebellion started. Pause to view the gaunt figures at the Famine Memorial
before visiting Kilmainham Gaol to see how penal establishments
were operated in past centuries. Learn about the leaders of the 1916
Rebellion who were imprisoned and shot here, changing Irish history.
The afternoon is free so that you may use your independent open-top bus tour
and Guinness or Jameson vouchers. (B)
Day
11: Homeward Bound
Complimentary group
transfers to Dublin
Airport are
provided to arrive at 6:00 am, 9:00 am or 12:00 noon. After check-in,
you’ll have time to shop at the duty-free before boarding your
flight for the journey home. (B)
Tour runs 20 April > 19 October
Departure days Tuesday
|
Tour Dates
|
Prices
|
|
20 April
|
$2365
|
|
4 May > 18 May
|
$2595
|
|
1 June > 13
July
|
$2615
|
|
27 July > 24
August
|
$2740
|
|
7 September >
21 September
|
$2615
|
|
5 October > 19
October
|
$2405
|
All rates in Australian dollars per person twin share basis
Single supplement $800
YOUR TOUR INCLUDES
• Group
transfers on arrival and departure
• Ferry
from Scotland to Ireland
•
Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Dublin open-top
bus tour
• Visit
and a drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
•
Services of a professional driver/guide
•
Superior & first class hotels with private bath/shower for 10
nights
• 10
full Scottish & Irish breakfasts (B)
• 8
dinners (D) including:
- Scottish
cabaret with dinner in Edinburgh
- Food, Folk
and Fairies dinner/show at the Brazen Head Pub
- 6 table
d’hôte dinners
•
Welcome get-together drink
•
Scenic cruise on Loch Ness
•
Whisky tasting and tour of Blair Athol Distillery
•
Reserved seats for Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 10 and 24
departures
• Tours
of Edinburgh and Belfast with local guides
•
Walking tour of Derry with a local
guide
• Day
tour to Achill
Island
•
Visits and admissions to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Ben
Nevis Highland Centre, Blair Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Giant’s
Causeway, Ulster American Folk Park, W. B. Yeats’ Grave, Strokestown
House & Famine Museum and Kilmainham Gaol
•
Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage
for one suitcase per person
YOUR HOTELS
Stay
at the following (or similar):
Thistle Hotel, Glasgow (1 night)
The Newton Hotel, Nairn (1 night)
Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel, Edinburgh (2 nights)
Europa Hotel, Belfast (1 night)
Everglades Hotel, Derry (1 night)
Mill Times Hotel, Westport (2 nights)
Burlington Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)
Call our office 1800 336676 for any further
assistance or advice or email info@accessukholidays.com
|
