The Ireland Connection 14 Inspiring Days - Dublin to Dublin Cliffs of Moher Ireland in depth a unique itinerary, with longer stops packed with wonderful sightseeing, from Temple Bar in Dublin, Killarney and the Wild Atlantic Way, to the Arran Islands, ancient Megalithic tombs and the Titanic Experience in Belfast, plus the fascinating story of the mass emigration and deportation of the Irish to Australia. DAY 1 DUBLIN Your tour commences this evening in Dublin. Dinner tonight is included, but first, enjoy a welcome drink in the hotel bar. This is an ideal chance to meet, and get to know your Tour Manager and fellow travellers.(d) Your Dublin hotel Trinity City Hotel DAY 2 DUBLIN This morning we have included a half day panoramic Dublin city tour which takes in all the sights from Trinity College to St Patrick s Cathedral. Starting in the beautiful 18th century Merrion Square we get a real sense of the glory of Georgian Dublin. Here many significant Irish lived including Daniel O Connell, the poet W B Yeats and Oscar Wilde. Later we enjoy a guided tour of the famous Guinness Storehouse, followed by a pint of the black stuff. Your afternoon is free in this most beautiful city of poets, literary giants and political reformers. This evening we have included a special dinner in a beautifully renovated 300 year old church, complete with a giant pipe organ and stunning carved wooden balconies. (B, D) DAY 3 CORK First stop this morning will be at the Irish National Stud Farm & Japanese Gardens, at Kildare. In 1993 The Irish horse Vintage Crop, became the first overseas horse to win the Melbourne Cup. Later we continue to the little village of Clonoulty to see the moving Australian convict memorial and hear the intriguing story. After lunchtime in the town of Cashel we have included entrance to the famous Rock of Cashel. Stand at the top and look around, knowing that 70% of all Irish emigrants to Australia came from the land within a 50 mile radius. Later we continue to Cork where we stay the next 2 nights. (B, D) Your Cork Hotel Vienna Woods Hotel DAY 4 CORK This morning we have included a visit to Blarney Castle. After an opportunity to kiss the world famous Blarney Stone, we will enjoy our morning break at the very popular Blarney Woollen Mills. Later we will continue to Cobh huge harbour. After free time in Cobh town we visit the excellent Cobh Heritage Centre, with its stories of the Titanic (Cobh was its last port of call), the ill-fated Lusitania, the early assisted emigration to the colonies from Cork and the convict transportation to Australia. Between 1791 and the early 1850s Cobh Harbour was the departure point for dozens of convict ships heading for Sydney and Hobart, and between 1848 to 1859, at the height of the Great Famine, 4,114 young orphan girls were sent from the nearby Middleton Workhouse to Australia. (B, D) 26 S M A L L G R O U P S L O N G E R S T A Y S
Discover more with Albatross Enjoy 2 and 3 nights stops, see the dramatic sights plus gain a unique insight into the mass emigration and convict deportation of the Irish to Australia Stay 2 nights exploring Georgian Dublin, visit the Guinness Storehouse and dine in a beautifully renovated 300 year old church Visit the Irish National Stud Farm & Japanese Gardens, the Rock of Cashel and the Australian Convict Memorial at Clonoulty Visit Blarney Castle and Woollen Mills, Cork, Cobh Harbour and Heritage Centre Explore the delightful harbour town of Kinsale and the beautiful church on an island at Gougane Barra Relax over 3 nights in Killarney, ride on the Jaunting Cars, explore the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula, visit Derrynane House and enjoy dinner in a traditional Irish pub beside Dingle Bay Stay 3 nights in Galway, enjoy a private tour of Kylemore Abbey and Gardens, visit the ancient stone fort of Dún Aengus on the Aran Islands, enjoy lunch at Joe Watty s pub, experience Ireland s very best folklore show the Trad on the Prom Visit Newgrange tombs, enjoy Irish Coffee in Foynes, see the majestic Cliffs of Moher and drive through The Burrens, follow the famous Causeway Coastal route to visit the Giants Causeway and enjoy a tasting in the Bushmills Distillery Spend 3 nights exploring Belfast, visit the fascinating Ulster Folk Park and the Titanic Experience, plus enjoy a farewell dinner with a Titanic themed menu! AVERAGE KMS PER DAY: 140 Kylemore Abbey Dunquin Tour commences Overnight stays Included excursions Aran Islands Cliffs of Moher Wild Atlantic Way Derrynane Houe Dingle GALWAY KILLARNEY 3 Ring of Kerry Connemara 3 The Burrens Foynes Gougane Barra Blarney Castle 2 Kinsale Newgrange Tombs IRELAND CORK Clonoulty Cobh Cashel Giant s Causeway Bushmills Carrick-a-Rede Causeway Coastal Route BELFAST Celtic Sea 2 3 DUBLIN National Stud Ulster Folk Park Irish Sea 14 days - Over $1,400 value of extras already included With NO additional on tour costs! Incredible Value Inclusions All excursions, scenic drives and sightseeing (as per the itinerary) Fully escorted by our experienced Tour Manager Travel in a first class air-conditioned touring coach End of tour tips to Tour Manager and Driver, tips for local guides 13 nights authentic, specially selected hotel accommodation Hotel porterage (1 bag per person) Welcome drink Dublin Breakfast daily Lunch in Joe Watty s pub 10 dinners including 2 local restaurant dinners Dublin, Dingle Pub and a special farewell dinner with Titanic themed menu Guinness Storehouse tour and tasting in Dublin, Irish coffee demonstration and tasting in Foynes, Bushmills whisky tour and tasting Entrances: Guinness Storehouse, Irish National Stud Farm & Japanese Gardens, Rock of Cashel, Blarney Castle, Cobh Heritage Centre, Blasket Heritage Centre, Derrynane House, Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Cliffs of Moher Park, Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey and Gardens, Dún Aengus fort, Newgrange megalithic tombs, Titanic Experience, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, Giant s Causeway Local guides - Guinness Storehouse, Foynes, Kylemore Abbey and Gardens, Aran islands, Newgrange Tombs, Belfast, Giants Causeway Jaunting Cars Killarney, Aran Islands ferry, Trad on the Prom Folklore show Personal audio system whilst on tour Free WIFI available on most coaches and at hotels Guaranteed Group Departures Discover the Albatross difference Small group size average 22, maximum 28 Longer stays, with NO 1 night stops on tour Genuinely inclusive, with NO additional on tour costs Stay in authentic, character style hotels Tours designed specially for you Australians and New Zealanders 2016 Dates and Prices 14 days from $ 6,256 pp twin share Single supplement $1,418 (land only prices in New Zealand Dollars) STARTS ENDS PP TWIN SINGLE DUBLIN DUBLIN SUPPLEMENT 29 May* 11 June $6,256 $1,418 19 June 2 July $6,256 $1,418 10 July 23 July $6,366 $1,418 14 August 27 August $6,366 $1,418 4 September 17 September $6,476 $1,418 *Special departure Limited availability Tour Manager will be Irish Historian, Richard Reid, with specialist commentary Book before 15 January 2016 & SAVE $300 pp Further discounts may apply see Exclusive offers with Albatross page for details Book our tours with confidence! If you book and deposit on any of our tours, as long as there are just 10 or more people travelling on your designated group departure, we guarantee it will travel. 27
Experience Ireland like the locals Cobh, County Cork DAY 5 KILLARNEY We will spend the morning in the delightful coastal town of Kinsale with its colourful shops, cafes and restaurants. Later we continue to Cork to enjoy free time for lunch in the pedestrianised Huguenot Quarter, before heading west to Killarney. With time in hand, we take the scenic route through Macroom, and side track to visit incredibly picturesque Gougane Barra. This makes a perfect stop, with St Finbarr s little church set romantically on a small island in the lake. Later we continue to Killarney where we stay the next 3 nights. (B, D) Your Killarney hotel Randles Court DAY 6 KILLARNEY Stepping outside our hotel we are greeted by a line of Jaunting Cars. Stepping aboard these horse drawn carriages we enjoy a ride to picturesque Muckross Lake. Here we are met by our coach and return to Killarney to enjoy free time to shop, and explore this famous Irish town. In the afternoon we board our coach and enjoy a scenic drive around the incredibly picturesque Dingle Peninsula, famous for its beauty and as Authentically Albatross No trip to Ireland is complete without a visit to the Aran Islands! Standing atop the wild and rugged Cliffs of Moher on the Wild Atlantic Way is an experience in itself, with its views across the ocean to the ancient Aran Islands the Islands of Saints and Scholars. Many Irish saints had connections with Aran and at one time there were a dozen monasteries on Inishmore alone. Now you will find literally dozens of Christian and Celtic mythological monuments and heritage sites. Everywhere you will see a lacework of ancient stone walls which were built to keep livestock in, and here too are some stunning cliff top forts, built to keep others out. Dún Aonghasa (Dún Aengus) fort is one of the oldest archaeological remains in Ireland and you will also see early dry-stone clocháns - beehive huts dating back to early Christian times. An amazing experience. See Day 10. setting for many of the scenes in the film Ryan s Daughter. At the far end of the peninsula we stop and visit the Blasket Heritage Centre at Dún Chaoin (Dunquin). This fascinating museum focuses on the unique Blasket community who lived on the wild and remote Islands until their evacuation in 1953. With its interactive displays, models, and artwork the centre tells the story of traditional subsistence life on the island, their culture and struggle for existence. All this, with a fantastic back drop of sweeping views across to the islands. Now it is time to visit the quaint village of Dingle, on Dingle Bay. Hungry? Here we enjoy dinner in John Benny s Pub! (B, D) Blarney Castle DAY 7 KILLARNEY Today we will drive along the Wild Atlantic Way around the entire Iveragh Peninsula, known better as the Ring of Kerry. Renowned for its grand scenery, we make a special visit to Derrynane House, which was the ancestral home of the great Liberator of Ireland Daniel O Connell (there is a statue of him by Parliament House in Melbourne). The house makes a fascinating visit having been restored to its former glory with genuine period furnishings. The remainder of the day is at leisure in Killarney. This evening, maybe visit a local pub for some music and the craic? (B) 28 G E N U I N E L Y I N C L U S I V E U N I Q U E E X P E R I E N C E S
Top o the morning to you There are three clear differences about this tour which really make it stand out from the pack. By now, you will know we always emphasise 3 night stops as a standard. Why? So we can see visit and experience so much more. Even though Ireland is considered a smaller, more compact destination, it is packed with incredible sights and experiences, so our longer stays become even more essential. For example, by staying 3 nights in delightful Killarney we see so much and we visit both the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Bay (having dinner in a pub in Dingle is also a lot of fun). I believe it would be a huge mistake to do just one. Yet sadly if you stay just 2 nights you see so little and are forced to make that choice. Our longer stays mean you can see and do so much more. I feel it would be a terrible tragedy if you went all the way to Ireland and totally missed the incredibly rich history and visually stunning sites dating back to Neolithic times. Think of how you will feel standing in the stunning stone fort of Dún Aengus, perched on the dramatic cliff walls of the wild Aran Islands, or in the megalithic Newgrange Passage Tomb, which is older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. These are such important visits. And at Albatross we have added another overlapping level of interest, by also interweaving the incredible story of the mass Irish migration and convict exportation to here, Australia. We have so many connections with Ireland, do come with us and discover them. DAY 8 GALWAY Driving north we make our first stop at Foynes to enjoy a guided visit of the Flying Boat Museum. Foynes has some important connections to Australia. The destination of two of the last flying boats ever to leave was Down Under. Foynes also claims to be the birthplace of Irish coffee and we enjoy a demonstration on how to make it properly. Naturally we must ensure they still make it right, so we enjoy a cup too! Later we continue to the Cliffs of Moher to take in the incredible views along the mighty cliffs battered by the incessant Atlantic waves. Driving through The Burrens we will also stop (time permitting) at the captivating ruins of Corcomroe Abbey. We then continue to Galway where we stay 3 nights. (B, D) Your Galway hotel Menlo Park Hotel DAY 9 GALWAY This morning we will travel through Connemara National Park and pay a visit to Kylemore Abbey and Gardens. One of the benefits of being in a small group is we can include a private guided tour of the restored abbey rooms and through the Victorian walled garden. Returning to Galway, the afternoon and evening is at leisure. (B) The Claddagh, Galway Authentically Albatross You would not go to Egypt and not see the Pyramids, would you? Half way between Belfast and Dublin you will find what some have described as being the great national monument of Ireland". At the UNESCO World Heritage listed Brú na Bóinne (Boyne) Visitor Centre there are a series of ancient megalithic passage tombs Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth which pre-date the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge by 500 years. They epitomize ancient Neolithic history, so we ensure we pay visit to Newgrange. Archaeologists now recognize that as well as being a passage tomb, they are also a place of astrological, religious, spiritual and ceremonial importance. At the base of the huge mound covering an acre, are 97 decorated kerbstones, and the inner passage to the central chamber is 19 metres long. See Day 11. DAY 10 GALWAY Today we visit the Aran Islands. What an experience! Crossing to Inis Mór (Inishmore) the big island - we board our Wild Atlantic Bus for a private tour of the island. Home of the Aran sweater, the island is laced with over a thousand kilometres of ancient stone walls and cliff top stone forts that date back thousands of years. Here we visit the remarkable Dún Aonghasa (Dún Aengus) fort which is one of the oldest archaeological remains in Ireland. In Kilronan town, we will also enjoy lunch in Joe Watty s pub. This evening, after dinner, relax and enjoy what has been voted the best Irish music and dance show in all Ireland the Trad on the Prom. (B, L, D) DAY 11 BELFAST Drive across Ireland we reach the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre where we stop to visit the ancient megalithic tombs of Newgrange. Stepping back in time, these UNESCO World Heritage listed passage tombs pre-date the Egyptian pyramids and epitomize ancient Neolithic history. Entering Northern Ireland we reach Belfast where we stay the next 3 nights. (B, D) Your Belfast Hotel Culloden Estate and Spa 29
Carrick-a-rede rope bridge DAY 12 BELFAST This morning we are joined by a local guide for a tour of this rejuvenated city. Highlight of the morning will be a visit to the Titanic Experience. This multi award winning museum is an audio and visual feast as it reveals the story behind 19th century industrial Belfast and how this was indelibly linked to the story of the building of the Titanic. In the afternoon we also visit the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum a heritage time capsule of Ireland, north and south, throughout the centuries. (B) DAY 13 BELFAST Today we follow the Causeway Coastal route on the Antrim Coast to stop at Ballycastle where we have included entrance to see the dramatic Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, before continuing to the Giant s Causeway. Here we enjoy a privately guided group visit of this unique geological feature. As a finale we visit Bushmills Distillery the oldest whisky distillery in the world. Back at our hotel our farewell dinner promises to be special, as we feast on a Titanic themed menu. (B, D) DAY 14 TO DUBLIN Sadly your tour ends after breakfast. For those departing from Belfast, the airport is a short taxi ride away. We have included a morning Group transfer to Dublin, with stops at the airport and the city centre. We recommend that you do not book flights that depart Dublin before 2pm. (B) Giant s Causeway Dublin 30
Culloden Estate and Spa, Belfast Y O U R H O T E L E X P E R I E N C E TRINITY CITY HOTEL, DUBLIN 2 NIGHTS Located in the heart of Dublin, the Trinity City Hotel is close to the famous shopping precincts Grafton and Henry streets as well as the Temple Bar area. This 4 star hotel offers all the modern amenities including tea and coffee making facilities. See www.trinitycityhotel.com VIENNA WOODS HOTEL, CORK 2 NIGHTS The Vienna Woods hotel is set in an 18th century country house located in the Glanmire Valley, just a 10 minute drive from the centre of Cork. Abundant in vintage charm, the hotel offers modern amenities including complimentary WiFi in guest rooms. See www.viennawoodshotel.com/ RANDLES COURT, KILLARNEY 3 NIGHTS A family run 4 star hotel, Randles Court is centrally located and just a 5 minute walk from the town centre. Famous for its Irish hospitality, guests will enjoy the comfort and elegance of their surroundings. See www.randleshotel.com MENLO PARK HOTEL, GALWAY 3 NIGHTS The award winning Menlo Park Hotel is family run and offers spacious and elegant guest rooms. Located just a 15 minute walk from the city centre, this 4 star hotel is within easy walking distance of all the main sights. See www.menloparkhotel.com CULLODEN ESTATE & SPA, BELFAST 3 NIGHTS Originally built as an official Palace for the Bishops of Down, the Culloden Estate stands in 12 acres of beautiful secluded gardens and woodland. Just a 10 minute drive from the city centre, the hotel features a spa, pool and fitness suite. See www.hastingshotels.com/culloden-estate-and-spa For more information about our specially selected hotels please visit www.albatrosstours.com 31