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Highlights:

• Dinner & Walking Tour in Edinburgh
• Merry Ploughboy Pub Dinner
• Edinburgh & Blair Castles
• Blair Athol Whisky Distillery
• Belfast City Tour
• Giant's Causeway
• Ulster American Folk Park

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 (2 nights)
• Everglades Hotel, Derry (2 nights)
• Burlington Hotel, Dublin (2 nights)

Tour Includes:

• Group transfers on arrival and departure
• Ferry from Scotland to Ireland and across Strangford Lough
• Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Dublin open-top bus tour with complimentary visit and a drink at Guinness Storehouse or Old Jameson Distillery
• Services of a professional tour director
• Superior first class hotels with private bath/shower for 10 nights
• 10 full Scottish & Irish breakfasts (B)
• 8 dinners (D) including
  - Scottish Highland Cabaret dinner/show in Nairn
  - Heights Restaurant with views of Edinburgh Castle
  - Dinner and traditional Irish show at the Merry Ploughboy Pub
  - 5 table d'hote dinners
• Welcome get-together drink
• Sightseeing tours of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin
• Scenic cruise on Loch Ness
• Whisky tasting and tour of Blair Athol Distillery
• Evening historic walking tour of Edinburgh
• Reserved seats for Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 01 and 15 departures
• Walking tour of Derry with a local guide
• Visits and admissions to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Spean Bridge Woollen Mills, Blair Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Burns National Heritage Park, Down Cathedral, St. Patrick Centre, Mount Stewart House and Gardens, Giant's Causeway, Glenveagh Castle & National Park, Tower Museum, Ulster American Folk Park and Kilmainham Gaol
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

11 day Itinerary

Day 1 - Tue: Glasgow Highlights

Land in Glasgow Airport where you'll meet your CIE Tours tour director 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 2:30 pm set out on a coach tour to discover the main attractions of Glasgow, a city that flourished in Victorian times due to its shipbuilding industry. 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. Join your fellow travellers for a welcome drink before dinner is served. (D)

Day 2 - Wed: Loch Lomond & Loch Ness Cruise

Depart Glasgow and drive alongside the famous Loch Lomond, renowned in song for unsurpassed beauty. 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 shop for Scottish souvenirs at the Spean Bridge Woollen Mills. 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 to Nairn where your hotel was a favourite summer residence of Charlie Chaplin. This evening a Scottish Highland cabaret will feature haggis and other traditional foods and enjoy bagpipe music, song and dance. (B, D)

Day 3 - Thu: Blair Castle & Edinburgh Walking Tour

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 armor 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 and check in to your hotel, set in lovely grounds and golf course a few miles from the city centre. In the evening dine in the Heights Restaurant, a rooftop eatery affording panoramic views of Edinburgh Castle. Then head down to street level for a fun walking tour with a local guide to discover the haunts of Edinburgh's many colourful characters. (B, D)

Day 4 - Fri: Edinburgh Castle & City Tour

This morning an Edinburgh city guide will point out the principal sights of this interesting capital city. Drive through the elegant, 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 02 and 16 departures enjoy the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. (B)

Day 5 - Sat: Rabbie Burns & Belfast

This morning drive south to Alloway to visit the Burns National Heritage Park and learn about Scotland's popular folk writer. Stop for photos at Burns Cottage and continue to the visitor centre and you can walk to the picturesque Brig o' Doon, the Burns Monument and the Auld Kirk. Travel along the coastline to Cairnryan for a short ferry ride to Larne. Drive to Belfast, check in to your centrally-located hotel and enjoy free time to relax or head out for to see some of this vibrant city before dinner. (B, D)

Day 6 - Sun: St. Patrick & Belfast Tour

Drive south from Belfast to visit Down Cathedral where St. Patrick's Grave is marked by a huge boulder. Also tour the St. Patrick Centre to learn about the life and work of Ireland's patron saint. Take a ferry across Strangford Lough to take a guided tour around Mount Stewart House. See world-famous paintings, furnishings and artefacts and stroll around the lovely gardens. Return to Belfast and join a local guide to see the city highlights, including Victorian buildings, the Harland and Wolff Shipyards, where the Titanic was built and areas around the Shankill and Falls Road. (B, D)

Day 7 - Mon: Nine Glens of Antrim & Giant's Causeway

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. Stop for photos at the huge, cliff-top ruins of Dunluce Castle before continuing to Derry to check in to your hotel, located in a quiet suburb and yet close to the city. (B, D)

Day 8 - Tue: Glenveagh Castle & Derry's Walls

Travel into Donegal to Glenveagh National Park where Captain Adair evicted 225 tenants to build Glenveagh Castle in 1870. Learn about the history of the mansion, owners and guests as you tour the rooms and walk around the extensive gardens filled with exotic plants. Return to Derry where a local guide will join your coach for a drive around the Bogside, where many struggles took place during the past 50 years. Then walk along part of the medieval city walls which completely encircle the city centre and visit the Tower Museum to learn more about the history of this city. (B, D)

Day 9 - Wed: Ulster Folk Park & Merry Ploughboy Pub

Travel south to Omagh to visit the Ulster American Folk Park, which 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 settling in the “New World.” One third of all U.S. Presidents had Scots Irish heritage. Continue south to your hotel in Dublin, near the Georgian squares and streets. Head to the Merry Ploughboy Pub for dinner, which is followed by a show of traditional music and step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 10 - Thu: 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 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. The afternoon is free so that you may use your independent open-top bus tour and Guinness or Jameson vouchers. (B)

Day 11 - Fri: Return Home from Dublin

Complimentary group transfers are provided to Dublin Airport 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 stores before boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)

 

B = Breakfast, D = Dinner