Ireland

Ireland’s seduction is subtle. No big-bang sights, but instead an engaging and accessible culture. You will enjoy traditional music in pubs, hear Gaelic being spoken as chat on the street, and be welcomed by all. Lay this human net across rugged coastal crags, pastoral landscapes, medieval castles, and mossy Neolithic stone riddles. This is a musical land, juxtaposed against a harsh past, a fascinating present, and a future out of the shadow of dominant neighbors. Our tour spends 12 nights exploring the energetic Republic of Ireland. We follow this with an optional 4 night excursion across the border into surprising and misunderstood Northern Ireland. Our small group sidesteps the cruise crowds and “plastic shamrock” commercial tourism. Weather-proof hikers, historians, and humorists will flourish on this active and fun adventure.

Day 1  Dublin
Meeting; Dinner
We’ll gather late afternoon in our hotel for a ‘get-acquainted’ meeting, followed by a neighborhood orientation and dinner together in an Irish pub.
Mespil Hotel (2 nights) https://www.mespilhotel.com/

Day 2  Dublin
Walking tour; Book of Kells; National Museum of Archeology
We’ll start learning the story of Ireland and Dublin on a walking tour this morning. Included will be the Book of Kells, the celebrated 12 centuries old illuminated manuscript. We’ll follow that up with the archeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland. Your afternoon is free to explore Dublin on your own. This evening join us on an optional ‘Musical Pub Crawl, an excellent primer for the unique Irish music that peppers this tour.

Day 3  Kilkenny
Kilkenny Castle; Rothe House
Today is a full and rewarding day. After our hardy Irish breakfast we’ll depart for Kilkenny. There we’ll tour Kilkenny Castle, still furnished as the aristocratic Butler family left it. After lunch we’ll seep into the world of medieval merchants exploring the Rothe House (no nails, just pegs) and its adjacent Elizabethan walled garden. The rest of the afternoon is free to explore.
Clubhouse Hotel (2 nights)

Day 4  Kilkenny
Kells Priory; Hook Head Lighthouse; Dunbrody
After breakfast our coach heads to the pastoral ruins of Kells Priory, a site of bloodshed during an aborted Scottish invasion 700 years ago. In the afternoon, we’ll climb the stone stairs of the Hook Head Lighthouse built by invading Normans 800 years ago. On our route back to Kilkenny, we’ll come aboard the Dunbrody Famine ship for a glimpse of the Atlantic crossing by sail.

Day 5  Kinsale
Rock of Cashel; Queenstown Immigration Museum; Titanic Experience
Departing Kilkenny today our first adventure is the Rock of Cashel, a hilltop ruin that expresses the evolution of Irish religious devotion in stone. Heading to the coast, we’ll visit the historic emigration port of Cobh. It’s here that the Queenstown Story exhibit maps out how the Irish diaspora was launched. Nearby, the Titanic Experience fills the former White Star ticket office where the last passengers boarded that tragic voyage.
Blindgate House (2 nights) https://www.blindgatehouse.com/

Day 6  Kinsale
Walking Tour; Charles Fort
Today we explore the harbor town of Kinsale where the 4th and final Spanish Armada landed. We’ll join local expert and valued colleague Barry Moloney for a walking tour of this historic town. Next we’ll visit nearby Charles Fort, a 17th century ‘star-shaped bastion’ fort.  A free afternoon and evening are yours to fill as you wish.

Day 7  Dingle
Beal na Blath; Kenmare Stone Circle; Kissane Sheep Farm; Killarney National Park
A busy but rewarding driving day is our agenda this day. Our morning stops are Beal na Blath, the assassination site of Michael Collins at the birth of the Irish nation. Our lunch stop in tidy Kenmare features hands-on access to a 4000 year old stone circle. Our afternoon drive traces the mountainous section of the Ring of Kerry with a visit to the Kissane family sheep farm to show off their amazing herding dogs with a side order of sheep shearing. Our final stop will be a mossy walk to view Torc Waterfall in Killarney NP before we glide into Dingle town.
Bamburys Guesthouse (3 nights) https://www.bamburysguesthouse.com/

Day 8  Dingle
Dingle Peninsula driving tour, Blasket Centre, St. James Church concert
After breakfast we’ll depart for an all-day driving tour of the photogenic Dingle Peninsula loop, our vote for the most scenic corner of Ireland. We’ll linger longest at the western tip of Europe to visit the Blasket Centre with its display of traditional island life. This evening we’ll gather at tiny St. James Church for a concert of traditional Irish music.

Day 9  Dingle
Free day
Today is an entirely free day to explore Dingle further or relax and rest up. If weather permits we’ll offer an optional Great Blasket Island excursion. Other options include hiking, visiting the Harry Clarke stained glass windows in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart convent, golf, or take a harbor nature cruise.

Day 10  Inishmore
Cliffs of Moher
This travel day takes us all the way to Inishmore Island, largest of the Gaelic speaking Aran Islands. On our way, we’ll loop through the Burren's unique limestone landscape and then make a stop at the postcard famous Cliffs of Moher. Late afternoon we’ll catch a ferry to Inishmore.
Pier House Guesthouse (2 nights) https://www.pierhousearan.com/

Day 11  Inishmore
Driving tour; Dun Aengus Fort
A morning’s driving tour is our activity today. Highlights include St. Benin’s tiny chapel for panoramic island views and Dun Aengus iron age ring fort, perched dramatically on the edge of a 330 foot cliff. Your afternoon is free. Weather permitting, we’ll offer an optional hike to both the Black Fort and the Serpent’s Lair. Otherwise, you can rent a bike or arrange a pony trap cart ride, check out Aran sweaters on their home islands, or just eavesdrop on the local pub gossip.

Day 12  Trim
Trim Castle, The Burren
Departing our island idle, we’ll forge east across the very center of the island to Trim for our final night together. We’ll break up our driving day with a group lunch in a pub on Galway Bay. Then it’s straight across the island interior to Trim, home of Ireland’s largest Norman Castle which we will explore together. We’ll gather for a final dinner together to toast our shared travel discoveries.
Highfield House (1 night) https://highfieldguesthouse.com/

Day 13  Tour over
Tour over after breakfast. It’s a 45 minute shuttle to Dublin Airport.

[Itinerary specifics and hotels are subject to change]

Northern Ireland Extension

Day 1  Portrush
Ulster Folk Park; Derry Walls & Murals
For those continuing on for the Northern Ireland extension, we’ll make a post-breakfast departure. Our day begins with the Ulster American Folk Park, an open-air museum which tells the story of the earliest wave of Scots-Irish emigration. Upon arrival in Derry, we’ll walk the famous walls and view the political murals that expressed the cultural frustration during the “Troubles”. Then it’s on to Portrush, where we’ll settle for the next two nights.
Elephant Rock Hotel (2 nights) https://elephantrockhotel.co.uk/

Day 2  Portrush
Giant’s Causeway; DunLuce Castle
Now Northern Ireland reveals its surprising beauty. We begin with a visit to the famous Giant’s Causeway, hiking down onto the geologic pavement of fascinating interlocking basalt columns. We conclude our morning wanderings with a tour of DunLuce Castle, a dramatic cliff-top ruin. Your afternoon is free to stroll the gentle beaches of Portrush and navigate its low-brow arcade attractions.

Day 3  Belfast
Gobbins; Titanic Belfast, Dry Dock
Heading south to Belfast we pick up a unique experience en route. The Gobbins is an impossible coastal trail: an engineering marvel of iron bridges, paths, tunnels and stairways along coastal cliffs. In the afternoon we’ll visit the Titanic Dry Dock and Titanic Belfast, a modern interpretive museum that tells the ill-fated story.
Leonardo Hotel (2 nights) https://www.leonardohotels.co.uk/hotels/belfast/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local

Day 4  Belfast
City Hall; “Troubles” Tour
We will again fill the agenda on our last day together. We’ll start with City Hall and a quick photo-op of the next door Titanic memorial. Then a guided “Troubles” tour – an unvarnished, balanced account of the political and religious strife that wracked Northern Ireland for 3 decades…with the local voice of one who lived it. Your afternoon is free. We’ll gather for a final dinner together.

Day 5 Extension over
Extension ends after breakfast. {There is a 2-hour direct bus to Dublin airport}

[Itinerary specifics and hotels are subject to change]

Included:
12 nights accommodations (+ 4 with extension); All breakfasts, 6 dinners (+ 2 with extension), 1 lunch; all tour transport (coach, van, ferry); All tips (Imprint tour manager, local guides, meals, hotel staffs, drivers); Full-time services of an Imprint tour director, local guides; All entrances: Book of Kells, National Museum (Arch), Kilkenny Castle, Rothe House, Hook Head Lighthouse, Dunbrody Famine Ship, Rock of Cashel, Queenstown Emigration Museum, Titanic Experience, Charles Fort, Blasket Center, Trim Castle; All activities: Walking tours - Dublin, Kinsale; Driving tours - Dingle, Ring of Kerry, Inishmore; Bear na Blath, Sheep Farm, Torc Waterfall & Killarney NP, Cliffs of Moher, Dingle concert, Burren NP, and more.
Extension Entrances: Ulster Folk Park, Titanic Belfast, Giant’s Causeway, Dun Luce Castle, Gobbins hike Activities: Derry walls & murals, Belfast City Hall, “Troubles” tour, and more.

Important Exclusions
Tour participants are responsible for the cost of drinks, free-time sightseeing & meals, and expenditures of a personal nature.