Day 1

Arrive at Dublin Airport and pick up your self-drive car.
Overnight in Dublin / Dublin area

Day 2

After your first experience of an ‘Irish Breakfast’ you can explore Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Throughout Dublin are numerous sites of historic interest: the Norman Christ Church Cathedral, the Trinity College to see the historic Book of Kells, travel on to Dublin Castle, the home of past British rule in Ireland, see the 18th century streetscape and visit Kilmainham Jail. Here in 1916, following the Easter Uprising, leaders of the uprising were imprisoned and many of them were shot in its courtyard. Visit the GPO (General Post Office) built in 1818 halfway along O'Connell Street, the GPO became a symbol of the 1916 Easter Rising. Members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army seized the building on Easter Monday and Patrick Pearse read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from its steps. Inside the building is a sculpture of the legendary Irish warrior Cuchulainn, dedicated to those who died for their part in the Easter Rising. Then have time to explore the city and its famous city parks on foot.
Overnight in Dublin / Dublin area

Day 3

Today you travel northward out of Dublin. First stop will be at the World Heritage site, Bru na Boinne, in the valley of the River Boyne. This area has been one of the major centres in the development of Irish civilisation. Here overlooking the green fields of the Boyne Valley you will see the area where there are 5,000 year old passage tombs such as Newgrange and Knowth. Take time also to visit the battlefield. No Irish battle is more famous than William III's victory over James II at the River Boyne. Then cross the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Driving alongside the beautiful Carlingford Lough you will come to the celebrated Mountains of Mourne. Next visit the astonishing Castle Ward House. Built by the 1st Viscount Bangor this property demonstrates that husbands and wives cannot always agree on architectural style! The house was built half in the neo-classical style, to suit the Viscount, and half in the Gothic style, to suit his wife. Proceed to the Ulster Folk Museum at Cultra. The museum has a very impressive display of traditional village streets and rural housing bringing to life past times. Arrival in Belfast. There is in this beautiful city so much history to consume.  Visit City Hall, Parliament Building, Grand Opera House and some beautiful Victorian architecture.
Overnight in Belfast / Belfast area

Day 4

Leaving Belfast travel through County Antrim to another World Heritage site, the Giant’s Causeway. Here you will see a site of great geological interest, from which on a clear day, you can look across to the distant hills of Scotland. From the Causeway we will now travel on to the quaint village of Bushmills. Here we can experience another important part of Ireland’s history, the brewing of whiskey. Bushmills is the world’s oldest whiskey distillery and still produces fine spirits that are exported around the world. Leaving Bushmills proceed along the North Antrim coast to Dunluce Castle. Perched on the cliff tops this castle was home to the McDonnell family. 

In 1639 part of the castle collapsed into the sea taking the kitchen and the kitchen staff into the waves below. All along this coast are reminders of ships from the 16th century Spanish Armada which were destroyed here by the violent storms and rocky coast. The route now takes us to the second city of Northern Ireland, Londonderry (Derry) on the banks of Lough Foyle.
Overnight in Londonderry / Londonderry area

Day 5

Early in the morning depart from Londonderry and travel to the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh.  This park traces the history of the inhabitants of this part of Ireland, including their stories of migration to other lands. The route now takes us to Enniskillen situated between upper and lower Lough Erne. Here visit the castle. Once a stronghold of Celtic chieftains Enniskillen was also strategically important in the 17th century in the defense of Northern Ireland from Scotland and England. For a change of pace why not have a cruise on the beautiful Upper Lough Erne? From Enniskillen we will travel westward to Sligo where you will have a stop at Carrowmore to see the largest megalithic cemetery in Ireland. From here we will proceed to Boyle where it will be possible to visit the famous abbey.
Overnight in the Boyle area

Day 6

This morning visit the city of Galway with its ancient history and deep connections with Celtic culture. Travel onto Craggaunowen where you will be able to participate in the early Celtic lifestyle. See typical lake dwellings or ‘Crannog’, walk along a ‘stone age’ roadway and try to cook in ancient cooking sites. Gain a greater understanding of what life was like for these early settlers. Onward to Limerick. Here you will visit Bunratty Castle, a fine example of the Norman castles built in Ireland. From Limerick, travel through the famous town of Tipperary and on to the Rock of Cashel. Standing on a rock high above the surrounding countryside the Rock of Cashel was once home to the ancient Kings of Munster. Later it became an ecclesiastical settlement. The buildings here are one of the enduring symbols of Ireland. From Cashel travel south to the historic city of Cork once one of the wealthiest towns in the British Isles, its fortune based on exports of dairy produce from the rich farmlands through which you will pass.
Overnight in Kinsale area

Day 7

Your first visit today will be to the town of Cobh situated on Cork Harbour.  Cobh has many links to the sea and was the main port from which Irish nationals migrated in the 19th and 20th century. One of its more famous aspects is that it was the last port at which the ill-fated liner ‘Titanic’ called on her maiden voyage. Here you can walk along the quay where those last passengers for the ‘Titanic’ set sail. Visit the Queenstown Museum in Cobh which graphically tells the story of Irish migration and has a special section dedicated to the story of the ‘Titanic” From Cobh you will travel down through Cork City where we will have the opportunity to visit the English Market and other historic sites
Overnight in Cork / Cork area

Day 8

After some last minute shopping travel  to Dublin Airport to leave your car.