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PRIVATE TOUR ITINERARY

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Discover Ireland — see the best of Ireland in 11 days with your very own chauffeur-guide! Experience Ireland’s must-see historical sites, and spectacular coastal scenery. Enjoy Gaelic tunes in the music filled bars and gourmet dinners at hand-picked restaurants. Stay in the charming towns Kenmare and Dingle and tour the Slea Head Drive along the Dingle Peninsula. Lean into the wind on the very edge of Europe at the Cliffs of Moher. Visit the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle and Ormond house. This beautifully guided journey ends in Dublin where you’ll enjoy a private-guided walking tour. You may choose to visit the Guinness Storehouse, the award-winning Pearse Lyons distillery or any number of world class museums. Discover Ireland on this 11-day private tour!​

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Day 1) Arrive Dublin | Continue to the West Coast of Ireland

Arrive Dublin Airport, where you will be greeted by your Irish driver/guide. Depart to Doolin, County Clare, on the West Coast of Ireland. Your hotel is strikingly situated with magnificent views of the Atlantic and the Aran Islands. Some free time to relax and settle into your accommodation prior to a gourmet welcome dinner. 

 

Day 2) Aran Islands & Cliffs of Moher 

This morning, you’ll board a ferry at Doolin Harbor bound for the stark beauty of Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands. Enjoy a pony and trap (cart) tour of the island. On your return to the mainland, admire the Cliffs of Moher in the most spectacular way, from the sea. This afternoon, head to the tops of the Cliffs of Moher, where you will find yourself leaning into the wind on the very edge of Europe, more than 600 feet above the waters of the North Atlantic. Gourmet dinner at the hotel included this evening.

 

Day 3) Limerick & Conor Pass

Today, depart Doolin for Limerick, where you will enjoy a private guided walking tour of one of Ireland's oldest cities. You will learn about the history of Limerick—from its Viking past to the present. See St. Mary's Cathedral, the Treaty Stone and King John's Castle. From Limerick, continue to Dingle along the Conor Pass, Ireland’s highest mountain pass, to the quintessentially Irish harbor town of Dingle for a two-night stay. Dingle is a lively Gaeltacht town of seafaring heritage, where instrumental music and song have a long tradition. You will explore the town, enjoy an opportunity to soak up Gaelic tunes in one of the local bars, and dinner at one of several excellent restaurants, all within walking distance of your hotel. 

 

Day 4) Falconry Experience & Slea Head Drive

Today, discover the Dingle Peninsula along the Slea Head, one of the most scenic routes in Ireland. Your day will include a private Falconry Experience, where you will learn how to hold a hawk, as they fly along the beach between you. Explore the magnificent coastal scenery, visit the Blasket Island Heritage Center, a fascinating museum, honoring the unique community who lived on the remote Blasket Islands until, and Gallarus Oratory, a small 6th century Christian chapel which has survived successive invaders. Tonight, explore more of Dingle’s delights.

 

Day 5) Killarney National Park

Today, enjoy a scenic drive of the stunning beauty of Killarney National Park in County Kerry. You will view Molls Gap, Ladies View and Torc Waterfall. You will visit Muckross House & Gardens, a 19th century Tudor style mansion, where Queen Victoria stayed in 1861, and Muckross Abbey, one of the best preserved and evocative of Ireland's friaries.  You will also experience a jaunting car ride (horse carriage ride) in the National Park. Next, arrive in quaint Kenmare with its rows of vividly painted shop fronts and a go-for-a-stroll atmosphere. Gourmet dinner in Kenmare included this evening.

 

Day 6) Garnish Island & Beara Peninsula

Whole-day excursion to the Beara Peninsula in West Cork, a photographer’s paradise steeped in myths and legends, where you will drive over the picturesque Caha Mountains that form the heart of the peninsula’s wild and windswept landscape. The mountains and valleys are rich in archaeological sites such as stone circles, wedge graves and other relics from the past. Visit Ilnacullin Gardens on Garnish Island, an island garden of diminutive size and rare beauty. Nestled in the sheltered coastal harbor at Glengarriff in Bantry Bay, the gardens display a wealth of unique horticultural and architectural gems. 

 

Day 7) Cahir Castle & Ormond House
Depart Kenmare for County Tipperary. Visit Cahir Castle and Ormond House, both built for the powerful Butler family. Cahir Castle is one of Ireland's best-preserved medieval castles, standing proudly on a rocky island on the River Suir. Ormond House, in Carrick-On-Suir, is a fine example of an Elizabethan manor house, built in the 1560s by Thomas Butler, the 10th Earl of Ormond. Next, arrive in Kilkenny, for a two-night stay at Butler House, formally the Dower House of Kilkenny Castle built in 1770. Kilkenny is a well-preserved medieval town dominated by Kilkenny Castle and St. Canice's Cathedral well-preserved 9th-century round tower.

 

Day 8) Kilkenny, Rock of Cashel & Holy Cross Abbey
Meet your local guide for a private-guided walking tour of Kilkenny, one of Ireland’s best-preserved medieval towns, including Kilkenny Castle and St Canice Cathedral, which includes a well-preserved 9th century round tower. This afternoon, visit the Rock of Cashel, a major historic landmark in Ireland. Set on a dramatic outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale, it possesses the most impressive cluster of medieval buildings in Ireland. According to legend, St. Patrick himself came here to convert King Aenghus to Christianity. Return to Kilkenny via Holy Cross Abbey. Pilgrims travelled here for eight centuries to venerate the relic after which the abbey and surrounding villages are named.

 

Day 9) Russborough House, Wicklow Mountains & Glendalough 

Depart Kilkenny, for a guided tour of Russborough House, filled with hidden treasures from the Renaissance to the 20th century, Russborough is one of Ireland’s most beautiful Georgian houses. Continue through the wild and scenic scenery of the Wicklow Mountains, crossing Wicklow Gap, to the ‘Monastic City’ of Glendalough, where in the 6th century, one of Ireland’s most revered saints, St Kevin, founded a monastery. Explore the ruins on a guided tour. Next, arrive in Dublin for a two-night stay. Your hotel is nestled in the heart of Dublin’s vibrant creative quarter. This neighborhood is home to a variety of shops, bars and restaurants. Grafton Street, St. Stephen’s Green, and Temple Bar are just moments away. 

 

Day 10) Dublin 

This morning, enjoy a private-guided walking tour of Dublin learning about its often-calamitous history from the days of Viking raids to the hard centuries of British occupation to its remarkable literary legacy to the modern city of today. Visit the stunning Old Library, Trinity College, for an illuminating look at the remarkable Book of Kells. This afternoon, some free time to explore Dublin on your own, before a visit to the Guinness Storehouse, home to Ireland’s most famous beer. You may also visit to the Pearse Lyons Whiskey Distillery, an award-winning small batch Irish whiskey distillery located in Dublin's historic Liberties, just a short stroll from the Guinness Storehouse.

 

Day 11) Dublin Airport

This morning, meet your driver for you transfer to Dublin Airport for your return flight.