Blarney Castle & Gardens

On arrival in Cork at 09:35, we transfer to our Railtours Ireland coach to travel through Cork City to Blarney Village and Castle – which is over 600 years old. Explore the beautiful gardens and you will have time to kiss the famous stone, which is said to bestow the gift of eternal eloquence on those lucky enough to do so. There is also time for shopping and lunch at Blarney Village. TIP! We recommend that you have lunch there, as this will be the only opportunity during the day to have a substantial meal. You depart Blarney at 13:30 hrs. Approximately – or as directed by your Host – for Cóbh, via the city centre and a short city tour.

Cobh Cathedral

On arrival at Cóbh (pronounced: Cove), we will visit St Colman’s Cathedral. We will then proceed down along the sea front passing the former White Star Line offices en route to the beautifully restored Victorian railway station/transatlantic terminal. This is now the Cóbh Heritage Centre, home to the Queenstown Story to which your entrance is included.

Cobh Heritage Centre

When Queen Victoria visited Ireland in 1849 she came to Cóbh and the town was renamed Queenstown in her honour – it was renamed Cóbh after Irish independence in 1922. Cóbh was of course the final port of call of the RMS Titanic and this theme is well expounded. The centre also houses much information about the Great Famine and the subsequent Irish Emigration. The Lusitania was torpedoed off the coast of Cork – marking the United States’ entry to the First World War – and the small number of survivors were brought to Cóbh for refuge. Cóbh is also the headquarters of the Irish Navy and you will most likely see some navy ships.

Ring Of Kerry

You will be collected from your accommodation at 09:45 (or as directed by our Killarney representative) for your Ring of Kerry tour. There are plenty of stops along the Ring of Kerry for morning tea, lunch and photo stops etc. Ireland’s highest mountains are located in Kerry, and Carrantuohill – which can be seen en route – is the highest, standing at 1041 metres tall. An essential part of any visit to Ireland, this tour circles the magnificent MacGillycuddy Reeks and runs through its many passes and valleys along the shores of Dingle Bay and Kenmare Bay. The beautiful nature of the Ring of Kerry provides many photo opportunities, as it passes through the many picturesque villages such as Glenbeigh, Waterville and Sneem. We return via Ladies View, the famous Lakes of Killarney and through the Oakwoods of Killarney's magnificent National Park. At the end of the tour you will be returned to your accommodation where, again, the evening is free.

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

Between 07.00 and 07.15 you will be collected from your accommodation and transferred by road to Limerick City, where you will join the coach for the Cliffs of Moher & Galway Bay tour. We arrive in Limerick shortly after 9am, where we will join our Railtours Ireland tour coach. After a brief city tour, we head out to Bunratty Castle and admission is included. The castle was completed in 1425 and, after many years of neglect, has been restored to its former glory. There is also a folk park here and many of the buildings – including the village – were dismantled at various locations in the region and rebuilt, brick by brick, at their present location.

Cliffs of Moher

There is a lunch stop at O’ Connor’s Pub in Doolin before arriving at the majestic Cliffs of Moher – among the highest sea cliffs in Western Europe. There is plenty of time to visit Ireland’s second most popular tourist attraction and your host will advise you of the departure time.

The Burren

From the Cliffs of Moher, we take the coast road for much of the way to Galway, with time for photos along The Burren. This is a national park and the word Burren comes from the Irish Language – meaning ‘rocky place’. Today the Burren is noted for its diverse flora with few parallels elsewhere in Ireland or indeed, Europe. As time permits, we will make a short stop here for photographs. We continue along the coast road to Black Head, passing the pretty coastal villages of Ballyvaughan and Kinvara before joining the main road to Galway, where we will arrive shortly after 17:00. Ask your host if there is time to explore the streets around Eyre Square. At the end of the day the coach will set you down at Eyre Square in the centre of Galway City adjacent to your hotel (and the railway station). You will be directed to your hotel by your host and your evening is free in Galway.

Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden

We head out to Connemara – one of Ireland’s Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) regions and visit Kylemore Abbey – an 18th century castle now owned by the Benedictine nuns who run an excellent pottery, gift shop and restaurant here. We stop here for lunch. Our tour of Connemara heads homewards towards Galway City, along the shores of Galway bay, through the Gaeltacht villages of Inverin and Spiddal. There are splendid views of Galway Bay, and across the bay the Burren and the hills of County Clare can be seen, which you visited on Day Three.