Best of Ireland & Scotland
Despite the many regional variations between Ireland and Scotland, they share a natural affinity, tracing back to their Gaelic roots, together with stunning landscapes, and warm-hearted communities.
Pricing
Classic group tour starting at $6,050* CAD per person, based on double occupancy
14 Days – Dublin to Edinburgh
Activity level: Balanced
Make travel matter experience
ARDGOWAN ESTATE: Join Sir Ludovic for a tour of his family home, Ardgowan Estate, and savour a traditional Scottish tea made from local ingredients. Hear more about centuries of history in the beautiful grounds. Your visit helps support the estate, helping keep Scottish history alive. The Estate educates its visitors and the local rural community about their sustainability initiatives, reducing food waste and sourcing all ingredients locally to support the local economy. The Estate also invests in renewable projects including a wood bio mass boiler, a gas plant and wind turbines, to create a greener, more sustainable future.
Unique Insight experiences
DUBLIN: Tour Trinity College with a university insider, before marveling at the ancient Book of Kells, created by monks and dating from A.D. 800.
KILDARE: Join a working member of the famous Irish Stud Farm for a private, behind-the-scenes visit of the stud where many legendary racehorses were bred. After, stroll through the finest Japanese gardens in Europe, designed by master horticulturalists, Tassa and Minoru Eida.
LONDONDERRY: There’s no better way to experience sightseeing than with one of Northern Ireland’s best storytellers, Ronan, as he takes you on a tour inside the city walls. See the Gothic Guildhall and the Georgian houses of Shipquay Street.
Top rated highlights
DUBLIN: During your orientation with your Travel Director, see Custom House and travel along the River Liffey. See the Guinness Brewery, Christchurch Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
CORK: Your Travel Director will show you the Grand Parade and South Mall, along with City Hall and the Opera House.
BLARNEY: It is said that those who kiss the Blarney Stone are bestowed with the power to persuade, flatter and coax. But to do so, you must dangle from the ramparts!
RING OF KERRY: Venture into a world of towering cliffs, lush lakelands and remote villages, as you journey the magical Ring of Kerry.
CLIFFS OF MOHER: Stop by the Exhibition Centre and look out over the Wild Atlantic Way from these majestic cliffs.
GALWAY: Enjoy an orientation tour of the many landmarks in Galway such as the Lynch Memorial, Church of St. Nicholas, Spanish Arch and Eyre Square.
DRUMCLIFFE: Visit the final resting place of Irish poet William Butler Yeats.
GIANTS CAUSEWAY: The towering hexagonal basalt columns are a geographical wonder to behold.
LARNE: Board your ferry to cross the Irish Sea to Cairnryan.
GLASGOW: See the grand public buildings, including George Square and St. Mungo’s Cathedral.
LOCH NESS: Soak up the scenery and hear intriguing tales of Nessie during a cruise.
FORT WILLIAM: Enjoy an excellent view of Ben Nevis from the World War II Commando Memorial.
INVERNESS: See the River Ness, Inverness Castle and take in the scenery around you as you hear about the beauty and history behind Inverness.
HIGHLANDS: Visit the prehistoric burial Cairns of Clava.
ST ANDREWS: Visit the university town where the famous beach scene from ‘Chariots of Fire’ was filmed and see the golf course where the sport was created.
EDINBURGH: Explore the city with your Local Expert as you travel along Princes Street to see the Scott Memorial, the neoclassical Adam facades of New Town and the official Scottish residence of the Queen, Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Day
Day 1
Location(s)
Dublin
Meals
Dinner with Wine
Description
On arrival at Dublin airport, your airport transfer service to your hotel is included. Join your Travel Director for a warm and friendly Welcome Dinner, an opportunity to get to know each other over a meal with wine.
Accommodation: Clayton Hotel Burlington/Clayton Hotel Charlemont, Dublin (2 nights)
Day 2
Dublin
Breakfast
An orientation with your Travel Director will take you past the Custom House and travel along the River Liffey. See the Guinness Storehouse, Christchurch Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Enjoy your VIP priority entrance to the 9th century Book of Kells and a walk through the cobbled courtyards of Trinity College accompanied by a university insider, gaining their insight into modern life and the establishment’s impressive history.
Day 3
Dublin – Kildare – Cork
Breakfast
Witness life behind the scenes of the National Stud Farm, where many legend racehorses are bred, before tracing the journey of the soul through life in the finest Japanese gardens in Europe, designed by master horticulturists, Tassa and Minoru. Continue on to Cork, Ireland’s second most populous city, built on the River Lee. Travel along Grand Parade to see Cork’s City Hall and Opera House.
Accommodation: Maldron Hotel South Mall, Cork
Day 4
Cork – Blarney Castle – Killarney
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Visit the ruined 15th century Blarney Castle, home of the famous Stone of Eloquence – once kissed, never forgotten! Or enjoy a sensory walk in the extensive and varied estate gardens. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure.
Accommodation: Killarney Avenue Hotel (2 nights)
Day 5
Killarney – Ring of Kerry Excursion
Breakfast
Explore Killarney with Insight Choice. Choose between a memorable ride on a horse-drawn jaunting car with the local jarveys, or join a gentle hike with a Local Expert along the lake shore and past the grounds of Ross Castle, admiring the incredible scenery of the National Park. While there aren’t any mountains to climb, walkers should be fit, have good walking shoes or boots, sunscreen and rain gear.Tour the superb seascapes, towering cliffs and spectacular mountains of the Ring of Kerry. Journey past lush lakelands and through delightful villages like Sneem. Cross the peat bogs of the Black Mountains to Moll’s Gap and admire Queen Victoria’s Ladies View. Upon returning in the mid-afternoon, the rest of the day is at leisure.
Day 6
Killarney – Cliffs of Moher – Clare County
Breakfast
Begin the day with a short ferry ride across the Shannon estuary. Enjoy magnificent views of the Clare coast, as you journey to the Visitors’ Centre at the 700-foot Cliffs of Moher. Continue to your hotel located at the gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way.
Accommodation: The Inn At Dromoland
Day 7
Clare County – Galway – Sligo
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Join your Travel Director in Galway to see the infamous Lynch Memorial and the Church of St. Nicholas, where Christopher Columbus reputedly prayed before his discovery of America. Also see the aged Spanish Arch and Eyre Square, dedicated to the late US President, John F. Kennedy. Tour the wild Connemara region, a scenic wonderland of rivers, lakes and silent hills. Drive along the scenic shores of Sligo Bay.
Accommodation: Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa/Clayton Hotel, Sligo
Day 8
Sligo – Giant’s Causeway – Ballygally
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
The day begins in Drumcliffe, with a visit to the final resting place of Ireland’s famous poet, William Butler Yeats. Cross into Northern Ireland to visit Londonderry. What better way to experience sightseeing than with one of Northern Ireland’s best storytellers, Ronan, as he walks with you inside the city walls, still topped with cannons. Walk down steep Shipquay Street, with its elegant Georgian houses, to the Gothic Guildhall. Continue around the coast to the amazing Giant’s Causeway, then take a spectacular drive along the Antrim Coast to your hotel, overlooking the sea at the head of Ballygally Bay.
Accommodation: Ballygally Castle Hotel
Day 9
Ballygally – Ardgowan – Glasgow
Breakfast, Afternoon Tea
Cross the Irish Sea by ferry and journey to Ardgowan. Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart welcomes you to his family castle, set on a 10,000-acre coastal estate. Learn the history of the area, the Shaw Stewart family and the castle itself, followed by a traditional Scottish tea and scones. Continue to Glasgow where your Travel Director will show you the city’s grand public buildings, including George Square and St. Mungo’s Cathedral.
Accommodation: Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow
Day 10
Glasgow – Glencoe – Loch Ness/Inverness
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
A scenic drive takes you along the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond. Absorb the dramatic landscape of Glencoe, still echoing with the cries of massacred clansmen. Pause at the Commando Memorial for a view of Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis before reaching the Great Glen. Continue on to Loch Ness and embark on a cruise to soak up the scenery, historic monuments and intriguing tales of Nessie in the heart of Scotland’s great glen.
Accommodation: Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness (2 nights)
Day 11
Inverness
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
In the morning, see the sights of Inverness, before travelling to the Culloden Moor Visitor Centre, where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite army was finally defeated. Not much more than a cannon shot away lies the prehistoric Clava burial cairns, dating back to around 2,000 B.C. Then have a ‘wee dram’ during a visit to the Glen Ord Distillery, hear stories of the whisky smugglers as you delve into the fascinating world of the single malt.
Day 12
Inverness – St. Andrews – Edinburgh
Breakfast
A scenic drive takes you through the Grampian Mountains past the Duke of Atholl’s Blair Castle. Drive down and cross the Tay to visit St. Andrews. As you arrive, pass the Old Course, the home of golf since its invention in the 15th century. Enjoy free time to explore. Why not wander to St. Andrews University where the love story of Kate Middleton and Prince William began? Alternately, stroll to West Sands Beach where the famous ‘Chariots of Fire’ scene was filmed. Continue across the majestic Forth Road Bridge to the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. In the evening, select departures attend The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Accommodation: Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel/MacDonald Holyrood Hotel, Edinburgh (2 nights)
Day 13
Edinburgh
Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
In the morning, join a Local Expert to see the highlights of the city. Drive along Princes Street to the ornate Scott Memorial, then see the 18th century New Town with its neoclassical Georgian facades. In the Old Town see the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official Scottish residence of the Queen. Venture up the Royal Mile to visit Edinburgh Castle, home of Mons Meg, the Stone of Destiny and Scotland’s Crown Jewels, the Honours of Scotland. In the afternoon, you are at leisure to continue exploring as you wish, or perhaps go shopping. Join your friends at the stylish Grazing by Mark Greenaway, located in the heart of Edinburgh’s West End. Your grand finale Celebration Dinner is a mouthwatering meal of modern Scottish cuisine with a Parisian twist, and is of course served with wine.
Day 14
Edinburgh
Breakfast
Your journey comes to an end after breakfast with transfers to the Edinburgh airport included.
*Hotel rooms are subject to availability and are confirmed by the supplier at time of booking; they may be replaced by other hotel rooms of similar category at the sole discretion of the supplier.
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*Prices are per person, based on double occupancy and subject to change and availability.