Ireland Family Classic Vacation

Day 1.
Dublin.
Morning arrival at Dublin Airport where after clearing customs transfer on own to your Dublin Hotel. The rest of the day is free to browse this 1000-year-old city on your own. Overnight Dublin.

Day 2
Dublin Tour – Epic Museum-Dublin Haunted Ghost Tour.
After breakfast we meet our courteous and professional Blue Badged Irish Driver Guide in the lobby of the hotel. You will be sure to see St. Patrick’s Cathedral where writer Jonathan Swift gave his sermons, The G.P.O. on O’Connell Street scene of the 1916 Easter Uprising where the bullet holes still remain to this day. Drive through famous Phoenix Park where the Pope said Mass in late 70’s and finally Trinity College to view the 8th century manuscripts, The Book of Kells, still preserved as they were when the Monks produced them all those centuries ago. We then make our way to the Epic Museum which has many interesting children’s exhibits. Discover Ireland’s haunted past on a Dublin ghost tour by bus. Visit the chilling Bully’s Acre cemetery and learn how watchmen witnessed gravediggers in action. Admire the Dublin Castle, where some of Ireland’s most historic events have taken place. Stop at St Audoen’s, Dublin’s oldest-running parish church. Visit the original Gravediggers Pub and enjoy a free ‘ghoulish brew’. Listen to accounts of strange occurrences witnessed at Kilmainham Jail. Free pass for the ‘Haunted Dublin Historical Walking Tour included with the purchase of the Ghost tour from your concierge. Overnight Dublin.

Day 3
Dublin-Glendalough-Blarney-Cork.
After breakfast we make our way to Naas, home of the Irish National Stud Farm. Perhaps enjoy some Pony rides in Naas. We head south stopping in Glendalough monastic settlement of St. Kevin in the 6th century. A possible family stop in Kilkenny is The Dunmore Cave. Consisting of a series of chambers formed over millions of years, the cave contains some of the finest calcite formations found in any Irish cave. The cave has been known to man for many centuries and is first mentioned in the 9th century Irish Triads We enjoy a panoramic tour of Cork City, home to several magnificent churches including St. Ann’s and St. Finbar’s cathedral. Cork City is the second largest city in Ireland and takes its name from the Irish word Corcaigh meaning “marshy place”. The ancestral home of America’s automobile pioneer, Henry Ford is located here. Overnight Cork.

Day 4
Cork-Fota-Kinsale-Cork.
After breakfast we make our way to Fota Wildlife Park, which is home to nearly to 50 mammals and 50 bird species. Children can feed the animals and there are interesting informational tours for adults as well. It is onto Kinsale. Kinsale in County Cork is one of the most picturesque, popular, and fashionable resorts of the south-west coast of Ireland. Famous for its beautiful yachting, sea angling, gourmet restaurants and golf. Charles Fort, a popular attraction was constructed in the late 17th century on the site of an earlier coastal fortification. Charles Fort is a classic example of a star-shaped fort and has five bastions. The two seaward bastions, the Devil’s and the Charles’ were for defending the harbor and both are casemated – that is, they have gun embrasures inside as well as on top of the walls. Desmond Castle, (French Prison) Cork Street, Kinsale, built as a custom house by the Earl of Desmond c. AD 1500. Desmond Castle has had a colorful history, ranging from Spanish occupation in 1601 to use as a prison for captured American sailors during the American War of Independence. Known locally as ‘The French Prison’ after a tragic fire in which 54 prisoners, mainly French seamen, died in 1747. The castle was also used as a borough jail from 1791 to the onset of the Great Famine when it was used as an auxiliary workhouse tending to the starving populace. Time to explore this area. We return to Cork. Overnight Cork.

Day 5
Cork-Killarney-Sheep Farm.
Our next stop, Blarney Castle, is home to the blarney stone, which legend has it bequeaths the “gift of eloquence” to all who kisses it. Time to shop at the woolen mills or stop in Christy’s Pub for a Pint! Our journey takes us east over the Kerry and Cork Mountains to Macroom where we pause for a short visit. This is the main market town for the Gaelic speaking region to the west. Macroom Castle dates from the 13th century and was the seat of the McCarthy’s of Muskerry. Oliver Cromwell granted it to Admiral Sir William Penn whose namesake son spent much of his childhood here and later founded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We arrive Killarney. Time here to explore Killarney and Killarney National Park. Here we can partake in bicycling, jaunting cart rides, or just enjoying downtown and the park. Time permitting you might also enjoy an hour of Horseback Riding at the Killarney Stables. We continue to Kenmare and Molls Gap where we visit (optional) the Kissane Sheep Farm. Overnight in Killarney

Day 6
Dingle Peninsula & Blasket Centre.
Today discover the beauties of the Dingle Peninsula, made famous by David Lean’s movie, “Ryan’s Daughter” Drive along the south shore of the peninsula for plenty of vistas of heathery mountains, sandy stretches of beach and rocky headlands. There will be frequent stops at strategic locations to admire the views and take photos. Stop in the town of Dingle for some leisure time before continuing on to Slea Head at the western tip of the peninsula. Visit the Blasket Centre in Dunquin to learn about the Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy families who eked out a living by farming and fishing. We are intrigued by the opportunity to design using the most inspiring landscape and the wonderful tradition of the Celtic World” In 1984, a young bottle-nosed dolphin named Fungi started to appear at the mouth of Dingle Harbour. The now world-famous dolphin has remained in Dingle since and has become both a friend to the locals and a great “attraction” for visitors. We may enjoy a boat ride to view this famous creature (Boat Ride is optional). On land Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium also has an impressive assortment of sharks, penguins, reptiles, otters, and jellyfish with interactive displays to thrill young and old.  Overnight in Killarney.

Day 7
Killarney –  Cliffs of Moher –  Traditional Irish Farm – Bunratty.
 Today we take a tour of Ireland’s stony place – the Burren (Bhoireann). It is home to rare alpine plants, delicate wonders that grow in the thin soil and crevices – gentians, orchids, and maidenhair ferns amongst others. The survival of both alpine and Mediterranean plants in this unusual habitat continues to arouse and to delight its visitors. The Burren contains dozens of megalithic tombs, Celtic crosses, and a ruined Cistercian Abbey dating from the 12th century, Corcomroe. You can find villages abandoned since famine times and green roads on which you can walk for miles without ever seeing a car. Continue on and gaze at the majestic awe of the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs, a spectacular natural phenomenon, rise 660 feet above the Atlantic. O’Brien’s Tower is the best location from which to view the Cliffs. From this vantage point one can see the Aran Islands as well as The Twelve Pins and the Maum Turk Mountains to the north in Connemara. While in the Burren region, we may decide to stop at the Ailwee Caves, a favorite for families! As you leave the cliffs, you will travel through the little village of Liscannor and just across the bay, you will see the beautiful seaside village and golfers’ mecca, Lahinch. After touring the rugged Burren, we make our way to a traditional Irish farm, where the children can feed the animals and where we get introduced to authentic farm life. It is then onto quaint Bunratty, home of Bunratty Castle and the Bunratty Medieval folk park. Overnight Bunratty.

Day 8
Shannon Airport. Transfer on own via taxi the short distance to Shannon Airport!