Day 1
Transfer by Aircoach from Dublin Airport to your hotel, the 3* Bewley’s Ballsbridge Hotel, a beautifully restored 19th century building boasting spacious ensuite accommodation with superbly appointed features. The hotel is located in the heart of Dublin’s exclusive business district and embassy belt. As it is situated so close to the city centre, it is an ideal base for visiting this great city’s many fabulous tourist attractions.
A ‘Hop On, Hop Off’ open top bus tour is included in your package. Your ticket is valid for 48 hours from the time you first use it, so you can see the sights at your leisure and convenience. The tour stops at 25 iconic Dublin visitor attractions with a live guide to entertain you and bring the city’s history to life. Why not start your tour today as a relaxing way to introduce yourself to this vibrant and exciting city?
A Welcome Dinner is included at your hotel on the first night of your stay.
Day 2
This morning, either pick up where you left off yesterday with your City Sightseeing Tour, or explore the city on foot. Free entry to over 30 top Dublin visitor attractions is included in your package. Why not start with the James Joyce Centre in North Great George’s Street, the Birthplace of George Bernard Shaw or the Dublin Writers Museum?
Take a photo alongside the statues of James Joyce in North Earl Street and Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square? – a must for the family album!
Ireland’s first great writer to be recognized internationally was Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels. Be sure to make time to visit magnificent St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, where he was the Dean from 1713 to 1742. His grave and epitaph can be seen in the cathedral, where he took a great interest in the building and its services and funded almshouses for poor women and Saint Patrick’s Hospital.
This evening you can enjoy a thoroughly entertaining Tour of Dublin’s most famous Literary Pubs, accompanied throughout by two professional actors who introduce the writers and act out scenes from their works, as well as lacing the evening with plenty of humorous anecdotes. This tour is great fun and even boasts a very impressive fourth place in the Sunday Times List of ‘Top 50 Walks in the World’.
Day 3
This morning take a short trip to Sandycove (easily accessible by train from your hotel) to visit the James Joyce Museum, located in a Martello Tower on the coast. Alternatively, if you prefer to spend the morning in Dublin, there are a host of other literary attractions to discover, including the Dublin Writers Museum and the National Library of Ireland on Kildare Street.
No doubt you will have worked up a thirst from all your sightseeing and no visit to Dublin would be complete without a trip to the home of its most famous export, the Guinness Storehouse, which is also the highest point in the city, so you can enjoy spectacular panoramic views.
This evening your package includes tickets for a performance at the famous Abbey Theatre, founded by W B Yeats and Lady August Gregory in 1904. Renowned as a writer’s theatre, the Abbey has contributed to some of the world’s greatest theatrical works.
Why not time your tour to coincide with Bloomsday on 16th June 2012. Otherwise known as Dublin Writers Day, this is a fabulous festival celebrating the city’s literary heritage. It goes without saying that this is an extremely popular event, so we advise pre-booking in plenty of time to avoid disappointment.
Day 4
Today you will be setting off on a full day’s Rail Tour. It’s an early start (07.00 from Dublin Heuston station) but well worth the effort as this is a wonderful tour and breakfast is available on the intercity train to Limerick, where you will join your coach for a short tour of this city, the setting for ‘Angela’s Ashes’ the 1996 award winning (1997 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography & the 1997 Boeke Prize) memoirs of Irish-American author Frank Mc Court, where he so vividly describes life in Limerick in the 1930’s and 40’s in all its grittiness and hardship.
Then you head North towards Galway, with a 2 hour stop en-route to visit Bunratty Castle and Folk Village (entry to the Castle is included in your package). After a lunch break at a traditional Irish Pub in the charming coastal village of Doolin (lunch not included), you will travel on to the majestic Cliffs of Moher on the wild Atlantic coast to explore the unique lunar landscape of the Burren, before heading along the shores of Galway Bay to the city of Galway. This spectacular route is widely regarded as one of Europe’s top 10 coastal drives.
There will be an opportunity to get a brief flavour of Galway, before returning to Dublin by train. Galway was the home of James Joyce’s wife, life-long companion and inspiration, Nora Barnacle, whose tiny house in the city has been turned into the smallest museum in Ireland.
Your train arrives back at Dublin Heuston Station at 20.45 - light meals and a full bar are available on board.
Day 5
After breakfast at your hotel, if time permits and you haven’t had time to fit it into your schedule already, be sure to visit the Old Library and Book of Kells Exhibition at Trinity College (entry charge applies) - a "must see" on the itinerary of all visitors to Dublin. Visit the fabulous shops in Grafton Street for gifts to take home before setting off on your return journey.
Transfer by Aircoach to Dublin Airport