Overview
10 Days
Glasgow
Shannon
Classic Tour
4 Star
Premium
8-99 Years
44
Fully Guided
SCA26
Itinerary
Your tour departs from your hotel at 2:00 PM on a panoramic tour of this city that flourished as a center of shipbuilding and trade in Victorian times and is now a thriving hub of culture. Drive around George Square with its ornate City Chambers. Visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, a splendid, Spanish Baroque-style building housing one of Europe's finest art collections, including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Titian, and Dali. Enjoy a welcome drink with your group before dinner. (D)
Travel alongside famous Loch Lomond, renowned for its beauty. Drive across haunting Rannoch Moor and through Glencoe, admiring the wild and spectacular scenery. Continue through Fort William on to Fort Augustus. Embark on a cruise on Loch Ness before heading to Nairn. (B/D)
Visit Blair Athol Distillery, founded in 1798, to discover traditional whisky production and taste a sample. Travel to St Andrews, a town rich in medieval heritage and the home of golf; take a panoramic drive and have time to explore independently.
Continue on to your elegant manor house hotel outside Edinburgh; three centuries old, it's set on 1,000 acres of beautiful parkland. Explore and dine independently this evening. (B)
Explore the principal sights of central Edinburgh from the bustling Princes Street through the gracious, wide streets of the 200-year-old Georgian “New Town.” Walk along part of the Royal Mile where compact medieval houses reach several stories tall. Visit Edinburgh Castle perched high above the city on volcanic rock, home to the Scottish Crown Jewels. The rest of the day is free. Experience a lively Scottish evening with dinner and traditional entertainment. Select departures attend the spectacular Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the Castle Esplanade. (B/D)*
Depart Edinburgh and travel through Ayrshire and along the coast. Embark on a ferry ride to Belfast. Take a panoramic drive through Belfast, seeing the highlights of this fascinating city, where the Titanic was built in the once-bustling shipyards. Visit Titanic Belfast to explore the fascinating story of the doomed ship. Then travel to Dublin, where you will enjoy free time for dinner on your own. (B)
Explore Dublin on a panoramic tour with a local guide, discovering its history and viewing its elegant Georgian buildings, Trinity College, the River Liffey, and more. Visit Christ Church Cathedral, the spiritual heart of the city for more than 1,000 years.
This evening, dine on a former Guinness barge as you cruise the Grand Canal, listening to traditional Irish music. (B/D)
Travel through the countryside to a traditional farm, where you'll savor tea and homemade scones and watch sheepdogs display their skills at herding sheep. Head to Blarney Castle and climb the winding stairs to kiss its famous stone, or enjoy the gardens. Move on to the lively lakeside town of Killarney, where you'll have dinner. Departures from March 28 to October 10 will then attend the Gaelic Roots Irish Dance & Music Show. (Sunday departures during those dates will attend on the next day.) (B/D)
Step back in time as a jaunting car drives you past Ross Castle on Lough Leane. Head to the scenic Gap of Dunloe to visit Moriarty's, a CIE Tours preferred shopping partner. Embark on the Ring of Kerry – a winding route with breathtaking mountains and coastal views. Cross the bridge to Valentia Island to visit the Skellig Experience, which explains the life of early Christian hermits on Skellig Michael, a rocky offshore island featured in the film “Star Wars VII.” Enjoy lunch before a pause at Moll's Gap for panoramic mountain views. Return to Killarney where the evening is free. (B/L)
Cross the Shannon River estuary by ferry on your way to visit the Cliffs of Moher. Take in the spectacular views from these awesome cliffs, soaring 700 feet above the Atlantic. Head on to your hotel, and then in the evening, you'll visit a genuine castle for a medieval-style feast, complete with serenading lords and ladies. (B/D)
Your tour ends after breakfast. (B)
Trip Inclusions
- Medieval Castle Banquet: Experience the magic of Ireland's Medieval Castle Banquet, where you can indulge in a lavish feast, immerse yourself in medieval ambiance, and enjoy captivating entertainment.
- Sheepdog Demonstration: Get a little taste of farm life—and enjoy watching the hardest working dogs in the business herd their flocks.
- Loch Ness Cruise: Cruise along Scotland's most famous Loch, enjoying views of Urquhart Castle above—and keeping an eye out for the mysterious "Nessie" below.
- Blair Athol Distillery: Sample a wee dram of the good stuff—and see how Scotch whisky is made.
- Cliffs of Moher: Let the view from these 700-feet-tall shale and sandstone cliffs take your breath away.
- Edinburgh Castle: Tour the iconic castle at the heart of the capital, which boasts the Crown Jewels of Scotland.
- Titanic Belfast: Learn the history of the making—and sinking—of this legendary ocean liner, in the city where it was built.
- Blarney Castle: Kiss the Blarney Stone and get the gift of gab at this historic castle, with beautiful gardens to enjoy.
- Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: Travelers on select departures can watch kilt-clad corps perform with drums and pipes in military precision.
- 9 Breakfasts (B), 1 Lunch (L) and 6 Dinners* (D)
- DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central (4 Stars)
- Muthu Newton Hotel (4 Stars)
- Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club (4 Stars)
- Hyatt Centric The Liberties (4 Stars)
- Killarney Avenue Hotel (4 Stars)
- Limerick Strand Hotel (4 Stars)
- Airport transfers at your arrival and departure destination are not included in the price of the tour.
- Itinerary and inclusions subject to change.
- Price is for land, cruise and specified internal flights. International flights not included.
- *Meal counts vary on Tattoo departures, as the Scottish Evening is replaced with the Tattoo and an independent dinner.
Operator
Our outstanding local tour directors are ready to share their knowledge, stories, passion for their home places - they are our greatest assets. Many of our tours spend 2 nights in each location, and our flexible itineraries include a great balance of escorted and free time. We include full breakfasts, most dinners and some evening entertainment. No one has to worry about paying for optional extras on the trip. It’s all included, no hidden extras.
We know how much these trips mean to you and we want to ensure that this is a trip you will treasure forever.
Each of our vacations are stress-free, with no surprise hidden fees, and plenty of fun for all ages. Read more
CIE Tours could not exist without our great locally employed tour directors - they are the envy of the travel industry. Read more
CIE Tours uses three classes of hotels – first class, superior first class & deluxe properties. Read more
Trip Reviews (11)
This was our first trip to Ireland and Scotland. We were able to attend the Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, which we rate as the highlight of the trip. Scotland was vast and sparsely populated, but beautiful and historic. Ireland blew me away with its beauty, cleanliness and pleasant people. There were many shows and events included, as well as some optional shows that were recommended. Every one of the events we much enjoyed. The hotels along the way were beautiful and comfortable well run affairs with very fast check in, free wifi and great breakfasts (primarily buffet style). The provided meals were very good. The tour bus also has wifi which was pretty good!
The seating on the bus was not particularly comfortable, although not torture. Seats are rotated throughout the trip. If you are mobility challenged, this is probably not a good choice for you, as the driver has 45 people to move along the way, and many attractions require moderate walking, stairs, and sometimes narrow passageways. On similar trips we've taken, they post an itinerary schedule in the lobby of the hotel... good suggestion for CIE. I would certainly recommend this company and tour to friends and family.
In each city we visited we did have local city guides and for the first two days in Scotland we had a guide who travelled with us. Ian also had a lot of good information to share with us and told us some great stories about relations between the clans. He made the history of Scotland so interesting. Bob took us around Edinburgh Castle and we also enjoyed his talk. What I liked about the tour in general was that we had a person who took care of our transportation, coordinated our hotel rooms and luggage and tickets and just basically made sure we were all happy. But he also had lots of solid information to impart about Scotland and especially Ireland. But once we got to specific places and had a bit of a tour we had time to look around on our own. We were not herded everywhere. Some meals we shared with the other tour members and some we had on our own. I really don't know what part of the tour was my favourite. The Cliffs of Moher were pretty spectacular. But kissing the Blarney Stone was pretty cool. And of course just visiting Edinburgh Castle was amazing. And seeing the Book of Kells! Oh my!
The hotels we stayed in were solid, clean and comfortable. My only complaint was the distance away from the city centres we were in two of the hotels. As Aidan said the tour is called a taste because we covered a large area in a short amount of time while trying to cram in as much as possible. But it did give us a feel for both countries and a huge desire to come back and when we do we will find another CIE tour. I highly recommend our guide/driver Aidan Carrigy and CIE Tours. I hope we will have more chances to travel with them.
Dates & Pricing
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Tour & cruises prices are per person. Prices shown have savings applied, are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Pricing and trip details are correct at this point in time, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking and are subject to change by CIE Tours. For cruise itineraries, cabin images are sourced from the cruise-line and should be treated as indicative only. Cabin inclusions, upholsteries and room layout may differ to the image(s) shown depending on the ship selected and your sailing dates.
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