DAY    1            DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to Shannon.

DAY    2            ARRIVE SHANNON - CLIFFS OF MOHER - LIMERICK AREA
                          (2 NIGHTS)
We will be met at the airport by our Tour Manager/Guide, and transfer to the Cliffs of Moher, a dramatic sheer rock face, rising 700 feet from the Atlantic Ocean and stretching for five miles. During our visit, we will have the opportunity to climb O'Brien's Tower, a viewing point built for the benefit of Victorian tourists. We continue to our hotel in the Limerick area.

DAY    3            ADARE & BUNRATTY
Our day commences with a visit to the town of Adare, billed as Ireland's prettiest village. It is a picture of neat stonework and thatched roofs with picturesque ruins all in a woodland setting. After time to explore the beauty of Adare, we continue with a visit to Bunratty Castle, a formidable castle built in the 15th century, which has been preserved just as it would have looked in the 1500s. We will take a tour through the castle, including the Great Hall, the Main Guard and the South Solar, before visiting the adjoining Folk Park, which is an authentic re-creation of life in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century. This evening we will enjoy a Medieval Banquet at Bunratty Castle, before returning to our hotel.

DAY    4            LIMERICK AREA - RING OF KERRY - KILLARNEY AREA
                          (1 NIGHT)
Today we will enjoy a leisurely tour around the famed Ring of Kerry, a beautiful drive around the Iveragh Peninsula. We will enjoy a splendid variety of outstanding coastal panoramas and magnificent mountain views. During the course of our tour, we will have the opportunity to stop and explore many small towns and villages on the peninsula, including Killorglin, Glenbeigh and Caherciveen. We continue to Valentia Island, then through the Coomaskista Pass, before stopping to visit Staigue Fort, the best preserved Iron Age drystone fort in Ireland. Other highlights will include: the Hog's Head, Moll's Gap, Ladies View, Torc Waterfall and our visit to Sneem, a small village with brightly painted cottages. We continue to Killarney for the evening.

DAY    5            KILLARNEY AREA - BLARNEY - CASHEL AREA (1 NIGHT)
We leave Killarney early this morning and travel to Blarney, where we will visit Blarney Castle, one of the most haunting and striking castles in Ireland. The remains of this impressive castle include a massive square tower, with a parapet rising 83 feet, and the infamous Blarney Stone, wedged underneath the battlements; it is traditional to kiss the stone to ensure the gift of eloquence. We will also stroll through the gardens and a nearby dell beside Blarney Lake, before having the opportunity to visit Badger Cave and adjacent dungeons, penetrating the rock at the base of the castle. We continue for a brief stop at the Blarney Woolen Mills, featuring quality garments and souvenirs. This afternoon we visit the spectacular Rock of Cashel, a monumental 12th century cathedral complex dominating the surrounding landscape. The Rock was the stronghold of the kings of Munster for seven centuries, and it was here that St. Patrick converted them and made the shamrock the emblem of Ireland.

DAY    6            CASHEL AREA - GLENDALOUGH - DUBLIN (3 NIGHTS)
This morning we travel into the county of Wicklow to visit the ruins of Glendalough, tucked away in the Wicklow Mountains, and one of the most attractive and important historical and spiritual sites in Ireland. The early Christian religious settlement was one of Ireland's greatest pilgrimage centers up to the middle of the 19th century. After experiencing the history of the monastery complex, we will visit the imaginatively designed Interpretative Center. Leaving mystical Glendalough, we will continue to our hotel in Dublin, Ireland's magnificent capital city. Upon our arrival, we will take an Introductory Walking Tour of Southeast Dublin. We begin outside the Bank of Ireland, one of Dublin's most treasured landmarks, before strolling along Grafton Street, the spine of Dublin's most popular and stylish shopping district. After viewing the Molly Malone statue, we continue to St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful 22-acre park in the heart of Dublin, which is filled with beautifully landscaped flowerbeds, fountains, a lake and memorials to important Dubliners. Our walking tour concludes with a walk around Merrion Square, a marvel of Georgian architecture known for its colorful doors and the famous literary figures that once lived here, including Yeats and Wilde.

DAY    7            DUBLIN (SAINTS & SCHOLARS)
Our morning begins with a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral, the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. It is said that St. Patrick baptized converts on this site, and consequently a church has stood here since A.D. 450, making it the oldest Christian site in Dublin. St. Patrick's is closely associated with Jonathan Swift, who was dean from 1713 to 1745 and whose tomb lies in the south aisle. Our day continues with a visit to Trinity College, the oldest university in Ireland, with cobbled squares, beautiful gardens, a picturesque quadrangle, and buildings dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The college is also home to the Book of Kells, an 8th-century version of the four Gospels with elaborate scripting and illumination. This afternoon we visit the National Museum, established in 1890; the museum is a reflection of Ireland's heritage from 2000 B.C. to the present. The museum houses many of the country's greatest historical finds, including the Treasury Exhibit, with the Ardagh Chalice, Tara Brooch, Cross of Cong, and an extensive exhibition of Irish Bronze Age gold ornaments. This evening we will dine and wander through the lively Temple Bar area.

DAY    8            DUBLIN (LITERARY DUBLIN)
Our morning commences on O'Connell Bridge, where we will begin our Walking Tour of O'Connell Street. As we walk down the central mall, we will view the street's mix of architectural styles. During our walk, we will make a brief detour down Earl Street to view the Statue of James Joyce, which commemorates one of Ireland's most beloved novelists. After viewing the monument to Daniel O'Connell, we visit the James Joyce Cultural Center, in a restored 1784 Georgian town house. Our visit will include the Ulysses Portrait Gallery, with a fascinating collection of photographs and drawings of characters from Ulysses, and the Paul Leon Exhibition Room, which holds the table and writing table used by Joyce in Paris when he was working on Finnegan's Wake. We continue with a visit to the Dublin Writers Museum, housed in a stunning 18th-century Georgian mansion with splendid plasterwork and stained glass. The museum is an impressive reminder of the grandeur of the Irish literary tradition, and Yeats, Joyce, Beckett, Shaw, Wilde, Swift, and Sheridan are among those whose lives and works are celebrated here. Tonight we will enjoy a Theater Performance at the famous Abbey Theater (subject to availability), opened in 1904 under the direction of Yeats and which today still continues the tradition of fine Irish drama.

DAY    9            DEPARTURE FROM DUBLIN
Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as our guide accompanies us to the airport for the return flight home.