The Experience

Explore this ancient Celtic Culture as you go! Start in the vibrant city of Dublin where you’ll enjoy dinner at the oldest pub in town before picking up your car in and driving to Belfast, one of the most exciting destinations in Europe. From there it,™s across the North past the Giant,™s Causeway to the walled city of Derry, on to Sligo from where over 30,000 Irish emigrated to the U.S., before spending your final night at Dromoland Castle, one of Ireland,™s premier castle hotels.

Includes:

• 1 Night Dublin
• 1 Dinner in Dublin
• Dublin City Tour
• 2 Nights Belfast
• Belfast by Black Taxi Tour
• 1 Night Derry Area
• 1 Night Sligo
• 6-Day Compact Manual Car Rental
• Ireland Road Map and Heritage Island Cultural Guide
• Daily Breakfast

Day 1 ~ Arrive Dublin:
Arrive in Dublin to explore this cosmopolitan city,™s Celtic roots. While a settlement on the Liffey River appeared on a Roman map dated 140 A.D., Dublin became Dublin in 988 A.D. when Vikings sailed up the river, destroyed a small Celtic village, and established Dubh Lin (Dark Pool). Dubh Lin soon combined with another Celtic settlement, Baile Atha Cliath or town of the hurdles, still the name of this city in Irish. Optional private transfers from the airport, rail station or a ferry port are available. (Dinner & Accommodations, Dublin)

Heritage Island Essential Touring Guide to Ireland’s Visitor Attractions & Heritage Towns – Saves you up to $600 at 98 of Ireland’s best known attractions, plus lists addresses, telephone numbers, operating hours and more. The essential visitor,™s guide, indeed!

Dublin City Hop-on Hop-off Tour – Use your voucher to join this tour at one of 14 pick-up points around Dublin. Your ticket is good for a full 24 hours. (Tour operates daily departing every 10 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. March – October, every 15 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., November ,“ February. Exchange your voucher for a ticket either at a kiosk or aboard the double-deck bus; your voucher is good on either the City Sightseeing or Gray Line route.)

Dinner at Brazen Head Pub – Dating to 1198, The Brazen Head is Ireland’s oldest pub.

Day 2 ~ Dublin to Belfast:
After your breakfast, pick up your rental car in downtown Dublin. (Breakfast, Car Rental, Accommodations, Dublin)

Day 3 ~ Belfast:
A poet once wrote, Belfast is a city walled in by mountains, moated by seas, and undermined by deposits of history. While some remnants of the Troubles can be found, most are posters, wall murals and graffiti along the border between Protestant and Catholic working class communities in West Belfast – great photo ops for you. (Breakfast & Accommodations, Belfast)

Black Cab Taxi Tour – Black Taxi tours provide a unique opportunity to see some of the well known sights of Belfast including Belfast City Hall, Albert Clock and Queens University.

Day 4 ~ Belfast to Derry:
Drive west from Belfast along the North Coast to the Giant’s Causeway, a sixty million year old mass of volcanic columns related in Irish folklore to the Irish giant Finn McCool. From there it’s west again to the 16th century walled city of Derry, with the only complete city walls in Ireland. (Breakfast, Belfast; Accommodations, Derry)

Day 5 ~ Derry to Sligo via Donegal:
Your travels today take you through County Donegal and Donegal Town, a region with a distinct cultural. Home to the historic O’Donnell Clan, and one of the areas most heavily effected by the Great Famine of the late 1840s. We suggest a stop for lunch in Donegal Town, located in a scenic valley between the Barnesmore Mountains and Donegal Bay before continuing on to Sligo. Sligo, from the Irish, Sligeach meaning shelly place, was the port of departure for at least 30,000 between 1847 and 1851. Today a memorial to these emigrants is found on the Quays in Sligo, close to a Memorial to Irish poet and writer William Butler Yeats who is buried in nearby Drumcliffe. Of interest are the extensive remains from 5,400 B.C. at Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery three miles from town. (Breakfast, Derry; Accommodations, Sligo)

Day 6 ~ Sligo to Dromoland:
After breakfast you,™re off to Dromoland Castle, now a luxury hotel, but once home to eight generations of the O’Brien family whose ancestry dates back to Brian Boroimhe (Boru), the last High King of Ireland. (Breakfast, Sligo; Accommodations, Dromoland)

Day 7 ~ Depart Dromoland:
After breakfast, drive to Shannon airport to return your car before your flight, or start on your next Avanti adventure. (Breakfast, Dromoland)

Driving times and Distances

• Dublin to Belfast – 3 Hours, 104 Miles
• Belfast to Derry – 2 Hours, 71 Miles
• Derry to Sligo – 2 Hours 15 Minutes, 86 Miles
• Sligo to Dromoland – 3 Hours 30 Minutes, 127 Miles
• Dromoland to Shannon Airport – 20 Minutes, 4 Miles

Optional Tours:
Giants Causeway Tour from Belfast – No visit to Northern Ireland is complete without seeing what is commonly called The eighth wonder of the world. Travel along the Causeway Coastal Route from Belfast – one of world’s 5 most spectacular drives! (Daily at 9:45 a.m., Lasts 9 Hours with No Hotel Pickup)

Belfast Hop-on/Hop-Off City Tour – The open top bus tour now has 20 stops around the city for you to hop on and hop off and discover Belfast. The tour takes in the ever changing Titanic Quarter, birth place of Titanic and now an exciting new development for the city. The tour then continues out to visit the impressive Parliament Buildings at Stormont (note – this stop operates between 10:00am – 3:00pm daily) . We then make our way back to the city centre to visit the political areas of the Shankill Road and Falls Road to see the Political wall murals and peace lines. Then the tour makes it’s way through the Queens University area back to the city centre. (Daily starting at 10:00 a.m. and every 20 minutes. Lasts 1.5 Hours with No Hotel Pickup.)