A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE!
Personally Designed by a Certified Malt Whiskey
Taster & Enthusiast in Cooperation with All the Venues and Distilleries - More Included than ANY other similar length tour and MANYEXCLUSIVE FEATURES AVAILABLE NOWHERE ELSE!
FALL TOUR DATES: 9 October 2013 - 19 October 2013 (Inclusive of Travel Time) BOOKING DEADLINE 9 August 2013
*VERY LIMITED AVAILABILITY - NO MORE THAN 15 PEOPLE BOOKED PER TOUR*
LAND TOUR PRICE INCLUDES:***
(Air Flights Booked Separately)
Greeting at Dublin Airport Arrival by Driver/Guide and Brian
Comfortable Mini Coach Throughout Tour to relax and enjoy the Irish
Countryside and Whiskey Tours without worrying about Ireland's Strict
Drink Drive Laws. Porterage for 1 bag
9 Nights Stay in Quality Irish Hotels, Inns, and 1 Bed & Breakfast
9 Breakfasts
8 Included Dinners (1 Evening On Own In Dublin)
INCLUDED VISITS, ADMISSION FEES & EXCLUSIVE FEATURES:
Kilbeggan Distillery - Exclusive VIP Master Distiller's Tour & Tasting
Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre – Private Master Distiller Tour & Tasting
House of Waterford Crystal
Rock of Cashel - Saint Patrick's Rock
Old Midleton Distillery - Exclusive VIP Tour & Tasting in The Distiller's Cottage
Blarney Castle & Estate
Foynes Flying Boat Museum – VIP Guided Tour + Irish Coffee Session
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
Cliffs of Moher, County Clare
Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh
The Giant’s Causeway
Bushmills Distillery - Exclusive VIP Tour + Private Guided Tasting
The Titanic Experience Exhibition, Belfast
The Guinness Storehouse & Gravity Bar, Dublin
Old Jameson Bow Street Distillery - VIP Tour & Tasting
Exclusive Fare-thee-well Dinner & Whiskey Event
Dublin Highlights Like Trinity College, Kilmainham Gaol, The Celtic Whiskey Shop, Saint Patrick's & Christchurch Cathedrals
“THE FULL IRISH”™ WHISKEY HERITAGE TOUR
9 Day Tour (11 Days Travel) (Dublin City Start)
ABBREVIATED ITINERARY *Full Itinerary Supplied with Registration Payment*
Day 1 UNITED STATES TO DUBLIN, IRELAND
Depart your hometown and take an overnight flight across the Atlantic.
Sleep to acclimate to the time change, enjoy in-flight entertainment and
meal service as you travel to start your Whiskey Heritage adventure.
Day 2 DUBLIN, IRELAND ARRIVAL
After a morning landing at Dublin Airport, complete customs and
immigration formalities. Then your Tour driver/guide and Brian will welcome you to Ireland and escort you to a waiting area until the
arrival of all members of your tour. Once all tour guests have arrived
on the morning flights you and your luggage will be escorted to the
coach. Take an easy panoramic orientation tour around Dublin City on your way
to your hotel lodgings. See the main thoroughfares of O’Connell Street
and Nassau Street, the shopping areas around Grafton Street and some lovely
public parks like the famous St. Stephens Green. Arrive at your accommodations and, after check in, meet for a
brief tour orientation meeting with your Tour Conductor, Brian.
Day 3 KILBEGGAN DISTILLERY, TULLAMORE DEW, & KILKENNY
After your full Irish breakfast, board your coach with your Tour
Driver/Guide and Brian to travel towards Kilbeggan for a VIP
Tour of The Kilbeggan Distillery & Locke’s Whiskey Museum, 'the World's Oldest Operating
Distillery'. At the end of the tour, we will enjoy an Exclusive Guided Whiskey
Tasting of several whiskeys.
Next it’s off to the Town of Tullamore and the newly
renovated Tullamore Dew Heritage Center located in the original
buildings where Tullamore Dew Whiskey was once (and soon to be again) distilled and aged. We will take a Private Tour with a Master Distiller followed by another Whiskey tasting. We will then travel on to Kilkenny where you may
have the opportunity, on your own & time permitting, to take in optional tours of Kilkenny Castle or
Smithwicks 300 Year Old St. Francis Abbey Brewery, Ireland’s oldest
operating brewery.
Day 4 HOUSE OF WATERFORD CRYSTAL & ROCK OF CASHEL
After breakfast this morning we will leave Kilkenny and travel to Waterford,
home of the world renowned hand-cut crystal. Visit the House of
Waterford Crystal for a demonstration of glass blowing and cutting then take a brief walk through of the Crystal Store. Next, we will travel on via Lismore and the Old Mail Road over the Knochmealdown Mountains to a brief Stop at Malone's Galtee Inn in Cahir. From there we go a little bit down the road to the
Town of Cashel to visit the Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phádraig) (St
Patrick’s Rock), a tremendous outcrop with impressive ecclesiastical
ruins which trace the history of Christianity in Ireland. Cashel is
reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St.
Patrick in the 5th century.
Day 5 OLD MIDLETON DISTILLERY, BLARNEY CASTLE ESTATE & GLIN BED & BREAKFASTS
This morning, following a hearty Irish breakfast, depart Cashel and
travel to the east of Cork City for a stop to visit the Old Midleton
Distillery. Here we will enjoy a VIP Tour and an Exclusive VIP Tasting in the
Distillers Cottage where the Old Midleton’s Master Distillers lived for
generations. Next, travel on to visit the Blarney Castle Estate where
you may choose to climb to the battlements of the castle to kiss the
famous "Stone of Eloquence" and/or take a walk through the estate
grounds for views of the castle. Following Blarney, we travel on to the
Town of Shanagolden for a pleasant dinner provided at The Old Stand Bar
& Restaurant, then on to the Town of Glin on the Shannon to check
into and enjoy the wonderful Irish hospitality of your Irish Bed and
Breakfast.
Day 6 FOYNES FLYING BOAT MUSEUM, BUNRATTY FOLK PARK & CLIFFS OF MOHER
A VERY full day awaits today with an early morning departure from Glin
after breakfast travelling on first to Foynes. Here we will visit the Foynes Flying
Boat Museum, which recalls the early days of Trans-Atlantic air travel
during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, housed in the original Terminal
Building and includes a full sized replica of the famous Yankee
Clipper. The Original Irish Coffee was first created and named here by
Chef Joe Sheridan to warm chilled, weary travelers. Following a VIP Guided
Tour you will enjoy an Irish Coffee Session to learn how to make a perfect Irish Coffee...and then drink
it. From Foynes, we travel on to Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, which
comprises a magnificently restored Castle along with a collection of
Irish homes and farmhouses from different eras and regions of Ireland
including a 19th century Irish village street with a real pub, school,
general store and many other buildings where traditional lifestyles and
crafts are demonstrated. From Bunratty you travel on to see one of the
Natural Wonders of the World, The Cliffs of Moher. An impressive,
natural wall of rock that rises to a height of almost 700 feet above the
churning Atlantic Ocean and stretches for five miles along Ireland’s
West Coast that many visitors have described as a serene, almost
spiritual experience.
Day 7 ULSTER AMERICAN FOLK PARK
This
morning, after breakfast, depart Glasson and travel through the Irish countryside into Northern Ireland and towards Omagh to
visit the Ulster American Folk Park. Here we will see many cottages including the
boyhood home of the industrialist, Thomas Mellon, who immigrated to
Pittsburgh in 1818. Trace the story of Irish emigration from the 1720s
with Ulster settlers who headed for the Appalachians in Colonial times
and brought with them the knowledge and tradition of distilling that
eventually led to the creation of the American Moonshine tradition that
fathered American Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey’s. Afterward, continue
on to Bushmills near the northernmost point in Ireland and check into
your accommodations.
Day 8 GIANT'S CAUSEWAY & OLD BUSHMILLS DISTILLERY
This morning we drive just a few minutes north to spend some time exploring
another of the World’s Natural Wonders, the Giant's Causeway. An
impressive area of hexagonal columns formed over 60 million years ago by
cooling lava which has given rise to many legends including that of the
mythical Irish hunter-warrior Finn McCool (Fionn mac Cumhaill). Enjoy
the New Giant’s Causeway Visitors Center and spend time walking around
this natural wonder on the edge of the North Irish Sea. Next enjoy the
Old Bushmills Distillery where we set off on a VIP guided tour of this
active distillery with the oldest license to distill, granted in 1608,
followed by an Exclusive Guided Sampling of Premium Bushmills Whiskeys in the
Private Tasting Room.
Day 9 TITANIC EXPERIENCE, BELFAST & DUBLIN
This morning, following breakfast, depart Bushmills and travel to
Belfast. In the Titanic Quarter, visit the newly opened Titanic
Experience Exhibition. Embark on a journey through the life of the
Titanic, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, to her
construction and launch, to her famous maiden voyage and tragic end.
Through state of the art technology, the exhibitions nine interactive
galleries take you back to the sights, sounds and stories of Titanic as
well as the City and people that made her. Next, time permitting, we may enjoy a
brief stop at the world famous Crown Bar that dates back to 1826, when
the first train ran from Belfast to Lisburn. Following your visit
we continue our travel south back to Dublin City and check into our
hotel. The balance of the day is free for independent activities,
sightseeing and dining on your own. Brian is sure to have some suggestions for you.
Day 10 DUBLIN - CAPITAL CITY TOURING & FARE-THEE-WELL
This morning, following breakfast, enjoy a city sightseeing tour of
Dublin, an elegant and artistic city with spacious Georgian squares.
Stop to visit the Guinness Storehouse to see exhibits on how this world
famous stout was first created and why it is so popular today. Finish
your tour in the roof-top bar, Gravity, overlooking the city center with
wonderful almost 360 degree views where you can sample a complimentary
draft of Guinness, the perfect pint, and enjoy one of the best views in
Dublin. Continue on to the Old Jameson’s Distillery on Bow Street and
take a VIP Tour then enjoy a VIP Tasting of Jameson Whiskeys. In between enjoy visits to some other Dublin Highlights like St. Patrick's & Christchurch
Cathedrals and/or The Celtic Whiskey Shop. At
the conclusion of the day’s activities enjoy an Exclusive Fare-thee-well
Whiskey Event with your fellow travelers at the Brian Boru/P. Hedigans
Pub where you will enjoy a special dinner in the Bar’s Award Winning “Powers
Whiskey Snug” and following dinner an Exclusive Guided Tasting of Specially Selected
premium/deluxe whiskeys.
Day 11 RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES
All too soon, your vacation in Ireland has come to the end. Following
breakfast, transfer to Dublin Airport in plenty of time to check in for
your flight, clear security, U.S. Immigration and claim your VAT refund.
You may do some last minute shopping at the duty free stores. Then
clear U.S. Immigration before boarding your aircraft and fly west across
the Atlantic Ocean back to the United States.
*If you wish, you may also make arrangements to extend your Ireland vacation on your own.
**All Tour Charges Made in Euros. Most Credit Cards have additional fees for
billings in foreign currencies. Check with your Credit Card provider
***Air flights not included in land price and booked separately
