2025 Vacations

CONTINUING OUR EARLY 25 IN 25 CELEBRATIONS! 15% Discount on all self drive packages AND only €25pp deposit!

We continue to toast 25 years of creating Ireland vacations by extending our €25pp deposit AND offering you a 15% discount on any of our self-drive vacation packages! Book by 15th November 2024*

*CIE tours and Knitting tours not included

Tour Overview

‘Excellent’

Immerse yourself in one of the top self drive tour routes in the world and discover the Magnificent Wild Atlantic Way! 

This Best of the Wild Atlantic Way Tour is accessed through Shannon airport and is a 7 night tour based on the highlights of the spectacular coastal route that is the Wild Atlantic Way. The Wild Atlantic Way driving tour is the longest defined coastal route in the world and stretches for 2500km along Ireland’s western seaboard. This tour will allow you to track the rugged coastline of the West of Ireland where you will experience the Irish culture and traditions and maybe even pick up a word or two of our own native language. Out at the very edge of Europe, this breath-taking route encompasses stunning headlands, beautiful beaches, jagged cliffs and some of Ireland’s most famous driving routes such as the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry.

This Tour includes a night in Galway City, the City of the Tribes which, although a world away from the small coastal villages you have visited, is a perfect way to end your tour. Galway is the only large city where you can hear Irish spoken on the streets and is a vibrant city known for its selection of eclectic shops, pubs.

What's included

  • Accommodation in rooms with Private Bathroom Facilities 
  • Full Irish Breakfast Each Morning
  • Rental Car or Chauffeur Driven Car
  • 24/7 Local Telephone Support During Your Trip
  • Our Renowned Customized Sightseeing Guide
  • Unlimited Services of Experienced Ireland Based Travel Planner
  • Map of Ireland

Tour highlights

  • Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
  • Burren
  • Christ Church Cathedral
  • Cliffs of Moher
  • Conor Pass
  • Dingle Peninsula
  • Doolin
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Castle
  • Dublinia
  • Gap of Dunloe
  • Guinness Storehouse
  • Kilmainham Gaol
  • Ring of Kerry
  • Trinity College & Book of Kells
  • Croagh Patrick
  • Dublin Writers Museum
  • Waterford Crystal Centre
  • Muckross House, Gardens & Traditional Farms

Overnights for this tour

  • Dingle, Kerry  for 2 Nights
  • Clare for 1 Night
  • Connemara for 1 Night
  • Westport, Mayo for 2 Nights
  • Galway for 1 Night

Accommodation options

  • Superior & First Class Hotels
  • Luxury Accommodation & Service in our 4-Star Country Manor Houses
  • Deluxe Accommodation in our 4 & 5 Star Irish Castles
  • Our Recommended & Handpicked B&B's, all rooms with private bath facilities
  • Any Combination of the above

Day 1 - Dublin to Waterford Castle

Travelling the coastal route, you will first arrive at Powerscourt House & Gardens. Surrounding this 18th Century Palladian House in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains, you will find a sublime blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes together with secret hollows, rambling walks and over 200 varieties of trees and shrubs. Shortly after this, you will arrive at the ancient monastic settlement at Glendalough. The monastic settlement has been a centre for pilgrims and visitors since its foundation by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Continue on to Avoca where you will find the Avoca Handweavers factory, famed worldwide for the quality of its woven fabrics. On to the Dunbrody Famine ship in New Ross before the final leg to Waterford City and the Waterford Crystal Interpretive centre.

Day 2 - Waterford to Kenmare

You will have quite a long journey today from Waterford to Kenmare. The following route includes visits to Midleton, Youghal & Cobh. Youghal is famous for its point lace (point d'Irlande) which is distinguished by its vivid patterns as well as the fact that the film ‘Moby Dick’ starring Gregory Peck was filmed here in 1956. After Youghal, you will travel to the village of Cobh. Cobh, situated on one of the world’s largest natural harbours, was the last port of call for the ill-fated Titanic in 1912 and was the closest port to the site of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. The heritage centre sympathetically recounts these events and tells the story of emigration from Ireland to the United States and Australia from the time of the famine in 1847 up to the 1950s. A stop to climb to the Blarney Castle ramparts to ‘Kiss the Blarney Stone’, said to bestow the gift of eloquence, and is a must for those who dare. Across the village green you will find the Blarney Woolen Mills store, a one stop shop for Irish knitwear, crystal, linen and much more. From here you will travel to Kenmare. Kenmare is an excellent location from which to tour the Ring of Kerry or indeed the less travelled but unspoilt Beara Peninsula to the south of Kenmare.

Day 3 - While in Kenmare

Kenmare is the perfect base for you to tour the famous Ring of Kerry, which is a journey through some of Ireland’s most outstanding scenery around the Iveragh Peninsula. Stunning mountain and coastal scenery combined with colourful towns and villages will make this journey one of the highlights of your vacation. For those who wish to take a rest from driving we can pre-arrange a coach tour through this route from Killarney. Muckross House is a stop on your route that you are sure to visit. Muckross House is a wonderful Victorian manor built in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert. The location of the House is impressive, close to the eastern shore of Muckross Lake and set below the impressive backdrop of the Torc and Mangerton Mountains. As a substitute to the Ring of Kerry tour you may prefer to take a wonderful tour by pony and trap that takes you through the Black Valley in the Gap of Dunloe and after a snack at Lord Brandon’s Cottage, you can return to Killarney by boat via the beautiful Lakes of Killarney. This evening you will spend another fabulous overnight stay in the luxury Kenmare Park Hotel, perhaps tonight enjoying a sumptuous dinner in the George Bernard Shaw restaurant. Named after the Irish playwright who famously said ‘there is no sincerer love than the love of food. 

Day 4 - Kenmare to Dromoland Castle

Today your journey brings you to Co. Clare to Dromoland Castle. From Kenmare travel to Killarney and onwards the village of Adare in County Limerick. Adare is regarded by many a seasoned traveller as Ireland’s prettiest village with its charming thatched cottages, manicured public park and ancient church. After leaving Adare travel along the N20 towards Limerick City of ‘Angelas Ashes’ fame and home to King Johns Castle. From here continue to Bunratty where you can visit Bunratty Castle. Built in 1425, this majestic castle was restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendour. Within the grounds of the Castle is Bunratty Folk Park where 19th century Irish life is vividly recreated. Continue from here to Newmarket-On-Fergus where the Castle is located. Dromoland Castle, one of finest castle hotels in Ireland, offers guests the experience of living like landed gentry, surrounded by luxury, beauty and service. The castle, a magnificent Renaissance structure built in the 16th Century, was once the royal seat of the O'Brien Clan. Refurbished and transformed into a luxury castle hotel in 1962, it retains priceless reminders of the castle's historic past.

Day 5 - Dromoland Castle to Ashford Castle

The majestic Cliffs of Moher are without doubt one of Ireland’s most spectacular sights and overlook the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of West Clare. From here you will arrive in the village of Doolin. Doolin is world-famous for its wealth of Irish folk music and in recent years has been attracting crowds to spontaneous sessions in any one of its excellent pubs. Just north of the Cliffs you then have the lunar like Burren region and the ancient Poulnabrone Dolmen Tombs. Galway City, known as the ‘City of the Tribes’ is Ireland’s Cultural and festival capital. With its street entertainers and traditional pubs with great music, Galway and in particular, the Quays area of the city centre will enthrall you particularly in the evening time. Other sites in Galway include Ireland’s largest medieval parish church, the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas of Myra dating back to 1320. Christopher Columbus reputedly worshipped in this church in 1477. Also nearby are Galway Cathedral, the Spanish Arch and Eyre Square. On to Ashford Castle. At Ashford Castle, each guest room is individually designed to provide stylish personal comforts, from the marble fittings of bathrooms to soft coordinated fabrics and furnishings. Ashford Castle’s spacious suites allow an abundance of time to relax in a grand manner and experience the tranquillity which nature provides.

Day 6 - Ashford Castle & Connemara

While there are plenty of activities in and around the Castle Estate to keep you entertained including golf, falconry, clay pigeon archery, bicycle hire and water sports, if you decide to tour the area surrounding the Castle, you will not be short of things to see. Take a cruise on Lough Corrib and visit the ancient ruins on Inchagoill Island, the ferry terminal for which can be found near the village of Cong.  Also in the village you can take the Quiet Man Tour which visits the film locations and settings used in the making of the epic film starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara – The Quiet Man. You could easily travel south to Clifden which is the principle town of Connemara. Here you can peruse the local shops including sweater shops, quality gift shops, enticing boutiques, antique shops as well as many quirky souvenir shops. If not already visited, Kylemore Abbey may also be on your visit list! Known as Ireland’s most romantic Castle the grounds also contains a Gothic Church and a beautiful Victorian walled garden. Just south of the beautiful town of Westport you will find Croagh Patrick which is known locally as Ireland’s 'Holy Mountain' and according to legend St. Patrick spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting and praying here. Return to Ashford Castle this evening for another overnight stay in your superb castle surroundings! 

Day 7 - Ashford Castle to Dublin

Today’s journey to Dublin takes in some of Ireland’s most historical landmarks. First of these is the ancient monastic settlement at Clonmacnoise. This is an early Christian site founded by Saint Ciaran in the 6th century on the banks of the River Shannon and includes the ruins of a cathedral, eight, two round towers, three high crosses and a large collection of early Christian grave slabs. From here, we travel either to Dublin or take a slight detour to the megalithic tombs of Newgrange. One of the great wonders of the ancient world, Newgrange is older than Stonehenge, Mycenae or even the Pyramids of Egypt and is foremost among the passage-tombs of Europe. From here, we travel south to Dublin City. Dublin city centre is a compact area, with all points of interest being easily accessible on foot. As a result you will find a large number of walking tours available, the most popular of which include the “Historical Walking Tour” and the “Literary Pub Crawl”. You may of course wish to visit many of the sights in your own time either on foot or with the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus service that stops at all of the major attractions including Dublin Castle, Trinity Castle & the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, the National Museum of Ireland and The Guinness Storehouse to name just a few.

Day 8 - Dublin Sightseeing

Continue your sightseeing in Dublin today visiting the many historical and modern attractions that this cosmopolitan city has to offer. Other attractions include Christchurch Cathedral which was founded in the year 1030 by Sitric, King of the Dublin Norsemen, the James Joyce Centre & the Dublin Writers Museum. Of course, you may wish to take time out to shop in Grafton Street or any one of a number of narrow and quaint streets that the café strewn city centre has to offer. The Dublin Hop On Hop Off Bus is an excellent way of visiting many of Dublin’s most historic locations. This evening, why not spend some time in the Temple Bar area. This small area boasts a dazzling choice of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops to suit all tastes and pockets, all within easy walking distance of Temple Bar's many cultural centres and galleries. Its narrow, cobbled streets are pedestrianised and are ideally suited to a leisurely stroll through the quarter. Also worth a visit is EPIC, the Irish emigration museum and the GPO (General Post Office) which houses the ‘GPO Witness History’ visitor attraction. This exhibition tells the story of the 1916 rising and the aftermath of this historic rebellion.

Route map

Tour attractions

2025 Vacations

CONTINUING OUR EARLY 25 IN 25 CELEBRATIONS! 15% Discount on all self drive packages AND only €25pp deposit!

We continue to toast 25 years of creating Ireland vacations by extending our €25pp deposit AND offering you a 15% discount on any of our self-drive vacation packages! Book by 15th November 2024*

*CIE tours and Knitting tours not included

Tour Prices

Below, you will find a price for this self drive tour including your car rental. Pricing for other accommodation and transport options is also available upon request. Please also note that all of our driving tours itineraries and sightseeing guides are available to those wishing to avail of one of our experienced driver guides. cccc

ACCOMMODATION WITH CAR RENTAL PRICING

Accommodation Type Tour With Standard Rooms Tour With Deluxe Rooms
Jan-Mar & Nov-Dec €2,790 €3,890
April & October €3,690 €4,869
May-June €4,190 €5,536
July -September €4,355 €5,657

Notes

  • Please note prices are per person based on 2 persons in each room with full Irish breakfast and taxes included.
  • The Combination package includes 3 Nights in 3*** Hotels, 2 nights in Luxury Manor House Hotels & 2 Nights in our hand-picked B&B's.
  • Children Sharing with 2 adults (aged 2-11) pay 40% of the Adult option.
  • Children under the age of 2 are free when sharing with 2 Adults.
  • Your Accommodation & Car Rental Package rate includes an Economy class car eg., Opel Corsa or Fiat Punto.
  • Included with your car is all compulsory insurances - Collision Damage Waiver insurance (CDW with an excess/deductible), theft protection insurance, location fee of €30, Road fund tax, sales tax at 13.5%, unlimited free mileage, third party liability insurance, 24 hour peace of mind break down cover.

Private Chauffeur Option Available For This Tour

  • Enjoy the services of an experienced and friendly driver guide

  • Luxury vehicles so you get to travel in style and comfort

  • Take the stress out of driving on unfamiliar and sometime narrow roads

  • With our knowledgeable drivers you see more in less time

  • You get to see the scenery instead of worrying about crashing into it!

  • Contact Us for a price quotation today

Prices in other currencies are indicative only. Please note that we charge in Euro.

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