6-Day All Ireland Rail Tour from Dublin

Itinerary

Day 1: Cork, Blarney Castle and Cobh

Stop At: Blarney Castle & Gardens, Monacnapa, Blarney, Cork T23 Y598 Ireland
Arrive into Cork Kent Station for 09:35, we transfer to our Railtours Ireland coach and travel through Cork City to Blarney Village and Castle. You will have time to kiss the famous stone, which is said to bestow the gift of eternal eloquence on those lucky enough to do so. There is also time for shopping and lunch at Blarney and we recommend that you have lunch there, as this will be the only opportunity during the day to have a substantial meal.

Depart Blarney Castle for Cóbh, via the city centre and a short city tour.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Cobh Cathedral, Cathedral Terrace, Cobh None Ireland
On arrival at Cóbh we will visit St Colman’s Cathedral. We will then proceed down along the sea front passing the former White Star Line offices en route to the beautifully restored Victorian railway station/transatlantic terminal. This is now the Cóbh Heritage Centre, home to the Queenstown Story, to which your admission is included.
Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Cobh Heritage Centre -The Queenstown Story, Cobh P24 CY67 Ireland
Cobh Heritage Centre houses much information about the Great Famine and the subsequent Irish Emigration.

Depart Cóbh by train to Killarney, via Mallow.

The rest of the evening is free and there is a large selection of cafés, restaurants and bars in Killarney town as well as many opportunities for live traditional Irish music entertainment.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight in a Killarney B&B. **Hotel upgrades available for €49 pps/night.**

Day 2: Ring Of Kerry Tour

Stop At: Ring of Kerry, Ireland
You will be collected from your accommodation at 09:45 (or as directed by our Killarney representative) for your Ring of Kerry tour. There are plenty of stops along the Ring of Kerry for morning tea, lunch and photo stops etc. Ireland’s highest mountains are located in Kerry, and Carrantuohill – which can be seen en route – is the highest, standing at 1041 metres tall.

An essential part of any visit to Ireland, this tour circles the magnificent MacGillycuddy Reeks and runs through its many passes and valleys along the shores of Dingle Bay and Kenmare Bay.

The beautiful nature of the Ring of Kerry provides many photo opportunities, as it passes through the many picturesque villages such as Glenbeigh, Waterville and Sneem. We return via Ladies View, the famous Lakes of Killarney and through the Oakwoods of Killarney's magnificent National Park.

At the end of the tour you will be returned to your accommodation where, again, the evening is free.

Duration: 7 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: Enjoy Breakfast before departing on tour to the Ring of Kerry.
Accommodation included: Overnight in a Killarney B&B. **Hotel upgrades available for €49 pps/night.**

Day 3: Limerick, Cliffs of Moher, Galway

Stop At: Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Bunratty Ireland
Between 07.00 and 07.15 you will be collected from your accommodation and transferred by road to Limerick City, where you will join the coach for the Cliffs of Moher & Galway Bay tour. We arrive in Limerick shortly after 9am, where we will join our Railtours Ireland tour coach.

After a brief city tour, we head out to Bunratty Castle and admission is included. The castle was completed in 1425 and, after many years of neglect, has been restored to its former glory. There is also a folk park here and many of the buildings – including the village – were dismantled at various locations in the region and rebuilt, brick by brick, at their present location.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Cliffs of Moher, Lislorkan North Latitude: 52.9714578 Longitude: -9.4247540, Liscannor Ireland
There is a lunch stop at O’ Connor’s Pub in Doolin before arriving at the majestic Cliffs of Moher – among the highest sea cliffs in Western Europe. There is plenty of time to visit Ireland’s second most popular tourist attraction and your host will advise you of the departure time.
Duration: 2 hours

Pass By: The Burren House Farm County Clare, Ireland Ireland
From the Cliffs of Moher, we take the coast road for much of the way to Galway, with time for photos along The Burren. This is a national park and the word Burren comes from the Irish Language – meaning ‘rocky place’.

Today the Burren is noted for its diverse flora with few parallels elsewhere in Ireland or indeed, Europe. As time permits, we will make a short stop here for photographs.

We continue along the coast road to Black Head, passing the pretty coastal villages of Ballyvaughan and Kinvara before joining the main road to Galway, where we will arrive shortly after 17:00. Ask your host if there is time to explore the streets around Eyre Square.

At the end of the day the coach will set you down at Eyre Square in the centre of Galway City adjacent to your hotel (and the railway station). You will be directed to your hotel by your host and your evening is free in Galway.

Meals included:
• Breakfast: Enjoy breakfast before departing on your third day of travel.
Accommodation included: Overnight in a 3*/4* Hotel in Galway city centre.

Day 4: Connemara and Kylemore Abbey

Stop At: Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden, Connemara On the N59 between Clifden and Westport, Kylemore Ireland
We head out to Connemara – one of Ireland’s Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) regions and visit Kylemore Abbey – an 18th century castle now owned by the Benedictine nuns who run an excellent pottery, gift shop and restaurant here. We stop here for lunch.

Our tour of Connemara heads homewards towards Galway City, along the shores of Galway bay, through the Gaeltacht villages of Inverin and Spiddal. There are splendid views of Galway Bay, and across the bay the Burren and the hills of County Clare can be seen, which you visited on Day Three.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast: Enjoy breakfast before your fourth day of touring.
Accommodation included: Overnight in a 3*/4* Hotel in Galway city centre.

Day 5: Aran Islands Tour - Dublin

Stop At: Dun Aonghasa, Cill Mhuirbhigh, Province of Connacht Ireland
We will transfer you to Rossavile for the ferry to Inis Mór Island. It is pronounced 'inish more' and literally means ‘big island’. It is the largest of the Aran Islands.

On arrival on Inis Mór you have approximately 20 minutes before you tour departs in order to use toilet facilities and purchase any refreshments needed.

Meet your local hosts at The Railtours/Hernon Tours sign located close to The Aran Sweater Market in Kilronan village. You will be collected from here between 11:50am and 12:00 noon for your tour of Inis Mór.

Your tour of Inis Mór includes stops at the ‘Seven Churches, Dún Aonghusa and Kilronan for lunch, which is the small village on the island. For many, the highlight of the tour is the pre-Christian fort of Dún Aonghusa, with spectacular cliffs on the western side and unspoilt views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: Enjoy breakfast before day 5 of your All-Ireland tour
Accommodation included: Overnight at a 3*/4* hotel in Dublin city centre.

Day 6: Giants Causeway & Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge - Dublin

Stop At: Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, 119A Whitepark Road, Ballintoy BT54 6LS Northern Ireland
We arrive in Belfast – Ireland’s second largest city – at 09:45, we will take a coach for the tour to the Antrim Coast and the Giant’s Causeway.

Leaving Belfast we proceed to the town of Carrickfergus for a short photo-stop (as time permits) and take the coast road north from here. Further north we travel through the picturesque fishing village of Carnlough .

After travelling through the countryside we stop at the famous Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. Its construction facilitated the local fishermen to access Sheep Island, where there is excellent fishing. The original single handrail was subsequently replaced by a two hand railed bridge and the present caged bridge was installed by the National Trust.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Giant's Causeway, Causeway Road, Bushmills BT57 8SU Northern Ireland
After leaving the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, we head for Dunluce Castle for a photo stop, time permitting, before arriving at the Giant’s Causeway, where we stop for about 2 hours. There are about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns resulting from a volcanic eruption. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and is owned and managed by the National Trust.
Duration: 2 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight at a 3*/4* hotel in Dublin city centre.