Ireland in Depth (2012)

Galway • Killarney • Cork • Waterford • Dublin
  • 12 days
  • from only:
  • $2095
  • $175 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 13 days
  • from only:
  • $2695
  • $208 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
What Makes This Trip Unique
It's Included
Featured Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Northern Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Know Before You Go
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your vacation, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle vacation that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Baltimore, Orlando, Minneapolis

11hrs

Boston

6hrs

Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Washington, DC (Dulles)

12hrs

New York (JFK)

7hrs

Los Angeles, San Francisco

15hrs

Miami, Phoenix

13hrs

Chicago

10hrs

Philadelphia

9hrs

Seattle

16hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Shannon, Ireland. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

ALSO SEE:
2012 Itinerary and Prices
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Solo Friendly Travel
Frequently Asked Questions
See all Program Directors, read Insider Tips, and more
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Pre-Trip: Northern Ireland

5 nights from only $995

Your discoveries in Northern Ireland begin with two nights in Belfast, where the peace process has brought a revival of optimism to this city rich in Victorian elegance and blossoming with culture. Then spend two nights in the walled city of Londonderry before continuing on to Galway to join your Ireland in Depth vacation.




Please note: This extension may not be available on all departures. Ask your Travel Counselor for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 2 nights in Belfast at the First-Class Europa Belfast or similar, 2 nights in Londonderry at the Moderate First-Class City Hotel Derry, and 1 night in Galway at the Limited Service First-Class Pillo Hotel Galway or similar
  • 5 meals: 5 breakfasts
  • 3 included tours: Belfast, Giant’s Causeway, Londonderry
  • Exclusive services of a Grand Circle resident Program Director
  • All transfers


Optional Tour

Ulster American Folk Park ($65 per person)

Day 1
Depart U.S.

Depart from the U.S. today on your flight to Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Day 2
Arrive in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Arrive this morning in Belfast. You'll be met at the airport by a Grand Circle representative who will assist you with the transfer to your hotel. Belfast is a robust northern metropolis of nearly half a million people. This is a scenic city, situated between the waters of Belfast Lough, the Belfast Hills, and the forested slopes of Cave Hill. Belfast was the catalyst of the industrial revolution in Ulster, and specialized in the development of industries like linen, rope-making, and shipbuilding, with the world's largest dry dock. The city’s Victorian heritage can be seen in the stately buildings of this area and at Belfast’s Grand Opera House.

The balance of the day is free for you to relax after your overseas flight. Gather in the late afternoon for a Welcome Drink with your fellow travelers and a briefing from your Program Director, followed by a short orientation tour to get acquainted with the area around your hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight; ask your Program Director for suggestions.
Day 3
Belfast/City tour

On an included city tour this morning, you'll see Belfast’s compact center in Donegall Square, which is dominated by the elaborate City Hall. We will drive through West Belfast’s Protestant neighborhood of Shankill Road, and the Catholic neighborhood of Falls Road, where large, vivid murals painted on the sides of buildings express the feelings that still run deep on both sides. Though the names of these areas were much in the news during “the Troubles,” the gate in the Peace Wall between them now stands open.

Spend the remainder of the day exploring Belfast on your own. The city’s main shopping district is just north of Donegall Square along several pedestrian-only streets. Belfast’s most famous historic pub, the Crown Liquor Saloon, is also in this area (it’s always packed, but worth a look for its gaslit Victorian architecture even if you can’t get a seat).

Or you might head for Belfast’s Golden Mile neighborhood or the beautiful Botanic Gardens, with the campus of Queen’s University nearby.

Your evening is free for your own explorations. You can ask your Program Director for suggestions for dining on your own this evening.
Day 4
Belfast/Giant’s Causeway/Transfer to Londonderry

Today, travel from Belfast to Londonderry (Derry). On the way, we’ll stop to view the Giant’s Causeway, an amazing geologic formation of approximately 40,000 basalt stones—some as tall as 130 feet, and mostly hexagonal in shape. As Northern Ireland’s premiere landmark, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you’ll be free to decide for yourself whether the Causeway is a result of accelerated cooling of lava outflows 60 million years ago. Or is it the work of the legendary Irish giant, Finn MacCool, in his attempts to a) woo a distant lady giant, or b) meet a Scottish giant in battle to determine who was the stronger giant? You’ll arrive in Londonderry in the afternoon and have the remainder of the day at leisure.

Dinner will be on your own this evening.
Day 5
Londonderry/City tour/Optional Ulster American Folk Park tour

This morning, you’ll enjoy a city tour of Londonderry.

Londonderry is situated on a picturesque hillside on the banks of the Foyle Estuary. Founded by St. Columba in the sixth century, this is the fourth-largest city on the island of Ireland and is known today for the vitality of its cultural life. On our walking tour this morning, we will explore the city walls dating from the 17th century, which encircle Londonderry’s historic center. Londonderry is also the birthplace of poet Seamus Heaney, whom many consider a latter-day Yeats. He’s one of four Irish writers to have won a Nobel Prize for Literature.

The rest of your day is at leisure. You might visit the Tower Museum, with exhibits illustrating the maritime history of Londonderry, or the Guildhall built in 1890 and in the Gothic architectural style, similar to its London counterpart. Today, it’s the seat of the local government. For insight into the contemporary art scene in Northern Ireland, visit the Orchard Gallery.

Or, join an optional excursion to the Ulster American Folk Park. This fascinating facility tells the story of emigration from Ulster to America in the 18th and 19th centuries and provides visitors with a “living history” experience on its outdoor site. In the Folk Park, costumed guides and craftspeople recreate the past in an outdoor museum that includes a weaver’s cottage, forge, schoolhouse, log cabin, church, and a 19th-century Ulster street. The Ship and Dockside Gallery features a full-size reconstruction of an early 19th-century sailing ship of the type that carried thousands of emigrants across the Atlantic. A major indoor exhibition, “Emigrants,” complements the outdoor site.

Dinner this evening is on your own.
Day 6
Londonderry/Transfer to Galway

After breakfast in Londonderry, begin your transfer by coach to Galway, which is on Ireland’s west coast.

En route, you may stop at Belleek Pottery (depending on the day of the week) in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland—a world-famous pottery works that has been producing fine china since 1857. The techniques used for making Irish pottery have been handed down from generation to generation.

On leaving Belleek, we cross the border into the Republic of Ireland and the county of Donegal.

You’ll arrive at your hotel in Galway in the late afternoon. Dinner will be on your own this evening.
Day 7
Galway/Join main tour

Your day is at leisure until you join your fellow travelers for your main trip, and begin your discoveries of Ireland in Depth.