October 2009 - CFS Tours

Ireland Music & Pub Tour !

10 days October 23 - November 1, 2009

Click here for Cost and What's Included

A traditional Irish music "session"

Ireland Music & Pub Tour Itinerary:

Friday, October 23 - CHICAGO O'HARE TO DUBLIN

Depart Chicago's O'Hare International Airport aboard Aer Lingus, the Irish airline, for an overnight flight across the Atlantic. Enjoy in-flight entertainment and meal service as you travel to start your vacation.

View from the Gravity Bar atop Guinness Storehouse

Saturday, October 24 - DUBLIN ARRIVAL, KILMAINHAM GAOL & GUINNESS STOREHOUSE

After your morning arrival at Dublin Airport, complete customs and immigration formalities. Then your CIE Tours driver/guide will welcome you to Ireland and escort you and your luggage to the motorcoach. Enjoy an orientation drive around Dublin to see many prominent sites, including the General Post Office on O'Connell Street, where the Irish Declaration of Independence was read and fought for in 1916. Visit Kilmainham Gaol, which features prominently in Irish history, to see where many of Ireland's leaders, including Eamon DeValera and Padraig Pearse, were imprisoned while striving to create an independent nation. Check into your hotel, near Dublin's famous Phoenix Park, to rest and refresh yourself from your overnight flight. Later this afternoon, re-join your group for a visit into Guinness Storehouse to see how this famous brewery was established. Finish your visit with a refreshing pint of this beloved stout at the rooftop Gravity Bar, which has a 360 degree panoramic view overlooking bustling Dublin from seven stories high. Afterwards, for dinner, choose among many fine restaurants and music venues, including the quintessential Irish pub "Nancy Hands," and the "Brazen Head", Ireland's oldest pub, established 1198. You may wish to take a 10 minute stroll along the River Liffey to find "Oliver St. John Gogarty's Traditional Irish Pub and Restaurant" which features Traditional Irish Music from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day, along with an excellent, reasonably priced menu featuring some traditional Irish dishes.

DINNER: ON YOUR OWN OVERNIGHT: ASHLING HOTEL, DUBLIN www.ashlinghotel.ie

Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland

Sunday, October 25 - BELFAST CITY TOUR & GIANT'S CAUSEWAY

Depart Dublin and travel north to cross over the border into Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Stop in Belfast for a guided tour of this industrial and business hub of the North. See where the "Titanic" was built, at the Belfast Shipyards. Enjoy a photo stop at Stormont, where the Northern Ireland government meets to decide the affairs of the country. Continue your drive through County Antrim to reach the famous Giant's Causeway, an astonishing geological formation of more than 36,000 naturally formed hexagonal basalt columns. Following your visit, travel east to check into your hotel, located just outside the medieval city walls of Derry, on the banks of the River Foyle. After dinner, you may wish to explore the quaint nearby pubs, only a few blocks from your hotel.

DINNER & OVERNIGHT: DERRY CITY HOTEL, DERRY www.cityhotelderry.com

A common sight in Ireland's pubs

Monday, October 26 - DERRY CITY TOUR & SLIEVE LEAGUE SEA CLIFFS

Derry is nicknamed the "Walled City", and this morning explore its rich past with the help of a local guide. As you walk the ancient city walls, which kept Derry safe during the turbulent 16th and 17th centuries, learn about the pivotal role this oldest city has played throughout history and gain an understanding of the "Troubles" from the 1970's to today's historic peace. Crossing the border, return to the Republic of Ireland and skirt the Blue Stack Mountains as you drive into the windswept hills of County Donegal. This afternoon, we offer some stunning Irish scenery for your enjoyment. Drive through the fishing port of Killybegs and on to view the Slieve League sea cliffs, the highest in Europe. The cliffs drop 1,972 feet straight down to the wild Atlantic waves below. Continue through the majestic Glengesh Pass to Ardara before arriving at your Donegal town centre hotel for dinner. Afterwards, enjoy a lively evening with a very special music "session" at "The Reel Inn" pub, located just down the street from your hotel.

DINNER & OVERNIGHT: CENTRAL HOTEL, DONEGAL www.centralhoteldonegal.com

Donegal Castle

Tuesday, October 27 - DONEGAL CASTLE & W.B. YEATS COUNTRY

This morning, begin with a delightful tour of Donegal Castle. Originally built in 1470, it was expanded in the 17th century and has recently been restored & furnished with authentic period pieces. Learn about the Four Masters and their important work, while viewing the impressive framework of this showpiece castle. Following your visit, head south to Creevykeel, the remains of a 5000 year old courtyard tomb. Then drive to the gravesite of famous Nobel Prize winning poet William Butler Yeats, whose writings were inspired by the local scenery. Next, stop at the reverent and serene Tobernalt Holy Well. When the Catholics were not allowed to practice their religion, they continued to do so at the risk of their lives in outdoor shrines such as this gorgeous site. Continue through the hazy Blue Stack Mountains to Westport for dinner in your hotel. After dinner, visit Matt Malloy's Pub, the hub of Traditional Irish Music in Westport.

DINNER & OVERNIGHT: CLEW BAY HOTEL, WESTPORT www.clewbayhotel.com

Charming Westport

Wednesday, October 28 - CONNEMARA SCENIC DRIVE & "QUIET MAN" WALKING TOUR

This morning depart Westport and travel through County Mayo, passing by Croagh Patrick, Ireland's holiest mountan where St. Patrick is said to have spent 40 days and nights at the summit, praying and fasting for the people of Ireland during the mid 5th century. Near Louisburgh, see the National Famine Memorial, erected to the memory of the millions who died in the 1845-1850 devastating Famine. Continue through the breath-taking scenery of the Connemara region, passing by Aasleagh Falls and Killary Harbor, Ireland's only natural fjord, cut through the mountains by glaciers in the Ice Age of long ago. Stop at the quaint village of Cong where "The Quiet Man" was filmed in 1952 with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Take a short walking tour to see places associated with this beloved movie classic, which was the first to feature Ireland's gorgeous landscapes and villages. Shortly afterwards, arrive at your hotel, located on Galway Bay. You may choose to explore the shops of Galway's Medieval Quarter, visit Eyre Square, or take a stroll on the beach of Galway Bay. Following dinner in your hotel, enjoy laughter & lively conversation in the hotel's bar with your tour-mates, or find "The Music" as you explore lively Galway's night life.

DINNER & OVERNIGHT: SALTHILL HOTEL, GALWAY www.salthillhotel.com

Exploring the Burren

Thursday, October 29 - BURREN COASTAL DRIVE, SHANNON FERRY & KILLARNEY

Today drive around Galway Bay and through the Burren Country, a unique region of limestone outcroppings with its own distinct flora and fauna thriving in the sheltered crevices. Travel through Doolin, the heartland of Traditional Irish Music, before continuing on through Lisdoonvarna, the home of the internationally famous matchmaking festival. Relax during a 20 minute ferry ride across the serene River Shannon to enter County Kerry. Continue on to busy Killarney, a favorite of tourists and Irish alike for its inviting shops, pubs, and many music venues. Following dinner in your town centre hotel, join our tour guide on a pub crawl in this popular, lively town, which has been an entertainment hub for the Irish for 250 years. You may even find the popular and always entertaining group, "Tintean" playing in O'Donoghue's Pub, located in your very own hotel!

DINNER & OVERNIGHT: KILLARNEY TOWERS HOTEL, KILLARNEY www.killarneytowers.com

Dingle Countryside

Friday, October 30 - DINGLE PENINSULA & BLASKET CENTRE

Today discover the beauties of the Dingle Peninsula, made famous by two movies that showcased the scenery - "Ryan's Daughter" and "Far & Away". Drive along the breathtaking south shore of the peninsula for plenty of vistas of heathery mountains, sandy stretches of beach and rocky headlands. Continue out to the western tip of the peninsula to Dunquin and visit the Blasket Centre to learn about the Blasket Islands, inhabited until 1953 by hardy families who eked out a living by farming and fishing. Return to Killarney and enjoy exploring the town at leisure. You may choose to stroll through the adjacent Killarney National Park or take a horse-drawn jaunting car sightseeing ride to Ross Castle. This evening, following dinner in your hotel, wander around town visiting nearby traditional pubs, such as Sheehan's and Buckley's, for a variety of music and those excellent, creamy-topped pints!

DINNER & OVERNIGHT: KILLARNEY TOWERS HOTEL, KILLARNEY

"Yankee Clipper" at Foynes Flying Boat Museum

Saturday, October 31 - FOYNES FLYING BOAT MUSEUM, LIMERICK PANORAMIC DRIVE & DUBLIN

Today drive north to the banks of the River Shannon for a vist into Foynes Flying Boat Museum. Learn about its important role as the fulcrum point for international air traffic between the United States and Europe in the 1930's and 1940's. Walk through a full scale replica of the "Yankee Clipper", one of the first transatlantic sea planes. Enjoy a complimentary Irish Coffee here, where it was first created. Then drive to Limerick for a panoramic driving tour of the city, which features sites made famous by Frank McCourt's best-selling novel, "Angela's Ashes." Pass the 13th century King John's Castle in the center of town. This imposing fortress with its massive walls and towers has guarded the River Shannon crossing for the past 700 years. After your tour, continue east to stop at Roscrea Abbey, a 15th century monastery offering a haven of peace and tranquility over the years. Then travel on to Dublin to check into your city centre hotel, next to the lovely parks of Merrion Square and St. Stephen's Green. This evening, sit back and be entertained with rousing Traditional Irish Music and award-winning, champion Irish Dancing along with dinner at Dublin's popular "Merry Ploughboy's". For the late-nighters, Dublin's famous Temple Bar area is a brief 10 minute walk from your hotel, should you wish even more music and night life!

DINNER & ENTERTAINMENT: MERRY PLOUGHBOY'S, DUBLIN OVERNIGHT: MONT CLARE HOTEL, DUBLIN www.ocallaghanhotels.com

Dublin's "Merry Ploughboys"

Sunday, November 1 - RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES

Sadly, today your Irish vacation has come to an end. After a leisurely breakfast and time to pack, transfer mid-morning to the Dublin Airport in plenty of time to check in for your flight and claim your VAT refund. You may wish to do some last minute shopping at the duty free stores. Then clear U.S. Immigration before boarding your aircraft and flying across the Atlantic Ocean back to the United States.

"Cheers!" from two happy travelers