Best Of Ireland & Scotland

On arrival at Dublin Airport, your airport transfer service leaves for your hotel in the morning to early afternoon. Join your travel director in the evening for a warm and friendly welcome dinner.

Your travel director takes you past the Custom House to see the Guinness Storehouse, Christchurch Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Walk through the cobbled courtyards of Trinity College and experience an insight into its history from a university insider. Enjoy fast-track VIP entry into its famed library and the 9th century Book of Kells exhibition.

Kildare offers a look behind-the-scenes at one of the country's main racehorse breeding centres. You will also visit the finest Japanese Gardens in Europe, for a "journey through life" as you wander by the beautiful floral displays. Then head for Waterford to see Reginald's Tower, the ruined city walls and for a guided visit of the House of Waterford Crystal to meet a master craftsman. Continue on to Cork, Ireland's second most populous city, built on the River Lee. Travel along Grand Parade to see Cork's City Hall and Opera House.

Visit the ruined 15th century Blarney Castle, home of the famous Stone of Eloquence - once kissed, never forgotten! Or enjoy a sensory walk in the extensive and varied estate gardens. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure.

Enjoy exploring Killarney. Choose between a memorable ride on a horse-drawn jaunting car with the local jarveys, or join a gentle hike with a local expert along the lake shore and through the National Park. Tour the superb seascapes, towering cliffs and spectacular mountains of the Ring of Kerry. Follow the narrow road as it winds through delightful villages like Sneem, to admire Queen Victoria's Ladies View. Return mid-afternoon for time at leisure.

Begin the day with a short ferry ride across the Shannon Estuary. Enjoy magnificent views of the Clare Coast as you journey to the Visitors' Centre at the 700-foot Cliffs of Moher. Continue to your hotel located at the gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way.

Join your travel director in Galway to see the infamous Lynch Memorial and the Church of St. Nicholas, where Christopher Columbus reputedly prayed before his discovery of America. Also, see the aged Spanish Arch and Eyre Square, dedicated to the late US President, John F. Kennedy. Tour the wild Connemara region, a scenic wonderland of rivers, lakes and silent hills. Drive along the scenic shores of Sligo Bay.

The day begins in Drumcliffe, with a visit to the final resting place of Ireland's famous poet, William Butler Yeats. Cross into Northern Ireland to visit Londonderry. What better way to experience sightseeing than with one of Northern Ireland's best storytellers, Ronan, as he walks with you inside the city walls, still topped with cannons. Walk down steep Shipquay Street, with its elegant Georgian houses, to the Gothic Guildhall. Continue around the coast to the amazing Giant's Causeway, then take a spectacular drive along the Antrim Coast to your hotel, overlooking the sea at the head of Ballygally Bay.

Journey to Ardgowan, where Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart welcomes you to his family castle, set on a 10,000-acre coastal estate. Learn the history of the area, the Shaw Stewart family and the castle itself, followed by a traditional Scottish tea and scones. Continue to Glasgow to see the city's grand public buildings.

A scenic drive takes you along the banks of Loch Lomond and the dramatic landscape of Glencoe, before reaching The Great Glen. Experience a journey of discovery on a Loch Ness cruise. Soak up the scenery, and intriguing tales of Nessie.

Enjoy an orientation of Inverness, before driving out to the Culloden Moor Visitor Centre, where Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite army was finally defeated. Savor a "wee dram" during a visit to the Glen Ord Distillery, as you delve into the fascinating world of the single malt.

A scenic drive takes you through the Grampian Mountains passing Blair Castle. Cross the Tay to visit St. Andrews and see the Old Course, the home of golf since the 15th century before enjoying free time to explore. Continue to Edinburgh. In the evening, select departures will attend The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Join a local expert to see the highlights of the city. Drive along Princes Street to the ornate Scott Memorial, then see the 18th century New Town with its neoclassical Georgian facades. In the Old Town, see the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official Scottish residence of the Queen. Venture up the Royal Mile to visit Edinburgh Castle, home of Mons Meg, the Stone of Destiny and Scotland's Crown Jewels, the Honours of Scotland. Join your friends at the stylish Grazing by Mark Greenaway, for a grand finale celebration dinner of modern Scottish cuisine, served with wine.

Your journey comes to an end after breakfast. You will depart from Edinburgh airport.