Jill Thomas – Ireland 2024

Day 1 - Saturday 22^nd June - The Burren

This morning you will be met by your guide at Shannon Airport and transferred roughly 1 hour to the Burren. You’ll have lunch at a local tearoom followed by a visit to the adjoining Burren Perfumery where only natural and organic ingredients are used in production. It’s the oldest working perfumery in Ireland!  Afterward, you’ll set off for a walk in the nearby Slieve Carran Nature Reserve. Its unique, striated limestone landscape was shaped by ancient seas and is famous for its Mediterranean and alpine wildflowers. The region is steeped in history as well, with over 2,500 historical monuments to be explored. Afterward, it’s a short drive to your first hotel, Gregan’s Castle, a former retreat for poets and authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. You’ll be back in time for a cool pint of Guinness by the fire before dinner at its award-winning restaurant.

Overnight: The Burren | Gregans Castle Hotel
Room Type: Superior
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Walk Details: 8 km / 5 miles

Day 2 - Sunday 23^rd June - The Cliffs of Moher

This morning you will transfer 30 minutes to the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s most impressive natural sites. Today’s walk follows a coastal route along the cliffs, passing through dramatic hinterland with inspiring views offshore to the Aran Islands. The area is teeming with wildlife and 20 different species of birds, including puffins, make this area their home. You’ll finish in the village of Doolin, famous for its traditional music scene. You will stop for a fish n’ chips lunch in a historic stone cottage before returning to Gregans’ Castle via Black Head, a mesmerizing stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way. There will be plenty of opportunities to stop for photos en route. Later you will head into the village of Ballyvaughan for a private Irish whiskey tasting. There’s a great little pub on the pier nearby that we’d suggest for dinner.

Overnight: The Burren | Gregans Castle Hotel
Room Type: Superior
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Walk Details: 8 km / 5 miles

Day 3 - Monday 24^th June - Galway

After breakfast at Gregans’ Castle, you will transfer one hour to Galway, a charming Medieval-era city with a thriving arts scene. You will be joined there by a local expert for a historical walking tour. After lunch, you will have some free time to explore, do some shopping or people watching at the city’s iconic Tigh Neachtain pub. From Galway it is 1h30 further into Connemara, a Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking region) known for its windswept landscapes of mountains, beach and bog. Before settling in for the evening, you will have some time for a stroll along the wooded trails of your next hotel, Ballynahinch Castle. For dinner we’ll make you reservations at the property’s historic Fisherman’s Pub, a lively place where guests and local mingle.

Overnight: Connemara | Ballynahinch Castle
Room Type: Superior
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Walk Details: 5 km / 3 miles

Day 4 - Tuesday 25^th June - Inisbofin Island

After a hearty breakfast you will transfer 30 minutes to the village of Cleegan to catch your ferry to Inishbofin. Keep your eyes peeled for dolphins and seals along the way! Today you will be joined by a local archaeologist and longtime friend of B&R for a walk around this fascinating island. Highlights include rugged cliffs, blowholes, Bronze and Iron Age ruins and the crumbling Cromwellian fort where ‘Don Bosco’, the infamous Spanish pirate was stationed in the 16th century. You’ll have a picnic lunch before heading back to Ballynahinch Castle for some down time. This evening you’ll head into the town of Clifden for dinner and traditional folk music.

Overnight: Connemara | Ballynahinch Castle
Room Type: Superior
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Walk Details: 8 km / 5 miles

Day 5 - Wednesday 26^th June - Killary Fjord

This morning it’s a 45-minute drive through the windswept Twelve Bens Mountain Range to Killary, Ireland’s only fjord. You will start the day with a sheepherding demonstration at a local farm, and you’ll have the opportunity to cut peat from the bogs – a method that’s been used to harvest fuel in these parts for eons. From there, you’ll walk an abandoned famine route along the southern shoreline of the fjord. After a pit stop at a local café for lunch, you will transfer back to Ballynahinch Castle. You will have some free time to enjoy the estate this afternoon – go fly fishing, have a massage, or simply kick back with a book by the river. This evening we would recommend dinner at Ballynahinch’s Owenmore Restaurant, which overlooks the salmon river and the wooded estate.

Overnight: Connemara | Ballynahinch Castle
Room Type: Superior
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Walk Details: 10 km / 6 miles

Day 6 - Thursday 27^th June - Welcome to Dublin

After a leisurely breakfast overlooking the Owenmore river and majestic Twelve Bens mountains, you will bit farewell to Ireland’s west and make your way back to Dublin, arriving in time to explore the city in the afternoon.

Head out in the afternoon to enjoy a walking tour with a local private guide through this vibrant capital city, with its mix of 1,000 years of architecture from the mediaeval to Georgian to modern. See the Georgian style Merrion Square, lush St. Stephen’s Green and Fitzwilliam Square, as well as O’Connell Street, the site of the ‘1916 Uprising’ that led to Ireland’s independence in 1922. Your guide is also a historian who will bring the city to life with colourful tales of life in the city in times gone by.

Overnight: Dublin | The Westbury
Room Type: Classic King
Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 7 - Friday 28^th June - Explore Dublin

Today you will explore Dublin solo

Overnight: Dublin | The Westbury Hotel
Room Type: Classic King
Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 8 - Saturday 29^th June - Farewell to Ireland

We will have a car meet you at your hotel this morning. A short transfer has you at Dublin Airport in plenty of time for your departure flight.

Meals Included: Breakfast