Day 1: Depart the U.S: from your home airport via Delta Airlines (or similar) for Ireland.

Day 2: Arrive at Dublin Airport: Meet with your coach driver and English speaking guide and transfer into the city centre. Enjoy a panoramic tour of Dublin City, discovering the north side of the River Liffey. This area offers great striking monuments such as the GPO (General Post Office) on the city main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street, or the Custom House along the quays, as well as the Phoenix Park, the largest public park in Europe. The south side of Dublin appears more sophisticated with its vast Georgian squares, such as Merrion Square, where Oscar Wilde’s House can still be found (today owned by an American College), its colorful doors, along with Grafton Street and its quality shops. Not so far from St. Stephen’s Green, in Kildare St., you will see the house of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. This part of the city is also dominated by the students of Trinity College, where the famous book of Kells is permanently exhibited in its library. The university is facing the medieval district where Dublin Castle and the two Anglican Cathedrals can be found. Then it must be time to “wet the whistle” and visit the Guinness Brewery, Europe's largest stout producing brewery and home to the Guinness Storehouse. Opened in 1904 The Storehouse was an operational plant for fermenting and storing Guinness. Today it houses a very fine exhibition dedicated to the Guinness story. Visitors will discover what goes into the making a pint of Guinness - the ingredients, the brewing process, the time, the craft and the passion.

Day 3: Wicklow ‘The Garden of Ireland’, Glendalough and Powercourt: South of Dublin is County Wicklow. Known as “the Garden of Ireland” it is home to Powerscourt, Mount Usher and Russborough, to name a few of its many houses and gardens. This region features all the various types of scenery that makes Ireland so beautiful. The coastline is bordered by charming sea resorts such as Bray or Greystones. Powerscourt Gardens are a magnificent example of aristocratic gardens from the 19th century. The gardens were initiated around 1745 and restyled in the 19th century. The gardens have many features including the Triton pool with its 100-ft fountain. There are statues of winged horses (emblems of the Wingfield coat of arms) flanking a grotto by the pool. To the left are American and Italian gardens; while below them is a Japanese garden.

Day 4: Day at leisure or take an optional; tour to Malahide and Howth: Travel North of Dublin City to the picturesque maritime village of Malahide. A pleasant village, with its Castle, marina, pubs and beaches. The extensive Velvet Strand stretches to the horizon and is extremely popular with bathers and water sports enthusiasts. Malahide also boasts a marina with some three hundred berths and is the only natural inlet along the East Coast. 12km from the city centre Malahide can be reached by public bus or Dart. Boasting in excess of 50 pubs and restaurants, it is an interesting village to while away a morning. Afterwards arrive to the small harbor town of Howth, in North County of Dublin. Famous as a fishing port, it is also well known for the craggy hill, which towers above the town and dominates Dublin Bay.

Day 5: Day at leisure or take an optional tour to Kildare: This morning travel to County Kildare for a visit to the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens. You will visit the stables of the purebred horses and also a museum about the history of the horse in Ireland. The skeleton of Arkle, Ireland’s most famous steeplechaser, who had an amazing career, is on display. In addition to the stud are the Japanese gardens, designed in 1904. The latest addition dates from 1998: the St. Fiachra’s gardens, the patron saint of gardeners.

Day 6: Day at leisure or take an optional tour to Galway: After full Irish breakfast we will depart to Galway and visit Locke's Distillery. Locke's Distillery established in 1757 is believed to be the oldest licensed pot still whiskey distillery in the world. For almost 200 years, until it closed in 1954, the distillery produced a traditional pot stilled Irish malt whiskey. Its onwards to Galway City Center and enjoy some time at leisure. Galway, the largest county in Connaught, is celebrated in song and story throughout the world and takes centre stage on Ireland’s western seaboard. A spectacularly beautiful county, it is a medley of contrasts - the wildest and remotest of Connemara teamed with one of Europe’s most vibrant and popular cities. Galway City at the mouth of Galway Bay is both a picturesque and lively city with a wonderful avant-garde culture.

Day 7: Day at leisure or take an optional tour to Connemara and Kylemore: Today enjoy a tour of Connemara Region, whose inhabitants still speak Gaelic, is without a doubt the wildest and the most romantic part of Ireland. It is a vast peninsula bordered by the arid and rocky coastline of Galway Bay in the south, a bumpy land characteristic for its stone walls and thatched cottages. In the northern half, harsher and more secret, you will see the Ocean and the beautiful fjord of Killary Harbor as well as the steep mountains overlooking numerous lakes and large bog areas. You will find peace and tranquility, which have now disappeared from our overpopulated regions. Connemara is a real paradise for Nature lovers and those in search of strong emotions. Onwards to Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore Abbey is located in the Kylemore Pass in Connemara. A Mitchell Henry built the House in 1868, after having spent his honeymoon in the area. The architecture is best described as neo-gothic and the house still displays all the characteristics of that period. One of Kylemore Abbey's most famous features is its miniature cathedral, built in 1870 and known locally as the Gothic church.

Day 8: Day at leisure or take an optional tour to the Aran Islands: A step back in time and tour the Aran Islands. The three Aran Islands, Inisheer, Inishmaan and Inishmore, standing out in the Galway bay, form a mass of limestone, similar to the Burren’s geology. Today the inhabitants live essentially off fishing and tourism while remaining strongly attached to Gaelic traditions. These islands are the last real “Gaelthacht” of the modern Ireland. Inishmore is the largest of them; it is covered in old stone walls and little fields. On the West Coast of the island, majestic cliffs drop into the wild Atlantic Ocean. This area is dominated by Dun Aengus, one of the most impressive Neolithic forts in Europe. Tonight we will have a farewell dinner at the hotel.

Day 9: Aran Islands/U.S.: Today we depart to the Airport for departure back to the U.S. (B)