Watch master craftspeople at work on a workshop tour at the House of Waterford Crystal. See the skill involved in shaping and finishing crystal, and browse the showroom’s intricate pieces.

Waterford’s name has been associated with crystal craftsmanship for centuries. Observing the production process brings the detail behind its distinctive cuts and brilliant surfaces into focus, from precise handwork to the finished objects displayed in the city where the tradition took root.

• 6 Dinner (D)
• 14 Breakfast (B)

• Dublin: A Local Specialist will show you Dublin’s elegant Georgian squares, O’Connell Street and the Custom House.
• Kildare: Admire Ireland’s finest thoroughbreds at the Irish National Stud Farm.
• Waterford: Learn how crystal is crafted at the House of Waterford Crystal during a workshop tour.
• Blarney: It is said that those who kiss the Blarney Stone are bestowed with the power to persuade, flatter and coax. But to do so, you must dangle from the ramparts! Visit Blarney Castle and see the famous Stone of Eloquence. 
• Adare: Experience a village walk through the main street lined with thatched cottages.
• Galway: Explore the historic heart of Galway. See landmarks such as the Spanish Arch and the cathedral, or perhaps admire the distinctive Claddagh rings.
• Donegal: Stop in Donegal and see The Diamond, a hub for music and cultural gatherings in the town.
• Londonderry: With a Local Specialist explore inside the city walls. See the Gothic Guildhall and the Georgian houses of Shipquay Street.
• Bushmills: In Northern Ireland you’ll discover the legend of the Giant’s Causeway as you explore this iconic natural landmark. 
• Belfast: Discover the full story of the Titanic at the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction in Belfast.
• Belfast: Join a Local Specialist to hear about the history of the city and learn of its progress and current prosperity. You’ll explore iconic sights like the Big Fish at Donegall Quay, the Titanic Quarter, and the famous Samson and Goliath cranes. Along the way, you’ll also visit Belfast City Hall and see murals in various locations that reflect the political sentiments of the local residents.
• Glencoe: Drive through Glencoe, a Highland valley known for steep mountains, open moorland and clan history. Your Travel Director shares context on the area’s past as you follow the road through one of Scotland’s best-known landscapes, with views that show the scale and character of the Highlands.
• Fort William: Near the foothills of Ben Nevis, stop in Fort William for a stroll along the charming High Street.
• Inverness: Visit the site of the final Jacobite Rising, where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s forces were defeated in 1746. Walk the battlefield and learn how this short but brutal conflict changed the course of Scottish history. 
• Scottish Highlands: Take in the beauty of the Highlands on a scenic drive past glens, lochs and dramatic peaks. Watch the landscape shift as you travel deeper into one of Scotland’s most striking regions.   
• St. Andrews: Visit the university town where the famous beach scene from ‘Chariots of Fire’ was filmed and see the golf course where the sport was created.
• Edinburgh: Explore the city with your Local Specialist as you travel along Princes Street to see the Scott Memorial, the neoclassical Adam facades of New Town and the official Scottish residence of the King, Palace of Holyroodhouse.

• Deluxe coach travel
• Selected hotel dinners plus a locally hosted meal
• Standard regional accommodation

Trafalgar

Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers over a welcome dinner in Dublin. Share a meal and begin getting to know the people who will accompany you through Ireland and Scotland.

The gathering offers a hosted introduction to the journey in Ireland’s capital, a city known for its lively conversation and longstanding literary culture. It is a chance to settle in and ask questions before exploring further.

Explore Dublin with a Local Specialist on a sightseeing drive past its elegant Georgian squares, O’Connell Street and the Custom House. See St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Ireland’s tallest church, from outside.

The route reveals contrasts between the capital’s 18th-century streetscapes and its busy modern thoroughfares. Your specialist provides local context for the landmarks, making this a useful introduction to Dublin’s history and character without requiring entry to the cathedral.

Take a guided walk at the Irish National Stud near Kildare to see thoroughbreds and learn about Ireland’s horse-breeding tradition. The visit also includes time to stroll through its Japanese Gardens.

Established as a centre for breeding racehorses, the stud offers a close look at an industry woven into Irish sporting life. The carefully landscaped gardens provide a quieter counterpoint, with paths, planting and water features designed to evoke a symbolic journey through life.

Visit Blarney Castle in County Cork and see the famed Blarney Stone high in its battlements. Those who wish to follow tradition can lean backwards, with assistance, to kiss the stone said to grant the gift of eloquence.

The medieval stronghold gives this playful Irish custom a dramatic setting. Stone towers and ramparts offer a tangible sense of the castle’s long history, while the legend of the Stone of Eloquence remains its best-known draw.

Travel the Ring of Kerry around the Iveragh Peninsula, taking in Atlantic shores, lakes and mountain scenery. See the area around Cahirciveen and the fishing village of Waterville, with views towards Moll’s Gap and the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.

This coastal circuit shows why County Kerry’s landscapes have long inspired writers and poets. Its changing views bring together sheltered valleys, open water and rugged peaks in one of Ireland’s most recognisable scenic journeys.

Explore the working farms of Muckross near Killarney to learn about traditional rural life, including how to churn butter. Enjoy a locally hosted meal at Quilles Farmhouse against the backdrop of the Killarney lakes.

The farm experience recalls agricultural practices of 1930s Ireland rather than presenting the countryside as scenery alone. Meeting local hosts and sharing regional food gives the visit a personal connection to the people preserving this part of Ireland’s rural heritage.

Walk through Adare’s village centre in County Limerick, where a main street lined with thatched cottages gives the village its distinctive appearance. Take a closer look at the low roofs and carefully kept streetscape.

Adare offers a compact introduction to a style of Irish village architecture less commonly seen in larger towns. Its cottages are the focus of this visit, making the walk an opportunity to appreciate the craftsmanship and enduring character of traditional thatching.

Discover the heart of Galway and see landmarks including Eyre Square and Galway Cathedral. The historic centre also includes the Spanish Arch, a reminder of the city’s trading past.

Galway’s compact streets reflect its long connection to the Atlantic coast and the wider world. This orientation introduces the city’s principal sights and its distinctive western-Irish character; time to browse shops or explore independently is separate from the organised experience.

See the Diamond in Donegal town, the central square that serves as a gathering place for local events and cultural life. The stop offers a look at the town’s historic centre rather than a generic roadside break.

Surrounded by the streets of this northwestern Irish town, the Diamond provides a sense of Donegal’s everyday pace. Its role as a setting for music and community gatherings makes it a meaningful place to pause and observe local life.

Walk Derry/Londonderry’s 17th-century walls with a Local Specialist and see the Gothic Guildhall and Georgian houses of Shipquay Street. View the Bogside murals, which depict episodes from the Troubles.

Among the best-preserved city walls in Europe, the fortifications frame centuries of local history. Your specialist connects the older streetscape with more recent events, including the Battle of the Bogside, offering context for the images and memories visible across the neighbourhood.

Explore the Giant’s Causeway on Northern Ireland’s coast, where closely packed basalt columns step towards the sea. Walk among the formations and encounter the legend of the giant Finn McCool.

Volcanic activity created this striking coastal landscape millions of years ago, while folklore supplied its larger-than-life explanation. Seeing the geometric stone against the Atlantic gives both stories their force: one geological, the other an enduring part of local imagination.

Visit Titanic Belfast in the city’s Titanic Quarter to explore the story of the ship built here. Exhibits trace the vessel’s construction, voyage and loss, placing its history within Belfast’s shipbuilding industry.

The attraction stands beside the former Harland & Wolff shipyard, close to the slipways where Titanic took shape. Its location gives the displays particular resonance, connecting the well-known Atlantic tragedy to the workers, engineering and industrial ambition behind the liner.

Discover Belfast with a Local Specialist, seeing the Big Fish at Donegall Quay, the Titanic Quarter, the Samson and Goliath cranes and City Hall. The tour also takes in murals that express local political perspectives.

These sights bring together Belfast’s maritime industry, civic architecture and more recent history. Local commentary helps explain the city’s changes and present-day character, giving the murals and shipyard landmarks context beyond their appearance from the street.

Discover Glasgow’s street murals with a Local Specialist on a walking tour beginning at The Clutha, a pub associated with the Clutha Trust’s work with young people. An orientation also shows George Square and the River Clyde.

Through the murals, hear stories of shipbuilding, comedy, creativity and community in a city shaped by its industrial riverfront. This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience supports local initiatives while offering a perspective on Glasgow through the people and stories represented in its public art.

Take in Loch Lomond and the Scottish Highlands on a scenic journey through lochside country and the steep-sided valley of Glencoe. Your Travel Director shares context as the landscape shifts from open water to mountains and moorland.

Glencoe is known both for its dramatic terrain and for the 1692 massacre of members of the MacDonald clan. Views near Fort William also bring the journey into the shadow of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain.

View Eilean Donan Castle in the western Highlands, where its stone walls and arched bridge stand at the meeting of three lochs. Take in one of Scotland’s most photographed castle settings against the surrounding mountains.

The castle’s waterside position gives it a memorable silhouette, especially when mist hangs over the lochs. This is a scenic viewing experience; the tour information does not specify entry to the castle, so the focus is its setting and exterior.

Meet local makers at 57° Skye Distillery for a guided tasting of small-batch island spirits. See the copper stills and learn how ingredients including seaweed and heather help shape the distillery’s creations.

Gaelic storytelling and place-name pronunciation connect each pour to Skye’s language, landscape and history. The makers also explain their small-scale production methods and approach to sustainability, making this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® visit an encounter with a contemporary island craft.

Travel beside Loch Ness through the Scottish Highlands, looking across the long stretch of water associated with Scotland’s most famous elusive creature. The loch’s shores and surrounding hills provide the focus of this scenic experience.

Stories of the Loch Ness Monster have made the water known worldwide, but its scale and Highland setting are compelling in their own right. The tour describes a journey along its banks rather than a boat trip or an attraction entry.

Walk the battlefield of Culloden and reflect on the final confrontation of the Jacobite Rising. Learn about the 1746 defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s forces by government troops on this open Highland ground.

The brief battle had far-reaching consequences for Scotland’s political and cultural history. Standing at the site brings a human scale to the accounts of the fighting and the lives lost, making this a place for considered reflection rather than simply a scenic stop.

Visit St Andrews, Scotland’s historic university town, and see the famous golf course associated with the origins of the modern game. View the 18th green of the Old Course, a landmark familiar to golfers around the world.

The town’s appeal reaches beyond sport, with centuries of academic history and a coastal setting. This experience offers a look at the celebrated links rather than a round of golf, alongside a sense of the place that has shaped the game’s traditions.

Explore Edinburgh with a Local Specialist and visit Edinburgh Castle atop Castle Rock. See the Royal Mile, Princes Street and the Scott Monument, together with views of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament building.

The route contrasts the Old Town’s historic spine with the ordered Georgian streets of the New Town. From the castle’s elevated position, the city’s volcanic setting comes into focus, adding a sense of place to Edinburgh’s royal and civic landmarks.

Attend the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo if your departure coincides with a performance date. Included tickets provide access to the open-air event staged against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

Massed musical performances and ceremonial display give the Tattoo its distinctive atmosphere during Edinburgh’s festival season. Tickets are included only on qualifying departures; travellers on other dates should not expect this experience as part of their tour.

Enjoy an evening of Irish music and cabaret during your stay in Dublin. This optional organised outing offers a chance to hear lively performances in a social evening setting.

Irish music has a strong tradition of drawing audiences into the rhythm of a performance, making this an entertainment-focused alternative to an independent evening in the city. The experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; the itinerary does not specify a venue or particular performers.

Join an organised evening of entertainment while staying in Killarney. This optional outing provides a social way to spend an evening in County Kerry with fellow travellers.

The itinerary describes the entertainment as lively but does not name a venue or confirm a particular programme, so specific music or performances are not guaranteed. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour; your Travel Director can provide the available details.

Experience a Scottish cultural dinner in Edinburgh featuring traditional food, music and a ceilidh. The organised evening offers a setting in which to enjoy Scottish hospitality and the sounds associated with its social dances.

A ceilidh is rooted in a tradition of gathering for music and dancing, giving this outing a participatory cultural flavour beyond the meal itself. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.