Explore Kylemore Abbey, a Neo-Gothic estate beside a lake in Connemara, and walk through its Victorian Walled Garden. Discover the abbey’s architecture, garden paths and mountain setting.

Learn how the estate became a home for Benedictine nuns who came to Ireland from Belgium in the early 20th century. Their continuing presence gives this landmark a living purpose, while its gardens reveal the ambition of the original Victorian estate.

Share a welcome dinner in Dublin with your Travel Director and fellow travellers. This hosted evening offers a relaxed opportunity to meet the group over a meal and settle into the warmth of Irish hospitality.

Conversation around the table introduces the people you’ll travel with and gives the evening a purpose beyond a routine dinner. It is a sociable introduction to a country where gathering, storytelling and good company remain part of everyday culture.

Choose a local restaurant for an included Dine-Around evening in Killarney. Select from a range of dining settings and enjoy Irish specialities in a town known as a gateway to the lakes and mountains of County Kerry.

Rather than a fixed group menu in one venue, the experience gives you a say in where you eat. It is a chance to savour regional flavours while taking in Killarney’s welcoming evening atmosphere.

Gather for a farewell dinner in Dublin with your fellow travellers. Share a final hosted evening together in Ireland’s capital, with time to recall the places and conversations that have shaped the journey.

Dublin’s long tradition of convivial dining and storytelling makes a fitting setting for the gathering. The experience is centred on good company and a shared meal, rather than a scheduled sightseeing visit or a promise of entry to a particular venue.

• 6 Dinner (D)
• 9 Breakfast (B)

• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

• Dublin: History and famous figures. St. Patrick’s Cathedral is one of the few buildings left from medieval Dublin. It is also on this site where St. Patrick reputedly baptized the local Celtic chieftains in the 5th century. The cathedral was later built between 1191 and 1270 and has come to be famous for its choir, also Ireland’s oldest. The cathedral’s burial site of author Jonathan Swift is one of approximately 700 burials on the site.
• Kildare: Horse racing is key part of Irish culture; and you’ll gain a rare insight into it on your visit to the Irish National Stud. Set in Kildare at the breeding ground of champions and the birthplace of legends, explore the foaling unit, museum and the stallions that continue to make racing history. As the only stud farm in Ireland open to the public, learn the insights of horse-racing at a site whose former visitors include queens and presidents. 

Insight Vacations

• Business class coach with extended leg room
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• 4 & 5-star stays

Explore Ireland’s capital with a Local Expert, tracing Dublin’s story from Viking settlement to Georgian city. Visit St Patrick’s Cathedral, established in 1191 on a site traditionally associated with Ireland’s patron saint.

Inside, discover a landmark of medieval Dublin whose long history includes its association with writer and former dean Jonathan Swift. The tour offers a grounded introduction to the people, architecture and traditions that shaped the capital.

Stroll through Powerscourt Gardens in County Wicklow, exploring formal terraces, Japanese gardens, lakes and secluded paths beneath the backdrop of Great Sugar Loaf Mountain. Look for the statues and carefully framed views that give the historic estate its character.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience highlights work to conserve the gardens’ biodiversity and historic landscape. Your visit supports efforts to protect natural heritage while revealing how generations of gardeners have shaped this setting.

Visit the Irish National Stud in County Kildare to discover the country’s deep connection with thoroughbred breeding and racing. Explore the stud’s exhibits and breeding facilities, and see horses in the paddocks, including retired champions.

As an Irish stud farm open to visitors, it offers a close look at the care and expertise behind a prominent national tradition. The experience connects the horses you see with the breeders, owners and racing history that have made Kildare renowned.

Explore Cork with your Travel Director, taking in the city’s Georgian streets, River Lee quays and the lively setting of the English Market. See landmarks including Grand Parade, South Mall, City Hall and the Opera House.

Hear how a religious settlement associated with St Finbarr developed through Viking and Norman periods into a prosperous merchant city. The walk and orientation bring context to Cork’s independent spirit and the local nickname, Rebel Cork.

Walk the Blarney Castle gardens with a senior gardener on this included Insight Choice experience. Explore the estate’s planted landscapes, from rare trees in the arboretum to the Bog Garden and its centuries-old yews.

Your guide brings the grounds’ horticulture and folklore to life, including the rock formations associated with Druid traditions. This choice suits travellers who want to look beyond the castle’s famous stone and discover the living landscape surrounding it.

Visit Blarney Castle and, if you wish, take your turn at kissing the Blarney Stone. Legend holds that this celebrated limestone stone grants the gift of eloquence to those who kiss it.

This included Insight Choice centres on one of Ireland’s best-known traditions. Explore the castle setting and its stories, with time to appreciate the grounds, including the folklore-rich Wishing Steps and Witch’s Kitchen. Choose this experience instead of the guided gardens visit.

Travel the Ring of Kerry, a circular route through some of Ireland’s most varied scenery. Take in Atlantic coastline, beaches and colourful villages, alongside inland views of mountains, lakes and green woodland.

The landscape’s changing textures help explain why County Kerry has long inspired writers and poets. Rocky shores and sheep-dotted fields give way to sheltered lakelands, offering a broad view of the region rather than a single scenic stop.

Walk the viewing areas at the Cliffs of Moher and look out across the Atlantic from cliffs rising more than 700 feet above the sea. Visit the exhibition centre to learn about the coast’s geology, history and wildlife.

The journey also passes through the Burren’s limestone landscape, whose rocky terrain contrasts sharply with the sheer Clare coastline. Keep watch along the cliffs for seabirds, including puffins in season, and experience the exposed setting of the Wild Atlantic Way.

Discover Galway’s historic heart with your Travel Director, hearing local stories as you explore this lively Atlantic port. See Eyre Square and landmarks including the Spanish Arch, the Lynch Memorial Window and the Church of St Nicholas.

The city’s medieval streets and merchant heritage sit alongside its contemporary music and arts scene. This orientation gives you a sense of the people and places behind Galway’s character, beyond its reputation for a spirited social atmosphere.

Cruise the glacial waters of Killary Fjord, a 16-kilometre inlet framed by the mountains of Connemara and Mayo. From the boat, watch the shoreline for seals and seabirds while taking in the steep, rugged landscape.

An onboard guide explains how ancient ice shaped the inlet and shares stories of coastal life. The water-level perspective reveals a side of western Ireland that feels distinct from its roads and villages, with the surrounding peaks reflected in the fjord.

Join a Dublin dinner and cabaret for an evening that pairs a meal with live entertainment. It is a chance to experience the city’s social side in a hosted setting, rather than arranging an evening out independently.

Dublin has a strong performance and storytelling tradition, and this experience brings food and entertainment together in that spirit. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; performance details will be confirmed locally.

Enjoy a pub dinner and traditional Irish music in Cork, where local musicians bring the evening to life. Settle into a sociable setting and listen to the melodies and rhythms that remain part of Ireland’s living music culture.

This hosted outing offers a different perspective on Cork from its daytime streets and landmarks: conversation, hearty food and music shared in close quarters. The Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Experience an evening of Irish song, music and dance in Killarney. Watch performers bring traditional forms to the stage and hear the lively interplay of voices and instruments in a setting devoted to local entertainment.

The performance offers an introduction to traditions that have been passed between communities and generations, distinct from the region’s scenic experiences. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; the precise programme will be confirmed locally.

Ride in a traditional jaunting cart through the Killarney National Park area, taking in the landscape at a gentler pace. This horse-drawn outing offers a distinctive way to appreciate the woodland and lakeside scenery associated with County Kerry.

Jaunting cars are a longstanding feature of Killarney’s visitor tradition, linking the experience of the landscape with a local way of getting around. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Journey from Galway to the Aran Islands on an optional excursion across Galway Bay. Discover an island landscape known for stone walls, Atlantic exposure and enduring connections to the Irish language and traditional ways of life.

The islands offer a striking contrast to Galway’s busy streets, with open coastal scenery and communities shaped by the sea. Specific stops and activities will be confirmed locally. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Cruise the River Shannon in a Viking-style boat at Athlone, seeing the town’s waterfront from the water. Hear about the river’s role in local history as you travel through a place that has long served as a crossing point.

Athlone’s position on Ireland’s longest river made it strategically important for centuries. The boat’s design adds a playful historical touch to a guided look at that riverfront story. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.