OVERVIEW

 

Duration:  6 days / 5 nights

 

Highlights:

Limerick City, Adare, Killarney, Kenmare, Kinsale,The Burren, Galway Bay, Kinvara

 

Overview

Make Mine a Pint, a Tour of the Pubs of Ireland!

Brendan Behan was thrown out of 720 Dublin Pubs, but still found several welcoming hostelries. There is reputedly a pub for every 300 of the population, man, woman & child. From sophisticated emporia of wit and alcohol to spit and sawdust shebeens, they offer a mirror for your every mood.

This tour takes you around the country visiting a range of taverns that offer fine food, good drink, and live entertainment. Here you will find the essence of Ireland , her pure spirit, flowing from taps & bottles that have inspired writers as disparate as James Joyce and J.P. Donleavy, Samuel Beckett & Sean O'Casey. A 5 night, 6 day tour with self drive car and attractive and characterful accommodation.

Summary Accomodation

Day 1 : The International Hotel in Killarney

Day 2 : The International Hotel in Killarney

Day 3 : The White Lady in Kinsale

Day 4 : The Merriman Inn in Kinvara

Day 5 : Busmells in Dublin

 

A Note of Warning 

This is a pub tour, staying in pubs.  In Irish pubs the music tends to start around 10.00pm and go on till late.  Our tour is planned around this, with morning starts at or after 9.30 pm, but do remember that the point of an Irish pub is Ceol Agus Craic - music and fun!

ITINERARY

Day 1

Morning arrival at Shannon Airport. Leaving Shannon you'll go through the city of Limerick and stop in Adare, a quaint village of thatched cottages, antique stores and ancient abbeys, for an Irish coffee.

On to Killarney for the night at The International Hotel, an 18th Century Coaching Inn. Killarney is one of the busiest tourist towns in Ireland, yet it lies within just a few minutes walk of some of the most stunningly beautiful and isolated scenery in Europe.  Enjoy your first night amidst the lilting voices of Killarney, where melodious tenors and shrieking violins will be the background as you call ‘’same again please!’’

Overnight at The International Hotel

Day 2

This morning explore the most beautiful county in Ireland. There'll be time to check out the smoked salmon in Killorglin before exploring the north side of the Ring of Kerry.  Lunch in Waterville, Charlie Chaplin's favourite retreat; Sneem, patronised by Charles de Gaulle; Stop at the famous Muckross House & gardens & enjoy the stunning vistas of the Lakes of Killarney, sheltering under Ireland's highest mountains. Muckross is famous for so many things - the red deer, Queen Victoria's visit, the incredible flowers. Spend time in Killarney, a busy city with galleries & shopping. Off to a traditional Irish pub for a celebration of Irish Music!        

Overnight at The International Hotel

Day 3         

Your journey today follows the Wild West coast of Ireland. Explore or shop in the little towns & villages along the way - Kenmare, a millionaires' hideaway; Glengarrif, where Maureen O'Hara lives; Skibereen, home to David Putnam & Jeremy Irons; ending up in Ireland's gourmet capital, Kinsale. Kinsale is a memorable old harbour town with narrow streets & winding passageways. Stay in the heart of the old town in the charming 250 year old inn, The White Lady. Visit The Kinsale Brewing Company in a beautifully restored malthouse dating from 1703.  At the end of the tour you can browse through the gift shop and sample some of the beers produced, or you can just walk in and soak in the atmosphere of the old brewery bar upstairs.  This evening you might wish to set your nerves jangling on a ghost tour of the harbour.

Overnight at The White Lady

Day 4

After a chance to get the "gift of the gab" by kissing the Blarney Stone (and for the shoppers a quick visit to the Blarney Woollen Mills where you'll find the biggest range & the best prices), then on to Limerick - check out The Lock Pub just by the Potato Market for lunch or head on the the world famous hostelery Durty Nelly's at Bunratty Castle.  You'll have an opportunity to explore a bit of the Burren as head up to the fishing vilage of Kinvara on Galway Bay for the a night beneath the largest thatched roof in Ireland at The Merriman Inn.  Kinvarra is the home of the famous fiddler Frankie Gavin, so there is always good music here.

Overnight at The Merriman Inn

Day 5

The highway will have you in the city centre by lunchtime, with a quick stop at Locke's Distillery in Kilbeggan.  
You'll arrive in Dublin to do some last minute shopping in the designer stores of Grafton Street before joining a literary pub crawl, having checked into Busswells.

Overnight at Buswells in Dublin

Day 6

After breakfast, you depart for Dublin Airport where you have ample time for some last minute duty free shopping before boarding your flight home. If your flight leaves in the afternoon there will be time to visit the Guinness Brewery on the way.

Please Note that this sample itinerary can be customized to suit all your particular requirements.

RECIPE

 

Irish Coffee Recipe

Jim Sheridan, the barman at Foynes when it was the original Shannon Airport for the Pan Am Clippers, invented this drink one dark and stormy night.

There are two recipes:
Put a silver spoon in a glass (so that the top and bottom of the glass get equally hot and it does not break.  Pour in 6oz of hot strong black coffee.  Add a spoonful of sugar (it should be demerrara).  Add a shot (or two) of whiskey.  Lift the spoon and pour heavy cream onto the back of it so that the cream floats on the coffee - cheats whip it a bit before pouring.

My favorite recipe is:
Take a silver coin and put it in the bottom of a glass.  Cover it with sugar till you can't see it.  Pour in whiskey till you can see it.  Pour in coffee till you can't see it.  
And finally top with cream!
  

PRICE

 

This Tour Includes:

·    5 nights accommodation with full Irish Breakfast
.    6 days with a self drive stick shift compact car
·    All Service charges and taxes
·    Personalised Itinerary, Co-ordination & Support
·    Prepaid Vouchers
·    24 hours Assistance during your trip
·    All admissions when taken with a driver guide

 

This Tour Excludes:

·    Entrance fees
·    Porterage
·    Gratuities
·    Quotations are subject to availability and no rooms can be guaranteed till a deposit has been received
·    Personal & Travel Insurance

Prices:

The price for this tour starts from as low as €600 (approx $812) per person sharing based on 2 people. Prices are subject to number of guest travelling, whether with a self drive car or with a private driver guide and to accommodation category used.     

        
Please note that this sample itinerary can be customized to suit all your particular requirements.

ENQUIRY