Please note the tour price reflected on the brochure is subject to change. Due to seasonality, and taxes prices of the tour are subject to change without due notice. Please consult with the operator directly for the recent price.
British & Irish Elegance
Overview
Highlights (Bullets)
- Sightseeing by luxury coach
- Professional tour director
- 9 nights in hotels listed
- Full breakfast daily (B) except on day 1
- 6 dinners (D) including: Welcome dinner in London, Welsh Evening in Cardiff , Merry Ploughboy Pub dinner and traditional show , Scottish evening in Edinburgh, 2 table d'hote dinners
- Welcome get-together drink
- Tours of London, Cardiff, Dublin and Edinburgh
- Walking tours of Waterford and York
- Round trip ferry transportation between Britain & Ireland
- Jerpoint Park Farm sheepdog trials with tea and scones
- Reserved seats for Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 4 to 18 departures
- Dublin open-top bus tour with a visit to Guinness Storehouse or General Post Office Museum
- Visits and admissions to Stonehenge, Roman Baths & Pump Room, Cardiff Castle, House of Waterford Crystal, Glasnevin Museum, Edinburgh Castle, York Minster and Shakespeare’s Birthplace
- Audio headsets and group photo
- Deluxe carry-on backpack, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
- All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person
- Free Wi-Fi on coaches and in hotel lobbies
Short Description
This circular tour from London stays in Cardiff, Waterford, Dublin, Edinburgh and York. Opportunity to see historic Stonehenge, Bath, York and Stratford-upon-Avon as well as fun visits such as dogs herding sheep, farm tea with scones, historic walks and hop-on, hop-off city tours. Great meals daily including three special evenings.
Itinerary
Day 1: London Arrival & Orientation
Meals: Dinner
Your vacation starts at your London hotel at 2:00 pm when you meet your tour director. Head out on a panoramic drive around central London to see many of the famous landmarks including Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. In the evening join your tour director and your fellow travelers for a welcome drink to discuss your trip. Then enjoy dinner in your hotel.
Day 2: Stonehenge & Roman Baths
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
This morning head out of London to Salisbury Plain to view the prehistoric circle of vast monoliths at Stonehenge. Continue west to explore the mineral-rich hot springs at Bath. Tour the Roman Baths and Pump Room, first built by the Romans 2,000 years ago and revived during the 18th century. Dine at a Welsh evening on local specialties and appreciate fine entertainment.
Day 3: Cardiff & Ferry to Waterford
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Take a panoramic tour of Cardiff to see the principal areas and buildings in the city center and tour Cardiff Castle, developed in Roman times and transformed into an elaborate Gothic style residence in the 19th century. Journey through the gentle, green countryside to the west coast. At Pembroke Dock embark on an afternoon ferry crossing to Rosslare and on to Waterford for your next overnight stay.
Day 4: Sheepdogs & Dublin’s Merry Ploughboy Pub
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
After breakfast take a walking tour around historic Waterford, founded by the Vikings over 1,000 years ago. Visit the House of Waterford Crystal to learn about glass blowing and cutting. At Jerpoint Park Farm see a deserted 12th century town, watch trained dogs herd sheep and sample scones with tea. Stop briefly in Kilkenny before heading to Dublin. Drive to the Merry Ploughboy Pub for a dinner of Irish specialties and a lively show.
Day 5: Dublin Sightseeing & Glasnevin
Meals: Breakfast
Tour Dublin city to see elegant Georgian squares with brightly-painted doorways; in O’Connell Street see the General Post Office where the 1916 Rebellion started. Visit Glasnevin Museum, Ireland’s national necropolis, which is a who’s who of modern Irish history. The afternoon is free so that you may use your vouchers for an independent open-top bus tour around the city and a visit to one attraction. The evening is free.
Day 6: Scotland & Edinburgh Show
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Depart Dublin early this morning and drive north to take a ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan. Travel through gentle pasturelands to the central belt of Scotland. Continue to Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city, and check in to your hotel. Head to a Scottish Evening to dine on excellent Scottish cuisine, including Haggis, followed by lively Highland dancing with bagpipes and kilts.
Day 7: Edinburgh Castle & City Tour
Meals: Breakfast
Join a local guide on a drive around central Edinburgh to see the main points of interest, including the 200-year-old “New Town” with elegant Georgian houses and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Walk along part of the Royal Mile where medieval houses are clustered closely together. Tour the massive Edinburgh Castle to see the Crown Jewels of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny. The afternoon is free for independent activities. On August 4 to 18 departures watch the spectacular Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle.
Day 8: Scottish Borders & York
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Travel through the charming Borders region with many quaint towns, manor houses and abbeys. Stop in Jedburgh for a look around and view the picturesque ruins of Jedburgh Abbey. Continue south to York for a walking tour to appreciate narrow streets, especially the Shambles, where the medieval houses almost touch across the street. Tour the stately Gothic York Minster, which dates back to the 12th century and is noted for its magnificent medieval stained glass windows.
Day 9: Shakespeare’s Birthplace & London
Meals: Breakfast
Travel to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace to see an exhibition about his life and work. Walk through the furnished house where he was born and take a look around the town with its many black-and-white buildings. Drive through the Cotswolds to London and check into your hotel where the evening is at leisure.
Day 10: Tour Ends in London
Meals: Breakfast
Your program ends after breakfast.
Availability
- Single Supplement: $ 687
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with CIE Tours.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click
"Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for
the final trip price.
195 CIE Tours Travel Reviews & Ratings
British & Irish Elegance
Company Reviews
Terrible Company
Pick another tour company
To make matters worse, the hotel accommodations ranked more as lower end budget hotels—in particular Fosshotel Nupar which we were stuck at for two nights was filthy. The bedding while clean (I hope) was stained which was disconcerting, the room safe was inoperable and not fixed. When we dropped something on the floor and had to retrieve it from under the bed, the filth beneath the bed was nasty. Ostensibly, this hotel was picked because it was out in the middle of nowhere to facilitate viewing the northern lights. And yet, there were not wake up calls available for that. In fact, there weren’t any phones in the room. There was no way to notify guests if there were Northern Lights (which was one of the main points of this tours.)
The Hotel Selfoss was supposed to have had an outdoor hot tub to be able to watch the Northern Lights if they were visible. Well, the hotel did not have an outdoor hot tub. Also given the location of the hotel, I’m not sure they would have been visible there. For the price of this tour, the accommodations at Hotel Selfoss were, at best, mediocre.
Iceland was on my bucket list, and I saved for a long, long time to be able to travel there with my daughter. For the price (and compared to other tours I have taken) this was a very overpriced tour which under-delivered in every single capacity and at every single turn.
The only saving grace was the natural beauty of Iceland, but I’m certain that if CIE could have ruined that, they would have.
Perfect First Time Segue into Ireland
Pros and cons:
The bus was clean and comfortable. Information was always at the ready. Atmosphere was upbeat, fun, pleasant.
Hotels were modern and well equipped. Yes, there were washcloths except in Dunboyne Castle. No AC but fortunate for a cool night and awakening to the sounds of birds and peacocks was an unexpected pleasure. The Newpark Hotel was nice but water pressure was too weak for a hair wash. The breakfasts were always hearty but monotonous in both selection and presentation. This is not a “con” as much as an observation. None of the hotels except for Killarney, were in a city/town center. That meant taxis or 15-30 minute walks for “dinner on own” nights. Hotel restaurants and bars were always available and not bad but, simply did not lend themselves to the Irish experience. Last night dinner at Abbey Tavern OK but definitely not worth the hour traverse across Dublin to get there. Would have stayed behind and eaten in town had we known. Seems this would have been a better place to begin tour rather than end it, given the start and end hotel locations. And the lively Irish song and dance would be a great way to kick off the trip.
The itinerary was what we expected, covering the miles we did in only 8 days. “Time on own to explore” was rarely more than 90 minutes or so. Shopping at Moriarty was lovely for the high end Irish goods it offered though we were not aware that it was government owned at the time. We learned after holding out for this particular excursion that there was more variety and more economical choices along the way, both before and after, if you made shopping a priority when on own. We did not, preferring eateries and pubs.
Castle tours, museum tours, walking tours all excellent.
Sheep farm, excellent. Food there excellent
Pub stops and talks, lunches and drinks, excellent
Historic site visits, humbling and awe inspiring
Kilkenny Design Center lunch, tasty but poor bordering on rude service. Rush you in/rush you out venue. Skip the free food and find a local pub.
Aran Island lunch- Stuck with it because bus drove directly to this location but even though we had to pre-select the choices they ran out of some items and rather rudely stated, “ this is what we’ve got”. Food wasn’t bad but attitudes were abysmal.
Every part of the trip went off with smooth transitions, no stress, no worry. This was largely due to Frankie, our wonderful tour guide. We would definitely recommend CIE for it’s value and service. The tour was exactly as described with some wonderful surprises along the way.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME/MONEY WITH CIE!
Loved our experience
Our Guide was awesome. John did an amazing job
Details
Flight & Transport Inclusions
All internal ground transport
Group Size
Standard Group - 25 + people
Trip ID#:
BriIriCie
Meals Included
9 Breakfasts and 6 Dinners
We respect your privacy and take great care to protect your information. By clicking «Send my questions» you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. An account will be created for you to track your submission and a temporary password will be emailed to you.
×
You can access members-only savings of up to $700 on over 6,000 Travelstride Select trips.
Sign in to see trip eligibility
With your FREE membership you get to:
- Save up to $700 per person!*
- Access private deals and offers
- See personalized trip recommendations
- Save favorite trips
We respect your privacy and take great care to protect your information. By joining you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
You could save $ 300 per person on this trip!
