Britain and Ireland Experience - Preview 2017

1. ARRIVE LONDON (2 NIGHTS) Relax after check-in or stroll through London and soak up the unique atmosphere. Hotel Copthorne Tara 2. LONDON FREE TIME Spend the day exploring Londons sights. Meal(s) Full Breakfast 3. LONDON – WINDSOR – BATH – CARDIFF This morning meet your Travel Director and traveling companions to board your Trafalgar coach and set off from London. Visit Windsor and view the impressive castle. See elegant Georgian architecture in the spa town of Bath. Cross the vast Severn Estuary to Cardiff, capital of Wales, where you dine tonight. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Dinner Hotel Copthorne 4. CARDIFF – PEMBROKE – WATERFORD Admire Cardiff Castle then journey through beautiful countryside via Carmarthen. See Pembroke Castle which is the birthplace of Henry Vll, founder of the Tudor Dynasty. Board your ferry from Pembroke to Rosslare, Ireland. Journey west to Waterford and dine tonight at your hotel. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Dinner Hotel Treacys 5. WATERFORD – BLARNEY – TRALEE Visit the Waterford Crystal Showroom. Continue along the splendid southern coast through the picturesque fishing port of Youghal. Explore Blarney Castle – kiss the stone and acquire the ‘gift of the gab'. Cross over the Cork and the Kerry Mountains, then travel via Killarney to your hotel in Tralee. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Dinner Hotel Earl of Desmond Hotel 6. TRALEE – DINGLE PENINSULA – LIMERICK – SHANNON (NEAR LIMERICK) This morning enjoy a scenic drive along the Dingle Peninsula. See the unspoilt and colourful villages and fishing harbours of Ireland's most westerly point. Travel north to County Limerick through Adare, the prettiest village in Ireland. Arrive in Limerick where you view St. Mary's Cathedral and King John's Castle. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Hotel Oak Wood Arms Hotel 7. SHANNON (NEAR LIMERICK) – GALWAY – DUBLIN (2 NIGHTS) This morning there is time to visit Bunratty Castle and folk park, where 19th century life is vividly recreated. Drive through beautiful County Clare to Galway. View the cathedral before heading across lush countryside to Dublin, Ireland's capital. Tonight why not join your travelling companions for an Irish Cabaret? Meal(s) Full Breakfast Hotel Clayton Leopardstown 8. DUBLIN SIGHTSEEING AND FREE TIME Your Local Specialist takes you on a sightseeing tour of Dublin with views of Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral and historic Phoenix Park. Spend the rest of your day as you choose. Meal(s) Full Breakfast 9. DUBLIN – CHESTER – LIVERPOOL Cross the Irish Sea with magnificent views of Dublin Bay and arrive at Holyhead on the Welsh Island of Anglesey. Cameras at the ready as you view the station with one of the longest names in the world, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch. Enjoy the scenery of the north coast of Wales on the way to Chester, where you have time to walk along the medieval walls and appreciate the famous ‘Chester Rows’. Arrive later in Liverpool, home of the Beatles. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Hotel Ibis Centre Albert Dock 10. LIVERPOOL – LAKE DISTRICT – EDINBURGH (PEEBLES) (2 NIGHTS) Stop to view William Wordsworth's grave in the pretty Lake District village of Grasmere. Continue across the Scottish border and stop at Gretna Green, where eloping couples could marry against their parents' wishes. Your day ends at your hotel near Edinburgh. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Hotel Peebles Hydro 11. EDINBURGH SIGHTSEEING AND FREE TIME This morning's sightseeing tour with your Local Specialist includes views of the Georgian New Town, Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle. Spend free time exploring on your own or join your Travel Director on an Optional Experience to the Royal Yacht Britannia in nearby Leith. Tonight why not attend a lively Scottish banquet with traditional haggis and bagpipes? Meal(s) Full Breakfast 12. EDINBURGH (PEEBLES) – YORK – LEEDS This morning travel south through the Scottish Borderlands and stop to view the ruins of Jedburgh Abbey. Enjoy the views across the Cheviot Hills at Carter Bar and continue into Northumberland National Park where you view Hadrian's Wall at Heddon. Cross the River Tyne at Newcastle and stop at York for an orientation tour including the Gothic minster and the narrow cobbled street known as the Shambles. Then continue to your hotel in Leeds. Dine tonight at your hotel. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Dinner Hotel Clayton 13. LEEDS – STRATFORD-UPON-AVON – WARWICK This morning visit Stratford-upon-Avon where you have time to see the sights and shop for souvenirs and see Anne Hathaways' cottage. In your free time why not visit Shakespeare's Birthplace and Visitor Centre for an in-depth look at the great man's life? Dine tonight at a local restaurant. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Dinner Hotel Holiday Inn Express 14. WARWICK – OXFORD – LONDON Enjoy a scenic drive through the glorious Cotswolds to the little churchyard at Bladon, where Sir Winston Churchill is buried. See the sights of Oxford, the oldest university city in England, before continuing to London where you can say farewell to your Travel Director and traveling companions at the end of your memorable vacation. Meal(s) Full Breakfast Hotel Copthorne Tara 15. DEPART LONDON Today say goodbye to London as you return home with magical memories. Meal(s) Full Breakfast