Irish Pub Tour - A "Craic" of a Good Tour!

We join our private coach this morning and head north from Belfast to Bushmills Distillery – the oldest distillery in the world dating back to 1608 -- for a tour and a taste test – naturally!! From here, we are off to the Inishowen Peninsula (Donegal) to overnight at McGrorys in Culdaff. McGrory’s is one of Ireland’s best kept secrets and will certainly be one of our favourite places to eat, sleep and be merry on our exclusive pub tour. It has been in the McGrory family for over three generations and the two brothers are both “session” musicians in their own right. The front bar has traditional Irish music every night, and, once we step through the front doors, we have at our disposal the front bar, the restaurant, the Back Room Bar and our lovely accommodation under one roof. A hearty Irish dinner at McGrory’s is included tonight. Our host, Ann McGrory, has also arranged a special visit by members of the local constabulary and local fire departments who will join us for couple of rounds.

Accommodation: McGrory’s Hotel 

After breakfast at our hotel, we leave the Inishowen Region and head to Galway. Our first stop is at Westport for a visit to Matt Malloy’s pub in Westport Town. Matt Malloy is a member of the famous traditional Irish band, The Chieftains, and his pub has traditional music playing day and night. After a lively visit, we continue on to the city of Galway and our hotel. Our accommodation for the next three nights is in Galway city at the very lovely The Park House Hotel. It is a small, highly recommended hotel on the water, with a great chef who will prepare a special beer tasting menu for us along with a great welcome dinner.

Accommodation: The Park House Hotel

A full day to touring today to the wilds of Connemara, Our day will include stops at Roundstone where we will drop into to visit U2’s studio and at Kylemore Abbey. Later this afternoon we will return to Galway and our hotel for a free evening.  Galway has the most fantastic selection of bars, pubs & restaurants (The Quays Bar is a local favourite!) and our hotel is just steps away from everything.

Today, we have another great day of touring Ireland’s rugged West Coast. Our first stop is at the Cliffs of Moher, one of the most iconic landscapes of Ireland – sheer, steep cliffs with the Atlantic Ocean crashing below. Later we stop at The Burren in County Clare. The Burren is an area of outstanding natural beauty – unearthly landscapes with a magical sense of spirituality accentuated by the megalithic tombs and monuments older than Egypt’s pyramids! Tonight a special treat as we transfer to Dunguaire Castle on Galway Bay for a rollicking Medieval Banquet.

We leave the rugged West Coast and cross the backbone of Ireland from West to East from Galway to County Kildare and the great city of Dublin. En route we make a stop at the Irish Stud, the home of Irish breeding and racing. Ireland produces a third of the world’s thoroughbreds - a remarkable achievement given the size and population of the country. Later this afternoon we arrive at the historic, The Courtyard Hotel – the actual original Guinness brewery—for our 2 night stay. Dinner is included tonight in the old brewery restaurant at our hotel.

Accommodation: The Courtyard Hotel

Dublin City is full of history, graceful architecture and colourful characters and sits on a rich cultural background of literature, drama and music.  The city boasts lots of pubs, bars and genuine Irish hospitality and is a great city for walking and exploring on ones own. We have a free morning and early afternoon before we transfer to the famous Guinness Distillery for private tour including a lesson on how to pour the perfect pint! Our fabulous evening also includes an exclusive private buffet farewell dinner in the Guinness Academy and ends with a transfer back to our hotel. If you do not want your evening to end, you might want to visit the Temple Bar area, the ideal place for a pub crawl, with lots of music and “craic” and a perfect way to wound down before heading home. 

We say goodbye to Ireland and transfer to the airport for our flights home.