Day 1: Depart for Scotland

Depart for Sky Harbor Airport. Passports Required! Check in and board your flight, which will include an overnight flight to Glasgow. Some meals and snacks are provided by the Airlines and your checked luggage will be checked through to Glasgow.

Day 2: Glasgow Highlights

Land in Glasgow Airport, after clearing customs you will meet your CIE Tours representative in the baggage claim area, before transferring to your hotel. At 3:00 pm set out on a city tour to discover the main attractions of Glasgow, a city that flourished in Victorian times due to the shipbuilding industry on the River Clyde. Drive around George Square with its ornate City Chambers and nearby Glasgow Cathedral. Visit the Museum of Transport to view collections of cars, buses and bicycles, many invented in Scotland. This evening join your fellow travelers in a welcoming drink before dinner. (D)

Day 3: Loch Lomond & Loch Ness Cruise

Depart Glasgow and drive alongside the famous Loch Lomond, renowned in song and also for unsurpassed beauty of the lake and mountains. Travel across the haunting Rannoch Moor and through Glencoe, notorious for the Campbell massacre of the Clan Macdonald in 1692. Continue through Fort William and stop at Spean Bridge Woollen Mills, which offers a good selection of quality Scottish goods. At Fort Augustus embark on a short cruise on Loch Ness to admire enchanting scenic views and perhaps spot the famous monster. Motor alongside the loch and pause to view Culloden Battlefield before continuing to Nairn. (B, D)

Day 4: Blair Castle & Distillery

Head through the scenic Grampian Mountains to visit 13^th century Blair Castle, home of the Earls and Dukes of Atholl. This stately mansion contains a variety of portraits, china and armor to show the life of Scottish nobility. Nearby visit Blair Atholl Distillery to learn about the creation of whisky and enjoy a sample. Continue south to Edinburgh, in time to check into your hotel. In the evening, attend a Scottish cabaret where you dine on local specialties, including haggis, and enjoy traditional bagpipe music and storytelling. (B, D)

Day 5: Edinburgh City Tour & Castle

This morning an Edinburgh city guide will point out the principal sights of this interesting capital city and see the famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Drive along the bustling Princes Street and through the gracious, wide streets of the 200-year-old Georgian New Town. See the compact medieval section along the Royal Mile where some houses reach 11 stories tall. Visit Edinburgh Castle, which dominates the city center and contains the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone. The balance of the day is free for further sightseeing, shopping and dining. (B)

Day 6: Ferry to Dublin

This morning bid farewell to your Scottish guide as you depart Edinburgh and drive south through the Southern Uplands, a region where sheep are raised on the gentle, fertile hills. In Cairnryan take a ferry ride across the narrow channel between Scotland and Ireland to arrive in Larne, just outside Belfast. Drive south to Dublin and check into your hotel where the evening is at leisure. (B)

Day 7: Dublin

Spend a morning at leisure and this afternoon tour central Dublin, with a local guide. See Trinity College, where the Book of Kells is housed; Dail Eireann, where the government meets; and rows of Georgian houses with gaily-colored doorways. Stop at Dublin Castle for a guided tour through the elegant State Apartments, which are filled with elaborate Waterford Crystal chandeliers and furnishings. Return to your hotel and in the evening drive to the Merry Ploughboy Pub for a great dinner of Irish specialties, which is followed by a lively show of traditional Irish songs and intricate step-dancing. (B, D)

Day 8: Blarney Castle & Killarney

See a variety of scenery today as you depart Dublin and drive through rich farming country of the center of Ireland. Near Cashel visit a farm for tea and freshly-baked scones and learn about country life. Just outside Cork visit Blarney Castle to kiss the famous “Stone of Eloquence.” Also visit the Blarney Woollen Mills to shop for quality goods under one roof. Continue towards the mountainous country of Kerry and into Killarney. After dinner, perhaps explore one of Killarney’s famous singing pubs. (B, D)

Day 9: Ring of Kerry & Skellig Experience

Embark on Ireland’s most popular scenic drive, the Ring of Kerry, by skirting Ireland’s highest mountains and coastal views. As you travel, there will be plenty of stops for photos. Visit the Skellig Experience to learn about the life of early Christian monks who inhabited the rocky offshore islands. Drive through Cahirciveen and Waterville and stop to walk around Sneem, where brightly-painted houses are grouped around the central green.  Head back to Killarney with a stop at Moll’s Gap for a panoramic view. This evening is free to relax and explore on your own. (B)

Day 10: Cliffs of Moher & Bunratty Castle

Depart Killarney and travel to Tarbert to take a short ferry ride across the River Shannon Estuary. Your tour continues along the Clare coast to the Cliffs of Moher, which rise 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Drive to the Shannonside region to check into your hotel. This evening a medieval banquet and evocative entertainment in Bunratty Castle will take you back in spirit to the Middle Ages. (B, D)

Day 11: Shannon Airport & Dublin

This morning transfer to Shannon Airport for return flights to the United States. After check-in, you’ll have time to shop at the duty-free stores before U.S. Immigration pre-clearance and boarding your flight for the journey home. (B)

Tour includes flights (with transfers) to Glasgow, and return from Shannon, sightseeing by luxury coach throughout, superior & first class hotels for 9 nights, 9 full Scottish & Irish breakfasts (B), 6 dinners (D) including, sightseeing and attractions listed in the itinerary, deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap, all local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person, and group travel Protection Plan.

Your Hotels are the following (or similar): Jury’s Inn, Glasgow (1 night), The Newton Hotel, Nairn (1 night), Jurys Inn, Edinburgh (2 nights), Stillorgan Park Hotel, Dublin (2 nights), Killarney Towers Hotel, Killarney (2 nights), Bunratty Castle Hotel, Bunratty (1 night).

Call us at 602-276-9008

Synergy Tours & Cruises

2320 East Baseline Rd. Ste.148- 468

Phoenix, Arizona 85042-6951

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