Omega Travel

“The Best of Ireland”
11 days
June 3 - 13, 2004
Dublin Newgrange Glendalough Cashel Blarney Killarney Galway

• Day 1, June 3, Thursday: Depart USA
Depart Houston Intercontinental Airport for your overseas journey to Dublin via Delta Airlines. Complimentary meals and beverages will be served aloft. (D,B)

• Day 2, June 4, Friday: Arrive Dublin
Upon your arrival at Dublin International Airport, your guide will meet you and assist you after customs. Your luggage will be transferred to a comfortable touring bus, and you will be on your way to your hotel in Dublin. Check-in at hotel. Balance of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Dublin. (D)

• Day 3, June 5, Saturday: Highlights of Dublin - Afternoon at leisure - Evening/Concert
Irish breakfast at your hotel. This morning you explore Dublin, an elegant and artistic city with wide Georgian squares and streets, landmark public buildings, and rows of brick-fronted townhouses, each with its own unique and colorfully painted door. Visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Jonathan Swift was once Dean, and 400-year-old-Trinity College, to see the Book of Kells. Lunch on your own and afternoon at leisure for shopping and to explore Dublin on your own. This evening, a round-trip motorcoach will be provided to Rathfarnham Chruch (Anglican) for a formal concert as performed by the Memorial Drive United Methodist Church Choir. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Dublin. (B,D)

• Day 4, June 6, Sunday: Worship service - Tour to Knowth - Evening/Gala Dinner
Irish breakfast.at your hotel. This morning a round-trip motorcocah will be provided to the Methodist Church in Dublin for Sunday worship and possibly sing for the Service (subject to confirmation). After the service we leave on our excursion as we drive through the lush green midland district you will reach the highlight of today’s tour - a guided tour of Knowth, Whilst the passage tomb at Newgrange pre-dates the Pyramids of Egypt by about six centuries, remarkable discoveries have been made at the nearby site of Knowth. It has the greatest collection of passage graves ever uncovered in Ireland however it is still under excavation and not open to the public yet. Return to Dublin. This evening, enjoy a special dinner at Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin. This old barley store house was renovated in 1998 and converted into a museum where some of the secrets about Irish Whiskey are revealed. Did you know that whiskey was invented by Irish monks a long time ago?! Tonight after sampling some Ulsche Beatha - water of life (e.g. Jameson, Bushmills and Paddy) you will sit down, relax and enjoy a wonderful dinner. But this is not all as you will also be greatly entertained with Irish music and dance. Overnight at hotel in Dublin. (B,D)

• Day 5, June 7, Monday: Wicklow Mountains - Glendalough - Clonmel/Evening Performance
After Irish breakfast at your hotel. we depart Dublin and travel through the scenic Wicklow Mountains, which is said to be a microcosm of all the landcapes and colours to be found in Ireland. Visit Glendalough. This important monastic settlement, located in a scenic valley, was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and it became one of the most important centers of learning in Europe. Drive through the wooded Vale of Avoca and visit Avoca Handweavers, Ireland’s oldest tweed-weaving company dating from 1723. Independent lunch enroute. Then, we continue to Clonmel to Check-in at hotel. This evening formal concert with St. Mary’s Choral Society in Clonmel at the White Memorial Theatre or at St. Mary’s Church by the Memorial Drive United Methodist Church Choir. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Clonmel. (B,D)

• Day 6, June 8, Tuesday: Cashel - Blarney Castle - Killarney
Irish breakfast at your hotel. Today we leave Clonmel to visit the Rock of Cashel - one of Ireland’s great historic sites. Cashel was the seat of the Munster Kings from about AD 370 until 1101, when it was granted to the church. It has very early associations with St. Patrick. The magnificent group of ecclesiastical ruins which crowns the Rock includes St. Cormac’s Chapel, an outstanding specimen of Hiberno-Romanesque art. Independent lunch.Then, we continue to visit Blarney Castle where you climb to the battlements and kiss the famous “stone of eloquence.” Take a little time to look around the Blarney Woolen Mills, which have an excellent selection of Irish made goods. Continue on to Killarney. Check-in at hotel in Killarney.Dinner and overnight at hotel in Killarney. (B,D)

• Day 7, June 9, Wednesday: Tour of Dingle Peninsula – Evening Concert in Tralee
Irish breakfast at your hotel. This morning head south through the Dingle Peninsula, one of Ireland’s most popular scenic drives. Independent lunch enroute. This excursion is one of the most breathtaking tours you will have. The colorful town of Dingle offers plenty of opportunity for shopping or simply savoring the atmosphere of a typical country Irish town with its plentiful pubs, narrow streets and busy harbor. A drive around the coast at Slea Head will offer fine panoramas of the Blasket Islands. Stop at Gallarus Oratory, a beehive style structure typical of the type of church in which St. Patrick worshipped. Gallarus has remained watertight for over 1,200 years. Return to your hotel for dinner. This evening you will be transferred to St. John Church in Tralee for a formal concert by the Memorial Drive United Methodist Church Choir (subject to confirmation). Overnight at hotel in Killarney. (B,D)

• Day 8, June 10, Thursday: Muckross Estate & Killarney Lakes - Galway
Irish breakfast at hotel. This morning we tour Killarney’s lakes by horse-drawn jaunting car and enjoy a guided tour of Muckross House and Folk Museum which is in a delightful setting overlooking the lakes and mountains. Then we leave Killarney to drive to Galway. Independent lunch enroute. Later this afternoon, we continue along the shores of Galway Bay to reach Galway City, capital of the west. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Galway. (B,D)

• Day 9, June 11, Friday: Tour of Connemara – Evening Concert at St. Nicholas Collegiate
Irish breakfast at hotel. Today we will have an orientation tour of Galway, visiting the Spanish Arch and the main street of the city. Then, we continue to tour Connemara, a sparsely populated area with vast stretches of bogland and many gentle heather-clad mountains. Your tour will include Spiddal, Maam Cross, Moycullen and Oughterard. Visit the Connemara Celtic Crystal Factory in Moycullen. Independent lunch. Shortly after mid-day, we return to your hotel in Galway to freshen-up. Round-trip transfers will be provided to St. Nicholas Collegiate Church for rehearsal and formal concert for the City of Galway by the Memorial Drive United Methodist Church Choir. Dinner and overnight in Galway. (B,D)

• Day 10, June 12, Saturday: Cliffs of Moher - Bunratty Folk Park -Evening/Bunratty Ceili
Irish breakfast at hotel. Today, we leave Galway to explore the Cliffs of Moher, a wall of rock that extends along the coast for about five miles and drops to the wild Atlantic Ocean below. Independent lunch enroute to Bunratty. This afternoon, we visit Bunratty Folk Park, a 22 acre living museum of traditional village life. It has 25 houses, a village street complete with a pub, and fully operational workshops such as a blacksmith forge, a printer’s shop and a draper’s. Check-in at Bunratty Castle Hotel. This evening, enjoy a special Farewell dinner: a Medieval Banquet and entertainment at the Castle. Overnight at Bunratty Castle Hotel. (B,D)

• Day 11, June 13, Sunday: Shannon - USA
Irish breakfast at your hotel. You will be transferred this morning by coach to Shannon Airport for your
flight home.