2 Day West Coast Explorer Railtour – Tour: DH07 – Irish Railtours First Class

TOUR DETAILS

Day 1

06:40 Check in for 07:00 departure from Dublin Heuston Station to Limerick.

Travel in style across Ireland to Limerick City, enjoy on board services and the comfort of rail travel. Spend the day and night exploring Limerick, the Treaty City. Visit St. John’s Castle on the banks of the mighty River Shannon. Take a walking tour of Limerick and discover the origins of Frank McCourt’s classic novel and Hollywood movie, ‘Angels Ashes’. Visit one of Limerick’s traditional Irish pubs and soak up the local atmosphere.

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

Enjoy an Irish Breakfast in your 4 star hotel before heading by coach to Bunratty Castle. A 15th Century stronghold, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park is the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland. Built in 1425 The Castle was restored to its former medieval splendour in 1954 and now contains mainly 15th and 16th century furnishings, tapestries, and works of art, which capture the feel and mood of the era.

The Cliffs of Moher

From Bunratty we make your way across picturesque county Clare to Doolin village and lunch in a traditional Irish pub. After an enjoyable lunch, you visit the majestic Cliffs of Moher. The dramatic Cliffs rise to over 200 meters (nearly 700 feet) and stretch for over 5km (3 miles) along Ireland’s dramatic Atlantic coast. Visit O’Brien’s Tower, perched on the edge of the cliffs and learn all about the history and geology of the cliffs in the Visitor centre-admission included.

The Burren and Galway Bay

The Drive North from The Cliffs of Moher takes in part of the Wild Atlantic Way and some of the most specular scenery in Ireland. Visit The Burren, with it’s famed lunar like landscape. The Burren is a national park and the word ‘Burren’ comes from the Irish Language, it means ‘rocky place’.
The coach continues on to Black Head and it’s idyllic lighthouse, the most northerly tip of County Clare, Black Head commands a magnificent view of the whole of Galway Bay from its western barrier of the Aran Islands to Oranmore Bay east of Galway City, a truly wonderful sight.

Galway City

From Black head you continue up the coast to Galway City, explore Ireland’s western Capital with it’s wonderful array of traditional pubs and restaurants. Galway is a lot buzzing with music and life and you can spend the night exploring the city.

Day 2

Connemara & Kylemore Abbey

Enjoy an Irish Breakfast in your 4 star hotel before heading by coach to Connemara, one of Ireland’s most scenic regions. Irish Railtours Ireland whisks you from the city towards Lough Corrib, the gateway to Connemara. Enjoy the specular views as we journey to Maam Cross, the Connemara “crossroads”, where the 1950’s John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara film “The Quiet Man”, was filmed. The Tour continues north to Leenane, Letterfrack National Park and the famous kylemore Abbey. Lunch in Kylemore on the banks of Pollacapall Lough, the Abbey is an 18th century castle now owned by the Benedictine nuns who run an excellent pottery, gift shop and restaurant.

Clifden- Spiddal

From Kylemore Abbey you turn south and on to colourful Clifden, one of Ireland’s most picturesque village, beloved by walkers, cyclists, hikers and anglers. The road takes us back through Maam Cross and on to the Gaeltacht or Irish speaking area of Connemara where Irish is still the everyday spoken language. Take in the wonderful views and enjoy the numerous photo stops as you meander towards Galway bay. The shores of the bay take in the villages of Inverin and Spiddal, with the Aran Islands and The Burren visible in the distance, truly a wonderful sight as the sun sets over the north Atlantic.

Galway City –Dublin

Your day winds back to Galway City and the train to Dublin, arrival at 21.45. You can choose to either return to Dublin via rail or spend the night and return the following day with your open ended return rail ticket. (Accommodation is not included) Railtours First Class returns to Dublin at 9.45pm via Athenry, Tullamore and Athlone.

For more day tours around Ireland click here.

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