CIE's 11-day "The Scots Irish Tour" starts in Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. Highlights of the Scottish portion include Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum, the Highlands and lochs, a visit to a whiskey distillery, Edinburgh Castle and the Scottish Crown Jewels. The crossing to Northern Ireland is by ferry. City tours in Belfast feature a visit around the Shankill and Falls Roads, the heart of "the Troubles" between the Catholic and Protestant populations. Other highlights of the Northern Ireland portion of the tour include the Giant's Causeway, the medieval walled city of Derry and the Ulster-American Folk Park. The tour concludes in the Republic of Ireland.
The tour includes the services of professional guides and drivers, admission to all group-visited sites, hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, and most dinners including a folk show and a Scottish cabaret. Most August tours include reserved seats for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The land-only tour price starts at $1,798 per person (based on double occupancy, prices effective through the end of 2010).
CIE Tours International
10 Park Place, Suite 510
PO Box 1965
Morristown NJ 07962-1965
973-292-3899
cietours.com/us
Trafalgar Tours has a 15-day "Best of Ireland and Scotland" tour, which covers Northern Ireland along the shores of Lough Erne to Enniskillen in the lake district. A visit to Derry includes a walking tour of the city walls, St. Columb's Cathedral and tower, the Derry Craft Village and the quay from where the Irish left for America. The Giant's Causeway is part of a full-day visit along the coast. Belfast's City Chambers and Queen's University are part of the capital tour. After the ferry crossing to Scotland, the tour visits poet Robert Burn's cottage. Two nights in Glasgow allow plenty of time to see the sites like the extensive Burrell Collection museum and St. Mungo's Cathedral. The tour continues through Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Isle of Skye and through the highlands to places like Ben Nevis, Loch Ness, Blair Castle and a crossing of the Forth Bridge into Edinburgh.
Tours include the services of professional guides and drivers, admission to all group-visited sites, hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and some dinners. The land-only tour price starts at $2,750 per person (based on double occupancy, prices effective through the end of 2010).
Trafalgar Tours
trafalgar.com
Collette's 13-day "Scotland and Ireland featuring Northern Ireland" tour offers opportunities to enjoy traditional Celtic music and entertainment like a Robert Burns impressionist. In Scotland there are visits to Edinburgh's Castle and Palace of Holyroodhouse, Stirling Castle, the countryside associated with the freedom fighter Rob Roy, the port town of Oban, the Isle of Mull and Trossachs National Park. A ferry takes voyagers to the Isle of Iona, where Iona Abbey was the birthplace of Scottish Christianity. From the ferry crossing to Northern Ireland, the tour spends time at an Irish language arts and community center. From Belfast there is travel along the Antrim Coastal Route with a stop at the Giant's Causeway. After a visit to the city of Derry, there in an excursion to the Inishowen Peninsula and the village of Malin Head, the northernmost point on the Irish island. The tour concludes south in Dublin.
The tour includes the services of professional guides and drivers, admission to all group-visited sites including a cruise along Loch Lomond, hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and most dinners. The land-only tour price starts at $2,049 per person (based on double occupancy, prices effective through spring 2011).
Collette Vacations
800-340-5158
collettevacations.com
