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Ireland

The City and the Sea: Dublin, Galway & Moher With Your Family

Program No. 22281RJ
Jump right into the fairy tale landscapes of Ireland with your family as you discover a fortress, journey through nature reserves, learn about horseracing and practice your Irish jig.
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Family ProgramsCity DiscoveriesSmall GroupAges 10 – 17
Length
11 days
Rating (4.78)
Activity Level
Starts at
4,149 / ADULT
3,349 / CHILD
Flights start at
1,100

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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
11 days
10 nights
What's Included
19 meals ( 9B, 3L, 7D )
14 expert-led field trips
1 hands-on experience
3 performances
An experienced Group Leader
9 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.
Lunch:
In the hotel for those who have arrived by 1.00 p.m., we will have lunch in the hotel.
Afternoon:
Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Travel and transfers will be via private motorcoach unless noted otherwise. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving 95 miles, approximately 2 hours driving time. Walking in Galway, approximately 1.5 miles approximately 1.5 hours; walking in gardens.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll board a motorcoach for a field trip to Galway, the cradle of Gaelic culture in the West, with our Group Leader. Galway is often referred to as the “city of tribes” as it was once home to 14 famous merchant families. Upon arrival we’ll enjoy expert-led walking field trips through Galway city. Adults will see historic landmarks including Galway Cathedral and the Spanish Arch; children will explore the city in a fun, educational way with their Group Leader. We’ll regroup at the Galway City Museum for some time for independent exploration. The museum houses a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions featuring archaeology, the local area from prehistoric times to the present, arts and crafts.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.
Afternoon:
From Galway, we’ll travel onward with our Group Leader by motorcoach to Coole Park. Now a nature reserve spanning more than 1,000 acres, it was the center of the Irish Literary Revival in the early 20th century, the home of Lady Gregory who co-founded the Abbey Theatre with W.B. Yeats. The house that provided hospitality to many who shaped the literary movement is gone, but the seven woods celebrated by Yeats can all be found within its confines. Here we will be able to trace our fingers across the historic Autograph Tree, its bark deeply engraved with the initials of many of the authors who helped Ireland rise to literary prominence during the revival.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving 64 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Walking at field trip sites; some rocky terrain.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll set out for a full-day field trip to explore two of Ireland's most iconic locations: The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. Together, they comprise the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark. The Burren — meaning “rocky place” — is what remains of a tropical sea from 350 million years ago. The starkly beautiful karst limestone surface is almost moonlike in appearance. Geologists, botanists, and zoologists flock to this region to learn about its rare flora and fauna. We’ll take a gentle hike with a local expert to see and learn about the area’s stones and stories.
Lunch:
In a local restaurant or pub.
Afternoon:
The world-famous Cliffs of Moher are a spectacular sight to behold. Rising boldly at more than 700 feet from the sea, these Namurian shale cliffs stretch for five miles. On a clear day, we can view the Aran Islands and the Dingle Peninsula. Human activity here dates back at least 2,000 years. The location is also home to one of the major colonies of cliff-nesting seabirds in Ireland. We’ll have some time for self-directed exploration at the Visitor Center, then return by motorcoach to the hotel.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
We’ll enjoy an evening of traditional Irish music and dance
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking at field trip sites.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
After checking out of the hotel, we will transfer by motorcoach to the historic town of Adare. En route we’ll stop for a field trip at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in County Clare, now a designated National Monument and the most complete and authentically restored castle in Ireland. Originally built in 1425, Bunratty Castle was restored in the 1950’s and now mainly reflects how it would have looked in the 15th and 16th centuries with period furnishings. We’ll have a self-directed exploration to see what interests each of us most. We’ll also look through the window to the past in Bunratty Folk Park, a “living” village vividly recreated through actors, volunteers and painstaking attention to detail. Its buildings and streets represent what would have been seen in the 19th century. We’ll meet costumed “villagers” who will be happy to answer questions and discuss their ways of life.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon:
We’ll check in to the hotel mid-afternoon then go out for a walking field trip in Adare, regarded as being one of Ireland's prettiest and most picturesque villages. Steeped in history, the village has been the subject of many rebellions, wars and conquests, leaving behind a great legacy of historical monuments. We’ll learn about its heritage as we walk. The remainder of the afternoon is free for independent exploration. .
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/of a motorcoach. Walking at field trip sites; even ground, slight incline at the Park.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll board a motorcoach and travel to Killarney National Park, home to magnificent native oak woods and one of the oldest yew woods in Europe. We’ll enjoy our outdoor fun with a ride in a traditional jaunty car. These are small carriages drawn by a horse.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon:
This afternoon, we'll meet a local expert for a guided walk at the National Park.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking and standing at field trip sites.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will be visiting Kilmeedy Social Farm on the family programme. Wording to be used: " This morning we will visit Kilmeedy Social Farm, where you will meet a local Irish farmer who will explain his innovative robotic milking system, get to feel the animals, enjoy some therapeutic puppy play and much more on his sprawling farmlands in the Limerick countryside. The afternoon is at leisure
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon:
Free time. This block of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking and standing at field trip sites.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll check out of the hotel and begin our transfer by motorcoach to Dublin, Ireland’s bustling capital city. Along the way we’ll visit the Irish National Stud & Gardens in Tully — a 1,000-acre holding owned by the Irish government — where some of Ireland’s best racehorses are conceived and cared for. The site is also, somewhat surprisingly, the home to what is often considered to be the finest Japanese Gardens in Europe — a perfect place for quiet contemplation as we wander through its tranquil surrounds. We’ll explore with local experts and our Group Leader.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like at the Stud & Gardens.
Afternoon:
Our field trip will continue and then we will proceed to Dublin for hotel check-in with time to freshen up and relax before dinner.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking and standing at field trip sites.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll start our day at the National Museum of Ireland, which hosts a collection of four million objects from all over the world – with a specific focus on the history of Ireland. Our Group Leader will provide an introduction, followed by time to explore on your own. Following our field trip to the museum, we’ll explore Dublin aboard a Dublin Discovered cruise.
Lunch:
A lunch allowance will be provided.
Afternoon:
Free Time. On your own to see and do what interests you most.
Dinner:
Early at a local restaurant.
Evening:
This evening we’ll enjoy a theatre performance. The Theater's schedule will not be published for this date until much closer to the program. Your Group Leader will confirm your performance at your welcome meeting at the beginning of the program.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking and standing at field trip sites. Walking to/from dinner restaurant.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll start our day by experiencing three hundred years of inner-city history within the walls of one house, at the award winning 14 Henrietta Street - the most intact collection of early to mid-18th century houses in Ireland. You’ll be fascinated by the many stories of the hundreds of people that lived within these walls - up to one hundred people at the one time. We'll continue our field trip at Trinity College where we’ll see the Book of Kells, one of the finest examples of illuminated manuscript in the world. The artistry and attention to detail in its spellbinding calligraphy and illuminations truly is a sight to behold. The book, dating back to 800 AD, is considered Ireland’s finest national treasure.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon:
Free Time.
Dinner:
At the hotel, share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
Enjoy traditional Irish music after dinner. Then prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Activity Note
Hotel check-out by 12:00 Noon. See your program’s travel details regarding transfers.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.This concludes our program.
Morning:
If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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