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21 Days The Best of the British Isles Tour Package
Duration: 21 Days / 20 Nights
Priced From: $3,299 pp Dbl. Occ.
Dates: May - Sep
This comprehensive 21-day vacation offers the very best of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland for those who want to see it all, with five 2-night stays. Your journey through England is comprised of visits to London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, and York. Then it’s on to the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands for visits to Edinburgh and Inverness, as well as a cruise on Loch Lomond. Enjoy England’s serene Lake District and Wales’ Snowdonia National Park en route to Ireland. The “Fair City” of Dublin, the Cliffs of Moher, Limerick, the Ring of Kerry, Blarney, and Waterford are all Irish highlights. Take a ferry across St. George’s Channel and a drive through southern Wales to Bath to see the amazing excavations. Enjoy two nights in the naval city of Plymouth before visits to historic Stonehenge and Salisbury, and your return to London.
Itinerary
Day 1
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
Day 2 Arrival in London, England
Uniformed Hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay.
Day 3 London
After a hearty English breakfast, morning sightseeing with a Local Guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall's mounted horseguards and the Prime Minister's Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. Free time in the afternoon for independent activities or to join an optional excursion to Windsor Castle or the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels. Tonight, maybe an optional dinner followed by a cruise on the River Thames? (FB)
Day 4 London–Stratford–Warwick
Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and depart London at 8:30 a.m. for a lovely day of sightseeing. First, a special visit to admire the breathtaking ORNAMENTAL GARDENS of Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace. Your Tour Director will take you on a walk to see the Great Vine, Pond Garden, Privy Garden, and the flower borders of the Great Fountain Garden. Drive through Runnymede, site of the sealing of the Magna Carta; enjoy a walking tour in the university town of Oxford; admire the scenic Cotswold Hills. At Stratford-upon-Avon visit SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHPLACE and take your pictures of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. Before dinner at Warwick join your Tour Director for a toast to happy touring. (FB,D)
Day 5 Warwick–York
A spectacular start to the day: on your special guided tour of magnificent WARWICK CASTLE, marvel at the opulent Great Hall and State Rooms and visit the former private apartments in which a royal weekend party of 1898 has been recreated. Later, skirt Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest on the way to York, England’s most complete medieval city. Stand in awe in front of the great structure of York Minster, then follow your Tour Director through a maze of quaint streets including the narrow Shambles. (FB,D)
Day 6 York–Edinburgh - Scotland
Inspect a section of Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman coast-to-coast defense against marauding northern tribes. Through wild Northumberland National Park motor to the Scottish border in the Cheviot Hills, and on to Jedburgh, where the abbey ruins and the house of Mary, Queen of Scots, are pointed out to you. Next visit Sir Walter Scott’s ABBOTSFORD HOUSE for an enlightening guided tour. Spend the next two nights in Edinburgh, the "Prince of Cities." Tonight, an optional Scottish evening with Highland dancers, bagpipers, and the Ceremony of the Haggis. (FB)
Day 7 Edinburgh
Morning city sightseeing with a Local Guide introduces you to the 200-year-old “New Town” and famous scientists, inventors, and novelists. In the “Old Town,” drive up the narrow Royal Mile to EDINBURGH CASTLE to admire Scotland’s Crown Jewels, then explore HOLYROOD PALACE
Holyrood Palace (except when the Queen is in residence). The afternoon is free to enjoy this “Prince of Cities” at your own pace. Later, a unique optional experience: board the former Royal Yacht Britannia, which for the Queen was once the perfect royal residence for glittering state visits and family holidays. Tour five decks and see how the Royal Family and crew of 240 lived and worked on board. Dinner rounds off this optional evening. For departure numbers 0729 through 0819 tickets are included for tonight's performance of the world-renowned MILITARY TATTOO. (FB)
Day 8 Edinburgh–Inverness
Over the elegant Forth Road Bridge and through Fife to St. Andrews, whose Royal and Ancient Golf Club has given us the rules of golfing. Through Braemar, home of the Royal Highland Games, to BALMORAL CASTLE. (After July 31, when the Royal Family is in residence, visit CRATHIE CHURCH instead.) From here take the scenic route through the vast expanses of heather in the Grampian Mountains. At CULLODEN VISITOR CENTRE hear about the story of the crushing Hanoverian victory over Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Scottish clans. Overnight at Inverness, the Highland capital. (FB,D)
Day 9 Inverness–Glasgow
A day full of Highland splendor: Loch Ness with its mysterious monster; Fort William located beneath Ben Nevis. Skirt Loch Linnhe and enter haunting Glen Coe, where the MacDonalds were treacherously massacred by the Campbells in 1692. Across wild Rannoch Moor to the "Bonnie Banks" of Loch Lomond for a CRUISE on the loch before heading south to Glasgow. (FB,D)
Day 10 Glasgow–Lake District–Chester, England
On the way through the history-steeped Lowland Hills stop at Gretna Green, where the blacksmith used to wed runaway couples. Enter the beautiful Lake District and follow the shores of Ullswater. Then over Kirkstone Pass to visit Bowness-on- Windermere. On your walking tour of Chester see the Roman remains, black and white half-timbered buildings, and the two-tiered arcades called the "Rows." (FB,D)
Day 11 Chester–North Wales–Dublin, Ireland
Cross the border into North Wales and through the incomparable landscapes of Snowdonia National Park, via lovely Betws-y-Coed and over spectacular Llanberis Pass. After a break at Caernarvon it’s across Britannia Bridge to the Isle of Anglesey for photos at tongue-twisting Llanfair... At Holyhead board your High Speed Ferry for the fast Irish Sea crossing to Dun Laoghaire. Ask your Tour Director for tonight’s dining suggestions. (FB)
Day 12 Dublin
An orientation drive in the Irish capital includes statue-lined O’Connell Street, elegant Georgian squares, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Then visit Oscar Wilde’s TRINITY COLLEGE, famous for the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells and the magnificent Old Library. Afternoon at leisure. Tonight take your Tour Director’s dining recommendation. (FB)
Day 13 Dublin–Limerick
Across the Curragh to the IRISH NATIONAL STUD at Kildare. Lots to see on the way to Limerick: the Rock of Cashel where St. Patrick preached; Tipperary, made famous in a wartime marching song; and on arrival an orientation drive acquaints you with St. Mary’s Cathedral, King John’s Castle, and the Stone where the Treaty of Limerick was signed in 1691. Tonight’s recommendation: an optional banquet at Bunratty Castle. (FB)
Day 14 Limerick. West Coast Excursion
A breathtaking view of the Clare coast from the 668-foot CLIFFS OF MOHER, then a drive across the limestone plateau of The Burren to the port city of Galway. Hear about the infamous Lynch Stone, commemorating the day Mayor James Lynch Fitzstephen hanged his son for murder. Drive into the unspoiled region of Connemara, and at Moycullen visit a CONNEMARA MARBLE FACTORY. (FB)
Day 15 Limerick–Ring of Kerry–Killarney
Via quaint Adare, with its pretty thatched cottages, and Killorglin on Dingle Bay, the setting for Ryan’s Daughter, join the spectacular "Ring of Kerry" for a 100-mile panoramic drive around the island’s southwestern tip. Take your photos of the Lakes of Killarney then spend the night in this popular resort town. (FB,D)
Day 16 Killarney–Waterford
Morning visit to Blarney, renowned for its Stone of Eloquence. Time for lunch, to walk up to the castle, and to shop for traditional Irish handicrafts. In the afternoon proceed via Cork to Waterford, a stronghold founded by the Danish Vikings. Time still for a visit to the world-famous WATERFORD CRYSTAL FACTORY. (FB,D)
Day 17 Waterford–Bristol, England
By ferry from Rosslare across St. George’s Channel to Pembroke and a drive through South Wales. Cross the River Severn and in Bristol your orientation focuses on Brunel’s daring Clifton Suspension Bridge, SS Great Britain, and the historic harbor from which John Cabot sailed in 1497 to discover America. (FB,D)
Day 18 Bristol–Bath–Plymouth
First this morning in Georgian Bath, with time to explore the amazing excavations of the ROMAN BATHS. Then focus on Cheddar Gorge and King Arthur’s Glastonbury. Visit pretty Widecombe in the Moor as you head across Dartmoor to Plymouth, destination for the next two nights. (FB,D)
Day 19 Plymouth. Cornwall Excursion
Cross the River Tamar on your way to the pretty shark-fishing village and former smugglers’ port of Looe. Back in Plymouth, a leisurely afternoon. See the Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrim Fathers embarked in 1620, and hear about Sir Francis Drake. Maybe an optional cruise on Plymouth Sound. Your Tour Director will also have recommendations for this evening. (FB)
Day 20 Plymouth–London
Two sightseeing highlights on the last leg of your journey: first try to figure out the intriguing prehistoric riddle of STONEHENGE; then stroll through pretty Salisbury with its vast cathedral, the ultimate in Early English Gothic. Return to London around 4 p.m. How about celebrating the success of your vacation by taking in one of the great West End shows? (FB)
Day 21
Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB)
Save time, money and stress!
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Contact: Travelwizard.com
Phone: 1-800-330-8820 or 1-415-446-5252
9/08
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