Killarney - Visit Dunguaire Castle and explore The Burren
This morning you will be picked up by your driver/guide, who will take you to Killarney in the county of Kerry. Travel along the shores of Galway Bay to Kinvara, a lovely fishing village home to Ireland’s most photographed castle, Dunguaire. Just outside Kinvara is Rathbaun Farm, where you can enjoy a farm tour followed by delicious tea and warm scones. Continue along the coast route to Ballyvaughan in County Clare, where you will begin to see the lunar-like landscape of The Burren region, covering an area of 160 square km – it is like no other place in Ireland. There are no bogs and very few pastures. Instead, there are vast pavements of limestone called ‘clints’ with vertical fissures called ‘grikes.’
Most of the drainage is underground in caves. You may explore The Burren underworld in comfort within the developed cave at Aillwee, near Ballyvaughan. Bleak though the place may appear, man has settled here since the Stone Age. Evidence of his habitations and tombs are all around you; massive dolmens, wedge tombs, and stone forts called cahers (the homesteads of farmers of long ago) survive in various stages of preservation. Churches and castles indicate later periods of settlement. The Burren is also famous for its plant life. Limestone-loving plants such as foxgloves and rock roses grow here, and rock microclimates also nurture plants in the Aortic, Alpine and Mediterranean regions. Botanists have attempted to find out why, but no one has come up with a complete answer.
You continue to the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s most stunning natural beauty spots, which defiantly stand as giant natural ramparts against the aggressive might of the Atlantic Ocean. The rise in places to over 700 feet stretches for almost 5 miles. O’Brien’s Tower, constructed in the early 19th century as a viewing point for Victorian tourists, is located on Moher’s highest cliff. From its unique vantage position, you can view the Clare coastline, the Aran Islands, and mountains as far apart as Kerry and Connemara.
Continue south via and take the Shannon Ferry from Killimer to Tarbert and on to Killarney, home to the National Park of Killarney. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, which is part of Killarney National Park. Its natural heritage, history, and location on the Ring of Kerry make Killarney a popular tourist destination. The city and its hinterland are home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castle, Muckross House, Abbey, the Lakes of Killarney, MacGillycuddy's Reeks, Purple Mountain, Mangerton Mountain, the Gap of Dunloe, and Torc Waterfall.
Overnight in Killarney.
What's included?
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Breakfast
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Accommodation
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Tour
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Cruise/Boat