Known for its lush landscapes, rich culture, and friendly citizens, Ireland is a storybook destination full of mystique and soul-stirring scenery. We’ll experience many longstanding Irish traditions — including pub dinners and a sheep herding demonstration — and explore the best of the Emerald Isle, from the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry in the south to the Titanic Museum and Hillsborough Castle in the north.
May 12-20, 2026
Itinerary Highlights:
- Belfast living history tour
- Titanic Museum
- Giant’s Causeway
- Hillsborough Castle
- Guinness Storehouse
- Dublin city tour, including Trinity College’s library and the Book of Kells
- Blarney Castle
- Irish Night at Kate Kearney’s Cottage
- Ring of Kerry
- Irish coffee demonstration
- Kissane Sheep Farm
- Wild Atlantic Way
- Cliffs of Moher
- Dromoland Castle
Package Includes:
- Round-trip airfare from Raleigh-Durham International Airport
- Seven nights’ accommodations
- 13 meals: eight breakfasts, five dinners
- Overnight stay in Dromoland Castle
- Deluxe motor coach transportation for the tour
- Full-time professional guide
- Our State host
- Transfers to and from European airport
- All sightseeing and admissions per itinerary
- All tips and taxes (except for motor coach driver and tour manager)
- Baggage handling
Accommodations:
- Two nights in Belfast: Europa Belfast or similar
- Two nights in Dublin: The Mont Hotel or similar
- Two nights in Killarney: The Great Southern Hotel or similar
- One night in Newmarket-on-Fergus: Dromoland Castle
Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1: Depart U.S. — Overnight Flight
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Day 2: Arrive in Dublin • Belfast
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Welcome to Ireland! You are met at the airport by your driver and guide. Stop at a local restaurant for a full Irish breakfast. Upon arrival in Belfast, meet a local guide for a living history tour, which takes you through the landmarks that have played their part in the city’s colorful development — from its great industrial triumphs to the civil unrest. During the tour, you will see many well-known features of the city, including City Hall, Queens University, the Ulster Museum, the Botanic Gardens, and the Albert Clock. Enjoy a welcome dinner at your hotel tonight.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: Europa Belfast or similar
Day 3: The Giant’s Causeway
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Travel to the Antrim Coast this morning, where you’ll be constantly delighted as pretty fishing villages and dramatic headlands come into view around each bend in the road. Your journey continues to the Giant’s Causeway, where centuries of visitors have marveled at its majesty and mystery. The unique rock formations have stood as a natural rampart for millions of years against the unbridled ferocity of the Atlantic storms, and the rugged symmetry of the columns never fails to intrigue and inspire. Return to Belfast and enjoy dinner at your leisure.
Take an extraordinary journey into the past with the Titanic Belfast, an ode to one of the most famous tragedies of our time. Set across an iconic six-floor building with nine interactive galleries, you’ll experience the Titanic through a miasma of stories,
sights, and sounds. Traverse the recently restored SS Nomadic, one of the Titanic’s service boats, see artefacts from the ship itself, walk the decks, explore the shipyard, and comb through film director James Cameron’s redeveloped galleries of the ship’
s launch day and maiden, ill-fated voyage in the city where it all began.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Europa Belfast or similar
Day 4: Belfast • Dublin
Friday, May 15, 2026
Visit Hillsborough Castle, the late Georgian mansion built in the 1770s by Wills Hill, the first Marquis of Downshire, and later remodeled in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, it is a working royal palace functioning as the official residence of the Royal Family when they are in Northern Ireland, and it has been the home of the Secretary of State since the 1970s. A tour of the house will guide you through the elegant State Rooms, still in use today, including the majestic Throne Room and the graceful Drawing Room. Wander through 100 acres of beautiful gardens developed from the 1760s onwards, offering a contrast of ornamental grounds, peaceful woodlands, meandering waterways, and trimmed lawns. Look out for the statue of Ossian outside the main entrance, Lady Alice’s Temple, the Quaker Burial Ground, and the Ice House. Enjoy morning tea or coffee with scones served in one of the grand and elegant State Rooms.
Take time to explore Dublin City with your driver. Dublin is bustling, cosmopolitan, ancient, but young at heart; it is one of Europe’s liveliest cities, where medieval and fine Georgian buildings coexist in harmony amid the 21st century city revolving around it. Over 1,000 years old, the turbulent history and rich traditions of the city have inspired writers, artists and musicians down the ages.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: The Mont Hotel or similar in Dublin
Day 5: Dublin
Saturday, May 16, 2026
Around the world, Ireland is known for its Guinness its famous dry stout. No trip to Ireland is complete without a visit to the Guinness Storehouse, an interactive multi-storey sensory extravaganza in the heart of the city centre at St James Gate. Brewery. With a 250-year history, you’ll be taken through the intricate architecture of the seven storey building, discover age old secrets of Guinness, visit the tasting rooms, and learn to pour the perfect pint. Complete your visit with the symbolic ‘Head of the Pint’, at the Gravity Bar, a top-floor bar with breath-taking panoramic views of Dublin city.
Book of Kells.
An exquisite combination of intricate illuminations and Latin text, the Book of Kells is a 9th-century masterpiece. The Book of Kells is a unique insight into a rich part of Ireland’s culture for bibliophiles and non-bibliophiles alike. Learn how the famous medieval manuscript was created and come to understand an ornate part of history.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: The Mont Hotel or similar in Dublin
Day 6: Blarney Castle • Killarney
Sunday, May 17, 2026
This morning, travel to Cork and visit Blarney Castle, built nearly 600 years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy. At the top of the castle is the Blarney Stone, which, according to legend, imparts the gift of eloquence to those who kiss it. Blarney is also home to the famous Blarney Woollen Mills, a building that dates back to 1793. Here, you will have time to enjoy and browse through the wide range of Irish clothing, crystal, linen, and handcrafts. Enjoy lunch on your own before continuing to Killarney.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: The Great Southern Hotel or similar in Killarney
Day 7: Ring of Kerry
Monday, May 18, 2026
This morning, you are picked up by your driver for a full-day excursion. Travel the road that winds around the beautiful Iveragh Peninsula, better known as the Ring of Kerry. It is undoubtedly one of the most magical places in all of Ireland. Here, mountains, valleys, lakes, and sea blend into a landscape that is often breathtaking beyond words. Enjoy an Irish coffee demo. Later visit Kissane Sheep Farm, a traditional working sheep farm with approximately 1,000 sheep. You can clearly see the dogs and the shepherd at work during the sheep dog demonstration. Dinner is on your own this evening in Killarney, which is known for its lively pubs and open, cheerful atmosphere and is full of what the Irish call craic! This evening, enjoy Irish Night at Kate Kearney’s Cottage, which includes a traditional Irish dinner and entertainment, featuring a lively performance of the very best Irish music, song, and dance.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: The Great Southern Hotel or similar in Killarney
Day 8: Cliffs of Moher
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Following breakfast, we will be on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. Enjoy a short ferry ride across the Shannon Estuary. Experience the rugged nature of the land and sea as you breathe in the fresh sea air of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. Then, travel to the Cliffs of Moher, rising approximately 700 feet above the pounding Atlantic waves and stretching eight kilometers. Visit the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, a huge domed cave at the center of the building that contains images, exhibits, displays, and experiences that will delight young and old alike. There’s time to explore the center or perhaps eat lunch on your own. Continue to Newmarket-on-Fergus and Dromoland Castle. The castle offers deluxe accommodations, breathtaking scenery, absolute luxury, and exceptional service. It is one of the few castle hotels that can trace its ownership back through history to Gaelic Irish families of royal heritage. Tonight, enjoy a farewell dinner at the castle.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner (recommended attire for dinner is dressy casual/cocktail attire for ladies and jacket and dress shirt for men)
Overnight: Dromoland Castle in Newmarket-on-Fergus
Day 9: Departure
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Breakfast is at the hotel depending upon flight departure times. You will be transferred to the airport for your return flight home.
Meals: Breakfast
Tour Rates:
Regular rate: $6,399 per person (based on double occupancy)
Single rate: $8,299
For Reservations & More Information:
AAA Travel
Beth Rackham
(919) 832-0543, ext. 16012
barackham@acg.aaa.com
For more information on physical requirements and what to expect on an Our State trip, click here.
Explore More
Get excited for your trip and learn more about your destination with our curated list of books, films, music, and more.
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Read
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (2009) — The breakout novel of one of Ireland’s most-read contemporary authors follows a young Irish woman torn between two men and two lives separated by an ocean. In the 1950s, Eilis Lacey moves from Dublin to Brooklyn, New York, to find work, but her sister’s death brings her back to Ireland, where she forges new relationships.
Ireland: A Novel by Frank Delaney (2004) — After being enthralled by the fantastic tales of an itinerant storyteller when he was a young boy, Ronan O’Mara seeks to track down the mysterious traveler, learning more about Irish legends, folktales, and history along the way.
The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats, edited by Richard J. Finneran (1996) — William Butler Yeats — widely considered one of the world’s greatest poets — infused his Irish heritage into much of his work, often featuring folklore, landscapes, characters, and experiences representative of his home country. This comprehensive collection spans nearly the entirety of his career, from 1889 to 1933, and includes notes from editor Richard J. Finneran and Yeats himself.
Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy (1990) — In this slice-of-life coming-of-age novel set in the 1950s, two unlikely friends from small-town Ireland head to a university in Dublin, where their expanding social circle — as well as challenges back home — introduces complicated new relationships.
Dubliners by James Joyce (1914) — This classic collection of short stories by one of the 20th century’s most influential writers tells the stories of middle-class Dublin residents from the perspectives spanning childhood to adulthood.
Watch
Derry Girls (3 seasons, 2018-2022; Netflix) — Set in the 1990s during the final years of the “Troubles” — a violent 30-year conflict between Protestant unionists and Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland — this nonetheless hilarious teen sitcom follows the antics of a group of Catholic schoolgirls.
Michael Collins (1996; rent online) — Liam Neeson and a star-studded cast bring the story of revolutionary Michael Collins to life in this award-winning historical drama about Ireland’s early 20th-century struggle for independence from Great Britain.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022; rent online) — Earning nine 2023 Oscar nominations, this intriguing drama starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson takes place on a beautiful but remote island off the coast of Ireland, where a lifelong friendship is abruptly and mysteriously ended by one of the men.
Waking Ned Divine (1998; YouTube, rent online) — When a member of a small Irish community dies just after winning the lottery, the town bands together to fool the Irish National Lottery inspector so they can all split the winnings — a lighthearted, heartwarming comedy classic.
The Irish Pub (2013; Peacock, Amazon Prime Video) — More than just a place to grab a pint, pubs in Ireland are integral to the country’s society and culture. Visit several centuries-old establishments and learn about what makes them so important to their communities in this feature-length documentary.
Listen
Celtic Woman — This Grammy-nominated all-female ensemble has been referred to as “Riverdance for the voice,” featuring vocalists and a string orchestra performing traditional Celtic and contemporary songs.
Enya — The best-selling solo act out of Ireland, Enya is known globally for her smooth, breathy vocals interwoven with modern Celtic music, as in her hit song “Only Time.” She began her career performing with her family band, Clannad, which was formed in her father’s pub, before going solo in 1982.
The Dubliners — Over the course of 50 years, this legendary folk band — which began in a pub, of course — helped shape Ireland’s musical landscape and popularize Irish folk music with its traditional renditions of classic ballads.
Irish Heartbeat by Van Morrison & The Chieftans (1988) — This collaboration between internationally famous Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and six-time Grammy Award-winning Irish folk band The Chieftains — known for their use of the uilleann pipes — features traditional Irish ballads alongside two original songs, “Irish Heartbeat” and “Celtic Ray.”
