Highlights of Ireland: Dublin, Kerry & Galway

Today you explore warm, historic Dublin on foot and by car with your local guide. You visit Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university, to marvel at the exquisite ninth-century Book of Kells and the breathtaking Long Room library, its barrel-vaulted ceiling lined with ancient books. You take in Dublin Castle, once the centre of British rule, and grand Christ Church or St Patrick's Cathedral, then wander the medieval streets and the elegant Georgian squares around St Stephen's Green and Merrion Square. In the afternoon you follow the story of Ireland's most famous export at the Guinness Storehouse, learning to pour the perfect pint and enjoying panoramic city views from the rooftop Gravity Bar. As the day ends, the cobbled lanes and painted pubs of Temple Bar beckon for music and craic. This evening, savour Dublin's legendary pub culture. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey south to Killarney.

Today you journey south and west into the heart of Ireland, leaving the capital behind for green countryside, ruined abbeys and rolling farmland. You pause at the magnificent Rock of Cashel, a dramatic limestone outcrop crowned with a cluster of medieval cathedral, round tower, chapel and high crosses, once the seat of the ancient kings of Munster and one of Ireland's most spectacular historic sites. Continuing through County Tipperary and into Kerry, you watch the landscape grow wilder and more mountainous, with glimpses of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, Ireland's highest peaks. By late afternoon you reach Killarney, a charming, bustling town on the edge of its famous national park, ringed by lakes and mountains. As the day ends, you settle into your hotel in Killarney, the perfect base for Kerry. This evening, enjoy the lively pubs and music of the town. Rest well, for tomorrow you drive the Ring of Kerry.

Today you drive the legendary Ring of Kerry, one of the world's great scenic routes, a 100-mile loop around the Iveragh Peninsula. You wind past glittering lakes and tumbling waterfalls, through the pretty villages of Killorglin, Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen, Waterville and Sneem, and along a rugged Atlantic coast of headlands, coves and wide golden beaches. You pause at breathtaking viewpoints looking out to the jagged Skellig islands, gaze up at purple mountains and down over patchwork fields divided by ancient stone walls, and perhaps visit an ancient stone fort or the Kerry Cliffs. Threaded throughout are the ever-changing skies and sudden rainbows that give Ireland its magic. Returning to Killarney, you might take a horse-drawn jaunting car through the national park past Muckross House and the lakes. As the day ends, you return to Killarney. This evening, savour Kerry's warmth and music. Rest well, ready to journey north to Galway tomorrow.

Today you journey north up the west coast to Galway, along one of the most spectacular stretches of the Wild Atlantic Way. Crossing the Shannon Estuary by car ferry, you enter County Clare and reach the mighty Cliffs of Moher, where a wall of dark rock soars more than 200 metres straight out of the crashing Atlantic, home to wheeling seabirds and, on a clear day, views to the Aran Islands. You walk the cliff-top paths and feel the raw power of the ocean, then cross the extraordinary Burren, a lunar landscape of grey limestone pavements scattered with wildflowers, ancient dolmens and hidden caves. Continuing north, you reach Galway by evening, the colourful, bohemian city where the Corrib meets the sea. As the day ends, you settle into your hotel in Galway. This evening, the pubs of the Latin Quarter spill traditional music onto the streets. Rest well.

Today you discover joyous Galway and the wild beauty of Connemara. You begin with a walk through Galway's medieval Latin Quarter, its narrow streets lined with painted shopfronts, craft shops, seafood bars and pubs, taking in the Spanish Arch, the salmon-filled River Corrib and the buskers of Shop Street. Then you drive west into Connemara, one of the most romantic corners of Ireland, a vast land of golden bogs, glittering loughs, quartzite mountains and a ragged Atlantic coast dotted with white cottages and grazing sheep. You travel beneath the Twelve Bens, pass mirror-still lakes, and visit the fairytale Kylemore Abbey, a Victorian castle reflected in its lake, with its beautiful walled garden. This is a Gaeltacht region where Irish is still spoken. As the day ends, you return to Galway. This evening, savour the seafood and the music that make Galway everyone's favourite Irish city. Rest well.

Today you journey back across Ireland from the Atlantic coast to the capital, a scenic drive through the green midlands. You might pause along the way at the monastic ruins of Clonmacnoise, one of Ireland's most important early Christian sites, set in a tranquil bend of the River Shannon, with its round towers, high crosses and ancient churches, or break the journey in a characterful market town. By afternoon you reach Dublin, with time to enjoy the city at leisure, perhaps revisiting a favourite gallery or museum, browsing the shops of Grafton Street, exploring the National Museum's dazzling gold and Viking treasures, or simply relaxing over a final Irish coffee. As the day ends, you settle back into Dublin for your last night. This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner and a final session of music and craic in a traditional pub, reflecting on the beautiful journey you have made across Ireland. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow.

After a final leisurely morning in Dublin, perhaps a last stroll through St Stephen's Green, some souvenir shopping for Irish crafts, woollens or whiskey, or a final coffee by the Liffey, you are transferred to Dublin Airport for your onward departure. You leave having experienced the very best of Ireland, historic Dublin with its castle, Trinity College and legendary pubs, the spectacular Ring of Kerry, the mighty Cliffs of Moher and lunar Burren, joyous Galway and wild Connemara, all warmed by genuine Irish welcome, music and good craic. The images stay vivid long after you land, the Book of Kells and the Long Room, the Atlantic crashing beneath the Cliffs of Moher, the mountains and lakes of Kerry, and Kylemore Abbey mirrored in its lake. Ireland offers beauty, history, culture and warmth in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return to the Emerald Isle, perhaps next time to discover its wild north and west.