Name: 'True North' - Northern Ireland & Donegal, 5 days/4 nights
Location: Northern Ireland and Donegal

Essential Ireland Tours & Travel Ltd.

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71 reviews

Duration: 5 days

Group size: 4 - 18

'True North' - Northern Ireland & Donegal, 5 days/4 nights

Northern Ireland and Donegal

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Essential Ireland Tours & Travel Ltd.

Email address verified

71 reviews

Duration: 5 days

Group size: 4 - 18

DAY 1:
DAY 1:
Dublin to Belfast (& Titanic Experience)
[9am] Depart central Dublin. We pick up in one central location (the Leonardo Hotel opposite Christchurch Cathedral)

[10.30ish] Our first stop is the historic, and usually unvisited, town of Drogheda. Destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1649. (You’ll be hearing a lot about him on this tour!)
Visit the elaborate Church of St. Peter that resembles a grand medieval Cathedral, maybe light a candle to invoke blessing on our travels and gaze in awe at the head of St. Oliver Plunkett (yes, his fully preserved head) who was hung, drawn and quartered in London in the year of Our Lord 1663 and whose head is preserved in an ornamental glass case beside the altar!
As a bonus, St. Peter's Church also displays a relic of the True Cross.
History buffs will really enjoy this.

[11am] free-time to maybe find yourself a Coffee and a wee cream-bun.

[11.30] Visit Monasterboice, ancient and glorious Monastic ruins deep in the serene countryside and lush farmland of County Louth. Learn of its majestic Round Tower and its famed Celtic-Christian High Crosses, the finest in Ireland. Your guide will help you recognise the messages and stories contained in the carvings.
This is a truly special archeological site.

[Early afternoon] Arrive in Belfast, the proud Northern capital. Everyone is free for lunch in the bustling city-centre.

[2pm] We’ll enjoy a short panoramic city tour and experience a good introduction to our temporary hometown for 2 nights.

[3pm]: The late afternoon is devoted to the epic Titanic Experience, voted the #1 visitor attraction in the world. (yes, the world!). You’ll be amazed at this state of the art visitor centre, no expense has been spared to bring to life the story of one of the most famous ships in history, built in Belfast 1912. We spend 2 hours at this brilliant attraction.

[5.30pm] Check into our central Belfast hotel. You'll be free for dinner in one of the many pubs and restaurants around our hotel, your 'Essential Ireland' guide will make plenty of recommendations.
Some of us might meet up in the famous Victorian ‘Crown Saloon’, just maybe the most beautiful bar in the world!
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DAY 2:
DAY 2:
Explore Belfast & free-time to enjoy it
[9.30am] This morning is our big exploration of Belfast.
After a fine breakfast (perhaps you’ll try the traditional ‘Ulster Fry’) we will experience an in-depth city tour of Belfast, beginning inside the majestic Belfast City Hall. We'll check out the 'Belfast entries' which are famous Victorian side-alleys. We'll take in the 360 degree vista over Belfast from the glass dome at Victoria Square.
We'll tour the divided neighbourhoods of West Belfast. Learn of ‘the Troubles’, our 1969-1998 conflict which tore Northern Ireland apart, you’ll see the ‘Peace Wall’, the impactive political art and murals and all areas of political/historic interest.

[12.30pm]: Free time for lunch in the leafy University area of South Belfast.

1pm: Visit Queens University Belfast, the Botanic Gardens (and its simply marvellous 150 year old Victorian palm-house) and the award-winning, fascinating and wonderfully eclectic Ulster Museum.

[3pm]: Free time for shopping in Belfast’s Royal Victoria Avenue or sightseeing in the gardens of City Hall, a short stroll from our hotel.

[7pm]: A free-evening to enjoy Belfast’s unique nightlife and meeting the lively locals.
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DAY 3:
DAY 3:
Belfast to Derry (& the Giants Causeway)
After another tasty breakfast we’ll bid farewell to Belfast and take the scenic drive to the world-famous Antrim Coast, famed in song and story long before it hit the headlines as location for hit TV series ‘Game of Thrones’.

11.30am]:We visit the masterpiece - the Giants Causeway, a UNESCO world heritage site and beautiful geological marvel. 60,000 Basalt pillars carved into hexagons by violent volcanic eruptions, though we’ll be happy to also share the story of how it was really built by Celtic Giant Finn McCool! Time to hike, explore and enjoy the epic scenery.

Free for lunch at the Giants Causeway

Tour Dunluce Castle, ancestral home of the McDonnell clan and one of the most haunting ruins anywhere in Europe. Glorious scenery.

Arrive in historic Derry (founded 546 AD by St. Columba), aka Londonderry (1613). A walking tour around the city walls is the perfect introduction to Ireland’s most historic city.

[early evening] Check into our city-centre hotel and enjoy free time in Historic Derry.
Evening free for dinner. Many tour guests will enjoy an evening of Irish music in Peadar O’Donnells historic pub (note: Derry pub music sessions start late), which Tour-Guests enjoy immensely, a great chance to meet the locals.
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DAY 4:
DAY 4:
Derry's walls & beautiful wild Donegal
We’ll depart on the coach for our fun, relaxing day trip to beautiful Donegal. A short drive over the border.

[12noon] Visit Glenveagh National Park. Truly epic scenery. We’ll tour the castle and you’ll have free time to roam its lakeside lush gardens carved from this rugged Irish valley.

[3pm] A scenic drive through the highlands of Donegal back to the city of Derry.
Visit the famous Tower Museum in Derry.

[6pm] Free for dinner in historic Derry.
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DAY 5:
DAY 5:
Derry to Dublin (via Armagh)
Our daily offering of authentic Irish experiences and activities begins with a free morning for you to visit unique cultural sites like the 'Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall' and/or the 'Museum of Free Derry'. We highly recommended Derry’s ornate city hall that resembles a Cathedral, complete with the largest organ in Ireland.

[11am] Then it's farewell to the North-west. We shall enjoy a scenic drive through the rolling farmland of County Tyrone.

Visit the Cathedral city of Armagh, found by St. Patrick in the 5th century and it has 2 Cathedral’s, both named in his honour, are now the HQ for both the Catholic Church and Church of Ireland (Protestant). We'll be able to visit the epic St. Patricks Catholic Cathedral.

[3.30pm approx] Arrive back in Dublins fair city, where we will say our goodbyes and drop you back to the exact same spot that we departed from.

Go n-éirí an bóthar leat / may the road rise to meet you.

* we can only drop off at the point that we departed from in central Dublin (for 2025 this is the Leonardo Hotel at Christchurch Cathedral). Due to understandably strict driver-hour legislation, under no circumstances can we drop tour-guests off anywhere else in Dublin city-centre and/or Dublin Airport hotels and/or Dublin airport. Occasionally a few tour-guests still ask if we can drop them off somewhere other than the designated drop-off point, but the answer will always have to be a polite 'no'. Taxis are easy to hire from the drop-off point.
Many thanks for your understanding. :)

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DAY 1:

Dublin to Belfast (& Titanic Experience)

Ireland herself is the star of this tour. We thoroughly enjoyed the well-curated selection of sites visited and experiences offered. Interestingly, the two venues identified as the #1 (Guiness Storehouse) and #2(Cliffs of Moher) tourist attractions in the Republic did not impress us nearly as much as other sites, such the Clonmacnoise monastic site, or the majestic scenery at Killarney National Park and along Slea Head Drive, or the completely unexpected Blasket Islands Centre with its compelling and memorable stories about a singular local Irish culture, or the relatively unvisited 12thc Kilmalkedar Church. We loved the opportunities to engage with people passionate about their pursuits in the visits to the sheep farm and the artisan chocolate factory, and the evening of traditional music by the talented O’Se family at Milltown House. The tour was well-paced, and we never felt rushed. Our tour leader, Chris, is an excellent driver and a great story-teller. He is adept at making the most of Ireland’s changeable weather by being flexible with the order of the itinerary. Our accommodations were a mixed bag. The Park House Hotel in Galway was lovely. Right in town, a comfortable, well-furnished room, a delicious breakfast. Attentive hotel staff showed genuine hospitality from the moment of our arrival. This hotel set an appropriate, high standard not met by EI’s next lodging choice. Gleneagle Hotel and Convention Center (note the latter designation), Killarney-adjacent: after the lovely one-night stay at the Park Hotel, this facility gave us a case of whiplash. A room with a view of a construction refuse yard and parking lot, and a stained carpet. Comfortable enough beds, but a cattle call breakfast. Inedible food pretty much across the board. Powdered scrambled eggs and canned mushrooms. Stale breads and pastries. Fruit bowls with rock-hard chunks of melon and that sour tang of pre-cut fruit that’s not fresh. Coffee watered down and literally undrinkable. None of this should be a surprise at a large convention center hotel. This particular week in late October, the hotel was packed with a multitude of large tour busloads (per my conversation with the front desk) that appeared to come from retirement communities. While we’re delighted that retirees have a place to travel and mingle as the tourist season winds down, this lodging choice defeats the whole purpose of taking a small group tour. Furthermore, Gleneagle is inconveniently located about a mile outside of Killarney town center. Thankfully, on the first evening, Chris offered a ride into town at 6:30 pm. He assured us that taxis would be plentiful in town for returning to the hotel. Not a single taxi was on the streets between 8:30-9pm after our dinner. We had to call a taxi at an in-town hotel: 15 euro to be taken 1 mile back to Gleneagle at after 9pm rates. Rinse and repeat twice over on the second night in Killarney, with no lift into town offered after the 4pm end of tour, even after the request of another tour member. We understand that last year’s tour was lodged in the town center. We strongly recommend that you return to in-town accommodation. Our three nights at Milltown House were delightful. It is a comfortable country inn just outside of Dingle; a bit rustic with lots of character and charm. The staff is warm and welcoming. Our room was spacious and comfortable, and the common rooms are inviting. The combination buffet plus made-to-order breakfasts were ample and tasty. With only 8 of us on the tour, shuttling into Dingle 4 people at a time worked fine. On a day when the weather was clear, we chose to walk into town in the morning, an easy and pleasant walk. Milltown House is the kind of small inn that we actively seek out on our travels and brought a most enjoyable ending to our tour.

By Fern P for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Galway, Killarney & Dingle) on Nov 02, 2025

I genuinely enjoyed the small tour experience! This was my first trip outside the US, and my first guided tour, but I thought it went very smoothly, stops were well-planned and points of interest were explained in enough detail to "get it" without zoning out from information overload. Also, general historic discussion of the history of Ireland was greatly appreciated. Chris was a great tour guide!

By Kent O for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Galway, Killarney & Dingle) on Oct 28, 2025

We enjoyed all of the people in our smaller group. Chris was fantastic in the way he shared his vast knowledge of Ireland's history and everything Irish. The sights, tastes, sounds - everything was amazing. Couldn't have asked for a better glimpse of such a beautiful country.

By Larry T for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Galway, Killarney & Dingle) on Oct 07, 2025

We had a wonderful time! Our group of 14 travelers was a great group of people. We enjoyed their company very much. Our guide/driver, Chris, was a wealth of knowledge - we learned so much about the history and culture of the areas of Ireland that we visited. He was also funny and entertained us with a song or two. The sites we saw were well chosen and were a nice variety. The weather was splendid, the hotels were great. We very much enjoyed the Milltown House and its close proximity to the downtown of Dingle and right on the water. We will definitely revisit Ireland and hopefully be part of another Essential Ireland/McPhilemy tour.

By Margaret H for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Galway, Killarney & Dingle) on Oct 06, 2025

Such a fun trip! Chris was a fabulous tour guide - so knowledgeable and able to tailor our experience based on interests. Each day brought a new adventure and still more interesting things to see and do. We lucked out and had absolutely perfect weather. The accommodations were lovely and very comfortable, with delicious breakfasts each morning. We loved having free time at each stop to grab a meal and explore on our own. The final evening with Irish stew and local musicians was the perfect topper for a fantastic tour. Thank you!! 🍀

By Dorothy M for Wild Atlantic Way 7 days (Galway, Killarney & Dingle) on Oct 01, 2025

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'True North' - Northern Ireland & Donegal, 5 days/4 nights

'True North' - Northern Ireland & Donegal, 5 days/4 nights

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