St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin

Your ride from Dublin Airport to your accommodations will have you bubbling with excitement as you enter the city limits of this lively college town and prepare to study history here. 

After you settle in, wander around Trinity College where the juxtaposition of the grand old buildings will bring you back in time, although the students are very hip and cosmopolitan. Visit the Old Library and view the inspiring Book of Kells.

Dinner tonight should be in the Temple Bar district. This is where all the evening action takes place. You will find lots of great little restaurants and bars.

As the St. Patrick’s Day festival begins, you can enjoy the many buildings lit up green in honor of St. Patrick.

After a full Irish Breakfast replete with rashers and black pudding, your local guide will pick you up and take you around the city. Enjoy a tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, The National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland. St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland, baptised Catholics in Ireland circa 450 A.D.Your next stop is St. Stephen’s Green, Ireland’s best known public park. It is designed in the Victorian style and has many paths to wander down. Enjoy a picnic lunch as you mingle with the locals and enjoy a lovely afternoon.After dinner, head over to St. James Gate and enter the world of the Guinness Storehouse. Your Connoisseur Experience, a private, small gathering, takes place in the old-world, wood paneled bar on the upper floors of the storehouse. Taste all of Guinness’s finest brews and learn the proper way to pour a Guinness draft.  

Don your best green duds and join the visitors and locals alike at the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Make your way to the Christchurch viewing stand and take your reserved seat where you can delight in the parade and people watching. Lots of people watching!

Enjoy the afternoon festival and join the revelers as the crowd moves to the Temple Bar area for a “Baby Guinness” at The Temple Bar.

After a leisurely morning, your guide will collect you for the drive to Belfast. After years of Ireland separated by “The Troubles” you can now travel the country freely. 

In Belfast, check out the “Game of Thrones” Tour Exhibition. Enter the world of Westeros and the lands beyond. This exhibition features immersive and interactive environments. Experience the city of Meereen, King’s Landing, House of Black and White, the frozen lands Beyond the Wall and more.

This evening enjoy a group dinner and compare your “Game of Thrones” adventure.

The day begins with an early start traveling up to Northern Ireland to visit more “Game of Thrones” sites. 

Scramble up the basalt “stepping stones” at the Giant’s Causeway. Legend is that Finn McCool, the Irish giant, built these stone steps to help him cross over to Scotland.

Stop at Ballintoy Harbour which was the location for Theon Greyjoy’s return to the Iron Islands and the burial of Balon Greyjoy in “Game of Thrones.”

Visit the Dark Hedges where Arya escaped from King’s Landing.

Test your mettle as you climb the glen to the Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge spanning high above the the rocks and churning water below.

Return to Dublin for tonight’s accommodations.

Begin the day at the Irish Whiskey Museum. Explore the history of the Irish’s gift to humankind – great whiskey.

After lunch head over to Bow Street for the Jameson Distillery Tour. Your tour of the distillery includes a whiskey-blending lesson and a tasting experience.

Dine at a cafe on the Liffey River and enjoy your new friends and this delightful, friendly city!

You may be leaving Dublin, but you have surely received the bronntanas an gab (gift of gab), the legendary Irish fondness for telling a great tale.