Ireland: Walking the West Country​

Depart from the U.S. for Ireland. The particulars of your arrival overseas are detailed with your flight itinerary.

Upon arrival at the Cork airport, claim your luggage and clear customs. (Please note: Make certain your VBT luggage tags are affixed to your bag so your VBT representative can identify you.) As you enter the arrival hall, look for your VBT representative holding a VBT sign. Please wait here while your representative helps make arrangements for your transfer to your hotel in Cork (transfer time is approximately 20 minutes).

VBT provides you with City Information in your Final Travel Booklet that includes information and recommendations on what to see and do in Cork. Take the rest of the day to explore the city and have dinner on your own.

VBT No-Air Package guests: After breakfast on your own, meet one of your VBT Trip Leaders at the Imperial Hotel, Cork at 9 a.m. (Address: South Mall, Cork, Republic of Ireland; telephone +353 [0] 21 427 4040). To reach the hotel, you can take a taxi from Cork airport to Cork (approximately 20 euros/$26.00 USD) or travel on Bus Eireann, which provides frequent and direct coach service between Cork Airport, Cork City Center and Cork Bus Station (this costs approximately 5 euros/$7 USD and takes approximately 25 minutes; for more details go to www.buseireann.ie). If your arrival in Cork is scheduled later than 9 a.m. or if you are delayed, you must transfer at your own expense (approximately 180 euros/$235.00 USD for a taxi, travel time approximately 90 minutes) to the first hotel in Killarney. Please contact the Cork hotel to advise them of any travel delays or changes so the hotel staff can pass the message on to your VBT Trip Leaders.

VBT Air Package and Pre-Trip Extension guests: Meet one of your VBT Trip Leaders in the hotel lobby at 9 a.m.

Once we have gathered, there will be a short introductory meeting followed by a transfer by private bus from Cork to Killarney, approximately 90 minutes. Our first destination is Muckross, within Killarney's National Park. Ensure you are prepared for a day of walking as the bus will continue with our luggage to the hotel after leaving us at the lodge entrance. Here we meet our second VBT Trip Leader and see stunning vistas of the Killarney Lakes and their impressive mountain backdrop. We walk through a lush meadow, along the river and through the woodland onto the lakeshore. Across the waters, we'll admire the tree-smothered slopes of Tomies Wood stretching upwards towards the peaks of Shehy and Tomies mountains. We continue along the shoreline through a delightful woodland glade until we come across the magnificent manor, Muckross House. Enjoy lunch in the Muckross Garden restaurant.

This afternoon, we have the choice of enjoying a stroll through magnificent displays of ornamental shrubs, flower beds, and wide expanses of manicured lawns, or continuing with a walk around Muckross Lake.

Our afternoon walk takes us through ancient woodland, over Brickeen Bridge, and across Dinish Island to the Meeting of the Waters and the Old Weir Bridge. All the while, we are surrounded by wonderful views, small lakeside beaches and rocky coves. We meet our bus and drive to our home for the next three nights, collecting non-walkers at Muckross House on the way.

After settling in, get to know your fellow travelers and Trip Leaders at a welcome reception and dinner.

After breakfast we transfer to legendary Kate Kearney's cottage, where the 19th-century beauty sold a brew “very fierce and wild, requiring not less than seven times its own quantity of water to tame and subdue it.” It's now a popular shop and pub, and the start of our walk up a steady paved incline through a spectacular glacial valley, the Gap of Dunloe. Our trail parallels a mountain stream over rugged terrain lined with massive boulders, until we reach the pass between Macgillycuddy's Reeks (Ireland's tallest mountain range at 3,414 feet) and the Purple Mountains. Then we descend into the Black Valley. All the way we'll have a horse-drawn jaunting cart at the ready for those who want a break.

A lakeside picnic awaits us at Lord Brandon's Cottage. From here, we board open boats and cruise to Ross Castle, a 15th-century tower house, as our boatmen regale us with local tales. This evening, we shuttle into Killarney for dinner on your own and the opportunity to mingle with the locals over a Guinness in one of Killarney's thriving pubs.

Today, our walk helps us explore the northern part of the Kerry Peninsula. After a short drive, our bus will leave us at the trailhead, a paved quiet country road circling Seefin Mountain. As we walk, enjoy the spectacular views over Lough Caragh. At the end of the road, you have the option of rejoining the minibus and meeting the group in Glenbeigh or walking to Glenbeigh up the mountain on a footpath through Windy Gap. This path is part of the Kerry Way, a 135-mile walking route over old droving paths and coach roads created more than 20 years ago.

Upon reaching Glenbeigh, enjoy some free time and lunch in this quaint town.

After lunch, you have two options. Shuttle two miles to Rossbehy Creek and take a short walk along White Strand, a beautiful sandy beach on a small peninsula stretching into Dingle Bay. Or walk along the banks of River Behy and back on the Kerry Way through the sloped woods of Curra hill, then shuttle down to Rossbehy Beach.

Tonight before dinner, we meet Denis Kissane, a local friend who will give a nostalgic presentation on his childhood in “The Old Bohareen.

After breakfast, pack your luggage. Today we leave Loch Lein Country House for Kenmare. First we take a very short drive to Castle Ross Hotel where we start our walk into Killarney through the beautiful parkland. You can stop at Killarney Cathedral and venture into town for shopping or join our Trip Leaders for a walk around Ross Island. More of a peninsula than an island, Ross Island is heavily wooded with a network of paths leading to attractive viewpoints overlooking Lough Leane. Also visible are remains of former copper mines, some dating back 4,000 years to the prehistoric Bronze Age and others from the 19th century.

After free time for lunch in Killarney, we visit our newfound friend, Denis Kissane, who has invited us to see both his childhood home (featured in his talk yesterday evening), and his current home, where he will entertain you with tea or coffee and freshly made scones. We then continue to our new home for the next three nights, Brook Lane Hotel, Kenmare

Tonight is free for you to explore the town, a 4-minute walk away along a footpath directly opposite the hotel.

This morning we can have a later start and walk down to Kenmare market square to sample the local market. Afterwards shuttle 15 miles to Lough Inchiquin and into Gleninchaquin Park, located at the end of a beautiful valley. Here we meet Peggy and Donal Corkery whose ancestors have lived in the valley for over 130 years. Then choose from a variety of walks, from gentle farm or river strolls to a more challenging walk over the 448-foot waterfall (well worth the effort just for the views!). Make sure you visit the Heritage Site to see the reconstructed 19th-century cottage that was typical in this area.

When you return from your walk we will drive to a nearby pier overlooking Kenmare Bay to enjoy a freshly prepared lunch.

This afternoon we shuttle back to Kenmare to enable you free time to experience the pretty town of  Kenmare and this evening one of its pubs or restaurants.

Today the scenery is spectacular as we walk along the southwestern section of the Kerry coast, with views of tiny islands, towering cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and some of the finest beaches in Europe.

For those who would like a slightly more challenging option, our morning trailhead starts along a single-track road. We follow this path along another section of the Kerry Way known to the locals as the Old Butter Road. This leads us along farm tracks and then into open moorland. There is a slight incline before you drop down into Caherdaniel with one of the best views in Ireland, over the bay.

Once in Caherdaniel, a pretty coastal village on the shore of Derrynane Bay, we transfer by our bus to Derrynane House. The ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell, Derrynane House is a public museum commemorating one of Ireland's leading historical figures, known by the nation as the Great Liberator.

If you're after an easier option, you may shuttle directly to Derrynane Bay and enjoy a lovely walk with one of our Trip Leaders across to Abbey Island. Here we'll view the remains of a tenth-century abbey and a local cemetery. 

We all meet for an included lunch in the café at Derrynane House, followed by a tour of the museum. Derrynane House is furnished with family portraits, writings and a great many items belonging to Daniel O'Connell: the dueling pistols he used to kill rival John D'Esterre in 1815, the black glove he wore in remembrance of that day, and the fabulous gold chariot he rode through Dublin amidst jubilant crowds upon his release from prison. A video presentation outlines the life and times of the Irish hero.

There'll be time to explore the gardens behind the house, walk around the Derrynane Dunes nature trail, or just relax on one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, with over a mile of golden sand. Meet our Trip Leaders in the local Keatings Bar, just a small room in a private house turned into a pub for the locals. After an included drink we will meet the bus and drive back to Kenmare.

This evening we have a farewell dinner in the hotel and then say goodbye to our VBT Leaders.

VBT No-Air Package guests: Our tour finishes at the hotel after breakfast. The hotel will help you book a taxi at your own expense to either Killarney railway station (approximately 60 euros/$90 USD, travel time approximately 50 minutes ), Cork Airport (approximately 150 euros/$225 USD, travel time approximately 2 hours) or Shannon Airport (approximately 250 euros/$375 USD, travel time approximately 3 hours). 

VBT Air Package and Post-Trip Extension guests: Transfer by private motor coach to the medieval town of Kinsale, known as a gourmet capital. It has an abundance of traditional bars and restaurants, beautiful buildings, narrow streets, shops and galleries and a pretty harbor area.

Once you arrive in Kinsale, the remainder of the day is free for you to explore this quaint town. VBT provides you with City Information in your Final Travel Booklet that includes recommendations on what to see and do in Kinsale.

Kinsale has been seasoned liberally by Norman, Spanish and English influences since medieval times, but nowadays most of the seasoning takes place in the numerous fine restaurants that make this Ireland's gourmet capital. Kinsale is also a yachting center (hence the great seafood!).

After breakfast, transfer to the Cork airport for your return flight.

Please note: For guests with early-morning departures, full breakfast at the hotel may not be available but a cold tray is possible to be delivered to your room. Please check with the Front Desk to verify the times that breakfast is served and to arrange your cold tray if necessary.

VBT transfer times and departure points are finalized in advance and cannot be modified for individual guests. If you extend your stay beyond the scheduled program dates, return transportation to the airport is at your own expense.