Danube River cruise with a pre-trip to Ireland

[aggiemomx3]

At Ashford Castle we were able to fly two hawks together. I had the alpha female, 16 year old Rua, who is also the dominant bird of the flock. DH had the alpha male who is 17 years old. Afterwards we were also allowed to fly Dingle, the giant eagle owl. It was a blast. After our falcon walk we took a drive over to see the Sky Road. The views are stunning if the sun is out. Later that evening we had dinner at George V which is the high end restaurant at the castle. I will say that food at George V and Wilde's were both great and we'd happily dine at either again.

Today we checked out of the castle and we have already made tentative plans to come back and stay for an extended time. We'd like to check out Northern Ireland first, then make our way to see the Aran Islands and then spend at least a week at Ashford Castle. As we made our way back to Dublin, we stopped to see Trim Castle which was where Braveheart was filmed. Then we visited Newgrange. There we saw the 5,000 year old Neolithic portal tomb and were able to check off another Unesco World Heritage site on our list. We also visited the Boyne Battlefield. The battle which took place in 1690 between James II and William III and shaped the future of England and Ireland.

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Tomorrow, I will begin part two of this trip report. Thanks for following along.

Thanks for posting your trip reports. I love reading them! Your Scotland report was a big factor in my daughter and I decision in our Scotland ABD last year. Keep them coming.

 

[calypso726]

Part two of this trip report begins here:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-exclusive-danube-river-cruise.3524853/

 

[walnut611]

Beautiful pictures and great TR, Calypso726! Did you plan everything by yourself? That is a LOT of work!!

 

[calypso726]

Beautiful pictures and great TR, Calypso726! Did you plan everything by yourself? That is a LOT of work!!

Thank you! Yes and no. Since the dates didn't work for us to do an Adventures by Disney trip to Ireland before the Danube River cruise I had to look at other options. None of the other group tour companies had itineraries I liked with dates that would work. Therefore, I used the ABD itinerary as a base to plan my trip. Then, I went on TripAdvisor and read through the Ireland forums to find out what were the recommended "must do, don't miss" places. When I learned that the hawk walks could be done at both Ashford Castle and Dromoland Castle I added that to my list. Adding Ashford Castle and insisting on doing the Ring of Kerry in the short time I was here was practically a logistical impossibility for some of the tour companies. Ashford Castle wasn't anywhere near anything else I had planned on seeing. The Ring of Kerry takes the entire day. I don't think any of the big tour bus groups are able to do Ring of Kerry as the busses are too large for the narrow roads and tiny spots to pull over and take a photo. I had contacted about 10 that offered customized tours and private drivers. Two of the 10 were what I narrowed it down to as both were willing to help me make it happen rather than tell me it was not possible.

 

[Burgundy Rose]

Stunning TR as per usual. When are you going back to Ashford? Or have you been already? I'm looking at their Taste of Ireland package and it sounds both yummy and spectacular. Sadly it's only two nights, which doesn't seem like nearly enough time to enjoy the falconry, the spa, the grounds visit, the horse-riding or the archery, on top of all the meals included in the package. If you've gone back to just the castle, I'd be curious to know how long your stay was

 

[calypso726]

Stunning TR as per usual. When are you going back to Ashford? Or have you been already? I'm looking at their Taste of Ireland package and it sounds both yummy and spectacular. Sadly it's only two nights, which doesn't seem like nearly enough time to enjoy the falconry, the spa, the grounds visit, the horse-riding or the archery, on top of all the meals included in the package. If you've gone back to just the castle, I'd be curious to know how long your stay was

Thank you for the nice compliments. We are hoping to go back within the next 5 years. We were there for two nights and it certainly was not enough time to enjoy everything. When we do make our way back we will likely be planning for a week at Ashford Castle. We really did not want to leave.

 

[bonnielynn]

Thank you! Ireland is stunning and we will be coming back if only to stay and spend time at Ashford Castle. Is like to do Northern Ireland as well.
Neither DH nor I wanted to drive on the left side of the road while sitting on the right side of the car. So, I searched for tour companies in Ireland that offered private custom tours. I contacted about 10 of them and sent my dates, itinerary wish list and went from there.

I will be starting part two of this trip report in a couple of days. I'm sad that our Iteland trip is coming to a close but still excited that our vacation is not. I am looking forward to the inaugural river cruise!

What company did you go with?

 

[calypso726]

We went with Go Irish Tours. They were very responsive and made the itinerary I wanted happen.

 

[bonnielynn]

We went with Go Irish Tours. They were very responsive and made the itinerary I wanted happen.[

Thanks