London-Dublin & Medieval Banquet at Bunratty Castle

Check-in is 20 minutes prior to Train Departure Time - look for our check-in hosts in the yellow jackets!

Check-in at London Euston Station at the Network Rail Mobility Assistance Reception for the 09:02 departure of your train direct to Holyhead. You will be met by your Railtours Ireland host and escorted into your reserved seats.

Your train, complete with snack car/bar will speed through the heart of England and along the North Wales coast to reach Holyhead in just 3 hours and 40 minutes. Holyhead rail station is also the cruise ferry terminal so after a short bus transfer to the berth you walk onto the ship – The Irish Ferries ‘Ulysses’ to Dublin.

Enjoy an invigorating 3 hours and 15 minute voyage across the Irish Sea to Dublin. Facilities on board the ship include a range of restaurants and bars, a 2-screen cinema and a traditional promenade deck, from where you can enjoy the fresh sea air.

Arrive into Dublin at 17:25hrs where you will be welcomed by your Railtours Ireland host and transferred to your hotel in Dublin City Centre.

Free to discover Dublin with your 48hr Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tour ticket.

The popular tour, the 2-day Hop-On Hop-Off Tour, is offered with both live and multilingual commentary. All drivers are Fáilte Ireland approved, which means that not only are they great story tellers, they're also brimming with information and history of Dublin's past, and will have you laughing all the way around the tour route.

Check-in is 20 minutes prior to Train Departure Time.

Check-in beside the Customer Service Desk at Heuston Station where our representative will be waiting for you in their bright yellow jacket!

Check in for 11:25 departure from Dublin Heuston, opened in 1844 as the headquarters of the Great Southern & Western Railway, now the official principal station of Iarnród Éireann, Ireland’s national railway company.

As your train departs, we travel in a south westerly direction, through Dublin's western suburbs and then through the lush fertile countryside of Co. Kildare. Our journey takes us through the Curragh which is famous for its racecourse, home of the Irish Derby, and there are many stud farms in the vicinity. Your route takes you into the midlands and the Bog of Allen, vast tracts of peat-land. Before then, we pass through the County Town of Tullamore and then to Clara across the gentle farmlands of north Offaly. The train crosses the River Shannon, which marks the historic border between the province of Leinster and Connacht – the historic province of the West of Ireland. You are now heading due west, surrounded by peat bog on both sides of the line. On the last few kilometres before Galway, you will get your first glimpse of Galway Bay.

13:40 Arrival Galway City where there is free time to explore Galway City with its many and varied cultural and sightseeing experiences.

Galway City is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. It began as a small fishing village centred around the estuary of the River Corrib, a river traditionally called Abhainn na Gaillimhe (The Galway River) after Galvia, a mythological princess said to have drowned in its waters. There is vibrancy to this friendly University City, which many delight in, and few forget. Music, festivals, horse racing, pubs, restaurants, shops, theatres and most of all Galway people, combine to create an atmosphere you'll want to return to again and again.

18.00 Depart Galway City for Bunratty Village for check into your hotel.

20.45 Medieval Banquet at Bunratty Castle. There will be an Irish mead reception in Bunratty Castle before the medieval banquet and legendary Irish entertainment. Afterwards, perhaps enjoy a nightcap in Durty Nelly's famous traditional pub beside the castle.

Enjoy your breakfast at leisure.

10.00am – meet your Railtours Ireland host for a tour of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.

After the visit to Bunratty Castle and Folk park we make our way to Co. Clare. There is a lunch stop at a local pub before arriving at the Cliffs of Moher, which are among the highest sea cliffs in Europe. There is plenty of time to visit Ireland’s second-most-popular tourist attraction and your host will advise you of the departure time.

From here, we take the coast road for much of the way to Galway, with time for photos along the Burren. This is a national park and the word Burren comes from the Irish Language, it means ‘rocky place’. It is a unique lunar landscape of limestone which was described in 1649 by one of Oliver Cromwell’s men as: “No tree to hang a man, no water deep enough to drown him and no soil deep enough to bury him”. Today the Burren is noted for its diverse Flora with few parallels elsewhere in Ireland or, indeed, Europe.

We continue along the coast road to Black Head, passing the quaint coastal villages of Ballyvaughan and Kinvara before joining the main road to Galway. There should now be some free time in Galway to explore the streets around Eyre Square or grab a bite to eat.

19:20 Departure from Galway by train and return to Dublin by a different route, via Athenry, Tullamore and Athlone, where we cross the mighty river Shannon once more.

We arrive back to Dublin Heuston Station at 21:45pm.

Your Railtours Ireland host will transfer you to the Dublin ferry port.

Dublin – London (via Irish Ferries Ship - Ulysses):

Monday-Saturday: 08:05am Depart Dublin by cruise ferry.

11:30: Arrive Holyhead by ferry.

12:38: Depart HolyHead Direct.

16:38: Arrive London Euston Station

Sunday: 08:05am Depart Dublin by cruise ferry.

11:30: Arrive Holyhead by ferry.

12:38: Depart HolyHead and change at Crewe.

16:44: Arrive London Euston Station.