TWO DAY TOUR
Overnight Stay in 5* Belfast Hotel
Departs Monday-Friday , all year
NORTHERN IRELAND WHISKEY TRAIL
2 DAY TOUR
A two day whiskey trail departing from and returning to Dublin. We visit three working distilleries, including Old Bushmills, and you discover many highlights of Northern Ireland along the way.
BOOK NOWPACKAGE INCLUDES
- Two full days fully escorted touring of Northern Ireland, predominantly through counties Down & Antrim
- Private tour for your party only
- Executive transportation with experienced driver/guide (plus their expenses – accommodation and meals)
- Overnight in 5***** Belfast hotel. Full Irish breakfast on day 2 included.
- Visits and whiskey tasting at two working distilleries in County Down on Day 1 – we select two from the following list at the time of booking; Killowen Distillery, Rademon Estate Distillery, Echlinville Distillery, Hinch Distillery or Copeland Distillery.
- Ferry crossing from Strangford to Portaferry (if Echlinville is included)
- Causeway Coast excursion
- Visit to Londonderry Arms
- Entry to Giants Causeway
- Tour and extended tasting at Old Bushmills Distillery
- All taxes
- Transaction fee is added at check out
RATES
Private tour for 2 people (sharing): 1093.00 € per person
Price per person decreases as number in group increases
Max 10 guests capacity
LOCATIONS
Belfast & The Giants Causeway
Old Bushmills Distillery & two County Down Distilleries
FULL NORTHERN IRELAND WHISKEY TRAIL PROGRAMME
DAY 1
This morning we take you by road from the capital of the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland which forms part of the United Kingdom. Your Whiskey Expert Host will pick you up at your hotel in Dublin and in executive transport, you depart for the north. After crossing the border into Northern Ireland, we’re only a short distance from our first stop – Killowen Small Batch Distillery. Killowen is the creation of Brendan Carty who travelled across the globe for years and learned the secret to distilling premium Irish Whiskey.
Located in the heart of the Mourne Mountains, Killowen Distillery has a cult following that describe it as a ‘true distillery’. Seated at the slopes of Knock Shee (the Fairy Mountain), the path to the distillery is the path smugglers took during the Napoleonic Wars to bring French brandy into the North of Ireland and until recently was a perfect hideout for local poitín makers (moonshiners). Today you can experience the craftmanship behind this once illicit spirit making for yourself with an intimate ‘meet the maker’ tour and tasting experience.
THE BEST OF COUNTY DOWN
After lunch, we’ll take you to another County Down Distillery.We might call to Rademon Distillery – home of Shortcross gin & Single Malt Whiskey where you’ll meet owners David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong and sample their delicious Shortcross Gin and their much celebrated recently released whiskey.
OR, ALTERNATIVELY...
Depending on availability, instead of Rademon, we may take you on a ferry from Strangford that will connect us with the Ards Peninsula, a most beautiful part of Ireland. We soon arrive at Echlinville Distillery, the first newly licensed whiskey distillery in Northern Ireland in over 125 years.
We’ll have a quick look at the facility which is a proper bona fide ‘field to glass’ distillery. All the barley is grown onsite and their whiskey is maturing in their onsite warehouse. We finish in the impressive Echlinville manor house for samples of their flagship whiskeys.
Or! we might go to Hinch Distillery , located in Killaney Estate, just outside Ballynahinch in County Down.. while in County Down, we have no shortage of choice! In the late afternoon, we’ll check you in at your 5***** central Belfast hotel and you can enjoy this wonderful city at your leisure. We will guide you on where you should check out for dinner and drinks – the pubs of Commercial Court are an absolute must!
Note – one of our top recommendations for things to do in Belfast is a ‘Black Taxi Tour’. Do let us know well in advance if you’d like to do this tour as it needs advance booking.
DAY 2
Enjoy a full Irish breakfast at your leisure, in your hotel. Today, we’re travelling north out of the city to the Antrim coast road – the famous Causeway Coastal Route – one of the most beautiful driving routes in the country. After just a quick hour, we’ll make our first stop at the picturesque village of Carnlough where we invite to stretch your legs at The Harbourview Hotel (ex Londonderry Arms). This is a former home of ex-British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill and since 2025, it is Ireland’s first whiskey hotel!
Before we hit today’s highlight, we visit a UNESCO world heritage site – The Giant’s Causeway, one of the most unique places in Europe. It’s an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. The scientists will tell you the rock formations are the result of a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago. The locals believe differently however, they’ll tell you the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant – the Irish legend, Finn MacCool. We’ll let you take it all in and decide for yourself! Enjoy the site at leisure and enjoy some lunch while you’re there! Just two minutes down the road, dating all the way back to 1608 AD, Old Bushmills Distillery is the oldest licensed distillery in the world.
Visit the home of the third biggest selling Irish whiskey in the world, and what’s more you’re visiting the oldest distillery in the world! You’ll be led on a tour through the distillery buildings before finishing up in the Distillers Rooms for a whiskey tasting that includes a sampling of nearly all whiskeys in the Bushmills portfolio. This is the most exclusive tour/tasting option available at Old Bushmills.
Time for shopping at Old Bushmills retail store. And then sit back, relax, and we’ll have you back in downtown Dublin in 3 hours.
AWESOME tour for whiskey lovers!
We did a custom tour with John and it was AWESOME! He did a great job of adapting to what we enjoyed, sharing interesting tidbits along the way, and pointing us in the right direction of great local treasures. He went above and beyond in making our vacation special. We wouldn’t hesitate to go back and do it all over again.
EandCD
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