On SHANNON PRINCESS,

 

We offer a variety of Cruise Choices.

 

 Unwind with a cruise in modern luxury & style on this fabled River & her Loughs in the heart of hidden Ireland.

We invite you to enjoy this unique and charming venue for celebrations & vacations with family or friends.

We are very proud to present

again for 2011 our dedicated Walking Cruise hosted by a professional archaeologist/walking guide. Please see our NEWS page for dates & details.

 

 

As well as our Regular Cruising Itinerary, We can also offer on a charter bases, the following Cruise Choices.

 

WALKING

Hosted by our professional Walking Guide. Explore The Pilgrims Path, The Slieve Bloom way or

our Full Moon Walk.

Daily walks covering between 14 & 20 km. Enjoy lunches in traditional inns with crac & music.

GOLF

For championship quality golf try the historic and unforgiving Lahinch; Christy O’Connor Jr.- designed Glasson Golf course or the spectacular Galway Bay Golf Club.

EQUESTRIAN
Scenic trail rides, forest and lakeshore treks, cross-country riding, jumping and riverside picnics. Perhaps time enough for a day at the races?

FISHING
The Shannon boasts a rich reservoir of quality fish; choose from Course, Game or Fly-fishing. We can arrange an excellent Gillie service. Try for perch, pike, eel or trout.

CYCLING
an ideal way to explore country estates and villages.
Cycle ahead to our next port of call. Bicycles available on request.

ARTESIAN FOOD TRAILS.

Combine a cruise with gastronomy & shore visits to local Cheese makers, Artesian bakers, Smoke Houses, Galway Bay Oyster Beds, and Farmers Markets & Glorious Kitchen Gardens. Seasonal foraging & Daily Cookery lessons aboard.

ANTIQUE AND CRAFT TRAIL
Any glance at Ireland’s antiquities – it’s great churches, the jewellery worn by Celts, the intricacies of illuminated manuscripts like the Book of Kells- will show what a long tradition of sheer artistry exists here, what a delight of pattern, shape& texture. This tradition continues today with Crystal, Pottery, Bog Wood Carvings, and Silk and Linen art. Spend a day visiting artists and crafts people’s studios.

 

 

Our aim is for a cruise with us onboard SHANNON PRINCESS to be a very personalized & charming experience. We are here to give a great Vacation Experience.

Our professional Skipper & his crew are delighted to provide you with friendly service, gorgeous food & wines, & share a little of their local knowledge.

We are always delighted to organise for our guests.....

Spa Days /Restaurants/ Golf /Equestrian / Gillie fishing which can all be paid at local rates.

A Concierge Service for Guests is provided at all times.

 

Why not let us tailor make a charter for you & your family or friends- perfect to your requirements. Contact us with for details.

 

 

 

Discovering the  Treasures of a Fabled Waterway

 

 

Itinerary for Regular Cruise – south bound to Killaloe.

 

 

Sunday, Day 1,

LOUGH REE & WESTMEATH.

Guests shall be met by the Barge Guide at 3.00pm at The Aberdeen Lodge Hotel, and transferred by Luxury coach to the Shannon Princess at Quigley’s Marina in Westmeath.

“Cead Mile Failte,” ( a hundred thousand welcomes!) -Your Captain and his crew welcome you onboard the elegant Shannon Princess with a Champagne Reception. From the moment you step aboard you’ll enjoy- the tranquil ambience, skilled service & wealth of onboard facilities.

Time enough to meet new friends; relax on deck or watch the world float by.

Welcome Gourmet dinner is served onboard during evening cruise.

Monday, Day 2...THE BROAD MAJESTIC SHANNON & ATHLONE.

There’s time for an early morning stroll through twisting country lanes, before we set out to explore a river wrapped in the legends of time. The Shannon Princess slips through countryside little changed through the centuries.Now a preserved area of ecological importance, relax & unwind as we float along the Shannon’s beautiful “Inner Lakes”, passing stately riverside homes & some of its reputed 365 wooded islands. Lunch is served onboard. We moor in the pretty bustling Town of Athlone.An afternoon tour of “Corlea Track way Visitor Centre” will be guided by your Captain. This off the beaten track heritage site interprets-some of the many local archaeological finds from Pagan Celtic Ireland. Including a ritual Iron Age wooden bog road, uncovered intact & carbon dated from the year 148 BC.

Return to ‘Shannon Princess II’

Explore Athlone at your leisure, time for shopping, antiquing or a visit to any of the towns impromptu traditional music pubs. Gourmet Dinner onboard.

 Tuesday, Day 3...MYSTICAL CLONMACNOISE & SHANNONBRIDGE

The Shannon Princess descends through Athlone Lock and follows the river as it flows south through “The Callows”. These lush grazing meadows have remained unchanged in over 1000 years and are now rich Wildfowl & Fauna Reserves.

We moor at Clonmacnoise ruins - the ancient burial grounds of High Kings of Tara & Connaught. Clonmacnoise is an atmospheric & spiritual 6^th Century monastic settlement soaked in history & myth.

After a guided tour & visit to the interpretive centre we lunch enroute to Shannonbridge. Alternatively for energetic souls wishing to linger & explore, a picnic lunch can also be arranged while enjoying an undulating walk/cycle along rural byways to rejoin the barge at her overnight moorings in Shannonbridge.

Shannonbridge is a charming little walled riverside village, an excellent spot for riverside walking, swimming, and exploring.

Afternoon visit to the grounds of Birr Castle, family seat of the Earl & Countess of Rosse. Besides enjoying glorious castle gardens & parkland, the Castle is home to Ireland’s Historic Science Centre.

Gourmet Dinner onboard.

Wednesday, Day 4...

Journey through the Ancient Kingdoms of Connaught & Leinster to County Tipperary

We travel a very evocative stretch of the River Shannon. The Shannon Princess follows the rivers gentle curves, passing crumbling ivy covered ruins, medieval garrisons & sleepy market villages. Onwards we head, in the wake of time, floating by dappled woodlands & floodplain meadows. The ever-changing landscape slipping by, decending through Meelick lock and pausing as Portumna Swing Bridge is opened to allow the Shannon Princess onto idyllic Lough Derg. We moor waterside at the foot of a gentle hill that slopes up to Terryglass village. Lunch in the village at The Derg Inn.... Time to explore this charming Hamlet before an afternoon guided excursion to Leap Castle, once the stronghold of the Princes of Ely, and reputed to be Ireland’s most haunted castle. Here you learn about the fascinating history of the castle with a personal tour by quirky owners Sean Ryan and his family,

Gourmet Dinner Onboard

 Thursday, Day 5...To the Waters & the Wild....County Clare.

Today take a morning excursion to riverside Portumna Castle & Walled Kitchen Gardens, and on to Galway, a lively Anglo-Norman university town and cultural center of Irish speaking regions in the west of Ireland. Lunch is at an authentic Guinness & Oyster Bar with time to browse in the local craft shops. Return to “Shannon Princess II’ for Gourmet Dinner as we meander effortlessly down through pretty Lough Derg to Mountshannon – a lovely old estate village perched prettily above the Lough.

After dinner enjoy a moonlit ramble around Mountshannon.

Friday, Day 6...The last of The High kings….. The Twin Towns of Killaloe &  Ballina.

 This morning we literately go with the flow, south through Lough Derg and her many Islands, Castles & Medieval strongholds. The River Shannon carves a dramatic route through the Hills & Valleys of Munster’s North Riding before sweeping into Killaloe, once home to the court of the last High King of Ireland, Brian Boru.We moor on the Tipperary side of this elegant little Ecclesiastical town, with plenty of time for you to visit both villages & local sites of interest. After lunch set off on an excursion to the Cragganaunowen Project, which recreates Celtic culture and life during the Iron Age and early Christian Ireland.

Farewell “Slainte” cocktail reception with Captain before final Gourmet Dinner.

Saturday, day 7 ...Killaloe / Dublin.

Transfer to Aberdeen Lodge Hotel in Dublin (where your tour ends), arriving at approximately between 11: 30 a.m. and 12:00 noon.