CIE’s groups, meals and deadlines
You’re looking at Ireland and the CIE fare looks high next to Trafalgar or Cosmos. Start with what the fare already covers.
Irish Classic: the whole island in 12 days
One tour shows what CIE does best: the North and the South, meals included, at a steady pace.
You want one trip that does Dublin, the Causeway Coast, Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher and Kerry without rushing any of them. That’s Irish Classic.
It runs 12 days and 11 nights from Dublin, from $4,195 per person land only for 2027. The fare includes 19 meals (11 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 7 dinners), every attraction entrance on the itinerary, a medieval castle banquet and an evening of Irish entertainment.
The hotels are city and town hotels rather than country houses: the Hilton in Belfast, the Wyatt in Westport, the Bunratty Castle Hotel and the Killarney Plaza among them.
- Dublin1 nightA city tour and the Pearse Lyons Distillery on day one.
- Belfast2 nightsDown Cathedral and the Ulster Folk Museum on the way, then Titanic Belfast.
- Derry1 nightThe Giant’s Causeway, a walk on the city walls and dinner at the Walled City Brewery.
- Westport2 nightsDonegal’s back roads, a weaving demonstration, a sheepdog show and Kylemore Abbey.
- Bunratty1 nightFree time in Galway, the Cliffs of Moher and a medieval castle banquet.
- Killarney2 nightsThe Dingle Peninsula, the Ring of Kerry and a jaunting car ride.
- Waterford1 nightBlarney Castle on the way in, then Waterford Crystal and the Dunbrody Famine Ship.
Stops and inclusions from CIE’s 2027 Irish Classic page; the Bunratty night is read from its hotel list. The tour ends with a last night in Dublin and a dinner show at Taylors Three Rock. A 13-day version is also sold.
Pick it if you want Northern Ireland, Connemara and Kerry on one trip with three two-night stops. Trafalgar’s Best of Ireland, for comparison, stays in the Republic.
Coach, small group, your own car or your own driver
CIE sells Ireland six ways. The format matters more than the itinerary name, because the same route can come guided or self-drive.
Guided coach tours
CIE’s core product: a set itinerary with a driver-guide or a tour director and driver, and most meals included.
- Irish Classic: 12 days from $4,195 (2027)
- Shorter options like Taste of Ireland (5 to 7 days, from $1,845; year not shown)
- Free Wi-Fi on the coaches
Small Group departures
Select dates of the regular tours, run with 26 or fewer on the same full-size coach. CIE says you’ll almost always get a window seat.
- Marked “SG” on the booking calendar
- Best of Britain (9 or 10 days) from $3,645; year not shown
- Tip guidance rises slightly: €13 a day for a driver-guide
Walking & hiking tours
Ireland-only small groups that mix trail days with the big sights.
- Cork to Kerry and the Northern Coast, 9 days each
- You must comfortably walk 5 to 6 hours a day on varied ground
- Minimum age 16
Self-drive (Independent Adventures)
CIE books the hotels and the car; you do the driving, on the left. Pre-set routes or a custom one.
- A Hertz car of your choice, a free GPS and one extra driver
- Daily breakfast; Irish Classic Self-Drive adds 5 dinners
- Taste of Ireland Self-Drive from $995 (7 days; year not shown)
Custom private driver
A trip built to order, with your own driver-guide and car. It suits families, multigenerational groups and heritage trips best.
- Priced on request; book through CIE or an advisor
- Driver tip guidance: €25 per person per day in Ireland
- Heritage Travel builds a route around your family surnames
Custom group travel
Clubs, parishes and families of 10 or more can have an itinerary built for them, in any season.
- Children of any age can join custom groups
- Can be run as a fundraiser for a church or club
- Deposits are set by contract
What the Inclusive Advantage actually includes
The fare covers far more than a big-brand coach tour does. Compare what’s in it, not the day rate.
| Item | In the price? | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels | Included | Named on the tour page; 11 nights on Irish Classic |
| Driver-guide or tour director | Included | One-person or two-person crews, depending on the tour |
| Attraction entrance fees | All | Every entry on the itinerary, per CIE |
| Breakfast | Daily | Full Irish breakfast, except the arrival day |
| Dinners | Most | Irish Classic: 7 dinners, plus the entertainment evening |
| Lunches | Rarely | One on Irish Classic |
| Welcome drinks and gift | Included | A backpack, adapter, rain poncho and luggage straps |
| Tips | Extra | Driver-guide €10 a day; two-person crew €7 each |
| Flights and airport transfers | Extra | Book separately, or ask us to |
| Travel protection | Optional | Buy it with your CIE booking |
CIE prices its 2027 tours on the exchange rates in effect on February 1, 2026, and says rates can change. Ask us to lock the fare when you deposit.
What CIE costs per day, against every Ireland rival we cover
CIE sits in the middle of the Ireland market, roughly $350 a day on its flagship. The meal count is why.
Our arithmetic on each operator’s own from-prices unless marked reseller. CIE’s Ireland list doesn’t show a year for Taste of Ireland Self-Drive, Irish Legends or Irish Supreme. Gate 1 counts its flight day as Day 1. Rick Steves includes tips.
All-in math
What your CIE tour really costs
Irish Classic is filled in. Our starting tip figures are CIE’s own two-person-crew guidance (€7 each a day) typed as dollars; nudge them up for the exchange rate, or use 10 and 0 for a one-person driver-guide.
Irish Classic: $4,195 land only, 2027. CIE doesn’t publish its single supplement on the tour page; ask us for your date. Flights, insurance and extra hotel nights aren’t included.
CIE against Trafalgar, Cosmos, Collette and Rick Steves
Trafalgar is cheaper per day and better for solos. CIE wins on meals, group size and the North.
Matcher
CIE, or another Ireland operator?
Four taps. We rank CIE’s formats against the Ireland tours on our site.
Our Ireland tours guide lines up every operator’s first Ireland trip with routes, months and entry rules. For Scotland, England and Wales, read Britain tours. The rival guides: Trafalgar, Cosmos, Globus, Collette and Rick Steves.
Traveling alone with CIE
CIE welcomes solo travelers, at a price. Dinners in the fare help more than the $50 code does.
You’ll pay a single supplement, set tour by tour. On 2026 dates of Irish Legends it was $745.
CIE publishes no roommate-matching program. If paying the twin price matters, Trafalgar’s same-sex room share is the one to compare.
There is a small standing discount. The SOLO code takes $50 per person off new bookings of scheduled guided vacations in Ireland, Britain, Iceland and Italy, but only by phone.
Small Group dates suit solos well. Fewer people on the same coach means more space and an easier time meeting the group.
Before a solo traveler pays the deposit
A $250 deposit and the 70-day date
CIE’s fees start late and climb gently. Inside 16 days, though, half the fare is gone.
The deposit is $250 per person, non-refundable, due within five days of booking on guided, walking and self-drive trips.
Final payment is due 70 days before departure. That’s three weeks later than Trafalgar and Collette.
Changes cost $50 per booking and must be asked for at least 30 days out. Moving to a different date counts as a cancellation and a rebooking.
CIE’s travel protection plan has to be bought with your CIE booking. Its cancellation waiver runs to 24 hours before departure: cash back for covered reasons, a voucher for any other reason. CIE doesn’t publish the price; ask us.
Cancellation timeline
Slide to the day you might cancel
CIE’s published schedule next to Collette’s land-tour schedule, both without travel protection.
CIE’s minimum penalty is always the deposit. Group and private driver deposits are set by contract. Bars show the fee as a rough share of the price.
Day 7 on Irish Classic: Galway, Moher and a castle banquet
Day 7 moves you from Connemara to the Shannon, with three big stops and no hotel change until night.
Irish Classic changes hotels seven times in 11 nights, with two-night stops in Belfast, Westport and Killarney. That’s a moderate pace for a tour that covers the whole island.
CIE doesn’t print an activity rating on the tour page. Expect walking tours in Belfast, Derry, Westport and Waterford, and uneven ground at the Causeway and the Cliffs.
Walking tours are the exception: CIE asks for 5 to 6 comfortable hours a day on varied terrain.
Free time in Galway
The coach leaves Westport and stops in the city.
The Cliffs of Moher
Entrance included, like every attraction on the itinerary.
A medieval castle banquet
Included, before the night at the Bunratty Castle Hotel.
Bags, children, mobility and booking with us
The tour page lists the castles. These are the rules in CIE’s terms.
Luggage. One suitcase up to 30 x 20 x 10 inches and under 50 pounds, plus a soft-sided carry-on without wheels that fits under the coach seat.
Children. CIE recommends coach tours for ages 8 and up, and ages 8 to 17 pay 90% of the adult fare. Self-drive, private driver and custom group trips take children of any age; walking tours need 16.
Mobility. The coaches have no wheelchair ramps, and you’ll need to climb three or four steps to board. Tell CIE in writing about any condition at booking, and get written approval for a wheelchair or oxygen. Staff don’t give personal help, so bring a companion if you need one.
Entry rules. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, so US citizens on a tour that crosses the border need a UK ETA. Our Ireland guide covers it.
Booking through us. CIE sells through travel advisors, and custom private driver trips go through CIE or an advisor. You pay us nothing extra. We’ll check the Small Group dates, ask for the single rate and compare one or two rivals on your route.
The one deadline to diary
CIE’s travel protection has to be bought with your booking. Decide before you pay the deposit.
From a railway touring office to a US tour company
The last public record ties CIE to an Irish state company. Day to day, it runs from New Jersey.
CIE Tours began in 1932 as a touring division of the Great Southern Railways. Córas Iompair Éireann, Ireland’s transport company, was formed in 1945, and the touring business still carries its initials.
A New York office opened in 1964. Today CIE Tours International Inc. is based in Morristown, New Jersey, and says it has carried more than 3 million travelers.
A 2016 answer in the Irish parliament described it as a wholly owned subsidiary of CIÉ, incorporated in the US. CIE doesn’t own the hotels or coaches it uses; it books them.
The range has spread to Britain, Italy, Iceland, and Spain and Portugal. Ireland remains its core; on Britain, compare it with Trafalgar and Globus before you book.
Book CIE for Ireland with dinners included; skip it for a cheap week
Book it if
- You want the North and the South on one tour, with most dinners and every entry ticket in the fare
- You’d rather sit with 35 than 45 on the coach, or 26 on a Small Group date
- You want to drive yourself but have someone else book the hotels and the car
- You’re planning a family or heritage trip with a private driver
- You like a later final payment date: 70 days
Look elsewhere if
- Price leads; Cosmos and Trafalgar Saver start far lower per day
- You’re solo and want a roommate match to dodge the supplement
- You want a group of 18 or fewer; Trafalgar and Globus run smaller small groups
- You need a wheelchair-accessible coach
- You want tips included; Rick Steves builds them into the fare
Our take
CIE is the Ireland specialist that prices like one. The fare is higher than the big coach brands, and most of the gap is dinners, entrance fees and a smaller coach.
Irish Classic is the tour we’d start with: 12 days, the whole island, 19 meals. If you’d rather drive, the self-drive version uses the same hotels for about $1,450 less, with fewer meals and no guide.
The weak spots are solo pricing and accessibility. Neither is unusual for coach touring, and neither is solved here.
Book it for the meals and the route, not the price. Before the deposit, ask for an SG date and the single rate, and decide on the protection plan the same day.
Where to go from here: Ireland, Britain and the rivals
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Want a CIE tour priced against the other Ireland operators?
Tell us your dates and whether you want the North. We’ll check the Small Group dates and the single rate, and set CIE against Trafalgar, Cosmos or Collette.
What travelers ask us about CIE Tours
Who owns CIE Tours?
CIE Tours International Inc. is a US-incorporated, wholly owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), Ireland’s state transport company, according to a 2016 answer in the Irish parliament. It began in 1932 as a touring division of the Great Southern Railways and has had a New York office since 1964.
How big are CIE Tours groups?
CIE says its standard tours have about 35 guests on coaches that hold up to 44. Small Group departures cap at 26 on a full-size coach, walking and hiking tours at 16, and private driver trips carry up to 9.
What does a CIE tour include?
CIE calls it the Inclusive Advantage: hotels, transport, sightseeing, entertainment, all attraction entrance fees and most meals. The 12-day Irish Classic includes 19 meals: 11 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 7 dinners. Tips and flights are extra.
How much should I tip on a CIE tour?
CIE’s guidance in Ireland is €10 per person per day for a one-person driver-guide (€13 on small groups), or €7 each for a tour director and driver on a two-person crew (€8 on small groups). Private drivers get €25 a day. Britain uses the same numbers in pounds, with £20 for private drivers.
What is CIE Tours’ cancellation policy?
The $250 deposit is non-refundable. From 69 to 16 days out you pay 30% of the price, from 15 to 8 days 50%, from 7 to 1 day 90%, and 100% on departure day. Final payment is due 70 days before departure.
Does CIE Tours charge a single supplement?
Yes, per tour; Irish Legends carried a $745 supplement on 2026 dates. CIE publishes no roommate-matching program. It does take $50 per person off new scheduled guided bookings with its SOLO code, by phone only.
Can I book CIE Tours through a travel advisor?
Yes. CIE sells guided and self-drive trips online, by phone and through travel advisors, and its custom private driver and custom self-drive trips go through CIE or an advisor. Seabound Journeys books CIE at no extra cost to you.
Is CIE Tours good for travelers with limited mobility?
Only for some. CIE’s coaches have no wheelchair ramps and you must manage three or four steps to board. Mobility needs must be disclosed in writing at booking, and assistive devices need written approval. A private driver trip is likely the more flexible option; ask before you book.
Sources · 25 links · checked October 2026
- CIE Tours: The early years
- USTOA: CIE Tours member profile
- Houses of the Oireachtas: written answer on CIE Tours International (2016)
- CIE Tours: Terms & conditions (February 2026)
- CIE Tours: FAQ and tipping guidelines
- CIE Tours support: How many people will be on my tour?
- CIE Tours: Small groups
- CIE Tours: Travel types
- CIE Tours: Ireland tour packages
- CIE Tours: Irish Classic (2027)
- CIE Tours: Irish Classic Self-Drive (2027)
- CIE Tours: Irish Supreme
- CIE Tours: Irish Legends tour document (2026)
- CIE Tours: Solo travel offer
- CIE Tours: Early Booking Savings 2027
- Travel Market Report: CIE Tours launches Fan Favourites sale (Oct 2, 2026)
- Trafalgar: Best of Ireland
- Trafalgar: Solo travel
- Globus: Emerald Isle
- Global Journeys (reseller): Cosmos 2027 listings
- Global Journeys (reseller): Ireland tours, April
- Rick Steves: Best of Ireland tour
- Tauck: The Best of Ireland
- Gate 1 Travel: Ireland tours
- Collette: Terms and conditions (US)