Cycling Holidays in Ireland
Guided and Self-Guided Tour of Clare and the Burren 
Clare & The Burren Guided & Self-Guided Cycle - Ref: ICSCB (guided) & ICSSG CB (self-guided)
If you want to experience some of Ireland's musical heritage you could not have picked a better tour. Clare is the music centre of Ireland and on this tour you are sure to have your feet tapping to traditional tunes nearly every night of the week. The Burren region is also an amazing limestone moonscape, famous around the world for its wonderful variety of botany. The area is rich in ancient and early Christian historical sites and offers some beautiful coastal cycling overlooking Galway Bay. Finally Clare is home to the cliffs of Moher the highest marine based cliffs in Europe and one of the best known images of Ireland. This cycle tour can be booked either as a guided or a self-guided tour. For both options we provide you with your bike, book your accommodation in family run guesthouses along the route, transfer your luggage between each leg of the tour, provide you with detailed notes and maps of your route. With a guided tour one of our guides will accompany you every day by travelling along your route with his van, checking on your progress, offering help and encouragement when needed and meeting you every morning, lunch and evening to discuss your day's cycling and activities. The self-guided tour offer the flexibility of including any number of people, start on any day of the week, and go at any time of the year, with the only exception is that the tour cannot start the same day as a group tour in the same area.
Day 1 - Arrival in Ennis
You will meet your guide in Ennis for a full introductory talk and briefing. Beforehand you may wish to discover Ennis, a colourful and lively town, famous for its Irish music sessions. There are many shops and pubs in the town, or you may opt to visit Ennis Friary, Overnight in a local guesthouse in Ennis.
Day 2 - Ennis to Spanish Point, Total Distance: 48km/30 miles
Having being fitted out with your bicycle we cycle towards West Clare, cycling along quiet country roads through rolling green fields to the Coast, where we stay the night at Spanish Point named after those Spanish Ships from the Armada which sank here in 1588. We spend the night in a Hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Day 3 - Spanish Point to Doolin, Total Distance: 46 km/29 miles
Cycling along quiet roads we eventually come to the popular holiday town of Lahinch where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon we visit the spectacular Cliffs of Moher rising 660ft up from the Atlantic waves below, making them the highest marine based cliffs in Europe. You can stroll along the cliff face and watch the birds gliding in the updraft. After visiting the cliffs we head to the village of Doolin. That night we have a pub meal and enjoy the wealth of traditional music for which the village is famous.
Day 4 - Doolin to Ballyvaughan, Total Distance: 50 km/31 miles
In the morning we begin to see the first hints of the limestone landscape of the Burren and visit the monastic site at Kilfenora and its stone high crosses. Kilfenora is also home to the Burren Heritage Centre which gives you an excellent insight into the formation and history of the Burren. Later we stop off for lunch at the matchmaking town of Lisdoonvarna. The afternoon's cycle is a beautiful run where the road hugs the coastline with Galway Bay and the Aran Islands on your left and the limestone cliffs of the Burren on your right. There is a wonderful dolphin called Dusty on this stretch of the coast whom we often catch a glimpse of! We stop for two nights in our comfortable Hotel in the seaside village of Ballyvaughan.
Day 5 - Rest Day in Ballyvaughan
The day can be spent doing a wide variety of activities. The guide can organise a wonderful four-hour walking tour of the Burren with a local man who is a very entertaining character and an encyclopedia of knowledge on the area. There is also an optional short cycle to the impressive ruins of a Cistercian Abbey or you can visit the nearby Ailwee Caves. Alternatively the day could be spent relaxing in this attractive village.
Day 6 - Ballyvaughan to Kinvarra Total Distance: 38.5 km/24 miles
The cycle heads straight into the heart of the Burren where we visit the area's most famous historical sight, the Poulnabroune Dolmen a small ancient burial site dating back to 2500BC.. Veering off the beaten track we stop at the village of Carran for lunch in an old police barracks. In the afternoon we cycle through quiet backroads to visit the Burren Perfumery which makes a wide variety of perfumes using the local flora and has a wonderful slide show illustrating the beautiful and unique botany of this region. You then descend through a limestone lunar landscape to the pretty seaside village of Kinvarra where we spend the night.
Day 7 - Kinvarra to Ennis, Total Distance: 49 km/31 miles
For the last day we head back into the Burren through another limestone moonscape, passing Lough Buny and the impressive Mullaghmore before stopping for lunch in Corafin. In the afternoon we visit a 16th Century Tower House and an even older monastic sight. This is also the site of the famous battle of Dysert O'Dea where the Irish Chieftains defeated the Normans and kept them out of Clare for another 200 years. We then cycle back into Ennis for a final farewell night on the town together
Day 8 - Departure
Final Irish breakfast and departure.
Price 2008
May, June & September EUR635. (US$902 / Stg�438 approx.)
July & August EUR665. (US$944 / Stg�459 approx.)
Accommodation is based on a twin sharing basis. A limited number of single rooms are available at a supplement of Euro 185 per week for the guided tour and Euro 240 for the self-guided tour.
Price Includes:
- Seven nights accommodation with full Irish breakfast.
- 21 speed touring bike with front handlebar bag.
- Route maps and details
- Luggage transfer each day
- Support van and tour guide (applies to guided tours only)
Note: We recommend that clients bring their own helmets and raingear for comfort and hygiene purpose. The roads are all tarmac and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet backroads. Occasionally it will be necessary to ride on busier roads which is unavoidable as there may be no minor roads on certain stretches of the route. To experience the majestic scenery of this area the route does have some climbs, so it is worth getting a few weekends training on a bike in varied terrain before coming thus ensuring that you can fully enjoy the week.
DATES 2008 - These Cycling Tours all start and end on a Saturday
SELF-GUIDED TOURThe tour can include any number of people, start on any day of the week, and go at any time of the year. The only exception is that the tour cannot start the same day as a group tour in the same area.
GUIDED TOUR
June 14
July 5, 19
August 16
September 6