Tour Detail:

County Clare is a great location for cycling. Although, perhaps best known for its traditional music, Clare also offers the visitor a great variety of some of the best features of the Irish landscape. Bringing together the rugged Atlantic coastline, immortalized by the Cliffs of Moher, the mystical Burren, charming villages and castles. All of these are inter-connected by a wealth of quiet intertwined back-roads. The county is also relatively flat, keeping the cycling easy paced.

There are several options for each days cycling, which allows for the likely differences in ability and giving more time to take excursions or visit attractions accordingly. The recommended route is relatively flat. The mileage has been kept low so as to leave plenty of time to stop to visit places of interest along the way. The traffic on the route should be quite light, however you should cycle carefully at all times, especially when going downhill or during any rain showers. 

We can provide all the necessary cycles including Tag-alongs, baby seats and children’s bikes. Each family gets its own set of route details and maps so they can tailor each days cycle to their own level of ability or to take account of their own (or indeed children’s) interests. 

The roads are all tarmaced and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet back-roads. 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. 

ITINERARY

DAY 1 ENNIS, COUNTY CLARE
On arrival in Ennis you should make your way to your accommodation. Check in is after 2.00pm on your day of arrival. Ennis is a fantastic town for music and entertainment so you can relax for the rest of the day and take in the atmosphere.

We will send you on a copy of your accommodation and tour details by post closer to the tour start. Don’t forget to bring all this with you as there will not be a copy in Ennis.

DAY 2 ENNIS TO ENNISTYMON - 30 miles
Having selected your bicycle you start out to West Clare by farmyards through back roads to the Kilfenora for lunch, in the afternoon you continue on towards the small village of Ennistymon where you are staying for the evening. It is a long day's cycle so take your time and meander through small backroads. 

DAY 3 ENNISTYMON TO DOOLIN - 14 miles 
In the morning you can take a swim in a beautiful beach in nearby Lahinch and can also visit the Aquarium there. You continue on our cycle towards the Cliffs of Moher and on towards Doolin where you are staying in guesthouses for the next two nights.

DAY 4 REST DAY DOOLIN
You can take a ferry trip to the famous Aran Islands and visit ancient forts and monastic sites. There will also be an optional cycle route or you could simply return to the cliffs of Moher for a longer walk along the Atlantic Coastline.

DAY 5 DOOLIN TO BALLYVAUGHAN - 18 miles
Today is a beautiful cycle along the coast with Galway Bay and views of the Aran Islands on your left and the limestone cliffs which make the Burren such a unique landscape on your right. You stop for two nights in your comfortable hotel in the seaside village of Ballyvaughan.

DAY 6 REST DAY IN BALLYVAUGHAN
The day can be spent doing a wide variety of activities. You can take 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. Alternatively, the day could be spent relaxing in this attractive village.

DAY 7 BALLYVAUGHAN TO ENNIS 38 miles ( 60 kms )
This is a long day's cycle but hopefully at this point you will have found your cycling legs! The cycle heads straight into the heart of the Burren where you can visit the Burren’s most famous historical sight, the Poulnabrowne Dolmen. Veering off the beaten track you stop at the village of Carran for lunch. In the afternoon you cycle through quiet back roads and visit Mullaghmor Mountain with the beautiful desert limestone landscape of the Burren surrounding you before heading to your lunch stop in Corofin. After lunch you can visit a 15th Century Tower House and 6th century monastic site before cycling back into Ennis.

PRICING

Meal expenses
All breakfasts are included in the tour price. Cyclists buy their own lunches and dinner throughout the trip. You should budget between €6 and €10 for lunch, with an evening meal each night costing somewhere between €15 and €25.

Price of other extras (these are only approximate prices and will vary from region to region)
Coffee/tea €1.20
Soft drink €1.70
Bottle of water €1.70
Glass of Beer €1.80 (this is half a pint!)
Pint of Beer €3.50 (this is a full pint!)
Bottle of wine €15.00

Extra Expenses
The Sea Kayaking costs around €30 to €35 
The Walking Tour of the Burren is about €12 depending on the numbers in the group. 

What should I bring?
We would recommend that you bring padded cycling shorts or even a gel saddle cover which can make your days cycling more comfortable. Cycling gloves are also a good investment. 
We provide small front handlebar bags in which you can keep your day to day items. Otherwise you may prefer to use a daypack and there are back carriers on each bike for this purpose. 
We do not provide rain gear so be sure to bring your own light weight waterproofs. 
Although it is not obligatory for adults to wear a helmet we highly recommend that you wear one. 
    NOTE: We do not supply helmets on our self led tours so please bring your own.
    NOTE: You must bring a helmet for each child
Don’t forget sun cream, sunglasses , sun hat as well as a bathing suit for that refreshing Atlantic Ocean.
If you wish to bring your own saddle that is no problem
Finally if you wish to use toe clips we advise you to bring your own pedals with toe clips, as the pedals on our bikes do not accommodate them.

Are there facilities to change money?
There are banks in Ennis and Spanish Point ( all open Monday - Friday, 10.00am - 4.00pm). There is also a travelling bank which is in Ballyvaughan on Wednesday morning. Credit cards are also widely accepted. Travellers cheques are accepted in banks and post offices. It would probably be best for you to have whatever cash you need for the week organised before you leave Ennis.

Do I need to be fit?
The advantage of a cycling safari is that you can take the tour at your own pace. However we would recommend that you do try to do some cycling before the tour in order to make your week more enjoyable.

Accommodation?
The tour is based on 2 adults per room paying the full price. Two children ( under 12 ) can share with adults. 

What is the weather like?
Because we are an island located near the gulf stream Ireland has a very mild climate making it ideal for cycling. Although there are occasionally wet days, The rain never usually lasts very long and you are soon free to enjoy a clear view of the magnificent scenery once again. The temperature range during the summer is between 15 and 22 degrees centigrade (60 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit) 

What if someone needs to contact me during the week?
We will send you out a full accommodation list of where you shall be staying each night.

Bicycles We will provide a Trek 721 ( 2003 model ) per adult and for any child over 5’ tall. If you have access to the internet you can view the bicycle on the Trek website.. The model is on the following page: http://trekbike.co.uk/bikes/2003/city_path/hybrid/721.php There is a front handlebar bag on each adult bike in which you can carry money, camera , sun cream and your rain gear.

We will also provide “tag along” bicycles which basically are extension frames to an adult bike. This will be suitable for children over 6 years old not yet old enough to cycle their own bike. Essentially it turns the bike into a tandem.  We will also provide baby seats that can be fitted to a back-carrier. This would be suitable for children up to 2 – 3 years ( depending on the size of the child ) We will leave it up to parents to decide the suitability of their child’s bike, there may be a difficulty taking children between the ages of 3 and 5 but if you can come up with a solution to this we are more than happy to welcome the child.

Visa requirements
If you hold an EU passport you only need to make sure your passport is valid for the period of your stay. You will need photo identification travelling between Britain and Ireland.
All other nationalities require a passport that is valid for 3 months beyond the intended length of stay.
Most nationalities including the USA , Canada, Australia, and New Zealand do not require visas for Ireland and receive an automatic 90 day visitors visa on arrival. If your nationality is not mentioned here you should check with your consular office.

Recommended Reading & Listening?
You can get access to a wide variety of books on the West of Ireland from one of Galway’s best book shops and you should be able to order books that you can not find at home– www.kennys.ie 

The following is a list of Irish musicians that you may not have heard of before but we can highly recommend that you check out if felt like doing some acoustic research:
“Altan” - A Donegal band which is perhaps the leading traditional group at present.
“Nomos” - A band from Cork who mix very fast jigs and reels with the singing of John Spillane
“Martin Hayes” - Irelands answer to Stephan Grapelli only he is better.
“Solas” - Their records feature the beauiful singing of Karen Casey
“Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill” - Sings beautiful traditional Donegal songs in Irish and puts other female singers in the shade.
“Deiseal”- A haunting modern sound of flute and whistle tunes. 
“Dervish” - A Sligo band who play at a fervish pace and passion.
If you are unable to find these locally you will be able to order these and more from www.celticnote.ie