All right then, we admit it. We do enjoy staying in Irish hotels (could you tell). The Irish are known to be good innkeepers and will do whatever is possible to help make your stay comfortable.

Our hotel specials booking engine is easy to use and has a nice range of hotels. It's everything you might need to make the missus happy.

For a more comprehensive listing of hotels and B&B's around Ireland, visit our Irish hotels page.

We suggest you reserve your room well in advance (especially if there is a local festival near where you wish to find lodging).

If it's an Irish guesthouse you're looking for, our booking engine also lists Irish B&B's and guesthouses.

Most Irish hotels, B&B's and guesthouses include the famous Irish breakfast with the room rate. These breakfasts are substantial, including eggs, a variety of meats, coffee or tea, toast, cereal, mushrooms, pastries and whatever the specialty of the house might be.

Most important of all, the Irish are keen on making your stay an overall grand experience. This feature, alone, can make the daily room rate quite a bargain indeed.

We recommend spending the night in a nearby hotel before and after flying into and out of Shannon Airport or Dublin Airport.

The winter season is upon us

Car rentals in Spain and Portugal are becoming more popular now as the days are growing shorter. Please visit our Spanish and Portuguese car hire pages for driving information on those countries.

It is also a great time to visit the USA. As the rain and cold wraps around much of Europe, Florida and Puerto Rico are brilliant holiday destinations.

Car Hire in Europe and the rest of the World

Worldwide Car Rentals made easy with CarTrawler

With 50 years of experience in car hire, CarTrawler is one of the oldest and most respected car hire companies in Europe.

CarTrawler's easy-to-use booking engine for car hire offers secure booking for car rentals around the world. CarTrawler makes it easy to rent a car anywhere you might want to go. Because CarTrawler is based in Ireland, they also offer good rates on car rentals there.

When you're on holiday, let CarTrawler handle your car hire.

When travelling abroad, using CarTrawler can be the most convenient way to find the car you need because they give you access to over 450 suppliers in over 9,000 locations around the world.

Please note: many companies have reduced their fleet sizes this year. We suggest you to book early.

More Car Hire Tips

Our best suggestion when travelling anywhere is to rent a car well in advance of your travel date.

If you are visiting Ireland, we feel renting a car on your holiday is the only reasonable way to visit all the castles, abbeys and other bits of antiquity you might want to explore.

Stay in a hotel with a good pub if you want to drink. This is just good common sense, of course. If you want to hear trad music in a local pub, take a taxi and ask the publican if he can provide you with one for the return to your hotel.

Check with your insurance carrier before your holiday to see what excess coverage (if any) you will need on your car hire. Many times it will be completely covered and you will know in advance so you won't be sold any insurance you don't need.

Read a little about the local laws and blood alcohol levels that constitute DUI.

European Car Rentals

Visit our European Car Rentals page to find out what to expect when travelling throughout Europe. We have driving laws and tips on most countries, and information ranging from Spanish car hire to renting a car in Portugal.

Did you know Serbia requires you to turn off the engine if you are stopped in a tunnel over one minute? I know it's creepy but we don't want a tunnel full of Serbs getting mad at us now, do we?

European Tours and Attractions

Tour Clare is pleased to bring you one of the largest (and possibly the best) selection of tours and attractions in Europe.

From French Tours, Attractions and Landmarks to Day Trips from Dublin, we offer thousands of outings in Europe (and the rest of the word) available with online reservations.

Book ahead of your holiday so you can spend your days having fun, not wasting your time looking for things to do.

Sample European Tours

French Wine Tasting in Paris - You'll learn all about French wines on the Wine Tasting in Paris tour, with a choice of three specially designed wine tastings.

Andalusian Dinner and Flamenco Show in Barcelona - The dinner menu is a tasty sampling of typical Andalusian dishes, including toasted bread with tomato, an assortment of cold cuts (Serrano ham, cheeses, sausages), Campina salad, Mixed seafood or seafood paella with Desserts and wine or Sangria. And then, after eating all that great food, you get to watch Flamencos dance!

Delphi Day Trip from Athens - Explore one of the most famous sites of classical Greece on a day trip from Athens to magical Delphi.

Jack the Ripper Tour and London Ghost Walk - Led by renowned London Blue Badge guides, you will visit four murder sights, while your "Ripperologist" runs through some of the suspects in this unsolved case that led Scotland Yard to Queen Victoria herself.  

Loch Ness and the Scottish Highlands Day Trip - You will tour the entire length of Loch Ness, stopping at Urquhart Castle for a photograph.

Irish Tours

Dublin Tours

Tours from Dublin  - See ancient sites on the Newgrange and Monasterboice Day Trip or, if you have the time, take a few days exploring the rest of Ireland on the Northern Ireland and the North West Small Group Land Rover Tour.

Killarney Tours - These tours originate in Killarney and travel to such places as the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Bay.

Attractions in Ireland

In Western Ireland, alone, there are over 3,000 earthen and stone forts, 130 megalithic tombs, 300 castles, 250 ancient churches, seven cathedrals, 12 monasteries, 20 stone crosses.

This is not to mention 15 round towers, delights to behold, and a panoply lesser monuments.

In fact, County Clare, where this site originated, is practically in ruins with all the castles abbeys, and other bits and pieces of antiquity lying around. On a clear day, you might want to visit the Burren, one of the most beautiful and haunting geological wonders in Europe.

Contact us at Tour Clare

If you have a specific request for lodging, car hire or need other information on Ireland, please feel free to email us.

We adhere to the good advice of our now departed friend, Pony O'Niell, who was fond of saying to tourists, "Don't try to find Ireland, lad. Let Ireland find you."

Because he was saying this in Irish, he could also have meant, "Don't bruise your knee on a barstool that's not in your way."

While not certain of what meaning the Pony actually had in mind, these words always sound grand to us after we've had a pint or two of Guinness.

We hope you'll have a lovely visit to Ireland but be careful when stepping behind those rock walls.

You never know where the stray leprechaun might be waiting to collect you.

Slan go foill,

Jim Kelly

Visit our Caribbean Website, Tropical Welcome
Tours and holiday information for travel to the Caribbean

The consistently warm weather makes a Caribbean holiday an even better value year round. You get to go outside more often.

Also, with the recent slow-down in travel, many resorts and cruise lines are offering extraordinary discounts. Puerto Rican Golf - If you are thinking of taking a golfing holiday in the Caribbean, this is an excellent site for golfing in Puerto Rico. This is also an all-around good site for learning golf etiquette.