Tour Clare is a travel website for the Irish going on holiday, and for those who are visiting Ireland and the rest of Europe. We are also a resource site for Irish Weddings. This Irish-tourism website was created in 2001 to help the B&B's of County Clare after the tragedy of 9/11. Today we have information throughout Europe but our hearts are still in Ireland. All eco-tourism businesses are invited to send us an email and we will be delighted to add you to our resource pages. Tours in Europe We have a good number of tours around the world (see listings to the left). For your convenience, our world tours can be reserved right here, from our website, well in advance of your holiday. Worldwide Car Rentals made easy with CarTrawler 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. If you should need to rent a car on your holiday, we have driving information on most countries. Also, our rental prices on car hire are, possibly, the best anywhere unless you happen to get a loaner from your brother-in-law. With 50 years of experience in car rentals, CarTrawler is one of the oldest and most respected car hire companies in Ireland and in the rest of 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.

Please give CarTrawler a chance with your next car rental CarTrawler is one of the top car hire companies in the world and Tour Clare has been working with them for nine years, now.

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.

Tips for Driving in Ireland courtesy of Ireland's Liberty Insurance.

Irish Golf

Visit our Irish Golf page to find direct links to practically every golf course in Ireland. If you are travelling to Ireland on holiday, you can email the courses to see if they are running any specials.

One brilliant special we know about is the Bantry Bay Golf Club. Until the end of 2012, they are giving a 25% reduction on green fees if you tell them Tour Clare sent you their way. Bantry Bay Golf Club is ranked by Golf Digest as the best course in West Cork. Say hello to Alan Kelly for us.

Going to the US?

Tour Clare's sister website, Wine Country Welcome has information on California's Wine Country.

They have information on wineries, tours, weddings, wine caves, day spas, car rentals and much more for those who visit the wine country of Northern California and the Central Coast.

If you're looking for that sweet, seaside hotel with views of setting sunsets, find your dream in Pismo Beach.

The coastline is beautiful in California and, if you want to slip up to the mountains, Tahoe is just a couple of hours away.

You can take a trolley or a limo around the wineries in Paso Robles and do some olive oil tasting, too.

Come to California's Wine Country. We'll be waiting for you.

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?

Irish Hotels

Hotels in Ireland - 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.

Rest, relax and enjoy a break from stress in our Irish Hotels.

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

Our Dublin Hotels can be found on the tabs to the left of all our pages and these listings include what part of Dublin you might be visiting.

We suggest renting your car (if you are going to rent one) at the end of your Dublin visit because many hotels in Dublin do not offer a garage. Not to worry because public transportation in Dublin is convenient and fairly priced.

Many Irish hotels in Dublin and throughout the country have added spas (known as leisure centres) with little or no increase in cost. Spas, full Irish breakfasts and friendly pubs make Irish hotels a brilliant value.

Because our Irish hotels at special rates sell out frequently, please visit our expanded Irish hotels page for these specials and a greater selection with both Hotels Ireland and Gulliver Ireland.

If it's an Irish guesthouse you're looking for, our booking engines also list 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.

Irish hotels have not, in recent years, been the bargain they are today. Most hotels in Ireland have greatly reduced their rates and they are eager to play host to you.

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 Tou r.

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

European Tours and Attractions

Tour Clare is pleased to bring you one of the largest selections of tours and attractions in Europe. Visit our tour pages and read reviews from satisfied (and dissatisfied) customers.

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.

If you are going to France, you might wish to visit our French Wineries page. Our French Wineries page has tours and information on some of the finest wineries in France.

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

Some 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 Golf

Tour Clare has the top 100 golf courses listed by county and much, much more!

Visit our Irish Golf page and find direct links to golf courses all over Ireland. Hit 'em straight.

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, tours, or need other information on Ireland or the rest of Europe, please feel free to email us. I can't promise I'll know the answer but I'll give it my best go at it.

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

Because he was speaking Irish and tended to mumble, he could also have been saying, "Don't bruise your knee on a barstool that's not in your way, you amadon."

While eternally uncertain of what advice the Pony actually had in mind, his observations always sound grand to us now, after we've had a pint Guinness. Or possibly two.

In any event, we hope you'll have a lovely visit to Ireland but be careful when stepping behind those rock walls. You never know where a stray leprechaun might be waiting to collect you.

Slan go foill,

Brianne Kelly Snyder and Maura Kelly O'Neill

Tour Clare: We are two sisters with one mission, making your life easier by saving you money on car rentals.

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.

If you're going to San Francisco...

Wine Country Welcome has information on tours and activities. (Oh, yes, and be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.)

If you are planning a holiday in San Francisco or California's Wine Country to the north, our other sister site, Wine Country Welcome has all the information you might need, such as a complete list of wineries in San Luis Obispo, Napa and Sonoma Counties.