Ireland has some fantastic natural beauty with some great tourist locations and a warm Irish welcome. Get more information on Ireland holidays with our in-depth travel guide. You'll learn everything from the culture to the nightlife and attractions that make Ireland a great place to visit.
Ireland, at one time the seat of Christianity in Europe, is known as the land of saints and scholars. It is a beautiful verdant country with mountains and lakes, a stunning coastline and charming towns and villages. It is a land which has had a turbulent history and is filled with ancient castles, old churches and historic monuments. It also is home to over four hundred golf courses including many at championship level. Ireland is said to be a golfer’s paradise. One of Ireland’s greatest assets is its people, known throughout the world for their friendliness and their love of talking, especially over a pint of Guinness.
An Ireland holiday is always relaxing as the pace of life changes once you cross the Irish Sea. There is an unhurried air of calmness which after a short while becomes contagious. The scenery is often spectacular in this small land with mountains, lakes, rivers and canals. There are castles dotted around the island, museums and galleries in the cities and churches everywhere. With pubs on every corner, you are never far from refreshments of one kind or another.
An Ireland holiday has so much to offer visitors that it caters for all ages and interests. Families enjoy the wonderful coastline with sandy beaches. The Atlantic rollers make perfect conditions for surfers and scuba diving is also popular. Golfers have a huge choice of courses with excellent facilities.
Ireland’s famous forty shades of green come at a price, and the price is rain and more rain. Having said that, the rain is the soft and usually gentle variety and the mountains look particularly beautiful when shrouded in a summer shower. The temperature rarely drops below freezing in the winter and in summer rarely soars above thirty. Most visitors travel in the summer but spring and autumn can be beautiful seasons with fewer tourists.
Wherever you go in Ireland you can be assured of beautiful scenery. It is a land of hills and lakes, a wild and varied coastline, romantic castles and country houses. Its cities are home to cathedrals, museums and galleries. The library at Trinity College Dublin contains the Book of Kells, a wonderful medieval manuscript.
There is a vast range of leisure activities waiting for holidaymakers including sailing, fishing, surfing and scuba diving, climbing, cycling or horse riding.
Ireland is a haven for golfers with hundreds of fine golf courses including the Royal Dublin, Druid’s Glen and Portmarnock.
Book an Ireland holiday and experience for yourself the warmth and friendliness of its people, the charm of its villages and unwind in its relaxing atmosphere.
Language and music are at the very heart of Irish culture and education is valued highly. Music and story-telling has, over the centuries, been an important part of community life and remains so to this day. The fiddle is one of Ireland’s most popular instruments followed by the accordion and many pubs will have a resident musician. The interest in Irish dancing is widespread with regular competitions.
Whether you are in the city or a village the Irish social scene is dominated by the pub. Here you can while away the hours by listening to the locals recounting tales.. The larger cities such as Dublin have their share of lively clubs and discos where entertainment continues well into the night. Those who enjoy a game of cards will find that many villages hold whist drives in the church hall.
The larger towns and cities of Ireland have excellent shopping facilities. The major cities such as Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway have a wide selection of department stores, boutiques and specialist shops. There are a variety of locally produced goods such as hand knitted Arran sweaters, tweeds from Donegal, linen tablecloths and bed linen, marble from Connemara and the famous Irish crystal. Dublin hosts a large antique and collectables fair in April.
The Irish dependency on potatoes is well known and it is served in many different forms including potato cakes and colcannon, potatoes fried with onions and cabbage. Breakfast in hotels is similar to the ‘full English’ with the addition of soda bread and this will probably suffice until dinner. Traditional pub food is tasty and usually good value. The larger cities have restaurants serving a wide variety of international food.
Wherever they live, in town or country, the Irish maintain a vibrant and lively folk culture. Thousands participate in the country's numerous amateur musical, dance, and storytelling events. A great many also engage in a variety of craft-based industries, producing items such as glass, ceramics, ironwork, wood-turning, linens, embroidery, and knitwear.
