ireland

Ireland golf vacations are growing in popularity, based primarily on the many world-class courses and year round amenable weather found on the island. Famous for its great food and hospitality, Ireland travel offers a full range of hotels, bed and breakfast spots and rental cottages to fit all budgets. Combining golf and touring vacations, Ireland offers scenery, castles and great pubs, with other activities such as walking, fishing, sightseeing, and horseback riding.

An Ireland vacation is much more affordable than in the past, with scheduled airlines from major Canadian cities now competing with charter flights offering discounted fares for early booking. Really low airfares are generally found during the spring, fall and winter seasons, and even during the summer shoulder periods of early June and late September. A further option is for Canadians to fly into the bigger British hub airports such as London Heathrow or Gatwick, or alternatively the Dutch hub at Amsterdam. Connecting flights into the larger Irish cities are frequent and cheap on any of the discount airlines. A map of Ireland is a good place to start when planning your first trip, and although a small country, you will not see all you want to or play all the courses in one short visit.

Travel agents can arrange golf tours, which allow the avid golfer to test his/her skills on various courses throughout the whole country, or within any of the regions if fewer travel days are preferred. Trips up to Northern Ireland are also worth the effort as this part of the UK has much to offer, and it is just as beautiful and rich in culture as other parts of Ireland. If you wish to wander around the country at your own pace, car rental is a more flexible way to get around that other public transport options. Driving is done on the left side of the road and is much easier than you likely fear. The main roads are similar to those in Canada and traffic moves quickly, but the lesser roads are very narrow and can take a few kilometers to become accustomed to. The postcards often show traffic held up by sheep, and this is not staged and happens regularly when in rural Ireland. Wherever you travel, you will see historic castles and large stone burial markers. Newgrange near Dublin for example, is the most spectacular Stone Age tomb in Europe and it predates Stonehenge in England and even the Pyramids in Egypt. Travelers may also wish to visit the world famous Irish Whisky Distilleries at Bushmills and the Guinness Brewery, and Jamisons Distillery in Dublin.

While far from the more expensive European destinations, the Canadian dollar does not go far in the Euro zone, and prebooking and payment for car rentals or hotel and golf packages is recommended. Packages that include airfare from Canada, coach travel around Ireland, hotels and golfing, and some or all meals do offer the best value in pampered luxury. Self drive, bed and breakfast or cottage rental and self-catering vacations offer the more budget conscious traveler the greatest freedom to linger and to savor the unique atmosphere and culture of the people and the land.