OUR TOURS

CONNEMARA, GALWAY, AND MAYO

THE HIGHLANDS OF DONEGAL

WEST CORK AND KERRY

WEST CORK COASTLINE

CLARE AND THE BURREN 

THE RING OF KERRY AND DINGLE PENINSULA

WILD WEST MAYO

THE GLENS OF ANTRIM

THE MEDIEVAL SOUTH EAST

DUBLIN & WICKLOW - THE GARDEN OF IRELAND

Character - moderate

The roads are all sealed and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet back roads, away from the main tourist routes.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Bus transfer from Galway to Cong
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

Note:   The optional cruise of Killary Harbour is approx € 18,-

• The ferry trip to the Aran Islands and the bus back into Galway is € 20,- (payable to your guide)
• The entrance to Kylemore Abbey is € 6,50

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This tour starts daily from May through September, except on escorted tour start dates.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's; all rooms with private facilities.
• Breakfast each day.
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel.
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier.

Note:   The optional cruise of Killary Harbour is approx € 18,-

• The ferry trip to the Aran Islands and the bus back into Galway is € 20,- (payable to your guide)
• The entrance to Kylemore Abbey is € 6,50

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Day to Day Itinerary

Saturday: Sligo

We start in Sligo town where you stay in guesthouses close to the centre.

Sunday: Sligo - Glencolumcille

At 10.00am a bus will transfer the group to Killybegs the largest fishing port in the country. After being fitted out with your bike you then begin the tour with a wonderful coastline cycle to our lunch stop just outside the village of Carrick. After lunch we cycle up to a viewing point of the spectacular Slieve League Cliffs the highest marine based cliffs in Europe. In the afternoon we head to our night stop in the village of Glencolumcille passing freshly cut peat drying in the surrounding bogs.

Monday: Glencolumcille to Dungloe

Today we head up into wild highland country along quiet backroads with a wonderful open landscape. There follows a wonderful descent down the dramatic Glengesh Valley to the beautiful Maghera beach. The beach is well worth stopping at for a walk across its wonderful white sands to explore the caves of Maghera. You can also go for a wonderful swim in the lagoon here and pretend you are in the Caribbean before heading to the village of Ardara for a pub lunch. In the afternoon we continue along a quiet bog road before heading to the coastal town of Dungloe where again we stay in local guesthouses.

Tuesday: Dungloe - Dunfanaghy

We continue through a rolling landscape through quiet sleepy villages and stop in Leo's pub where Enya and Clannad first sang. Later we cycle toward the spectacular Mount Errigal and stop for lunch at the base of this mountain. In the afternoon we cycle up to a wonderful view of the Poison Glen and then descend through an empty mountainscape towards Dunfanaghy. You have the option of visiting Glenveagh National Park on this afternoon.

Wednesday: Rest day in Dunfanaghy

The village overlooks Portnablagh Beach and dunes where you can swim, swing a golf club or take a change of saddle, to gallop down the beach.

Thursday: Dunfanaghy to Ramelton

The mornings cycle takes you through isolated highland country roads with a tea stop in a wonderful country pub. We stop for lunch in Kerrykeel before cycling up into more beautiful highland country before descending to Rathmullan from where the last Earls of Ireland fled to Europe in 1607 , thus ending the old Irish Order. There follows a nice coastal cycle to our guesthouses in the village of Ramelton.

Friday: Ramelton to Sligo

In the morning a coach will bring us down to the village of Garrison. We then cycle via the shores of Lough Melvin and through rolling green fields to Manorhamiton where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon we head south and cycle along Lough Gill to Parkes Castle a 15th Century Norman Tower House which you are welcome to visit. We then head back into Sligo for a farewell night on the town together.

Saturday: Tour Ends

After a leisurely breakfast, back to reality!

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Bus transfer from Sligo to Killybegs, and Ramelton to Garrison
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

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Character- moderate to hilly

The roads are all sealed back roads, away from the main tourist routes. Terrain is moderately hilly so a reasonable level of fitness is required.

Eyeries, County Cork

Dunboy Castle and Puxley Manor

Gougane Barra Natl. Park

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

Top of Page

This tour starts daily from May through September, except on escorted tour start dates.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's; all rooms with private facilities.
• Breakfast each day.
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel.
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier.

Top of Page

Character- Moderate

The roads are all sealed and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet back roads, away from the main tourist routes.

Day to Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Cork
Our start point is Cork City, European city of culture for 2005. On arrival you can check into your guesthouse and spend the rest of the day exploring this attractive city. Group tours meet at 6.30 at a centrally located hotel.

Day 2: Cork to Gougane Barra
Your cycle starts by the banks of the Lee where you travel along quiet back roads to a lunch stop in the market town of Macroom. In the afternoon you continue up the Lee Valley through rolling countryside to the wonderfully peaceful Lakeside retreat of Gougane Barra , the source of the River Lee and Irelands first National Park.

Day 3: Gougane Barra to Ahakista
You cycle down to the coast past fields of grazing cattle and sheep to the coastal town of Bantry for lunch. In the afternoon you head out to the beautiful Sheeps Head Peninsula and cycle along quiet coastal roads with stunning views of the surrounding landscape. That night you have a home cooked dinner in your guesthouse.

Day 4: Ahakista to Baltimore
You cycle onto the Mizen Peninsula in the morning and the village of Schull. After lunch you can either cycle the coast road or else take a ferry across Roaring Water Bay (it is usually quite calm!) to the village of Baltimore.

Day 5: Rest Day in Baltimore
Baltimore is a lovely village to potter around for the day or else you can take off to explore the nearby islands and countryside.

Day 6: Baltimore to Clonakilty
In the morning you cycle along quiet backroads to the peaceful Lough Ine and then follow the West Cork coast to the village of Glandore where you can have lunch overlooking the beautiful Glandore Harbour with its two islands, Adam and Eve. In the afternoon you can visit a 3,000 year old stone circle , one of the best examples of its kind in the country, before following another scenic coastal cycle to the bustling town of Clonakilty.

Day 7: Clonakilty to Cork
In the morning you head straight to the village of Timoleague, where you can visit a 15th Century Franciscan Friary. You continue to hug the coastline all the way to the historic town of Kinsale, site of the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 where you can have lunch.
Unlike the group tour on the self led tour we continue our journey back into Cork city, along quiet roads, where you spend the last night of the tour.

Saturday: Tour ends. In the morning you are free to make your own way back to Cork City which is 18 miles (29 km) away.

Airport / Transfers

The nearest international airport is Shannon, with Dublin a little further afeild. Buses depart each city to Galway on a regular basis. There is also a regular train service from Dublin to Galway. Schedules are provided in your tour package.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

Top of Page

This tour starts daily from May to September, except on escorted tour start dates.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's; all rooms with private facilities.
• Breakfast each day.
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel.
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier.

Top of Page

Day to Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Ennis

Ennis is a bustling town close to Shannon airport.

After checking into your guesthouse you can relax for the rest of the day and explore this lively town.

Escorted tour participants meet their guide at 6.30pm at the Temple Gate Hotel for an orientation meeting and get together.

Day 2: Ennis to Spanish Point

This morning you head out towards West Clare, cycling along quiet country roads through rolling green fields to the Coast. You stay the night in a comfortable Hotel at Spanish Point. The area gets its name from those Spanish Armada Ships which sank here in 1588 during their retreat home to Spain.

Day 3: Spanish Point to Doolin

Cycling along quiet roads you eventually come to the popular holiday town of Lahinch where you stop for lunch . In the afternoon you visit the spectacular Cliffs of Moher rising 660ft up from the Atlantic waves below, making them the highest marine based cliffs in Europe. You can stroll along the cliff face and watch the birds gliding in the updraft. After visiting the cliffs you head to the village of Doolin . That night you can have a pub meal and enjoy the wealth of traditional music for which the village is famous .

Day 4: Doolin to Ballyvaughan

In the morning you begin to see the first hints of the limestone landscape of the Burren and visit the monastic site at Kilfenora and its stone high crosses. Kilfenora is also home to the Burren Heritage Centre which gives you an excellent insight into the formation and history of the Burren. Later you can stop off for lunch at the matchmaking town of Lisdoonvarna . The afternoon's cycle is a beautiful run where the road hugs the coastline with Galway Bay and the Aran Islands on your left and the limestone cliffs of the Burren on your right. There is a wonderful dolphin called Dusty on this stretch of the coast whom we often catch a glimpse of as she swims around! You stop for two nights in our comfortable Hotel in the seaside village of Ballyvaughan.

Day 5: Rest Day in Ballyvaughan

The day can be spent doing a wide variety of activities . There is a wonderful four hour walking tour of the Burrren with a local man who is a very entertining character and an encyclopedia of knowledge on the area. There is also an optional short cycle to the impressive ruins of a Cistercian Abbey or you could visit the nearby Ailwee Caves. Alternatively the day could be spent relaxing in this attractive village.

Day 6: Ballyvaughan to Kinvara

The cycle heads straight into the heart of the Burren where you can visit the Burrens most famous historical sight, the Poulnabrowne Dolmen a small ancient burial site dating back to 2500BC. Veering off the beaten track you can stop at the village of Carran for lunch in an old police barracks. In the afternoon you cycle through quiet backroads to visit the Burren Perfumery which makes a wide variety of perfumes using the local flora and has a wonderful slide show illustrating the beautiful and unique botany of this region. You then descend through a limestone lunar landscape to the pretty seaside village of Kinvarra where you spend the night.

Day 7: Kinvara to Ennis

For the last day you head back into the Burren through another limestone moonscape, passing Lough Buny and the impressive Mullaghmore before stopping for lunch in Corafin. In the afternoon you can visit a 16th Century Tower House and an even older monastic sight . This is also the site of the famous battle of Dysert O’Dea where the Irish Chieftains defeated the Normans and kept them out of Clare for another 200 years. You then cycle back into Ennis for a final night of the tour.

Day 8: Tour ends this morning after breakfast.
 

Character- Moderate

The roads are all sealed and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet back roads, away from the main tourist routes.

Semi Escorted Tour

Semi guided bicycle tours include all services provided to our “Individual” riders, as well as the following additional services:

• Tour Escort, well familiar with the region, with van.
• Daily personal tour introduction.
• Opportunity to ride the van if you want a rest or a day off.
• By common consent of the group, the tour escort organises sightseeing and picnics.
• Entrance fees and guided sightseeing are (partly) included in the price.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

Top of Page

This tour starts daily May through September, except on escorted tour start dates.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's; all rooms with private facilities.
• Breakfast each day.
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel.
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier.

Top of Page

Character- moderate to hilly

The roads are all sealed and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet back roads, away from the main tourist routes. This is one of the hillier tours so a good level of fitness is required.

Day to Day Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive in Killarney
On arrival in our starting point, the town of Killarney, you can check into our guesthouse and relax for the rest of the day exploring the town.

Day 2 Killarney to Sneem
The tour starts off by following a cycle track into the beautiful grounds of Muckross House. Located on the grounds is a Franciscan Abbey founded in the 15th Century, it is now in ruins but is beautifully situated with a large yew tree rising up through the cloisters. After a stroll around the celebrated Muckross gardens there follows a wonderful cycle along a quiet cyclepath between two of the Killarney lakes before you return to the main road. A steady climb follows to your lunch stop at Molls Gap where you are rewarded with a delicious food in the restaurant with its beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. In the afternoon you cycle to Sneem looking out over panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

Day 3 Sneem to Glenbeigh
Avoiding the main Ring of Kerry road we cycle across the peninsula. Passing along quiet country roads with stunning views of the surrounding mountains we climb to the beautiful Gap of Ballaghbearna and descend the other side into another valley with views of Carrauntoohil, Irelands highest mountain. After lunch there is a wonderful cycle through quiet fields and over old stone bridges before coming to Caragh Lake. Following the lakeside you then head west to the seaside village of Glenbeigh where you spend the night in a comfortable Hotel.

Day 4  Glenbeigh to Dingle
You start the day with a short taxi trip to the Dingle where you will be basing ourselves for two nights. After getting back on the bikes you then follow the Slea Head Route around the tip of the Dingle peninsula. This is one of the highlights of the tour with a wide variety of archaeological sites to visit along the route and some of the most breathtaking coastal scenery in the country.

Day 5 Rest Day in Dingle
A wide variety of activities can be organised from the town. You can join an archaeological bus tour of the peninsula or you can swop your bike saddle for a horse saddle and go horse riding. There are boat trips to the largest of the Blasket islands with its wonderful walking trails offering the most magnificent views of Dingle Bay . You can also take a boat trip to see "Fungi", the Dingle Dolphin or simply potter around the town with its many shops and aquarium. Finally for those with stiff limbs there is also a massage centre in which to pamper yourself.

Day 6 Dingle to Killorglin
The morning starts with a long steady climb up to the Conor Pass with its stunning views of Mount Brandon and the coastline in the distance. There follows a wonderful descent and then a nice flat cycle along the coast to the village of Camp where you can stop for lunch. In the afternoon you head straight into the mountains and traverse the peninsula heading up over one side of the mountains to magnificent views of the other side of the peninsula with Dingle Bay and Irelands highest mountain range stretching out in front of you. you then descend down the other side and cycle the final stretch to your night stop in the village of Milltown.

Day 7 Killorglin to Killarney
You continue along backroads to Killorglin and then onto Kate Kearneys Cottage where you can stop for a cup of tea. You then enter the final highlight of the tour, the Gap of Dungloe a place you will never forget. Coming out of the gap you have an incredible view looking down the Black Valley before following a small quiet route through a peaceful valley surrounded by green fields full of grazing sheep. You climb out of the valley to return to Molls Gap where you had lunch on the first day. After lunch there is a wonderful freewheel back down to Killarney where you spend your last night on the tour.

Day 8 Your tour ends today after breakfast

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

Top of Page

This tour starts daily from May through September, except on escorted tour start dates.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's; all rooms with private facilities.
• Breakfast each day.
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel.
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier.

Top of Page

Day to Day Itinerary

Saturday  Westport

You meet up in a hotel close to the rail and bus station, for a welcome drink from our guide.

Sunday: Westport to Foxford

Leaving the town on the Castlebar road, after a mile we turn onto the Western Way walking route. The route takes us along quiet backroads passing by lakes and bogland to our lunch stop After lunch there is some nice lakeside cycling around Lough Conn and then onto Lough Cullin, which brings us to our Hotel in Foxford.

Monday: Foxford to Killala

We continue by the shores of Lough Conn to the historical village of Killala where the French landed in 1798 spreading the French revolution to Irish revolutionaries.

Tuesday: Killala to Belmullet

Heading West on the coast road with wonderful views looking out over the Atlantic, we come to Ceide Fields site of an ancient 5000-year-old cattle field system. It is the largest stone age site in Europe and there is an excellent interpretive centre here, which outlines the history of the site. Continuing on from the centre there is a dramatic cycle across open bogland with more wonderful coastal views all the way to the town of Belmullet.

Wednesday: Belmullet to Keel

There are two main options for the day, one of which is to cycle out on the isolated peninsula beyond Belmullet and take a fishing boat from Blacksod Point across the Bay to Doogort on Achill Island. From here it is a short cycle to the village of Keel where we spend the next two nights. The other equally attractive option is to cycle around the Atlantic Coast through a wild barren landscape, past freshly cut fields of peat, to the village of Mulranney and from there cycle onto Achill Island.

Thursday: Keel

There are several dramatic cycling routes around Achill the most impressive being the Atlantic Drive, with its wonderful coastal views and beautiful landscape. You can also head to Keem bay for a swim on its white sandy beach. For those feeling energetic you could climb to the top of the nearby cliffs some of the highest in Europe, where you are rewarded with the most breathtaking views of the week

Friday: Keel to Westport

Leaving the Island via the bridge at Achill sound, we continue along the Clew Bay coast road and visit a 16th Century Tower House, one of the chain of forts built by Grainnuaile, a female pirate who controlled this whole region. We then visit a small but beautifully situated early Christian monastic site, before heading to Newport for lunch. In the afternoon we return to Westport for a final night on the town together.

Saturday After a final breakfast you start your journey back home.

Airport / Transfers

The nearest international airport is Dublin.

There is a regular train service from Dublin to Westport. Schedules are provided in your tour package.

Character- moderate

The roads are all sealed and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet back roads, away from the main tourist routes.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

Top of Page

Character

Moderate to hilly

The roads are all sealed and the route is designed to ensure that you spend most of the week on quiet back roads, away from the main tourist routes. This is one of the hillier tours so a good level of fitness is required.

Airport / Transfers

The nearest international airport is Belfast. There is a regular shuttle service from the airport into the city centre, where your hotel is located.

• 7 nights in excellent quality, small family run guesthouses and B & B's, all rooms with WC and shower.
• Substantial breakfast each day.
• Professional tour guide at your disposal each evening, in an accompanying van during the day.
• Daily tour discussion in the morning
• Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
• Bus transfer from Coleraine to Belfast city
• Maps with indicated routes, detailed route description, tourist information about places of interest.
• 21 speed Trek hybrid bike with pannier, mudguards & water bottle.

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Day to Day Itineray

Saturday: Wexford to Kilmore Quay

The tour starts in Wexford town where you meet the guide and the rest of the group at the usual time of 6.30pm. That night we take a coach transfer down to the fishing village of Kilmore Quay for the evening.

Sunday: Kilmore Quay to Arthurstown

We start the cycle by heading through rolling green fields to the sight of an early Normans settlement. After lunch we visit Irelands largest medieval ruined settlement and then continue along Bannow Bay to visit Tintern Abbey. After this we cycle across Loop Head to the coastal village of Arthurstown where we spend the night.

Monday: Arthurstown to Ring

The day begins with a ferry across Passage East and on along the beautiful southern coastline to the Irish speaking village of Ring.

Tuesday: Ring to Lismore

We continue on along the coast to the seaside village of Youghal for lunch and on in the afternoon following the River Blackwater to the historic town of Lismore where we are staying for two nights.

Wednesday: Lismore

We will be staying in a comfortable hotel in the centre of Lismore where you can relax for the day or else spend the time visiting some of the many historic sites in the area.

Thursday: Lismore to Glen of Aherlow

We head north over the stunning Knockmealdown Mountains into the county of Tipperary and to the Glen of Aherlow, ancestral home of those Ryans!

Friday: Glen of Aherlow to Kilkenny

Our last day we cycle past the famous Rock of Cashel on our way to the historic city of Kilkenny where we spend the last night together.

Saturday: Kilkenny

After breakfast you can stay absorbing the atmosphere of Kilkenny or else head on your way home.
    

Semi Escorted Tour

Semi guided bicycle tours include all services provided to our “Individual” riders, as well as the following additional services:

              Tour Escort, well familiar with the region, with a van.

• Daily personal tour introduction.
• Opportunity to ride the bus if your legs tire.
• By common consent the tour companion organises sightseeing and picnics.