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Ireland & Northern Ireland - Bicycling Ireland
We offer three types of Irish biking vacations...Escorted tours , self-guided bike tour with luggage transfer program, or a self-drive car rental with bike racks. You choose whatever routing you like. The bikes we use are 21 speed hybrid touring models.
Ireland Bike Tours...Family bike tours...holidays in Ireland..something to suit you style!
Get Active Ireland! There are options for walking, biking, fishing and golf packages in Ireland for individuals, couples, families and small groups of friends. Contact us to create your dream Ireland vacation: specialgrouptours@yahoo.com
Biking Ireland Escorted Tours Bike Tours of Ireland! Explore Ireland by bike, traveling with a mix of English-speaking international travelers. You will travel 30 miles per day at a relaxed pace, with longer routes available. The Ireland bike trips are suitable for adults of all ages and fitness levels. On our bicycle tour Ireland , bus is provided for transferring luggage. Although the guide will not be cycling with you, he or she will be driving the support van and will make a sweep to ensure that all is well, and offer lifts to those who want a break. Our idea is to take all of the hassles, but none of the freedom out of a bike trip in Ireland. We ensure the bike is ready to go, luggage is transferred and good quality accommodation is at the end of each day's trip.
Group size: We take up to 20 people on each tour and many come on their own.
Each day, after a hearty breakfast, we start the day's cycle at approximately 10.00am. A few hours leisurely cycling in the morning brings you to our lunch stop, where you can put up your feet and swap stories. After digesting the last of the lunch, we continue on our road. The guide brings your luggage ahead to your room while you take your time and amble through the beautiful backroads. Each evening after a relaxing shower you meet up with the guide and rest of the group for dinner. A day typically winds up in one of the many pubs whose atmosphere has made Ireland famous for music and "craic".
The routes are relatively free of traffic. The terrain is suitable for intermediate and advanced rider. You have all day to cover the recommended route, and while Irish roads rarely follow a straight line, there are few really high climbs.
Distances: The safaris are suitable for adults of all ages and fitness levels but the tours are not suited for children under 13 years of age (except for our Family tour). The Ring of Kerry, the Highlands of Donegal and the Antrim tours have more hills than the other routes and would be recommended for the avid cyclist.
Grading:
Most challenging: Our Antrim, Donegal and Kerry trips are hillier than the other routes, but happily, there are no large mountain ranges to cross in any part of Ireland.
Easiest: Clare and the Burren. The county is also relatively flat, keeping the cycling easy paced.
Bikes: We supply 21 speed hybrid touring bikes for the tours, 2010 model. Repair equipment, helmets (for guided tours only) and either a front or rear pannier bag are available for each client. Clients are required to take due care of any rented equipment (includes bike, panniers, tool kits and helmets), we reserve the right to charge for any damages caused due to loss or negligence.If you wish to use toe clips please bring your own pedals with toe clips which we can attach to our bikes. (The pedals on our bikes do not accommodate toe clips.)
Maps: We give out maps along with route directions and historical details at the start of the week.
Do we have to carry our own luggage? No, your luggage is carried in the support van to your next hotel or guest house.
What kind accommodation should I expect? We stay in a combination of small family run hotels and guesthouses. The standard of such accommodation in Ireland is very high, with the vast majority having en-suite bathroom and other excellent facilities. We try to pick places with character; your home for the week can vary from a Victorian townhouse, a remote lakeside hotel, a farmhouse by the sea, an attractive harbour guesthouse, or an old style family hotel in the middle of a bustling market town.
But, what will I eat? Fortunately, the days when Irish vegetables are cooked for an entire week are long gone. Most people are very impressed at the quality of new Irish cooking.
Escorted Biking in Ireland packages include:
- 7 nights at mixture of family run hotels and guest houses; room with bath
- Full breakfast ever day
- 1 Dinner
- Bicycle hire
- Tour guide who drives the luggage van and looks after the tour
- Maps and all necessary equipment.
- The tour price includes coach transfers when required during the week, but does not include the optional ferry journeys.
Transfers: Transfers are NOT included from the airport to the starting point of the tour. The best way to travel to the starting point is by train from Dublin. Bikes can be taken on the train. Each of our Irish bike tours start close to bus and railway stations, so they are all accessible by public transport. On booking, we can send you more specific information on the travel arrangements to and from each starting point. Each tour starts on a Saturday evening at 6.30pm, and finishes the following Saturday morning.
When the tour starts: Each of the tours start with a meeting of the group at 6.30pm on the Saturday evening in a central hotel close to the local train and bus station. This is only a meeting point, typically the group will be staying in nearby guesthouses. The guide is able to return to the meeting place at 9.30pm again that evening. After an introductory talk the guide will organise an evening meal and direct clients to their first nights bed & breakfast accommodation. Tours end before noon on the last day.
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When in Ireland...trainers=sneakers
NEVER call it a fanny pack (slang for female anatomy). It's a bum roll instead.
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The guide will recommend a lunch stop each day where a snack lunch will cost between €8 and €12. A group evening meal is organised by the guide each night which costs between €20 and €30 One evening meal during the tour is included in the tour price
GROUP TOURS WEST CORK & KERRY (ROUND TRIP TO AND FROM KILLARNEY TOWN) SELF LED OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE This tour covers some of the most spectacular scenery that Ireland has to offer. Shortly after leaving Killarney you will find yourself cycling between the majestic lakes that have made this area so famous to be shortly followed by a climb up to Molls gap with its wonderful views of the Macgillycuddyreeks, Ireland's highest mountain range. The rest of the week involves more of the same stunning scenery with a wonderful coastal cycle along Kenmare Bay and the twisted mountains of the Beara Peninsula. This summer we are staying on the beautiful Beara Peninsula for our rest day in Castletownbere . Towards the end of the week we head inland and stay at a beautiful Lakeside retreat of Gougane Barra at the source of the River Lee. On the final day we cycle up over the wild and isolated hills of the Coolea region before returning to Killarney.
CONNEMARA GALWAY & MAYO (ROUND TRIP TO AND FROM GALWAY ) SELF LED OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE This Tour explores the beautiful region of Connemara famous for its rugged granite landscape as well as its beautiful lakes and rivers. The route offers an incredible variety of scenery each day. In the morning you can be cycling along beautiful coastline while in the afternoon you could be a quiet bog road with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. On our rest day we stay in a lovely family run hotel in the charming seaside village of Roundstone before heading towards the Irish speaking village of Carraroe. The tour finishes up with a visit to the Aran Islands.
Routes are for illustration purposes only and may be subject to change.
GROUP TOURS HIGHLANDS OF DONEGAL (ROUND TRIP TO AND FROM DONEGAL TOWN) Donegal is one of the undiscovered gems of Ireland. There is a wonderful mix of coastal cycling followed by a highland landscape where you can feel completely away from it all, before returning back to the coast and the most beautiful beaches in the country. The light is amazing here, with a landscape full of browns, greens and purples constantly altering their tone with the changing light. The pace of life is wonderfully easy going and the people amongst the most welcoming in the country.
WEST CORK COASTLINE ( (START TRIP IN CORK CITY - FINISH IN KINSALE TOWN) SELF LED OPTION ALSO AVAILABLEQuiet roads lined with wild, deeply scented flowers, this tour covers all types of landscape, from rolling green fields to spectacular coastal rides. West Cork is also best known for its colourful villages all of which are brightly painted in a wonderful array of vibrant colours, with wonderful hanging baskets brimming with flowers out the front of every pub and shop. This is the more cosmopolitan part of rural Ireland with many choosing to settle in this idyllic setting. This tour finishes in the colourful town of Kinsale, easily accessible to Cork Airport and city.
CLARE AND THE BURREN (ROUND TRIP TO AND FROM ENNIS TOWN) SELF LED OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE Clare is the music centre of Ireland and on this tour you are sure to have your feet tapping to traditional tunes nearly every night of the week. The Burren region is also an amazing limestone moonscape, famous around the world for its wonderful variety of botany. The area is rich in ancient and early Christian historical sites and offers some beautiful coastal cycling overlooking Galway Bay. Finally Clare is home to the cliffs of Moher the highest marine based cliffs in Europe and one of the best known images of Ireland.
RING OF KERRY AND DINGLE (ROUND TRIP TO AND FROM KILLARNEY TOWN) SELF LED OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE Killarney - Sneem - Glenbeigh - Dingle ( rest day ) - Killorglin - Killarney This tour offers arguably the most spectacular landscape in the country and is home to Ireland's highest mountain range. Each day presents you with even more stunning scenery as you cycle through majestic mountain ranges and beautiful lakes coloured by the yellow gorse and purple heather that grows everywhere. We avoid the main roads around the Ring of Kerry by taking you on some beautiful quiet backroads that intersect the Iveragh and Dingle Peninsulas.
Routes are for illustration purposes only and may be subject to change.
GROUP TOURS WILD WEST MAYO TOUR (ROUND TRIP TO AND FROM WESTPORT) Westport Foxford Ballina Belmullet Achill ( rest day ) - Westport The Mayo Tour is like stepping back 20 years in time to an Ireland before the Celtic Tiger!. It is the quietest of our routes in terms of traffic and offers up a wild windswept landscape full of changing light. You will get to visit the largest Stone Age site in Europe, an ancient cattle field system and also spend your rest day on Achill Island with its wonderful mountains and white sandy beaches as well as its breathtaking cliff walks. This is also the country of Grainnuiale, a famous female pirate in the 16th Century whose ships attacked fleets all along the coastline and we visit one of her fortress houses. Finally we stop at a wonderful early Christian monastic site situated in a most peaceful setting, before heading back to Westport and the less mystical real world.
THE GLENS OF ANTRIM TOUR (ROUND TRIP TO AND FROM BELFAST) SELF LED OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE Belfast Carnlough Cushendall Ballycastle ( 3 nights, includes roundtrip to Giants Causeway ) Belfast This tour offers you some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the country, with cliffs and rolling green fields sweeping down towards the Irish Sea along a coastline dotted with ancient forts and castles. We also cycle inland up into the famous Glens of Antrim with some wonderful highland cycling on quiet backroads. Finally you visit Bushmills the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world and finish off the week with a visit to the Giants Causeway , the most famous landmark in Northern Ireland with its amazing basalt rock formations.
Routes are for illustration purposes only and may be subject to change.
EASY BIKE TOURS
EASY TOUR OF CLARE (TRIP FROM GALWAY TO ENNIS) SELF LED OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE Ennis Doolin ( 2 nights ) Ballyvaughan ( 2 nights ) Kinvara - Galway This tour is specifically designed for those who wish to spend a little more time off the bike, with the cycling being more in the region of 18 - 25 miles (29 - 40 km). There are also 2 rest days included Our tour revolves around the county of Clare in the heart of Western Ireland. The Easy Tour of Clare still takes in the more spectacular parts of our regular Clare tour. On the rest days there are opportunities to visit the beautiful Aran Islands, visit the Ailwee caves, explore the Burren on a wonderful walking tour or just relax on one of Clare's beaches. This tour is also suitable for families.
EASY TOUR OF CORK (ROUND TRIP FROM CORK) Just like the Easy Clare Tour, this tour is specifically designed for those who wish to spend a little more time off the bike, with the cycling being more in the region of 18 - 25 miles. There are also 2 rest days included. This tour revolves around West Cork and its coastal areas. The Easy Tour of Cork still takes in the more spectacular parts of our regular Cork tour. On the rest days there are opportunities to visit the national Park in Gougane Barra, visit Cape Clear or just relax on one of Corks' beaches. This tour is also suitable for families.
This tour is operated by Lynott Tours |
