Escorted vacations in Ireland

I love this photo of our dear friend Kate which was taken in Waterville during our tour with her husband Leon. Kate recently celebrated her 80th birthday and what a lovely lady she is. I felt that if they can honour Charlie then we can also honour Kate. Well done Kate and i hope you are planning on coming back again soon. Maybe i can get you to play another tune on my piano for me. We had great fun on that tour. Leon was also wonderful company and we had many laughs as we toured the west of Ireland. The statue of Charlie Chaplin was placed there in honour of the great man as Waterville was his favourite holiday destination. If you get to tour the Ring of Kerry you will pass through Waterville.
Today is a glorious day here and a ideal day to be in the chauffeurdrive business.

If you are looking for a chauffeurdrive holiday....a car and driver/guide in Ireland then just go to my web-site

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

My pal Proffy

Today i had a letter from our dear friend Joy who now lives in Little Rock. She was saddened by the fact that she had to put down her cat. Eventhough she still has another cat, this remaining cat misses her pal also and i know how that feels. My pal Proffy just appeared out of the blue at my feet a few years ago as i was out feeding my pony. He followed me into our house and it was just as though he had been living there all along. He remained with us and i never found out who owned him. He was a really lovely cat and, as you can see from his photo, a really good looking fellow. He was with us for a few years and then one day he vanished again just as mysteriously and suddenly as he had arrived. We searched and searched but never found any trace of him. Needless to say he was sadly missed and eventhough we now have another cat,(another stray), and we often think of him. You do become very attached to your pets and sadly they are only on loan. Such is life. I thought that i would feature him on my chauffeurdrive Blog for all my cat loving friends, especially Joy.
If you wish to add a comment add your name, if you so wish, at the bottom of your message and just tag it "Anonymous". I do not know how to figure out the other tags in the drop down window but Anonymous will do fine. Your message is what we want.

Dave

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Dave's Transport (and his four legged friend)

Recently i have added my VW Caravelle (the car to the left) to my fleet. This carries eight passengers and is a lovely car to travel in and has air-con and all-leather seating. The car to the right is my Lexus which i use for smaller groups. This also has air-con and has all leather seating as well. When you travel with me you travel in comfort, and i do like my comfort. Both of these vehicles have the extra elevation which is most important in Ireland when you need to be able to see over the stone walls in many areas.
The house in the background is our own humble abode, a nice cosy bungalow in a lovely quiet rural setting on the outskirts of Galway city. Note the lovely blue sky decorated with white cloud. Many of my touring friends comment on our lovely cloud formations....i would have thought that cloud was the same everywhere but obviously not. Our pony lives in the field at the back of the house and he is a dote (meaning a cute little guy in this case). He is a Welsh pony and related to a Shetland.

Here is Taffy....he may look half-frozen but he is as snug as a bug in a rug in his coat. he also has a nice cosy house which he uses occasionally...and i mean occasionally as these little fellows love to be out in the fresh air. This photo was taken recently during a very cold spell. At this time of the year he lives on hay ....plus all the treats he gets such as carrots and his favourite...bananas. I am sure if you had him you would spoil him too.

Failte Ireland launch new plan

Failte Ireland are planning a drive to get more Irish people to holiday at home this year. The word Failte means welcome and Failte Ireland are our tourism body. Tourism is one of our main sources of income and this recession has hit the industry as you would expect. Trying to encourage our own people to holiday at home is certainly a good idea. I know many Irish people who have never really had an Irish holiday and this is a little sad to say the least. The lure of the sun is our big problem and Irish people see a holiday as an opportunity to go somewhere where they are guaranteed sunshine and where they can get a nice suntan. There is an old joke that the Irish come in two colours....white and pink. We are not that bad but i can understand where they are coming from. I am one of the lucky ones who has had the opportunity to travel the length and breadth of this country and experienced all that Ireland has to offer. What a wonderful country we have here and there are so many advantages to be had by holidaying at home. At this point in time many hotels are offering great rates in the off-season and there is great comfort in being able to eat your own food, drink water that is clean and safe, and not having to suffer from all the bugs and mosquitoes etc that you have to put up with in some of these foreign lands. The people here also speak your own language. You do not need any vaccinations or anything like that to holiday at home and of course you do not have to go through the discomfort of having to spend hours at airports not knowing if you are going to be able to catch a flight at all. No matter where you are in Ireland you are only a few hours away from home and that is nice. I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that i have never toured with anybody who did not end up loving this country. It really does get to you....even if you do not have a drop of Irish blood in your veins. Come and see for yourself. If you want the extra comfort just come chauffeurdrive with me.....i would love to have the pleasure of showing you my country.

Traveling to Ireland chauffeurdrive

The touring season is fast approaching and i am delighted with the amount of interest that people from the USA are showing in an Irish holiday. I do not know why i ever have doubts about the season ahead. I suppose it is natural in a time of recession but there will always be people who will make sure that, come what may, they will have their holiday. When you reach a certain age you know that your time becomes more and more limited and if there is something you know that you must do, then you must do it now. The call from Ireland that ringing in the ears of many of our fellow Irish-American is one that they cannot ignore. It reminds me of the call St Patrick heard in his dreams....the call of the Irish people willing him back to them once again....a call that he was unable to ignore. St Patrick's day will see a great influx of people from the USA into Ireland again this year and for me it signals the beginning of a new year of happy touring with new friends from the USA. Already my calendar is beginning to fill up and it looks like i will be having a busy year. I still have availability but if you are seriously thinking about enquiring about my services then i would advise doing it soon. I am trying to do my part by making things as reasonable as possible for people and this is as good a time as any for coming to Ireland.
Our weather at the moment is really beautiful with clear blue skies and warm sunshine. It is cool but i know that some people, like Rita, really love this type of weather. We have had a great February so far and it looks like it is set to stay with us for another while. Long may it last.
If you have any questions with regard to coming to Ireland feel free to ask. I would love to see more comments please.

Dave

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Escorted tours, Chauffeurdrive, Car and driver, Ireland.

I am never sure how to describe best what kind of service i provide to assist people who are searching for a chauffeurdrive tour. When people Google to find a private driver/guide in Ireland i really have to guess what i think they will search under. The lingo differs from country to country and i am very aware of that as i travel all the time with Americans. I talk about putting something in the boot(the trunk) of the car and they look at me as though i have said something funny. The bonnet(hood) of the car is another funny one, and of course pronunciations can be hilarious. I do not find this strange at all as i found that i was the one who was creating the laughs when i went to the USA first, especially when i tried to pronounce some of the old American Indian place names which are so common. People always take this the right way though and it can be a great laugh. Getting used to the Irish sense of humour is important though and i sometimes find that people look at me quizzically when i am "Leg pulling", which is a very Irish habit. It can be fun as long as it is in good taste. We do tend to tease.Getting used to the Irish accent is another thing that takes a little time and there are areas in this country where that can be difficult. This can be mainly because they speak so fast and if the accent is also a heavy one it is hard to follow. Even then it can be fun as i know that Americans really love Irish accents and even if they do not understand what is being said they get a kick out of the strange accents.. My problem can be that i develop an American accent while traveling with Americans all the time and people end up asking me what part of the USA i come from. This is bad enough when i am in Kerry or Cork or somewhere like that but when i come home and speak like that to my wife she asks me am i ok?
I have been asked what kind of transport i have and the answer to that is it depends on the number of people i have touring with me. I carry any number from 1 person to 8 people. I can use my Lexus for the smaller numbers and my VW Caravelle when i have the larger numbers. Both cars are really nice and comfortable with air-conditioning and leather seating. It is so important to be comfortable while touring and nobody knows that better than myself. Rest assured that you will be comfortable in my transport.
The weather continues to be really lovely here right now and today once again we had sunshine all day eventhough it was cool. I think we are forecast some rain in the coming week but we cannot complain as we have had it very good now for sometime. Let us hope that the long range forecast for a good Summer in Ireland is correct, but even if it is not, Ireland remains special. Come and see for yourself sometime....and maybe let me be the one to show you around.

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Escorted Tours Ireland

What glorious weather this would be right now for touring in Ireland. As it happens i am free at the moment to enjoy my garden and catch up with all that needs to be done. I have a big garden with a lot of shrubs and rose bushes and right now everything is growing wild. I have a field at the back of my garden where our little pony Taffy lives and this needs a lot of maintainence also. He might be small but he sure knows how to mess it up. He has a nice shed and that has to be cleaned out as well. That was all done yesterday so now i can get at something else as soon as i finish writing my Blog. This chauffeur is a busy man even when he is off duty.
These past few days have been nothing but sunshine and the forecast for the next few is good also. I hope this is a good omen for the approaching season as there is nowhere like Ireland when the sun shines. The air here right now is so clean and fresh and there is not a puff of wind.
I better get on with it while the humour is on me.....it is so easy to be side-tracked. I will write more soon. Comments are always welcome.

Dave

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Travelling to Ireland

Picking the best time to come on holiday to Ireland needs a lot of consideration. Our unpredictable weather makes it difficult to advise anybody as to when they might enjoy sunshine but at least you can be reasonably accurate when talking about how cold or warm it might be at different times. We rarely suffer from really extreme heat or cold. If we go up into the eighties we are suffering here and we also find anything under zero very cold. At the moment during the day we are anywhere between five and eight degrees and at night maybe down to about minus two or three in some areas and around zero elsewhere. The months when you can expect a reasonable amount of sunshine would be May to September. June July and August should be the months when we reach our highest temperatures but May and September can also be lovely months and never too warm or cold. Sometimes April and October can be very nice also and it is extremely difficult to advise anybody on when it might be best to come here. The best thing about our weather if you come anytime from April to October is that you will neither freeze nor bake. I have people who travel with me repeatedly who absolutely love our cooler weather mixed with a bit of rain. It is not often that you get a day when it rains all day. Occasional showers can be much more common and that does not spoil things too much. We do get some lovely weather here and it annoys me when people say that it always rains in Ireland. That is not true and we do get a lot of lovely sunny weather...just like we had today. It is also forecast for the rest of this week....and this is February. Another thing that is worth considering is the daylight hours. At the moment it gets bright at about 8 a.m. It gets dark right now at about 6 p.m. At the height of the Summer the sun comes up somewhere around 4:30 a.m and it does not get dark until about 11:00p.m.
Anytime from May onwards you are getting a great stretch in the day and this goes right through into October. It gives you more time to get out and enjoy an early morning walk or a late evening stroll. Remember, Ireland never changes, it is just that somedays she wears a different dress. Come and see for yourself. My chauffeurdrive business is not dependent on the weather. Irelands appeal goes much deeper than that.
Comments welcome.

http://www.chauffeurdriveholidays.com

Dollar continues to improve against Euro

The good news for anybody coming my way this year is that the dollar continues to improve against the Euro. This is a blessing in disguise for both the traveler and the chauffeurdrive business operator. As a private driver/guide myself i really do appreciate any improvement in rates be they currency-wise or due to a decrease in prices as a result of the recession. Things are better right now for anybody planning a holiday in Ireland. During the boom years of the Celtic Tiger prices got out of hand entirely here and this resulted in a demand for higher wages which in turn led again to an increase in prices all around. Now we are paying the price as wages are being lowered to make us more competitive and people are finding it hard to make their payments on mortgages and other commitments that they made when things were good. If these improvements result in an increase in the amount of tourists coming our way then that will be a great help. There is value in an Irish holiday right now and if a visit to Ireland has been your dream then you could not come at a better time.
Many of us here in Ireland will be watching the Superbowl this weekend. I was speaking to a lady who is coming on tour with me later in the year and i mentioned to her how we found all the add breaks during the game very annoying. I was expecting her to agree with me but that was not the case. She pointed out that many people really enjoyed these same add breaks as there were many really good adds which were especially prepared for the Superbowl. I was aware that advertising was at a premium during the Superbowl. Now i will be looking out for them and will have a different appreciation altogether.. I do not understand the game fully but enough to be able to follow it anyway.
Today i was in the Burren of county Clare for awhile and it was sunny and cool and most enjoyable. My trip took me along the shores of Galway Bay and the water was flat and calm. My journey back in the dark was also really enjoyable. As i drove over the top of the mountains to make my descent into county Galway, the lights of Galway city across the bay came into view and it was a sight to behold. What a lovely country we have here. Our forecast for the next few days is for cool sunny and dry weather. We are enjoying a nice spell right now after a long period of nasty weather. Yes....the sun does shine in Ireland.....and the long range forecast is for a good Summer. Bring your swim-wear....and remember we have the Gulf Stream here on our west coast. Best of all, we have no killer jelly-fish, no sharks, and clean water. What more could you ask for. Ireland awaits you.

Traveling with private driver/guide west of Ireland.

I have already mentioned just how busy i have been answering enquiries so far this year. One thing that i have noticed is that i seem to be getting a lot of enquiries from slightly larger groups. I normally work with anything from a single passenger up to a limit of 8 people. If i get enquiries from any groups larger than that i can refer them on to people who can handle that size of group. The fewer the people in the group the more expensive it is of course so maybe people are grouping together to make it a little less expensive. Motoring expenses are high here and that is one area where we have not had much relief. Cars are much more expensive than in the USA, insurance is costly and fuel prices are way above your prices. Then add all the other extras like tires, repairs, servicing etc and you have very high running costs. I am not trying to frighten you off, i am just making people aware of what they are dealing with when they want to use chauffeurdrive services. Do not forget what you get in return though. If you are dealing with me everything is done for you and all you have to do is organise your flights and turn up at the airport. I take over from there and everything is looked after until you get back to the airport again for your return flight to the USA. There is a lot of work in organising everything and it does take a lot of care and attention. Escorted tours, chauffeurdrive services, private car and driver services. can vary from company to company. Make sure that you choose carefully. If you need any help i am here.