Chauffeurdrive Vacations in Ireland for 2012

St Brigid's well near the Cliffs of Moher.

Tomorrow, 1st February, is St Brigid's Day. It is of course also the first day of Spring. Springtime in Ireland can be beautiful and lets hope that this year it is just that. Now the flowerd will start to appear, first of all the daffodils, and then a wonderful assortment of wildflowers all over the country. Now you know why we need the rain we get, and when you see our flowers, you will not mind the rain.

St Brigid is the Patroness of Ireland, and our first female saint. She was born just after St Patrick's time into a noble family. She was very beautiful and therfore a great asset for the family as a beautiful daughter would give the family that power to join up with another powerful family through marriage. She was extremely pious and had no desire whatsoever to serve anybody but God and when she diiscovered that her beauty was going to cause her a problem she scarred her face and this put paid to her family's wishes for her, or should i say for themselves. She joined the nuns and, amazingly, when she was consecrated as a nun, her beauty was once again restored.
There are many miracles associated with this great saint, both during her life and since. Many people visit this holy well to pray and leave their requests for people, living and dead.
A place well worth visiting.....even if you do not believe in miracles. Remember .....a prayer never did anybody any harm....not even to those who said the prayer.....believers or non-believers. They also say that there are no atheists in the trenches.
In the background you can see a man entering the narrow cave where the well is. Inside you will see hundreds of tiny tokens belonging to people who are maybe sick or dying, missing or dead, and which are left behind by their families or friends. It can be a very touching experience, especially when you look at the photos of small children or teenagers, or young married mothers or fathers, or indeed grandparents who are sadly missed by their families. In places like this we all find that there is somebody that we remember. Despite the problems in our church, the Irish people still hold on to their beliefs, and long may that last.

Wild flowers at the Cliffs of Moher. It was cold, but the air was fresh and healthy and the sea calm. What a lovely place to spend some quiet time.

Irish Airports, Shannon,Dublin, Cork, Knock.

I took this photo from the bridge in Sneem on the Ring of Kerry. What a lovely view this is.

Ireland is well serviced with flights from many different airports in the USA. My Chauffeurdrive service, covers all of the different airports. Depending on where exactly you wish to tour, it is best to get advice on which airport to use for your arrival and departure. If you wish to take in Dublin as part of your itinerary, then you can either arrive or depart from there and maybe fly out from a different one when returning home again. If for instance you want to concentrate on the western seaboard, including Cork. Kerry, Clare and the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands, Connemara, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal, then you could fly back out from Shannon.You can also do this the other way around arriving into Shannon and flying out from Dublin at the end of your vacation.My Chauffeurdrive service serves all of the airports. I collect people on their arrival and leave them back to whichever airport they choose for their departure. Having your own car an driver makes great sense and allows you to enjoy your vacation in a relaxed manner. If you are not too interested in Dublin then Shannon makes life so much easier as it is a small regional airport and really easy to get into and out of compared to the larger airports. You literally just walk out the door and into your car (or my car,better still ).
The calendar is filling up gradually for me so if you are planning on using a chauffeur, own car and driver, then do not wait around too long as there areonly so many dates to fill.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Dave



A warm Summer's day on the Dingle peninsula.


Visiting a Currach-maker in Connemara. These are the traditional fishing boats used by the men on the west coast of Ireland. They are extremely light framed and covered in canvas, which in turn is waterproofed with pitch or tar.

Below

Men from the inland fisheries re-stocking a lake with trout in the Kerry mountains.

Irish chauffeurdrive vacations 2012

A photo of the narrow winding road that leads up through the Gap of Dunlo showing some of the gigantic boulders that litter this gorge in the Kerry mountains. This gorge was carved out by a huge glacier during the ice age. Do not attempt to drive this route. The best way to see this wonderful place is by taking a ride on the horse drawn side cars which are available at Kate Kearney's cottage at the entrance to the Gap.

I took this photo of one of my fellow travellers at Ladies View on the Ring of Kerry. Do you believe in Leprechauns? Well come to Ireland and see for yourself.
Another view of the narrow winding road in the Gap.
I thought this was a cute photo of a Kerry mountain lamb. No, he is not bleeding....that is just a dye used to mark him for identification purposes.

Our latest weather statistics have revealed that this has been the mildest Winter ever in Ireland since records began. Are we in for a really good Summer? That would be nice. I always say that there is no weather like Irish weather when it is good. Never too hot....never too cold.....that's us.

The old Star-shaped fort guarding the entrance to Kinsale harbour. There was also another fort on the opposite side which made a forced entry quiet impossible.

Our weather has been extremely mild and the signs of Spring are already here with daffodils appearing in many areas.

I am a great defender of our Irish weather, and with very good reason. We never get the extremes that many people have to endure and, when we do get nice weather, there is nowhere i would rather be. We do get our fair share of rain but that is what keeps our countryside green and rich in its magnificent array of wild flowers and shrubbery. I think that a stroll in the light rain can be lovely we get a lot more showers than actual prolonged spells of rain.

When you are touring with your very own driver you also have that privilege of being able to stop where you like, when you like, and if it does happen to be raining you can pick and choose the times and places you stop at. This also allows you to make your stops between showers and also to make daily changes when maybe you would need a dry day to visit somewhere like the Aran islands or the Gap of Dunloe Then instead you would take a route where the rain would not be a problem.
Chauffeurdrive does give you huge advantages, and at an affordable rate. The strong dollar right now has also made our rates even more attractive so now is the time to make your enquiry.

Chauffeurdrive Vacations in Ireland for 2012

One of my favourite places.....the Dingle peninsula
The Mighty Cliffs of Moher.


If you want magnificent scenery, great sea-views, rugged coastlines and offshore islands, mountains, valleys, bogs, ancient castles, ruined abbeys and monasteries, genuine friendly Irish country people, great pubs with great traditional music, the best of fresh fish and sea food, then there is no better place in Ireland than the western seaboard and the southwest of the country. You also have Shannon airport to fly into and out of and there is no more comfortable airport than Shannon. It is never too busy and access in and out of this airport is so simple. You walk out the door and into your car. I am not trying to say that the west is all that Ireland has to offer but if you like the things and types of places that i have mentioned here then i cannot think of a better place for you to come to. You can also include Dublin if you choose to fly into or out of the capital but it depends on how much time you have available. No matter where you end up visiting in Ireland you will enjoy this great country. It is unique and its people do live up to their friendly reputation.
Value this year in Ireland is really good and as the dollar has strenghtened so much compared to last year those coming to us from the USA are really on a bonus. Visitors to Ireland increased by some 6% last year and they expect an even bigger increase this year so get to work and check it out as soon as you can, if you are interested. I do have free spaces still and if i can help i will be only be delighted to do so.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Irish chauffeurdrive vacations 2012

Karen holding a baby fawn in her arms on the Ring of Kerry.

This photo was taken on a bright and sunny Summer's day and shows Karen lovingly holding a baby deer. The man in the background is there quiet often with an assortment of baby animals for people to have their photos taken with. You can see a little dog and a lamb in the background also and there are usually has a couple of kittens there also.

Well i can assure you that he is not there at the moment as it has been cold and wet and wild and you would freeze up there in the mountains right now. I rarely tour at this time of the year unless i get an "out of the blue" request, and i am in no hurry to do so either as it is not the weather for that.

I am sure that everybody has recovered from their New Year celebrations by now and it is nice to think that the days are slowly but surely getting longer, and hopefully warmer. I love the Springtime, and that is just around the corner. This is the time of the year when i spend most of my time dealing with enquiries and drawing up plans for prospective customers. It looks like being a busy year judging by the level of enquiries so i would advise anybody who may be interested in at least pursuing an enquiry to think about doing it now while there is still time and availability. I hate saying no to anybody, but sometimes that is all that i can say.
The good news for anybody travelling from the USA is that the dollar is much stronger this year than it was at this time last year. Prices in Ireland are also more attractive and there is great value to be had in Irish holidays right now. I certainly will do all that i can to work out attractive deals for anybody interested in coming to tour with me. I find that many people are actually surprised at the good value on offer from my service.
It costs nothing to check this out.....just let me know what you have in mind.

Irish chauffeurdrive vacations 2012

You meet more than cars and trucks on Irish roads. Do you really want to drive yourself?

Having your own driver for your Irish vacation really does make sense and allows you to relax and enjoy your time here. Of course it is possible to do the driving yourself ,but you cannot drive and admire the views at the same time. It can also be difficult to hold a normal conversation for hours on end while concentrating on staying on the right side of the road. It really boils down to affordability. Can you afford to spend that little bit extra for the comfort that you will get from having your own driver, a driver who is accustomed to our roads and who knows his way around without a map. Remember, you also have a driver who knows the best places to visit, who can tell you all about them, who can discuss Irish history, Irish politics, Irish culture, music, religion, Irish food and drink, the Irish language, just about anything and everything Irish. You will have me, someone who knows and loves his country and its people, its music and traditions and culture and history. Someone who will delight in proudly showing you his homeland.
I was born and bred here.....let me show you my country.
Now is the time to make your enquiries...... there are only so many available dates and it will always be a case of first come first served.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.