Chauffeurdrive Vacations in Ireland for 2012

Muckross House in Killarney.

This view, from the rear of the house, shows the fire escape that had to be installed especially for Queen Victoria as she had a dread of fire. There were also large alterations to the house and a special bedroom had to be designed for her on the ground floor as she would not sleep upstairs. The gaeden here at the back is also very beautiful.

If you visit Muckross House, make sure that you also spend time taking in the farm tour. This is a tour of four recreated old farmhouses of various sizes and demonstrates clearly the conditions people had to endure back in the nineteen hundreds....not that long ago. You can see the "woman of the house" baking fresh homemade bread, and also fresh butter. You can sit beside a lovely turf(peat) fire and enjoy a little break while you sample that bread. There are also farm animals to see, cattle, pigs, donkeys etc. Personally, i love this tour and always enjoy it as it brings back many happy memories of my own time on my uncles farms. Those were the days when we did not know what recession was, eventhough we were living through it. We had very little, but we always had enough.

This is one of the cottages you can see on the tour. This particular type was most common and could be a replica of cottages i spent my Summer holidays in. When i look back on those days i seem to imagine that the sun was always shining.

The traditional fishing boats of the west of Ireland, the curachs, on the beach at Spiddal.

Bill and Carolyn enjoying a peaceful moment in Cong county Mayo. The lake in the background is the Corrib, the Republic of Ireland's largest lake, which is said to have 365 islands.

A Warning:

They say that the early bird catches the worm, and i know, that in my business, that happens quiet a lot. I receive enquiries all throughout the year and very often people leave it too late to get the particular window of holiday time that they want. I hate to disappoint anybody but it is not my fault when this happens. Once i get an enquiry, which i believe to be sincere, i hold that time for the enquirer until we have managed to agree on a program and quotation. If this does not work out then nothing is lost. I do not have prepared programs with prepared quotations as my way of operating allows people to decide on their own specific program with the help of my own expertise. You may have ancestral history in Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Galway, Sligo, or God knows where, and of course you will want to include these specific areas in your plan. You may have a budget and need help deciding just how much you can do for that. You may want to stay in hotels, B&B's, Castles, or a mix of all of these, and here again i help you to decide. I always make sure that my clients understand that what we agree on is practical as my type of touring is not done at a hectic pace. With me, a "Holiday is a Holiday". Spending all day in a car, and supposedly having a wonderful time "Looking out the windows", is not my idea of enjoying a holiday in Ireland. With me you can lie in in the morning a little longer if you wish, you will have time to stroll around and enjoy the fresh air, you will have time to shop, to eat when you want to, and what you want to eat, and moving on to a new destination every day is not always a great idea. Knowing where to base yourself to cover a number of areas without having to re-pack every day is especially important.
I also have many friends in the USA who have travelled with me who will speak to you directly if you would like to enquire about me and my service and i think that there is no better way to find out what lies in store for you on a Dave Hogan Tour. You will have plenty of time to yourself and i do not impose myself on my friends any more than they want me to.
When i part company with my touring companions at the end of a tour, i want to feel that i have more new friends and that i have done my job to the best of my ability.
From now forward i will be receiving enquiries for next years holidays so if you are interested just send me an e-mail and we will see what we can do.
I look forward to hearing from you.