Clare & The Burren Self Guided Cycling Tour
8 days - 7 nights Cycling Vacation in Ireland
Day 1 Saturday: Arrival in Ennis
On arrival in Ennis you should make your way to your B&B. Check in is after 2.00pm on your day of arrival. We will send you on full accommodation details closer to your departure date. A folder containing your route details and information on collection of your bikes will be at the guesthouse. Ennis is a fantastic town for music and entertainment so you can relax for the rest of the day and take in the atmosphere.
Day 2 Sunday: Ennis to Spanish Point 30 ml/48 km
In the 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 named from those Spanish Armada Ships which sank here in 1588 during their retreat home to Spain.
Day 3 Monday: Spanish Point to Doolin 29 ml/46 km
Cycling along quiet country roads you meander your way to the popular holiday town of Lahinch where you stop for lunch. In the afternoon we visit the Cliffs of Moher rising a spectacular 660ft up from the Atlantic waves below. 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 Tuesday: Doolin to Ballyvaughan 31 ml/50 km
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. You stop for two nights in our comfortable hotel in the seaside village of Ballyvaughan.
Day 5 Wednesday: 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 Thursday: Ballyvaughan to Kinvarra 24 ml/38 km
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 Friday: Kinvarra to Ennis 31 ml/49 km
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 on the town.
Day 8 Saturday: Departure
After breakfast you are free to head home.