World Country Guide

Introduction

The 3500km (2200 miles) of Ireland’s coastline embrace a remarkable diversity of scenery and conditions from long, gently sloping strands (beaches) and rocky sea cliffs and headlands to raised bogs, outstanding mountains, attractive villages and towns, prehistoric and religious sites – and a laid-back approach to life that is without equal. The shape and comparatively small size of Ireland means that nowhere is very far from the sea. But beware, many of Ireland’s roads are narrow, and the through routes are heavily used.
Resorts and beaches in Ireland are uncrowded, and the tourism infrastructure is underpinned by a network of more than 50 tourist information offices offering help, advice, accommodation and suggestions on all aspects of travel. Most tourist offices are open Mon-Fri 0900-1800, closing on Saturday at 1300, but times vary, with offices at seaports and airports generally open longer during the summer months.
In this review, the country has been divided into six arbitrary regions embracing a number of counties within each:
Dublin and the East Coast: Counties Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.
The southeast: Counties Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary and Kilkenny.
The Midlands: Counties Monaghan, Cavan, Longford, Westmeath, Offaly and Laios.
The southwest: Counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick.
The west: Counties Clare, Galway, Roscommon and Mayo.
The northwest: Counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal.