Accommodation:
You will be staying in comfortable guesthouses and farmhouses. Most rooms have en suite facilities.
You will have a relevant accommodation
voucher for each guesthouse. Your hosts will transfer your luggage each
day. PLEASE do try to notify your estimated time of arrival.
Meals:
Breakfast is included (B&B accommodation).
You can enjoy evening meals in the guesthouses & picnic lunches can be made in some locations, but the hostess needs to be notified beforehand!
Evening meals are usually priced between €18-25.00 per person. Picnic lunches can be supplied at a cost of €6.00-8.00 per person.
Your route notes will advise each day as to the availability of lunches en route and evening meals at your overnight stop.
Other Important Information:
There are no banks on your route. Please make sure you carry enough cash with you when you start the walking tour. There is a bank in Westport at the end of your walk. Banking hours are 10.00-16.00. Most larger post offices will cash travelers cheques or change currency. ATM facilities will dispense Euro using a Link ATM card. Most grocery or craft outlets and restaurants will facilitate debit and credit cards.
Accommodation
B&B –
The
original concept of a B&B – bed & breakfast – was an extra room
in someone’s home, where guests were invited to stay. In recent years,
this has changed and in many places B&B’s are purpose built houses
with guest rooms. Standards, sizes, bathroom facilities, bed quality,
all vary from home to home but you should still feel it is a family
home. Some premises may offer a guest lounge, some may welcome guests to
sit with the family in the evening.
Guesthouse –
A
guesthouse is more than a B&B; it is more of an inn, or a small
hotel, and you may find a TV, hair-dryer and tea /coffee making
facilities in your room.
En-Suite Rooms
Rooms
are as much as possible en-suite (a bathroom in your room. Usually
without a bath, but with a shower) However B&B’s do still have rooms
that are not en-suite but should have a bathroom adjacent to the room.
We will book these rooms when there are no en-suites available. This
happens occasionally in the high season.
We
make no apologies for the varying standards of accommodations. We also
try to mix locations – you may be in a town or village one night and in a
remote location the next night. If you stay a night in a newly built
guesthouse, you may well be staying in an older, less modern home the
following night. We choose our B&B's for a number of reasons as
follows:
o We use a mixture of accommodations, some old, some new.
o We consider availability at a suitable stopping point on your route, price, and premises that are happy to transfer luggage.
o We
select accommodation that is inexpensive but which gives adequate
comfort, including the essential hot showers and drying facilities. Most
are family homes or farmhouses, where a warm welcome and comfortable
room can be expected. B&B's will provide towels and linen but
generally do not provide soap or toiletries.
o We
try to make your accommodation convenient to each day’s walk. The
walking distances for each day as specified in your tour itinerary may
vary, depending where you are staying, as your B&B may not be in the
centre of the village. This will be referred to in your route notes and
may add 2-4 km to your walk. Check this before you set out on your
walk.
Hosts-
While
we have reserved your accommodation, it is a good idea to telephone
your hosts with the approximate time of your arrival. Some B&B’s
will offer you tea or coffee on arrival – if they don’t do ask if you
would like some. You will find that hosts are very approachable and
sometimes you just need to ask for what you want.
On
occasion, a B&B may have reason to book you out to another B&B.
This rarely happens without the knowledge of Tailor-Made Tours. Be
assured that the alternative accommodation will be of a similar standard
and where possible we will notify you of a change.
For
many reasons, our B&B hosts are an important part of your tour.
They deal with so many problems every day - they are concerned if
walkers arrive late or if anything goes wrong. They are also human.…you
may well just get someone on a bad day! They are primarily concerned
with your safety and comfort and if you think something is wrong, say so
to them. Very often, situations do not become problems if they are
dealt with straight away.
If
you are spending an extra night in one of our cities, especially Dublin
or Cork, PLEASE telephone your hosts and tell them what time you expect
to arrive. They may close their premises in the afternoon, as it is
their only free time.
On
self-guided walking trails, accommodation is usually in small villages
or towns and may be off the beaten track. There is usually a Post
Office, shops, pubs etc. but there may not be a Bank. Your hosts may
also supply your evening meal. Prices for these meals are at the
discretion of the proprietors. Standards vary with the cook!
We
have worked with many of our accommodations for many years and they are
very familiar with our service, itinerary and overall product. We also
work with new accommodations each year as necessary. We do rely on our client feedback to determine the level of service provided by our accommodations.
Breakfasts
Irish
Bed & Breakfasts are renowned for their “Full Irish Breakfast”
which consists of bacon, sausages, fried egg and toast. You are welcome
to cereals or a lighter option if you ask. Some walkers find the “full
Irish” too much every morning. You can agree with your host on your
arrival what time you want breakfast – this is usually between 8.00 and
9.00am.