1. Home
2. / Europe
3. / Ireland
/ Holiday homes in Ireland for new visitors

• Cottage holidays Ireland

Discover Ireland from a holiday cottage

If you are planning your very first trip to Ireland, it can be difficult to know where to go for the very best holiday. Largely rural, with an incredible coastline with tall cliffs, sandy and rocky beaches, large lakes and mountainous areas, Ireland offers a fantastic outdoor holiday with much more to do than just walking, sailing, fishing or golf.

Weekend breaks to Dublin and other cities have been popular for a very long time and offer a lively experience where you can see the main sights, encounter Irish bars and nightlife.  However, did you know that you could go kayaking in County Cork and also do it by moonlight? Or horse riding along a sandy beach? A holiday in Ireland will be full of surprises and fascinating encounters. You may just find yourself doing things that you never dreamt were possible.

Read about the various geographic parts of Ireland to see where you would like to book a holiday home as a self-catering base.

Northwest Ireland
West Ireland
Ireland's Midlands and Lakelands

Southwest Ireland self-catering holidays

Picturesque, quaint scenery with terrifying cliffs, pristine white sandy beaches and curious former fishing villages and harbours. Rent a whitewashed fisherman’s cottage or a stone-built house in the country. The counties of Kerry and Cork have scenery and wildlife to amaze. Visitors have been coming to holiday on its coast for decades so that there are plenty of tourist facilities to keep everyone busy and happy. Find spas, craft shops and art galleries galore, foodie restaurants and jolly Irish pubs, There is so much more to this part of Ireland than the Ring of Kerry and the Killarney National Park. Come face to face with a dolphin, paddle in the Atlantic Ocean and scare yourself out of your wits with midnight canoeing under a starry sky.

Self-catering holiday cottages in southeast Ireland

Head for southeast Ireland to find a rural cottage set within a landscape of rolling hills, farmland and a riot of wild flowers.  Find small fascinating towns to visit, Irish folklore and crafts to discover. Or, you may prefer to rent a seaside cottage near one of the fabulous beaches along the stretch between Rosslare and Dublin:

Curracloe Beach, Ballinesker Beach, Morriscastle Beach, Courtown Beach, Kilgorman Beach, Arklow Beach, Brittas Bay Beach, Bray Beach, Killiney Beach, Whiterock Beach, Sandycove Beach.

There are often links golf courses close to these beaches which add an extra option for a seaside holiday in southeast Ireland.   

Go to the south of Ireland if you love nature and wildlife. Take a trip out to sea to go dolphin and whale spotting. Seals may else pop up unexpectedly during your coastal travels.