With the Titanic anniversary (100 years since the tragedy) , and the opening of the new Museum plus the Irish Open Golf Competition.

Add to that the Olympics , and people touring Ireland as an extra , and it is a boom year.

So to avoid disappointment with hotels , restaurants , or transport book your Belfast tours early. If you are a golfer you will need to get tee off times arranged very early.

Contact Ireland Luxury Tours http://www.irelandluxurytours.com for details of our Belfast tours and beyond.

We have great deals available for the North coast , Giants Causeway , Devenish Island , Lough Erne , Mountains opf Mourne , Ards Peninsula , and many more.

It is just 5 miles North of Ballycastle and 12 miles West of the Mull of Kintyre (in Scotland) and is Northern Irelands last remaining inhabited island.

There is a ferry from Ballycastle to Rathlin.

Rathlin itself is never more than a mile wide and the population is concentrated around Church Bay.

A stroll around the island will reveal relics of far greater antiquity. Halfway to the West lighthouse is the site of a Stone Age axe factory , and to the north , earthworks known as Doonmore (great fort).

In the early Christian period , the island was a haven for monks , who have left evidence of their presence in the form of a sweathouse (primitive sauna) at Knockans near Church Bay.

In 795 AD Rathlin was the first place in Ireland to be raided by the Vikings.

It is also connected to Dunluce castle when the MacDonnells were slaughtered by the English on Rathlin.

Thre is also a large population of Puffins on the island which attract many visitors.

The Manor House hotel http://www.rathlinmanorhouse.co.uk/ is a great local hotel with good food , a great pub , and live music. Its worth spending a night there.

Rathlin Island is a place worth seeing on any tours of Ireland.

They kindly sent us some awesome photographs whic we have shared on the blog.

Our Belfast tours and Ireland tours are “simply the best” !!!!

We can build in the must see attractions with the hidden gems. And we make sure that you eat in authentic local spots.

Ballintoy Harbour

Castle on the shore in Donegal

Donegal Sandy Bay

Donegal Sandy Bay

North Coast

North Coast Beach

 You will feel like a native in Ireland instead of a visitor.  My family rated the trip a 20 on a scale of 1 to 10 and I had two teenagers and an 85 year old man who had trouble walking.  We laughed and saw the most magnificent sites, ate fabulous food, sang, shopped and just had the best time.

Ireland Luxury Tours treats you like a member of their family.  I would insist that anyone even thinking about going to Ireland give them a call.  You will see the difference immediately.   Contact Maurice Dowle at www.Irelandluxurytours.com

We looked after Kathy and her family on a tour of Ireland from 14th May 2010 to 21st May 2010.

We saw Galway and the West ,  Fermanagh and Devenish Island ,Belfast and the North coast , and of course Dublin.

Our tours of Belfast , the North Coast , and so much more are great value for money and really let you see so much more than on a coach.

You will actually feel the atmosphere and enjoy a real taste of Ireland rather than simply look at the countryside through a window.

Con tact us for more details.

Often in the background, giving the appearance that they are part of Islay are 2-3 large conical mountain peaks.  They are the famous Paps of the island of Jura another large Hebridean island just north and east of Islay.  On most days the large and foredoding south-west facing buttress of the equally famous Mull of Kintyre can be seen looming over the background of ourown Rathlin Island.  Check out some of the interpreted viewpoints along the north Antrim coast, for example Magheracross at Dunluce and Portaneevy at Ballintoy.

To the west and stretching north is Donegal’s beautiful Innishowen peninsula.  Visible are Innishowen Head and Balbane Head as well as Gengad on better days.  In certain conditions you can pick up on the distant nort western horizon the low lying island of Innistrahull with its blinking lighthouse just off Malin Head (Ireland’s most northerly point).  Innishowen is accessible by car and passenger ferry from Magilligan Point.

Just off Ramore Head at Portrush is a little chain of minor islands known as the Skerries (taken from the Scottish Gaelic meaning sea rocks).  Off Ballintoy are two lesser islands called Sheep Island and the famous Carrick-a-rede Island (accessible by rope bridge May – September).

So a tour of Ireland….or a tour out of Belfast…… lets you see a wee bit of Scotland !!!!!!