A delicious B&B breakfast that could feed an army. Guestrooms straight out of House and Home and a welcome so warm that you might not even need the turf fire. B&Bs in Ireland aren’t accommodation – they’re an experience.

And the secret? It’s all down to tradition. Welcomed into the B&B by your host (the lady of the house or the ‘Bean an Ti’ in Irish) this is where your Irish experience begins. Fresh home baking including hot scones made with a delicate hand and good old family recipes handed down through generations. A hot pot of tea and a friendly chat with your host who may ask ‘So, how was the journey. You must be exhausted!’ You’ve chosen their family home B&B and their beloved Ireland for your holiday – and they couldn’t be happier.

And now for the inside knowledge on the local area. You will find everything you need to know at the local B&B. Where to sip the best Guinness, where to find the best local restaurants and how to find that secret walk that only the locals know. B&Bs in Ireland have honed their local knowledge not only over their own lifetime, but from their grandparents too. Expect to hear ‘my grandfather caught the biggest pike on that lake!’ or ‘my grandmother showed me how to bake this soda bread. I might even give you the recipe…’ Now you’ve arrived at your Irish B&B and now you will feel like part of the family. Any holiday in Ireland is a story. B&Bs are a chapter you won’t want to miss.

B&B Activity Vacations in Ireland
We all have our interests. Spending a weekend with a line lazily cast in a lake or stomping around a heathery mountain range in search of historic hills. Teeing off into the great blue yonder or finding foodie heaven with a bowl of steamed mussels on the coast. When you stay in an Irish Bed and Breakfast, be sure to take your interests with you. You see, while you might see B&Bs in Ireland as cosy comfort or that place where you first found the full Irish breakfast – the truth is, there’s more.

Bed and Breakfasts approved by  Failte Ireland and in the B&B Ireland group are experts in their field. B&B Ireland members are experts in their field. After the finest food? Pop into a Food Lovers’ B&B. Seeking some serious surf? You’ll be needing and Adventure’s Welcome property. And the list goes on. Eco aware, pet friendly, Gaeltacht, Angling, Golfing, Farmstays and Walking and Ancestry. And it’s not exclusive. A B&B can be Eco-friendly but they could be for Food Lovers’, too. The key here is choice. B&Bs – accommodation, just better.

Eco-Friendly B&B’s

Footprints aren’t just in the sand. They’re in what we use, how we travel and where we stay. An increasing amount of travellers are concerned with their environmental footprint and that’s where B&B Ireland approved Eco-Friendly B&Bs come in. The hosts here are all about The Good Life with the best environmental practice used by managing water usage, food production and electricity usage with various new and cutting edge ways. You’ll sleep a little sounder at night when you’ve done the earth some good.

Pet Friendly B&B’s

No one does puppy dog eyes like the family dog being left behind as you set sail for the holiday of a lifetime. Arranging and paying for kennels are headaches you don’t need when you’re supposed to be relaxing for a holiday, making Pet Friendly B&Bs a welcome addition to a holiday with Rover in tow. On offer from Pet Friendly B&Bs are secure fences, pet accessories, suitable sleeping arrangements as well as hugely understanding hosts who would rival Doctor Doolittle for pet rapport.

Gaeltacht B&B’s

Visitors staying in B&Bs are often after something intangible – the traditional. Tradition, culture and people start with language and it’s in a Gaeltacht B&B where tradition trips off the tongue. Literally. Dive into Gaeilge (Irish) at one of Ireland’s Blaiseadh Gaeltachta B&Bs and you dive into the thick, rich mist that is Ireland’s Gaeltacht culture of not only language, but music, storytelling and song. And in case you’re not linguistically inclined, the hosts speak English as a matter of course. Who knows, by the end of your stay you’ll be blessed with a cupla focail (a few words) just like Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Ireland. ( not sure how relevant this is in markets other than GB??)

Food Lovers B&B’s

Steam rising from freshly baked brown soda bread. Thick, locally sourced sausages sizzling on your plate and the finest cup of coffee since you arrived – food is the backbone of the B&B experience. If your spare time is spent discussing, tasting, buying and trying food then a Food Lovers’ B&B is accommodation sent from the gods. Hosts at Food Lovers’ B&Bs are in tune with taste and deal with local producers who provide seriously seasonal and fresh produce. They’ll probably also have the know-how on where you’ll find the finest cafés, restaurants, cheese makers and maybe even whiskeys in the area.

Adventure Seekers B&B’s

A word to the wise: Ireland is the Great Outdoors. And while it’s exciting to chase an adventure, it’s always nice when your hosts can direct you to the hottest abseiling spots, the biggest waves or the most challenging mountain trails. Ireland’s Adventure Seekers’ B&Bs are where the surfing, kayaking, hiking, horse-riding visitors stay to get the locals’ tips on the outdoor and adventure spots. They’ll send you where the air is cleanest, the buzz is best and the pros prefer. Think horse-riding on Cleggan Beach in Connemara, braving breakers in Clare and kayaking in Kerry. Think adventure.  Mention packed lunches

Golfers Welcome B&B’s

For some people, Links and Parklands are on the periphery of a holiday. For hosts of and visitors to Ireland’s Golfers Welcome B&Bs they’re the centre of the world. Along with knowing the lie of pretty much every green in the country, these hosts provide those little extras that make your average golfer feel like Tiger Woods arriving at Augusta. Think lockable club storage, daily weather forecasts and all the information you’ll need on local courses, tee times and where to pick up any essentials forgotten at home. With care like this, you’ll find that drive feeling just a little sweeter.

Angling B&B’s

If any pastime needs insider information – angling is it. From pike to perch and salmon to trout, there’s only so much you can learn about Ireland’s angling waters from trawling the internet. Anglers Welcome B&Bs are headed by walking, talking encyclopaedic hosts whose best buddies are ghillies/angling guides and can answer any angling query within seconds. Licences, equipment, little unknown angling spots… an Anglers Welcome B&B cuts out the unknowns and means you have no excuse not to land a whopper.

Farmstay B&B’s

The sight of an egg nestling on straw, the sound of cows gently lowing and lambs nuzzling their mother - goodbye city stress hello country heaven. Getting back to nature and back to basics is the essence of Farmstay B&B accommodation. Sample all the joys of farm life like picking your eggs for breakfast, feeding newborn foals or strolling acres of pastoral perfection to remind yourself that outside the hustle and bustle of the city lives serenity. Farmstays Welcome B&Bs bring you back to basics and into nature.  Mention families, sheep shearing, lambing, rounding up the sheep with the collie a favourite with kids

Walking B&B’s

Arrive in Ireland with a solid pair of boots and the island is yours. No mountains are too tall, no valleys are too low and treading on soft, springy bog is like walking on air. Take spots like those purple-hued Wicklow Mountains or County Down’s epic Mournes and you’re in hiking heaven. Seal the experience by laying your head in a Walkers Welcome B&B. It’s here that the sites not noted on the map, the ‘must-sees’ and the inside track, so to speak, are endowed to the uninitiated. With some local advice, a stroll turns to an adventure and walking gets pretty wonderful. Add in super storage, early breakfasts for early risers and ideal locations and your walking retreat awaits.  Don’t forget to ask your host to prepare a delicious packed lunch, full of home baked treats to keep you bursting with energy on your walk.

Ancestry B&B’s

Local information – you really can’t beat it. Especially when you’ve travelled all the way to Ireland searching for the key to your family tree. Consider Irish Ancestry Seeker B&Bs a cosy, repository of local information where you get an amazing night’s sleep, a breakfast of epic proportions and the help that sets you on your way to finding that gaggle of cousins you’ve been after for years. Hosts at Irish Ancestry Seeker B&Bs are brimming with local history as well being clued in to local archives, where to source church records and what museums or heritage sights might further your ancestral enquiries. Which begs the question: Is there anything a B&B Ireland B&B can’t do?