EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

LAHINCH , eight miles north of Spanish Point, is a busy family holiday resort with a fabulous broad sandy beach. Families aside, Lahinch attracts golfers and surfers, a weird hybrid well served by the town. To get a round at Lahinch golf course you will need to book well ahead (tel 065/708 1003); surfing is there for the taking. You can hear good music in the bars, especially in the summer months.

B&B accommodation is available at Seafield Lodge (tel 065/708 1594; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79) and Mulcarr House (tel 065/708 1123; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79), both close to the centre on Ennistymon Road. Slightly further out, but offering wonderful views of the bay are Le Bord De Mer , Cregg (tel 065/708 1454; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79) and Nazira , School Rd (tel 065/708 1362; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79). The resort has several traditional hotels including: The Aberdeen Arms (tel 065/708 1100; £90-110/¬114.28-139.67) and The Atlantic (tel 065/708 1049; £70-90/¬88.88-114.28) both on Main Street. At the other end of the scale, the Lahinch Hostel (IHH; tel 065/708 1040), next door to the church, is a decent budget option, with laundry facilities and bike rental. You can camp at Lahinch Camping and Caravan Park (closed Oct-April; tel 065/708 1424), an orderly family site that has a laundry for service washes and a wet-weather shelter. The mighty meals served in the bar of The Shamrock Hotel , Main St, will satisfy post-surf hunger. Other bars good for food include the seafront O'Looney's and nearby The Spinnaker Bar , both frequented by a lively young crowd. The Nineteenth Bar and Galvin's , both on Main Street, have a great atmosphere and music most nights during the summer. For seafood, good vegetarian food and fine views head for The Barrtrá (tel 065/708 1280), signposted off the road two miles south of Lahinch.

About two miles east of Lahinch, the old market town of ENNISTYMON , with its low shop-fronts and great old bars tucked away in the most unlikely of places, has a life, albeit a leisurely one, regardless of tourism. Its people enjoy traditional music and ballads in the bars year round. Try Phil's Bar , Daly's Bar , Eugene's or Cooley's House , all on Main Street. The church at the end of Main Street has been converted into a teach cheoil (ceilidh house) where you can catch evenings of traditional music. The town's Traditional Singing Festival is usually held over the first weekend in June. Ennistymon's setting is surprisingly green; signposted off the main street is the Cascades Walk which takes you a short way alongside the River Cullenagh as it rushes over slabs of rock through the heart of the little town. Ennistymon's eighteenth-century church stands on a hill above the town, from where you can see the blue river snaking its way out of the woods and beyond to the sea at Liscannor. Central B&Bs include the welcoming Station House , in Ennis Rd (tel 065/707 1149; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79).