There's nothing like taking a break, kicking back and unwinding from it all. But if you've got a furry friend at home planning a vacation can be a bit of a logistical nightmare. You can count the number of dog-friendly hotels in Ireland on one hand (OK two hands, but still pathetically few!) For this reason I decided to investigate the AirBnB options and I am happy to report it's a veritable gold mine of pet-friendly accommodation.
Last November I decided to head to the country for a pre-baby break. (My baby was born in January.) I wanted to find somewhere rural that I would let me bring my 1-year old puppy Toffee. I had several choices but finally settled on a lovely cottage in Clare. Although the host had ticked pet-friendly on his profile, I contacted him before booking just to be sure. He couldn't have been warmer and set my mind totally at ease about bringing Toffee.
The house was lovely, a large cottage with plenty of garden for Toffee to play in. I brought his dog basket so that he wouldn't feel too far away from home and that seemed to set him at ease. The cottage was set on a quiet lane way which was a little muddy (it was November afterall!), but that didn't deter Toffee from exploring each and every puddle thoroughly!
In the evening we lit a great big fire and sat marvelling at the peace and quiet as Toffee basked in the heat, rotating between back and belly until he was partially roasted and decided to take himself off to bed. We don't have a fireplace at home so it was a real treat for us and him, although I definitely found I had to give him more water (about double his usual amount).
The cottage was very close to a local lake called Lough Derg, which my host informed me is part of the scenic East Clare Way and a great walk, but being heavily pregnant I only managed a small portion of it. Nevertheless, Toffee loved every second of it! It made for a grand departure from his usual daily walk in the park and of course he splattered into the lake as soon as he could. The walk took us through woodland and finally petered out into marsh, but not before our cheeks were rosy and Toffee had marked every inch as part of his territory.
For just €50 per night for the three of us I don't think we could possibly have asked for better value. I'll definitely be heading to AirBnB when it comes time to take my next break. To find a pet-friendly property head to https://www.airbnb.ie/s/Ireland?amenity=pet-friendly
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