Introduction to Kilkee, CE

KILKEE, over on the Atlantic coast and eight miles northwest of Kilrush, is a small, busy holiday town with all the amenities you'd expect: cheap cafés, restaurants, amusements and nightlife. Popular with the bucket-and-spade brigade, the town comes as a healthy piece of normality if the offbeat romanticism of the west coast has become too much. The westerly tip of the town's magnificent golden beach, set below a dramatic cliff, meets an apron of laminated rock strata known as the Duggerna Rocks, which protects it from the ravages of the Atlantic. Here, when the tide is out, deep, clear pollock holes form, filled with colourful marine life.

Bus Éireann services, departing from outside Neville's just along the Lahinch road, link Kilkee with Ennis and other towns along the coast. The tourist office on The Square (mid-May to early Sept daily 10am–1pm & 2–6pm; tel 065/905 6112) is very helpful with accommodation, but it's worth bearing in mind that Kilkee is a popular beach resort and often booked out in August. Kincora (tel 065/905 6250; €50–70/£30–40) on The Square and Bay View (tel 065/905 6058, bayview3@eircom.net; €50–70/£30–40) on O'Connell Street, are good bets for B&B. Alternatively, you could try Purtill's Guesthouse, O'Curry Street, a solid, newly refurbished place (tel 065/905 6771; €50–70/£30–40), or Dunearn House, West End (tel 065/905 6545; €50–70/£30–40). The cheapest decent accommodation is at Kilkee Hostel, O'Curry Street (IHH; tel 065/905 6209, kilkeehostel@eircom.net; under €50/£30; March–Oct), a friendly, family-run hostel right in the centre of town. If you want to camp, try the large Cunningham's Holiday Park (tel 065/905 6430; closed mid-Sept to Easter weekend), reached as you approach town from Kilrush by taking the first left after the petrol station.

Activities available in Kilkee include: pitch and putt, golf on the eighteen-hole championship course (tel 065/905 6048), scuba diving with Kilkee Diving and Watersports Centre (tel 065/905 6707) and pony trekking (tel 065/905 6635). Kilkee Waterworld, at the north end of the beach (June daily noon–8pm; July & Aug daily 11am–9pm, phone at other times; tel 065/905 6855), is a popular family attraction, with geysers, gushers and an exhilarating 200-foot tower slide, and is particularly worth a visit if you are travelling with children, though in fine weather there can be few better places to swim than in the safe waters of the Blue Flag beach.

Lodged in among the bars and chippies you'll find a handful of good places to eat, including The Strand Restaurant (tel 065/905 6177, www.clareguesthouse.com) on the seafront, a popular spot for seafood and The Pantry, on O'Curry Street, which does great home baking during the day and restaurant fare in the evening. On the same street, you'll get good bar food at Myles' Creek (tel 065/905 6900). Kilkee has no shortage of pubs and O'Mara's Bar (tel 065/905 6900), 12 O'Curry St, is a great old bar, with traditional and folk music (summer Mon, Wed & Fri). A younger crowd frequent Myles' Creek, to listen to the rock and pop (summer 5 nights a week, winter weekends only) and traditional music (summer Mon). Finally, The Greyhound in O'Curry Street is arguably the cutest bar in Clare.

Information by Rough Guides

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