Landscape and the people are what bring most visitors to Ireland, and few are disappointed by the reality: green loughs, rolling plains, wild coastline, mystical lakes, and cosy pubs. What is more of a surprise is how much variety this small island manages to pack in on both sides of the border.
Horsing around
The sport unites two great Irish passions, horses and betting, and is carried out with a relaxed good humour. On Course Travel (01372 451910) offers packages to all the major fixtures, including the Irish Derby on June 29 at the Curragh. Three-night breaks cost from £365, including flights, B&B accommodation, car hire and three days' admission to the races.
If you'd rather ride than watch, In The Saddle (01256 851665, www.inthesaddle.com) offers a range of riding holidays in Ireland. Seven-day trail ride packages in County Down cost from £725 including full board accommodation in a country house hotel. Experienced riders can hit the road on an unaccompanied seven-day break in County Sligo, riding across long sandy beaches and grassy moors with overnight stops at B&Bs along the way. Irish Country Holidays (01502 560688) features seven-night breaks travelling through County Kerry by traditional Romany caravan. From £438, including caravan and car ferry.
Teeing off
Ireland has some of the best golf courses in Europe. Golf Par Excellence (01737 211818) covers clubs on the south-east coast, from Dublin to Cork, where the green fees are a fraction of those in the south west. A three-night break at the Portmarnock Links Hotel in Dublin costs £370, including a round each at Portmarnock Links, Portmarnock and Royal Dublin.
Take a hike
With four great mountain ranges, spectacular loughs, miles of wild coastline and 31 waymarked trails, walking holidays are understandably popular. Waymark Holidays (01753 516477) offers four guided walks, including a seven-night break covering the country's 11 Munros - peaks of over 3,000ft - and based at guesthouses in Kerry and Wicklow. From £580 half-board, including flights and guide. For more information on walking in Ireland, visit www.walking.travel.ie.
Pedal power
Cycling is a hugely popular sport in Ireland, partly due to the success of home-grown heroes Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly. Bike Tours (01225 310859) offers nine cycling holidays on the island, including the Connemara, Galway and Mayo tour, cycling along the quiet backroads of Westport, heading south through the Delphi valley and continuing along the coast road to Galway. Seven-night packages cost £385, including B&B accommodation, bike hire, luggage carrying, tour guide and maps. If you want to up the pace, try a motorbike tour; you bring your own bike and Leisure Breaks (0151-734 5200) supplies route maps, B&B accommodation and ferry crossing. From £120 for four nights.
Current account
With its 9,000 miles of rivers and streams, 600,000 acres of lakes and 3,000 miles of coastline, Ireland is an angler's paradise. Anglers World Holidays (01246 221717, www.anglers-world.co.uk) offers fishing breaks throughout the country, from holidays for the serious angler to relaxed family stays. Seven nights' self-catering at Ballyscullion Park, a favourite of Chris Tarrant, costs from £140pp (high season) £94pp (low season), prices based on four sharing and including ferry transport.
Stepping out
Virtually every town and village in Ireland has a festival of some kind or other. The Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann (pronounced fla hewel na hern), which includes the finals of the All Ireland music and dance contests, is the mother of them all. It takes place this year in Listowel, County Kerry, on August 24-26. A four-night B&B break in Listowel costs from £185 with Irish Ways Holidays (01536 724226) including five days' car hire. For more information, call the Fleadh office on 00353 68 23036.
Other musical highlights include the Wexford Opera Festival, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. JMB Travel (01905 830099) offers two-night breaks to the Wexford Opera Festival (October 18-November 4) from £295 including B&B accommodation, ferry crossing and opera tickets for two performances. Prospect (020-7486 5705) is offering six days in Bantry with tickets for four West Cork Chamber Music Festival performances departing on June 23 for £995pp.
Self-catering
Shamrock Cottages (01823 660 126) has more than 300 rentals, including a converted signal box and a cottage on the uninhabited Mason Island in Galway, reached only by the owner's curragh and visited with provisions every two days or so. From £206 a week including ferry crossing. Alternatively Rural Cottage Holidays (028-9024 1100) has over 200 properties in Northern Ireland
On stream
Be your own skipper for a week on the river Shannon, home to the largest collection of inland waterways in Ireland and Britain with more than 300 miles of inter-connected rivers, lakes and canals. Shannon Castle Line's (00 353 61 927 042) two- to eight-berth motor cruisers come with dinghies, binoculars, central heating, showers and cooking facilities, and all breaks begin with navigation and handling tuition. From £95 per person per week.
Drive Ireland (0151-231 1480) offers watery pursuits including windsurfing, canoeing, sailing, and raft-building at the Carlingford Activity Centre, at the foot of Sleive Foy mountain. Four-night breaks cost from £432, including flights, B&B and all activities.
Bar hopping
Belfast's Baileys Historical Pubs Walking Tour (028 92683665) includes visits to the National Trust-owned Crown Liquor Saloon and Kelly's Cellars, the oldest continuously-licensed premises in the city and a popular haunt of Henry Joy McCracken, leader of the 1798 rebellion. Visitors to Dublin should try the Jameson Literary Pub Crawl (00353 1 670 5602), taking in bars made famous by Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Brendan Behan among others.
Heritage trail
Shearings (01942 824824) offers a variety of coach tours exploring Ireland's culture and heritage. The price for the 12-day Best of Enchanting Ireland break, taking in Waterford, Blarney and Knock among others, starts from £599 including half-board accommodation, coach travel and guide.
Capital idea
Dublin has firmly established itself as one of the top European weekend destinations, and it's not hard to see why. Stay at the super-stylish Clarence Hotel (00353 1 407 0800), owned by U2 members Bono and The Edge. Chic, comfortable rooms with soft brown leather chairs, mosaic-tiled bathrooms and white oak furniture start from I£210 for a double/twin (no singles available); for a cheaper option, try Harding Hotel (00353 1 679 6500) in the Temple Bar area, singles I£45/doubles I£65. Eat at the ultra-fashionable Michelin-starred Peacock Alley in the Fitzwilliam Hotel (00353 1 478 7015). It might put a dent in your wallet, but the modern Irish food is seriously worth it. If you're after pub grub, the popular Oliver St John Gogarty on Fleet Street serves Irish stew, bacon and cabbage etc. The Front Lounge on Parliament Street attracts the beautiful people, while the Stag's Head in Dame Court serves a great pint of Guinness.
How to get there
Air: Aer Lingus (0845 9737747) to Cork, Dublin,Galway, Kerry, Shannon and Sligo; Air Wales (0870 0133151) to Cork; British European (0870 5676676) to Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Shannon; British Airways (0845 7733377) to Cork, Dublin, Shannon and Waterford; British Midland (0870 6070555) to Belfast and Dublin; easyJet (www.easyjet.com, 0870 6000000) to Belfast; Keen Air (0151 4480606) to Cork; Manx Airlines (0845 7256256) to Belfast and Dublin; Ryanair (www.ryanair.com, 0870 1569569) to Dublin, Kerry, Shannon, Cork, Knock and City of Derry. Go (www.go-fly.com) to Belfast.
Sea: Stena Line (0870 5707070) from Fishguard to Rosslare, Stranraer to Belfast, and Holyhead to Dublin or Dún Laoghaire; Irish Ferries (0870 5171717) from Holyhead to Dublin, and Pembroke to Rosslare; Sea Cat (0870 5523523) from both the Isle of Man and Liverpool to Dublin; Norse Merchant Ferries (0870 6004321) from Liverpool to Dublin and Belfast; P&O Irish Sea (0870 2424777) from Liverpool to Dublin; Swansea Cork Ferries (01792 456116) from Swansea to Cork.
Bus and ferry: Eurolines (0870 5143219) operates daily coach services from London and many regions in the UK to Dublin, Cork, Galway and over 100 destinations throughout Ireland.
St Patrick's Day special
• 'I was heading 60 miles out to sea, to a pirate's hangout' Sally Kindberg heads for the wild west of Ireland to visit a pirate queen's haunt 60 miles out to sea
• Cork tips Guy Mansell finds that the Republic's second city is competing with Dublin for the culture crown
• Manhattan transfer Parades may have been postponed in Irish cities because of the foot and mouth crisis, but New York's Irish Americans will be painting the town green, says Annie Mills
• The 'fast show From war-torn province to hip weekend destination, Belfast has been quick to reinvent itself, says Katharine Viner
• The middle way Far from the tourist trail but only an hour from Dublin, Roly Smith explores the Irish Midlands and finds his perfect home in the hills
