DOOLIN, Ireland — No one wants car trouble on vacation, especially when the sun is setting and, thanks to poor planning, you still haven't found a room for the night. But if you're going to blow a tire in Ireland, this pretty little seaside village on the northwest coast of County Clare is the place to do it.

My husband and I were en route from Ennis to the Cliffs of Mohr, one of the country's most spectacular natural wonders, when an oncoming car flew 'round the bend and ran our tiny rented Fiat Punto into a ditch. We were shaken but not all that surprised; Ireland is notorious for its narrow roads and speed-demon drivers, particularly in rural areas. Besides, we'd already knocked the cover off the passenger-side mirror the previous morning when an equally crazy driver got too close on the main street through Tipperary.

Still, we didn't notice any real damage until hours later, after we'd toured the Cliffs jutting some 700 feet over the Atlantic (absolutely stunning!) and then curved our way north along the coast to Doolin, known worldwide as the unofficial capital of Irish traditional music.

Actually, someone noticed it for us.

"Do you have a room?" we called out hopefully to the man standing in front of the Seaview House Bed and Breakfast.

He shook his head. "But you have a flat," he offered helpfully.

Considering Doolin is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and the spare was one of those dinky temporary numbers, we panicked; less than 36 hours into a whirlwind, four-day trip across the country, we still had hundreds of miles to go and dozens of sites to see. We couldn't afford to waste one minute searching for a repair shop.

But the luck of the Irish was with us. The woman who owned the B&B we thumbed our way to assured us that her friend John, who had a tire shop in the middle of a sheep pasture just up the road, could set us up and was more than happy to rouse him by cell the next morning. So we were able to spend the evening as originally planned, listening to live music while enjoying a pint at two of the town's three pubs: Gus O'Connor's Pub, which dates to 1832, and McGann's.

Much has been made in recent years about the "new Ireland" and how it's progressed from being one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the wealthiest. The capital city of Dublin, for instance, in which one-fourth of the Republic's citizens live, is now one of the top destinations in the European Union, drawing more than 4 million visitors a year.

But let's face it: Tourists really go there to experience the old Ireland — lush, sweeping landscapes dotted with medieval ruins and castles; picturesque thatched-roof cottages still warmed by a peat fire; the lively sounds of traditional Irish music; a pint of Guinness at a century-old village pub.