Ireland- places to visit

[evans]

What are the must see sites in Ireland?
Our trip is six nights/seven days in early October. We're staying in Meath, Galway, Clare, and Dublin.

[Vespasia]

I was there 15 years ago so my memories are a bit vague. If I can find my photo album tonight I'll try to add more suggestions.

The things that stand out in my mind are:
Rock of Cashel (probably too far out of your way)
Cliffs of Moher
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park (a tad cheesy but fun)

We skipped Blarney Castle and I remember being less than enthused about Waterford Crystal but I was a teen at the time so I may just not have appreciated it.

[hz80408]

I'm assuming you are driving around? How many nights where? I'd love to help plan a trip/route for you (not that I'm an expert but we were there 7 days last Sept/Oct and loved it). Suggesting sighs will be easier knowing your schedule.

[evans]

Aug 29, 2013 14:14:21 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

I'm assuming you are driving around? How many nights where? I'd love to help plan a trip/route for you (not that I'm an expert but we were there 7 days last Sept/Oct and loved it). Suggesting sighs will be easier knowing your schedule.

Yes we are driving. We've already booked hotels in the towns we're staying. Dunboyne in Meath, Bushypark in Galway (two nights), Newmarket-on-Fergus in Clare, and Dublin (two nights).

[Susie]

Galway area - if you have a free day for it, see if the ferry is running from Rossaveal to Inishmore.  The Aran Islands are beautiful. 

Clare - Cliffs of Moher, music at a pub in Doolin, the Burren (doesn't take much time, but neat to see)

Dublin - depends what you like to do.  Kilmainham Gaol was one of my favorite things to visit, but it's kind of a downer and might be less interesting if you are not up on Irish history.  The hop on, hop off bus is a nice way to see a lot, and a reasonably priced way to get around too.  The Jameson's distillery was more interesting than the Guinness storehouse.

[hz80408]

Here's a suggested outline:

Day 1 Depending when you fly in, I'd consider driving through the Wicklow mountains south of Dublin.

Day 2 I'd drive Meath to Galway and explore Galway

Day 3 like PP said, if the weather is clear I would charter around Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher

Day 4 I'd consider driving to Dingle Penninsula or Killarney and back to Clare for the night; although you'd end of spending quite a bit of time in the car (although I'm not familiar with Clare; we loved both Dingle and views around Killarney

Day 5 Drive from Clare to Rock of Cashel to Dublin; it'd add about 30 min driving time on but we though Rock was beautiful and full of history

Dublin: Again, agreed with Susie that Kilmainham Gaol is not to be missed in Dublin. It was so interesting and probably my fav site in Dublin. We did both Guinness and Jameson; which was more of a when in Rome type thing, but the experience was worth it for both (ps you save a few euros if you buy tix online, we did it while standing in line).

I blogged our trip if you're interested.

[evans]

hz80408 Thanks for all the tips! I'll take a look at your blog too

[evans]

Aug 30, 2013 9:00:30 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

Here's a suggested outline:

Day 1 Depending when you fly in, I'd consider driving through the Wicklow mountains south of Dublin.

Day 2 I'd drive Meath to Galway and explore Galway

Day 3 like PP said, if the weather is clear I would charter around Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher

Day 4 I'd consider driving to Dingle Penninsula or Killarney and back to Clare for the night; although you'd end of spending quite a bit of time in the car (although I'm not familiar with Clare; we loved both Dingle and views around Killarney

Day 5 Drive from Clare to Rock of Cashel to Dublin; it'd add about 30 min driving time on but we though Rock was beautiful and full of history

Dublin: Again, agreed with Susie that Kilmainham Gaol is not to be missed in Dublin. It was so interesting and probably my fav site in Dublin. We did both Guinness and Jameson; which was more of a when in Rome type thing, but the experience was worth it for both (ps you save a few euros if you buy tix online, we did it while standing in line).

I blogged our trip if you're interested.

I read your blog! So many great tips! We're also flying out of ODR having booked an Aer Lingus trip. If you don't mind I've got more questions.

How did you get money out? ATMs or a bunch at once? Did you pay for anything by CC, was it hard? Anything you didn't do that you wish you had? And anything else you want to share would be great. (this is my first international trip.)

[mbcdefg]

Sept 3, 2013 8:41:56 GMT -5 evans said:

Aug 30, 2013 9:00:30 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

Here's a suggested outline:

Day 1 Depending when you fly in, I'd consider driving through the Wicklow mountains south of Dublin.

Day 2 I'd drive Meath to Galway and explore Galway

Day 3 like PP said, if the weather is clear I would charter around Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher

Day 4 I'd consider driving to Dingle Penninsula or Killarney and back to Clare for the night; although you'd end of spending quite a bit of time in the car (although I'm not familiar with Clare; we loved both Dingle and views around Killarney

Day 5 Drive from Clare to Rock of Cashel to Dublin; it'd add about 30 min driving time on but we though Rock was beautiful and full of history

Dublin: Again, agreed with Susie that Kilmainham Gaol is not to be missed in Dublin. It was so interesting and probably my fav site in Dublin. We did both Guinness and Jameson; which was more of a when in Rome type thing, but the experience was worth it for both (ps you save a few euros if you buy tix online, we did it while standing in line).

I blogged our trip if you're interested.

I read your blog! So many great tips! We're also flying out of ODR having booked an Aer Lingus trip. If you don't mind I've got more questions.

How did you get money out? ATMs or a bunch at once? Did you pay for anything by CC, was it hard? Anything you didn't do that you wish you had? And anything else you want to share would be great. (this is my first international trip.)

*butting in*

I was in Ireland in 2010 with my family. We flew into Dublin, rented a van, and drove west for a week before flying home from Shannon.

Definitely check out the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry - you can drive it yourself or you can arrange for a bus tour.

In Dublin, we did the Jameson Distillery tour, the Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College (Book of Kells). IMO, two days in Dublin is plenty and the countryside is more interesting.

Kinsale was a cute harbor town. There's a restaurant there called Fishy Fishy that's supposed to be very good (it was closed for the day by the time we got there). We ate at Jim Edwards instead, which was fine. Lahinch was one of the last towns before we flew home, and that was a nice waterfront town as well.

We stopped to see the Blarney Stone, which was OK just to say that we did it, but I'd skip it unless you have your heart set on it.

Re: the bolded, we all used our credit and debit cards for meals and purchases and we had zero issues. I had a Mastercard debit through a local bank, and MH had a Visa through PNC. My family members all used their cards as well. We took out some Euros at local ATMs when we needed it (primary for cab/light rail fare and tips), but most of our purchases were on cards. Call your bank/credit card company before you leave and give them a heads-up that you'll be traveling internationally, so that they don't freeze your card if they see suspicious international purchases all of a sudden.

Have some local ice cream - the dairy products in Ireland were insanely good. "American" foods like burgers were usually pretty blah, but the beef stews and seafood were consistently good.

[hz80408]

We ate at Fishy Fish mbcdefg, per the suggestion of @mavjen. It was delicious! I think it'd be too far out of evans way to go to Kinsale, Cork or any of the southern spots we visited.

I agree that 2 days in Dublin is plenty. We were also disappointed in Dublin after having such a great time in the country.

Regarding money, we used our visa credit card wherever we could bc we have 0% forien transaction fees. However there were several shops/bars/restaurants and even some sites that only accepted cash. We took it out of the ATM and the beginning of the trip and maybe once more?

I think Ireland is a great first international trip! You'll have to report back. I really have no regrets from our trip.

[evans]

Sept 3, 2013 10:14:28 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

We ate at Fishy Fish mbcdefg, per the suggestion of @mavjen. It was delicious! I think it'd be too far out of evans way to go to Kinsale, Cork or any of the southern spots we visited.

I agree that 2 days in Dublin is plenty. We were also disappointed in Dublin after having such a great time in the country.

Regarding money, we used our visa credit card wherever we could bc we have 0% forien transaction fees. However there were several shops/bars/restaurants and even some sites that only accepted cash. We took it out of the ATM and the beginning of the trip and maybe once more?

I think Ireland is a great first international trip! You'll have to report back. I really have no regrets from our trip.

Yeah, my CC has 3% foreign transaction fees and I don't know about my debit card yet. I'm too cheap to pay the 3% fee all the time but don't want to have a bunch of cash on me/us either. But it looks like we'll definitely need some.

Thanks all!

[anasara]

Kilmainham Gaol was my fave thing in Dublin.  The National Museum was cool too.  We only spent 2 days in Dublin & the rest in the southwest of the country since that's where my family is.  Dingle was my fave place of all; the drive was amazing.  Near Dublin I also enjoyed New Grange & Tara (about a 45 min drive), but I love archaeology & realize it's not for everyone.  Have fun!

[CloudBee]

Whilst in Dublin you I would suggest a private day tour. Basically a hired car (Mercedes) w/a driver who will take you wherever you want. Powercourt Estate, Wicklow, seaside, etc.

This is the company we used. Kieran is the main contact there.

E. [e-mail]

W. www.tourdublin.ie

[Vespasia]

Check and see if your bank has a partnership with any banks in Ireland that can reduce your ATM withdrawal fees too.

[Deleted]

I'm in Galway now, at the end of a 9 day trip. Our itinerary was 2 nights in Dublin, 2 nights in Kilkenny, 2 nights in Dingle, 2 nights in Galway, then back to Dublin tomorrow.

In Dublin, Kilmainham Gaol was excellent. I learned a lot about Irish history and the tour was interesting. The Guinness Factory tour is fun if you like beer. Everything else we just saw by walking around. We had a nice meal at Winding Stair.

In Clare the Cliffs of Moher was amazing. When you get our of the parking lot and past the visitors center, go to the left instead of the right for less crowds and better views. We got there around 5pm and avoided most of the tour buses.

The highlight of our trip was Dingle and the SleaHead Drive. Not sure if your itinerary is flexible but I wouldn't miss that area. It's not a reasonable day trip from Galway - the roads are slow going and it took us about 5 hours to drive from Dingle to Galway stopping in the Cliffs of Moher. If you decide to visit Dingle we had excellent sea food at Into the Blue.

We've used mostly cash. We converted money at our bank before leaving for a flat rate of $10. We have encountered places, small cafes and pubs, that are cash only. Restaurants and shops in larger towns will accept cards (not Amex) but when driving around stopping in small towns for lunch or snacks, several have not accepted cards. At home I am all about credit card rewards, but while traveling (and on the trip for sure) I've found cash more convenient and also good for budgeting.

We're having a great time, very fun trip. Enjoy! One tip I have is to be conservative with drive times. We've had perfect weather and my husband is a good driver and all of our drives between cities have taken longer than the estimates. The country roads are narrow and winding and we've gotten stuck behind hay trucks (and a herd of cows once.)