Heading to Ireland.

Unlike the French

 

Got to have the money and the time to be able to do all that

 

I did a 9 day trip a year and half ago with my wife's family, 10 of us on a private bus. We flew into Dublin and took a bus around the coast and flew out of Shannon. We hit most of the main spots and luckily had a great guide the entire time who treated us like family and somewhat altered our itinerary based on what he wanted to show us not just the touristy stuff. Tons of history everywhere you look. My recommendation is travel around, don't just stay in Dublin. If you are renting a car have fun... I am glad we didn't have to drive when we were there because I would have been white knuckled the whole time.

Dublin was cool but after a day it was just any other city, with tons of foreigners from all over. Lots of cool pubs, check out the Brazen Head Pub in Dublin, apparently the oldest pup dating back to 1198. Of course check out Guinness and Jameson, and even the Teelings distillery. Drinking a pint of Guinness on top of the 360 room looking out onto Dublin was great. Pubs close early, like 10-11pm, so don't plan on drinking all night at the bar.

We did a day trip to Belfast to check out the Titanic museum which was great. Belfast has a sad history and was eyeopening seeing areas that looked almost bombed out. Literally I don't think anyone we saw there smiled once.

We stayed in Dublin, Kinsale, Killarney, Ennis, and Galway and stopped in most towns in between. Did the Blarney stone which is just a tourist attraction, I didn't kiss it and don't regret it, be prepared to wait in a long line. The Blarney castle and the grounds was amazing though so still check that out. The cliffs of Moher is just a giant tourist trap now and I was extremely disappointed. It was a great view but absolutely crawling with tourists and gift shops... Kinsale was a great little town and one of my favorite areas. Cork is great too but we didn't have much time to spend there. If you make your was to west coast do yourself a favor and check out the Aran Islands. You will need to take a ferry but it was the highlight of our trip. Galway was cool too but a typical college town, lots of 18y/o and hostels, great food though being a coastal town.

Don't worry about having to tell people you are American, they will already know. Americans abroad stick out like a sore thumb. And be prepared to talk about Trump... We were there during the election and had several political conversations with locals, it actually was embarrassing... Don't ask for "your best local brew" because they don't have that, they really all drink Guinness, Harp, and O'harahs, craft beer is not a thing there. They also have Bud and Heineken on draft in most places. Only in Killarney and Galway did we find local beer. Tons of little pubs and stick to "pub grub" for an affordable meal. Relax and have yourself a "bit of craic", try to fit in and enjoy the history and the Irish accent.


EDIT: Damn didnt see this was a year old bump... oh well maybe that info will be good for someone else...

 

I'm taking notes

 

That pretty much summed up our trip as well. We rented a car, and the driving wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be. The roads are very tight (what we would consider a one way road would be two ways with a 70-100km speed limit.) and you lose the ability to look around and enjoy the scenery as driving demands 100% of your attention but we loved having the freedom to go where ever we wanted and change our plans at the drop of a hat. the Aran Islands are amazing I would like to go back and spend a couple weeks in the southwest.

 

Ireland is quite the place. I went there in 07 by myself. I had February vacation and nobody else could go with me.

Like Chris said Dublin gets old pretty quick. The countryside is where it’s at. Next time I will get a car! Maybe rent a castle, who knows.