Who has been to Ireland?!

I need advice.

We have an opportunity to stay in Dublin for a week. We would have to pay for airfare but that is it. I have never actually thought of traveling there but we are big travelers and into trying new places.

So, I am just wondering ... what is there to do in Ireland?

Re: Who has been to Ireland?!

ME!!

I didn't want to go home...that's how much I loved it.

I could have moved there & never looked back.

First off, ireland is so confusing to travel..it was my first overseas trip, and I was not prepared: there are no zip codes, no real "addresses" either.

the people are notorious for giving you the "irish mile" stuff..."oh, yes, that's right this way" (and it ends up being an hour away, KWIM?)

We flew Aer Lingus, and loved it

We stayed outside of Dublin , but I wish we stayed IN Dublin. Dublin is kind of small, but you can see a good lot of it in 2 days..you can see Dublin castle, do the bus tours, go to Guiness Factory & have a free pint after the tour and look out all over Ireland from way above...you can see the book of Kells when you explore Trinity College..just such an amazing place


DEFINITELY go to the Ring of Kerry if you can...it's about 5 hours from Dublin, and I wanted to do it so badly, but was not sure, as it was a good drive away, and I was tired...but I said, what the hell, how often will I be in Ireland? It's a nice scenic drive overlooking lakes, and you see sheep and mountains. beautiful.

I didn't kiss the Blarney stone, but I did check out a lot of castles and stuff, and saw a lot of Ireland.

You can even go North and go up to what is considered part of the UK.

Ireland is such a gem..it really is. The people are great...food is good...just a great vibe.

We had downloaded the global navigation system on our Blackberries before going, and it didn't work. It was horrendous the first morning after our flight landed...we kept getting lost and trying to get directions to the hotel...our phones weren't acting right, and I remember DH calling up Verizon and screaming at them..so be sure to know exactly where to go before you land, because I relied too much on my navigator.



When are you going? We went in Oct, and it was pretty mild...I think it rained once.

Re: Who has been to Ireland?!

Also, Dublin has a sort of different vibe in the city...like there is the "uptown" area and the "downtown" area...but it's cool to explore them all.

There is one section perfect for tourists...Temple Bar. You will find some of the best restaurants and bars there, along with awesome little shops...and a leprachaun usually standing around, waving....tons of people are playing music and performing..so awesome.

Some things are pretty screwy in the country, like the toll...if you go through it, you have to log in to a computer and pay it in 24 hours or get fined...but then there's no system to tell you how many times you went through it or anything....it was wacky.

Re: Who has been to Ireland?!

anything I would poss suggest, rileysmama already did! All she suggested and loved it all!
We did a tour flew into kerry and flew out of dublin after staying there an extra 3 days!
We loved it all!

Cliffs of Mohr
Ring Of Kerry
Blarney
a bunch of castles
Temple Bar Area
Book of Kells
etc
etc

Re: Who has been to Ireland?!

Just got back from Ireland last week and we go once or twice a year
Anyway, rileysmama suggested LOTS of great tourist ideas...I would definitely not stay in Dublin for the whole week. You can hit all the highlights there in about 2 days. But if you are going to stay there the whole week, you can definitely find things to do within or just outside the city..you can take the Luas or DART (public train transport) to different places like Howth (town on the Irish Sea) etc.
You can also take the train or bus to other cities in Ireland for a day or overnight..Galway comes to mind, Belfast in Northern Ireland, Kilkenny would be nice for a day trip.

you won't appreciate all Ireland has to offer unless you get out of the city. Rent a car and pick a destination and drive. Kerry and Galway would be my picks. Kerry, for example, would be about a 5 hour drive from Dublin..because while there are alot of motorways now, alot of the main roads do take you through small towns which slows you down..but I think that's part of the charm! The actual Ring of Kerry drive could take you the entire day with stops for photos, food, sightseeing in Killarney etc. I would
recommend Dingle peninsula as an alternative to Ring of Kerry..also in Kerry but less touristy with amazing views and cute towns. also will take a day to do this in addition to the drive down from Dublin.

(the toll rileysmama talked about is on the M50, the ring road around Dublin, and yes it is the craziest toll system ever, but there are no other tolls like that in the country that I know of so dont worry about encountering them all over)

Message edited 5/18/2010 8:42:13 AM.

Re: Who has been to Ireland?!

I love Ireland, I have been twice!

The great thing about Ireland is it is a small country with no language barrier so I would recommend renting a car and driving around.

There are so many beautiful sights to see.

I found this link which is great:

http://goireland.about.com/od/preparingyourtrip/tp/top10sights.htm