Ireland, Summer 2011 tips & advice

[Tink2000]

Family taking first trip to Ireland. We will be renting a car for the 7-10 days we will be there. I am looking for and tips. Thanks

 

[Chokky]

Family taking first trip to Ireland. We will be renting a car for the 7-10 days we will be there. I am looking for and tips. Thanks

We did a driving tour of Ireland in 2006.
Three families driving the same route and staying at mostly Travelodge hotels.
Once you have kids, a hotel room usually works out cheaper than a B&B because B&Bs charge per person and don't often have family size rooms.

We did a big southern loop of Ireland starting and finishing in Dublin.

Started in Dublin couple of days - Book of Kells, museum, castle.
Also visited the private gardens at PowersCourt just outside Dublin that are amazing.

Drove south to Glendaloch (stopped) then down to Waterford.
Did the tour there then drove inland north to the Rock of Cashel then back down to Cork.
Went to Cobh where the Titanic sailed from and Blarney castle and drove to Kilarney.
Visited Muckross House and farms and drove the Ring of Kerry
Went through Galway heading back across towards Dublin
Visited the Bru Na Boinne historic site and did the tours - a highlight!
Back to Dublin.

We did/saw all of this in 7-10 days and loved it!
Rick Steves Ireland is a great book to buy if you plan to go.

 

[goodeats]

We did Ireland in 2008. We were there 10 days I think, and we really did too much driving. We basically drove the perimeter of the country (including Northern Island) and saw a lot, but not in depth. Plus the driving really takes it's toll on you. I would suggest picking a couple of areas and stay there for a few nights each.

In Dublin you really only need two nights at the most. If we get the chance to go back we'll probably just fly into Shannon and skip Dublin all together. The Cliffs of Moher are a must see. There are a lot of nice small towns nearby (The Burren region I think?). The Connemarra region is also really beautiful.

It stays really light out late at night during the summer. We were there in May and the sun didn't set until 9:00 or 10:00 I think.

 

[NotUrsula]

Realize that most tourist spots are NOT right near the motorway; the drive time will always be nearly double what you anticipate it will be, even if you don't get stuck driving for miles behind a piece of farm machinery.

Pack as light as you can and rent the smallest vehicle that you can squeeze into. This will help you in two ways: 1) It will save you on gasoline. Realize that you will pay about $150 to fill the tank of a compact car. 2) It will help keep you from getting into accidents on country lanes in the West; remember that in Ireland most roads are rimmed by stacked-stone walls, which are very unforgiving if sideswiped.

 

[NewDCLGuy]

I would suggest minimizing your time in Dublin. Not that there's anything wrong with Dublin. It's a nice place. Lots of history, art, shops, restaurants and bars, etc. It just - to me at least - didn't feel particularly Irish.

Given a chance to do my trip to Ireland over, I'd spend less time in Dublin, and more out in the smaller cities and countryside.

 

[Wonders10]

I did the adventures by disney trip...feel free to peruse my trip report (link in my signature) to get some ideas of things to do in the various parts of the country. You will love it! I can't wait to go back.

 

[bonoriffic]

We went to see U2 in Dublin and then drove in a circle west and south and back to Dublin. Driving in Ireland is fairly awful. The roads are in poor shape compared to US roads, very narrow, and it doesn't help you are on the wrong side of the road. Detailed maps are not easy to come by. We found roads would frequently be shut down with a detour. Sometimes you were expected to know how to get to the road you should have detoured onto. You may come across sheep in the road at one corner, and the next is a tour bus and you are on a road barely big enough for two cars lets alone a bus. In general it is slow going. A journey from Dublin to Galway will take the entire day, when on paper it looks like a reasonable drive.

 

[DMRick]

Just wanted to say, have a wonderful time. We love Dublin (we just use the hop on hop off bus to see most of what we wanted to see). We've been several times because my son and his family live there. If you have specific questions, (that either I or my son could might be able to help with) just pm. We take train or bus tours if my son isn't able to drive us where we want to go. So much to see..I could spend two weeks in Dublin alone, even after several visits (and to us, that is a very Irish area).

I do have to say, that we leave the driving to him..the small roads, the high sides of the road (berms or walls), make me nervous. I always have to take Bonine, or I get car sick there (never at home). I suggest you pay extra for an automatic, if you aren't used to driving a standard, as it's one less thing to think about.

 

[shamrock30]

I've been to Ireland including Northeren Ireland twice, once for two weeks and once for three. We found the western part of Ireland to be the most interesting. Dublin and the surrounding area was just "okay" for us.

I agree with the suggestion of staying at least a few nights per area. Moving every night gets old quickly.

 

[klacey1]

I would suggest minimizing your time in Dublin. Not that there's anything wrong with Dublin. It's a nice place. Lots of history, art, shops, restaurants and bars, etc. It just - to me at least - didn't feel particularly Irish.

Given a chance to do my trip to Ireland over, I'd spend less time in Dublin, and more out in the smaller cities and countryside.

Definitely agree with this. My father is from Ireland, so 90% of our vacations growing up were here. Dublin is okay, but nothing particularly amazing. Nothing you couldn't really find in the US.
I also agree with the PP who said spend a few nights in a couple of cities/towns, as opposed to driving around the country. Dingle is a BEAUTIFUL city, very IRELAND. You can take a really cool boat tour to see a dolphin and visit cute little shops.
You can go to the beach in the south-- Bally Bunion is beautiful, and also famous for their golf courses. There's a statue of Bill Clinton there-- it's one of his favorite courses in the world.
Galway is also gorgeous, and Cork is a fun small city. I recommend getting a guidebook, definitely! Can't be much help with hotels-- we always stayed with family.

 

[DMRick]

Definitely agree with this. My father is from Ireland, so 90% of our vacations growing up were here. Dublin is okay, but nothing particularly amazing. Nothing you couldn't really find in the US.

LOL..just a few really old castles, old churches, St Stephens square, awesome places to eat, a really old jail, and great little areas to walk around in. If you have never been there before, there is a lot to do..if you have been there for many vacaitons, it would prob get old. My son was married in a church that was older than anything we have here. That said, we have loved all of Ireland, and we'll be back for 10 days in May.

All of Ireland is beautiful, but Dublin and the outskirts does have a lot to look at. We also love the countryside...you can look before you go, as google has now found the outskirts. Here is my son's town (we can walk to it from his home, which is a beautiful stand alone in a cute development), and he's not far from Trim Castle, where they are often having activities:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...27&ll=53.454811,-6.925367&spn=0,0.001596&z=19

 

[klacey1]

LOL..just a few really old castles, old churches, St Stephens square, awesome places to eat, a really old jail, and great little areas to walk around in. If you have never been there before, there is a lot to do..if you have been there for many vacaitons, it would prob get old. My son was married in a church that was older than anything we have here. That said, we have loved all of Ireland, and we'll be back for 10 days in May.

I wasn't the only one who said that Dublin wasn't the most amazing place in the world. There are plenty of more interesting castles, etc. in other parts of Ireland. IMHO (and that of others in this thread), there are better ways to spend your time in Ireland-- especially when the OP only has a week. I think one night MAX in Dublin is way more than enough.

 

[Rora]

I was there when I was 6.. I don't remember much but I DO remember that it took a lot longer to get places than what the Irish people quoted. Whenever we were lost or needed directions, we'd stop and ask a local. We learned very quickly that a "10 minute walk" was more of a 25-30 minute walk!

I enjoyed the Blarney Castle, the book of Kells, Trinity College. I don't remember much else.

We had a chance to stay in an old Castle, and it was an amazing opportunity!! We stayed there for 2 nights and the rest of the time we stayed in B&Bs. The only one I remember is Carmel's B&B: http://www.bedandbreakfastireland.net/Wicklow_Carmel's.htm

Have a great trip!

 

[DMRick]

I wasn't the only one who said that Dublin wasn't the most amazing place in the world. .

I don't think anyone said it was the most amazing place in the world (my son loves all of Ireland, but I don't think even he thinks its amazing), including me. I have no idea where you got that idea. I do love the Dublin area though, there is so much to do from the Center. The OP said she will be in Ireland for 7-10 days, which isn't a long time to see all of Ireland. I mentioned several places are beautiful, however, the east and the west and the north and the south are all quite a distance..why waste a lot of time driving on the road? I actually suggest she find an area with the most to see, and take tours from there. We took wonderful day tours from Dublin on the train and some train/van/bus tours..went to Belfast, the Cliffs, Ring of Kerry, and many other places from there, without having to spend hours driving (we got to see the countryside while others drove), packing, repacking, etc. We all have opinions, and mine is that she stay in a place that gives her opportunties to see as much of Ireland as she can, and my opinion (and I'm sure others will have theirs..I only go once a year for a couple of weeks, for the past few years, so I sure still have a lot to learn) is still that she stay in Dublin and take tours, to maximize what she can see..at least for half of the time. Then perhaps head over to Cork and do the same, take tours from there. If you aren't used to it, I think driving in Ireland is tough..small, tight, curvy, roads. If she still wants to drive, I think Chokky gave the best suggestions, although again, I think a lot of time is spent packing and unpacking if she only has 7 days.
But these are suggestions, which is what I thought she was looking for. She can look over all the suggestions and then of course, do whatever she wishes.

 

[Tink2000]

Thanks for everyones ideas. I might have to rethink the rental of a car and driving. Still looking and trying to see what we do want to see and doo while there.
Few more questions: What airline do you fly and into Dublin or Shannon? Where do you fly out of the US?

 

[DMRick]

Thanks for everyones ideas. I might have to rethink the rental of a car and driving. Still looking and trying to see what we do want to see and doo while there.
Few more questions: What airline do you fly and into Dublin or Shannon? Where do you fly out of the US?

We've used Air Lingus, Continental and Delta. We've flown out of NY, NJ, and Boston, and always into Dublin, since that airport is closest to my son's home.
In May, we'll be using USAir for the first time. We take whichever is the least expensive. We've had the most problems with Continental, so I doubt we'll use them again.

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't think that you should give up the idea of driving. Self-drive is really the best way to go if you want to see the West, because the train (Iarnrod) covers only a limited area of the country, and the bus system (Bus Eireann), though comprehensive and safe, is VERY slow because it stops in every tiny town. Driving isn't particularly difficult if you have a decent navigator, but again, you don't want to do the American thing and go with a large vehicle, because the larger your car is, the harder driving becomes when you're driving on the opposite side of the road. Small is good in this situation, trust me.

As PP's have mentioned, your best bet with a family is to set up a regional base or two and move no more than twice twice during your stay. Dublin is a lovely city, but the tourist attractions there are not the most kid-friendly, and it is punishingly expensive compared to the rest of the country. (IMO, it tends to be more fun on an adult-only trip when you're free to enjoy the pub scene and theatre.) I've got lots of family all over Ireland, and the part of Dublin that my kids like best is always my Aunt's sweets cupboard, followed by watching the seals on Blackrock Beach. (Older folks in Ireland tend to have candy about the house all the time; because it was so hard to come by for years during and after WW2. My kids LOVE visiting them because they are guaranteed all the candy they can eat!)

My personal recommendation with a family is renting self-catering cottages. We always do that because my older relatives live in very small cottages and don't have room to put us up. I find that B&B's can be awkward with children, because B&B's in Ireland are usually someone's family home; if the host family have no young children resident, the place will not be too kid-friendly, and if they do have children the boundaries that need to be set regarding toys, etc. can be difficult. Besides, as someone has already pointed out, B&B's charge by the guest, whereas self-catering properties charge a flat rate. (Also, don't underestimate the stress-relief value of being able to fix your kids the occasional American-style meal -- and drinks with ICE in them!)

 

[jfranklyn]

Definately rent or borrow a GPS. My step-daughters GPS included Ireland, and when we went last summer, it made all the difference in the world. We have been there many times (mostly Northern Ireland), but still having the GPS made it SOOOO much easier.

 

[DMRick]

When we took the train tours, there were then private buses to meet us at the other end, so we were able to go everywhere the tour was designed to go. We haven't missed seeing much in Ireland, because the tours are set up to get us where we wanted to go. That said, the cost of the tours might make it too expensive for a large family. We did get to see stuff that we would not have seen if the tour companies hadn't made arrangements to get keys to open more private places.

We have had kids with us on most trips to Ireland, including Dublin, and they loved it all..the old castles, the old jail (kids loved it), the street activities, and of course the touring throughout Ireland (especially eating and sleeping in a real castle..that was their favorite). If the kids don't like history, then many places in Ireland might be boring for them..there is a lot of history there. The only time we do the pubs are if we are hungry, and my son's rehearsal diner, and the kids went in with us for that. We didn't go to anything, except the book of kells, and a few inexpensive castles where we had to pay to get in besides the private tours outside of Dublin. I guess the cost in Dublin or anywhere, will depend on what they want to see. Mostly we did the HOHO with the kids, in Dublin, as well as a lot of walking, and then the private tours, which meet at the train station, and then have buses at the other end, and then some of us took the train to Cork, and spent a few days there and did some private touring, both with a car (someone who lived there drove) and again, regular tour companies.

We filled most of a B & B for my son's wedding, and the cost was very inexpensive compared to a hotel. Of course depending on the rate of exchange, it can be an expensive or cheap trip..it's been everywhere from $1.10 to $1.60 per for exchange when we've been there.

If you do get a car, don't plan on filling it with as many people it will sit, and a lot of luggage. The cars are small (although you can rent a larger car, but then the driving is more difficult). Be sure to figure in your gas prices also when deciding to drive or private tours.

 

[DMRick]

Definately rent or borrow a GPS. My step-daughters GPS included Ireland, and when we went last summer, it made all the difference in the world. We have been there many times (mostly Northern Ireland), but still having the GPS made it SOOOO much easier.

The Garmins should have Europe maps, if the second from the right number is a 7. I agree, an up to date GPS would be great, if driving through both Ireland and Northern Ireland.