New here(not to Disney) Going to Ireland

[bekkiz]

We went in April, the week before Easter. I had every hotel or B&B planned and reserved in advance. I'm as obsessive about all my trips as I am about Disney and the idea of having to find a place to stay that day makes me ill

I honestly don't know how much the whole thing cost I know the plane tickets were probably around $700. All of our places to stay ranged in price from 99 to 140 euro (Except where we stayed in Kenmare, we sort of splurged and stayed at an uber-fancy hotel). The rental car was under 200 euro for the week (most cars are manual drive, so DH drove everywhere. In retrospect, it might have been worth the extra cost for an automatic so that I could drive and he could enjoy the scenery). We tended to eat very reasonable meals in pubs or restaurants recommended by the hotel.

The green Michalin book, as well as the Rick Steves book are both must haves for a self guided tour. They were both fantastic for getting around. I'm more than happy to answer questions, we had a great time!

 

[Tig-girl]

We went in April, the week before Easter. I had every hotel or B&B planned and reserved in advance. I'm as obsessive about all my trips as I am about Disney and the idea of having to find a place to stay that day makes me ill

I honestly don't know how much the whole thing cost I know the plane tickets were probably around $700. All of our places to stay ranged in price from 99 to 140 euro (Except where we stayed in Kenmare, we sort of splurged and stayed at an uber-fancy hotel). The rental car was under 200 euro for the week (most cars are manual drive, so DH drove everywhere. In retrospect, it might have been worth the extra cost for an automatic so that I could drive and he could enjoy the scenery). We tended to eat very reasonable meals in pubs or restaurants recommended by the hotel.

The green Michalin book, as well as the Rick Steves book are both must haves for a self guided tour. They were both fantastic for getting around. I'm more than happy to answer questions, we had a great time!

Thanks for the book ideas....I think I'll go look them up now. I'll have more questions though for sure, so expect a PM in the near future!

 

[Tig-girl]

Hi guys!

Just back from WDW, arrived in Dublin Airport at 5am this morning so I'm a bit zonked. I promise I will post back later with information on a self guided tour & tips/good websites etc.

TTUL8R!!!!!

Welcome Back! I hope you had an absolutely fabulous trip to WDW. Can't wait to hear about it!

 

[Greenday]

OK so when planning your trip to Eire you might want to check out the following websites:

www.visitireland.com
www.discoverireland.com
www.ireland.ie

Bekkiz has gotten right in there before me and suggested that you visit the Bru na Boinne site (aka Newgrange Passage Tombs) that's certainly a visit not to be missed. Other great sites to visit are:

The Giant's Causeway
Cliffs of Moher
Guinness Hopstore
Malahide Castle
Powerscourt Townhouse & Waterfall (a great spa here also if you like that sort of thing)
Glendalough


You don't mention how long you would like to spend in Eire, but I would suggest you do a minimum of 10 days, if not more to get the benefit of visiting both the east and west coast, along with taking in the south. You will really get so much more out of the country by doing a self guided tour and the discoverireland.com website is brilliant for advice. If you think you would like to take a break from driving but don't want to do a full guided tour for your trip the Paddy Wagon is THE way to get a tour around the country with great tourguides and smaller buses so it's a much more personal experience. They offer either the hostel trip or the delux trip (hotels/B&B) so it fits all budgets. www.paddywagontours.com

If you're a bit worried about driving a gear-stick car, you can request an automatic in advance, and providing you give enough notice there is normally no extra charge.

Hotel wise, you should bear in mind that many of the hotels in Dublin City Centre have been bought out by developers in the past 18 months so rooms are at a premium. If you need advice on any hotels/locations etc please let me know and I'll check them out for you. I regularly place business contacts in hotels all over Ireland so would be pretty up to date on standards etc.

I think you will have plenty there to research but feel free to ask any questions and I'll try and get back to you as soon as I can!

Go n'eiri an t'adh leat...... (Good Luck)

 

[Tig-girl]

Thank you so much. AS soon as I get back from WDW, I am going to start doing the research on everything you told me here. I'm sure I will have more questions....so I hope you don't mind. Thanks Again!