DBF and I went for two weeks this past August. Most amazing trip ever, saved a ton of money and thanks to MY planning, everything went very smoothly
I bought
Fodor's Ireland 2005 and it helped us out so much. It's got websites, phone numbers, addresses, opening times, etc. Very good tips on how much everything cost as well. Through it we found our favorite place ever- the
Bullman. A little pub right outside of
Kinsale in a tiny little town called Summercove (it was in between Kinsale and Charles Fort).
We stayed with family near Dublin the entire time. DBF's mom is one of 9- she's the only one in the US. She has 1 brother (a priest, how Irish can you get??) who lives in England but visits Ireland a lot, 6 sisters who live around Dublin, and 1 who has a house in Rooskey- a TINY little town in Roscommon (we're talking only 2 pubs, a hotel, a church and a post office here!). We visited there for two days- it's right on the River Shannon.
Our favorite place was
Kinsale. We took a four day trip by bus (just booked through
Bus Eireann http://www.buseireann.ie/site/home/ ). It was incredibly cheap and if you follow your guidebook during the drive- it's almost like you're on a tour!!! We went from Dublin to Cork- stayed 2 nights in a hostel in Cork and from there took a day trip one day to Kinsale- the BEST PLACE we went the entire time. Just AMAZING. And the next day took a 12 hour bus tour of the
Ring of Kerry- cost us only about $25 a piece I think. Maybe even less. Also booked through Bus Eireann. It was by far the most amazing scenery I've ever seen in my life. Definitely see the Ring of Kerry if you get a chance!!! The next day took a half day open top bus tour of Cork that included going to
Blarney Castle- another must see. However, it's very touristy. Saw the most Americans there.
After that we took a bus to
Killarney and stayed in a hostel that used to be a large Victorian home. Killarney was a beautiful town and had great shopping. We rented bikes for only 12 Euro a day and biked all through the
Killarney National Park- saw the
Muckross House, Muckross Friary, Ross Castle (WONDERFUL! one of my fav castles) and
Torc Waterfall. We did it in half a day because that's all the time we had- we'd do a longer trip and see more if we had a whole day. Renting bikes in Killarney was second only to Kinsale on our trip!!
From Dublin we also took a one day trip to Waterford- the
Waterford Crystal Factory was just amazing- even DBF loved it. And the city itself is beautiful as well.
In Dublin we did about everything because we toured it for about four days. For a local treat- go to
Burddock's- it's got Fish and Chips and is right by Christ Church (DBF's fam told us to go there and we also found it in the guidebook). We did everything in Dublin- our favorite and the least well-known is on the north side of the River Liffey- it's called
St. Michan's church. You can take a tour and see the crypts underneath the church- simply amazing. We even got to touch an 800 year old mummy of a crusader!!!
Dublin Castle was also great- but we had an amazing tour guide for this one.
The only things we
didn't like in Dublin were the
Dublin Tour (that red city bus with the open top that goes around dublin and you can get off wherever you want... it was THE biggest ripoff ever). And the second (I hate to say it) was the
Guinness Storehouse. It was incredibly commercialized, a horrible ripoff and just plain... stupid. There is no tour of the actual brewery so it's just walking from floor to floor reading about how awesome Arthur Guinness was. I was expecting more of a brewery tour as I've done these various places and love them. If we had it to do all over, it's the one place we wouldn't have gone.
The Jameson Distillery (in Dublin) is MUCH better.
The first place in Dublin we saw was the
Kilmainhaim Gaol (Jail). It was very interesting as well.
Oh I just thought of something else-
Malahide Castle. It was owned by 1 family for 800 years and in the 70s (I think) had to be sold because the woman left couldn't afford the inheritance tax. It's an absolutely beautiful home- right outside of Dublin. DBF's family took us there. GORGEOUS and just what you think of when you picture an old Irish castle!! Definitely do that as well.
We saw the idea of renting a car as very daunting. Street signs are horrible and drivers are crazy... and those friggin roundabouts! UGH! We found the bus system great, but if you really want to see ALL of the countryside- renting a car would be best.
If we went back (ie if we did, we'd have more money
) and stay in B&B's. They were so adorable. DBF's sister and her husband did this when they went. We'd also see the Cliffs of Moehr as they are supposed to be beautiful, and there is a town near Kinsale in Co. Cork that was the last stop for the Titanic before it sunk- it's on an island.
We had the most amazing time ever on our trip. I can't wait to go back- but it will be a LONG time from now. Goodluck with your planning and have SO MUCH FUN!!!!
