Trip to Ireland -looking for tips

[mama4]

Hi. Dh's work is sending him to Ireland for their executive retreat and I'm invited We are also taking DS (will be 18 on trip) and since he is graduating HS in June this will be a great gift for him! We (or DH) will have to attend work "stuff" for 4-5 days in Dublin but we plan to do as much sightseeing as we can. After the 5 days the company is covering we will stay a bit longer -maybe 1 more week but not sure about that yet. Could anyone offer me tips or suggestions for anything at all? I am not sure where to even start. Room & flights are taken care of- just not sure where to go, how to get around, what to see, what kind of clothes to take, places to eat, maybe places to stay AFTER we leave the hotel coverd by the company (this may not even be necessary?? if we can see lots of stuff and still return to Dublin to sleep).
Some places that caught my interest while researching online were the Wicklow Mountains, Cliffs of Moher, Castles (which ones?-maybe Bunratty? Blarney?)

TIA for any help you can give me. I am a VERY inexperienced traveler- never even flown before- never been out of the states so I'm depending on my more wordly DH to help but he's not much of planner so that part is mostly up to me. THanks again

 

[bekkiz]

I've posted this before. We went in the spring of 2006 and had an awesome time

Here was our basic itenerary

Day 1: arrive in Dublin early in the morning, picked up the rental, checked into the hotel (Bewley's Ballsbridge) and rode around on the Hop On/Hop Off bus all day

Day 2: Visited Brú na Bóinne (ancient Irish sites), the Hill of Tara and countryside. Stopped at Guiness Storehouse on the way back to the hotel

Day 3: Checked out, drove to Powerscourt Esate (probably one of my favorite places we visited), drove through the Wicklow Mts, ended up in Kilkenny and stayed the night there

Day 4: Drove to the Rock of Cashel, drove to Kenmare to stay the night

Day 5: Drove the Ring of Kerry, overnight back in Kenmare

Day 6: Drove to Dingle and toured the Dingle Penninsula, stayed overnight in Dingle

Day 7: Drove to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, stayed the night in Ennis

Day 8: Departed from the Shannon airport mid morning for home

My favorite things that I consider not to miss: Powerscourt, Brú na Bóinne, and The Ring of Kerry.

My DH had never driven on the other side of the road, but had little problems. The biggest issue was figuring out the size of the car in relation to the width of the road I'm happy to give hotel/B&B ideas too, or if you have any other questions.

 

[bekkiz]

*Sorry, sleeping baby on my lap, so I wasn't paying attention*

I didn't realize you were staying in Dublin. My bad. Anyway, there's loads of day trips from Dublin. Bru na Boinne is maybe 1/2 hour outside of the city, and it would be really easy to book a tour there. Also, Powerscourt is to the south, and I think like an hour drive. My guess is there is a bus tour you can take to get there as well.

In the city center, near the Westin/Trinity College, there's a fantastic tourist center where you can pick up a ton of info. I also high suggest getting the Rick Steves book on Ireland. I found it VERY useful.

 

[kerstfan1]

i would also suggest the jameson brewery and also the guiness brewery

joyce

 

[live4christp1]

I can't help much with suggestions for that area.....we were in Belfast for the most part. All I can say is we went in June and packed sweaters and sweat shirts. It was still a little chilly for me and damp.

 

[Rora]

I know you said you already have your rooms taken care of but when we went to Ireland, one of our favorite things was staying in cute Bed and Breakfasts!! They were wonderful! Our favorite was Carmel's B&B.. not sure if it's around anymore, Carmel was an older lady. http://www.bedandbreakfastireland.net/Wicklow_Carmel's.htm

Here are some more random ideas:

Go to the Guinness Factory and any castle you can go to especially Blarney!

Be sure to bring rain clothes- it rains, a lot. And bring warm clothes . Also, be sure to bring sleeping masks. When we were there, it would be so bright outside, even at like 9pm.

Also, don't believe a word any Irish person says about the distance from one point to another. It's usually much further than they say it is..

If you can, go horseback riding on the beach and drive through the Ring of Kerry-it's long but so beautiful.

Also, go visit Trinity College. They have an amazing library filled with tons of old books and even the original Book of Kells.

BRING YOUR CAMERA!!

Have a wonderful trip, Ireland is so amazing!

 

[bumbershoot]

Visit the northwest...Sligo county...absolutely astonishingly gorgeous. We had every intention of visiting Dublin, but once we got to Sligo we stopped and spent the rest of our trip there, never went on from there. The people, the countryside, the lake....my traveling companion was big into poetry, and there was the extra thing of it being poet country, with lots of signs saying "this is where Yeats got his inspiration for xyz poem", which was kinda boring for me, but helpful in keeping her happy.

 

[Snoopymom]

Check out this site

http://www.ireland-withpatpreston.com/

click on Ireland guide and then Dublin area.

Check out The Book of Kells and the Guinness brewery! We took the hop on and off bus tour and usually we were the only ones on the bus, so the guides sat right down with us and told us so many interesting facts. They're very proud of their country and love that Americans are interested in their history and our connection with them.

We loved the countryside the most, the Cliffs of Mohr, Ring of Kerry, just amazing, exactly what you see in the pictures, and the people are so friendly and very helpful, not once did we feel concerned about our safety or feel like a ripped off tourist. The cost to see the castles is very little, I think at one, it was whatever you wanted to donate, and you're allowed to wander on your own more than you ever would be allowed to in the US.

I could go on and on, LOVE it there!

 

[Anewman]

When you get there...

Can you Stop by Bonos house and pick up my shades.

 

[Philadisney]

Also, don't believe a word any Irish person says about the distance from one point to another. It's usually much further than they say it is..

This is SO TRUE!! Went with my mom last year for 10 days. We didn't go to Dublin though - stayed around the southwest (Galway, Shannon, Ring of Kerry, Killarney). I see you mentioned Bunratty Castle - that was one of our favorite parts of the trip!

 

[Lady_Gracey999]

I went to Ireland a few years ago! It is such a beautiful country!

Here's a little advice for you. You can't plug anything up in the bathroom, and the hair dryer is usually in the desk drawer. Oh, and they don't have washcloths in most hotels.

Another tidbit: make sure you dress in layers. The weather is...changable to say the least.

Have a great time!!

 

[shamrock30]

I've been twice, once for 3 weeks and once for 2 weeks. I would not stay in Dublin after you're through with the work portion of the trip. Like a previous poster, Western Ireland is my favorite part of the country. I would stay in B&B's or rent a cottage there.

 

[Snoopymom]

IOh, and they don't have washcloths in most hotels.

Have a great time!!

Learned that the hard way, but you can buy "face cloths" in the drug "apothecary" stores. We still have a few, they're larger, almost the size of a hand towel. I still laugh every time one pops up in the laundry.

Also, if you stay in the B&B's, which I agree are so much nicer than the hotels, let them know if you're not going to stay for breakfast the night before and if you are going to have breakfast, let them know what you'd like or they'll cook a gigantic feast.

oh, and pack your suitcase inside a bigger suitcase for the bodhran, crystal, Irish welcome sign and sweaters you'll want to bring back! I even went to a fabric shop in Limerick and bought material to make my dining room curtains from. Also, there's a weaver's shop in Dingle that has the softest lamb's wool scarves. They're inexpensive and make great gifts!

Slainte!

 

[mama4]

Thanks for all the great tips -I knew I could count on the DIS folks! Good to know about the weather- it's hard to imagine needing warm clothes in August since I'm from FL.

Rora- Wow it was still light outside at 9pm- what time of year were you there if you don't mind my asking? That is crazy. I'm really glad to have that info.

Oh and we probably do plan to stay elsewhere after the 5 days dh's work covers the hotel is up. We don't mind changing hotels and we'd especially love a B&B I'm sure (thanks for the link Rora )

Thanks for that travel website link too Snoopymom- I'll check it out. I love hearing that you found the people so friendly and that you felt safe -this was my first concern when we found we were going especially since ds will be with us but I keep hearing how nice everyone is there! Very reassuring.

Thanks for all of the suggestions of places & things to do & see- hopefully I'll be able to make some decisions. Now I know with the Guinness Storehouse being in Dublin and my dh being a Guinnessaholic that this will be one of our first stops.
Sorry Anewman, but I probably won't be able to get your shades Besides, I like Bono and I don't want him to think I'm a stalker.
Thanks everyone! I'm off to make dinner but I'll be back later to look over some of these ideas again

 

[Rora]

Rora- Wow it was still light outside at 9pm- what time of year were you there if you don't mind my asking? That is crazy. I'm really glad to have that info.

We were there in May.

 

[NotUrsula]

I could tell you loads, but it would be useless if I didn't know what you like to do. I will say that I would advise you to try to take at least 10 days extra if you can; it takes time to explore an entire country.

Genealogy? Shopping (and for what?) Trad music? New music? Museums? Modern historic sites? Ancient cultural sites? Castles (and divide that into castles you can stay/eat in, and castles you can only tour?). Beaches? Distilleries? Food? (don't laugh -- Ireland has lots of great restaurants now.) Golf? Horses? Windsurfing? Fishing (and what kind?) Football? Rugby? Hurling?

Day-tripping from Dublin isn't the best idea unless you are very confident about driving on the left. Dublin is rather hard to drive in at the best of times, actually. (There are cross-country trains and buses, but the service is somewhat slow; it would take a LOT of time to do daily r/t's. Mass transit IN Dublin is wonderful, quick and easy, but outside the city a more leisurely affair.) Dublin hotels are also VERY expensive, so you will get more for your money outside the city once you are on your own dime.

The Irish Tourist Board (Bord Failte) has a very nice website that divides the country up into sections and makes it simpler to figure out what you are trying to reach. The US version of the website is www.discoverireland.com/us Personally, I much prefer the Irish version of it, at www.discoverireland.ie -- it shows you a lot of the smaller attractions that they think Americans won't be too interested in. Ireland's equivalents to the Interstate system, the Motorways, do not cover the entire country, and they deliberately bypass the cities. This means that car travel is slower than Americans are used to, because you have to spend at least part of your transit time driving on 2-lane roads through towns.

Your son will be of legal age in Ireland; BTW. Dublin has a very active club scene, both trad and modern music, and there are pubs with entertainment in nearly every village.

 

[mama4]

Your son will be of legal age in Ireland; BTW. Dublin has a very active club scene, both trad and modern music, and there are pubs with entertainment in nearly every village.

Lol...yes we are well aware of this. We told him about the trip last night since we have to go get our passports next week and the drinking age was the first thing he pointed out. Dh and I would love to immerse ourselves in the pub scene for a few days but we won't since ds will be with us. Doesn't mean we won't go to pubs at all but it will be limited.

As for what we are interested in - well I'll put them in order from most to least interested. However, we would definitely take advantage of something we are LESS interested in if it is really convenient, close-by, cheap, fun.

#1 historical and cultural sites (castles too..they would fall into this category right? -not to stay overnight in though

#2 Seeing the countryside - mountains, green meadows, villages, coastline

#3 Music would be great-as a musician my son would especially enjoy it...traditional and/or new. We'll get some live music at the pubs right?

#4 We are interested in trying some new foods so yes, good restaurants are of interest for this trip
I don't know if we'd like traditional Irish food but we'd be willing to try. I'm not a huge meat eater- usually stick to chicken, beef, some pork, love seafood. We aren't big sausage eaters. Dh is much more "adventurous" when it comes to meat dishes. I'll try any kind of veggie dish. My son will almost always find something he likes but is less adventurous than dh and I. Other than the normal American "kid safe" foods, at home we eat a lot of Indian (love curry), Mexican, Italian- we love spicy foods.

#5 Shopping -really only for souvies though.

#6 Sports? can't see any of us caring to pursue a sporting event but hiking, horseback riding is a possibility.

So that's proabably about all I've considered. I guess trying to fit in as much as we can during the relatively short amount of time we'll have is a main priority.
I like the idea of traveling by bus to the sites. I guess this will proabably put us on a certain route and we'll end up seeing only the touristy sites but I think taking a car and trying to map it out ourselves will take too long. Does that make sense?

Also, I will definitely look in to places to stay outside of Dublin- cheaper is better. Proabably B&B's. I read somewhere that you don't make reservations to stay in them though. It's more like ya walk up and ask if they have a room. Do ya know if this is true?

Thanks, NotUrsula,for your willingness to help me out Oh and I'll check into that website too.

 

[Mikelly1221]

I don't have any tips but I think your trip sounds so cool! Have a great time!

 

[kathymc]

Definately get out of the city and do B+B. We stayed in Wexford, Cork City (2 nights) Kilorgin, Bunratty, Doolin (2 nights) and then the last night we splurged an stayed in Adare Manor. We flew into Dublin and Out of Shannon so we could take advantage of both coasts.

LOTS of fun but a lot of travel. We loved Doolin the most as it was just a small town close to the Cliffs and pubs with authentic Irish Music and food. The hosts of the B+B are wonderful to talk to and tell you their favorite places to go. Meeting them were a highlight of our trips. Some B+B we prebooked, others we just called as we were moving along.

I would stay away from Irish National Heritage Park and the JFK park unless you have some time to kill. Heritage Park at Cobh was really neat (especially since we both have family straight from Ireland so they probably left from here) Blarney castle to kiss the stone and a stop at the crystal factory is a must! Buratty castle and Durty Nelleys were fun, cliffs of Moher are outstanding.

We went in the middle of june and it was jacket and jean weather and the guys went skeet shooting at 9:00 pm!

Its a beautiful place with lovely people - I'd love to get back some day

 

[frndshpcptn]

I was in Dublin last year and ate at the Elephant and Castle (http://www.elephantandcastle.ie/)

It was great - I recommend it.

I was there for business, so didn't do much outside of Dublin, but stayed at the westin near Trinity College (it was a wonderful hotel and I highly suggest the bar in the downstiars are for a drink / snack).

We went to the Guinness Factory (the bar on the top level is amazing!)

We also saw the Book of Kells and went to the oldest bar in Dublin - the Brazen Head - which was really neat.

we were lucky in that Guinness has a great seasonal beer when we were there (called Winer Star, I think? Or something like that). We were able to get it in almost every pub!

have fun!