We’re leaving before St Patrick’s Day. Yes I understand that the weather is probably gonna be bad but thems the breaks.
Friends recommended renting a car and we’ve been saving eating and sightseeing places that look good but would like to get some recommendations from others.
Thank you kindly
Bring an IPA chart and take diligent notes on all the different accents you hear. Then fax me your notes for my personal research.
Bring a Phrenology chart and take diligent notes on all the different skullshapes you see. Then fax me your notes for my personal research.
Depends how far you feel like driving. The Cliffs of Moher and the Giant's Causeway are both stunning, but they're also on opposite sides of the island. There's stuff to see everywhere as long as you stay around the coasts, because the midlands are cursed and forbidden lands where no creatures dwell.
Definitely have the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant’s Causeway on our list. We have sketched out a vague plan that involves going from Dublin to Galway to Belfast and back to Dublin
When you're in Galway if the weather's good enough I would definitely recommend a day trip out to Inishmore in the Aran Islands. You can rent bikes there fairly cheap to get around and it's a beautiful place.
unfortunately from what I've read, the weather will likely be shitty but I'll keep this mind, thank you.
Make sure you go to the Hill of Tara and nearby passage tombs. My wife and I just did a great guided tour with Irish Day Tours. Our guide ruled. Otherwise, Dublin is a great city to spend days walking around, hopping on buses and the Luas. Go to Kilmainham Gaol and see the Book of Kells.
We stayed in Howth, a suburb on a northern peninsula of the bay. If you have the chance, ride the DART there. Walk out onto the pier. Breathe the sea air.
Then, head up main street. Do it on foot if you'd like some exercise or take the 6/H3 bus to the top. From there, go to the cliff's edge. It's beautiful.
Finish your time in Howth by going to Mamó, back down by the water. It's a spectacular little restaurant. Get reservations a day or two in advance. We had our fifth anniversary dinner there and it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. Finally, right next to the train station is a very cool tea house with wacky decor and a huge patio. Get the white tea.
EDIT: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES RENT A CAR! TRAVEL EXCLUSIVELY BY FOOT, BIKE, BUS, AND TRAIN! HEED MY WARNING!
This is great. Thank you.
I understand about the car and I’m already dreading parking. We would only be using it to leave Dublin do a partial lap of the island then drop it off when we get back to Dublin since we won’t need it there
I promise you you'll have a better and cheaper time if you travel the island via train. Irish Rail pales in comparison to mainland Europe but it in turn absolutely obliterates US rail. You'll think you're in heaven. I see elsewhere you mentioned Galway. The Dublin-Galway train is super nice and drops you off right in Galway's city center. We took it and loved it, then took a group bus up to Cliffs of Moher (no guided tour, just a bus). The drive up there is fucking stressful and I wouldn't want to do it myself. Ultimately you gotta do you, but our trip (also 8 days, in November so also crappy weather) was massively improved by never, ever needing to drive. And we saved like $1000. That train ride both ways for 2 people was only 65 euro.
I can imagine that narrow roads and right hand driving plus bad weather will make it miserable. I saw that the train is only 20 minutes slower than driving from Dublin to Galway too. If we can take relatively quick / low effort public transport then we’ll go with that.
As we finalize plans, we’ll see what need a car would actually fill where a bus, train or cab wouldn’t. My main concern is the ability to just stop at a random place, off the beaten path for sights and food. Parking is usually the worst aspect of driving in other countries.
Thank you for all of your tips! I’m glad I posted this question here. :stalin-approval:
My favorite memory of Ireland was this tiny beachside town called Bundoran in county Donegal. It's a surfing town and just beautiful scenery. Some interesting coastal erosion at the beach but I think I just enjoyed sitting and watching the waves. Also recommend the hike up Slieve League in Donegal. Intense (lots of elevation gain) but very impressive.
Also spent a night in Waterville, in the southwest corner of Kerry. Very cute beachside town and most tourists to Kerry just do day trips from Dublin so it's quieter in the evening than you might expect from the daytime traffic. Muckross Abbey is a gorgeous stop on the way to Kerry from Dublin. Just get a nice view from the lakeshore, imo. I didn't pay for the tour or anything.
In all I enjoyed the rest of the country far more than Dublin. Galway is great, and I think you can get to Galway by train from Dublin.
Galway is definitely part of our plan. I did see that there were trains but a couple of friends recommended a car. I don’t really like the idea of it but we’re going to be moving around a lot so it might make more sense
Yeah. You could rent the car in Galway instead of Dublin, since it's a pain to have a car in Dublin. I'd at least go car free until you leave Dublin. It's not a huge city so you can walk to most of the bits tourists would be interested in.
Lmao never thought I'd see Bundoran on hexbear
OP if you got to Donegal there's also Mount Errigal which is a fantastic hike in a nearly alien landscape
Yeah we just took a quick stop initially to see the sea arches, but it was so nice we ended up spending a lot longer than we expected there. Lovely beach. I think maybe we just lucked out on the weather that day, too.
GO TO DINKLE holy shit it's so fucking gorgeous. Just get lost around there on the trails, on the cliffs, in the small roadside towns. Dublin is cool, but you can see the touristy stuff in a day and be done with that. Fun place to hang and just kill time in the pubs. Limerick is fine, some cool castles there and at Killkarney.
It's been about 5 years since I was there and goddamn my memory has gone to shit since then, but I'll always remember hanging out on the cliffs outside Dinkle. Wish I was with better company at the time, but is what it is.
If you're cool with renting a car, just driving around the country will be great.
