Trip to Ireland

Ishii19

So my honey and I are going to Ireland in a few weeks. We'll be there 9 days, flying in and out of Dublin. We will rent a car to road trip around. I know the west coast is very beautiful, and the Aran Islands, and we plan to bike the Great Western Greenway. Got to start sketching out the rest of the trip - anyone who has had a great trip there or any natives with some ideas for must-see spots? We'll go in for the craic a little but we're not huge drinkers - more interested in outdoorsy stuff and hidden gems off the beaten path. Thanks all!

Bucky83

Went on a Trafalgar tour that covered England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Thought Ireland was pretty amazing. Totally recommend Blarney (even though it's rather touristy) and 'kissing' the stone. Loved Sligo and Galway. Northern Ireland was so interesting. Highly recommend checking out the Cunnamara (?spelling) marble place. I bought a beautiful ring there and wear it all the time. Fascinating history about marble.

Driving through Ring of Kerry is just lovely. Also do the Giant's Causeway, it's very cool!

If interested in knowing the route of the tour I did, the code is Big T. May help with looking at places to stay. I was very happy with all of the accommodation as well (I think the details of the trip include which hotels to stay as well).

If you're staying in Dublin, totally recommend Trinity Hotel. Loved it. The lobby area felt like an Egyptian palace, very cool furnishings.

jlahorn

I went 2 years ago. Borrowed heavily from this tour: http://www.irishtourism.com/7-night-self-drive-tours/luxury-irish-castles-and-hotels-tour-7-night-/1604 - basically followed the same route and visited many of the same castles and sights. TripAdvisor was 100% reliable at pointing us to great places and activities. Waterford is pretty weak, but other than that, we were not disappointed.

Don't be worried when your rental car has giant scrapes and gouges down the left side. There are trees and bushes growing into the road all around the island, so scraping the snot out of your car is unavoidable. The rental agencies are used to it. Make sure you get the mobile wifi dojigger -- best $10/day you'll ever spend.

Cliffs of Moher are amazing, but make sure you bring your own food. Their cafeteria was the worst food I had on the tip, by miles. Ross Castle in the Ring of Kerry is fascinating. The docents know a lot about the history of the place and make it easy to envision what life was like there. There's so much gorgeousness and history everywhere that it almost seems pointless to give recommendations. Just pick a direction and go; you're going to find something terrific practically everywhere I will note that Kylemore Abbey is incredibly photogenic, but it's way the hell out in the middle of nowhere and it's not all that interesting once you're there. If I had it to do over, I might skip that in favor of something else.


By far the highlight of the trip was our Hawk Walk at Ashford Castle. That's probably the second-most-awesome thing I've ever seen or done in 41 years (and I have been really lucky with the life experiences ). Strolling through the Irish woods releasing and catching a friggin' raptor that keeps swooping 3 inches over your head is... just wow. If you're going to make any big splurges on this trip, this is a total winner.

Ishii19

Wow thank you both so much!!