Wife and I taking a trip in September. Anyone who has been, what are your recommended stops? We will not be doing a guided tour; we will have a car.
OT: Scotland-Ireland trip
- Thread starter msugrad2003
- Start date
Honeymoon was in Ireland but it was a guided trip. Cliffs of Moher and Blarney Castle. Other than that just the small villages. Our first stay was in Adaire Manor which was incredible.
We're going this year (Covid permitting) and will be about 40 miles NW of Belfast visiting a bunch of my wife's relatives in a small town. I expect to see a lot of bars and golf courses.....what else I don't have a clue at this time.
FedEx flew into Prestwick 20 years ago when Scotland was the Silicone Valley of Europe. I kept a set of clubs there for years and played often.
You will find they play, rain or shine so take rain suits. You’re welcome.
NEVER say Scotch…call it whisky.
The white tees are for you. The blue tees are for competitive matches…big deal to them.
The municipal courses in Prestwick (3) rival famous courses so play some muni’s too.
Old Prestwick hosted the first Championship (don’t call it the British Open) and it has a blind tee shot par three.
They like Americans and will do anything for you if they think you like golf and them.
The soil is like volcanic rock so a wedge will bounce off the green…learn to run it up.
Take lots of golf balls…nothing is cheap there.
Enjoy
You will find they play, rain or shine so take rain suits. You’re welcome.
NEVER say Scotch…call it whisky.
The white tees are for you. The blue tees are for competitive matches…big deal to them.
The municipal courses in Prestwick (3) rival famous courses so play some muni’s too.
Old Prestwick hosted the first Championship (don’t call it the British Open) and it has a blind tee shot par three.
They like Americans and will do anything for you if they think you like golf and them.
The soil is like volcanic rock so a wedge will bounce off the green…learn to run it up.
Take lots of golf balls…nothing is cheap there.
Enjoy
I've been to Ireland but only off a cruise. I've been to Scotland several times, most recently in 2019. My favorite places I've been: Mull, Iona, Orkney, Loch Corrusk on Skye, Canna, Stirling, Oban, Plockton, Glenn Coe, and Edinburgh.
Shannon Ireland is a common refueling stop for rotators taking troops to and from the middle east. Heading home after 6 months in a dry country we were all looking forward to rounds of Guinness after landing in Shannon. We rushed to the airport bar and they were out of Guinness. That's all I got.
Killarney National Park is awesome even though the skinny *** roads driving on the wrong side up the mountains can be terrifying. I wouldn’t go back to Southern Ireland and miss that stop. It’s also a great town with quality places to stay. We paid to ride horses for a few hours in the park as well. We should have booked a couple nights there instead of one.
Cliffs of Moher is incredible. We landed in Dublin and drove to Trim Castle to tour it, eat breakfast, and then drove to the cliffs on the west coast. There are a couple of nice seaside little towns nearby for food/lodging. I wanted badly to play the links golf course right before you get to the cliffs. The views from it looked great.
The Rock of Cashel was one of the better tours we had but most of the tours were surprisingly good. I’d encourage you to wait for them when at a famous site that has this option. It was worth the money in my opinion.
Mahon Falls was pretty cool. It was a nice drive into the mountains and then about a 1/2 mile walk to the falls. Since you are driving, it would be worth it to swing by there if you go to Rock of Cashel. They are just an hour or so apart. We did that on the same day as well as went to the beaches on the Copper Coast south of Waterford.
We took the advice of multiple people and spent zero time in Dublin. The country is extremely rural and Dublin is the outlier. I don’t feel like I missed anything at all.
PM me if you have other questions. I can’t imagine a scenario where you don’t want to go back again. It’s an awesome trip.
ETA: I haven’t been to Scotland in almost 20 years but touring the city of St. Andrews and staying in Edinburgh was a good decision. We played golf at St. Andrews, except it was on The New Course which was built in 1895. Going in the clubhouse at St. Andrews is amazing as well.
Cliffs of Moher is incredible. We landed in Dublin and drove to Trim Castle to tour it, eat breakfast, and then drove to the cliffs on the west coast. There are a couple of nice seaside little towns nearby for food/lodging. I wanted badly to play the links golf course right before you get to the cliffs. The views from it looked great.
The Rock of Cashel was one of the better tours we had but most of the tours were surprisingly good. I’d encourage you to wait for them when at a famous site that has this option. It was worth the money in my opinion.
Mahon Falls was pretty cool. It was a nice drive into the mountains and then about a 1/2 mile walk to the falls. Since you are driving, it would be worth it to swing by there if you go to Rock of Cashel. They are just an hour or so apart. We did that on the same day as well as went to the beaches on the Copper Coast south of Waterford.
We took the advice of multiple people and spent zero time in Dublin. The country is extremely rural and Dublin is the outlier. I don’t feel like I missed anything at all.
PM me if you have other questions. I can’t imagine a scenario where you don’t want to go back again. It’s an awesome trip.
ETA: I haven’t been to Scotland in almost 20 years but touring the city of St. Andrews and staying in Edinburgh was a good decision. We played golf at St. Andrews, except it was on The New Course which was built in 1895. Going in the clubhouse at St. Andrews is amazing as well.
Last edited by a moderator:
I’ve been to Ireland twice and drove the second time I was there.
First:
1. Get a car with automatic transmission. Do you really want to use manual transmission with your offhand?
2. Get the GPS.
3. Ireland’s roads vary. Some are very good. A lot remind me of Mississippi state highways. The Irish do not believe in wide shoulders off the road— hedges and stone walls alongside roads are very common sights.
4. Do not order an Irish Car Bomb or a Black and Tan in a pub.
Travel:
1. I love Dublin and recommend you visit it. It’s one of my favorite European cities.
With that said, I don’t recommend driving in the city center if you’re not familiar with driving on the wrong side of the car and road. It’s very walkable.
2. Ulster is nice. I drove through a little bit of it traveling from Dublin to Donegal. Derry is a nice little city. It’s the setting for the tv show Derry Girls. Ulster also is home of some scenes where Game of Thrones was filmed.
3. In Belfast: Take the Black Cab Tour. It’s a must-do there.
4. The Aran Islands off the coast from Galway are cool. I spent a day at Inishmore and would love to spend several days there.
5. Kerry is gorgeous. I spent a couple days at Portmagee and went to & up Skellig Michael.
Ireland is always on my list to visit.
The first time I was there— I toured Dublin a lot and was on a couple guided tours of the island.
The second time I was there— I spent a night in Dublin, a night in Donegal where I saw Christy Moore perform, two nights in Kerry, and another night in Dublin before flying back.
Next time I’m thinking I’ll spend more time in the Waterford area, or possibly Cork, Donegal, or Inishmore. But it also depends on what’s going on too. One year to the week after my last visit to Ireland, John Prine and Sturgill Simpson did some shows in small Ireland venues and I wish I could have made it then but I couldn’t.
First:
1. Get a car with automatic transmission. Do you really want to use manual transmission with your offhand?
2. Get the GPS.
3. Ireland’s roads vary. Some are very good. A lot remind me of Mississippi state highways. The Irish do not believe in wide shoulders off the road— hedges and stone walls alongside roads are very common sights.
4. Do not order an Irish Car Bomb or a Black and Tan in a pub.
Travel:
1. I love Dublin and recommend you visit it. It’s one of my favorite European cities.
With that said, I don’t recommend driving in the city center if you’re not familiar with driving on the wrong side of the car and road. It’s very walkable.
2. Ulster is nice. I drove through a little bit of it traveling from Dublin to Donegal. Derry is a nice little city. It’s the setting for the tv show Derry Girls. Ulster also is home of some scenes where Game of Thrones was filmed.
3. In Belfast: Take the Black Cab Tour. It’s a must-do there.
4. The Aran Islands off the coast from Galway are cool. I spent a day at Inishmore and would love to spend several days there.
5. Kerry is gorgeous. I spent a couple days at Portmagee and went to & up Skellig Michael.
Ireland is always on my list to visit.
The first time I was there— I toured Dublin a lot and was on a couple guided tours of the island.
The second time I was there— I spent a night in Dublin, a night in Donegal where I saw Christy Moore perform, two nights in Kerry, and another night in Dublin before flying back.
Next time I’m thinking I’ll spend more time in the Waterford area, or possibly Cork, Donegal, or Inishmore. But it also depends on what’s going on too. One year to the week after my last visit to Ireland, John Prine and Sturgill Simpson did some shows in small Ireland venues and I wish I could have made it then but I couldn’t.
I’ve only been in Scotland once and it was in the mid-90s while I was in Southern Miss’s British Studies Program.
Ayr is not far from Prestwick and is a nice little city on the Firth of Clyde.
I spent a few days based there and went to the Robert Burns cottage and Culzean Castle (a filming site of the original Wicker Man movie). If you golf, that’s not far from Turnberry too.
I also spent time in Edinburgh which I enjoyed. I wish I did some touring in the highlands or St. Andrews or even Glasgow— next time though.
Ayr is not far from Prestwick and is a nice little city on the Firth of Clyde.
I spent a few days based there and went to the Robert Burns cottage and Culzean Castle (a filming site of the original Wicker Man movie). If you golf, that’s not far from Turnberry too.
I also spent time in Edinburgh which I enjoyed. I wish I did some touring in the highlands or St. Andrews or even Glasgow— next time though.
Last edited:
Most of what Derhntr says is great advice.
I’ll disagree with him on Dublin though. There are a bunch of good places to see (I think Temple Bar might be a bit overrated though) and to understand the history of Ireland and its interactions with Great Britain, there is a lot in Dublin to see that goes into that.
Also—
The Guinness Storehouse tour is the best brewery tour around.
Jameson also has a good tour.
Thatsbaseball— Since you’re going to be near Belfast, you might look into Bushmills to see if they have any tours.
With that said, I’ve likely seen most of those sights and will likely spend maybe two nights at most in Dublin in the future.
I’ll disagree with him on Dublin though. There are a bunch of good places to see (I think Temple Bar might be a bit overrated though) and to understand the history of Ireland and its interactions with Great Britain, there is a lot in Dublin to see that goes into that.
Also—
The Guinness Storehouse tour is the best brewery tour around.
Jameson also has a good tour.
Thatsbaseball— Since you’re going to be near Belfast, you might look into Bushmills to see if they have any tours.
With that said, I’ve likely seen most of those sights and will likely spend maybe two nights at most in Dublin in the future.
Last edited:
Adare has a great reputation and its namesake town is regularly named one of the best small towns in Ireland.
I’ve been through it three times but never spent the night there— I might add that to my list.
I’ve been through it three times but never spent the night there— I might add that to my list.
Greenbean: i stopped in Shannon both going to the desert and coming home in 2005. I know your experience well.
We went in 2004.
I loved Edinburgh. Also got a car and drove north and saw St Andrews, headed to loch ness, stayed in Elgin on the north sea, and toured Aberlour and Macallen distilleries, loved it. Loved it all.
Driving was interesting. 3 lane roundabouts were not fun. I didn't wreck but did have to pay for a new tire from all the times I hit the curb. I did also drive on the wrong side of the road coming out of Aberlour distillery!
My only regret was running out of time and not going to Isle of Skye. I have a friend who has gone there 3 times and swears by it.
We went to Dublin after being in small scotland towns for a week and it was complete culture shock, huge city. We did enjoy it, but preferred the quieter outskirts.
I loved Edinburgh. Also got a car and drove north and saw St Andrews, headed to loch ness, stayed in Elgin on the north sea, and toured Aberlour and Macallen distilleries, loved it. Loved it all.
Driving was interesting. 3 lane roundabouts were not fun. I didn't wreck but did have to pay for a new tire from all the times I hit the curb. I did also drive on the wrong side of the road coming out of Aberlour distillery!
My only regret was running out of time and not going to Isle of Skye. I have a friend who has gone there 3 times and swears by it.
We went to Dublin after being in small scotland towns for a week and it was complete culture shock, huge city. We did enjoy it, but preferred the quieter outskirts.
Second on Dublin. It’s great. Don’t need a ton of time there but I’ll go back next time I’m there because I like it. Irish literature is something I really enjoy, which makes Dublin pop for me a bit more
Our 10 year anniversary was last year and we were talking about going to Scotland, then round 2 of Covid hit. I still would love to go. Wife has been (in college) and talked about Edinburg Castle. Also said I would be all about red stag hunting. That definitely got my attention.
Anyone know how much a hunt would be and what process is to do that?
Anyone know how much a hunt would be and what process is to do that?
If it's any like like hunting here you just get a case of beer and a spotlight and go driving down backroads.***
Take good notes on your Scotland leg and post them here. The girlfriend and I are planning to go there sometime. All we have written in stone so far is a trip on the Jacobite steam train, a trip to Dunvegan Castle from my paternal grandmother's family line and a trip to Eliean Donan Castle from somewhere in my girlfriend's family line.
Yep. In my first trip to Ireland, one of the things I did was the Literary Pub Tour of Dublin.
That was good.
You’ll also see statues of Irish authors at parks and intersections.
One of my favorite authors is Flann O’Brien. I’ve been to his grave at Deansgrange and in my next Ulster run, I hope to go to his statue at Strabane.
I mentioned this when Larry McMurtry passed away last year but W. B. Yeats’ grave at Drumcliffe Church in Sligo was also a good visit if either of you are into poetry or McMurtry fans who will surely recognize his epitaph.
That was good.
You’ll also see statues of Irish authors at parks and intersections.
One of my favorite authors is Flann O’Brien. I’ve been to his grave at Deansgrange and in my next Ulster run, I hope to go to his statue at Strabane.
I mentioned this when Larry McMurtry passed away last year but W. B. Yeats’ grave at Drumcliffe Church in Sligo was also a good visit if either of you are into poetry or McMurtry fans who will surely recognize his epitaph.
Went to Ireland in September of 2019. Flew into Shannon and spent 3 days in Killarney. We stayed at the Europe Hotel outside of town which was nice but wish we would’ve stayed in town. JM Reidy’s and The Laurels were great experiences for dinner, drinks, and entertainment.
The Ring of Kerry was amazing. We had really great weather that day so the views were spectacular. Waterville was a neat stop on that loop. Great scenery. Lunch at Smugglers Inn was pretty solid from what I remember.
Played golf at Killarney Golf & Fishing club. Course was ok with some good views. The Irish Open has been played there a few times so that was cool to play there.
Took train from Killarney to Dublin. We stayed at the Shellbourne which was very nice and across the street from St Stephens Green. Have a drink at the Horseshoe Bar even if you don’t stay there. St. Stephen’s Green is like the Central Park of Dublin and a hub of the area. I got up early and watched the sunrise over city in the park. Highly suggest that if you’re an early bird like me.
Guinness, Trinity College library, The Spire, and the Temple Bar are the touristy go to’s but I enjoyed them all. TB is like the Pat O’s of Dublin.
My best suggestion for Dublin is to just take off walking and get lost. It’s all very walkable and easy to get around. Enjoy, I’d love to go back!
The Ring of Kerry was amazing. We had really great weather that day so the views were spectacular. Waterville was a neat stop on that loop. Great scenery. Lunch at Smugglers Inn was pretty solid from what I remember.
Played golf at Killarney Golf & Fishing club. Course was ok with some good views. The Irish Open has been played there a few times so that was cool to play there.
Took train from Killarney to Dublin. We stayed at the Shellbourne which was very nice and across the street from St Stephens Green. Have a drink at the Horseshoe Bar even if you don’t stay there. St. Stephen’s Green is like the Central Park of Dublin and a hub of the area. I got up early and watched the sunrise over city in the park. Highly suggest that if you’re an early bird like me.
Guinness, Trinity College library, The Spire, and the Temple Bar are the touristy go to’s but I enjoyed them all. TB is like the Pat O’s of Dublin.
My best suggestion for Dublin is to just take off walking and get lost. It’s all very walkable and easy to get around. Enjoy, I’d love to go back!
And if you walk out the front doors of the Shelbourne, take a left, walk a block down the street, you’ll be across from ODonoghues Pub— the place for Irish folk music in the city.
The Dubliners got their start there.
A notable non-folk musician who played there as well: Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy whose statue is about three blocks northwest on Harry Street— just off Grafton to the west.
The Dubliners got their start there.
A notable non-folk musician who played there as well: Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy whose statue is about three blocks northwest on Harry Street— just off Grafton to the west.
Dingle peninsula was great and scenery was beautiful.
Pack light and get a small car. You’ll be thankful; roads there are built for euroboxes, not the American cars and trucks we love.
And google maps has a “download” option. Download the cities / area you’ll be on your phone so you have access without blowing up your data.
Pack light and get a small car. You’ll be thankful; roads there are built for euroboxes, not the American cars and trucks we love.
And google maps has a “download” option. Download the cities / area you’ll be on your phone so you have access without blowing up your data.
I was surprised with the international plan that most carriers have now. Verizon charged me $10 a day if I used the phone overseas and used my current data plan which is unlimited. It was great and the coverage was impressive.
15 years later, same route! One time we stopped in Leipzig, Germany on the way over, Shannon all the others.
AT&T does the same. It helped me out big time when I was in Spain in 2018.
Using Google translate for English —> Mandarin at a Chinese grocery store in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter so I could buy a iphone charger compatible with Spanish electrical outlets.
Using Google translate for English —> Mandarin at a Chinese grocery store in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter so I could buy a iphone charger compatible with Spanish electrical outlets.
Went to Dublin few years ago for 5 days. The beer was excellent, the food was horrible, extremely bland and dull. Its eye opening that we think something built in the 1800's is old while they have old churches built in the 1200's and before as I recall
Irish cuisine isn’t the greatest— you’ve got to remember that it’s the British influence we’re talking about— and the UK is not known for food.
If you want to go to a place to Europe just to eat: You go to Spain. With what they do with Jamon Iberico, I’d love to see how the Spanish would barbecue pork.
With that said, when eating in Ireland, you go to a carvery once— to experience traditional Irish pub fare. O’Neills in the Dublin City Center is a good example.
Otherwise, I recommend seafood.
I had some prawns at a restaurant in Dublin— outstanding.
View attachment 23868
This is a seafood platter I had at a restaurant in Portmagee after my Skellig Michael trip:
View attachment 23869
If you want to go to a place to Europe just to eat: You go to Spain. With what they do with Jamon Iberico, I’d love to see how the Spanish would barbecue pork.
With that said, when eating in Ireland, you go to a carvery once— to experience traditional Irish pub fare. O’Neills in the Dublin City Center is a good example.
Otherwise, I recommend seafood.
I had some prawns at a restaurant in Dublin— outstanding.
View attachment 23868
This is a seafood platter I had at a restaurant in Portmagee after my Skellig Michael trip:
View attachment 23869
Food in the UK is really under rated. Some of the best meals I've ever had were in Scotland. The seafood is outstanding. Isle of Mull mussels that were in the water the day we ate them are one of the best single dishes I've ever had. They also do lamb very well. The Scots do beef pretty well too.
There are castles on just about every hill in Scotland. That's an exaggeration of course but it does seem that way at times. I've never been to Dunvegan. Eliean Donan is cool. Stirling Castle is fantastic with a ton of history. Same for Edinburgh. Kilchurn is a cool ruin in a stunning setting, as is Urquhart on Loch Ness. If you are a Monty Python fan Castle Stalker is a must see. My favorite though is Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull. The Chief of Clan Maclean lives there, and you can usually meet him. We did. We have seen a bunch more, so many I lost count.
Went to Scotland in '02. Started out in Edinburgh then rented a car and spent about 5 days making a big loop north, winding back up in Edinburgh. Went to Ireland in '11, staying mainly in Dublin and taking day trips on guided tours/buses.
Scotland was my favorite, maybe because of how we did it - it was really cool having the car, waking up and picking the next town we were going to be in by the end of the day. Def make time to hit some of the distilleries - there's an informal route that they call the "whisky tour" that'll let you drive from town to town where they are. Most of the distilleries have tours - they take you through the works, explain how it's made, and then you wind up in a room where they give you trays of shots. I remember one of them (pretty sure it was Glenlivet) that was in an incredible setting - in the country on a little 2-lane road, sheep on the pastures, etc., just beautiful. Oban was another good one, it's in the town of Oban on the coast, and they even explained how the salt in the air affects the taste. St. Andrew's was really cool even though I'm not into golf. We went through the Highlands to see my family's ancestral home - the Highlands are beautiful but get kinda sparse. Isle of Sky was really cool. Edinburgh was really cool, and Edinburgh castle is something to see - you could kill an afternoon there.
Ireland was equally cool and beautiful, but again I think I liked it less b/c the wife didn't want to rent a car and do bus/guided tours instead. IMHO, Edinburgh was better b/c it was smaller - Dublin had more of a big-city feel. The Guiness brewery is really cool, but maybe a lil touristy. We went to one little town called Avoca where there's a small textile mill that's been around forever, and it was pretty. The scenery was really beautiful, even though we saw it out of bus windows.
Cpl notes on renting/driving a car ... like I said, I def think it's the way to go. Bear in mind that most Eurpoean cars are smaller, so you'll need to pay attention when picking one out. You'll prob have to get what they consider a land yacht to get something that's Toyota Camry-ish sized. Also, gas ain't cheap ... when you see the signs at gas stations you'll think "well, that's higher than back home, but not crazy" ... but it's liters, not gallons. Lastly, the tricky thing to me is making turns - it's weird how you'll adjust to left side driving, but when you make a turn your brain automatically tries to reset to the right. So every time you make a turn, just tell yourself, "left, left, left." After a day or two it'll be fairly easy.
Scotland was my favorite, maybe because of how we did it - it was really cool having the car, waking up and picking the next town we were going to be in by the end of the day. Def make time to hit some of the distilleries - there's an informal route that they call the "whisky tour" that'll let you drive from town to town where they are. Most of the distilleries have tours - they take you through the works, explain how it's made, and then you wind up in a room where they give you trays of shots. I remember one of them (pretty sure it was Glenlivet) that was in an incredible setting - in the country on a little 2-lane road, sheep on the pastures, etc., just beautiful. Oban was another good one, it's in the town of Oban on the coast, and they even explained how the salt in the air affects the taste. St. Andrew's was really cool even though I'm not into golf. We went through the Highlands to see my family's ancestral home - the Highlands are beautiful but get kinda sparse. Isle of Sky was really cool. Edinburgh was really cool, and Edinburgh castle is something to see - you could kill an afternoon there.
Ireland was equally cool and beautiful, but again I think I liked it less b/c the wife didn't want to rent a car and do bus/guided tours instead. IMHO, Edinburgh was better b/c it was smaller - Dublin had more of a big-city feel. The Guiness brewery is really cool, but maybe a lil touristy. We went to one little town called Avoca where there's a small textile mill that's been around forever, and it was pretty. The scenery was really beautiful, even though we saw it out of bus windows.
Cpl notes on renting/driving a car ... like I said, I def think it's the way to go. Bear in mind that most Eurpoean cars are smaller, so you'll need to pay attention when picking one out. You'll prob have to get what they consider a land yacht to get something that's Toyota Camry-ish sized. Also, gas ain't cheap ... when you see the signs at gas stations you'll think "well, that's higher than back home, but not crazy" ... but it's liters, not gallons. Lastly, the tricky thing to me is making turns - it's weird how you'll adjust to left side driving, but when you make a turn your brain automatically tries to reset to the right. So every time you make a turn, just tell yourself, "left, left, left." After a day or two it'll be fairly easy.
I was stationed at Holy Loch for over 3 years in the 1970s. Make sure that you go during the better weather, June is best. Very long daylight when no cloud cover nautical sunrise about 3AM and nautical sunset about midnight. Edinburgh Castle is great and the north facing view is memorable. Do not go during the fringe or tattoo in August unless you are prepared with accommodation. A paddle ferry boat called the Waverly on the Glasgow side should be looked into. BTW under no circumstance pronounce the letter "O" in Edinburgh it will make you appear like an uneducated idiot?
My wife and I went in May of 2017.
[FONT="]We rented a car, made our own unguided plans and reservations. It was a wonderful trip. I'd go again tomorrow and do it the same way.
Driving clockwise from Dublin, we visited Kilkenny, Kenmare, Killarney, Loughrea and Galway, as well as lots of smaller villages that lie between.
I'd say my opinion of Dublin splits the difference between others in this thread. We started and finished our tour in Dublin but didn't spent very much time there in total. We did the Guinness storehouse tour, Book of Kells, Trinity College and a couple other things. In many ways, if you've been to New York or Chicago, you've been to Dublin. I do agree the best of Ireland lies beyond.
Renting a car and making your own plans and adjustments will leave you free to adjust as you please. In advance of the trip, I made fly fishing plans for myself, spa appointments for my wife, found some notable bookshops to see along the way, but one of my favorite parts was a call we made on the fly - we went to the [/FONT][FONT="]Guinness Pro12 Rugby Semifinal between Munster and Osprey, held in a stadium in Limerick, and it was one of my highlights of the trip.
I have a vastly more detailed travelogue of thoughts and recommendations I'm sending to your board PM.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]We rented a car, made our own unguided plans and reservations. It was a wonderful trip. I'd go again tomorrow and do it the same way.
Driving clockwise from Dublin, we visited Kilkenny, Kenmare, Killarney, Loughrea and Galway, as well as lots of smaller villages that lie between.
I'd say my opinion of Dublin splits the difference between others in this thread. We started and finished our tour in Dublin but didn't spent very much time there in total. We did the Guinness storehouse tour, Book of Kells, Trinity College and a couple other things. In many ways, if you've been to New York or Chicago, you've been to Dublin. I do agree the best of Ireland lies beyond.
Renting a car and making your own plans and adjustments will leave you free to adjust as you please. In advance of the trip, I made fly fishing plans for myself, spa appointments for my wife, found some notable bookshops to see along the way, but one of my favorite parts was a call we made on the fly - we went to the [/FONT][FONT="]Guinness Pro12 Rugby Semifinal between Munster and Osprey, held in a stadium in Limerick, and it was one of my highlights of the trip.
I have a vastly more detailed travelogue of thoughts and recommendations I'm sending to your board PM.
[/FONT]
I’m going at the end of October for 10 days. I’m excited, I’ve heard nothing but positives from the people to the scenery. Stops in Dublin, Galway and Cork.
Latest posts
-
-
-
Seen in the Starkville Wal-Mart today
- Latest: BulldogBlitz
Get unlimited access today.