Travelling to Ireland in 2013 (hopefully)...gathering tips

[Pudge72]

Hi everybody...my wife and I are intending to start to tackle our 'bucket list' for travelling to Europe, with the kick-off trip being a week in Ireland for our 10th wedding anniversary. We are in the early stages of planning (i.e. we haven't decided if we're staying in different town/city each night, or if we are basing our travels out of Dublin each day)

I started this thread to tap into the knowledge on this site about all things Irish. Any and all tips/suggestions on any aspect of travel are greatly appreciated. I will use this thread to add specific questions in the future. I will start by stating that we are thinking about travelling near, but not during, the peak season (which I assume is June, July and August) to try to save some money on flight/accomodation costs. Would people recommend travelling in April/May or September/October, or does it matter? Or is it worthwhile to travel during the peak summer months? Thank you in advance to all who contribute to this thread!!

Edit: I should also add that this will be our first travel overseas (our only plane flights to date have been to Nova Scotia, New York City, and Prince Edward Island) so any tips about extended plane travel would also be appreciated.

[Stephen]

We'll be delighted to welcome you to our shores ....

It's hard to give recommendations without know what you're interested in ... I'm assuming because you came here then matter whiskey will interest you so a trip to the various distilleries visitors centres will be called for, head over to our main site www.irishwhiskeysociety for a few links and they'll steer you in the right direction.

There are several good deals to be had with food and accommodation, and if you intend travelling round the country you can get some nice hotels. Check out the various voucher and deal sites. stick yourself on their mailing list and you should be able to get a decent spread of deals to take you on a tour of Ireland.

Pop into us when you're over

[DavidH]

It's nice to pick a theme when you visit a country and let that theme drag you around. Depends what you are interested in, of course, but for Ireland, for example, I might choose to visit all farms that produce cheese and welcome visitors. I reckon you would end up in some very interesting places.

There is the Ireland Whiskey Trail, of course. There is a good chance there will be a few more things to see on that trail by the time you visit.

I would not try to do Ireland out of Dublin. You need to stay in a few different parts of the country.

[Pudge72]

Thank you for the tips and the welcome!

In terms of more specific info...our travels usually tend to focus on historical sites. To that end, we are going through a Fodor's travel guide to try to get a handle on the museums/galleries/sites that are unique to Ireland (i.e. we may skip art galleries unless there is something unique). We would also like to try to see historic ruins and/or castles.

In general, any recommendations about places or sites that fit this description, especially if they are noteworthy while being 'hidden gems' (i.e. off the beaten path for tourists...we're not interested in kissing the Blarney Stone, though we would like to know if the castle tour would be worthwhile - or would other castles provide an equal or better experience?) would be very much appreciated.

As for distilleries, I anticipate only having time to tour one or two...to that end, is the Jameson tour in Dublin worthwhile, or would a tour (if it's even an option) of Midleton be a better option? Which distillery (Cooley, Bushmills, Midleton, others?) offers the best tour experience?

Edit: Beer wise - Is a tour of the Guinness Brewery worthwhile? Is Kilkenny available to tour? One or both may be a must-visit, regardless, as they really seem to be the only Irish brewers that I am aware of that are available in Ontario (and I do love Guinness from a fresh keg! ). Kilkenny has been a long-time favourite of mine...I'm a sucker for the cascading head when it's poured out of a can or from a tap.

Hope this helps to clarify the discussion. As we start to clarify details, I will add more specific questions on this thread. As always, any and all recommendations and tips are very much appreciated!

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

If your into Megalithic & early christian stuff there are plenty.

I have a cd that lists a lot of them and there is an associated website which I will try to find later.

Newgrange is a must, a 5000 year old passage tomb with it's smaller brothers knowth & dowth ...

What about possibly the Irish High or celtic crosses? 7-9th century I think

Best/Most examples are at Clonmacnoise.

Round Towers & early christian monastic settlements circa 7-15th century.

Glendalough Co Wicklow (situated in beautiful scenery by a lake)
Kilmacduagh (prounced Kill Mack Do) big settlement with round tower.
Rock of Cashel.

On the Arran Islands there is a large rock forth called Dún Aengus

Plenty of castles too ...Some expensive hotels, others visitor attractions (Bunratty Castle being the most famous) and many just ruins ...


Natural beauty of the likes of the Cliffs of Moher or the Ring of Kerry

A quick google will throw up info on all of these


Edit: found that site and who ever is doing it has done a great update job on it since I last visited it. It looks like it covers everything now and looks much better than it used to. He used to have exact GPS coordinates too not sure if he still does as I did not look into it too closely this time around.

http://www.megalithicireland.com/index.html

[DavidH]

As for distilleries, I anticipate only having time to tour one or two...to that end, is the Jameson tour in Dublin worthwhile, or would a tour (if it's even an option) of Midleton be a better option? Which distillery (Cooley, Bushmills, Midleton, others?) offers the best tour experience?

Edit: Beer wise - Is a tour of the Guinness Brewery worthwhile? Is Kilkenny available to tour? One or both may be a must-visit, regardless, as they really seem to be the only Irish brewers that I am aware of that are available in Ontario (and I do love Guinness from a fresh keg! ).

Kilbeggan is a great distillery to tour. You get a really old one and a new, boutique one side-by-side. Can be done as a day trip from Dublin. Nice food in the distillery restaurant too.

There is no tour of the Guinness brewery but there is a Guinness tour in an old building beside the brewery. I did it recently and enjoyed it. You do learn a good bit about the drink. Plus I got to pull my own pint

[Pudge72]

Thank you Adrian for all of the suggestions (and the edit with the updated website link). I will add them all to our 'places to research' list to check out when I have more time to go through everything . I suspect our days will be quite packed...which is usually how we operate on vacation as we just love to get to see as many unique sites as possible.


Thank you David for the suggestion and information about the Kilbeggan Distillery tour, this helps answer the question that I have now repeated on the 'whiskies to buy' thread. The Guiness tour sounds like it will be right up my alley!


As always, keep the ideas and suggestions coming...I am a sponge. Do let me know if there are any 'tourist traps' to avoid (i.e. places that get overun with tourists that may not be worthwhile to visit, or places that simply are forgettable).

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Are you into anything in particular?

For horse racing fans there's the national stud.
I really recommend going to a GAA match to see hurling or Gaelic football.

From a scenery point the list is endless............
The Burren in Clare
The lakes of Killarney
The giants causeway in Antrim
Connemara in Galway.
Fishing off the Saltees Islands in Wexford( My favourite but I from the Model county)
To name but a few.

As for Distilleries I love the Midleton one. It's purely because I'm usually on holidays when I'm there and on the way to Kerry to visit the brother.

[Pudge72]

Hi again,

My wife and I spent a concerted afternoon flipping through the good ol' guidebook again and a preliminary framework may (may) be coming together.

All very tenantive at this point, and subject to change, but:
- Possibly up to 10 days, starting with two-three in Dublin.
- One or two days in Belfast, with Belfast likely being immediately after Dublin, or at the end of the trip prior to going back to Dublin for the flight out
- doing a full driving circuit of the rest of Ireland after Dublin, either before or after Belfast.
- Aiming for August, 2013 at this point.

A quick question...is there an audio 'pronunciation guide' for Gaelic (if at all possible, I would like to avoid seeming like an idiot tourist when trying to pronounce location names )

As always, keep the feedback coming!! Thank you!

[DavidH]

A quick question...is there an audio 'pronunciation guide' for Gaelic (if at all possible, I would like to avoid seeming like an idiot tourist when trying to pronounce location names )

Many placenames are derived from the Irish language but they are not themselves in Irish, for the most part.

Still, I'm sure some of them are tricky. "Drogheda" is a famous one. There is a very good website for all pronunciation queries:

http://www.forvo.com

[MyIrishHome]

I'm Swedish and I have been to Ireland some times. I would not suggest to drive around the island in five days to visit every thing so to speak. I would, but this is just my opinion, if arriving by air to Dublin, have one day there and then leave on day three. If you then go clockvise or not is absolutely optional but a night in Glendalough, one in south east, like Kilkenny maybe or by the coast. Cork if you like bigger place but Kinsale is stunning on a sunny afternoon and is the place I have had my best fish 'n' chips. Nice story of the fort and so on. Ring of Kerry is absolutly great and dont miss Dingle. Neighter town or peninsula in great. I prommise to be sitting in Brandan Bay, watching the waves, drinking a nice cup of tea... prepare your self by reading Tim Severin book about his Brendan voyage and you understand. Killarney is kind of tourist-trap but the area is large and Ross Castle, Muckross House not least Gap of Dunloe is a very nice tour. Give Kerry atleast thre hole days meaning first week is loaded.
Contuinue north at the coast with Cliffs of Mohere as a classic but the gem is to take the ferry out to one of the Arran Isles. The special feeling that arose when the last boat for the day left for mainland is just beaten by a picnic on the cliffs or at the Dun Aengus fort. Doolin/Lisdoornvarna is good places for music and to explore the Burren. Galway for the atmosphere and Connemara plus the coast as far up to Westport is rather beautiful in it's rugged own way. I think you might have to rush back for Dublin know but Athlone/Clonmacnoise in the midland for day stops rather the over night. Newgrange is impressing and should not be missed. This will fill the full teen days without going north. PLEASE NOTICE I haven't been visiting the emerald isle north of a line Westport, Hill of Tara, Drougheada. That is the reason why my sugested tour is keept to the south. I'm absolutely sure the north has a lot of things to offer, Belfast, Sligo Bay, Glencolumbkille, Inishowen penninsula, Giant's Causeway Donegal, Lough Erne and everthing else I missed out.
Good luck with your trip.

[Pudge72]

Thank you so much (rather belatedly ) for the pronunciation guide link 'DavidH'! It has been duly bookmarked for future reference.

I appreciate all the tips, 'MyIrishHome'. It is great to read feedback from someone who has been a tourist on multiple occasions.

[JohnPowers]

What about your trip? Have you already done it and booked your flight and your hotels? I'm also thinking about wandering around in Ireland after the end of my exchange year and currently I'm looking on sites like trivago in order to find some hotels - did you ever thought about following the so-called Ireland Whiskey Trail? http://www.irelandwhiskeytrail.com/home.php. Just discovered it here - what do you guys think?

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Welcome JohnPowers,
I looked at a few of the trail pubs and some are ok. I know there are lots that don't get a mention. The whiskey trail is a commercial venture and there is a certain criteria that not all pubs would want to do.
It does however give an interesting guide to some attractions.

[Pudge72]

What about your trip? Have you already done it and booked your flight and your hotels? I'm also thinking about wandering around in Ireland after the end of my exchange year and currently I'm looking on sites like trivago in order to find some hotels - did you ever thought about following the so-called Ireland Whiskey Trail? http://www.irelandwhiskeytrail.com/home.php. Just discovered it here - what do you guys think?

Alas, finances have restricted and re-directed our travel budget so that we are visiting a good friend in San Francisco (my flight is courtesy of his travel points) this summer, instead of travelling to Ireland. We are disappointed (though not in getting the chance to see our friend!) about not being able to make it over to what looks like an absolutely beautiful and interesting country. We shall get there someday (hopefully in the next year or two). In the meantime, I hope to catch up on my reading on this and other whiskey forums as I have been absent for the past six weeks or so.

'JohnPowers', please do keep us posted on your travels as I would be interested on what deals/travel tricks you pick up along the way!