<p>I am sure that some of you have been to Ireland. My husband & I have just decided to go in Ireland (I know- the most expensive time of the year) and I need some suggestions. Because we like the less touristy stuff, I think we will go up by Donegal but then what. We have about 11-12 days to play with. Any ideas on places to go, see or stay at? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Which airport are you flying in to? We’ve been to Ireland numerous times - Moon has a great book about Ireland which will give you great ideas. Although it’s touristy - the castle dinners are really interesting and fun. Stay at B&Bs when you can - the experience is amazing. Dublin is a great city. We’ve spent most of our time along the coasts because the scenery is so beautiful and there are so many different experiences. The Irish drive on the left side of the road - but we found driving our own car the easiest way to get around. We often found our accomodations through trip advisor. PM me if you have any specific questions. Beautiful green country - with lots of rain - but don’t let that bother you. The experience is worth it!</p>
<p>oh boy… one of my favorite topics. You sound like you’re looking for the kind of Irish adventure H and were when we went two years ago. You’ll be there about the same amount of time that we were. I also am in for the less touristy stuff. Will get back to you when I have more time to respond.</p>
<p>Donegal is definitely worth exploring - be sure to do the drive to the northern most tip of Malin Head - it’s spectacularly beautiful. We stayed at a hotel near Moville that I would not recommend, but on the way back to Dublin stayed at Castle Leslie in Monaghan which I would recommend.</p>
<p>I haven’t made airline reservations yet. I am thinking of flying into Shannon but if it makes more sense to fly into Dublin, then I will do that. Yes, we are going to rent a car and stay in B & B’s. I will look into the castle dinners and will avoid the hotel near Moville :)</p>
<p>OK; had to work on dinner. We flew into Dublin, as H had a conference to attend there. Spent about three nights there, which was plenty for me; saw what I had to and was ready to move on. We rented a car and drove up to Northern Ireland and stayed around Glenariff at a B&B (we only stayed at B&Bs, except for Dublin) for a couple of nights. We used this as a base point for exploring the area. The drive along the coast is beautiful! Saw Giant’s Causeway and did another park (did lots of hiking). We were there in March, so you will most definitely have warmer weather than we did, but we were prepared with the appropriate clothing for lots of outside stuff.</p>
<p>Left Glenariff and headed west, cutting through Ireland and stayed a night in Westport. From there we cut through the Connemara National Park on our way down the coast. We ended up in Doolin and stayed there another three nights, using it as a base to see a bunch of stuff on the west coast (Aran Islands, Cliffs of Mohr, The Burren, etc.). Doolin is also the unofficial capitol of Irish music. Very small town… no ATM, etc. But very quaint and live Irish music every night in all three pubs. Wish we’d had more time to explore the area around Doolin (maybe spend more time on the Aran Islands). Then we headed back to Shannon where we returned our rental car.</p>
<p>Let me add, everything you read about driving in Ireland is true. When you measure a distance between two places that you’d like to go, double the amount of time you’d travel for that same distance here in the states. The roads are very narrow (no shoulders), bumpy (think washboard) and curvy. The only ‘interstate’ type road we had was for a portion of the route between Dublin and Belfast; after Belfast, we were back to typical roads. The rental car companies put zip ties around the hubcaps on the rental cars because they lose so many hubcaps to unfamiliar drivers hitting curbs, etc. We rented a GPS and it was helpful for the most part (not perfect, but don’t know what we would have done without it).</p>
<p>Rick Steves’ book was VERY helpful in helping us decide how to focus our days. We were advised not to try to squeeze in too much, so we did not go down to the southern part of the island, Cork, Ring of Kerry, Waterford. I think those are more touristy areas. I wanted to experience the more ‘traditional’ Ireland and was not disappointed.</p>
<p>Terwitt,</p>
<p>Your trip sounds like what we want. Did you fly into Dublin and out Shannon? I have heard that the roads are slow. I can’ wait to go. We didn’t think we were going to be able to go and now things look like we can. Keep the ideas coming, guys!</p>
<p>Yes we did, but we didn’t have a choice as far as flying into Dublin as H had a business trip there (although I guess we could have gone before the conference, done our touring, then end up in Dublin to fly home). So we were probably hit with an extra rental car fee for not returning the car to the original airport. However, there was nothing we really wanted to do between Doolin and Dublin, so we didn’t want to have to drive all the way back there. I also used the Rick Steves message boards to get a sense of how many days to spend in what areas, driving times, etc. I found it extremely helpful.</p>
<p>An important thing to know if you’re going to stay in B&Bs primarily. Every one we stayed at only accepted cash. As some of these towns are relatively small, they don’t all have ATMs and you might have to drive to the next town to find one… and remember the next town may only be ten miles away, but it will take you 45 minutes to get there! We actually arrived in Doolin on St. Patrick’s Day (which is also our anniversary), and had some money. But the next morning, H left to find an ATM so we’d have some more cash and he returned two hours later with none. The first ATM was inside of a bank, which didn’t open until 10AM, and it was only 9AM. The second and third ones were out of money, so he came back to the B&B. We went to the Cliffs of Mohr for some sightseeing, and discovered they have an ATM inside the gift shop. So we took out the equivalent of $300, and went on our hike. We then decided we should stop back at the ATM on our way back to the parking lot and get some more since cash seemed hard to find that day (we were told most of the ATMs had been emptied out by St. Patrick’s Day partiers). We tried to get another $300 equivalent, but could only get $250 as it was the last of the money in the machine! So we were lucky to find it. </p>
<p>Another issue I found by sticking to the countryside was a lack of public laundry mats. Like I said, we did a lot of hiking around and for the most part the weather was dry (although sometimes cloudy), but there were a couple of days that it misted, so the trails we’d be on were a bit muddy. I really wanted to wash out a couple of pairs of jeans that I’d brought, but we just couldn’t find any do-it-yourself places. In Doolin, we finally found a drop-off service and we could return four hours later and pick it up, but it was really expensive.</p>
<p>So yes, I loved the experience of seeing how the rural people lived, but was not always completely prepared for some of the inconveniences. Funny… some of those little towns had no banks, but the B&B owners wanted payment in cash. I kept thinking to myself (as I watched one owner grab a cookie tin from top of the refrigerator and put our cash in there), if someone wanted some easy cash to steal, the B&Bs are the place to go! I don’t know how often they get to a bank to make a deposit.</p>
<p>I’ll just give a thumbnail response now, since it’s late, and try to add more tomorrow. H and I went for two weeks last July–trip of a lifetime. Flew in to Dublin, then immediately drove across to Galway–great town. After Galway, Aran Islands (amazing!!!), then Doolin with lots of climbing along cliffs, then Dingle, wonderful romantic hills and beaches, then back across the country to Dublin, finishing up there.</p>
<p>Stayed in all B and B’s. Made most reservations before we went; paid some with Paypal ahead of time, others with cash. Found out there are no ATMs in Doolin.</p>
<p>Best parts–music in pubs in Galway, every bit of Aran–we walked and biked many, many miles of Inish Mor, just spectacular. Loved our long hike from Doolin to Cliffs of Moher–dodged bulls and electric fences. Beaches below cliffs in Dingle were spectacular.
Best parts of Dublin were Guinness factory, Kilmainham Gaol, and a wonderful pub called The Celt (one of the Irish tenors turned up to sing with the band who were playing that night.)</p>
<p>H did all the driving–a shift, driving on the left–quite impressive. Roads are narrow!</p>
<p>Food was wonderful–ate tons of Irish stew, mussels, Irish breakfast. But lost weight because of all the walking.</p>
<p>If (no, when) we go back, we would like to rent a cottage on Aran and stay there the whole time.</p>
<p>Donegal is wonderful, but I haven’t been there since college–stayed, as part of a study abroad, ina cottage in Glencollumkille. </p>
<p>Have a great time! Wish I could get back this year.</p>
<p>Oh, Doolin has no ATM, but we found a great laundromat at the top of the hill leading into town–in a modern hostel complex (not where we stayed). Did our whole laundry, folded and all, while we hiked. Also had internet access.</p>
<p>I flew into Cork and drove south after one jaunt north. Did not make reservations anywhere except for the rental car at the airport. Stayed in B&Bs. Best place was Port Magee next to the Skelligs and the boats that get you there. The sea life! The history! But everything and everywhere was magic. So I would follow the coast south to the rings and Dingle and Kenmare. Have a great time!</p>
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That was probably the same place we used! I can’t imagine there being more than one in that tiny town.</p>
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I hear ya! I loved walking the island (we only got to one because they weren’t guaranteeing a boat trip back that day from the other two, due to impending weather). It just floored me how they manage to live, especially the ones who flew back and forth to Galway everyday for work!</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the B&B we stayed at in Doolin:
<a href=“http://www.nelliedees-doolin.com/[/url]”>Loading...;
<p>Wow, and they take credit cards now… Progress!</p>
<p>Teri–I read yours too fast–yes, I’m sure it’s the same place. there’s not much to Doolin. We only got to one of the Aran Islands, too, but we stayed for three nights, so we got to get around a lot, and talk to our host in the B and B. She seemed very shy at first, but then told us amazing, though sometimes sad, stories. It’s a beautiful place, but can definitely be tough on people. The women who run the B and B’s (at least, it was all women when we went–husbands rarely made an appearance–one was off golfing in England, one was very ill, one was just scarce, and in the case of the only younger woman, she and her H were separated) work incredibly hard, but they mostly made a point of talking to us (I got the feeling the B/b association encourages that.)</p>
<p>There are a lot of websites where you can view B and B’s and make reservations ahead of time. The only place we didn’t do that was Dingle, because we’d left a couple nights blank to make a choice after we got there. It was a long drive to get there, and it took a couple tries to find a place, but we did get a nice one. (Oh, and the drive over the Connor Pass to get there was hair-raisingly fantastic.)</p>
<p>We’ve been to Ireland 5 times, and no matter where you go, you will love it. The first time we went, we had this thing through a travel agent that prepaid each night of lodging, and they gave us a book with hundreds and hundreds of B&B’s that we could stay at. Each morning we would figure out where we thought we would be that night and called which ever B&B we liked the look of from the book. It was off season, so we had no problem finding a place. This way you don’t need to worry about having cash on hand, but ATM’s are everywhere so getting cash isn’t a problem.</p>
<p>If it’s your first time driving on the other side of the road, I recommend flying into Shannon and starting your trip from there. There is a castle close by that does the touristy dinner thing (which you have to do at least once) and a wonderful hotel that has traditional musicians every night in the bar. </p>
<p>Do try to get to N. Ireland. Belfast is a great city, and the cabdrivers love to talk politics with Americans.</p>
<p>You have the right idea with the Donegal region–definitely less touristy than the south and lots of unspoiled country side. We visited about 5 years ago when my brother was competing with the US Surf Kayak Team. We flew into Dublin and drove to Sligo (Yeats, Drumcliffe Cemetery) and rented a house in a small beach town called Easkey. It was off season for this beach community and renting a house was cost effective and we enjoyed having a kitchen, laundry and walking to favorite pub in the evenings. If you go to Donegal a must-see are the sea cliffs of Slieve League. A great car ride and amazing, exhilarating views, it was the highlight of our trip. Also would recommend the beach at Bundoran (between Donegal & Sligo). Enjoy! (PM me if you want more info.)</p>
<p>[Slieve</a> League - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slieve_League]Slieve”>Slieve League - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>We took a quick, six-day trip to Ireland last year, loved it, and hope to return someday. Having a short time forces you to limit what you do. We flew to Shannon and had Limerick as our base for day trips to the coast. People put down Limerick, but we thought it was fine; I recommend the Absolute Hotel, and there’s a great pub down the street on the riverfront. Then we drove to Dublin. Though we had fun, we wished we had spent all our time in the countryside. Because it was last-minute and the price was right, we did an Aer Lingus package deal–our first trip like that, and I would not do it again. My recommendations include some usual tourist spots: Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, the Rock of Cashel, Trinity College, the National Library and/or National Gallery of Ireland. I could have skipped Guinness, except for the view from the top. Parks in Dublin are lovely, but it was gray and drizzly when we were there. As others have said, the roads are very narrow. We returned our car with three hubcaps, and the rental agency didn’t say a word, or charge us extra. The Irish are charming and friendly hosts. I was about to celebrate a major decade birthday. The car rental guy at Shannon scrutinized my driver’s license and said, “Having a birthday soon, are you?” And then, in a confidential tone, “I see it’s a big one, but I never would have guessed!” In my jet-lagged state, feeling every bit my age, I accepted the compliment with pleasure.</p>