<p>My H and I are going to Ireland for six days in March on an Aer Lingus package deal. We fly to Limerick, pick up a car, stay there for three nights, then drive to Dublin, drop off the car, and spend the next three nights there. I’m celebrating a big birthday and wanted to go somewhere we haven’t been–and it was an incredibly good deal. The spontaneity is liberating–that alone is a good way to start my next decade. I love the travel recommendation threads on CC, so I’m hoping for some ideas. Day trips out of Limerick? Things to do in Limerick? Stops along the way to Dublin? Best bets there for three days there? We like historic and natural places, architecture, museums, and both cities and tiny towns. We’re looking forward to Irish music and Guinness. “Waking Ned Devine” is one of our favorite movies. Also, please recommend tourist traps to avoid. Yes, we have driven a car on the “wrong” side of the road. We do know we want to go to the Cliffs of Moher. Thanks!</p>
<p>[ShannonFerry</a> Group Ltd](<a href=“http://www.shannonferries.com/route/]ShannonFerry”>http://www.shannonferries.com/route/)</p>
<p>easy enough from Shannon area</p>
<p>this area is rough and remote, the Killimer/Tarbert ferries quant out of the way pubs on either side. Tarbert side can get you into Listowel, still pretty old Ireland style pubs. Not too touristy.</p>
<p>Great thread timing! H and I are going to Ireland this summer–kids wanted us to go (we kept putting it off till a “better” time), so they gave us a gift certificate for Christmas–worth about half the plane fare --to get us going. (I love my kids!)</p>
<p>I was there twice when younger; D has been there quite a lot; S was there for a couple days last summer, but H has never been, despite being the most Irish of the lot of us (I"m not at all, except by proximity to him.) So it was long overdue for him.</p>
<p>We’ll do a few days in Dublin; I hear it’s much different from when I was there 28 years ago. Then mostly west coast–hopefully Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, and Aran Islands (stayed on Aran before–it’s gorgeous!) D says that Dooley is great for Irish music, and that Galway is a fantastic city for pubs, music, arts, and generally just really cool. So I"m hoping to do them.</p>
<p>I’d skip the kissing the Blarney Stone thing, as touristy for sure. I’ve heard the Guinness factory is, also (which it wasn’t when I was there last) but I’m sure we’ll do that anyway.</p>
<p>I’d love to hear from others of favorite places, visits, etc., since I’m working on old memories and I know it’s much changed.</p>
<p>Doolin is the Irish music village. Was just there a year ago. Will respond to this when I have more time. It was an awesome experience. We were there (Doolin) on St. Patrick’s Day, which was also our anniversary.</p>
<p>Right. Doolin! I actually do know that–brain freeze. Would love to hear more when you have time.</p>
<p>Limerick City is pretty yucky (lots of traffic at rush hour - trust me on this), but the southwest of Ireland is…is…is…omigosh it is so beautiful! It looks like the landscape in The Lord of the Rings.</p>
<p>I would check out the Rick Steves books. They are fantastic. Here are some of my favorite things…</p>
<p>County Kerry
- We enjoyed the Ring of Kerry, although realize that if it is coudy you will see no views whatsoever of the ocean. Seriously.
-The Adare Manor is a cool place to stay. Your basic castle experience. It has a cute pub grill on the property, and a world class golf course. Wake up early and go clay shooting with this very neat old Irish shooting champion. You can do archery as well. They have a nice indoor heated pool, and even an old castle ruin on the property. I believe they are very family-friendly. The little town has many thatched buildings.
-The Killarney Park Hotel was very nice (it is a small, boutique property)
-Kenmare is a beautiful town. There is a really nice Italian restaurant there (I know - why eat Italian in Ireland? Trust me, after a bit you’ll want a change). The Park Hotel is very nice. Oldish in style, but incredible grounds.
-I didn’t get to the Cliffs of Moher, but hear they are beautiful
-The national park in Kerry is magnificent. Just driving through the winding country roads and seeing the gorgeous views was the best thing of all.</p>
<p>Dublin
-LOVED the Viking Museum
-The Merrion might be my #1 favorite hotel in the world (small, right across from beautiful government buildings).<br>
-See Riverdance there, if it is still showing, or a show by the same people (I think I heard that the original closed, but they were working on a different show).</p>
<p>I’d suggest visiting Trinity College while you’re in Dublin. There’s an amazing display of old books in the library, plus a museum devoted to the Book of Kells.</p>
<p>We also went on a campus tour – the student guide told us that the order in which students receive their diplomas at graduation is determined by class rank.</p>
<p>To those who know me, you know this will NOT be a short post… sorry.</p>
<p>We were in Ireland/N. Ireland last March. H had a business trip to Dublin, so we extended our stay. We spent four nights in Dublin, before renting a car and heading up to Northern Ireland. Other than Dublin, we stayed in B&Bs the whole time, and specifically wanted villages/places that represented the cultural charm of Ireland, which meant we stayed away from most ‘touristy’ places (again, other than Dublin).</p>
<p>On our drive from Northern Ireland (we stayed north of Belfast about an hour and a half), we spent a LONG day in the car, getting to Westport, on the western shore of Ireland in County Mayo where we stayed the night. The next day, we drove onto Doolin, through Connemara. We stopped at a few places along the way, including the Connemara National Park, and Kylemore Abbey.</p>
<p>Doolin was then our home base for three nights, until we left for the Shannon airport (about an hour and a half drive) for home. While in Doolin, we spent most of a day on one of the Aran Islands (Inisheer); we had wanted to go to a further out island, but there was no guarantee we’d be able to make it back to Doolin, as they were expecting the seas to get rough out further by the afternoon. H and spent a few hours exploring Inisheer on foot, and it was something I’ve never experienced. Beautiful, isolated, quiet, simple-living, and lots of geological clues to the past. We also did Cliffs of Mohr another day, and one day, we just sort of stayed around Doolin, walking around, going in the shops, etc. </p>
<p>Some observations… and I’m sure you will hear this from other people. Do NOT schedule travel time based on miles from one place to another. Roads are unlike any I’ve ever experienced anywhere. They are bad, and narrow, and winding. Like driving on a washboard. I often had bad headaches/neckaches at the end of the days when we spent a good portion of it in the car. The speed limits on these roads is about 60mph (can’t remember what it was in kilometers), and it felt like a roller coaster to me when we were managing 40mph. Potholes, no shoulders, etc. And yes, you’d fly around a curve to see some sheep standing in the middle of the road. Or you’d pass a spot that was just calling you out to pull off and take some pictures. I think the only time we saw what us westerners would call a divided highway, was between Dublin and Belfast. That was it. Oops, gotta head out… will finish later. Meanwhile, come up with some questions for me. I’ve got lots to say about ATMs (or lack of), laundry facilities, what to wear in March, etc.</p>
<p>Agree if you are in Dublin go to Trinity College. A most amazing collection. We spent a couple of days in Dublin while I was there on business. Couldn’t see much outside Dublin and we did not have a car. But the bus was fantastic and easy and you can walk all over the main downtown areas.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. Teriwtt, tell me about the ATMs and what to wear in March. I like Rick Steves’ books and will probably get that one. We’ve heard about the roads. A friend of mine arrived at the airport to find that the only car they had was a Ford Explorer, so you can imagine what that was like.</p>
<p>I can’t wait to hear my freshman S when we tell him we’re going on this trip without him.</p>
<p>OK… the ATMs. Every B&B we stayed at wanted payment in cash, so we went through it pretty quick. When we got to Doolin, we thought, there’s got to be an ATM here somewhere. Nah. So H got up the morning after St. Patricks’ Day and drove to a neighboring village (remember, 5 miles can take you 30-40 minutes). The only ATM was broken; so he was directed to another neighboring village, and at 10AM they still had not refilled the ATM machines, so they were empty. Drove to another town (again, these are 30-40 minutes in between towns, and it, too was out of cash and had not been refilled. In fact, at 10:30AM, the bank wasn’t even open yet. So H came back empty handed. We were going to Cliffs of Mohr that day, and after seeing it, were going to go to a different town for money, but when we got to Cliffs of Mohr, they had an ATM. So we took out our limit for the day, not knowing when we’d get to one again, and we still had to pay our B&B in Doolin. We went for our hike at the Cliffs, came back to the gift shop and heard someone say the ATM machine was out of money, so I think we took some of the last it had. </p>
<p>So, about laundry… I had packed weather-in-March appropriate kinds of clothes (more later), good for layering, etc, with the thought at some point we would find a laundry facility along the way, and I could take less clothes. The night we stayed in Westport, we found one facility, but it was closed at 5PM… it was a full service facility, but you could do your own… when it’s open. Got to Doolin, only to discover they had no public laundry facility. There was one place you could drop it off and return for it later that day, which is what I did. But I believe one load cost 8 euros. So I only did two, and of the two, almost half were items that couldn’t be put in the dryer very long, so some of it was still damp. </p>
<p>However, if you’re like us and do a lot of walking around, your jeans (or whatever pants you are wearing) will get very dirty along the bottom as mud splashes up from the paths, roads, etc., and I just couldn’t take it any more. Besides, I wanted clean pants for the long flight home in a couple of days, and had run out of clean socks. </p>
<p>Clothes, I did make a special shopping trip prior to going and was so glad I did. Especially at this time of the year, you can find some great buys on stuff to layer. I found two North Face fleeces on sale, several long-sleeved merino wool layering tops to wear under the North Face, and a couple of heavier sweaters, that again, were easy to layer on top of the merino wool tops, and under the North Face. I also splurged on a top-of-the-line rain coat, and found it at an outdoors shop. It had features that many fashion raincoats don’t. Between it and the layering, I don’t think I ever really got cold. Also, good gloves, scarf and hat were useful. We did a ton of walking around, so it was important to be properly dressed. I didn’t want to miss out on things because of the weather. We only had perhaps one day, where it rained sporadically, but it was more of a drizzle. We were in Northern Ireland that day, and still managed do the walking/hiking that we wanted to because we were warm. Didn’t even bring an umbrella. The rainwear we had protected us. I think I did have a pair of long underwear with me, too.</p>
<p>So if you want to pack efficiently and not take too much (I did have one large and one small suitcase), don’t count on doing laundry unless you’re in a bigger city.</p>
<p>We loved, loved, loved the B&Bs we stayed in. Our hosts were warm, friendly, and very welcoming at each place. They often joined us for breakfast, and we had some enlightening conversation. We had a private bath at each place, and you couldn’t beat the price. One of our goals for this trip was to experience the ‘traditional’ Ireland, and we hit the nail on the head. Other than in Dublin, the Cliffs of Mohr was the most touristy place we visited. But it was worth it. While in Dublin, I did go to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells; they do have crowd control, so be prepared to buy your ticket with a stamped time of entry, then come back later for entrance to the museum. </p>
<p>We definitely used Rick Steves’ books and found them incredibly helpful. </p>
<p>One more story regarding driving. Most people do not need to purchase CDW when renting cars if they have a Visa, American Express or MasterCard. However, there are a few countries that are excluded from this coverage, and you absolutely must purchase the rental companies CDW policies. The three countries that are excluded from every credit card company are Ireland, Jamaica, and Israel (some companies also exclude Australia, New Zealand and Italy). I noticed at the car rental agency (both pick-up location and drop-off location), the hubcaps are ‘anchored’ to the wheel with zip ties. They do this because those who rent in Ireland tend not to be used to driving on their roads, and the car rental companies were losing too many hubcaps when inexperienced drivers hit curbs, ran off roads where there were no shoulders, etc. In our first hour on the road, my husband got too close to the hedges as a car came toward us (your instinct is to move over as far as you can when driving down a narrow road and another car is approaching you), and the passenger side outside mirror collapsed at the hinge (meant to do so). So I had to roll down the window and push it back out, and on our way we went. If I had a nickel for every time I was sure we were either going to hit something on the passenger side, or hit an oncoming car head on, it would have paid for our trip. It was very difficult for me to relax as a passenger, and I had no interest in driving. </p>
<p>Will post this now and check back when I remember more to tell you, or you all have more questions.</p>
<p>I can add very little to teriwtt’s excellent posts, but I’ll try. :)</p>
<p>DH and I love Ireland and have been there many times. We’re tentatively planning to go back this coming December to visit Newgrange, which we haven’t seen yet: “Once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor. This alignment is too precise to have occurred by chance.”
[Newgrange</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange]Newgrange”>Newgrange - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>OP, I’d spend about 10 minutes (or less) exploring Limerick; it’s my least favorite city in Ireland, and I don’t think there’s much to see there. But it is a great location to explore from. We love Killarney (on a lake), Tralee and the Dingle peninsula. I’d recommend a day trip there. Dingle, both the seaside town and the peninsula, are breathtakingly beautiful; many movies have been filmed on its beaches (like Ryan’s Daughter). Just last night, we watched Far and Away and instantly recognized the opening shot of The Sleeping Bishop, an island off the far west end of the peninsula. There are ruins you can stop and explore on the drive around the peninsula.</p>
<p>I would suggest a visit to nearby (and quite stunning) Muckross House. They have a resident weaving shop with “seconds” available at very reasonable prices. I picked up a fabulous alpaca scarf there for next to nothing.</p>
<p>I’d skip the Ring of Kerry. At that time of year, you risk not seeing much due to weather; and there’s only one (awful) place open where you can eat on the entire drive.</p>
<p>I’m assuming you’re flying into Shannon? The road from there to Limerick in one direction and Galway in the other is a good one. I recommend you do a day trip to Galway. It’s the center of Irish culture in the west, and Irish is widely spoken there still. It’s a great city to explore, very lively. Lots to see and do (there’s a university there). </p>
<p>Either going up or coming back, I recommend a drive through the Burren. It’s beautiful, stark, and wild. We like Aillwee Cave, which doesn’t take long to see and is different from what most tourists expect to see in Ireland. [Aillwee</a> Cave > Discover the Cave](<a href=“http://www.aillweecave.ie/Aillwee_Cave_Disc.htm]Aillwee”>http://www.aillweecave.ie/Aillwee_Cave_Disc.htm) You can easily arrange to get to Doolin and the Cliffs of Mohr (well worth seeing, but touristy any time of year) on that drive.</p>
<p>I agree with a cruise on the Shannon, preferably first thing on a chilly morning with the mist rising off the water. Ours featured musicians on board, and service included scones and tea. Some cruises are short enough to leave you plenty of time in the day to do other things.</p>
<p>Speaking of food… breakfasts are hearty all over Ireland. Don’t expect the sausage to be like in America. My DH loves it, but I don’t. Can’t stand the “black and white” sausage. Ugh. Salmon is available all over Ireland, including at breakfast, and is wonderful everywhere.</p>
<p>Another little place we love is the charming town of Cong in County Mayo where the old movie The Quiet Man was filmed. It has changed little over the past 50-plus years. You can take a walking tour of the town and the gorgeous adjacent manor house, Ashford Castle.</p>
<p>We’ve never had trouble with ATMs there, but we generally don’t carry much cash. (In most cities there, the ATMs are stand-alones right on the street.) We always get euros first thing at the airport ATMs after we land. Buying by credit card will get you the best conversion rate. When we’ve stayed at B&B’s (I highly recommend those), we’ve always paid with vouchers we arranged for ahead of time online in the states; so I can’t speak to terriwtt’s experience. Do be advised that everything in Ireland closes by 6 p.m. except the pubs and restaurants. Banks keep especially short hours and are closed on their holidays and weekends. When we’ve stayed in hotels, they’ve always had laundry service.</p>
<p>I agree with layering clothes at that time of year. Ireland has a moderate climate year-round, 30-70 degrees. No snow. You may or may not get rain. There are many places to buy hats, scarves, gloves, and sweaters made of fabulous Irish merino wool (and I always do!). One of the best places to shop is in Dublin, Nassau Street next to Trinity College (which is a must-see, as others have said, most notably for the Book of Kells and the old library). I also agree with using the buses to get around Dublin.</p>
<p>One of the challenges of driving in Ireland is that so many of the roads, other than the main ones (and there aren’t many), are extremely narrow. That can make passing another vehicle, coming or going, harrowing. Also, the road signage is… shall we say, “creative”? No matter. Just accept it as indicative of life there, quite a bit slower and more meandering than we’re used to here in the states, and part of the charm. 
Enjoy!</p>
<p>The most spectacular things we did on our trip to Ireland was walk the Slieve League and Skellig Michael but both should be reserved for a longer stay. Between Shannon and Dublin itineraries can be made to see any number of interesting things. Newgrange and Glendalough are must sees imho. A daytrip to Newgrange can also take in the town of Kells, Trim Castle, or Monasterboise High Crosses and Round Tower. The day trip to Glendalough can include touring the Wiclkow mountains and Powerscourt house and gardens. </p>
<p>Re travel in Ireland. The roads are not the greatest but I found them better than others here described. You just should not try to keep up with the insane Irish drivers. As far as rental companies go, I cannot say enough good things about Dan Dooley, they are the best!!! A word about standard transmission. If you are very comfortable driving a stick, driving on the right should not be a problem. All the pedals are the same and only the stick shift is on the opposite side. I did find myself grabbing the door handle on a few occasions. The real issue is the driving itself. After 3week I was still not entirely comfortable driving on the left side of the road. Also very few credit card carry rental insurance in Ireland. We have a Mastercard World Points card which did at the time but check first before declining the insurance at the rental company.</p>
<p>Also try to take in a festival event which go on year round. We always take in a few and get away from being merely a tourist for a bit. discoverireland.com is a good site for all things Ireland.</p>
<p>Thank you again! No time to digest all this right now, but these are all great suggestions. I will be back tonight with questions.</p>
<p>I tried to go to the Cliffs of Mohr twice, the first time it was raining, the second time we did go and the fog was so thick we couldn’t see a thing. Dingle and the Breara Peninsula are lovely and less traffic clogged than Kerry. Galway is nice but it is a huge traffic jam, if you can avoid it and get to the Connemarra do that. The most spectacular part of Ireland I have been to. And we concur, distances are deceptive, because the roads are twisty and windy. It is possible to go around the ring of Kerry or the Breara Peninsula. You will just be utterly exhausted. Cork is very pleasant. Good luck and Slainte!</p>
<p>We are taking a two week trip to Ireland in July, with our two sons ages 17 and 19. We will be flying in and out of London, then will have about 8-10 days to spend in Ireland. I have heard the Western part of the Country is probably where we want to head, perhaps we will fly in to Dublin and out of Shannon, or visa versa. Can anyone recommend places, stops, cities to visit, in Ireland that would entertain two teenage sons? I am thinking we could fly from London to Dublin, maybe spend a day or two in Dublin, then drive over to Shannon and take in all parts in between as needed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>
Especially since the Irish get drunk and p;ss on it every night.</p>
<p>If you want to see something historic, there’s the whole of Ireland… Well, the areas around the GPO and Trinity College and the Four Courts have big Gothic statues that still have bullet holes from battles with the British and later the Civil War between the Republic and Free State.</p>
<p>There are also a lot of ancient churches, obviously. As Brad Pitt says in The Devil’s Own, “Our new [buildings] are older than your old ones.”</p>
<p>some random thoughts from 2nd generation Irish…</p>
<p>I would recommend going straight to Doolin as soon as you get off the plane. There are several B&Bs there - pick one near downtown, so you can stumble back from the pub. (My family is from Limerick and while it has some nice big churches - I agree it’s a rather ugly city and the alure of Ireland is the landscape). If you feel rested enough, drive through the Burren - the landscape is unlike anything you have seen. </p>
<p>A note about pubs - the best music is the pickup music that starts a bit later when people start unwinding. </p>
<p>To stay away from the crowds in the Ring of Kerry - I would go to Galway & the Connemara region. It’s also quite beautiful. I did, however, love the touristry aspects of Killarney and agree that Muckross house is stunning. (we were there one year in late May and the house-sized rhodedendrums were at their peak blooms). </p>
<p>I would actually decrease the number of days in Dublin. It’s a big city similar to many other places in Europe. </p>
<p>Plan on cold & damp (bone-chilling) weather and worship the sun when you see it!</p>
<p>Pubs serve quick, inexpensive meals - most generally have a kettle of warm, hearty soup and ask for a toasted sandwich (aka ham & cheese panini).</p>
<p>I’m the OP here–way back in 2009! We had a great time, but our trip was so short that I only have limited experience to report. Read the whole thread and you’ll find great suggestions. Try the “hop on-hop off” bus to get an overview of Dublin and get off when you have the urge. Walk around Trinity College. Moving west, we liked the Rock of Cashel and the Cliffs of Moher. The Burren region was our favorite–just spectacular. nj2011mom, Limerick was our base for two nights and we found your “hometown” to be a friendly place. We liked one pub so well that we went back the second night.</p>
<p>My DD says:</p>
<p>You should 100% go to The Cliffs of Moher and Giant’s Causeway. They are stunning. I guess Giant’s Causeway is pretty far out of your way, but it’s only about a 3 hour drive north of Dublin (you could stop through Belfast on your way up), so it just depends how much time you want to spend in the car. I did a week long bus tour around the whole perimeter of Ireland and Giant’s Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher were hands down my favorite places. </p>
<p>Do NOT waste your time in Dublin going to The National Leprechaun Museum. It sounds funny and cool, it’s not. They charge like 10 Euro and you see a box of Lucky Charms and a map of Ireland. </p>
<p>Day trips from Dublin: consider Dun Laoghaire.
Day trips from Limerick: consider the Dingle Peninsula, Killarney, or Cork (you could see Blarney Castle).</p>
<p>I thought the Guinness Factory was overrated. The coolest part about it was going up to the top of the building to get a panoramic view of Dublin; however, it was crowded and only so-so (I also don’t care for Guinness that much). I would tour The Old Jameson Distillery before I would go to the Guinness Factory.</p>