<p>We are off for a couple of weeks to Dublin and London in June and July. We have been to London numerous times but never to Ireland. I am NOT going to rent a car in Dublin so I need you advice on the best day trips by bus into the Irish countryside. Any suggestions as to the best companies to use?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>My son and I used these two companies back in 2006. I’ve checked the links and they are in business! I reserved space on the tours with each company online before our trip.</p>
<p>Celtic Journey with Mary Gibbons
[Newgrange</a> tours by Mary Gibbons](<a href=“http://www.newgrangetours.com/index.html]Newgrange”>http://www.newgrangetours.com/index.html)</p>
<p>Glendalough and Wicklow Day Tour
[DayTours</a> Unplugged - Tours of Wicklow](<a href=“http://www.daytoursunplugged.ie/public-one.htm]DayTours”>http://www.daytoursunplugged.ie/public-one.htm)</p>
<p>Just some off the beaten path and worthwhile sights in Dublin:
Kilmainham Jail (Gaol)
St. Michan’s Church Crypt - 800 y.o. mummy</p>
<p>Have a great time! I’m so jealous!</p>
<p>Thanks. I’ll check them out. </p>
<p>My wife is interesting in shopping (surprise!) in Dublin. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>or “interested in shopping” although she does find it interesting.</p>
<p>I know this isn’t the correct spelling but the Jail…Kilmaorinhin or something resembling that.</p>
<p>Best known shopping street is probably Grafton in Dublin but I don’t think it is that exciting. Irish tweeds and knits are classic but not fashionable.</p>
<p>Do either of you like horses? The Irish National Stud is interesting if you do. It is about 30 miles from Dublin I believe and there are probably tours that leave from there.</p>
<p>We did so much sightseeing that shopping was left to the airport shops on the day home. Avoca Mills has a shop in the airport - picked up a lovely woolen blanket there. Also brought crystal earrings…</p>
<p>If you get in touch with Damien Reilly of Day Tours Unplugged, you can ask him if he still makes a shopping/rest stop. That shop had some nice woolens, hats, etc.</p>
<p>Btw, Newgrange is not to be missed and Day Tours Unplugged does not go there (but Mary Gibbons does). Day Tours’ Glendalough and Wicklow tour was very good though - with a smaller bus you can get into locations that the other tour companies’ larger buses cannot.</p>
<p>We were in Dublin in October - there’s Grafton Street and the area off O’Connell, but to be honest, I found the shopping options disappointing. </p>
<p>We did rent a car and drive out of Dublin on a day trip (and then also drove all the way up to Donegal, but that’s another story). I don’t know if you are reluctant to rent a car because you don’t want to drive there, but it is doable. In a couple of roundabouts a co-pilot is helpful but otherwise we found the driving easy. We were headed to a specific location in Wexford so we didn’t consider day tours.</p>
<p>Have a great time! There are a lot of great restaurants in Dublin these days.</p>
<p>We have been back for a month and a half. We took the DART (Dublin Area rapid Transit, a commuter train) and bought the on and off tickets. We got out at a number of the small towns and walked around. Some pretty nice scenery.</p>
<p>We did most of our touring in-town. We bought the tickets for the bus tour around the city. I got off and did the Guinness factory. Very interesting. You get a free pint, a royal pint, which is huge, at their rooftop bar with the incredible view of the city. I don’t care for beer so a couple of sips was enough for me.</p>
<p>We were frankly shocked by how expensive food was particularly since we were not looking for high end places. Is it a result of their use of the Euro?</p>
<p>The city itself is clean, but the buildings are grimy. We did go to see River Dance. Highly recommended; spectacularly good performers. We spent five days there. For us, it was two days too many. For others of you five days may not be enough.</p>
<p>Was in Dublin last month, but only for three days. We spent the rest of our two weeks on the west coast. It’s too bad you didn’t get out there; I know there are day trips to Cliffs of Moher and places like that.</p>
<p>Did you get to Kilmainham Gaol? That was probably the place that made the most impression on me in the city.</p>
<p>Guinness Factory was quite different from when I was there last (29 years ago.) Very glitzy. H was into the actual brew stuff, since he brews himself. He was scandalized by people who take the pint but don’t drink it. Tried to get the barkeep to give him one of the undrunk pints, but the guy had to (disgustedly) pour it down the drain. The views from up there were incredible, but it was insanely crowded the day we were there.</p>
<p>Went to the Writers Museum, liked that a lot. Spent a lot of time wandering around, sitting in St. Stephen’s Green, and more wandering. Had some great pub meals. Walked into an incredible music session at a tiny pub near our B and B–towards the end, they brought in a guest singer who turned out to be one of the Irish Tenors. Great experience.</p>
<p>Also, while hanging out in Temple Bar, got interviewed by a woman from the Irish version of NPR on American tourist perspectives on the recession and prices in Ireland.</p>
<p>Liked Dublin a lot, but next time we’ll probably stay on the west coast, which we probably had the best time of our lives at.</p>