If you were going to plan a trip to Ireland, what would you do?

Holy War · #1 11-08-2009, 10:26 PM

Thinking about a vacation. Being a 2nd generation American, Ive been to England quite a bit to visit family, but have never made it ro Ireland and I want to go.

Irish folk or others who have been, what do you recommend for an American visiting Ireland for 2 weeks or so to do?

f'nar f'nar · #2 11-08-2009, 10:58 PM

Drink.

Holy War · #3 11-08-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f'nar f'nar

Drink.

wow really?

5StringBlues · #4 11-08-2009, 11:01 PM

Find Darkstrike first,then drink with him.

Holy War · #5 11-08-2009, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

Find Darkstrike first,then drink with him.

a much more reasonable task

doctorjazz · #6 11-08-2009, 11:05 PM

Pilgrimage to St. James' Gate.

f'nar f'nar · #7 11-08-2009, 11:09 PM

I went to Ireland earlier on this year, went to a pub by myself (didn't have anyone else on the trip with me) and met some really awesome people who showed me a hell of a night!

So when I say drink, I mean it as serious advice.

Holy War · #8 11-08-2009, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f'nar f'nar

I went to Ireland earlier on this year, went to a pub by myself (didn't have anyone else on the trip with me) and met some really awesome people who showed me a hell of a night!

So when I say drink, I mean it as serious advice.

I was being sarcastic, I already knew that

Lonnystingray · #9 11-09-2009, 01:40 AM

I went to Dublin in Spring, about 50% of the time was spent drinking, or drinking-related activities (visit the Guinness Brewery, visit the Jameson distillery) and the rest was spent by walking around, getting scared of the high prices of everything, and then some more drinking.

And, depending on where you are staying, a visit of Glendalough Parcs is something not to mis! Also an excellent way of getting away from you hangover.

And if you want to score with your misses, in Dublin the bar where 'PS. I love you' was recorded, she really wants to visit..

Darkstrike · #10 11-09-2009, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

Find Darkstrike first,then drink with him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holy War

a much more reasonable task

I hear he's in the south, if that helps.....

I'll tell you one thing *not* to do, guitar shops, you'll probably get in trouble from laughing at price tags.

phatbass · #11 11-09-2009, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f'nar f'nar

Drink.

A lot...

username n/a · #12 11-09-2009, 05:10 AM

Play The Old Course at St. Andrews.

Darkstrike · #13 11-09-2009, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by username n/a

Play The Old Course at St. Andrews.

Good luck finding that in Ireland......

username n/a · #14 11-09-2009, 05:18 AM

Oh wait, wrong country. Give me a brake, it's early.

Darkstrike · #15 11-09-2009, 05:21 AM

Oh, if you're into scenery and such, The Cliffs of Moher, in County Clare, and the Ring Of Kerry, in County Kerry(naturally), would be good choices.

gkbass13 · #16 11-09-2009, 05:35 AM

i stayed in Glengeary(spelling?), about 15 minutes outside of dublin, and it was fantastic. beautiful country!

bigtexashonk · #17 11-09-2009, 07:41 AM

Kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle.

Trinity University Dublin.

Temple Bar area of Dublin.

The Ring of Kerry is beautiful.

Cork is a cool town.

mpm32 · #18 11-09-2009, 07:44 AM

Fly into Dublin, rent a car, drive the southern route to Shannon, see many cool things along the way, fly home from Shannon.

We did this in '97 and had a great time, stayed in B&Bs the whole way. Not too hard to find a B&B, it seemed like everyone's house was a B&B.

adammazza · #19 11-09-2009, 08:15 AM

My wife and I went to Ireland in April 2001. We went for 10 days iirc. Our plan was to stay in a different town each day, and in Dublin for 2 days.

We decided to fly in and out of Shannon because it is less crowded than Dublin. This proved to be a good choice.

We flew from NY to Shannon, and landed at ~7am local time. If you are renting a car, I would strongly suggest reserving ahead of time, and reserving an automatic. Both my wife and I can drive stick well, but between the roundabouts, wrong side of the road, dirt roads and sheep, I would suggest an automatic

.

Try and have a place to stay lined up when you land. If you can take a quick nap. DO NOT sleep more then 2 hours or so, or you will not adjust to the jet lag (assuming you are on NY time).

After a short rest we went into Limerick and the surrounding area. We then proceeded over the next few days SW. I have to say the whole Dingle Peninsula is awesome! We headed east from Dingle, hit towns in the south, and right around Waterford we headed straight to Dublin. We stayed in a place outside of downtown Dublin that was close to the train so we could take the train in and out. I would suggest booking a place a day or 2 in advance in Dublin.

We had wanted to hit Northern Ireland after Dublin, but ran out of time. We drove straight back across the Ireland and stayed in Galway for a night and then back to the airport.

All in all a great trip, this was also the last vacation we were on before we had kids

adammazza · #20 11-09-2009, 08:17 AM

One other note. Lots of the bars in Ireland will have a "blue" Guinness tap. Avoid it, it seems to be the "extra cold" tap, and for tourists.