Posted on 07/14/2005 2:51:23 PM PDT by jrp5776
We plan to visit Ireland in October 2005. Can you make any suggestions to make our trip a pleasant one?
I am thinking about a trip in spring/summerof next year. I want to bicycle for about a week. Any suggestions as to where to go?
Drink a Guinness for me. Where I work at the moment Guinness costs $6 a can.
:(
LOL! I never thought I hear Bundoran mentioned here on FR - I'm born and bred from Bundoran.
Must be my local when I go home, the bridge bar!
BTW, click on my name for some pictures of Bundoran.
Do go to the north! Everyone will always tell you to do the west. And they are right - it is beautiful and fun. But that's what every American tourist in Ireland does. And the establishments there cater to that. If you go to the north, you will face less tourists and get more of a chance to see the "real Ireland."
Do go to Derry and the murals. Go to the north coast and see Giant's Causeway. If you play golf try to play Royal Portrush, but bring plenty of balls. Absolutely positively do a Black Taxi tour in Belfast. It is a must. Even my boyfriend, who is from the north was very impressed and informed by it. You can book them at the Europa hotel, where they happily tell you its the most bombed hotel in Europe. Don't worry, though it's been ages since it was bombed.
On the west coast, Galway is the best. Its easy for day trips in Connemara, and has great nightlife. Be weary of Eyre Square at night though. Salt Hill is a nice place to stay in Galway. If you're interested in hearing trad music, most of the pubs on Qauy street play some in the late afternoon, evening. Again, its usually geared toward American tourists, but the locals enjoy it too.
If you make it down to Dingle, stop in the South Pole Inn, in Anascoul. Very cool pub opened by one Tom Crean upon his retirement from multiple expeditions to the South Pole with both Scott and Shackelton. I believe they do walking tours from there if you're into that sort of thing.
In Westport, Co Mayo there is a pub called Matt Malloy's (as in the Chieftans). Try to befriend a local around there any you might get lucky enough to be a part of a lock in, where they play great live music until all hours of the night.
Do allow plenty of time for driving from place to place, especially on the west coast. It may be a small country, but so are the roads and it can take a lot longer to get from point A to point B then you would think.
And be very careful of the Tinkers!! Bastards got into my car twice when I lived there.
That's why we sometimes call them minks!
Thank you, ****. And, to your other post, there was an amazing amount of per capita musical talent in Ireland when I was there.
I sure don't remember the name of the pub; dint know my own name the next morning, either!
We just got back last night from a two week Globus tour of Ireland. One of our hotels was the Great Northern in Bundoran. It was COOL and rainy in northern parts. I wore a jacket AND a raincoat. It rained like crazy in Bundoran.
The Great Northern Hotel was a lot of fun with entertainment and dancing at night. (I was surprised to see Indian & Polish waiters.)
The weather was MUCH warmer in Bunratty. We drove around the whole island, even Belfast. I was disappointed that we didn't get off the bus in Belfast for a tour. We had a tour in Derry.
We went to the Bunratty Folk Park, Galway, the Cliffs of Mohr, Wm Butlet Yeats gravesite, the Giant's Causeway, Derry, Dublin, Kilkenny, Cork, Kilarney, Limerick. In some cities, we just stopped for lunch or simply drove through.
We all gained weight because we ate too much! The hotel menus usually included salmon, lamb, pork, beef, or chicken, potatoes, & carrots, and cheesecake, or apple pie. We weren't offered salads.
IMO, you'll need a winter coat in October. (or a HEAVY-weight raincoat with a hood)
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