Ireland Bound

[Sharon]

The bride surprised me today with a proclamation of "You can't get mad, I bought this a long time ago...we're going to Ireland".

So, of course I got mad first... Because we just bought the money pit house and have endless renos to handle, and i'm now self employed, yada yada yada...Then I got excited.

We'll be there from late March into April. Good cool temperature for me, and likely the only chance we'll have at sunny periods between winter bleakness and spring rains.

Has anyone been and have trip suggestions?

Lucky guy! I wish my husband would surprise me. All I get is "Do you want to go to Mac Donalds?"

[TroutSlayer]

You will love the country and the people. The bitter half and I, along with two friends spent three weeks in Ireland this past May and June. The only rain we saw was a couple of days while we were driving. We flew to Dublin and rented a car. Drove 3,250 kilometers from Dublin down the coast and on up to Galway. We have family in Dublin and County Kerry, when not with them we used B&B's. She never did tell me what the trip cost and it doesn't really matter. I need to get back there soon.

As far as suggestions, stay away from the tourist traps and try to get back into villages that the tour busses can't get to. Don't kiss the saliva soaked Blarney Stone.

Doolin is a great village for traditional live music in their three pubs. You can walk between all three with your beer in hand until you find a tune you like, and nobody cares. From Doolin it's a short boat ride over to the Aran Islands and seeing the Cliffs of Moher from below is way better than from the top.

The bride surprised me today with a proclamation of "You can't get mad, I bought this a long time ago...we're going to Ireland".

So, of course I got mad first... Because we just bought the money pit house and have endless renos to handle, and i'm now self employed, yada yada yada...Then I got excited.

We'll be there from late March into April. Good cool temperature for me, and likely the only chance we'll have at sunny periods between winter bleakness and spring rains.

Has anyone been and have trip suggestions?

[Hunter John]

Thats great Mott, its on my bucket list along with Scotland to see some of my heritage. Have fun and safe travels. Oh, take lots of pics?

[Dythbringer]

The bride surprised me today with a proclamation of "You can't get mad, I bought this a long time ago...we're going to Ireland".

So, of course I got mad first... Because we just bought the money pit house and have endless renos to handle, and i'm now self employed, yada yada yada...Then I got excited.

We'll be there from late March into April. Good cool temperature for me, and likely the only chance we'll have at sunny periods between winter bleakness and spring rains.

Has anyone been and have trip suggestions?

Have fun. I don't have any tips as I have never been to Ireland.

Don't stress out about money when you are self employed. As a self employed individual myself, I have found it was the best financial decision I did for myself (this was before the Wynne government decided to "help" me with my retirement plans).

Funny how "you can't get mad" at her for doing this but if you did something similar......

[fishermccann]

Take your golf clubs and stick a couple of fishing rods in the bag with the clubs. Many of the worlds great golf courses, and fishing streams in Ireland.

[Oddmott]

We still haven't solidified the itinerary, but we do know we won't be going to Northern Ireland this trip. Essentially if you drew a line from Dublin -> Galway, we'll only be straying 100kms or so above that line.

We'll definitely be checking out several castles, some coastal villages, Doolin for the tunes, Kilkenny park, County Clare for my ancestral ties, and a fair bit of random touring as I'd love to sniff out a few things that don't make it into your average tour.

[GW11]

Something to consider when you book B&B's (if you haven't already)... you're money goes a lot further if you stay in the smaller villages or farmhouses in the countryside. I know it isn't Ireland, but my wife and I honeymooned in Scotland in '02 and the difference in quality of the B&B's between urban/rural was astronomical. In the bigger cities, some of the B&B's were borderline hostels. For the same price you could stay in a really nice, clean and quaint farmhouse or cottage 10 minutes from town.

Have fun!

[LongHunter]

Cliffs of Moher is a phenomenal sight and was my wife's favourite part of the trip when we went a few years back. Most of my preferred spots were in the North (ie. Giant's Causeway and the antrim coast road) so won't be of much help. As someone else said Temple Bar in Dublin was a great time and they have a musical pub crawl there that was a blast. The advice I give everyone going there is that if you're going to rent a car get the GPS, street signs are few and far between over there, hopefully neither of you are nervous drivers. It's a great trip, enjoy.

[DGearyFTE]

Good Luck Odd... got to Temple Bar and have Guinness for me...
My Dad's family is from Cork County but I do like Dublin!

[TroutSlayer]

Take your golf clubs and stick a couple of fishing rods in the bag with the clubs. Many of the worlds great golf courses, and fishing streams in Ireland.

Right on. Our friends golfed three couses between Kenmare and Galway. We got a tour of "Old Head Of Kinsale" but couldn't afford a round at $1,000.00 Canadian with club rentals.

http://www.homeatfirst.com/OLD-HEAD.HTM