Ireland
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You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
Hi /trv/,
I'm a Canadian planning to travel to Ireland. I will be going to London first for a few days, then I want to go to ireland for 6 or 7 days, then back to London.
We would fly into Dublin, then maybe rent a car or just train and public transit everywhere we need to go.
Can I have some help planning my trip? I'm really into the breweries but all of the brewery tours I saw had pictures of old people, so fuck that I'm 25.
Any advice or suggestions for Ireland would be appreciated.
>>1114083
Not from Canada so it might be different, but from what I've researched, it's much cheaper to fly into Dublin than London.
>>1114084
Yeah, my sister lives in London so I'm going to visit her for a couple days. I've been to london a few other times so I'm only going to see her, then go somewhere during the week because she works, then back to london the following saturday or sunday. At least that's the plan.
>>1114083
Do you mean breweries (of beer) or distilleries (of whiskey)?
If you mean the former, the Guinness place in Dublin is friendly to all-ages, although it is very much a tourist attraction - albeit one that is interesting and informative.
The one distillery I've been to in Ireland is at Bushmills, in the north. I'd strongly recommend it, actually (not least as the Giant's Causeway is just down the road, and the landscape round about is stunning, although the town of Bushmills itself sucks rather a lot).
Otherwise - depends what you are interested in. Ireland has both stunning country scenery, great music and hospitality, and a few really appealing medium-sized towns. (Galway probably my favourite of those, Belfast is great and a lot of incredibly interesting stuff concerned with its recent history to see too, Dublin is a charming capital - at least the city centre part, anyway). But above all i'd say - don't overlook the North, there is a hell of a lot of great things there
>>1114094
okay thanks for the tips
Definitely rent a car, the roads are shit but the buses are worse.
>>1114207
Is inter city rail travel okay?
>>1114083
Really the only way to see ireland is by car. It's what is worth seeing and doing to explore towns one by one and the sites right off the roads. The countryside is beautiful.
>>1114214
You easily get used to the different side.
A few protips. Something of a minivan or SUV that gets the driver higher than a height of a hedge will help on curves (almost all roads are curvy and narrow). Without seeing, you come to a lot of sudden braking with headon collision avoidance. I suggest getting 100% insurance waiver so you can feel free not to fret about the hedge scratching paint, and other highly likely little things to argue about later. With few exceptions, it's something I never do, but in Ireland, yep, load up on the CDW.
You're going to have a lovely time. I suggest the south, btw. Dublin to Shannon/Galway
>>1114221
>Dublin to Shannon/Galway
thanks for the advice anon
>>1114221
I find it odd that you can drive across a country in such a short amount of time. Coming from Canada, it takes over 24hours to drive from one end of Ontario to the other, and over a week on the road to cross the whole country
>>1114208
In a word, it's shit. Probably the worst of any country in Western Europe. Dublin-Belfast the only line worth considering. If you don't drive, coaches between Dublin and Galway and Dublin and Cork, or cheap flights are a much better option. (Belfast to Derry by train is scenic in places, but painfully slow. Coach a much more sensible option) The only way to go up the west coast is by road, too. Even where the railways run, it's mostly like some 1970s nationalised place that time forget - truly dreadful.
>>1114224
you can drive from Dublin to Galway in like 3-4 hours iirc. And yeah, as someone else already said, Galway should factor into your holiday. Stay in the city for a couple of nights maybe (and you can see Galway city in a day, then spend the rest maybe driving around Connemara or up to Donegal). It really depends what you're into though, just seeing 'breweries' won't really make for a great holiday
Someone mentioned Belfast but desu as someone from Belfast I wouldn't recommend it, there's nothing much to see here and I cringe whenever I see tourists walking about clearly regretting their decision to come..
>>1114375
>and I cringe whenever I see tourists walking about clearly regretting their decision to come
I feel this way in Toronto
We get a lot of upstate New Yorkers coming up for baseball games when New York Yankees are in town
Toronto is closer than New York City from upstate New York
Other than the baseball game and CN Tower there's not that much to do here
>>1114375
>you can drive from Dublin to Galway in like 3-4
I'll definitely do this, thanks for the suggestion
Question
Are all cars standard in Ireland? In north America most vehicles are automatic transmission
>>1114392
Bamp
>>1114392
most cars in Ireland are manual but rental places usually have some automatics available.
>>1114479
Good to know
So
Would I have better luck fucking other tourist or Irish girls?
>>1114534
If you're going to the touristy areas of Dublin (and Galway in general) you'll probably not see that many Irish in the first place
Went to a few nice bars around Dublin last year and they were mostly full of Americans, except for ones that're kind of hard to find so the tourists don't know about them (which will remain nameless)
>>1114620
I like going to the places only locals know about. In Prague some local guy took us to this local bar restaurant which was in some family's house
Guys what are some MUSTS for Ireland?
We're going to do Dublin to Galway to Shannon then back to Dublin by car
Sound like a good idea?
What's the point of Ireland?
A lot of Ireland's craft breweries are only recently open, and whether they accept visitors varies a lot. If you're thinking Dublin centric then I'm pretty sure Rascals and Jack Cody's are open to public off the top of my head. Also obviously Guiness Storehouse but I wouln't really bother. You could look into their microbrewery the Open Gate, it's only open two nights a week tho
Whiskey-wise you could check out Teeling, who are the first distillery to actually distill in Dublin for years (Jameson have a visitor centre there but they produce in Co. Cork). The Irish Whiskey Museum is good craic too if you wanna learn more about the history of the spirit as a whole and get some nice tastings
>>1114534
Depends on where you go. Leeson St. is chock full of nightclubs that attract both tourists and locals.
Wander around Wexford St. for live music spots that are less touristy, and if all comes to all the Workmans will sort you out no bother
>>1114830
Thanks for the info
>>1114803
depends what you're into, it's pretty clichéd but the pubs and nightlife in certain parts of Ireland really are pretty good. I've been all round Europe and it's certainly unique.
But I don't think there's one big 'thing' to do or see in Ireland, there's just a lot of small nice things spread around a lot
>>1114840
Good to know, thanks senpai
Are hostels in Dublin decent or shit tier?
>>1115197
Generator in Smithfield is savage
>>1115229
Is savage good?
>>1115197
The thing about Dublin is hostels are pointless. It's too expensive to stay in one.
If you're in a group on a budget the only way to stay is apartments. If you're not I'd look for a hotel deal and fuck hostels altogether.
>>1115244
Knacker
>>1115242
>If you're in a group on a budget the only way to stay is apartments. If you're not I'd look for a hotel deal and fuck hostels altogether
There's only 2 of us, maybe I'll look into hotel then
If you like hiking/nature/scenery then you should check out croagh patrick in Mayo as well
Regarding accommodations in Dublin
Money really isn't an issue, I just want a social experience. So Hostels are still no good?
a good way to travel is to know what the political situation is... ireland has a lot of crime in certain areas.
>>1115308
that's actually a good point, thanks
>>1115303
I wouldn't rough it in Dublin. I'd assume the 3stars range from nearly crap to actual 2star, and opt for a higher end hotel, and get your culture around town. Dublin is a hotspot for tech travelers and monied, so there's more top choices in the last 10 years mostly near the airport, but lots of stag party types up for some weekend in groups from London. Do you want sleep or not, cause they won't be sleeping? Temple Bar area especially...though it allows you walk easily and central to your tourist sights.
>>1115313
okay thanks for the advice, maybe we will just get a hotel in dublin. I am looking at reviews for places now and hostels are very expensive
Rented a car and drove around ireland for a week it was great.
It definately took two days to get used to and there were some sketchy moments in the first two days. The whole country is made up of round abouts. Litterally first time through re enacted that scene with chevy chase.
I would recomend getting a gps. We tried to use pre printed out maps but it didnt work.
Also i really liked killarney its a nice small town that has enough to do. Also good area to do ring if kerry from. Dublin was nice but the ireland i had pictured was out west.
Also def get the insurance there. There arent highways evry where and some roads we went on were dirt one lane roads were oncoming cards would have to pull over so the other car could get thru
>>1115352
>Also i really liked killarney its a nice small town that has enough to do. Also good area to do ring if kerry from. Dublin was nice but the ireland i had pictured was out west.
I think we're thinking this too, thanks for the tips
Are you from Canada or US? If yes driving wasn't a problem?
Okay so what I gather is don't bother with hostels, rent a car, and see the west of Ireland
Thanks guys
>>1115308
North Dublin (e.g. Broombridge, Cabra) and Limerick among the main places to watch in the South. In the north it's usually dead obvious
>>1115488
Yup!
Should be 7-10 days to loop the south to the west.
Get the Rick Steves book, he's the best for Ireland.
>>1115655
thanks senpai, I think I've learned what I needed to from this thread.
/trv/ is a quality board, I wasn't expected this much help
>>1115689
np mate.
Canadians are welcome over any time.
>>1114803
Cliffs of Moher. Giants causeway is cool enough but it was smaller than I expected. If you can fit it into the schedule the Aran Islands are pretty nice.
>>1115649
Shannon is near limmerick is it still a nice place?
Guys we're doing Dublin to Galway to Cork to Dublin
What's in between Cork and Dublin worth doing or staying?
>>1115941
Blarney cake is worth a visit but it's €13 admission. Other than that the English Market is a pretty cool place to spend an hour or so walking in.
t. Someone who just was in cork like aa week ago
>>1115967
Where did you stay in Cork?
>>1115900
Shannon is really just the airport. It's there from back in the days when jets flying to North America from Europe needed to refuel at the final possible moment, at pretty much the westernmost point in Europe. There's some nice landscapes relatively nearby (eg Cliffs of Moher), but nothing really to see in Shannon itself
Fack automatic transmission is so expensive.
Why do most European drivers drive manual transmission? In north America automatic is the norm
>>1116053
The style of driving in different than in America. In America there is a lot more highway driving and long distance whereas in Europe there's a lot more tucking and cutting which is easier driving manual
>>1114083
I'm from the North but haven't traveled round the island much, The North Coast and the Slieve League area in Southern Donegal are really beautiful.
>>1114375
Yeah Belfast is a bit of a shithole, on a nice day it would maybe be worth doing some of the touristy trips, but only if you were in the area. It would be a good to have an idea of the political situation but you don't need anything more than a very basic notion of it. Just so if you're in the North you at least understand why the streets will go from red white and blue kerbs and union flags to tri-colours and IRA memorials.
Also when roughly when are you going?
>>1116270
>Also when roughly when are you going?
We're going from June 19 to June 24
Would that be enough time to see Dublin, Galway and Cork?
Also there's a hostel called Dublin International Hostel
Yeah it's more expensive than other hostels I've been to but should I really avoid them? The hotels are much more out of the way or their even more expensive
What about Airbnb?
>>1116053
>In north America automatic is the norm
Yes, we know..
But the north America is not the whole world
>>1116274
you can comfortably see Dublin in 2 days. Galway can be seen in 1 day, it's just a large town, plus another day or two to drive around the west coast if you want (it's nice, honest)
Not sure about cork or the far south
>>1115355
>some roads we went on were dirt one lane roads were oncoming cards would have to pull over so the other car...
yeah, those aren't really designed for travel. They're just roads to people's houses/fields. If you are trying to go anywhere larger than a tiny village you'll be able to go via a main road, if you end up on a 1 lane dirt track then you've taken a wrong turn or made a bad choice.
So we have 7 nights in Ireland
From 17th June to 23 June
Does this sound reasonable?
Night of 17th 18th in Dublin
Drive to Galway on June 19th
Spend night of 19th and 20th in Galway
Drive to Cork on the day of 21st
Spend night of 21st and 22nd in Cork
Drive to Dublin on 23rd spend night in Dublin
Fly home early morning June 24
>>1115941
Depends how long you're willing to drive. You could look into historic towns like Clonmel, Killkenny etc which are on the way. Or maybe Glendalough (pictured, there's a 1500 year old monastery there, it's quite famous)
>>1116302
Okay I'm looking into Kilkenny now
>>1116301
I think you'll spend half your time driving. You'll see a lot though so if you're comfortable with that then it's fine
>>1116308
We may spend 1 night in Cork and 1 in Kilkenny
>>1114207
also they've started to only accept exact payment on some buses so with an unfamiliar currency it would just be too inconvenient
>>1116316
I've used euros a lot, I've been to France and Germany so I'm not too concerned with that
I just booked generator hostel in Dublin
Was that a bad idea?
>>1116384
was it expensive?
>>1116458
yeah pretty expensive, like 60 Canadian dollars per night per bed
>>1116384
If you're there on a weekend be prepared for party goers
I'm in Dublin for the day because of a massive layover. Perhaps the most important thing for me is a full breakfast (white pudding and blacking pudding are a must) with a pint early in the morning. Any recommendations in this regard?
Booked my Galway hostel
Much cheaper than Dublin. It's something Quay hostel, it looked nice
Here's my trip so far
We're going to spend 2 nights in Cork then go back to Dublin for a night and fly to London the next day
I've been to London a few times before so I'm just there to visit family
>>1114392
Just learn to drive
Ireland is a nice place but I would never spend my entire holiday there.
>>1117171
6 nights in 3 cities is too much you think?
leprechaun
>>1117171
Opinion on this
>>1114392
Yes nearly all manual. You might be able to rent an automatic though.
>>1117207
That sounds just about right. I wouldn't stretch it.
