So I will be travelling to Ireland in about a week. We'll be there for a total of 17 days, sticking mainly to the southern portion i assume. Definitely going to the Guinness brewery. any other suggestions?

4/10/2010 4:00:03 PM

I was not a fan of the brewery thing. I stayed there for a long time though (studied abroad there), so I got sick of the tourist locations.

The Jameson distillery is better, imo.

Anyway, I was there a long time, I can give you a few ideas. Will you be in Dublin most of the time or will you be near Cork or Galway or what?

If you're in the Navy (as your pics suggest, btw, Go Navy!), then I'm assuming Dublin. Here's my top 5 places:

1. Take a pub tour. There's one that meets at the gates of Trinity College nightly, I think. They advertise. Don't remember their name, but go around Trinity and you're bound to see a flyer. The one I did on my first night there went to a lot of out-of-the-way places (not in Temple Bar) and I got to meet a lot of cool travelers from all over the world.
2. Sleep in St. Stephen's Green. Sleeping under a tree is sometimes rough here because of the humidity and bugs. This doesn't happen in Ireland. spend the afternoon there with a picnic.
3. See the General Post Office Building. This is where the war of Irish independence started in 1916. There are still bullet holes in the walls.
4. Temple Bar. Everyone will tell you to go there. It's got some great places, but it's fucking crowded. The best part is the street musicians. Most are actually Eastern European, so if you like Gogol Bordello, you're in luck! These guys are awesome.
5. Just ride a bus around town and look for awesome old men with stories to tell. Ireland was desperately poor prior to EU ascension, so things have really changed fast. It's hard to see how bad it used to be around there. If you're lucky, you'll meet someone who will take you to some awesome rotten pubs in the wharf area.

[Edited on April 10, 2010 at 4:17 PM. Reason : .]

4/10/2010 4:08:59 PM

The Irish Gig.

4/10/2010 4:09:26 PM

drink some Guinness.

enjoy being in the majority.

kiss the blarney stone

go to cliffs of moher

4/10/2010 4:10:57 PM

1) get a bike
2) ride around
3) profit

4/10/2010 4:15:34 PM

^^yes to the cliffs, but that's on the west side of the island.

i did not see the blarney stone. it should give you a good excuse to see the countryside, though, and that's good.

if you travel to Cork, stop at the Rock of Cashiel on the way, see The Rock, and then hike through the countryside to all the old abandoned Abbeys.

4/10/2010 4:19:41 PM

I think there were some threads about this...

4/10/2010 5:43:53 PM

Invest in the Dublin pass. I believe it was like $35 for 3 days but it gets you admission into Guinness, Jameson and a bunch of the cathedrals. It also gives you unlimited rides on the buses.

4/10/2010 6:09:31 PM

Do your best to fit in and drink as much as you can.

4/10/2010 6:22:04 PM

Fight people.

4/10/2010 7:03:21 PM

You know, Ireland is the best country in the world to invest.
















Because the capital is always Dublin!

4/10/2010 7:39:48 PM

Yell insults at the Scottish. They're a bunch of wankers.

4/10/2010 7:46:48 PM

In Dublin - check out the queen of tarts for a good breakfast/lunch. Gallagher's boxty house was some awesome food too. Go see the book of Kells. One of the best museums was the Chester Beatty library.

Go to Howth and Dalkey - take the dart and just walk around. I think you can get to the goat island this time of year and that looked wicked cool. In Howth there is a fantastic seafood restaurant called wrights findlater.

Get to the west coast and see Galway for a day or overnight trip. Take a bus or train from dublin (about 3 hours) - it costs about the same but buses like gobus.ie might have better schedules.

You can take day trips to Glendalough and Newgrange to see some ancient stuff.

4/10/2010 11:57:12 PM

Ring of Kerry
Cliffs of Moher
Kilkinney

no need to bother with the Blarney Stone

4/11/2010 11:46:37 AM

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=564062 - More suggestions.

4/11/2010 2:10:08 PM

add to my topics! going in september.

how are the hostels?

4/11/2010 4:02:22 PM

I was in Ireland for 10 days a few years ago. I remember Dublin being more expensive than Paris. Ireland as a whole is quite expensive, so be prepared for that.

If you are in Cork, go to Lenox (sp?) fish and chips. Also, Galway is the most fun in the south. Enjoy.

Oh, also its a lie about Guinness tasting different over there.

4/11/2010 5:34:08 PM

We stayed at the Maldron Hotel (Cardiff Lane)

It had just been remodeled and was really nice.

http://www.maldronhotels.com/hotel-cardiff-lane/

4/11/2010 6:42:35 PM

If you're gonna be there that long, then you should really take the bus (or drive if that's what you're doin) up to Belfast one day. It's a pretty cool city that isn't infiltrated with tourists, and walking through the loyalist district (in the daytime of course) was one of the most interesting things I saw in Europe. I would also recommend doing one of the bus tours up to Giant's Causeway. Usually I'm pretty anti any sort of organized tour, but that one was worth it, although I got sick as hell riding along those curving roads up the coast. The one I went on went to Giant's Causeway, Carrickfergus Castle, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle, and the Bushmills Distillery (which was awesome).

I think Northern Ireland is the one place I've been to where the beauty wasn't exaggerated.

4/11/2010 7:01:11 PM

helicopter spins atop a mountain

4/11/2010 7:11:30 PM

were landing in dublin and spendin a couple days there. stayin at the jurys in on parnell street. then we head out to visit relatives and hike around. ill be with my parents, who are old but lively so i imagine itll be tours and shopping. mom loves shopping. if everything is so expensive in dublin, i might wait to get gifts for people in other places.

4/11/2010 7:56:34 PM

AIRPLANE SPINS!

4/11/2010 8:01:23 PM

^^^^ While youre visiting the giant's causeway dont forget to visit the Bushmill's Distillery.

There is a hill called the great sugar loaf just south of the city that you can easily hike to the top. Offers great views of the city.

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-&ll=53.147182,-6.146936&spn=0.025585,0.084372&t=h&z=14

Park there.

Also: Cliffs of moher, and drive around the south west if you get a chance Ring of Kerry etc. Another nice thing is there are plenty of ancient forts or sacred areas that are right off the road if you find a good map.

[Edited on April 11, 2010 at 8:04 PM. Reason : .]

4/11/2010 8:03:37 PM

Our trip is coming together. A rough itinerary has us starting in Dublin, brief stop in Kilkenny, then to Cork, Killarney, Limerick, and finally Galway. We plan to rent a car to allow us to stop and go as we please.

4/27/2010 9:16:04 AM

golf.

4/27/2010 9:46:16 AM

<Add To My Topics>

My wife and I want to get to Ireland next summer. What are the best castles and/or castle ruins to visit in Ireland? There are so many. Definitely not going to spend the entire trip doing that, but if we are getting over there, it would be nice to see a couple.

4/27/2010 9:58:34 AM

My favorites personally were:

The Cliffs of Moher... we took a really tourist-y bus over there on a day trip tour but it was so worth it and our tour guide was really cool. We also got to see the burren land, some castles... it was really neat. The tour was called Paddy Wagon tours or something.

I like the brewery but I wish I had also gotten to see the Jameson distillery..

St. Patrick's cathedral (it was just beautiful)

Johnny Fox's pub -- highest pub in Ireland, and if you look up the website you can see more information about Hooley Night... It was really fun and there were tons of people from around the world there. Got to meet a nice couple from South Africa and watch some Germans get wasted

If you have a chance, rent a car and drive down the coast... Waterford was gorgeous (and if you have time it's neat getting to see how they make Waterford Crystal). It was also fun to see all the little towns along the way.



Have fun!!

4/27/2010 10:00:18 AM

Quote :

"My wife and I want to get to Ireland next summer. What are the best castles and/or castle ruins to visit in Ireland? There are so many. Definitely not going to spend the entire trip doing that, but if we are getting over there, it would be nice to see a couple."

Blarney Castle - http://www.blarneycastle.ie/
Ross Castle - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g186612-d215124-Reviews-Ross_Castle-Killarney_County_Kerry.html
King John's Castle - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_John's_Castle_(Limerick)

There are a lot more, I just can't remember because it's been 10 years since I was last in Ireland

4/27/2010 10:03:13 AM

those of you with smartphones/iphones, how did your data plan work over there? I know the banding is differently, and i haven't looked into it yet but someone told me a while back you could add a rate plan for like a single month in order to use 3G data internationally. school me world travelers.

5/3/2010 9:45:04 AM

^ my dad had a blackberry storm and I'm pretty sure that's kinda the same as what you're talking about.. (he has Verizon)


did. not. work.

5/3/2010 10:02:15 AM

yeah, i'm looking at AT&T's internationall coverage. I have an iphone and can add a global data plan with a 20MB limit for 25 bucks.

I'm not sure what my current usage is, but 20MB seems fine for the length of the trip and with several iphones in my group i think we'll get by. screw text messaging and voice calls while i'm there.

5/3/2010 10:50:56 AM

[quote]ftr

5/9/2010 8:09:49 AM

^^^didnt work bc it's on verizon.. most at&t phones will work over there

5/9/2010 9:46:27 AM

go here



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffs_of_Moher

i think theres only one hostel there (town: Doolin), and they have bikes to use to ride around the countryside on.

5/9/2010 10:16:19 AM

bttt. countdown is down to 1 month.



got a question about banking and card-spending over there. I bank with BoA and a lot of countries in Europe, their banks have relationships with BoA to allow for free withdrawls and things like that, however it appears that there isn't an alliance with any of the banks in Ireland. How have most of you that have spent a good bit of time their made purchases? Should I plan to bring as much cash as i'd probably need or are there other options?

anyone dealt with BoA and their fees while there?

7/26/2010 2:58:08 PM

I have a capital one card, no fees for international transactions (and they use a fair exchange rate).
I also used my american express while in Ireland and every other country I have been in, but they charge an international fee.
I bank at ING Direct, and they charge $3 or something similar for every withdrawal done at an international ATM.

I just hit up the ATM at the airport and pay the extra $3. Just let your bank and CC companies know that you are traveling internationally (they probably have an option when you dial their 800 number).

[Edited on July 26, 2010 at 3:08 PM. Reason : ]

7/26/2010 3:07:21 PM

someone told me not to order "irish carbombs" in ireland, but to simply order "carbombs"

not sure what sense that makes, but i'd do it to avoid any potential asskicking.

7/26/2010 3:08:21 PM

my irish roommate says they are called "cocksucking cowboys" there. I can't remember if I actually did any carbombs when I was in ireland.

7/26/2010 3:09:38 PM

15 days

8/12/2010 4:40:12 PM

62 days

8/12/2010 11:20:43 PM

Quote :

"You know, Ireland is the best country in the world to invest. Because the capital is always Dublin!"

That was so stupid, but I have to admit it caught me off guard and I ended up laughing.

8/13/2010 8:25:29 AM

Take a picture of yourself drinking Guinness and send it in a PM to mambagrl. Like a reverse troll.

8/13/2010 8:55:12 AM

for those of you who have rented cars, can you rent a GPS unit to use as well?

8/13/2010 10:03:52 AM

I had a carbomb over in Ireland. Its tastier. Maybe cause the Guiness is fresher. And there's whiskey in it (I've found most places here forget the whiskey).

8/13/2010 10:05:19 AM

my boss recently went there and said that he booked an mid-sized car (4 grown adults plus bags) and they tried to give him a a coupe or something rediculous. make sure if you do book that it is what you get. also the insurance on the car will be mad expensive. I would imagine they would rent a gps... anything to make a dime.

8/14/2010 7:52:08 AM

Look for someone named O'Brien.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtLwXECzB7g

8/14/2010 8:47:18 PM

Long ways off for us at the moment, but how far in advance do you all recommend trying to book your flight when traveling to a place like Ireland? I've only been out of the country one time before and that was to Costa Rica (which isn't as expensive and doesn't seem to fluctuate as much).

8/16/2010 10:35:54 AM

in my limited experience ~4 months seems to be the best time. We got our tickets for ~700 back in May from CLT to Dublin. That was on a saturday. That very next monday the same flight and every other one that was similar had spiked to 1100-1200.

8/16/2010 11:03:20 AM

Thanks. And yea, $700 seems like a good price.

8/16/2010 11:24:58 AM

How long does it take to drive the ring of kerry???

8/24/2010 10:17:38 PM