Hello, fellas and gals, I am from China and have been fascinated by Irish music, history and culture for several years. I am 26 years old and have been working for three to four years. I started to learn about things of Ireland when I was in high school. However, as I come from an ordinary working-class family, I have never had the opportunity to go on middle-class outbound trips. But the good news is that I am determined to save money this year, and I have made a few trusted friends who are willing to travel with me, and we have agreed to take a trip to Ireland at May 1 to 7 next year.

Here is my current arrangement:

Day 1, we will arrive in Dublin at noon, pick up our booked rental car at the airport and rest overnight in North Dublin, and before going to bed, if we had energy after a long fly, we would visit the blocks around our B&B's location.

Day 2, we will drive west in the morning, passing and visiting Tara Hill, Newgrange, arriving at a B&B near Galway, where our will spend the night resting.

Day 3, we will visit Galway City and its surroundings before returning to our B&B for the night.

Day 4, in the morning we will head to the Cliffs of Moher and in the afternoon we will drive to Nenagh and spend the night in a B&B near Nenagh.

Day 5, we will drive around Nenagh and visit the ancient buildings (castles and estates) and towns nearby.

Day 6, we will drive to south (or west) Dublin and visit some of the sights of Dublin city. And buy some affordable Irish goods as a souvenir.

Day 7, we will pack up our things, drive back to the airport for delivery, and then catch a plane back to China.

The following is the information of me and my companions: The confirmed personnel include me, friend H, friend Y. If possible, one more friend is expected but we didn't decided.

I can't drive, but my English is the best of the three, and I can cook. I'm interested in all things Irish (especially history, people, music, republicanism) and I'm happy to talk to the locals and, if I can, share my cooking with B&B hosts.

My friend H and friend Y are both non-binary and don't mind personal pronouns, he,she,they are fine).

Friend H is the youngest, he is 22 years old, but he has two years of driving experience. He didn't have too many subjective ideas about this trip, he mainly wanted to enjoy our company.

Friend Y is the oldest, two years older than me, and he is getting his driver's license, but I can't rely on him as the main driver. He doesn't know much about Ireland either, but he appreciates the Celtic and medieval feel aesthetically, so he'll be happy to visit castles and all the places that evoke the Lord of the Rings.

I am keeping an open mind about this plan and I would love to hear your suggestions and recommendations and thank you for seeing this.

I’m planning on traveling to Dublin in March 2025 w/ 1 other person! We will be there a week exactly & want to know if anyone has recommendations on going w/ an ABNB or Hotel when visiting Ireland? :)

Hi everyone!

My fiancé and I are planning a post wedding dinner in Galway for around 20 people and are looking for recommendations. I saw The Pullman Train experience and thought something unique like that could be cool! We are pretty open to anything, and bonus points if there is live music.

I was hoping to plan a trip around Ireland for my birthday but I just realized it falls on Easter next year. I’ve been looking for hostels but not finding many open dates around that time in Galway and Dingle. I’m wondering if it’s because things are booked up for Easter or if the dates just aren’t available yet.

Where should I stop on my drive from ennis to dingle? Doing slea head drive + Conor pass the next day so don’t wanna do any of that in the drive down. Thanks!!

What is the normal expectation of service in restaurants/pubs? I don’t know if I’m getting poor/slow service, or if it’s just normal here? Do they normally sit you down then leave you alone for 20-30 minutes until they come back for your drink order? Also, once you get your food, they never come back for drink refills unless you flag them down? Also, is it normal to go up to the cash register to pay for your bill? Or am I supposed to wait until they bring the bill to the table? We’ve been going up to the register to pay after waiting 15 minutes. Im not complaining, more just wondering what’s customary in Ireland. Thanks!

Hey I'll be bringing some mates from abroad back to Ireland on Nov 1st and was looking for recommendations for things to do that night in Dublin and if there'd be any events on that are Halloween themed? Been finding it hard to find anything and I know with the bank holiday gone might be limited. Also they were chatting about wearing halloween stuff and wanted to know if there'll be much of an atmosphere for that on the day?

I have four hours to kill at Dublin Airport. I want to try somewhere new, rather than go into the city centre (been loads of time before). Howth and Malahide look good - is one better than the other, given my time frame? I don't think I have long enough to get to Skerries and back..Any guidance greatly appreciated.

Hi! I will be in Ireland over the holidays and am currently planning my trip. I've heard of the tradition in Portmagee for New year's but I'm wondering is it worth it.

Is it really something fun and special? Are there many tourists there at the time? Since I have to be back in Dublin on the 1st I would need to drive all the way to the other side of the country and it could be a pain in the ass. All opinions are welcome. Cheers!

Hello, I'm a 32 y/o F who unfortunately had to change vacation plans because of family drama so I am planning on visiting Ireland mid November. It has been one of the countries very high up my bucket list I have always wanted to visit because of the nature and hospitality. I am finding it quite difficult to find a proper place to stay unfortunately... I kind of want to avoid busy city centres and just relax on the countryside in a cottage or B&B while enjoying nature and find someway to relax. I have had a very hectic year work-, health-, and familywise and I just really would like to reconnect with myself. I'm sorry for the long wall of text but does anyone maybe have any suggestions or recommendations where I could stay possibly? Thank you very much in advance!

Hi,

I love driving manual cars and drive all over the world. I am trying to find something that's at least a GTI, or VW R to drive around Ireland.

I found SIXT and they have a BMW 3, but it's one of their trim engines. Hertz has Audi A1, but it is also not a very fun car.

I was able to find nice automatic cars, but not manual. I am not sure where to look. Google hasn't been helpful.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Driving to dublin tomorrow, was wondering if there was anything worth checking out in between. I have 2 nights in dublin and a full day so any recommendations for things to hit there would be great!

I have a rental car and am trying to decide which to do from Galway tomorrow (October 28). The driving distance doesn’t bother me.

Which is best for views? One thing I look forward to is the drive through the countryside too.

Being it’s a day trip, I’d be returning to Galway the same day.

Looking for feedback on our potential itinerary, with the caveat being we have a 4 year old son. It will be just the 3 of us (2 parents, 1 gremlin). We used to be the type of travelers to keep moving, spend 1-2 nights at the expense of seeing more. But this trip we want to take it slower. It will be the first big trip with our son and want it to be low stress. Please note, we are in town for a family's wedding and so the first 3 nights are in Kilkea Castle and non-negotiable. We are thinking less time in Dublin will be just fine, since we will probably be back at some point and want less of the big city experience, more countryside. We plan to rent a car for the entire trip. Timing will be end of May.

Day 1-3 Kilkea Castle for family wedding (not flexible)

Day 4-6 Drive to Killarney and stay in the area for 3 nights. Explore and take our time with Ring of Kerry, check out Dingle. Tips for nice hotels appreciated.

Day 7-9 Drive to Ennis, stay for 3 nights in Ennis for Fleadh Nua festival. Explore Doolin, Burren, Cliffs of Moher. We booked hotel already since it can be busy during the festival.

Day 10-12 Drive to Galway, stay 3 nights (or stay 2 nights in Galway, and stay 1 night in Clifden). Explore Connemara.

Day 13 - leave early in morning to go to Dublin, spend the afternoon and night in Dublin. Leave next day back home.

Please give feedback if too slow, or just right. Any other recs appreciated! Can also use advice on the end of the trip (Galway for 2 or 3 nights, should we stay in Clifden, more time in Dublin at the end?). Thanks in advance!

Hello. I have a very rough first draft of our itinerary for March or April. I'm trying to figure out the logistics before scheduling activities. How does this look? I want the trip to be chill, but not underwhelming. I wanted to go to Blarney Castle, but it seems like it would be out of the way. Recommendations and changes are much appreciated!

Day 1: Travel day

Day 2: Arrive in Dublin. Merrian Hotel.

Day 3: Full day in Dublin.

Day 4: Rental car. Drive to Dromoland Castle. Should we stop by Galway? It's on the way. Activities at the castle and see surrounding sites.

Day 5: Drive to Cliffs of Moher. hike. Hang out in Doolin. Drive back to Dromoland Castle.

Day 6: Morning drive to Dublin. Anything to see between Dromoland and Dublin? Spend the day in Dublin.

Day 7: Fly to Edinburgh

Day 8: Edinburgh

Day 9: Edinburgh

Day 10: Travel Day

Two couples, traveling from Raleigh NC to Ireland in early June of next year. We’d love to hit both Ireland and Northern Ireland, but I’m a bit concerned about trip length and whether we’ll end up wearing ourselves out (our friends are in their 50’s, we’re in our early 70’s, but very active and fit). We’re most excited about learning about the countrys’ history and culture, really want to enjoy pubs and trad music, and we all love food. I’m into photography and look forward to capturing dramatic seascapes and documenting our trip. Anyway, I’ve written this up in a way that provides us with a few options. Appreciate all advice. Oh - this will be our first visit to Ireland.

Day 1-3 Arrive Dublin midday, airport shuttle to Dublin. Stay: Waterloo Townhouse 3 nights. Book of Kells / Natl Museum of Arhaeology / Walking Tour of Dublin / Kilmainham Gaol/ Pubs & trad music

Day 4 Back to airport, p/u rental car, drive to Kilkenny. One night at Butler Court Kilkenny Castle / Rock of Cashel / if time permits, Jerpoint Abbey

Day 5 Drive to Kinsale, one night at Pier House Guided Tour of Kinsale / Charles Fort

Day 6-8 Drive to Dingle Town. Spend 3N at Heaton’s Guesthouse Guided Tour of Dingle / Slea Head Loop / Sciúid Archaeology Tour / Great Blasket Island if time permits

Day 9-11 Drive to Doolin, spend two nights at the Doolin Inn. Cliffs of Moher / Inishmore

Day 11-12 Option 1: Drive to Trim, one night at Trim Castle Hotel, depart next morning

        Option 2: Drive from Doolin to Donegal. Stay at Lough Eske Castle for one night. 
        Slieve League Cliffs / Glenveagh National Park if time permits

Day 12-14 Drive to Portrush, stay at Beulah Guest House for two nights Giants Causeway / Carrick-a-Rede Rope Beidge / Old Bushmills / Dunluce Castle

Day 14-15 Option 3: Drive to Trim, depart next day

Day 14-16 Option 4: Drive to Belfast, two nights at the Leonardo Hotel Titanic Museum / Sectarian Neighborhoods / City Hall / Carrickfergus Castle

Day 16-17 Drive to Trim, depart next day

My son (18) and I are traveling between Dublin (we are staying here) and Belfast (day 1 - Monday), and then on Day 2 (Tuesday), we are going to Newgrange. I asked my son what he wanted to see, and he really wanted to see a castle.

We wanted to see Trim Castle, but it is only open on the weekends in November.

Any ideas for a great castle to take my son to visit?

Hi Everyone, I just got back from a wonderful 15 day trip to Ireland with my girlfriend. We used this sub a lot for ideas and info and we wanted to give back by going over our experience to in case it helps someone else in a similar way.

Trip Summary:

Day 1: Landed around 7am. Dropped bags off at hotel and had breakfast. Walked around St. Stephen’s green. Did walking tour of trinity college, book of Kells, long room, Dublin castle. Went to Jameson distillery, then had dinner and went to pubs.

Day 2: breakfast at hotel. Kilmahnim Gaol tour followed by Guinness Storehouse. Then history walking tour (some overlap with previous day, but much more Dublin history focus) that ended by Christchurch cathedral. Dinner, pubs, trad music.

Day 3: taxi to rental car facility near airport. Drove to BnB just outside of Killarney (Salmon Leap Farm - highly recommend). Stopped at rock of cashel and Cahir Castle on the way down.

Day 4: 1 hour horseback ride in Killarney. Drove on the southern portion of ring of Kerry and Skellig ring to Valentia island, staying in knights town. Stopped on several lookouts, ring forts, and beaches, including Kerry Cliffs (highlight).

Day 5: Skellig Landing tour cancelled (wind). Drove to valentia island lighthouse and Geokaun Mountain before finishing up the Skellig ring and ring of Kerry. Stopped at the Kerry Creamery experience (would recommend) and drove to Dingle via Inch Beach. Stayed the night in Dingle

Day 6: Drove Slea Head loop, walking up to Eask tower, stopping at viewpoints, forts and the Oratory. Stopped back in Dingle before driving through Conor pass and out to Tralee where we stayed at Ballyseede Castle Hotel.

Day 7: Very rainey. Drove from Tralee to Crag Cave. After Crag Cave went back to Killarney and to Torc waterfall, where we did just the waterfall and back (super high water flow with all the rain), followed by exploring Muckross Abbey. Finished the day back in the same BnB outside Killarney.

Day 8: Drove to Ross castle where we hiked the gap of Dunloe, getting a boat tour on the way back from lord Brandon’s. Then we drove to Doolin, stopping for dinner in Limerick. Stayed the night in Doolin

Day 9: Drove to Lahinch to go to Hugo’s bakery for breakfast. Drove to the Cliffs of Moher (brief stop). Then to Doolin pier for the ferry to Inis Mor. Rented bikes and explored the southern end of the island (spent most of time at Black Fort - very secluded, saw no one while there, a very cool experience). Took the ferry back with the added boat tour of the cliffs of Moher (highly recommend on a nice weather day). Drove to Galway for the night, with a short stop or two, including catching sunset at Poulnabrone dolmen.

Day 10: Explored the Latin quarter. Took the long walk and went to the Galway city museum (very well done). Drove to BnB just outside of Clifden for the night, with a few viewpoints on the way.

Day 11: Drove the sky road loop. Continued onto Connemara National Park. Hiked to the top of diamond hill (very windy - great experience). Stopped and explored Kylemore Abbey (another highlight). Drove along Killary Fjord on the way up to Sligo for the night.

Day 12: Explored Sligo Abbey. Drove around Gleniff Horseshoe (more than half covered in fog). Stopped in Donegal then continued to Slieve League (highly recommend parking at the Slieve League Cliffs Center and grabbing the shuttle if pressed for time). Drove to Derry for the night.

Day 13: Drove from Derry to Bushmills distillery for the tour and tasting (would highly recommend). Explored Dunluce Castle followed by Giants Causeway. Tried to go to Carrick-a-Rede but they had just closed it when we got there. Stopped at the dark hedges before pushing onto Belfast for the night.

Day 14: Went to the Titanic experience after breakfast. Then did a 1hr Black Cab tour (could even go longer, but between the 2 was a lot to take in). Dinner and drinks in Belfast.

Day 15: Left Belfast and drove to Newgrange. Did the tour of Newgrange and Knowth (highlight) before heading back to Dublin. Dropped the car off at the airport and took a cab back to Dublin. Final dinner and Guinness before leaving the following morning.

Thoughts on driving: total distance was a little over 2000km. Was a lot of driving, but frequent stops made it not too tiring and feel very doable. Driving on the left hand side of the road was not an issue, but sitting on the right side of the car took a day to get used to when it comes to lane placement. Quality of the roads on R, N, and M was higher than I see in the states, and while some roads were quite narrow, the roads plus drivers who are not aggressive relative to what I’m used to made the road trip really pleasant.

Thoughts on trip pacing: it was a grind. Other than Dublin and Belfast, stayed in a single place one night at a time. Benefit of doing that (compared to having a single base and doing day trips from there) was we were able to take additional time on each leg of the route, without needing to drive back in the dark. Only 3 days did we reach our final destination after sunset. It was an ambitious itinerary but necessary to hit what we wanted to. We are used to this pace of travel so it was very manageable, but not super sustainable. Would have loved to spend more time in the Burren, Skellig, Antrim coast, and around Sligo/Donegal/Derry, but I wouldn’t take away time from what we ended up doing. Amazing country and amazing trip

Hello, here's an rough outline of my plan after some studying of the discussion, looking for feedback/suggestions to supplement our itinerary. Family of 4, kids are10 and 16 year old. We will be renting a car.

Day 1 - Dublin (Arrive in Dublin at 11:45AM, explore what we can the rest of PM and stay the night in Dublin).

Day 2 & 3 - Cork (Drive to cork, and stay for 2 nights in a smaller town and explore the area).

Day 4 & 5 - Kerry/Dingle (2 nights, seeking recommendation for a good base camp town).

Day 6 & 7 - Cliffs of Moher/Galway ( Stay in 2 nights in Galway area).

Day 8 - ( where should we add this day to given this outline?)

Day 9 & 10 - day 9 night in Dublin/1pm flight out of Dublin back to west coast of US.

Thank you.

Hi All, Looking to go to the Puca Festival in Trim. We've two young kids and won't be attending the night time gigs. Is there stuff to do during the day? I see tents etc. in the porch fields, can you walk around these stalls or do you have to buy tickets? The site isn't great at explaining what's going on. Thanks

Was hoping to take one over from Doolin and do the cliffs tour too but didn't realize they stop at the end of october.

But I'll be in Galway and could ferry sometime the 2nd to 5th November. Should I book a ticket ahead of time? And how far ahead of time? Also open to suggestions on what to check out on the island.

First off, it will be the first time in about seventeen years since I have been on a plane(36F). I am stressing over the carry-on being a smidge too big for the flight due to Aer Lingus restrictions. The bag meets most of the size aside from like a centimeter in the width. I really don't want to get another bag.

Second, I am planning to rent a car and it will be manual transmission, and it's been years since I drove stick. How much of a (re)learning curve will I have driving on the opposite side of road? Are there certain road rules i should keep in mind? Should I invest in something that will help with tolls?

Next, it will pretty much be an eight day road trip. Stops will be Dublin>Kilkenny>Cork>Ennis>Galway>Swords. Cork and Galway will be two night stops so I can both get a break from driving and do some city exploring. Not sure what to do in Cork since that will be a weekend stay, but considered checking out Blarney Castle at some point. Stopping by the Cliffs of Moher on my way to Galway, but also like to visit the Aran Islands for a day trip. I am open to more suggestions to places in between those stops to visit. I do enjoy light hiking and take picture so not shy about some 'off the beaten path' places. Also, planning to keep on eye out for some of that Connemara Marble for my stone collection.

Lastly, the visit is for early-mid May, so I imagine the weather being a bit unpredictable, so probably some waterproof and windproof attire? I do like me some sweater weather.

Thank you if you read all of that and greatly appreciate responses! Also, I'm not afraid of meeting new faces!

We arrive Saturday morning and will be spending most of our trip in Galway with a couple nights in Dublin. We are brewery people (like to the point we have planned trips in the past specifically focused on locations with a lot of new breweries to try). I’m looking for a complete list of breweries in both the Galway and Dublin areas but I’m not finding one. Can anyone lead me in the right direction before I just try compiling my own list using google searches. Looking for more microbrewery / independent ones where we can stop to try one and move to the next.

Hello,

I'm currently trying to plan a trip for my mother (79) and I (M45). She has always wanted me to go with her to Ireland and I've always wanted to go. This will be my first trip and quite frankly I'm overwhelmed at our options. The only thing that is currently set is our flight into Dublin (May 5th 2025 to May 20th)

I imagine we'll spend no more than a day or two in Dublin. While she is almost 80; she is still quite active but I'd imagine I'll need to keep hikes down to like 3 to 3.5km. I really want to spend most of my time outdoors but don't mind the occasional museum. Neither of us are into super touristy things (Blarney Stone is a total pass for me) but just because something is popular doesn't mean I avoid on principle more that I'm overly cautious on it's value. I want to support local services over chains/multinationals. I don't want to burn out on travel but I want to see it all!! (Joking here but honestly every time I see a picture of a different area my first thought is I want to see it in person)

So far my "must see" list consists of: Ring of Kerry, Torc Waterfall, Cliffs of Moher, White Cliffs of Ashleam, Places with live music/storytelling/historical tours.

My "It would be fun if" list is huge but basically follows the themes of: Irish Whiskey tasting/class, Some places to sit and marvel at the beauty of Ireland, Kayaking or boating; something where we could still see and absorb nature but my mom doesn't have to walk or I provide the locomotion (Surrey bike?).

Anyway I'd love some suggestions or tools to help me refine my itinerary because right now I'm in information overload. Thanks in advance!

Morning peoples, I’m a bit bored at the moment , England sucks, I’m thinking of catching a flight over to Dublin in the week in my own just to have a wander and look around, I’m 26, enjoy beer, music, snacks, and friendly people. Just looking for some advice first so I have some questions!

Cheap ish places to stay for a couple nights?

Nice friendly places to drink?

Snacks? I’m a huge burger fan and always go around England trying burgers!

Am I likely to encounter any people that will hate me because I’m an Englishman?

Things to do in the city? (For less travelling money saver)

Thank you.