Ireland in 14 Days

Just this thought. My reason to take the RS Irish tour six years back was, one, to gain a feel for my roots. Though not officially with family from the Emerald Isle, Irish lore took my fancy from the age of seven or eight. Second reason was to see such a making place of history where the Irish people and Irish events influenced more then the immediate folks in Dublin or Cork or Galway.Take the so-called famine (a deadly hunger for the Irish people, but not for the ruling Brits-who caused it to be far greater then necessary, in my humble view, and endorsed with detail by our guide, so was in fact ethnic genocide rather then simple famine again in my opinion) which drove immigration to the US. Or the continuous warfare between the Brits and the locals Irish. Or the religious tensions which drove more events on both sides of the Atlantic. I'm history addicted and Ireland is addicted to its own history. There's so to much to see in Dublin from the fighting places of the Easter rebellion, to the distillery of Jameson, to the glorious music scene everywhere to...well check out your RS book which came with the tour package and see all that the fine tour could not even touch. Find things which directed you to the Ireland tour and let the time disappear fast before the actual guide, it might be Stephen for example, who walks into the first group meeting and introduces you to the tour details. Wish I were in your tour this minute!

I finally got to Ireland this summer and loved it. You're going to have a great time. I would spend as much time in Dublin as possible before/after the tour.

One of my favorites was the Literary Pub Crawl (you may need to book a few days in advance), excellent! I found the archaeology museum fascinating and it's free. I spent many happy hours in Temple Bar, going from one pub to another. Most had live music in the afternoons and evenings, good food for lunch and dinner too. The Main Post Office (open 7 days a week) just north of the Liffey in O'Connell Street has a small, very good museum, also free. The Leprechaun Museum was a little kitschy, but the guide was excellent, explained the history well, told several fun stories. After visiting St. Patrick's, go outside and around to St. Patrick's Park with its "literary parade" of Irish writers. Visit Dublin City Hall. There's so much more.

Sean,

Check the tour literature for "sights not covered" by the tour, and that should provide you with some ideas for places to see on your own. A few to consider......

• Kilmainham Gaol - this has been covered by some tours, but not all. If it won't be included with your tour, it is definitely a sight to see!
• Guinness Storehouse - this is another option. Some people really enjoy visiting the brewery and having their "free" pint of Porter Stout in the Gravity bar, but it's not a "must see" sight (IMO). It can be very crowded at different times during the day with long queues for entry, so it's a good idea to carefully choose the time of your visit.
• Red Bus tours - I always enjoy those to get a brief overview of new and unfamiliar cities. The "canned" audio tours are not ideal, but some parts are interesting (take your own earphones though as the ones they provide are usually not the best quality).
• Temple Bar district - as someone else suggested, this is an interesting place to spend time in the evenings. The Pubs are usually rockin', especially if there's a football match on, and there are sometimes some colourfully attired people wandering about ("stag party" participants).
• Christchurch Cathedral - also worth a short tour (IMO).

When is your tour, and which is your "first hotel"?

Thanks all for your comments
I really want to make the most of these opportunities and while the RS tours are great, they are only a taste of any location. That's why I'm asking for tips from others.

Note to Ken, my tour is in July and the starting point is Buswells which seems to be a great central location. Probably the most under-appreciated aspect of RS tours. You don't get the hotel room that you could also find in Omaha but you get a great location to explore the heart of the city.

Sean,

Thanks for the additional information. Our group stayed at the Harding Hotel, and I was curious on whether you'd be staying in the same place. The Buswell looks like a very comfortable hotel.

I really enjoyed a day tour to Newgrange and Hill of Tara. I actually enjoyed it more than many sites we did on the RS tour.

If you're staying in Dublin before the RS tour, you might want to book the hotel that will be used by the tour. That way you don't have to unpack and move.

A fine little pub is the Palace Bar at 21 Fleet Street. Davey O'Byrnes is also well known, and you don't want to miss Brewly's Oriental Café on Grafton Street. The tour at Trinity College is top notch.

The On/Off bus is a great way to get an idea what Dublin offers. If you book in advance it's cheaper, you get two days of travel, and there's also a walking tour included.

Trim and the Hill of Tara are great spots to visit outside of the city on a day tour if that's to your liking.

In October, my mom and I spent a day in the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin. There is a day trip tour called Wild Wicklow Tours that will take you to the places we stopped at and more in a full day, although it doesn't look like they do more than pick up passengers at Powerscourt Gardens, which Mom and I both loved.

If you do go to Wicklow, stop by Avoca Handweavers, either the big store that this tour will take you to, or where they actually do the weaving--loved it, and spent too much money there!!

You might want to consider the Literary Pub Crawl in Dublin. It is very enjoyable.

I vote for st patricks cathedral, new grange, or Powers court. know that the avoca weavers sell their less than perfect goods there for a reduced price, sigh

Find a "local" pub, get to know the Irish. That is what makes the country so special.

I was on RS Best of Ireland 14 days in august 2014. You will love it. We got to Dublin 2-3 days before start of tour. I was running the first day of tour in the Rock n Roll Half marathon, then joined back up with the group. Our hotel was the Buswells on Molestreet. Great hotel. I would go back in a minute. Temple bar area, pub hoping. We were told the national museum was awesome, but we ran out of time to go, it is across from our hotel Buswells. Guinness and gravity bar, dublin castle, walked around by the river Liffey, St Patrick's cathedral were among the things we saw before our trip started. Just enjoy it! Soak up the beauty and the irish are so welcoming and friendly! Wish I could go with you.
Kim