My husband and I are planning a trip to Ireland. I am flying from another part of the world and will meet him in Ireland. We want to do a self drive tour, we want to stay in Westmeath (because that is where my husbands people come from). I would like to stay in B&B or rental a small cottage. Is Westmeath a good place to stay or is there somewhere else? We would like to see the castles, countryside, local communities - we will stay in Dublin maybe one night - but we want to see the local atmosphere. We are going to have about 14 days. I am a little overwhelmed on setting up an itinerary? Need a little help? Thank you
Posted by
Kansas, United States
1081 posts
First, get the Rick Steves Ireland guide because that will tell you where to stay and eat. I would rent a car at the airport on the day you want to leave Dublin because driving on the left takes a couple of days to get use to and you will want an automatic transmission (trust me), so stay out of the city till your feeling a little more confident. Make a list of all the places you want to see and then assign priority to each place, the distances are deceptive in Ireland because other than 3-4 main highways it is all country roads or lanes and it takes longer to travel than the map makes it appear. GPS is a must if you want to not get lost! The day you arrive would not be a good time to launch on a cross country trip due to jet lag, stay in Dublin for at least 24 hours to regain your senses, there's a lot to see and do there. I love Ireland, it's my favorite of all the places we visited in Europe. I hope you have a great trip!
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3562 posts
So many postings on this site with the same question. Agree with other poster to get RS guide to Ireland as he has a 2 week itinerary already laid out. You can also search this site.
Good luck!
Posted by
2 posts
I live in Ireland, in a small town not far from Co. Westmeath. It is in the midlands and not necessarily a bad place to stay in, but there isn't much to see and do here. I suggest you hire a car and drive around. Follow RS itinerary, 14 days is good enough time to enjoy the country. Have fun!
Posted by
Alexandria, VA
771 posts
The advice you have received so far is spot on. Get the Rick Steves book and look at his itineraries if you want to travel around.
As far as staying in Westmeath, if that is where your husband's family is from, by all means stay there for a few days. All the better if he has family there now. It would meet your "local communities" desire. A worthwhile day trip from there is Newgrange, the Stone Age Passage tomb: www.newgrange.com.
The official Tourist Board site is www.ireland.com. There are lots of good leads there. You could fly into Dublin and spend a few days, rent a car and go to Westmeath, then head south +/or east as your fancy strikes, and fly out of Shannon.
Good Luck!
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you all for the great advice!! I will use it!!!