We have a week in Ireland later in January. What are the top 5 places and things to do? We like the outdoors and hiking and will have a rental car.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5653 posts
I'd recommend getting a good guidebook. Not sure how conducive the weather in January might be for hiking and outdoor activities. You might look through this section on Ireland to see what interests you. https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/ireland
Posted by
Midwest
560 posts
You are like going in a week or two & don’t know where you are going? Where are you staying?
Maybe look at where Rick Steves tours go for ideas.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2382 posts
Top 5 places is very subjective. You can find a list in any guide book and everyone on the forum may well have a different list depending on their interests.
Mine would include
• Grianán of Aileach stone fort in Donegal (or failing that Staigue Stone Fort off the Ring of Kerry)
• Céide Fields in Mayo
• Newgrange and Knowth passage tombs
• The National Museum of Country Life at Castlebar in Mayo
• The ruined Ross Errilly Friary on the banks of the River Shannon near Headford in County Galway....
As you can see I'm an ancient and social history buff and there are amany more that I could add (eg Cloinmacnoise early Christian site in County Offaly). The only one on that list that is likely to be in the guide books is Newgrange...
Posted by
Colorado Springs
3043 posts
I agree that picking up a copy of Rick's guidebook would be a good start to help you sort things out.
In January you can expect short days - ie sunrise around 8:30 AM, sunset by 5:00 PM - as well as cold temps and wet weather - not the best driving conditions, especially if you're new to LH traffic. .
With so little time at your disposal I'd suggest staying in Dublin and availing yourselves of local day trip and tour providers to see nearby sights outside of town ... Newgrange and the Boyne Valley to the north and Glendalough and the Wicklow mountains to the south. You won't need a car for that.
Depending on your particular interests you could also do day trips by train to Belfast or down to Kilkenny, or head over to Galway for a day or two if you wanted to see a little of Connemara.
I suggest ensuring that you have some battle tested waterproofs (especially boots) if you plan to go much off the beaten path to do any hiking. Trails tend to be pretty boggy in places even if it hasn't rained in a few days.