I would like to plan a trip to Ireland, but have only been to Northern Ireland (Giant's Causeway area). I'm not a fan of large cities and for that reason think that I might prefer to bypass Dublin. What would be a more small-medium sized city to be based for a week with good day trip options? If my husband goes he would like to do some golf, so maybe somewhere with good golfing. What city would you suggest?
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
417 posts
It would help to know when you plan to go and whether you will rent a car.
I would suggest that a good place to start is to ask your husband to pick out some golf courses that he'd like to play and work around that. My recollection from a previous post is that Ashford Castle (a popular destination for RS fans) has a golf course.
Every other city in Ireland is small-medium sized (e.g., Cork, the 2nd largest city in the Republic has a metro population under 300k vs. 2mil in Dublin metro).
From Cork, you can visit Cobh, which has an emigration museum, and Kinsale, a popular beach town. Galway offers day trips to the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara and the Burren. Either is accessible by train from Dublin City center or by coach from the airport.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17417 posts
There are golf courses all around Ireland. Does he long to play a famous links-style course like Ballybunion? Be prepared for sticker shock (like €400 for a round).
https://www.ballybuniongolfclub.com/courses/
A golfing friend onour trip decided that was too much and found a nice course when we were staying at Dingle:
Still pricy during high season, but only half the price of Ballybunion.
Posted by
1583 posts
Here's a map of golf courses in the Republic. https://www.swinggolfireland.com/ireland-golf-map/. Looks like the south and the west are the places to be for golf outside of Dublin. So maybe Cork or Killareny/Kenmare?
Posted by
OP
San Diego, CA, United States
219 posts
Thanks everybody. We would probably go in Summer. I'm not sure about renting a car. If it's easy enough to get by without one then I probably wouldn't, but if would be much better for sightseeing to have a car then I would be open to it.
He won't spend the big bucks for golfing and he wouldn't have a clue as to specific golf courses. Golfing would just be the icing on the cake and not the determining factor on where to go. Personally I think golfing on the coast is the most scenic, but I don't know that it matters that much to him.
Galway sounds intriguing.
Posted by
74 posts
Hello, I took a solo three week tour of Ireland in August. Most of it was playing golf. I would suggest your husband look at courses a few miles inland if he doesn't want to spend alot on golf.
Once you pick the area you are going to stay in do a search of " golf courses " in Google maps and it will show all the courses in the area. The further away from the water the cheaper the green fees. Parkland courses will almost always be cheaper then link courses that are along the coast. And they are top notch compared to anything in America. If they weren't they wouldn't exist because the Irish members wouldn't stand for it.
I would also get a car, courses seem to be outside of town most of the time.
Posted by
SoCal
1130 posts
Train travel in Ireland isn't much like the rest of Europe; it's hard to get many places by rail. And the best golf courses (certainly not the cheapest) really require a car.
For Lahinch, Ballybunion, Doonbeg, Old Head of Kinsale and Waterville, you might consider Tralee. Those courses should be reachable in 2 hours from there. And they're phenomenal courses, though I personally have played only Ballybunion. My knowledgeable golf buddies tell me Lahinch is the best test of golf, but Old Head is the most spectacular scenery (the last I can vouch for). All will cost $500 or so in green fees, are walking only, and need caddies at another $100-150.