First time in Ireland

Raf, It would help to have a bit more information. What are you interested in seeing, and what is the time frame for the trip? There are an enormous number of possibilities, so you might find it very helpful to have a look at the Ireland 2013 Guidebook (available now). You should be able to find older copies at your local Library, or have a look in larger Bookstores. Sláinte!

Thanks Ken, I am traveling withmy family that includes one teenager and a pre-teen. We want to see the Cliffs of Moher.(Do not know how far are they from Dublin) Started reading a travel book but have concentrated on things around Dublin. Already have a few day trips planned. But is there anything that is a "must" that I might have to stay close by the place? This is my first trip to Europe. Thanks
Raf

Raf, Which "travel book" are you reading? The Cliffs of Moher are on the opposite side of the island from Dublin, so some distance. I don't know the driving time from Dublin, as I travelled from the south when I visited there. I'm sure one of the others will have that information. As this is your first trip to Europe, you might find it very helpful to read Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. Although it focuses more on travel to the continent, there's some good information there that applies to Ireland as well. Renting a car may or may not be the best idea, depending on specifically where you plan on visiting. Have a look at this other Thread on "getting around Ireland"..... http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/95070/getting-around-ireland.html I'm not sure what to suggest as "must sees"? I'd recommend visiting the Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin as it's an important part of history, and a couple of movies were filmed there (being incarcerated there would have been dreadful). I enjoyed the Guinness tour, although it's not for everyone. There's also Powerscourt Gardens and Muckross House. The star-shaped Fort in Kinsale is interesting (good food there also), Dingle is one of my favourites, Galway and the Aran Islands, etc. Are you also planning to visit Northern Ireland? In that area there's the Giant's Causeway, Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle and of course a tour of the Bushmill's Distillery. I believe the new Titanic Museum is now open in Belfast, so you could consider that also (Belfast also has some "history" with "the Troubles"). Cheers!

A lot will depend on how long your trip is, as well as how you plan to get around. Renting a car would be the most flexible option. The Cliffs of Moher are just over three hours from Dublin - a little too far to be a day trip, but you could maybe plan to stay the night near Galway so that you could see the Connemara area or the Burren. It would also help to know when you plan to go, and what kind of things you are interested in doing or seeing. Ken has suggested some great places (though I think the Guinness tour is a huge waste of time and money, and perhaps not as appropriate with kids), but they are scattered all over the country. Some idea of the time you have to spend might suggest an itinerary.

Nancy and Ken, Thank you so much for your ideas. I went to the book store and bought Rick Steves' Ireland guide. Read 1/4 of the book already. We are staying 9 days in Ireland. I think we will do three full days (and half of the first day, arriving around noon) in Dublin and then the rest of the time in the west part of the country. I think we will stay Galway two or three days and my wife wants to see Skellig Michael. So I will have to figure out what is around that part of the country and where to stay. Any suggestions? Thank you
Raf

When do you plan to travel? I'm not sure the weather would allow boats to go out to Skellig Michael in the fall and winter.

We are planning to go the last week of March or first week of April. Thanks

Raf - just a suggestion. You might want to fly into Dublin and out of Shannon. This saves a huge backtrack in time and driving. As Ken and Nancy have alluded to, most of the real beauty is in the south and west. Although, our next trip will be to Connemara and Donegal - in the northwest. My wife's ancestors are from Donegal. To answer your first question it's a little over 2 hours on the motorway from Dublin to Galway. I would limit Dublin to the 2 1/2 days you mentioned. Then I'd go to Cashel and then down south to Killarney to the Muckross House, Torc Waterfalls and Killarney National Park. Then over to Dingle for a couple of days. Then up to the Cliffs of Moher - The Burren. Then a couple of days in Galway - where you can make some easy drives in the country. Just some ideas. Safe travels.

Www.viamichelin.com shows Dublin to Cliffs of Moher as 3 hr, 33 min. In my experience, though, it's safer to add about 25% to their time estimates. Driving in Ireland, especially some of the smaller, regional roads that you find in the west, can be very slow. That would make a drive from Dublin, via motorway to Galway, then from Galway to the Cliffs (on N and R roads) about 4 hours, 45 min.

Don't know if you have booked tickets yet but if not and price is ok, would suggest going into Shannon and out of Dublin, to me it is easier to learn to drive on wrong side of road starting in Shannon then down and around to Dublin. Do not need car in Dublin.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. We will spend some time in Dublin then head to Galway and the Aran islands. After that, we will head south to Kerry with a stop to see the Cliffs of Moher. We will spend a few days around Kerry to see the countryside and Skellig Michael. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

We were in Ireland for 20 days, April, 2012. I don't think you can go to Skellig Michel in March - it wasn't even accessible in April! You might enjoy the Skellig Michel experience center, however.

Raf:
My wife and I visited Ireland a few years ago; we flew into Cork, rented a car for almost two weeks, took the byways to the Dinkle Peninsula, and then wound around eventually ending up in Dublin. If you've never driven a right-hand drive car, once you pick the car up, drive around the proverbial block a few times; park it, back up etc.(also know how to change a tire)before you head out on the road. In the case of our trip, neither of us had any problem adjusting to the right-hand drive, but riding in the passenger seat is a bit strange (you're sitting in the driver's seat with no control. Also, purchase a good map (a detailed one). In our case there was a vehicle crash and we were diverted on to some roads so narrow we thought we were driving on a foot path. Seriously, it was very difficult to negotiate passing a large truck coming from the opposite direction. A GPS is nice, but in our opinion not an end-all be-all. As I mentioned, we drove off the main highways and it was great, BUT, without a map it would have been a challenge and many of the road signs had only destinations and arrows, so unless you knew the names of the small towns, you were pretty much guessing where you were headed.

Cynthia,
Thank you for the information on Skellig Michael. We will try any way, if anything we will just enjoy the experience. I have read that that part of the country is beautiful, so we will drive and enjoy the scenery. Thanks

Jon,
Thank you for the car tip. It is a good idea. Thanks

Couple of questions to think about. 1. You staying in hotels or B&B's? (My wife and I did open vouchers and gave us great flexibility in where we stayed each night.) 2. We stayed in a castle one night, and that was pretty cool. 3. Do add time to expected travel. You do not get to fly along at 70 on many roads in Ireland, except for main freeway between dublin and galway. 4. Petrol is expensive!

For car rental, suggest automatic, to me was much easier driving on other side of road with automatic. Also be sure to get CDW as credit cards do not cover Ireland. As someone said, Guiness Brewery was expensive and not sure if kids would enjoy. We thought Kilmainhaim gaol was highlight of Dublin and on way out of Dublin, be sure to take kids to Newgrange, fantastic experience.

Thank you for the ideas. The car I rented is standard but I am used to drive standard here. But I think I will change to automatic. One less thing to worry about!! Since it was the first time I got the hotels already. Maybe next time I go I will be more "flexible". Thank you for all your tips!!! Raf

The knowledge of the people here about Ireland is amazing, particularly Nancy. On the trip from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher, depending on where you're starting out from in Dublin it will take 3 to 3.5 hours to get to the Cliffs, there is motorway/dual-carriageway for most of the trip so easy enough to make time. The Cliffs of Moher are in County Clare, God's own county, don't rush through it, take in the magnificient Burren, Doolin (or Miltown Malbay) for a bit of a seisiun, the Doolin cave (3rd largest stalactite in the world or so they claim), surfing or golf in Lahinch, another magnificent golf course in Doonbeg, a quaint little one in Spanish Point (all links courses of course), largely deserted beaches in Spanish Point or Quilty, I could go on and on - have I done a good job in selling my native county? Have a great time with us Raf!

You are in for a wonderful time! I was in Ireland in 2006 and am going back this year - I can't wait! Lots of good advice here and I would add just two things: Get a GOOD road map....many of the roads outside Dublin and other large cities are not marked well or not at all. Also, we enjoyed the "hop off hop on" bus in Dublin. You get to see all the hi spots and can get off to see what you are most interested in. I think the whole loop is about an hour and they run often.
Have a great trip - there really are 27 shades of green in Ireland...oh and my favorite place in Ireland by far was the Dingle Peninsula - easy to spend 2-3 days there. If you go be sure to take the tour of the Peninsula. We actually hired a cab which was very reasonable and had our own private tour. It was great. Also nearby other attractions you might like.

Raf, We did a similar trip in 2011. Landed in Shannon, stayed in a B&B about a mile away from the Cliffs, so we enjoyed seeing that natural wonder first. Spent time at the Burren, and then drove south to Dingle. We did go to Skellig Michael, but it was July, and quite foggy and damp, which seemed to be a perfect "feel" for such a mystical place. However, I do remember the guides on the island saying that they are only there 4 months per year in the summer. As it was, the boat ride over was pretty rough and that was on a supposedly "calm" day. LOL. Even in the summer it is not always possible to get there, according to our boat driver. So...do find out if the boats run during the time of year you will be there. After our time in the SW of Ireland, we crossed over to Dublin and stayed a few nights there and loved it. We also visited the Antrim Coast, which I think was our favorite part of the trip in part because there were the 4 sites to see all within a day's drive of each other: Dunluce Castle, the Carrick-a-rede roap bridge, Giants Causeway, and the Bushmill brewery. We really enjoyed our stay at a B&B& in Portrush as well. Have fun!

We spent two weeks in Ireland in October and were happy to get a manual diesel car. Our trip was a different plan from what you want to see but I should mention that some M roads are tollways so be prepared to have some Euro coins. Some toll booths require exact change and the ones we encountered on our trip were 1.80 E.

Susan and Tara, Thank you so much for the tips!!! Thank you so much to everyone that has given me ideas on how to make my trip a successful and fun trip. I really appreciated !!! Sincerely,
Raf