Ireland-snacks and cash

Well I always bring something with me on the plane and a couple bags of commercially prepared fruit and nut snacks in my luggage (don't bag it yourself just to avoid any potential hassle). Do not bring in beef jerky/turkey jerky etc. That said just stop into any local grocery store for a picnic lunch which will probably be way better than eating something you've shelpped from the U.S. I always travel with a couple of plastic plates (salad size), a couple of knives, forks and spoons (checked baggage or sturdy plastic otherwise).

Why bring snacks from home...they can be purchased in Ireland. In addition, if you eat the entire breakfast you won't be hungry....there is a lot to eat and you won't finish eating until about 8:30 or 9:00. We always stop for tea (or a pint)in mid-afternoon.

Don't count on finding too many places that serve "dinner" early. You might find something to eat in a pub.

As for the "reasonable amount of cash to bring....", that subject has been kicked around on this site so much it is worn out.

You don't need to bring all the cash you will spend during your trip. You really don't have to bring any. There are ATM's everywhere. And don't even bring up the two ugly words (Travelers Checks/Cheques).

If you need to know how much to budget for the trip, that becomes a never ending subject because everyone has different travel styles. Sort of a general starting point could be $125-$150 pd/pp for food and lodging. A good thing to do first is research guide books and other postings on this forum.

Ireland is the perfect place to skip lunch if you stay at B&Bs. You can really fill up on the breakfasts. We always take Balance Bars with us to tide us over if we get hungry before dinner.

We took no cash and got what we needed from ATMs.

Carroll stole my answer! That is what I always do in Ireland, fill up on breakfast and skip lunch. I'm not usually a breakfast person, but I adjusted. And there is often fruit or breads that you can take away for later. I have never bought lunch in Ireland.

If you do get hungry you can go into any grocery or convenience type store and have a made to order sandwich or pick up a salad for a few Euro.

Thanks everyone for your help! Carroll you are a wealth of information!!

Sara- no need to pack snacks except for the plane and maybe for the first day. There are plenty of places to get good snacks over there.

Sara
Just got back from Dublin and brought ziplock bags with me. I packed a sandwich using the bread and meats from lunch, which came in handy while on the go.

I don't know which part of Ireland you'll be in but Dublin's restaurants were a bit pricey but they had huge portions.. easy to share. Average lunch at the pub is 10-12 euros a plate, dinner is about 5-7 euros more.

You can also find tons of fast foods which are cheap but not healthy... and cost about 5 euros per meal.

We always ate big breakfasts and sometimes had an afternoon snack. We then usually ate an early dinner. We found that a lot of the restaurants offered an early bird 3 course combo meal that was a pretty good deal.

If you are doing a "drive-around" trip, be sure you carry at least crackers and a jar of peanut butter (from home). Reason--many places don't serve any food after 2:00. If you get wrapped up in sight-seeing, you can end up out in the country with no food and a crabby travel partner. (I speak from experience!)

Packing snacks in your luggage is a great idea. If you eat them all you'll have room to pack souvenirs to bring back with you. But if you get bored with or run out of your snacks (you might eat them all sooner than you thought if you do a lot of outdoorsy sorts of things), many gas stations have small grocery stores with deli counters that offer made to order sandwiches, which I found quite tasty, filling, and budget-wise.

Someone mentioned the difficulty in finding places that serve early dinner. That might be true, but finding a late dinner (after 9:00) can also be very difficult. It's easy to lose track of time when it stays light out so late, so make sure you know the hours of restaurants in your area.

If you will be in Northern Ireland, particularly Derry and Belfast, sometimes it is difficult to find someplace that will serve dinner past 7:00!