My wife is turning 30 in March and going to surprise her for a quick (3 full days) in Ireland and needed some help with a few things as we both have never been before. The conrad hotel in dublin and Thomastown are having amazing deals during that time and wanted to see if its worth the extra 2 hour drive to thomastown to enjoy and relax in the country or should we stay in Dublin and check out the sites because of our short time in Ireland. thanks
Posted by
Poulsbo, WA, USA
147 posts
very short indeed. It takes a day to get on Irish time.
It's really your choice. Country or City. Dublin is like any other big city. The country is where you experience Ireland.
Posted by
OP
Chicago
9 posts
I'm trying to get more information on the aspect of is it too much time spending getting from dublin to the country and back or should we just stay in the city and soak all that in and when we make another trip we can spend more time in the country. If anyone can help on that, would be great thanks
Posted by
Land of La
8667 posts
Base in Dublin. Rent a car. Have a pint. See the Book of Kells. Shop.
Enjoy some trad. Walk around St. Stephen's green. See some theatre. Meet the people. Forget the overpriced Guinness tour. . Rent a car and drive the 40 miles to Glendalough. That is all doable in 3 days. LOVELY country.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you don't want to rent a car, you can get to Glendalough and back to Dublin by bus. See St Kevins Bus Service or this page on the Bus Eireann site.
I hope your wife is bowled over by your surprise!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
I have no idea where Thomastown is, but Dublin is a great base. I agree about skipping the Guinness tour. See Kilmainham Gaol, the Georgian House tour, the National Museum, and the Temple Bar area. Then take half day trips to the Newgrange and Boyne River Valley area, and to Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains. Three full days is plenty of time to get a taste of Dublin and of the countryside. Then plan your REAL trip back to visit the west coast!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32206 posts
Travis,
As you've only got three full days, I'd suggest staying in Dublin for the most part as there's more than enough to keep you busy for that length of time. As Nancy and the others have suggested, visit the Kilmainham Gaol, spend some time in the Temple Bar area (especially during the evenings), have a pint in Oliver St. John Gogarty's Pub, see the Book of Kells and the Library, etc. The tour of the Guiness Storehouse is somewhat interesting, but I'd also recommend skipping that.
You could also make the visit much more rewarding by taking one or more day trips from Dublin. If you go with a day tour company, you won't even have to worry about transportation - they'll do all the driving and provide interesting commentary as well. I don't have my Ireland book at hand right now, but as I recall there are listings of firms that provide day tours.
Congratulations to your Wife on #30. Happy travels in Ireland (have a pint for me)!
Posted by
OP
Chicago
9 posts
these are all great ideas and I wanted to thank you, since it seems like day trips are the way to go, besides what has already been posted can anyone give me some great companies that do day trips. We're really big into old history (castles, countryside, smaller older towns) but not really into mesuems and art gallery's thanks.