Any suggestions for "must sees" that we could do in both countries during this time frame?.. planning on going end of June to mid July or in August... we enjoy hiking and countryside, special, out of the way places.. just starting our planning so would appreciate any suggestions! We have been to England and Scotland. Have done adventure trips to China and Peru in the past. Our ages early 60's but full of energy!
Posted by
barrington, illinois, usa
33 posts
Hi Monica - we enjoyed Betys y coed (sp?) in Wales.
Beautiful and lots of outdoor adventures. We were in Ireland this past October
and had great fun doing Rick's self guided tour of the
Dingle Peninsula
Posted by
OP
Moorestown, New Jersey, USA
26 posts
Thanks so much.. will look into it!
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
I second Betwys-y-coed. Lovely little village. I also love Cardiff. Great city- funky/quirky shopping areas, great markets.
Posted by
Everett, WA
1299 posts
We enjoyed biking the Dingle peninsula and hiking up Croagh Patrick. The Connemara also has some good hiking (I have heard, not experienced personally)
Posted by
Tampa, FL, USA
417 posts
Ireland: Dublin for maybe two days, then the west! Connemara, the Burren, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Aran Islands. All those sights are close together and very interesting.
Wales: Cardiff has some nice museums, the new Senedd building (national assembly) and is close to some other sights such as Caerffily Castle and Brecon. Actually, Brecon would be worth spending the night in to do some hiking in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is very easy to use the trains and buses in Wales. The Gower peninsula near Cardiff is also very picturesque and has great hiking.
I hear Snowdonia NP is great, but have never been, we concentrated on the south of Wales. Carnarvon is supposed to be lovely, as is the Isle of Anglesey in the north.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2776 posts
I would suggest sticking to the west and southwestern parts of Ireland. Dingle is my favorite place -- very beautiful. My favorite place to hike is Great Blasket Island, off the coast of Dingle peninsula. It's beautiful and if you're willing to hike up the hill, you will have the island almost all to yourself. It's a magical experience. Inishmore, the Aran Island off the west coast is also a fun place to hike. We also enjoyed Connemara National Park, the Burren, and the Ring of Kerry. Killarney National Park is also good, although we had bad weather when we were there.
If you love the countryside and hiking, you will be in heaven in Ireland. I suspect the same is true of Wales. I've only been to Cardiff, which I liked very much, but I am hoping to see the rest of Wales in the next couple of years.
Posted by
Ridgewood, NJ, United States
36 posts
Stay out of Dublin. If you are taking a ferry from one country to another it might determine which part of Ireland you decide to tour. West Cork is rugged and so beautiful. Schull, Barley Cove, Baltimore, Kinsale. The Dingle area is also a great choice. Achill Island in Mayo is spectacular as well but a bit more remote.
Posted by
Arlington, WA
993 posts
It may be a bit out of the way for some but my sister and I stayed in Criccieth for a few days each last September. It is lovely little town and from there is an easy drive to Portmerion, Harlech, Caernarfon and many other wonderful places. We actually took a bus to Portmerion. We also used Beddgelert as our base for Blaenau Ffestiniog and Mt Snowdon.