First RS tour

Hi Jill - we loved that tour that we took earlier this year. If you stay at the Buswells hotel in Dublin I would suggest asking for a room that is away from construction that was taking place (during the day) right outside our room (to be fair, it was only noisy during the day when we were mostly away from the room). I recommend The Farm restaurant in Dublin, it was great. For sightseeing in Dublin we liked the National Gallery and my wife particularly liked the Chester Beatty Gallery. Neither of these is on the tour. Some people went to the Dublin castle which looks impressive on the outside but others on the tour said there was not much to see inside, so you might skip that. We stayed at a B and B in Dingle where they did laundry by the bag at a reasonable rate, we took advantage of that and were glad we did. The tour is wonderful, you'll have a marvelous time :)

Of all the countries I have visited in Europe (9) I love Ireland the best, the people are wonderful, the music is energizing, the countryside is lush and green and the castles are awesome! If I ever move to another country to live it would be Ireland. Enjoy!!!!

Ireland is amazing and you will love the tour. The Irish people are generally welcoming, friendly, and have a good sense of humor. My main tip is that if you are at all subject to motion sickness, even just a little bit, be prepared for the drive from Kinsale to Dingle. I don't usually get car sick, but just about everyone on the coach that day felt a bit queasy. The roads are twisting and winding and a bit bumpy ... There's no reason to get overly anxious about it, but maybe sit in the front of the coach that day.

Apart from that, I know you'll have a wonderful, memorable two weeks. :)

My advice: relax and enjoy the heck out of your trip. Ireland is a fantastic country with warm, friendly people, lots to see and do, and surprisingly good food (considering the undeserved reputation IMHO of Irish food.) The tours are a blast, I have taken 9 to date, they are fun and enjoyable as anything (well, except for the 5 minutes occupied by the "name game.") Will be taking 2 more tours later this year myself.

Hi Jill - I just got back from the Best of Ireland tour. This was my 8th Rick Steves tour and we had a blast. If you are looking for things to do before the tour starts, I highly suggest you do the Mary Gibbons tour to Newgrange and the Hill of Tara. We did this tour and it was a fantastic introduction to Ireland, especially from a prehistoric perspective. The information for booking this tour is in the Ireland guidebook and it took most of the day (about 7 hours.) I also highly recommend visiting the National Archeology Museum. If you can visit the museum before going to Newgrange (if you do that), you will benefit from the visiting the museum first. We also walked to the Guinness Storehouse and did the tour there. I don't know if you are in to beer but it has been called the Disneyland of Beer and I thought it was worth it for a free afternoon. The views from the Gravity Bar are pretty amazing. Also go to the Farm restaurant in Dublin - great food. The rest of the tour is pretty packed and busy. For good restaurant recommendations outside of Dublin, I recommend Fishy Fishy, Jim Edwards and the White House in Kinsale and An Port Mor in Westport. You will have so much fun on the Ireland tour!

1. Go to Ireland at least one day before the tour starts in case there are flight delays going over and to give yourself time to recover from jet lag.
   
2. Get with the RS office and find out the name of the hotel at the beginning of the tour. Staying there will be more convenient than switching hotels.
3. Take good rain gear. A long rain coat, good rain hat, and good rain resistant shoes. There is a reason the country is so lush and green.
4. Take an extra pair of dry socks in a zip lock bag in your day bag. Save the day for us several times despite having good rain shoes.

As a quick aside about rain, I agree, take rain gear but although it rained fairly frequently when I was in Ireland it was not all day deluges. We tended to get rain in short bursts followed by periods of son. We really on had 1 day with drizzle all of the time.

I agree totally with Donald from Wichita - took the tour august 2014 and you can't go wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have always wanted to go back and now I am. I am doing the 8 day heart in april 2018. Love love it!!

Just got back from this tour on July 8 and I would go back TOMORROW. Good hotels and food. Plenty to see and do. Go to the National Museum before hand to see the bog people. Gallway is a great town if you don't want to go to the Aran Islands. Northern Ireland is a lot nicer than I expected. I really liked Portrush, the Giant's Causeway, Bushmills, and the rope bridge. The bridge is easy after you climb down the steep metal stairs to get there (I am afraid of heights). Played golf on the "off" day in Dingle. What an experience. Go see the Irish Wolfhounds at Milltown House B&B even if you don't stay there. It was cloudy and spitting rain but only had part of one day where it affected the tour. You picked a great tour.

Thanks for all the tips!!! Tim C-did anyone stay back in Galway rather than do the Aran Island tour on your tour. I didn't realize you could opt out and not sure I want to, but good to know if I would chose so. I am planning on staying at Buswells two nights prior (have this booked already, I was surprized I could reserve a yr in advance, but happy I could) to the start of the tour and am considering the HOHO bus day of arrival and Collins Day Tour day before the tour to Wicklow, Gendalough and Kilkenny. I love hearing about this tour experiences!

We stayed in Gallway that day since it was her birthday and that is what she wanted to do (pretty smart, huh?). I think the Aran Islands trip was OK, just rained a bunch that day. There is plenty to see and a couple of nice churches to visit. Buswells is nice good hotel. Right around the corner from the Museum with the bog people. Read one of the guide books (Best of Ireland is probably enough) and get ready to enjoy yourself. Make sure you have a good camera and a large memory card.

I keep misspelling Galway. Very lively town with a good main drag. Pretty young crowd out and about.

One more then I will quit. The HOHO bus was worth it. They have two types but I think they are both the same. I think we saw more that we would have and especially the park on the west side of Dublin. Can you tell I liked it?

I might add, take the advice of those who have been to Ireland (I have not). Relax and enjoy it. Know that you will make mistakes, but unless you're life is in danger, they are of no consequence. You will have a great time and learn a lot. And I pretty much guarantee you will return wanting more. Put the camera/phone down on occasion and really sink the view into your brain. Commit to memory a time and place. If you're traveling with a loved one, push it to your long term memory. Nothing is better than a memory.

Your guide will give you lots of tips during the tour. My only advice is to TALK to everyone - bartenders, shop clerks, other patrons at pubs . . .

Oh yeah, one other thing. If you don't like Guinness, but you want an alcoholic drink, try the cider. It's my favorite drink, on tap everywhere, though "connoisseurs" say the bottled stuff is better because it's fizzier.