| Ireland in two weeks
by Wisey on 1 February 2005 3:21pm |
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... not even quite two weeks.
I originally wanted to travel through Ireland with my parents by car, starting in Switzerland, moving through France, taking the ferry to England, then heading up to Wales and finally crossing over to Ireland and then going the same way back after a little detour around the country.
I planned 3 weeks of holidays for that.
Now, my boss decided that he couldn't give me those 3 weeks (despite the fact that I organised someone to replace me), because he wants to have the liberty of dashing off to the Lake of Lucerne when it's sunny and whenever he feels like it, and cannot give me three weeks.
So I only got two.
Anybody got any idea how to squeeze in Ireland in about 1 and a half weeks? Any ideas of where to go? |
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| Re: Ireland in two weeks
by Wild in Africa on 1 February 2005 7:25pm |
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Ireland is so small that you can do a lot in a week and a half (depending on your consumption of Guinness and Whiskey of course!).
Depends what you are looking for. Dublin is fun and you can see a lot within a couple of days. Temple Bar for clubbing/boozing and Trinity College for culture. If you want real scenic splendour go to the west coast and Donegal. That could be said to be the 'real' Ireland (though of course that is just an opinion) with more traditional charm and character, magnificent scenery, and is the Gaelic speaking region.
So if I were you I would stop in Dublin two days and then go west to see Killarney, Dingle, The Burren, and Donegal and get your walking boots on and be prepared to breathe lots of clean air, drink the best booze in the world, meet the friendliest people, and eat the most humungous breakfasts. Oh and be prepared to get wet too. It's not called the Emerald Isle because it suffers from drought! |
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| Re: Ireland in two weeks
by Ken Dunn on 1 February 2005 11:16pm |
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| See also the Ireland item in Blathering On. |
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| Re: Ireland in two weeks
by Wisey on 2 February 2005 3:40pm |
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Thanks, Ken, I didn't see that. :) *note to self: try to read everything first before starting new topic*
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| Re: Ireland in two weeks
by cameragrrrl on 3 February 2005 5:15pm |
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I had a wonderful 10-day trip to Ireland around New Year 2004, and believe me you can see alot in a short time. The tricks (for us) were 1) ALOT of pre-planning, and 2) Renting a car.
Our itinterary, which combined healthy amounts of city and country life, went something like:
Doolin, Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Galway, Connemara, Dingle Penninsula, Killarny, Mitchelstown, Cashel, Newgrange, Dublin. We spend between a few hours and a few days in each place, working vaguely Eastward. We were both very specific about what to see and where to go, but also left ample time anf flexibility for inspired meandering. We ditched the car in Dublin, of course.
It was magical, a very satisfying trip. We really felt like we'd seen a lot in a little while. |
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| Re: Ireland in two weeks
by peripatetically on 4 February 2005 1:56am |
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| Was your lodging all pre-arranged and paid for?? Or did you stop overnight whenever and wherever you pleased? |
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| Re: Ireland in two weeks
by Wisey on 4 February 2005 10:34am |
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| @ Cameragrrl: Any good tips for travel guides? |
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| Re: Ireland in two weeks
by cameragrrrl on 8 February 2005 12:10am |
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I like Lonely Planet travel guides. I also did some research in Barnes & Nobles with other guides that had great driving tour suggestions.
All the lodging was arranged in advance, and we tried to pick specific places that were well-located will lots of nearby Places of Interest.
I stress that our trip would not have been nearly as effective without the help of a car :-) |
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