We went to Ireland In April, and had 15 full travel days, apart from our flight days. Had a wonderful time, loved the country and the Irish people. One important thing to comment on is that although we knew that driving times were slow, we were not prepared for how slow! We went by the AA driving times, and found that we spent a lot more time in the car than we would have liked! Tried to see and do too much! It started to seem like a race around the coast! Not going to go into all of the details, but we wanted to recommend highly(!) a couple of places to stay. One is Petra House in Galway - a lovely B&B and the hosts, Frank and Joan were wonderful! And their little dog Ming. Galway was my favourite city. Also, Driftwood B&B in Kenmare was fabulous! (Kenmare was my husband's favourite). Thanks to Michelle for recommending Kenmare! The Olde Bakery B&B in Kinsale was unforgettable for the warmth of the hosts there also, as well as their dogs, Scamp and Lily. A great restaurant in the North is Harbour Lights in Carnlough, Co. Antrim, run by a husband and wife with lovely homemade soups, scones, among many other delicious dishes! And it is a truly beautiful spot, with a patio overlooking the ocean. Ard Bia, a restaurant in Galway, was fantastic, especially for 2 vegetarians like us. We could have skipped Dublin, beautiful architecture, but a big noisy city with lots of diesel fumes, and not very Irish seeming. At some point we will go back, and we plan to rent a cottage in the north for a week, probably around Enniskillen, and in the south for a week - think we would enjoy it much more!
Appreciate you posting some comments on your trip. Always such fun to read. I share your thoughts on Dublin. While much to see there, see little reason to ever deal with the challenges of the city when I'm over in Ireland. In my mind, it is time wasted. I'll just go to some gridlocked city here in the U.S. if I want to see some major traffic and mass of humanity. Give me the rural areas of Ireland any day -- that is what I can't get enough of for sure!
Your trip sounded really nice; and, we agree about the driving. We have been twice, now, and this last trip - March - we decided to drive less. We love the West Coast, but want to get to the N.E. corner to see many items we have read about - mainly Giants Causeway. The bed and breakfast places sounded very nice -- we will have to check out the one in Kensale. Try to get to Skibberin, S.W. and to the Connemara Region. Roundtree is a cute town to check out in the S.W. corner of Conemara Region - a place where they make the bodrahn/drum!! Dingle is my most favorite place, so far! Thanks for sharing Youngka
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Living in Oregon, like to travel, love going to Europe, Alaska and maybe one day China.
Many thanks for posting about your trip and for your recommendations. I am delighted to hear that you are planning another trip. I have a few self-catering recommendations in No. Ireland. When you are ready you know where to find me. There is something nice about having your own cottage and staying put for a week at a time. You can really get to know the area. As you discovered, in Ireland "less is more"!