First time to Ireland

alyciaanne · Newbie

First time to Ireland

tony2phones · Guru

Cliffs of Moher plenty of tours from Galway. Aran Islands again a couple of tours from Galway but watch the weather. And Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula tours from Killarney. Castles, depends what you want, Bunratty, Blarney, Kilkenny all possible by public transport. some smaller places will be closed until St. Pats and summer season. Horse riding again depends what you want but beach riding might be a non starter that time of year.

Being brutally honest then having a car for your time outside Dublin gives a lot more options.

Maggie117 · Guru

Drive! I drove my first time there (over 1200 miles w/o a backup driver. It was nerve racking at times BUT totally made the trip! We could go where ever whenever! (I was with my mom and dad). You have two drivers and that will make a huge difference since you can take turns. Do it! DRIVE!!!

My favorite towns were Kenmare and Kinsale (Fort Charles was really cool IMO). Dublin is a really great city too with tons to do. Cobh was really cool too...SO many options! Irish Culture will be everywhere. The landscapes are beautiful everywhere! No matter how much you want to go slow it's hard...just know you'll go back one day! ENJOY!!!

Geno · Guru

In the west especially, you really could use a car. Take the plunge -- drive! wink

Michele Erdvig · Host

alyciaanne,

Welcome to the forum. I must agree with everyone else. Drive! That is the very best way to see Ireland. The problem with February is that even though there are tours available from various cities, many of them will not go in the off-season. You may get to Galway and find no tours to the Cliffs of Moher available during your time there. It would be different if you were going in July during prime time.

You need to work with what you have and make the best of it. Why not rent a car and split up the driving? Get a good map and/or GPS. Have a designated navigator each day who studies up on the routes before departure.

For a "relaxed" trip plan on staying in most places for at least 2 nights, if not more. Let us know how else we can help.

Michele

UNI4MER · Veteran Member

With Micheles help,we have been to Ireland twice.In 2011 and 2012. smile I agree with Michele but get 3 or 4 maps. One will never work out. One big map of the overall country works well for the direction you are headed and where cities and towns are situated along and around the larger roadways. The smaller maps help with the smaller roads around the counties and areas that you are staying at and exploring in. Every hotel or B&B you stay at grab the local maps of interest and talk to the Owners /Proprietors about your daily adventures, future and past and present. They will share with you the places to go, places to avoid, and laugh with you about the experiences that you have had. My husband and I never used GPS. One drove the car while the other twisted maps around and we yelled at one another constantley when we missed a turn or simply just did not know which road to take. I wouldn't trade these experieces for anything! The roads in some areas are quite narrow. My advice. Get Michele's book. Read up on the areas that you want to visit so that you have a little bit of a bucket list for each location. And simply Oooooh and Aaaaah over all of the Castles that you will see along the way. I forced my husband to stop at avery single one. Ruins as well as running, and it was Magical and Romantic and everything you ever would imagine Ireland to be.

Leslie Bagley