My name is Kiera and my fiancé is Ciarán, and we are getting married in Ireland in October 2019!
We have been together since our 10th and 11th year in high school and have recently gotten engaged. We were planning on doing a road trip around Ireland for our 10 year anniversary in October 2019 and have decided to get married while we are there! The process with the registrar and getting the a'okay to get married there is a little extensive, but luckily Ciarán said he will take care of that and I can plan the fun stuff - the actual road trip!
The thing about planning a road trip in a country you've never been to and have never planned a road trip either - it's a little overwhelming. We have a friend who lives in Timoleague, Cork who has been helping me a bit with planning, but unfortunately he may have moved countries by the time we get there, so I don't want to rely on him entirely.
We would like to stay for 2+ weeks to really soak in the country (and hopefully make a little trip over to London while we're there), but the main part I'm having issues with are budgeting (money and time) properly and lodging. Now, since we are still young we don't have a huge supply of money and want to keep things like lodging cheap, but it seems even hostels can get up to $300+ for a 3 nights stay.
We definitely want to hit up Dublin (where our flight arrives/departs), Kilkenny/Inistioge (where we are planning to actually get hitched), Cork and Galway (to check out the university for possible future Master's program there!). But the more I look at the map, the more I think about all the neat little places we might be missing because I didn't think to go to some smaller villages.
Does anyone have any recommendations that could help with anything? I'm starting to plan now so I can flesh out the nitty gritty and hopefully get a better idea of how much money we should start saving.
Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Sounds like an exciting trip and congrats on your engagement.
I think it's fair to say that visiting smaller towns and villages will also help you somewhat with your budgeting as you'll probably find it's cheaper to stay in those place than in cities like Dublin and Galway. Since you are planning on making a trip over to Galway that opens a lot of possibilities to visit the beautiful west coast of Ireland and the many lovely towns and villages there, scenic drives, and so on. For starters to the west and north of Galway City is the stunning region of Connemara which is really a jaw dropping, hauntingly beautiful part of Ireland that one can easily spend a couple of days exploring. Some nice places to hang your hat there too like Clifden, Roundstone, etc. just to name a couple. And it's close to Galway City so it fits into your plans there. To the South/Southwest of Galway city is County Clare which is another very beautiful region with lots of unique landscapes (The Burren, Cliffs, etc.) and nice towns to visit like Ennis, Ballyvaughn, Kinvara (which is actually part of Co. Galway but on the way and close to the Burren), Kilfenora, Miltown Malbay, Lisdoonvarna, Feakle (in East Clare), Doolin, and I could probably name a few others easily. If you're interested in enjoying some Traditional Music as well Co. Clare in particular is rich in it's music traditions and pubs where it can be heard.
If you're feeling a bit more ambitious you can even venture one county further north to Co. Mayo which is Ireland's most remote/sparsely populated county and full of beautiful scenery and oceanside drives such as Achill Island, Clew Bay and you've got my personal favorite town in all of Ireland (Westport) there.
Others on this forum may have some good suggestions for you around Cork. While I've been to Co. Cork a couple of times myself I've spent far more time in Co. Clare, Galway, and Mayo than anywhere else so I'll keep my commentary to those regions.
Lots for you to think about but I think you're on the right track in wanting to consider visiting smaller towns/villages. I think you'll find that well worth your time and effort.
If you need help with any details feel free to ask us.
Welcome to Michele's Forum -- and, Congrats on your upcoming nuptials!
Best advice at THIS stage would be:
1) Obtain a map of Ireland to 'plot out' locations of particular interests.
2) Peruse the Trip Reports for ideas and information.
These are two of mine that specifically break down COSTS (in 2016) -- http://ireland.activeboard.com/t63076854/bobs-oct-nov-trip-short-version/
And 2017: http://ireland.activeboard.com/t64045208/bobs-2017-whirlwind-trip/
3) Make up a PRELIMINARY route / itinerary plan and submit it for advice and specific recommendations.
Personally, I am of the opinion that there is NO place in Ireland that isn't worth a visit. The key to planning a successful trip is to prioritize YOUR interests to include and eliminate choices to Maximize your enjoyment.
Some excellent research sites:
http://www.megalithicireland.com/ Sites are broken down both by Type and by County.
http://www.irelandtravelkit.com/
Happy Planning! We're here to help, as much -- or as little -- as you need.
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Bob
Help Us to Help You. The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!
Keeping things to a cost, I suggest the less time in Dublin the better. Leave the capital to the last 2 or 3 days of your visit so only 1 or 2 nights at premium rate. If you plan to Marry at Inistioge then Mt Juliet might be the splash for the night. You can reach Inistioge/Kilkenny from Dublin Airport on arrival so fly in the day before the wedding or fly out a few days after.
The rest is fine Kilkenny/Cork/Killarney/Ennis/Galway with Dublin in and out is a regular 2 weeks
Congratulations.
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Two rules for Ireland, Take your time & bring a sense of humour
