Will driving from the airport to Glendaough be too difficult. It was suggested to us to stay on highways. If not recommended any suggestions on where to stop before we can check into our hotel in KilKenny? We already have plans for seeing Kilkenn in late afternoon and morning of next day.

I am planning to visit the the Cliffs of Moher at sunrise (5:45am on the day in question). The Experience sells parking tickets starting at 8am. Do you know if the parking is open before that? I am asking since I plan to spend 1 hour at the Cliffs before driving to Clonmacnoise (unfortunately my time is very limited) and I am wondering where I can park the rental car. I would gladly appreciate your advice.

Hi all. I have a question. I traveled to Ireland from the US 2 weeks ago. The car was picked up in Shannon and was already prepaid for prior to picking it up. When I arrived to pick up the car, the person at the desk told me that I was required to purchase car insurance. I’ve never had this happen before (I’ve rented cars in the EU). The person gave us a few options - 1. €45/day but with a €3,000 cc hold and 2. €65/day with no cc hold. Is this standard practice in Ireland? I wish I would’ve known ahead of time so I could’ve budgeted accordingly…

A weird twist to the story… I’ve been back in the US for close to a week now and the insurance payment isn’t showing up on my cc transactions, only a random €35 hold from the car company, even though I have the receipt that my card was charged over $500.

Can anyone help me figure this out?

Edit: forgot to mention we chose the €65/day insurance.

We will be in Dingle this Tuesday night (5/21). I would like to plan a great dinner (upscale preferred) and fun pub to celebrate a big-oh birthday. Don’t know if dancing happens in pubs but that would be a plus.

No loud music or live music. Something with more traditional music or no music at all would be great. I’m younger but hard of hearing and I’m afraid my implant makes me extremely sensitive to certain types of music. Instrumental type music doesn’t bother me nearly as much as live bands, rock/pop/etc.

Hello!

I am traveling to Dublin in October. I will be there over Halloween and am trying to plan our itinerary. We plan to do 3 day trips but wanted to know if there’s anything we should skip in this list, anything we should add instead, or if it’s too much? I know it’s quite a bit of day trips but trying to see as much as we can!

Tuesday: arrive, hang out in Dublin

Wednesday: Day Trip Giants Causeway/Dark Hedges/Dunluce/Belfast

Thursday: Halloween. Hang in Dublin & maybe do a short walking tour or something like Book of Kells, Trinity College, etc.

Friday: Kilkenny/Wicklow Mountains/Glendalough

Saturday: short hike around Howth Peninsula (not an all day thing)

Sunday: Cliffs of Moher/Doolin/Burren/Galway

Monday: hang out in Dublin

Tuesday: we leave bright & early.

Hi everyone! I'll be heading to the cliffs from Dublin in a bus tour. I'm not sure whether to do the Paddywagon or Wild Rover tours - both seem great, but leaning toward Paddywagon due to the stop in Doolin for lunch.

The Paddywagon tour spends 1 hour in Doolin for lunch and 1.5 hours in Cliffs of Moher. It seems very tight to do a quick lunch and start the Cliff Walk from Doolin to the Cliffs. My question is: with 1.5 hours at the Cliffs, would it be possible to walk the trail at least a little bit? What are the best spots of the trail?

I was hoping that once we got to the Cliffs visitor center, we could explore the O'brien's tower and perhaps walk 30min north to see a different viewpoint. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you so much.

Hello! I am planning to take the 350 bus from Galway to Doolin next week. I went online to try and book tickets in advance as there is a website for the bus service but nothing is available. Is this just because you can’t actually buy in advance and have to buy at the station? Or do the seats on these busses actually sell out? Any info on how it works would be appreciated thanks!

I'm a second time visitor to Ireland and really want to make it to the Aran Islands this time. I have my eyes on Inis Mor since it's the most popular, however - most recommendations say to rent a bike.

We have two kids with us, one who is 12 but the other is quite young. What is the best way to get around in that case - do they have trikes or maybe small child seats in any of the bikes?

Or instead of visiting Inis Mor, are one of the other islands more suitable to kids?

Thanks!

Hello all! I’m visiting Ireland as an au pair this summer, and I was able to get a weekend away for a quick trip to Doolin as a base to see the Cliffs of Moher and one of the Aran Islands.

I will only be there for 2 days, checking in Friday night and leaving Sunday afternoon, so my plan was to dedicate one day to hiking the cliffs and another to visiting one of the islands via ferry from Doolin.

The thing is, I keep getting conflicting information on which island I should visit! Obviously Inis Mór is the most popular, but I also know it’s the biggest so I don’t know if it would be worth it in such a short period of time. I also love the idea of seeing a place that’s a little more off the beaten path which is what’s drawing me to Inis Oírr and Inis Meáin (I’m also interested in this one because of the recent movie Cripples of Inishmaan tbh). I also know that since I’m visiting on a weekend I’m June, every destination will likely be popular.

So Reddit, what’s your advice? Which island should I visit?

Hello everyone, we will be visiting in July and want to take a day trip to the Wicklow area from Dublin. We would like to rent a car to have the freedom to go as we please. Would it be better to rent from an established "classic" company like Hertz or Enterprise, or would you recommend something like GoCar or Yuko? Net price seems about the same but the day rental ones include fuel and insurance....

I'm a bit confused on the geography for lodging reasons but here was my rough plan. Group of 3 Mid 40's looking to do some day hiking, eating and looking at sights (however, none of us drink and aren't interested in doing ferries/boats (seasick), end of August/early September. My friend really wants to go to 3 of the national parks (Wicklow, Killarney and Burren) as she's a big national parks fan.

We plan on renting a car - technically we can fly into Shannon or Dublin but can't do a one way. Flying into Shannon is slightly more money. I'm going to assume flying into Dublin unless Shannon would save us so much more time.

Day 1 -Arrival - Wicklow Area/ Glendalough

Day 2 Cashel, drive to Killarney (don't really care about this day)

Day 3 - Killarney national park /Gap of Dunloe

Day 4/5 - Dingle /Slea head drive

Day 6 - More Dingle + Drive to Burren National Park (assuming this can be more interesting? Wild Atlantic way?)

Day 7 - Burren (I heard Burren is pretty small but leaving this mainly open)

Day 8 Drive back to Dublin

Day 9 Dublin Late flight back to US

I left off the cliffs off Mohr since that was a 1-2 hour detour and I cut the ring of Kerry for the same reason but maybe either one would fit?

My friend doesn't mind driving 5 hour stretches but it'll be nice to have scenic pitstops along the way. It feels like I can pad it more but not sure with what. Would prefer more nature stops than anything - versus ruins/castles etc.

Hi, do you recommend getting a paper road map for driving to Dingle, Connemara, Galway, Doolin etc? Or should I get an international mobile data plan for the 9 days and use Waze for directions? Or both?? I’m just concerned about using up all my data and encountering slow speeds.

Hi all! My wife and I are traveling to Ireland for a holiday the last week of September. Here is the rough itinerary for the trip, any input would be greatly appreciated! Curious if you see anything you see here you'd change or suggest.

Thanks so much in advance!

Day 1 Saturday: arrive in Dublin at 9am, rent car, drive to Moran's and eat oysters. Drive to Galway. Its Oyster fest so maybe see some oyster fest stuff? Overnight: Galway

Day 2 Sunday: Galway walking tour in AM, Trad on the Prom in the PM. Overnight: Galway

Day 3 Monday: Flight to Inishmore, rent bikes, see island stuff, fly back. Overnight: Galway

Day 4 Tuesday: Cliffs of Mohr, drive to Dingle, Hike Eask Tower. Overnight: Dingle

Day 5 Wednesday: e-Bike tour Dingle peninsula in am, drive to anything we didn't see on the bikes in the pm? Overnight: Dingle

Day 6 Thursday: e-Bike Gap of Dunloe and boat trip in am. Explore rest of Killarney Nat Park in rest of afternoon. Overnight: Killarney.

Day 7 Friday: Rock of Cashel in the am. Kilkenny for lunch (Smithwick's, the Castle, St. Canice). Drive to Dublin, drop off rental car. Overnight: Dublin.

Day 8 Saturday: Book of Kells experience in the am. Guiness/Jameson/Whiskey Musuem in the PM (gonna be one of those afternoons lol). Overnight: Dublin.

Day 9 Sunday: Not sure what to do with an extra day in Dublin. Maybe Botanical Gardens and National Musuem? Not sure what else the must do/see things are. Overnight: Dublin

Day 10 Monday: Taxi to Airport and fly home at 11am.

I've tried to structure this trip with as little driving as possible. I thought about staying in Dingle an extra night instead of Killarney but it adds an extra 2 hours of driving. Also, we don't really have time to do both the Ring and Dingle, so I figured we'd go with Dingle b/c the town looks charming.

Thoughts on this? does it look good? too much, too little? Any suggestions on stuff we are missing?

Currently I have put together the below itinerary, my wife is big into taking photos so I wanted to get some good country side and take a quick trip down to the Cliffs of Moher while we stay in Galway. The stop in Tullamore is for me to visit the whisky distillery (the wife wont be driving so must stay overnight). We both enjoy getting lost in cities and just walking around. Looking for any tips/recommendations/ideas to add along our trip or if we are planning to much for 9 days.

4-6Jul: Arrival in Dublin

Arrive in Dublin, explore the city center, and visit landmarks like Trinity College and Temple Bar.

Overnight in Dublin.

6-7Jul: Tullamore

Morning drive to Tullamore (approximately 1.5 hours from Dublin).

Visit the Tullamore DEW Visitor Centre for a whiskey tour and tasting.

Explore Tullamore and its surroundings.

Overnight in Tullamore.

7-9Jul: Galway

Drive to Galway (approximately 2 hours).

Explore Galway's streets, Eyre Square, and the Spanish Arch.

Overnight in Galway.

Day Trip to the Cliffs of Moher

Take a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher (approximately 1.5 hours from Galway).

Explore the cliffs and surrounding area.

Return to Galway for overnight.

9-10Jul: Derry/Londonderry

Drive to Derry/Londonderry (approximately 3 hours).

Explore the historic city walls and the Peace Bridge.

Overnight in Derry/Londonderry.

Causeway Coastal Route

Drive along the Causeway Coastal Route, visiting attractions like Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and Dunluce Castle.

Continue to the Dark Hedges.

10-11Jul: Belfast

Drive to Belfast (approximately 1 hour).

Explore the city.

Overnight in Belfast.

11-13Jul: Return to Dublin

Drive back to Dublin (approximately 2 hours).

Spend the afternoon exploring any remaining Dublin attractions or shopping.

Overnight in Dublin.

13Jul: Departure

Depart from Dublin.

Hi all, I’m planning a trip back from Scottish highlands to Amsterdam in July and a flight option via Dublin just popped up. It would arrive at DUB at 8:40 and depart at 17:40 the same day. Excluding all the airport transfers I assume it would be about 5 hours in the city. So my question is: is it worth it? If so, what is there to see in such a short time? It’s also one of last EU countries i’ve never been to, so I would like to cross it off my list. Thanks in advance!

Interested in going to Ireland. Ancestral history etc… not too interested in the cliffs and the castles. Where would you suggest and ugly American stay to enjoy an Irish pub experience for 4-7 days? Is it worth it? Am I an annoyance? Not interested In American or Canadian opinions. Would like to get pissed at a pub and go back to a hotel/airbnb/bed and breakfast. Have some good meals at restaurants etc. would prefer somewhere walkable.

My extended family and I will be staying in Ballina in June. Anyone know if there any pickleball courts in or near Ballina?

Hey there — I just booked a flight to Dublin, and I'll be arriving there on a Wednesday by noon. I'll be making my way to Galway the day after.

Considering I want to stay in the city centre the night I arrive, is it a good idea to rent the car at the airport the very same Wednesday and park it in Dublin proper?

Or would it be more convenient to return to the airport—where car rental agencies are—on Thursday morning and pick up the car only then?

I've never been to Dublin, so I wonder if:

— It's easy enough to park by the city centre
— It's easy enough to get to the airport back and forth (If it's a hassle doing that, maybe getting the car as soon as I get off the plane is worth it).

Or maybe, you tell me: “Don't stay at the centre, take advantage of that car rental and stay on X, Y or Z instead, way more convenient.” In any case, I enjoy a walk, so if I stay an hour away (walking) from the tourist must-see stuff, then it'd work.

Thank you lads

This is just a trip report for anyone who wonders what spending a couple of days on Inis Mor is like. To be clear, I'm an able-bodied man who travels solo and would rather hike than ride bikes.

I book a 4PM flight with Aer Arann to the island from Galway, also booking a bus that picks you up from in front of Victoria Hotel, a 5 minute walk from Galway Coach Station. The day was rainy but mostly misty, so when the driver picked us up, he said it wasn't looking good for the flight. In case of cancellation, we would be taken from the Connemara Airport to the ferry port and put on a later ferry for no extra charge. Luckily, 20 minutes after arriving at the tiny airport, the flight was good to go. Me and 5 other passengers were shown a safety video, weighed to determine our spot on the tiny plane and we were off for a 7 minute flight to Inis Mor.

There, a van takes you directly to where you're staying for 7.50 euros. I stayed at Seacrest B&B, with a delightful hostess and an even better breakfast. Lots of travel that day, so I just trudged up to Joe Wally's Pub that was filled with good cheer, good food and good pints.

That night, I emailed Failte Bus Tours for a spot on Gerald's tour the next day. Started that day with a great fry-up breakfast then a trip to Spar to stock up on water and snacks. I have no problem drinking tap water, but I've read online to avoid drinking water from the bathroom, which was my only option in the B&B.

The tour started out badly. Since I was the only one there for the moment, Gerald wanted to wait until the mid-day ferries unloaded so he could recruit more passengers which is how most of these tours start. I waited over an hour so a few more could get in the van, but eventually we were on our way.

The tour ended up being great, Gerald gave his spiel, gave us 2 hours at Dun Aonghasa to hike up to the fort with excellent views of the cliffs and half the island. Nearby, there's a trail to a hidden ruined church with centuries-old carvings. There was even a card commemorating a recent death, so locals still consider this ruin as sacred. The tour also pointed other ruins and stopped at The Seven Churches. The last long stop was at the Wormhole for about 90 minutes, where Gerald pointed us to the trail that eventually led to it. It's pretty meandering but as long as you keep the water to your left, and watch out for the giant deep tidal pools, you'll get there, and it's worth it. Gerald was the perfect combo of informative but unobtrusive, letting us go in our own pace.

Upon return, it was an early dinner at The Bar with excellent seafood chowder and a pint of Guinness. After resting in the B&B, I hiked to the Black Fort, which started south along the main road in front of the B&B. Eventually you turn along paths lined with stone walls until you reach endless fields of flat stones. There are signs that point to the Fort, not to any path, eventually you'll start to hear the thunder of the crashing waves. The Black Fort is dramatically facing the ocean and since this was the evening, there wasn't soul around. If you're solo and that freaks you out, you might want to tell someone your plans.

The next day, after another fine breakfast, it was time to check out. This is my only gripe about this trip: I should've planned better which ferry to take to return to Galway or booked another flight. Instead, I had to spend a few hours before my 3:30 ferry, I ferry I chose because it did a detour along the Cliffs of Moher. I could leave my big bag at the B&B, which meant just leaving it in the common area. It's Inis Mor, nothing will happen to it.

I hiked up to St. Ciaran's Church which afforded excellent views along the way. The way back included walking by a little park by Joe Watty's, a stop at Aran Islands Cafe (excellent scone), walking past the Glamping site...a lot of waiting. The B&B let me hang out in the common area, but they were cleaning the place at the time and I felt intrusive so I only sat around between walks. Eventually, I got my bag and walked to the ferry port. Thirty minutes before departure, you'll see the ferry sitting there with a line already waiting to board. The ferry ride itself was great, some locals were putting the fear of seasickness in me, and while there were a few bumps, most of it was smooth as glass. The view of the Cliffs from the ferry were great and included a nice audio recording explaining what we were seeing.

So a nice couple of days on an amazing island. The weather was as advertised, at times misty, drizzly, some wind and some sun. But it was never miserable, thankfully. Hope this helps anyone thinking of visiting.

Hello! My wife (28F) and I (28F) are staying 4 nights in Dublin in July. What are some of the best hotels to stay at in the city? Would say under $300 USD/night ideally. Been looking at the Temple Bar area but never been to Dublin so not even sure if that’s the best place to stay! We are looking to explore the city mostly on foot and want to enjoy some nightlife as well. Thanks in advance!

Hi ! I want to double check is the IRL that I need to book vfs appointment for Ireland visa is the same as transcation/avatas number preceded by IRL ?

i’m going to be in dublin 3 days (starting next friday). i’m planning on visiting trinity college and the book of kells my first day there. i’m hesitant about anything that requires pre-booking on my first day in case i run into any flight issues so this would be the ideal scenario but i could go any day. if all goes well i’ll probably be at trinity college by 12:30 or so.

i see that the basic tickets for book of kells & old library are sold out, but it also says there’s “last minute access” - does this mean there are some tickets being sold at the door, day of? should you be there by a certain time in order to get them?

i see there are tickets for the “book of kells experience”. i don’t really want/need the whole experience but if there’s no other option, i’d buy this ticket. how long in advance do you usually need to book them? can these usually be booked day of? or, worst case, a day or 2 before?

I’ve looked around and haven’t yet been able to find an answer to my specific question. My family will be traveling to Croatia, Italy, Greece, and lastly Ireland. I am wondering if there is one wifi hot spot provider that we can take with us on the entire trip or if we will need to swap out when we switch countries? Oh to add we would want to pick it up in Zagreb and return it in Dublin if possible.

Hello! I will be traveling to Ireland in June for 10 days. I’m pretty set on my itinerary except for the second half. I would really appreciate any feedback on what would be easiest/most realistic to do. The hotels cannot be changed at this point so we are more worried about scheduling daily activities. This is both our first time in Ireland, and we have rented a car so we have some flexibility. our main question is - when should we see the cliffs of Moher…on day 7 or 8. So our basic itinerary goes as follows:
Day 6: do ring of Kerry, spend night it Killarney
Day 7: drive up to Galway, spend night in Galway
Day 8: spend night in Galway
Day 9: drive down to limerick to sleep before we fly out the next morning.

So should we stop to see Doolin/the cliff on the drive from Killarney to Galway (we were thinking of doing the Doolin ferry to Inis Oirr so this will be an all day and we might get into Galway late. Or wait for the next day (day 8) and drive back down to do the cliff (this means less time in Galway but we can visit dingle during the drive from Killarney to Galway on day 7). Hope all makes sense!

Hi! My partner (27m) and I (25f) are travelling to Northern Ireland and Ireland next month - all accommodations booked, and we’re coming across on the ferry with our own car. We have a full itinerary planned (see my earlier post if interested, I don’t want to copy it into here bc of length) and initially decided against the Aran Islands (thinking it’s relatively pricey to go for the limited time you get on the island). We have 5 nights in Galway, so it’s doable for us, but we decided to spend most of our time with Galway as a base in Connemara or the Burren (hiking, possibly cycling etc). Now, while browsing this sub, it seems that everyone loves the Aran Islands and we're wondering if we should go after all. Is it worth it? We would most likely visit Inis Mor if we went.

Edit: thank you all for the great feedback, and sorry if I don’t manage to reply to everyone! We’ve decided to take a day trip to one of the islands, most likely Inis Mor (and if we love it, come back during a later holiday to stay the night)

Hi everyone! I have planned a road trip for our visit to Ireland the forcoming days and I would like to know your opinions!We are 5 people in our late 20s-early 30s and we will have a car. We would like to see as much as possible and do not mind driving a lot. We have booked a night in Doolin for the first day of our trip and we will need to decide where to stay for our second night before we return to Dublin on day 3. Here is my itinerary:

Day 1: Saturday, 18/05 - Dublin to Doolin via the Cliffs of Moher

Spend the day at the Cliffs and then go to Doolin. Check in to the hotel and have dinner at a local pub and find some place with traditional Irish music in Doolin.

Day 2: Sunday, 19/05 - Doolin to Dingle via Ring of Kerry

Drive the Ring of Kerry. Stop at key viewpoints like Moll’s Gap, Ladies View, and others.

Arrive in Dingle. Check into a hotel and explore the town. Overnight stay.

Day 3: Monday, 20/05 - Dingle to Dublin via Galway and Diamond Hill

Early Start. Depart Dingle and drive to Connemara National Park for the Diamond Hill hike.

Hike the higher trail of Diamond Hill (2:45 hours). Have lunch in the nearby area, perhaps in Clifden or Letterfrack.(?)

Drive to Galway city.Visit the Latin Quarter, Galway Cathedral, and stroll around.

Return to Dublin in the evening.

I feel like maybe there is too little on there? Is there anything else you think we should include? Other than the fact that we will be staying in Doolin for our first night, everything else can change. Thank you very much in advance! <3

Hi!

Traveling to Dublin later this year and my husband is celiac.

Wondering what grocery shops people recommend? And any restaurants :)

I checked out Find Me GF already but always love any rec.

Hello!

Love taking in local sporting events when I travel abroad. Landing in Dublin around noon on September 2nd, and flying out September 9th. Only locked in travel plan is running the marathon in Dingle and staying there 6th and 7th. Would appreciate any recommendations for a sporting event to take in within this window! (Took a look at the League of Ireland calendar and it didn’t seem any games would work in my schedule.)

I am a german tourist who will visit Dublin for a week in June.

What pubs / nightclubs / hiking clubs / museums and whatnot do Dubliners recommend?

Btw I’m in my 20’s and I like cultural activities such as going to museums and historical sites as well as nightlife activities.

I would really appreciate your trip advice