A Trip Round Ireland

Knowing that I used to live in Dublin, Chad wrote to ask what I’d recommend he see and do when he and his partner visits the Old Sod next month. Here are notes from my reply, should anybody else be considering a trip there (links generally go to my photos or external sites):

• There’s a ton to see in Dublin, both during the day and the evening. The guidebooks will no doubt give you the highlights, but don’t miss a musical or literary pub crawl. They’re for the tourists, obviously, but the calibre of performance is great. I’ve blogged about my other favourite places in Dublin. Understand that Dublin and the rest of Ireland are remarkably different. The former is a bustling, grimy city with an amazing history and culture, while the rest of Ireland is all greenest-of-green hills, charming hamlets and gorgeous coastlines.
• If you’re in Dublin on Saturday, don’t miss the Temple Bar Market. Have a crepe from the hippy kids at the crepery cart. Trust me, you won’t regret it. [more]

• Top tip for North Americans: for the love of God, don’t drive in Dublin. It’s a medieval city with 21st century traffic nightmares. The city has a decent public transit system (be sure to check out their new tram system, the Luas), and the centre of the city is very walkable. Rent a car (be sure to specify an automatic if you can’t drive standard) from the airport, which will enable you to skirt most of the nasty Dublin traffic.
• I’d suggest driving inland south from Dublin to Waterford. You’ll see plenty of coast elsewhere, and this enables you to visit Glendalough, which is a lovely corner of the country. Then you can sneak across Carlow to Kilkenny, which is a great town. Then I’d either go down to Waterford or across through the Rock of Cashel (a pretty amazing spot) to Cork. I’d recommend the Cashel route, but either way is good.
• Of course, if you’re near Kilkenny, you could stop in at my ancestral home. Mind you, it’s a hostel now, so don’t try to reclaim it or anything. I already tried that, and two Swedish guys threw me out.
• You surely know about the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula–they’re pretty famous.
• Galway is definitely worth getting to, as is the western part of County Galway, known as Connemara. The landscape is strikingly different than the rest of the country.
• Finally, don’t miss the Aran Islands. They’re gorgeous, a taste of old Ireland. You can rent bikes there, and ride around for the day.