Best Places In Ireland?

Hey!
My sister and I are going to Ireland this summer for a relatively short visit (my parents are from Holland so thats the main stop, but there is a week where my sister and I could go anywhere in Europe... Obviously, we chose Ireland because it's been a dream for both of us) The only problem is... We don't know where the best spots are to go. We're working on a pretty tight budget, but are pretty open to anything!
Please give me some of your ideas... Thanks!
Go mbeannaí Dia duit May

This is probably the cheapest way to get around Ireland and have a comfortable bed to sleep in and a shower every day.

http://www.hostels-ireland.com/

My understanding is that most of these places have bike rentals and you can site see that way. Since your on a budget and only have a week, do some research and pick out a part of Ireland that has the most to offer that you can peddle to each day and than return to the hostel at night. Be prepared, the roads are not the best.

Enjoy your trip!

since you are on a tight budget be prepare the exchange rate for the euro is not the best. my best advice is that if you can afford to rent a car for a week do so. youll get to see a lot more of ireland in the short amount of time you are here. just be prepared that the driving is on the other side of the road along with the grear shift. also, set up camp in on place for a while and go to places near there. like limerick is pretty central to a lot of the south west of ireland.

hope all is well,
lauren

One thing we did that really worked out well was, we stayed in B&B's exclusively the entire week we spent in Ireland. 'Bed & Breakfasts' were at the time very reasonably priced, the breakfast was one of the highlights of the day, and it was cozier than staying in a sterile-looking hotel!
Every village we went to had at least one... can't tell you the name of any of them, my mind is having one of its moments - no wait, there was a cool one near the Vale of Avoca called the Coach Inn I believe, it was a very old coach house that had been modernized.
I'm sure you could find one nearly anywhere you visited.

Indeed, driving around and staying in bed&breakfasts is the way to go. Make sure you ask the proprietors about the various sites nearby, too. B&B owners are usually very friendly and glad to help those interested in Ireland.

Do no miss New Grange. Blarney Castle, the Giant's Causeway were OK, but the thing that stuck most with me was New Grange. It's much better handled than England's Stone Henge, and even older/more impressive.

kilarney national park is gorgeous. you should definetly check that out if you can. oh yeh, the burren is a must see site if you can(there is no other place like it) and, of course, the cliffs of moher( they are amazing!)

take care yall,
lauren

Oh yes, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren are awesome... the magnitude of the cliffs is something, but the colors of the ocean below were so rich: ultramarine blue, teal, aquamarine all within sight. I did a painting of it, looking towards the little OBriens tower... if I can find a scan of it I'll post it here later.

And the burren was so rugged, so windswept; it was one of the most unique landscapes I have ever seen. So rocky, but between the stones there would be the most lovely little flowers blooming... I read that there is a unique assortment of creatures that live there too but unfortunately we didn't see any!

SB

Okay, here is the painting I did of the Cliffs... it wasn't till I started working on this one that I saw the face in the cliff! Funny how I didn't notice it at all when I photographed the place.

SB

Attached Image. (Click thumbnail to expand)

My favourite areas are

Donegal

and the Dingle Peninsula (the beaches are just amazing) and the Ring of Kerry. A major tourist attraction at Dingle Bay is a sea trip to see Fungi the Dolphin. Have a look at this site http://www.dodingle.com/pages/fungi_dingle...le_dolphin.html

Oh, if only I could go to Ireland so that I could contribute something useful to this forum! (sigh) Oh well, maybe someday, God willing....

The west coast of Ireland is rich in Faerie lore. County Mayo and County Cork.

Hmm, depends how you are getting to the island.

If you are flying into Dublin, then I agree with some of the earlier posts and would send you to Newgrange. However, depending on the time of your arrival, Newgrange might be a serious investment in time, which for a traveller, might not be worth it. Then I suggest Knowth, which is part of the same park, and is very similar to Newgrange, but A LOT less crowded. If you are up near Newgrange/Drogheda, don't miss Tara. While thousands are filling the cafe at Newgrange, you can have the whole Hill of Slane to yourself, and its free. Yep, this is THE hill of Tara, where St. Patrick himself spoke to the masses. Giddy-up!

If you end up south of Dublin, the Wicklow hills are awesome, but the best place to end up is Vinegar Hill, overlooking Enniscorthy. Any site along the 1798 rebellion is fantastic.

If you are going to fly into Shannon, then head north, then a bit west, and meet up with the masses driving to the Cliffs of Moher, which Siobhan Blues caught perfectly in her lovely painting. The Aran Islands, out in the Atlantic, are gorgeous. Head toward Kilfenora, and into the Burren and catch R480 north to a cool Dolmen (Megalithic tomb, which is free..)off to your right Ailwee Cave is also to your right, but that has a fee, and I didn't stop there, so I can't say if it is worth it. Great food awaits you in Ballyvaughn (another 10 mins. north).

No matter where you go, expect great history, scenery, and the nicest folks you can imagine.

If you are going in high tourist season (from June to September) stay away from anything around Kerry (the ring can slow down to 10 or 15 km/hour, drop down to the Beara peninsula instead..less crowds, better pubs and fantastic views.). Also, the famed Bunratty Castle and Blarney Castle are going the be the target of every tourbus in Erin. Both are neat places, though I wouldn't kiss the Blarney stone unless that thing was boiled first. And as far as Bunratty Castle goes, well, I had a tour group I was running overide my suggestion to stay in Limerick and have a few beers in a Trad bar. A bunch of them decided that the "Festival" at Bunratty would be a grand time, so we drove up there and sat with 200 other foreigners and listened to some really bad Irish-American songs (Danny Boy, and 'When Irish Eyes are Smiling' GAH!) and some half-decent dancing that cost us all about $20.

My friends who stayed at the Trad Bar in Limerick still laugh about that.

Any specific questions, please let me know.

Eamon

Thanks Eamon for the kind words about my Cliffs painting!

We saw Bunratty on a regular day not during one of the festival events, so our impression was good... to stand there in that enormous main room with it quiet and sunbeams shining down through the high windows, just a few other nice touristy-types meandering about - it was a very nice experience. The folk park there near the castle was interesting to us too and quite educational.

Funny thing, our friends who took us to Bunratty absolutely refused to take us to Blarney because of the high 'tourist trap' quotent! They were relieved that we weren't wanting to kiss any stones.

I wish I could remember the name of the pub we stopped at in Ballyvaughn... we had a wonderful lunch. There was a school nearby, across the street; I wish I had taken more photos!

Siobhan Blues, was it Monks Pub? That place was SOOO good, except my buddy Brian had to drink his lunch (he hates seafood and there wasn't anything else on the menu!). I will have to ckeck my travel journals for some of the other great places to eat and drink and post them somewhere on CR. Good stuff!

Eamon