Places/things to see/do in Ireland?

[flyinion]

Heading there for the first two weeks in October. Wanted to see if any of you had been there and had any recommendations for must see places. Hoping to get lots of great pictures regardless of what all I end up seeing. Will be in the Southeast area. So Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, and maybe a bit west. Anything within reasonable driving distance of those areas is in though

[Loupey]

Originally Posted by flyinion

...Anything within reasonable driving distance of those areas is in though

Everywhere is within driving distance

Our friends drove us to Northern Ireland but we took their car and traveled from Dublin to the west coast (Galway, Limerick, and the Dingle Peninsula). Changing gears with the wrong arm while sitting on the wrong side of the car while driving on the wrong side of the road took a day to get used to before it felt natural.

You'll have a great time. Every shade of green imaginable, quaint shops, lovely people, and great beer! I highly recommend you travel/lodge via bed-and-breakfasts - inexpensive (much cheaper than hotels), great meals, and terrific hosts.

Winding roads in the country you'd think are wide enough for just one car are actually two-way roads as long as you both drive on the shoulder and fold in the mirrors

[SmartWombat]

Just don't plan on getting anywhere FAST even though it's close.

[flyinion]

Hehe I guess I should have specified "close" as in reasonable driving time not distance. Yeah I've heard about the time due to roads thing. I'm going with a friend who is originally from Kilkenny so we're going to be staying with their family in various towns we're visiting. I've been given a tourist book and told "pick some places you'd like to go" but it's kind of hard to tell from a book whether something is "worth it" or not

Of course now I'm going to get the question of "well why are you asking us?" since I'm going with someone from there. LOL well I figure just because someone is from an area, doesn't mean they know all the good "tourist" spots I know I don't know all the good stuff within the same kind of area where I live.

[SmartWombat]

True, I couldn't give you a tourist view of Oxford, I live here

[Loupey]

Originally Posted by SmartWombat

Just don't plan on getting anywhere FAST even though it's close.

We made it from Dublin to Galway in 2 1/2 hours by car - well worth it for the completely different flavor and landscape on the two sides.

What do you want to see? City-life? Landscapes? Castles?

City-life: the doors of Dublin, Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ's Church, Powerscourt Townhouse Centre (for shopping)

Landscapes: Bailey's Lighthouse (near Dublin), Wicklow, Giant's Causeway (N. Ireland), cliffs and high rope bridge at Carrick-A-Rede (N. Ireland), Glendalough (Powerscourt Gardens), Cliffs of Moher (west coast), the entire Dingle Peninsula, the fields of Spiddal

Castles/archeological: Newgrange, Ashford Castle, Gallarus Oratory (west coast), any of the countless half-eroded castles that you'll see along the road and are open for exploration

Great food: everywhere - especially Johnnie Fox's pub ("highest pub in Ireland" where the atmosphere is incredible - live music and they still burn peat for heat)


Have a blast!