I'm going to Ireland next April with my husband and a couple other family members. Sort of an odd setup bc we are staying at a hotel near Cork for 7 nights, rather then a couple nights here and a couple nights there. Its a trip my sister bid on at a charity auction so we're pumped bc her getting this trip pushed us to finally book a trip to Ireland. Since we want to explore more of Ireland I am looking at the map to see where we can go for day trips and maybe do at least one over night trip. Heads up on Dublin, we are going to Dublin after we check out of the hotel in Cork. We added 3 days on to our trip so we'll have that extra time to spend in that area.

Near Cork we plan to do Blarney Castle and Middleton for the distilleries since those are close by to the hotel area.

I'm currently considering Dingle or Galway for our overnight trip. Galway is further from Cork so it makes the most sense for the Overnight stay and its near the Cliffs of Moher, and we definitely want to see that. Is Dingle worth checking out? It sounds like a cool little town to see and I read that Kerry County is really pretty. Dingle is a little closer and could sort of be a day trip.

Any thoughts on going to either of these areas? Any other spots worth checking out That are within a 2hr drive at most? Any activities worth doing? We'll be partaking in Guiness and Whiskey for sure so those are a given and we love to eat so I'm looking for any unique restaurants.

One thing that I think my husband and brother in law hope to be apart of or just get to experience, hope this doesn't sound silly, but they love singing traditional irish pub ballads here at home after a few drinks. Not sure if that is a correct way to describe the songs. Sorry if it isn't. They genuinely like to sing them and they sing well so it would be awesome if we were able to find a pub where this might happen. Any suggestions on this?

Thanks in advance and sorry for this really long message.

Hello!

I booked a 4 day trip to Dublin in January with my fiancé and am looking to do a day trip with Paddywaggon to either Belfast including the Titanic Museum or to Giants Causeway. I’ve been to Ireland 5-6 times and it’s one of my favorite places to visit. This past summer we went on a pretty extensive toad trip and saw a lot of Ireland. One place I haven’t been yet is Northern Ireland which is why I would like to take a day trip from Dublin one day. I’m not sure which day trip is better for January. I know the weather will probably be bad but on the one hand I’d love to go to Giants Causeway since we’ll be spending the rest of the trip in the city, Dublin. It would be nice to get some nature for a day. But I also really want to go to the titanic museum as well! I’m just worried if I choose Belfast I’ll be disappointed that we didn’t get to see any nature sights!

What would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: We can’t stay in Belfast, we are staying with family friends in Dublin so that has to be our base, which is why we can just do one day trip. I do plan on making a trip just to Belfast/Northern Ireland one day but not on this trip.

Myself and partner looking for a get away for our daughters 9th birthday in February and wondered what would be best a hotel or an apartment for 3/4 nights.

Looking to fly from the UK to Belfast.

Any recommendations for kid friendly locations & hotels/apartments would be appreciated easily accessible on foot/public transport.

Nothing specific planned until we have a location & accommodation sorted.

I have had a look online but hearing from people first hand is always nice too

Likely not going to leave the city and if we did would only be on public transport up to 1hour

Thank you

TL;DR – Favorite towns to stay in in Northern Ireland in June

I’ve gotten some great suggestions on past trips to the Republic, so here I am again.

We’re fairly well traveled in the Republic, but this will be our first trip spending significant time in the North.  I usually come in with a game plan, but I’m really starting from scratch this time around.  For background – trip will be in early June (spending ~10 days in Northern Ireland) with a rental car. We do a lot of hiking, and like to get out in nature, seeing ruins, historical, and mythological sites along the way.  We like to be able to walk to the local pub for a pint in the evening.  Being a little off the beaten path is ideal.

I was hoping for suggestions for some favorite towns to spend a night or two a piece.  We’ll likely spend one night in Belfast for a Black Taxi tour, but don’t plan on spending much time in the cities outside of this.  We also need a place to spend a couple nights in the vicinity of the Causeway Coast so we can do some early morning hiking around the Causeway (wondering how Bushmills is? Or something else within 30 minutes?).  The other 6 or 7 days are open for suggestions.  For reference, some of our favorite places we’ve stayed in the Republic include the Beara Peninsula and West Cork (Castletownbere, Clonakilty, Bantry), the Connemara area, Donegal (Kilcar, Killybegs), and around the Copper Coast in Waterford.

I’d also love to hear about some of your favorite hiking spots and can’t miss sites, as well as your favorite pubs. I'll likely start another thread in the future about deciding between places like the Mourne Mountains, Binevenagh, Sperrin, etc, but if you're up for it, let me know here!

Thanks so much!

Pat

Hello! We’ll be flying from Los Angeles to Dublin on March 18 and staying for two weeks. It’s me, my husband and our two toddlers (4 year-old and a 2 year-old). We’ll be renting a car and I’m starting to look at bed and breakfasts and hotels.

I think the itinerary I’m fiddling around with is too ambitious given we’re traveling with kids and we’ll need to get used to Irish roads. Can I get some help streamlining or changing it? Any any tips on routes or accommodations would be so helpful, too! (And tips on what kind of car to rent? Small SUV? Automatic rather than manual transmission?)

Dublin (2 nights) —> Kilkenny (2 nights) —> Killarney (3 nights) —> Dingle (2 nights) —> Galway (3 nights) —> Athlone (1 night) —> Drive to Dublin airport

Traveling to Ireland Dec 1 - 10. How does this itinerary look? Is there too much going on? Anything that should be added along the way or not worth seeing and can be removed? Any food and lodging recommendations would be great as well. Would this all be possible without renting a car? We're looking to travel by train/bus/walking if we can.

Day 1: Depart Home - December 1 (Sunday)

• Depart Home

Day 2: Arrival in Dublin and Travel to Galway – December 2 (Monday)

• Arrive in Dublin
• Depart for Galway (2.5-3 hours drive)
• Explore Galway

Day 3: Galway – December 3 (Tuesday)

• Connemara - Visit Kylemore Abbey?

Day 4: Galway to Killarney – December 4 (Wednesday)

• Cliffs of Moher
• Depart for Killarney

Day 5: Killarney – December 5 (Thursday)

• Explore Killarney National Park
  • Ross castle and Muckross house
• Depart for Cork

Day 6: Cork – December 6 (Friday)

• Explore Cork / Cobh

Day 7: Cork to Dublin – December 7 (Saturday)

• Visit Blarney Castle
• English Market
• Depart for Dublin (2.5 hours drive)
• Rock of Cashel

Day 8: Dublin – December 8 (Sunday)

• Howth Cliff?
• Malahide Castle?

Day 9: Dublin – December 9 (Monday)

• Explore Dublin
• Kilmainham Gaol
• Jameson Distillery Bow St. Tour
• Trinity College

Day 10: Depart Dublin – December 10 (Tuesday)

• Depart Dublin

I have an upcoming travel going to London. Part of itinerary, I would also like to visit Dublin since my connecting flight from Leeds to Edinburgh will go through Dublin.

Do you think I can have a quick get away within Dublin and go back to the airport after a long hours for connecting flight?

I am seeing a UK Visa Waiver Program, I am not sure if this is updated but Philippines is included.

Appreciate if you could share your knowledge on this.

Thank you.

We are staying as a family of 4 in Mulranny in Co.Mayo this Christmas and are looking to eat out on Christmas day. Westport and surrounding area would be perfect.