My wife and I are taking our first trip to Ireland in March, flying into Dublin and staying for a week. We are thinking we are not going to stay in Dublin, so looking for recommendations on places to stay, things to do, shaving goodies to procure/experience, and of course pubs!
Trip to Ireland, any must do's and shaving shop/soap recommendations?
- Thread starter jdrum3
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I'm sure you'll love Dublin, I'm from the North but Mrs Herself and I travel down about 4 times a year. We just go down for a bit of shopping and a dander.
I'm sure someone will be along with plenty of places for you to visit
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I'm sure someone will be along with plenty of places for you to visit
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We stayed in Navan the last time, just an hour or so bus ride to Dublin, and also close to Newgrange, Hill of Tara and Trim Castle. I also stayed once in Malahide and in Lucan, both are suburbs, so close by. My wife loves Dublin and shopping there.
DART is your friend when staying in the burbs, no rental car needed to go in the city.
If you be there around St Pats day, I would avoid Dublin the day after, it is US students puke fest, and you walking a slalom around pubs, and street corners....if you know what I mean.
DART is your friend when staying in the burbs, no rental car needed to go in the city.
If you be there around St Pats day, I would avoid Dublin the day after, it is US students puke fest, and you walking a slalom around pubs, and street corners....if you know what I mean.
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That's all.
My daughter absolutely loved Aran Island.
In Dublin you simply must go to Guinness and get your Perfect Pour certificate - and then drink it, of course. The Book of Kells at Trinity College is impressive.
The Cliffs of Moher are not to be missed. There's the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle if you're into that. We liked Donegal, Killarney and the Waterford glass blowing demonstration and museum, but I'm not sure of distances or transportation. We did a bus tour that looped around the country. You will love it. Beautiful place and beautiful people. Enjoy!
The Cliffs of Moher are not to be missed. There's the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle if you're into that. We liked Donegal, Killarney and the Waterford glass blowing demonstration and museum, but I'm not sure of distances or transportation. We did a bus tour that looped around the country. You will love it. Beautiful place and beautiful people. Enjoy!
As I said I'm from the North. If you you decide to head this way ,I would definitely go around the North Coast. There are plenty of Tour buses to take you around the small fishing villages and the Glen's of Antrim. There's a few Castles as well, and most of the tours end up at the Gaints Causeway.
A week is not too long to get a good idea of Ireland. My absolute favorite part is the West, especially Ring of Kerry. I have been in Waterville the first time in 1976 and have been back many times. I think I have been to Ireland some 22 times since 1976.
Another great area I like is Connemara.
If you golf, there are many great courses, you don't need to go to the big name - often you get no tee time anyway - but many not so well known courses that are similar fun to play. Played Waterville once only, my good friend Mick O'Dwyer pulled some strings and we were able to play the same day!
Another great area I like is Connemara.
If you golf, there are many great courses, you don't need to go to the big name - often you get no tee time anyway - but many not so well known courses that are similar fun to play. Played Waterville once only, my good friend Mick O'Dwyer pulled some strings and we were able to play the same day!
Rudy has some excellent ideas.
When I took my wife over to see it here was the overview itinerary. We chose to stay at a few different hotels than listed here but you can see what we did and read the overview of why.
I drove everywhere (as I normally do on most vacations). I have to admit, I smacked the drivers mirror a few times driving on the left side.
This was probably 9/10 years ago, I haven’t been back since, but this would allow you to see most of it in 7 days.
When I took my wife over to see it here was the overview itinerary. We chose to stay at a few different hotels than listed here but you can see what we did and read the overview of why.
I drove everywhere (as I normally do on most vacations). I have to admit, I smacked the drivers mirror a few times driving on the left side.
This was probably 9/10 years ago, I haven’t been back since, but this would allow you to see most of it in 7 days.
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Thats a good round trip. If you go to Connemara, I always stayed in Cong, Mayo, in this town the movie "The Quiet Man" was filmed. It is located between the two big lakes and it is also the town where Ashford Castle is in, if you have the $$, I would stay there. Kylemore Abbey is beautifully located, in May the Rhododendrons are blossoming....
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- #11
Wow,
looks amazing but probably not on this trip budget! Thinking about visiting Mayo though!
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- #12
Great recs, thanks!
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- #13
Thanks to everyone, I will keep you posted as we make progress on the itinerary!
I haven’t been since the 90’s, but wholeheartedly recommend Galway, a small town called Doolin and the Dingle peninsula. My username is from a great restaurant at that time in those parts and it’s also one of the Aran Islands.
My wife and I never made it to Ireland, but Galway was always our first choice. At least we got to see our favorite Galway band, The SawDoctors. open for The Pogues in NJ in 2006. That softened the blow. Galway is on our list for our next life.
In Dublin, shaving options are quite sparse. I do like the Grafton Barber soap, but it is a hard soap. I think it is made in Italy, the packaging just says made in the EU. Kensington Barbers in St Stephen's Green shopping centre has probably the best range in a physical shop, but it's more pricey than online.
What do you like doing? No point in recommending driving routes if you would prefer being in a pub or doing whiskey tours. There are a lot of decent golf courses, but pointless making any recommendations if you abhor golf.
You'll probably be told to go to the Temple Bar area, but locals will typically avoid it. Upon saying that, there are a few reasonable spots there.
As @Dave himself said, the North coast is very scenic. Some of the tour companies also allow for the Bushmills distillery experience as part of the tour.
If you end up deciding to go to Northern Ireland as well as the Republic of Ireland different currencies are used. The Republic uses the Euro, while the North uses the Pound Sterling. It doesn't really make much difference, just something to be aware of.
If you have an idea of where else you might want to go, post here or send a PM and I'll try to get more info.
What do you like doing? No point in recommending driving routes if you would prefer being in a pub or doing whiskey tours. There are a lot of decent golf courses, but pointless making any recommendations if you abhor golf.
What do you look for in pubs? I can recommend a few in Dublin that serve a good pint and/or have a decent whiskey selection. Are you looking for music in pubs (what sort of music) or a bit of people watching?
You'll probably be told to go to the Temple Bar area, but locals will typically avoid it. Upon saying that, there are a few reasonable spots there.
As @Dave himself said, the North coast is very scenic. Some of the tour companies also allow for the Bushmills distillery experience as part of the tour.
If you end up deciding to go to Northern Ireland as well as the Republic of Ireland different currencies are used. The Republic uses the Euro, while the North uses the Pound Sterling. It doesn't really make much difference, just something to be aware of.
If you have an idea of where else you might want to go, post here or send a PM and I'll try to get more info.
If you like to dine out, you can’t beat Cork. It’s often referred to as the Foody Capital of Ireland, and IMO that’s no lie. My wife and I spent a week there last year and had a lovely time. Apart from the many fine restaurants, there’s plenty to do in Cork and the surrounding countryside: the Ring of Kerry, Cobh, and the Blarney Stone just to name a few. If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind place to stay, you should consider the Ballymaloe House.
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- #18
Thank you for your questions and response.
We like the outdoors, hiking, and music. We like all kinds of music, but I was a drum sergeant in a local pipe band, so traditional Irish, folk, Celtic is great. We like smaller pubs that aren't in the city center. Really, the only hard and fast thing on the list to see is the Cliffs of Moher. We will be renting a car, so we will be able to get around to different areas. I have a long history with golf, but rarely play anymore. It would be cool to see a course on the northern coast, but probably not forking over $300 greens fees on this trip. We want to get out of Dublin quickly, but wondering how to have a home base and make some day trips.
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- #19
Cliffs of Moher is the one spot that we had in mind and we enjoy the outdoors. These seem like some good recs, thank you.
Lahinch is not very far from the Cliffs of Moher, but not sure what the green fees are nowadays, and how quickly you get a tee time...
