Ideas for sightseeing in Ireland?

Question

I'm going to Ireland for 5 weeks in March and April. Any ideas for sightseeing? And what is the easiest away of getting around the country, when car is out of the question?

Answer 1

well if your staying in dublin you can see the spire and trintry collage the book of kells there are loads of tours to see .its easy to get around the luas is fast but you can get on dublin bus they will get you to anywhere in dubin.if you like shopping go to dundrum you will love it

Answer 2

You should go to Kilkenny (south-east). It has a beautiful Norman castle and fantastic cathedrals and churches. You can get a train there from Hueston station in Dublin. West Cork is really picturesque with tiny traditional villages but the roads are quite bad. There are areas in the west which primarily speak irish called the Gaeltacht. The pubs there have a really great atmosphere and there's nearly always trad irish music at night. The Connemara region of Galway is fantastic with isolated beaches, heather-covered mountains and really friendly people. Its easy enough to get to the Galway region as there is a train service from Hueston station in Dublin to Galway city (which is also an interesting modern meets old world town). Try not to stick just to one area, dublin is amazing but there's so much more to Ireland... enjoy!!!

Answer 3

If you are staying in Galway, you should see Connemara, It is wonderful. You can find cheap bus trips to Connemara.

You should also see Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.

Answer 4

Dublin is a good city - lots of shopping if you're interested in that.

Definitely go see the Cliffs of Moher.  They'll take your breath away!  After you walk around, the little cafe there is pretty good.

Kissing the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle is a great experience.  And you'll get the 'gift of gab!'  You can get your picture taken while you're upside down kissing it as well.

You may have heard of Waterford Crystal.  The factory is in Ireland, and you can take a tour seeing how the crystal is made: from the glass blowing to the final cuts and etching.  Afterwards, you can walk through the store and purchase/order crystal.  If you're in no rush to get the crystal, have them ship it to your house.  You won't have to deal with customs at the airport, and it will get to your house within 4-6 weeks.

If you're up for a challenge and are in good shape, there's a cool area known as the Burren.  Its basically just a hilly/mountainous area with great views.

I was with a group of 40+ and all of our activities were already set up for us.  Definitely call ahead for tours just to double check and have fun! :)

Answer 5

How to get around?  Probably bus if you can't hire a car.  I've only gone by car.

In the north - which is perfectly safe now - drive along the coast road.  Stop and see Dunluce Castle, which is a huge ruin that you can walk in and around.  Not far from there is the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, which is put up by salmon fisherman every year.  I'm pretty sure it's free, and you can walk over it to a little island.  It's probably a 150 foot drop, so it's at your own risk, but I did it twice.  Also nearby is the Giant's causeway, a huge rock formation that you should stop and see.

On the west coast, Achill Island is very cool to drive around.  Another neat little island chain is the Aran Islands (kind of made famous by the Jeanine Garofolo movie "The Matchmaker).  Also in the west, be sure to visit the town of Galway.

Must do in the west - the Cliffs of Moher. You can climb up and vierw them from the top - 700 foot drop and last time I was there they let you walk right up to the edge.  Or you can take a boat ride along the cliffs, which is very cool too.

A little further south is a nice tour that you can do on horseback or by jaunting car - the Gap of Dingle (I did it on horseback).  It's a valley cut out by glaciers way back.  Nearby is a scenic drive called the Ring of Kerry, that takes in the Gap and some other beautiful views.

You have to go to Dublin of course.  It's become very cosmopolitan and trendy.  

Kissing the Blarney stone is a good, if touristy, thing to do.  It's at the top of Blarney castle, and you have to hang upside down to do it - and you're basically dangling over the ground.  

In the center of the country is an old monastery and ruins known as the Rock of Cashel.  Pretty impressive.

It's tough it you're not driving, because lots of things that I saw where castles or whatever that we happened to see signs for while driving to our next destination, so we would just stop.

At any rate, enjoy the Irish people.  They are the friendliest people anywhere.  Make sure you strike up conversations when you're out at a pub or whatever, you're bound to hear some good stories.  And enjoy - I would love to have 5 weeks over there!