Planning a surprise trip for my Irish mom - help!?

Question

My mother has one wish in life - to visit Ireland! Neither one of us has ever traveled outside the US. I would like to begin planning a trip for us for next year. I don't know anyone who has been to Ireland so I would ask for any recommendations for sights/towns to see during a week long stay. My mother would love to visit a castle and of course, and Irish pub. I would particularly like to see a town near the ocean. A group tour would be fine with me too if anyone knows of one. My mom's birthday is in August so I would love to know what the weather might be like at that time of year. We are 3 hours from NYC and Philly so flight tips would also be appreciated. Thanks so much for your help!

Answer 1

Hi its wonderful what your doing for your mother really nice.Well i would get the flight to shannon then head to galway on the alantic seaboard for a day or two.Then somewhere interesting in ireland you could go to is Donegal-Bundoran is a seaside resort in donegal,Donegal is lesser travelled because it is irelands most northerly county even tho its in the republic of ireland.Type donegal in on wikipedia it has the highest sea cliffs in europe and many castles although 2be honest it dosn have the best castles in ireland but some great ones..Then i would head down by dublin..then towards the south east to wicklow for ex then over by shannon again..August is usually irelands hottest month if the weather conditions are right for it..It can be really nice and warm but sometimes it can seem like a wet winters day...in june the days are really long here for instance in donegal it doesn't get dark until almost midnight then it starts to get bright again around 3 or so although it never gets pitch dark..sorry for rambling just check out ireland on wikipedia and donegal etc hope u have a great trip

Answer 2

as u might know, it's rainning a lot in Ireland so you will have a lot of rain in august and immediatly after the sun shine...no big deal...it's the summer anyway

what you could do is

start with Dublin for fews days (on the west)

and accross the country to go toGalway (the lacs of Connemara)

from here u could go to Aran Islands (packed in the summer)

or else u could rent a car ang go around the country: from Dublin, down to Cork

, in the west in Kerry,

up to Galway

go to clifden

and back home

if u want to see the town with the memory of the catholic/protestant war, u can go to Derry in northern Ireland

Answer 3

How very cool that you want to do this for your mom! (When I was in college I brought my mom over to Copenhagen where I was going to school, and we spent a week in Italy -- which was her dream. We both hold that as one of the most amazing things we've ever done!)

On to your question: I strongly recommend an escorted tour if you've never been there. Guides can give you "behind the scenes" looks at things, and make sure that everything goes smoothly.

Here are a couple of links for you to think about. The prices are good -- in the case of the first one, the package rate is almost equal to just the airfare!

http://www.celtictours.com/tours/tourinf...

http://www.affordabletours.com/search/it...

Do your own research, too. I like Rick Steves' books, because he assumes you're trying to be careful with your money, and he's very thoughtful about safety.  Good luck!! I hope this works out really well for you and your mom!

(One more piece of advice: apply for your passports NOW! Waiting times are long, and you don't want to be in a panic about having your passes in time.)

Answer 4

Then the best thing I can suggest..is to found a trip ..through a Travel agency...they can help you ...and organize...your trip as you wish...you can find some very good deals...

Answer 5

If you don't have your passports yet apply immediately!

See if you can get a flight into Shannon (West side of Ireland) from there you should be able to travel west (County Clare) to the Cliffs of Mohr. They are spectacular, 700 feet straight down to the ocean.

From there travel south to the Ring of Kerry. There are some great seaside towns there.

Then make you way east. You'll be able to stop at Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney stone if so desired and continue to Waterford. You can tour where they make Waterford Crystal.

Then you can head north to Dublin.

There are many castles throughout Ireland. The Rock of Cashel is quite a site looming in the distance as you approach it. Also Cahir Castle in county Tipperary

The weather in August should be 70's. It rains quite often so you have to be prepared and just accept it.