Planning a vacation in Ireland?

Question

I am planning a trip to Ireland. I would like to stay in a Castle. (it will be my husband and me) Do you have any recommendations of which city to stay in. Where there is a great Castle? Also when is the best time of year to go?

Answer 1

Dear Preg ... congrats on the Baby!!  :)

Ireland trip, eh?  Castle living?  Nice.  Someone suggested a site called celticcastles.com.  It is a good safe site and the one I used to rent Ballyportry Castle last year.  It was terrific ... went with girl friends leaving husbands and children behind.

We rented the castle for one week, but it seems as if you wish to do a bit of traveling, so you could do the bed and breakfast routine, which involves staying in people's houses, they serve you breakfast and you drive off on your merry way.  For one night, you could stay in one of the castles that feature overnight stays.  There are a ton of them, and I don't recommend Bunratty Castle either.  It is nice, but is super geared for tourists.  

I'd select a section of the country and stay in that area.  For example, fly into Shannon airport, rent a car, and stick close to the Galway area ... plenty of sites and things to do.  OR same airport and car rental, but drive south to the Kerry area.  Visit some web sites and you'll find good ideas.

Just remember, if you drive, they drive on the right side and renting an automatic car is quite expensive ... It is a challenge at first with the gear shift on the "wrong side.:  BUT it really isn't as hard as it sounds ... except the wind shield wipers are where the turn signal is on an American car ... I was the one turning left on a sunny day with wipers flapping away.  :)

Any city living will be expensive.  Dublin is worth it for the history and the flavor of a dynamic city.  Galway is worth it for a more traditional scene and terrific shopping.

I wish you luck and hope you have a great time!

Uppity Wench

PS Take useful rain gear and an extra pair of run-around shoes ... extra socks, too.

Answer 2

Bunratty castle (in cork) is nice. You should visit Galway,  Wicklow and Wexford. Dublin is a nice city to stay in, but the west of ireland has better scenery. it has mor tradition then places in the. The south is okay aswell, Espially in Kerry. The best time of year to stay is the Summer

Answer 3

hi you

bunraty castle near Shannon airport i think is the only one you can stay in but i mite be wrong but log into discoverireland.ie this is the site of the Irish tourest broad and a very good and safe site

Answer 4

You can stay in plenty of castles in Ireland. Bunratty I would absolutely NOT RECOMMEND. It's a total tourist attraction. If you are looking for the real experience, check out this website:

http://www.celticcastles.com/map_ireland...

My fiance and I are actually getting married in a castle on September 3rd. We rented the castle for the entire week... granted it may be a little large for 2 people, but there are plenty of castles where you can rent a single room or rent for a shorter period of time.

If you have any other questions about where to go, what to see... email me: [e-mail]

We went to Ireland in September/October of last year and are going again at the end of August.