Just got back from a trip to Ireland and stayed in Killarney at the Lake Hotel for 2 nights while we did the Dingle Peninsula drive (that last 1/2 mile up Connor Pass is interesting), explored Killarney National Park, and tried to visit Skellig Micheal (damn you Ernesto!). Went with the wife and am not a golfer, so certain things you may do that I did not do. Food in Killarney, which is truly a tourist town, is hit and miss, as it is in most of Ireland. Caragh had good grub while Murphy's was a disaster as it took close to 2 hours to get our order. Happened to stop in Dingle for lunch on Sunday and spent 2 hours watching the All-Ireland Hurling Championship between 2 time defending champ Galway and the youngsters from Limerick, which was a blast.
Also stayed at the Lake. It is not reasonably walkable to the center but parking is easy and it has a nice view of the Lake (duh) and a decent hotel bar. Rooms are European (small) but adequate. Would recommend.
Start your Ring of Kerry run early, 8 am early. Drive counter-clockwise to say ahead of and not drive into the bus traffic. Veer off the main run and stop at Rossbeigh Strand (beach), cross Valentia Island, and drive through Portmagee. If you want to visit Skellig Michael, you should stay overnight near Portmagee as the boats leave early in the morning. Most of the boats leave from there, won't go out in rough seas, and only a few of them actually land ashore (in very calm seas). It is the kind of thing you can't really plan and need to be ready if the weather is nice. I had a glorious day the day we had in mind to do it but I was feeling ill and didn't think I had it in to make the climb to the top. Opted for the Valentia/Portmagee/RoK instead. I still regret it as this was before Star Wars put it on the mass tourist map. Maybe after a few more movies, people will stop caring about Star Wars enough to make another attempt.
With the new Are Lingus flights to Ireland out of Bradley it appears more and more people are visiting Ireland and using Dublin as a gateway to the rest of Europe. I was recently in Ireland and it was extremely easy compared to New York and Boston.
I strongly recommend going to Dingle and visiting the Dingle Pub at night!! Lots of fun!
While walking around in Galway I saw these young ladies. UConn travels very well!!
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Point well made!!... nothing quite like traveling for fun to Ireland or to other non-US countries, then inexplicably finding compelling reasons to spend time in pubs, restaurants, etc pock full of Yanks.
Fear not, 'twas not a reference to your post. On the other hand, impressive attire on the 2 not so young ladies pictured walking the streets of Galway. Clearly, not the Galway Girls Steve Earle referenced in his Gaelic original Cailín na Gaillimhe.Point well made!! However, this was just one of many pubs we were in.
I have not been and also would like to. I am a big fan of Larry Kirwan's (of Black 47) Celtic Crush show on the Loft on Sirius. Every year he does an Ireland trip where he brings along whoever signs up, and they broadcast live from Ireland several times during the trip, including many interviews with the people who are on the trip. Last year Belfast was the centerpiece of the trip and to a person every single one described it as the most amazing experience. He booked a tour that had one guide from a Loyalist family and another from a Republican family. They had grown up a block from each other and had totally different experiences, which they shared. It sounded pretty awesome. Unfortunately I don't think Northern Ireland is on his itinerary for next year's trip (I believe they are going to Kerry, where my family is from, and where I've already been twice), but I am going to keep my ear open for the 2020 trip. Sounds like it would be a blast and also great perspective to do that way.I would love to go to Northern Ireland. How is that as a place to visit, anyone have any experience?
You don't have to be Irish to have a great time visiting Ireland
If you have never been to Ireland should go.
You will not regret it.
You can fly round trip to Ireland on Norwegian Air out of nearby Newburgh NY airport roundtrip to Dublin for less than $300.
Let me type that again: less than $300 roundtrip to Dublin; less than flying roundtrip to Florida.
LINK:
Flights to Dublin from New York-Stewart | Norwegian
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Don't order Jameson.I would love to go to Northern Ireland. How is that as a place to visit, anyone have any experience?
New flights on Norwegian airlines out of Providence to Shannon, Dublin and Belfast. All cheap, all direct. It’s a fantastic change for the better. I’ve been to Ireland 5 times now, but flights used to be cheap and easy and got very expensive from Boston. The go to Edinburgh too, and that’s among my favorite places.
As for Northern Ireland, Giants Causeway is on my list among others. I drove through N. Ireland back in 2001, but it was quite a bit different then. Still had crows nests in towers with machine guns. The loyalist towns are scary as hell, with so many Union Jack, English and Scottish flags. Way more intimidating than any IRA graffiti, which I was used to in Southie anyway.