Hey guys,
Recently posted this in Premium. My wife and I were there this month:
Just got back from a week long trip in Ireland. We went for our honeymoon and did it entirely without renting a car. We had a blast, and I want to share some information in hopes it helps with any trip planning for Farmageddon.
Our Route and Accommodations:
- We flew United through Newark into Shannon in County Clare.
- We took a taxi (55 Euro) directly to our hotel in Ennis, Co Clare. We spent 2 nights there at the Old Ground Hotel
- From Ennis, we took the 51 Bus to Galway (30 Euro for 2 tickets). This bus runs all the way from Shannon to Galway if you wanted to take it directly.
- We stayed one night in Galway at the Hardiman hotel right on Eyre Square, then took the train from there to Dublin into the Heuston Station
- We stayed 3 days in Dublin at The Grafton Hotel and flew Delta from DUB.
Seeing the Sites:
- While we did not rent a car, we paid a friend of a friend to take us on a drive through County Clare one day. We saw the Cliffs of Moher, drove through The Burren, stopped at Lahinch and Doolin, and toured a medieval fort
- From Ennis, you can also take the 350 Bus around the county and see the Cliffs, Lahinch, Doolin, etc.
- There are tour busses from both Galway and Dublin with Wild Rover and Paddy Wagon that offer packages. We didn’t have this option from Ennis. You could feasibly take the <3 hour train ride from Dublin to Galway and go see the Cliffs on one of these services. Better yet, stay in Galway and enjoy the music, pubs, and nature there
- In Dublin, we toured Croke Park, Ireland’s national stadium for the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). These are the sports of Hurling and Gaelic football. Notably, the Steelers will play there this season
- We saw the Dublin Hurling team in action v Offaly at Parnell Park. Tix were 15 euro on Ticketmaster with no fees.
- Guinness Storehouse: give yourself at least 3 hours here. It’s impressively laid out, with different packages. Buy your tickets ahead of time.
- Trinity College and Stephens Green feature some gorgeous architecture you can just walk through
- Grafton Street has some premium shopping
Good things to know:
- We bought two plug adapters on Amazon for like $25 before departing
- Tipping isn’t really a thing there. As such, you may need to ask your server for the check
- Pubs are usually pay as you go. Tap to pay is everywhere in the major cities.
- Don’t fool around with currency exchange. You end up ahead using the ATM instead if you want some cash. Your bank may have minor fees for transactions
- Phones. My wife has Verizon and her service was seamless. My carrier doesn’t service Europe, so I bought a 28 day SIM card for like 25 Euro from Three that had unlimited data. Lots of people use WhatsApp there.
- In Dublin, we were never more than 5 mins from a taxi. If you stay in city center the hotel may be able to call one for you. You can also use the Uber app to order taxis. It’s great
- Dublin is definitely an international city. It was a Bank holiday weekend so we heard languages and accents from all over Europe
- Dublin has the Luas rail system. We did not use it, but it gets you many places in the city
- Yes, the Guinness really does taste better there. You can also try Murphy’s and Beamish
- We did see Coors Light on tap several places
- Not many places have air conditioning. 2 of our hotels did, though you may want to pack a small fan if you are used to air moving when you sleep
The Irish people were incredibly down to earth and friendly. Cyclone fans will fit in well there.
We had a ball and hope everyone going over does too. Happy to answer any questions or provide any pub recommendations for the cities mentioned above.
