Just finished booking our family's first trip to Ireland for this coming August. Very exciting but also very daunting. We will be there for 2 weeks, flying in and out of Dublin. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or "must sees" and reasonably priced places to stay (family of 4--2 teenage girls).
I know there are many UK citizens on the board, so I thought you all might have some thoughts to help us plan the trip. Thanks!

I wish you had mentioned your Ireland trip before booking your flights: Flying to Dublin and back from Shannon would be better because much of what you want to see is in the West & Southwest.

During the 1998-2006 timeframe I visited Ireland at least once (sometimes twice) yearly. I may be able to help you some with your itinerary.

Most of my travels have taken me to Mayo (the wild, wild West) and to Galway, Clare (where Shannon is), Limerick, Kerry & Cork. Those are all Counties, BTW. I've also visited Dublin, several times.
Try www.fodors.com/forums then click on Europe, forum, then Ireland. There's some good info there.

Here is a link to a very helpful Ireland Travel Forum and one to a lot of Dublin restaurants. Do NOT miss the Gaelic Boxty at Galleghers Boxty House in Dublin (Temple Bar). I still dream about it.

Tell us what other cities are you planning to visit and I will see if I have any hotel recommendations.

Eddie, I sent you a private message. Thanks for your thoughts. sparkalina, thanks for the ideas too! We will definitely go to Galway and Cork and go around the Ring of Kerry...that is all we have decided on so far. We are open to ideas and I wanted to get started on the hotels soon since we will be there in high season.

Things are pretty bad in Ireland with the world Financial situation, so tourism will probably be slow this Summer. I watch 'Out of Ireland' on public TV Saturday mornings - last week the Irish Government was proposing to cut people's Social Security Pensions. Needless to say: this brought out some big crowds in Dublin.
Now for some advice: as in Spain, make the midday meal your main meal of the day. You can usually find a good 'Carvery' lunch at a reasonable price in many Pubs & Restaurants and virtually all Hotels and B&B's have breakfast included in room rate.

You should be able to book a couple of rooms at a B&B in advance. If not, and you are 'on the road,' try to book at least a day or two in advance.
Some B&B's have 'Family Rooms;' but your girls are old enough that they may not like that idea.

Buy an Eircom Phone Card (the kind with the I/C on the card, not the kind where you have to dial an 800-number). When you have your itinerary squared away, make a list of B&B's w/phone #'s along that route. You'll have to use the blue kiosk phones (like Telefonica, in Spain) but they're all over the place (i.e., at Gas Stations & Convenience stores).

Don't rent a car until you're on your way out of Dublin. There's a fairly good road between Dublin & Galway (mostly what they call Dual Carriageway). Try to book a B&B in Salthill, Galway's Beach resort area.
Salthill is also the west end of Galway on the road to Spiddal and Ross a'Veal (where the Aran Islands Ferrys depart). I stayed at an Cheibh GuestHouse there on the curve - a French Fishing boat with an all-Spanish crew was docked nearby - I helped a few of them with translations - the barmaid was happy and I didn't have to buy a Pint all night. There's Music Thursday nights.

Technically, Ross a'Veal is in Connemara, an area that extends to Westport in County Mayo.
More later ...

wow! You are an expert! Keep the advice coming!

I went twice eight years ago and here was my favorite things to do.

From Galway I boarded a four seater plane and flew to largest Aran Island, Inis Mor. The color grey and rugged violent coast was beautiful. They have a stone fort, Dún Aonghasa with amazing views of coast and looking down of the edge of the of the cliff is for the brave ones. They have a ferry but the flight was like 15 minutes. It was the only place were I was walking from the airport in Inis Mor, some old Irish Guy pulls up with a beatup van and says for some inexpensive price he would give me a tour of the island. I guess he was some friendy I took him up on his offer and fun tour. He even took me back to the airport to catch my return flight.

Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula. My favorite drive was Slea Head Drive that follows the most of the peninsula and stunning views along the way. I remember a few times stopping the car to let a large flock of sheep walk around my car.

Clifden and Connemara – Seeing this area was were I was so happy I have a car, because the countryside is diverse and beautiful. You could be driving along seeing barren pasture or field, suddenly you will see peaceful river or small lake you have to stop to take a few photos. I enjoyed hiking the traits of the park and seeing the horses.

Kylemore Abbey - A must see in Ireland, stunning abbey on the water. I went twice. The second day I took a hike to climb a mountain the over looks the Abbey. Great way to hurt yourself and make the trip short one. But the views are stunning.

It was years later in Spain, when I visited Montserrat and went on one of the trails above the monastery, I remember Kylemore Abbey only the views from Kylemore were green.

I wish I bought more sweaters as the ones I have are in still in good shape. So save up for some sweaters, scarfs and wool hats to buy there. The quality does in Ireland does show.

The most unpleasant part of my trips to Ireland was driving since they drive on the opposite side of the road and the driver drives on the opposite side of the car. It was "very" stressful to drive on two lane road or forgetting to look the other way when entering an intersection. It kind of reminded me all the tragic events that did not happen in London when I was crossing the street, looking the wrong way and did not get hit by a car.

But it is the best way to see Ireland for me. I could never let my guard down on the other hand I had the freedom to get of the beaten path and see Ireland some part of Ireland that many toruist would not see.

Bill

County Galway borders on County Mayo near Cong, the 'Quiet Man' village (John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara) that you may want to see. Also in Mayo is Croagh Patrick, a Religious Shrine. Further North, on the Mayo-Roscommon border is Knock Shrine, site of a Marian Apparition in the late 19th Century.

Going South from Galway thru County Clare you'll hit Doolin & the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and Lahinch (Ireland's answer to California surfing), Miltown Malbay and Spanish Point, site of the Armada Hotel where the Willie Clancy Memorial Summer Scoile of Irish music & Dancing takes place in July. Continue South from Spanish Point to Killimer and take a (car) Ferry across the Shannon estuary to Tarbert, County Kerry. You may want to stop over at nearby Dromoland Castle before your Ferry crossing.
From Tarbert, it's not very far to Tralee, which would be your 'gateway' to the Dingle Peninsula.

In Lahinch, the Proprietor of the ITB shop had a 30% off sale (across the board). We went wild buying Aran Fishermen's sweaters for the family. They also did the VAT paperwork for us.

I second the idea of not renting a car until you are out of Dublin.
A) you will not need it-it is a very 'walkable' city and you can get a cheap ticket for the hop-on-hop-off tourist bus
B) If you have never driven in the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road you WILL NOT want to learn in that city! I purposefully booked my rental at an agency on the outskirts of the city as to get out of town ASAP.

That said, after being in the car for about 10 minutes I felt fine and was comfortable driving for the rest of my 10 days there. In Ireland, there are PLENTY of spots to pull to the side of the road so the driver can get out and see some of the gorgeous countryside.

In Kilkenny we stayed at Butler Court which was recommended to us by a girl that lives in Ireland. It was VERY nice, continental breakfast, the owner even helped me parallel park the car (first day driving!). I would stay there again in a heartbeat even though there were probably less expensive options.

Then we went to Kinsale and stayed at Blue Haven . Loved that, too. Very centrally located and what a neat little town. We felt like a local everyone was so friendly. They also have their own Kinsale Beer which was really good.

More later as I remember things...oh yeah and I have to do some actual work today too instead of just reminisce about my trip.

One more thing - do not miss the fabulous HOT CHOCOLATE at places like Bewleys and Butlers which are located all over the country. Seriously, I had one every day.

We did not have any hotel reservations before arriving...just played it by ear. A lot of times the hotel owners would ask us where we were off to and then recommend somewhere (and call ahead for us). I should say that ther were only 2 of us (me and my best friend) and we were there for Christmas and new years of 2008 so it was probably not a very busy travel time.

This worked best when we got to stay at Dromoland Castle for 175 Eur, when the best available rate on their website was over 400 for the same room. It is the single best hotel I have ever stayed at on my 37 years on earth. Our room was bigger than my condo in florida and we were treated like princesses! It was the last night of the trip and a very indulgent one at that!

Esperanza: I mailed you a Guidebook w/Road Atlas for Ireland. You should receive it early next week (along with your weekend Junk Mail).
I might have some lodging recommendations for you when you post your proposed itinerary.
You write: Ireland is not part of the UK! A little known fact: I am a Citizen of the Irish Republic. I got my Irish Passport for traveling convenience (i.e., to ease transit between EU Member Countries), and like my First Cousin, to show in case I am on a flight that is hijacked. Some people hate Americans; but everyone loves the Irish and nobody messes with them.
later ...

Eddie, THANK YOU so much! I will keep my eye out for the mail. I know that Ireland is not part of the UK, (remember, I live in NY where there are so many Irish!!) but I thought that English and Scottish and Welsh might have some insight into Ireland, more than others.

Bill, we were definitely thinking of going to the Aran Islands and we even want to stay overnight to get the real feel of the place. My husband went there years ago, and has good memories of it also. We were planning to go by ferry. How expensive is the plane ride?

sparkalina, thanks for the encouragement on the driving. We are concerned about it, for sure. Also loved the idea of the hot chocolate, something I hadn't read about anywhere else. The places you mention seem a lit expensive for us, especially since we probably will need 2 rooms or, hopefully, a family room in each of the hotels or B&Bs.

Here are the ideas we are thinking of so far: Dublin (2 nights); Athlone (we want to go through Tara), Sligo area, Galway (2 nights), Aran Islands (1 night), Dingle Penninsula (2 nights), Cob'h (Cork) (2 nights), Hook Penninsula, and last night at the airport in Dublin, since our daughter has a very early flight back to Madrid.

I was on a Continental Airlines flight from Newark once, and the Flight Attendant made an announcement as we approached Dublin welcoming the Pax to the United Kingdom. I called her over and informed her that Irish Republic is not part of the UK. Most Pax didn't seem to notice, but those of us who did, didn't like it one bit.


Last things first: earliest (757) Airlink Bus leaves from O'Connell just above Abbey Street at 5:15 AM, and gets to the airport before 6:00AM. O'Connell St. is not very inviting at that time of morning: lots of homeless people sleeping on the median, on stone benches and on the ground. Tom should definitely accompany your daughter to catch the Bus to the airport.

It looks like you are getting your itinerary together: For the 'Sligo area' I would recommend staying in Ballina, Co. Mayo. It's the City with the most Pub Licences in Ireland. It's also where more Salmon are caught on hook & line in the Moy River than anywhere else in the world.

The Owners of Crockett's on the Quay there still send me a Christmas Card every year ...

We just got back from our 2 week trip to Ireland, and thought I would post some impressions of the trip. We had a great time visiting Dublin, Westport, Galway, Achill Island, the Aran Islands,the Cliffs of Moher, Kenmare,, the Beara Penninsula, the Ring of Kerry, Kinsale, Waterford, the Hook Penninsula,and Kilkenny. We rented a car and were able to see a lot of the country that way. It is a gorgeous place. The scenery is GREEN, very much like Galicia.The people are so friendly and so nice. We ate in many ethnic restaurants: Thai, Italian, French, Chinese and Lebanese. They were all very good. The disappointing part of the trip was how expensive everything is. Wow! Food, hotels, everything! But, it was a trip that we really had been wanting to take for years, so we are very happy we did. I would really recommend Ireland as a beautiful place to visit. MadridMan, are you still thinking of traveling soon? Madrid to Dublin on Ryan air is quite reasonable!

Happy to hear you enjoyed Ireland, Esperanza. How did the girls like it??
Ever since I first visited Galicia, I have felt a Kinship with Gallegos and have seen more and more evidence that the Cultures are related. After all, Celtic (Castreño) Spain encompasses much of Northern Portugal, Galicia, the Principality of Asturias and Cantabria. One can see many common features in their way of life, their villages, their seafaring traditions, etc.

Something, maybe a natural disaster, happened around the third Century AD that caused many Castreños to abandon their Settlements in haste and sail North 600 miles to Ireland.

When you were in Connemara (Westport & Achill Island) did you get to enjoy any of the Music or Step Dancing??

I hope that Road Atlas I sent you was helpful.

We got to see some traditional music sessions in Kilkenny, but no step dancing, unfortunately. I love Irish step dancing too! But, no matter. Here in NY we have lots of opportunity to see and hear good Irish music.

The girls did love Ireland and enjoyed the whole experience. It was a great trip for us as a family.

Thanks for the atlas, Eddie. We used it as well as two other road maps to manage the roads. (It was an experience driving on the other side of the road, especially on those narrow winding roads!)