1st visit to Ireland - Requesting Recommendations
 

Doing the beginners tour of Ireland. 10 days by car. Give me your "Top 10" don't miss list. Thank you. If you ever come to San Francisco, I'll return the favor.

We spent 2 weeks in Ireland, here is our hit list. Please ignore the BAD spelling. Recommend you get a Tourist Pass for all the sites. You can purchase it at the first site you go to. Ireland is a ruin lovers delight, you can crawl over rack and ruin of many ages..
Dublin, go early to miss the tourists. Go in to the city by train. Driving in Dublin is a NIGHTMARE. Street signs are non existent. I have navigated for us by car in several countries, Dublin is impossible, the rest of Ireland is well marked and lovely to tour by car. See Trinity Library for the book of Kells. The Dublin museum is a must to see all the artifacts, especially the Gold ( dazzling!!!!!) that came from all the other sites you visit around the country. The museum building is a Victorian Architectural marvel in itself.
Clonmacnoise is on the Shannon. There is a fabulous museum with the Celtic crosses. The site is a beautiful ruin with chapels and tower. Don't miss the Nuns Chapel it is a short hike away from the main site. Ask the Tour center about the Sheila Magees (they are rather rude stone carvings).
Glendalough is in the mountains south of Dublin. The site has a lovely lake, there are ruins of chapels and round towers.
Rock of Cashel this is a site that towers above you on a mountain, the ruins span from Romanesque to Celtic. There is a restored medieval vaulted room. The abbey down the road is neat also.
Jervais Abby this is a place that if you go to fast you will literally run into the abbey. It is built or rather the new road goes past the front door by three feet! The columned cloister and tombs are neat.
New Grange (north of Dublin)is a prehistoric site next to Nowth and Dowth. This is where the ancient people observed the solstice. Awesome!
Blarney Castel this is a tourist heaven. I had a blast the castle is a hoot. The Blarney Woolen Mills next door is the ONLY PLACE IN IRELAND YOU NEED TO GO TO SHOP! Everything is ther at a fair price. Take it from one who went to every factory outlet, if I had gone here first I could have seen the Ring of Kerry with the time I would have saved!!!!!
Ardmore on the seashore is quaint and has a neat church. We stayed at the Ardmore hotel fun!
Write for more info if you want!

I think the obvious is missing here. In Dublin, a visit to Temple Bar in the evening is a must!!
After Dublin, I would also consider Cork, and a
quick visit to Waterford, and Blarney to see the
Blarney Castle (to kiss the Blarney Stone). Also,
in Shannon there is Bonratty Castle and very close
to it is Durty Nellie's and Mac's Pub. I recommend
both pubs but if you can only visit one, go to Durty Nellie's. In addition, there are some small
islands off the coast of Baltimore (In County Cork)
called Sherkin Island and Cape Clear Island. I also, strongly recommend visiting Galway and the
Aran Islands. I would be more than happy to provide ideas for you for your trip or help you research things because I have plenty of books on Ireland. You are welcome to write me: [email protected]

Lots of good ideas, so far, and many of them would be on my Top 10 list. Definitely see Glendalough in Co. Wicklow and Newgrange north of Dublin. I would add a couple places in Dublin: The Stag's Head pub - one of the oldest in the city, and St. Michan's church, which is somewhere near the Guinness Brewery and behind the Four Courts. The church has a catacomb in which there are way interesting graves of the famous and infamous, and the fame of the place is in the fact that the bodies don't decompose! Appropriately, author Bram Stoker and his family are there, and there's a body of an 8th century Crusader you can touch "for luck." A very low-key site -- an old guy at the church will take you through the cellar door. In the country, add the Cliffs of Moher in Co. Clare to you r must-sees, and the Dingle Peninsula - which I think is the best choice if you have to choose between the Ring of Kerry or Dingle. The scenery is more dramatic, and there's a "road" that crosses it called the Conor Pass - more like a goat path, but it's a beautiful drive. Yes, to the Aran Islands, although I haven't been there yet. Perhaps Kinsale, in Cork, would be a place to stay near Blarney Castle. It's a beautiful little seaside town. It has a gourmet festival every year. Other than that -- find your own favorites, and tell us about them!

I'm going to be in SFO in late July. I've been there 2 or 3 times, but I'd love to hear your "insider's top 10." Write to me at address above. Enjoy your trip!

Please do not overlook Northern Ireland. It is beautiful and because of the troubles has few tourists. But this is a mistake. Giant's Causeway and the NE coast are great.
Also: use the tourist bureau to book a day ahead. It is free or very inexpensive and you are sure of a spot when you get there. NOTE: for Americans; rooms are rented per person. So it may say 20 Punts, but with two people that becomes 40.

I have been to Northern Ireland but I did not
mention this earlier in my comments. The Giant's
Causeway is well worth visiting along with Bushmills Distillery (both are very close). I
guess I would visit Belfast although there is
always some risk of danger (if you stay out late
at the Crown Bar for example I highly recommend
taking a cab versus walking home). I have visited
Northern Ireland 2 times and I enjoyed it although
I only had one potential problem walking home (that was why I recommended a cab). I guess that Chicago
is more dangerous at night though.
I recommend if you go to Northern Ireland, keep
in mind two things: 1) In Northern Ireland, the pounds are is called "Quid" not "Punts" ... 2) Do not mention or talk about politics too much. If
anything, mention you are an American. There may
be people from both sides in Northern Ireland.

Unless you plan to make subsequent trips to Ireland,
forget about the car as your transportation source
for the entire 10-day stay. You will want to spend
3 days in Dublin, 2 days in Cork (Blarney), 1 day in
Sligo/Donegal(with car), and 3 days in Northern
Ireland (with car}, plus 1 wild-card day. Each of
the base locations can be reached by fast and
efficient train service(obtain rail map from Tourist
Board). Local,and tour buses provide adequate
transportation as car substitutes at the various
base locations.

You would do well to monitor the foreign currency
exchange rates to determine if you should buy Irish
Punts before you go to Ireland. The dollar is
strong in Europe right now.

Forget the car as standard source of transportation.
Use trains, local buses and tour buses mainly. Rent
cars only to see Northern Ireland and Sligo/Donegal
areas. Obtain bus route map from Tourist Board.
Monitor foreign exchange rates. Prudence may
dictate buying Irish Punts prior to departure.