Hello. I was just reading the irelandexpert.com web site and came across the information regarding the Heritage Card for Ireland. It seems like a good deal - 20 euros for more than 70 sites. It apparently includes Rock of Cashel, Muckross House and Gardens, Newgrange, Hill of Tara etc all of which I plan to visit. Any experiences with this anyone?
Thanks
Lisa.

Just searched the forum for info on the Heritage Card - I know, I should have done that in the first place!!!! Couldn't find anything really recent, but last year and the year before people seemed to recommended it. For anyone else interested, it doesn't seem to pay to buy it before arriving in Ireland. Apparently, it's quite easy to buy it there at any heritage site. I also came across one person, who lives in Ireland, who said she buys one every year.
Hope other people find this useful.
Lisa

I've purchased the Heritage card a few times myself and found it both economical and convenient. It seems I purchased at least one card before travelling - and having it in hand before going sort of added to the excitment. I'm trying to remember if by purchasing ahead of time I may have received more informational brochures. Last time I purchased the card at Newgrange, and it was pretty painless. But if you're going in high season there may be a bit of a wait if you buy on-site. I think the card is best for sights outside Dublin.

Thanks. We are going in May next year. I thought there was little benefit to buying the card before arriving in Ireland after reading an observation in a post I found when I did a forum search. But I'm the kind of person who would be excited to have it in hand before leaving too. I see that www.heritageireland.ie does provide a booking form if you want to send away for a card. That's useful.
Lisa

We used it this January. If your starting in Dublin just pick up at Kilmanjan Goal ??sp. worth the visit and the card is a bargain.

Hello -

I returned from a 12-day trip on June 30th. I can recommend the Heritage Card, especially if you can get the student rate! I am a graduate student and was able to flash my student ID and purchase the Heritage Card for only 7.5EU. I purchased it at Cahir Castle, and was able to use it there, the Rock of Cashel, Trim Castle, Kilmanhaon Gaol in Dublin, Jerpoint Abbey, Kilkenny Castle, Glendalough, Newgrange, Dun Aengus (on Inis Mor) and I think also at Connemara National Park.

I second the notion that it's more useful for the sites outside of Dublin. We tossed around the idea of buying the Dublin Pass (which is roughly 30 EU for various sites in Dublin, and works the same way as the Heritage Card) but when we added up all the separate fees for the various sites (the Book of Kells, St Patrick's Cathedral, etc) it came to about 30 EU so we didn't buy the Dublin Pass.

Hope this helps!

Hello Acubsfan34 and thanks for the info. We won't qualify for the student rate, but it still seems like a good choice for us because there are so many historical sites we want to visit. I think we'll easily get our money's worth.
Thanks again.
Lisa

the heritage card was a real money saver for us. (exact amount is on a previous post, don't remember off hand but it was significant!)
got us past a couple of ticket lines.
also, we stopped in some interesting places where we wouldn't have if we had to pay. especially good if you only have a short time.
some places that aren't covered by the card may give a discount, so show it anyway (this was true for powerscourt).
we picked ours up at our first stop...newgrange.