Anyone here been to Ireland only once?
 

I was warned before I went to Ireland last September that it would quickly become an addiction. Yep, they were right! We are headed back to Ireland this September. Now I am curious- is there anyone here that has been to Ireland but doesn't crave to return? If you are returning, is there a specific site/memory/event/anything in particular that brings you back?

Why must you do this to me, I was on my way home. OK real quick ...

I must go back regularly. If I had to pick one thing, it's the hospitality of the people and the country in general.

Have fun on your next trip!!!!

Bill

I agree with Bill -- I like the sights and the people and the history and the Guinness. ((b))

Well. We were there last May. We are definitely going back again. We just haven't been able to manage it right now.
I loved it. I loved EVERYTHING about Ireland.
The people were wonderful and the country is breathtaking.

While I would go back, I don't 'crave' to return. I had a blast last month, but it's just that there is so much of the world I still want to see. So, for the times we are able to travel, I like to check out someplace new.

Thanks to the folks here on the Fodors forums, I was alerted to the great Air France sale last month. Going to Paris in Feb :)

Sher and jef's comments sum up everything for me. I loved Ireland and definitely want to go back but there is also so much of the world to see. So many places to go - so little time!

I don't know why it's my favorite country...so I guess I better go back and find out.

I had fun frollicking through Europe last year, but Ireland was something special. I guess it was the hospitality I encountered. It was really something else.

And oh yeah, I love Guinness. ;)

We've been ther once(south), will return soon to the north.

Our fourth trip is planned for October. On our first trip we took our two teenaged sons; next time just one son and finally we went alone. We have only begun to travel in the past few years and are interspersing these trips among other destinations. Both of our sons hope to go back to Ireland someday.

My husband's family is Irish, but no one has ever taken a "genealogical" trip. The country just calls to us...

Beautiful country, peaceful, feels like home. Like it so much I'm applying for citizenship.

Returned recently from our first visit (2 weeks) to Ireland. Had a wonderful trip, enjoyed Ireland, and would certainly go back, but by no means do I "crave" to return. In fact, I might suggest that I found Ireland to be a bit overrated after reading many of the comments on this board. Too many other places to see to continuously return there.

I'm so happy to read these positive comments. I've always wanted to visit Ireland, and we are going for 9 days in August. I've heard only wonderful things about it.

The first time I visited Ireland was in 1991. By that time I had traveled fairly extensively, but I recall on the plane home saying "I definitely want to go back to Ireland." Though I had enjoyed many other places, I had never said that before. One reason was that we had spent an entire week with not one cross word, no negative experiences, just everyone making sure we had a good holiday. That was a big part. Though I didn't return until this year, I've already planned a return visit in November--and hopefully more in the future. It's the whole experience--the wonderful people, the laid back atmosphere, the fun of driving the tiny roads and the gorgeous scenery. I can't think of another place where you get all of that!!

Ireland is a nice small country with some unique features, just like Portugal, or New Zealand, or Guatemala, ....
I say small country because I felt there wasn't much left to discover after having spent 2 weeks in Ireland. In a bigger and more diversified country like France or India, you need more time to get a good feeling of the place.

There are 2 dozens countries in the world that I would like to visit before going back to Ireland., although Ireland was very enjoyable.

Went to Ireland for the first time this year and have been to many other places. The only way I would go back would likely be for a golf trip. I thought it was very nice, the people were pleasant, we saw the sights and enjoyed them but everyone has different preferences. I go by the quote, you can have the universe if you leave Italy to me.

I should have never peeked at this thread.
I haven't even been to Ireland yet and already I miss it.
Thanks all for contributing to my travel addiction.

Ireland was fine for one visit, but for me there's no compelling reason to return. There are some parts of the country I wouldn't mind living in, but not to return to as a visitor.

Hi Ed. I've only been to Ireland once, on my very first trip to Europe, a six-week visit to the British Isles, in 1979. I spent a few days in Dublin and then hitchhiked west to Galway, south to Tralee (getting a ride on that segment from two wonderful French couples traveling in two white vans) and then back to Dublin.

While I loved the country and the people, and would like to return some day, countries on the continent -- specifically France and Italy -- have had a much more powerful attraction for me ever since. So I have a desire to return but certainly not a craving. My craving (and raving) is mostly for Italy these days.

On that Ireland visit, while staying in a farmhouse B&amp;B near the Cliffs of Moher, I met three students from Yale, two of them being brother and sister. Years later, in the early 90s, while in a used bookstore, I saw a book called <i>The Village of Waiting</i> and noticed a familiar name, George Packer (the name of the brother in the group of three Yale students.) The book was about his two years in the Peace Corps in Togo (West Africa) and I discovered this was, in fact, the very same George Packer, who has gone on to become a fairly well-known writer.

I hate to be contrary, but...Went to Ireland once. Ho hum. Very nice people, ok scenery, decent food and drink, but once was enough. It all started to look the same after awhile. Not having an ounce of Irish or Catholic blood may taint my view, but I find other parts of Europe much more interesting. I enjoy Scandanavia, but most posters on Fodors don't seem to find it all that interesting. My relatives all migrated from Sweden and Denmark so I can relate to the area much more than Ireland. Besides, Ireland's weather sucks! To each his own I guess.

I struggle a little with my Ireland addiction. I realize that if I'm fortunate enough to be able to travel, I really should take advantage of that and see as much of the world as I can. But, every time we start to think about a trip, I find it so hard to go somewhere else and pass up an opportunity to be in Ireland.

I've gotten to several other countries, but I'm never as happy, as content, or as 'at home' as I am in Ireland...and I can't quite explain why. The pace of life, the people and their wit, the history, the scenery...who knows, but I just can't stop planning the next trip.

I don't understand why it is, some strange metaphysical attraction, but for whatever reason, it seems common that people relate to countries where they have some sort of ancestral bond, no matter how distant. We've heard it here from a few people on both sides of the fence. There are other reasons of course, but ancestry seems to play a big part in what brings people back to a certain country or area.

I am very much like Mary here when planning a trip. It's hard not to pull out the Ireland map. There are other places that I want to see, and I've seen a few, but I always want to go back to Ireland. Where as some want to dig in to Italy, or France or India, Ireland is my choice. To me it takes so much more than two weeks, but that's me.

I don't have anything against people that don't want to go back to Ireland. The place already has enough visitors. I was frankly happy to here some negative comments about it. When I was in SW England and Wales a couple of weeks ago, we saw almost no visitors from the States. Outside of London, we saw three couples and a family, thre of couples, we talked to for a bit. One of them had just come over from Ireland and had the same observation as to the lack of US tourists in the UK, but the overwhelming number in Ireland. The other two couples were over, in part, to visit relatives.

I hope to see much of the world by the time I depart this place, but I will continue to haunt Ireland in whatever form, for many years to come.

Bill

Hi edhodge,

I'm one who has spent time in Ireland and DON&quot;T particularly crave a return. My husband and I differ in this - he'd keep going back. It's not that we didn't have a good time - we had a lot of fun, met some great people, created memories to last a lifetime, and some of my family heritage originates in County Antrim - but there are other places I'd rather see before spending the time to go back to Ireland. Big planet, short life.

On the other hand, I do return to France...

&quot;Big planet, short life&quot; - a great line. As for Ireland - my wife and I have travelled extensively, and have been fortunate to see most of the nations of western Europe. It seems that all of our friends and numerous acquaintances had been to Ireland and everyone loved it, but it's one place we just hadn't yet been to. So in 2002 we planned a trip to Scotland and Ireland. Let me say that Ireland was everything we expected (having seen many picture albums, done our research, read extensively, listened to music, watched movies, etc.). We had a truly wonderful time in Dublin, Kilkenny, the Connemarta region, Donegal, Londonderry adn the Antrim Coast. But SCOTLAND - Scotland was much more than we ever expected, and if there is a country for which we have a craving to return it's Scotland. We're already planning a 2005 return. Better scenery - more majestic mountains - and better yet, not yet tainted by the Celtic Tiger, which has turned parts of Ireland into an American landscape (a KFC in northern Ireland, suburban strip malls outside of Galway, etc.). Truly Old Europe, and friendlier people you will never meet. Spent time in Edinburgh, the Border country, the Highlands and Isle of Skye. As we boarded the ferry for Ireland, the sign at the landing said &quot;Haste Ye Back.&quot; So it's Scotland we're being called back to, and we're determined to heed the call.

I spent a good many years in uncle sam's navy and have been to the north/south poles and around the world more than once.

I don't mean to be hokey but when I go to Ireland I feel my roots, a peace and contentment I feel nowhereelse in the world.

I certainly appreciate 3gigs preference for Scotland, but the availablity of American fast foods and shopping centers is as obvious in Scotland as it is in Ireland. Although Ireland is certainly picking up on the famous American Brands, I don't think that Scotland is any &quot;better off&quot; in that regard. In Edinbourgh, there are three McDonalds within less than a mile. There is also a KFC in Sterling. McDonalds is all over the UK and has somehow found a way to plant their restaurants right at many major roundabouts. McDonalds has a huge presence in the UK as does Burger King and KFC. US brand name hotels are all over the place.

It's a free market and if they weren't doing well, they wouldn't be there so I have no right to complain. Still, I agree that it would be nice not to see them. They are everywhere, even Scotland.

Bill

The Dublin City Bus Hop On - Hop Off &quot;narrator&quot; was shocked when I told him that this most recent trip was #6, in 5 years. He said:
&quot;Come to Ireland once, and you will certainly want to return. Come to Ireland twice, and you will definitely return for a third. But if you come four times, you will never want to go home again.&quot;

Ain't it the truth!