BEST OF THE BEST IN IRELAND
 

LETS HEAR ABOUT WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES IN IRELAND...ESPECIALLY FOR FIRT TIMERS TO THE COUNTRY...PLACES TO SEE, PLACES TO EAT ETC. <BR>THIS CAN DEFINITELY BE A HELP WITH PLANNING A TRIP...

1. Listen, listen, listen: the Irish love of language is a gift in itself, and it's expressed beautifully and melodiously <BR>2. Book of Kells, of course <BR>3. Watch the moon go down on Galway Bay <BR>

4. Kilmainham Gaol <BR>

Sitting on the pier in Dingle town munching on take away fish and chips. <BR> <BR>visiting the celtic shop in Clifden. <BR> <BR>walking out to the Mizen Head lighthouse. <BR> <BR>watching the nuns make pottery at the Kylemore Abbey

WOW!!!!! Keep them coming, they all sound wonderful.....

Hop a plane to Scotland and visit a more beautiful country.

Don't give our secret away that Scotland is a more scenic country. We don't want all of the tourists that the Irish depend on. We prefer to keep our beautiful land to ourselves as opposed to having tour buses plowing through our countryside.

Listening to the music at a singing pub <BR>Singing with everyone at a singing pub <BR>Eating brown bread with butter <BR>Drinking tea every chance you get <BR>Having a Guiness <BR>Watch the famers and their dogs "working the sheep <BR>Seeing the beauty of the Cliffs of Moher <BR>Slea Head in Dingle...

I too, loved the Dingle Peninsula and Dingle Town...Doyles Seafood Bar and Devane's Farmhouse. Loved Guiness, Irish stew, and the music. Try the Irish Tourist Board website...they'll tell you where to find pubs w/ music. Also love Killarney, even though a bit touristy. In Dublin, hop on a double decker bus tour to get oriented and just enjoy the beautiful accent and sense of humor of your guide. If you can, try to go in June or July...by August we got lots of rain. Also, don't underestimate driving times...they have no superhighways! We did way too much driving in too little time.

Love this thread! And I have to love the accent.....drives me just a little wild......whewwww....Judy ;-)

Nearly getting blown off the Cliffs of Moher by the incredibly high winds. Save your money and go visit Big Sur in California. <BR> <BR>

Is this yet another one of the threads where the Fodorites are asked to provide all of the info for an upcoming article in a travel magazine?

Kissing the Blarney Stone only to find out that now I'll come down with Hepatitus! I hope I drank enough Guiness to kill the germs.

I rented a car and drove around Ireland for 4 weeks in 1997. The best: <BR> <BR>1. The scenic country on the Dingle Peninsula. Arriving in late afternoon after a rain storm and seeing a rainbow over the horizon, beyond the harbor of Dingle Town. <BR> <BR>2. Getting up at 5am to see the sunrise over the cliffs of Moher. <BR> <BR>3. Entering Kilkenny "homeless" and ending up attending a post-football game party at Kyteler's Inn (est 1300)where I got 3 offers of a free place to stay. <BR> <BR>4. Evening of Irish Music at Murphy's in Dingle Town. <BR> <BR>5. Going through the 3,500 year old ceremonial stone vaults of a long ago civilization at Newgrange, county Meath. <BR> <BR>6. Walking in nature at the Glendalough site in county Wicklow.

Drinking Guiness in Cruise's pub in Ennis while listening to a musical jam session.

love to read the above posts... <BR> <BR>my two cents and memories: <BR>-Eating at McSwiggan's Pub in Galway <BR>-Bulmers Cider <BR>-Trying all the candy not available in the States and eating it in St. Stephen's Green <BR>-Rainbow in front of the cute Park House B&B by Bunratty Castle (which also offered pancakes for b-fast. A great change from eggs)!! <BR>-Irish Dancing in a pub in Kilkenny (as I am an irish dancer) <BR>-and of course...tons of brown bread!!

One more thing ... <BR>-trying to tip the bartenders and realizing that the money is still sitting on the bar an hour later! (Ok so I didn't do my research on tipping before going, but I quickly learned)

Licorice Bon Bon candies - found at the local newstands. Cadbury candy is so much better there than the Cadbury we get here in the States. <BR> <BR>And the Guiness - also far better than the Guiness we get here.

In addition to Guiness, make sure and give the hard cider a try. Good stuff. And the Literary Pub Crawl in Dublin is a blast. <BR> <BR>While I might not be popular with this response, though Ireland is a great place to visit, I must side with a few of the other posters and give a higher vote to Scotland. Nothing can beat the architecture of Edinburgh and the scenery of the Highlands. Definitely worth a visit. But make sure to go to Ireland first and then head onto Scotland. If you do the trip in reverse, you will be greatly disappointed in Ireland. <BR> <BR>I did really also enjoy Blarney, though I guess I shouldn't have kissed the stone. Pretty area though. But the hike up to the top of the castle could kill you!

Cheers: Holey Moley, I am doing this trip in Aug. Scotland(Edinburgh for the Festival and Tattoo) and then Dingle, Galway, Dublin.... I don't think I will be disappointed in Ireland however.... differant strokes and all...I am sure I will LOVE both. <BR>Judy ;-)