There is a lot of magic on this travel forum. Everybody wants to plan a memorable, magic trip to wild, green, musical Ireland.

Here are the planning tips which have helped me the most. Please feel free to add to this post for others who could use your expert advice!

BEST WEB-SITES:
www.fodors.com (travel forum!)
www.tripadvisor.com (travel forum and hotel guest reviews)
www.irelandyes.com (travel forum)
http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/routes/

BEST BOOKS:
Fodors Ireland 2005
Best Little Guide to Ireland (by Michele Erdvig, see www.irelandyes.com)
National Geographic Traveler Ireland

Thank you everybody who has been helping me to plan our first trip to Ireland over this past year! You are all terrific. I hope you will add your expert advice here on best planning tips/tools.

I thought I would post this now, because when I return from Ireland in July 2006, I will want to post a trip report about our actual visit. The planning process is fresher in my mind right now.

I bought a huge pile of Ireland guidebooks, and the ones above have been the most helpful.

Thank you, wojazz3, cambe, waffle, angela, siobhan, CU, McShane, and so many others who have so generously offered advice, support, and guidance.

www.irelandexpert.com

http://www.google.ie/ ;-)

Melissa,
Just a tip to spare you and yours a wee bit of money.
To dine in Ireland in the evening/night is expensive. I would advise you to have your main meal in a hotel or bar during the midday (1 p.m. - 2.p.m.) as it is more then half the price at that time and everybit as good.Then at night have a wee sandwich to keep you going.
When the plane flies in from America and goes over Galway Bay it will take a turn to the right for Shannon and as you look out and see that cow in the field I will not be far away.
Happy times .

djkbooks, now that I'm almost finished planning my Ireland trip, I just found out about the www.irelandexpert.com web-site recently!

CU: I am positive by now I can recognize your cow from the air.

Brilliant tip you gave me about saving money on the food. I will remember and try to get family to eat the big meal at lunch when it is cheaper, and eat a lighter meal like a sandwich at dinner. (Although with the way the fantastic Irish b&bs/guesthouses stuff you with a tempting big Irish breakfast, we will have to have breakfast early, like by 8:30, to be hungry for lunch between 1 and 2. Oh, the glorious Irish calories!

Forgot to say thanks!

To anyone on a budget. You can eat in many places these days with an early bird menu. Most are 5-6:30 or 7:00. Even chaper one voted the best restaurant in Dublin has an early Bird/pre-threatre menu. The epicurean Food Hall in Dublin on Liffey street over the Hapenny bridge is great. Choose from Mexican, Insian, Italian, bagels, soups & Hot dinners etc. Great food and value for money in a small food court.

Melissa, thanks for starting this link! My DH and I are planning our first trip to Ireland as well. We leave in March and are very excited! Here are a few things that I can add:

Rick Steves Ireland 2006 book. I know a lot of people don't like him, and I don't always agree with everything he says, but he gives a lot of great info that a first-time visitor may find helpful.

I prefer viamichelin.com for driving directions.

Thanks and happy planning!
Tracy

www.irishmusicbars.com

Now if they would only keep it up to date.

Lonely Planet and believe it or not , Karen Brown.

SiobhanP: Early bird menu sounds great for us! Thanks!

tcreath, enjoy planning your trip! By the way I used Rick Steves book for Italy an it was fantastic, best guidebook I bought. But I don't like his Ireland book as much. He doesn't give enough info on the accomodations he has in his Ireland book, and also if you cross-reference the places he's recommending with tripadisor.com, you'll find many of them have lots of complaints from former guests. Im not saying you shouldn't use his book, because I think his Dingle section is the best, but I would consider other sources in addition. Have a wonderful trip!

tcreath: thanks for recommending viamichelin.com I didn't know about that one.

There is a guide book put out by Bord Failte that I think does a pretty good guide that includes rainy day suggestions. It is simply called Ireland Guide. I found it at a Barnes and Noble. It's available at Amazon.com also. I think it's a very good guide, well laid out with good detail on history and more obscure places. Give it a look.

Bill

Melissa, I enjoy his descriptions on some of the towns/regions, particularly Dingle, but I didn't really care for his accomodation listings. I basically did my own searches through this board and tripadvisor.com. Thanks for the heads-up though!

We have traveled fairly extensively through Europe and always use viamichelin.com to plan and print out routes. The directions are usually very good and right on with regards to tolls, road work, etc.

Ireland looks like an amazing country... I hope you have a wonderful trip as well!

Tracy

markan: www.irishmusicbars.com is a gem! Thanks!

chatham: Have Karen Brown; now you've got me curious, have to peek at Lonely planet in the bookstore now. (But have about 8 guidebooks already.)

I have to agree about the Rick Steves Ireland book. I like and use his books for Italy, London, Paris, etc., but I thought the Ireland one was the least useful of the bunch - sort of felt phoned in, to me.

If you use his book for Ireland, I'd use another too, as a previous poster said.

I picked up a great first-timer book called "Ireland for Dummies." Yes, really! It's by Elizabeth Albertson.

I found it at the library, and it was a great starting place for someone like me, who literally knew almost nothing about Ireland.

TarheelsInNj,

I found the book Ireland for Dummies not very up to date. There are some places in there that have not been around for over 10 years. Wonder where the author got her info from?

Thanks for the tip, IrishEyes. Very good to keep in mind! I haven't researched many of her specific suggestions, but did find the book to be a good overview about the different counties, towns, and things to see.

TarheelsInNj, You might want one of the other books mentioned on this thread for more up to date info on accommodations, restaurants, etc. It is always good to have a couple of guides for your trip. (My bookshelf is sagging under the weight!) There are also some other Ireland only forums out in cyberspace that are excellent for their personal service and references.