Dublin and What Else?
Apr 8th, 2000, 04:25 AM
#1
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Dublin and What Else?
My husband and I will be in Ireland for 5 days and nights in June. We were originally going to spend the entire time in Dublin, but now we think we would like to spend 3 nights in Dublin and then take the train into the country for a couple of nights. From Dublin, what would be some other good spots that we should try to see? We mostly want to go to Ireland for its culture and beauty and past that don't have anything specific that we are looking for.
Apr 8th, 2000, 11:51 AM
#2
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Cheryl, <BR>One option that you don't seem to have considered is taking day trips out of Dublin. Bus Eireann and CIE Tours (both part of the national owned Rail and Bus company) do one day escorted trips out of the city - and they are relatively inexpensive ie day trip up the Wicklow Mts to see Glendalough and the ancient monastic settlements there and another day trip to the Boyne Valley to see thw Hill of Tara and Newgrange Passage graves. Both trips are historic and do not necessitate having a car. Otherwise I would suggest a day trip via train to Kilkenny. One of the disadvantages of Ireland is that to see much otherside Dublin and in the countryside you need to have a car. The big cities of Cork and Galway are just that - cities with very little historic museums etc to see but good pubs and shops etc. Outside Cork the Cobh Heritage Museum is worth visiting and on the West Coast around Galway the scenery is wonderful but I would go for the day trips out of Dublin and it means that you can break your holiday up with a day in Dublin and then a trip out of the city and then a day in Dublin etc. Post if you have any more queries.
Apr 8th, 2000, 02:31 PM
#4
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Cheryl, <BR>One thing to remember in Ireland is that the public transport system is not as good as it should be for a country undergoing an economic boom and so be prepared for late departures and arrivals and delays (especially on some train lines) and no proper timetabel or evidence of one existing (Dublin Bus). I am speaking after having lived in Dublin for several years and other European capitals cities as well. People have known to have written books while waiting for some of the elusive Dublin buses. There are some routes that have buses that have been declare protective species as there are rarely sighted. After frightening you with that don't worry you will manage. You don't have to drive in Dublin just use the public transport system ie Bus and commuter train and DART (also commuter train). One good trip for a few hours out of Dublin is to Maynooth from Connolly Station (journey time about 30 minutes) Walk through St Patrick's College and see its heritage buildings and wonderful art pieces. In the other direction take a DART out to either Howth or Bray (Howth is on the Northside and Bray on the Southside) both are seaside towns now part of the great mass that is Dublin. I would still advise taking some of the day trips I mentioned previously the Newgrange tour and the Glendalough Tour are by bus and it is very difficu;t to get to these sites without taking a bus tour or driving. The rail network in Ireland is between major cities and is over 100 years old and has suffered from a lack of investment. We recently had a major strike over the state of public transport and the lack of government investment. Check out the following web site - www.cie.ie for more details of travelling by either bus or train and enjoy yourself <BR> <BR>Cathy
Apr 10th, 2000, 11:19 PM
#6
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You might want to consider taking the train to Galway for a couple of nights. it only takes a few hours and Galway is great fun - the weather will hopefully be OK in June, so you should be able to take nice walks along the coast (the West coast of Ireland is beautiful). You will get to see a whole different side of Ireland to Dublin. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps.
