Carolyn

I'm flying from London to Dublin on June 29, 2002 for 6 days. I'm interested in getting away from tourist areas and into the countryside. Any suggestions?

Diane

A few years ago, spent some time in the SW of Ireland -- the Dingle peninsula is just gorgeous, especially around that time of year! If you're at all into biking... my boyfriend and I often check out the itineraries from Backroads.com. (pretty sure they have Ireland trips) The actual company is a bit too expensive for us, but we sometimes get ideas from where they go... (this is how we booked past trips to Vermont and Costa Rica, and upcoming Italy).

Ann

If you don't want to drive very far, just outside Dublin, you'll find the Wicklow Mountains. Great hiking and scenery. Glendalough is also very nearby. I'd stick around that area if you want countryside, and maybe head into Kilkenny for a day.

fiona

Taking the train to Dingle is a great option. And renting bikes is another great option. Dublin is fun, but not worth more than a couple of days. Ireland is the kind of place to take slowly and not rush around.

Bill

Carolyn:<BR><BR>Depends on what you mean by tourist areas. The above mentioned areas are great, but around June 29, tend to be more crowded. Dingle and the Ring of Kerry are the land of the toursit bus during the summer months. Glendalough is great, but once again, a very popular day trip from Dublin and lots of tours from there.<BR><BR>If you want to go to the southwest, try the Beara Peninsula and or the Mizen peninsula. Other less crowded areas would be NW Ireland (Donegal & Sligo) or perhaps head north up the east coast to Antrim in Northern Ireland. <BR><BR>My choice would be Dongal, though it's a longer drive. You can fly into Donegal airport and rent a car from there. It's pretty inexpensive to do that.<BR><BR>All that said, no matter where you go, you'll have a great time. It's a wonderful country.<BR><BR>Hope that helps.<BR><BR>Bill

asdf

Spend some time in Cork. It's a small city, but well worth it. Also, Kinsale is very close by and very nice. Lastly, drink as much as possible while you're there-I mean all day long-this way you won't remember that much.