Ireland
 

Has anyone stayed in any wonderful B&B's or Country Manor Houses in Ireland recently? Places with lots of social interaction? How about Dublin? Love to hear about special places!

I strongly recommend a place I stayed at in June 1996:
Orchard House
11 Flemings Lane
High Street
Killarney, Co Kerry
Mike Maloney

Hoping to travel Ireland in Late Feb./early March. What is the weather like? How is backpacking Ireland? WHat is the best tour for a college kid? Thanks!

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Ireland and stayed primarily in B and Bs. One word of caution (actually two)--it seems to me as we were looking through the Town and Country B and B listings (the book to use--get it from the Irish Tourist Bureau--an 800 phone number in New York) that a lot of the B and Bs were not open in the fall and winter. Secondly, we were traveling in August and found that unless we made reservations for a B and B by mid-afternoon, we had a great deal of trouble finding one with a room. Almost every town has a Tourist Information Office--we'd stop in a town on our way to our final destination for the day and for a very small fee (a few dollars), the Tourist Office would call as many B and Bs as necessary to find one for us. I would always present them with my list of preferences and they, additionally, had a list of their own for each town in their county. They often didn't have much information for facilities out of their county but were willing to call my suggestions. Great system! A few nights we got stuck ( you don't want to do this, especially with a child) and ended up in hotels. Much prefer the B and Bs. We would highly recommend the Blarney Vale House in Blarney--lovely and helpful people.

Hi,

Feb/Mar: Well it will have to be Dublin for Mar17th and St. Patricks Day Parades. Hostel accomadation is more limited at that time of year, so check with An Oige (http://www.irelandyha.org/anoige/accom.html), though these will be quieter at this time of year. Pack warmly, and for wet conditions. Remember it gets dark from 5pm onwards. B&B's are a more expensive accomadation option, which you can find out about from the Irish Tourist Board. Check through your college, whether or not you have ties with any colleges in Ireland ( UCD, TCD, DCU, UCG, UCC, UL etc). After that, each town has its own events/sights again the tourist board can help you there. Have a good trip. Tim.