I will be taking a 10-day trip to Galway at the end of May. I would like tips on necessities for packing, and whether or not I should bring items like laptop, ipod, cell phone. Is internet readily available? I will be staying in a hostel, does this make a difference in the security of my room compared to an American hotel?
By the way, this is my first trip out of the U.S..
Thanks.
cologrwn

You sound like a youngster. I mean that in a good way! Check Rick Steves travel website and also Lonely Planet to ask your questions to others like yourself.

But I will add my 2 cents and say:

Leave the laptop home. Many internet cafes that you can stay in touch with home. You do not need to drag too much around.

Ipod is cool! Bring a bit of home to the Celts. But you might discard it after a night in a Pub listening to Irish Music and good "Craic" (no not Crack!...you'll see!

hostels are not Hotels(there are thieves in every country, be aware of your stuff at all times, Use secure lockers if they have them. It will not be the Locals you need to worry about!

Cellphone? Who are you going to call? Do you have a 'chip' for the european signal? use phone cards instead. Cheap and easy to buy over there.

Gives us some more details what you intend to do for 10 days and the lovely folks here will help where they can!

Thanks for responding BMW. I sound naive? Oh no! I am 30, but an inexperienced traveler out of the U.S. I am doing a Literature study with my college. I am leaving my three kids behind with my mother and assumed I would like to check in at least a couple times over the course of 10 days.
We have many tours planned of historical sites regarding historical authors.
Thanks for your input!

so sorry! But thirty is still a beautiful age!

When you said Hostels I just assumed........

And WHY HOSTELS?? Ireland has many wonderful BnB's where you can get a bit more privacy. Not too expensive.

I spent one full day in Galway so I really cannot give you much advice. But it looked like a fun town and the countryside is some of the most beautiful in Ireland.

Have fun, you will love Ireland and it's people!

We were in Ireland, incl. Galway, this past May. It wasn't the sunniest down south. Northern Ireland gave us good weather but be prepared everyday for one or two rain showers.
Yeah, be very careful with your money, passport etc. Take a photocopy of it and put it in your suitcase. Be street smart and don't take your cash out in full view - pickpockets like to see where it's stashed! But I'm sure you are aware of all that.
Have a wonderful trip!

I mostly concur with bmw732002 concerning Phone Cards vs. any US Cellphone. I always buy Eircom Phone Cards - calling back home direct dial, station to station costs very little. One trip, I couldn't find one at Shannon airport; I bought one at the convenience store right next to the Garvey Hotel on Forster Street, just off Eyre (aka JFK) Square.

Over the past 10-years, I have visited Ireland about a dozen times, stayed in Hotels, Hostals and B&B's, and never had anything stolen.

I like the Salthill area: Galway's 'Beach Resort.' It's a bit of a 'hike' (maybe 10 min) to Galway's Pedestrian Mall area; you have to pass 'Claddagh.'

There's direct Bus Service ( www.Citylink.ie ) from Dublin airport to Galway's new Bus Terminal. I found the 4-hour bus ride a good way to get over my Jetlag. Other times I fly into Shannon airport and catch BusEireann to Galway via Ennis. www.Buseireann.ie

Nedsireland - Salthill is where we stayed! We of course were in our motorhome parked right on the edge of Galway Bay and because the weather was windy with rain, did not walk along the edge of the sand ( good pathway) into town. Lots of folks did though.
Now we must tell everyone that Claddagh is the place where the famous Irish Claddagh rings come from! All the gift shops sell them (two hearts joined).

My daughter did a 4 month internship in Galway in the spring of '07. She stayed at Kinlay House Hostel on Eyre Square her first week:

http://www.kinlaygalway.ie/

She liked it very much. She had a private room and felt completely safe there. Because she was going to be in Ireland for a while, of course she had her laptop, cell phone, IPod, etc.

Be warned, however, that CAPH52's advice should be treated with caution: her daughter ended up marring an Irishman that she met on her trip.

What writers are you researching?

Ah, but not everyone gets so lucky, Padraig!

You will be happier packing light. Limit yourself to one bag and don't weigh it down with heavy items like a laptop that you can live without.

The more you have, the greater your security concern will be and, yes, don't leave anything outside of your physical possesion unless it's locked up at a hostel.

Bring a lock to lock your things in your hostel locker.

As far as things to bring, prepare for rain. I had great weather in May but it could easily be rainy and windy. A waterproof rain shell is necessary. Add some layers for warmth. Clothes that dry quickly are a definite plus.

Since you're going to be there for something other than a vacation, seems to me the deciding factor with your laptop would be whether you're going to need it for the literature study. So much "school work" these days seems to be internet dependent. You should probably check with the people who are conducting the program to see whether you'll be expected to have one with you.

I notice a typo: I am reasonably confident that CAPH52's daughter didn't mar an Irishman. If she had, he might not have agreed to marry her.

The jury may still be out on that, Padraig! Or perhaps we should ask his family for their opinion!

I appreciate all the advice. They have booked us at Kinlay so I'm glad to hear good things. I am a little nervous about staying in a hostel, but accomodations are included in our tuition so it is not my choice.
We will be studying the works of O’Flaherty, Yeats, Cahill, Joyce, Behan, and Gregory.
Hopefully in the future I will have different destinations to question you all about!

Kinlay House is fine. I'm sure you will like it there.

Odd mixture of writers. Joyce and Behan are, as you doubtlessly know, strongly rooted in Dublin culture. Any feel you get for Ireland based on Galway and its environs will not give you much of a handle on Dublin. Yeats and Gregory are of the big house tradition, while O'Flaherty is of the plain people of Ireland. I don't know which Cahill you mean.

You may want to daytrip to Westport, County Mayo or Ennis, County Clare to study Yeats: The Pub in Ennis' Old Ground Hotel is 'The Poet's Corner.' Further North, in Belmullet, County Mayo, I met a group from California (Santa Barbara) that was doing a semester in Irish Literature. It was their last night and they were in the Pub of the Western Strands Hotel trying out some step-dancing steps their Irish B&B Hostesses had taught them.

Brendan Behan used to 'hang out' at Madigan's Pub in Dublin and the Pub in Wynn's Hotel in Dublin is dedicated to James Joyce. The two are in walking distance of each other, so if you overnight in Dublin, you might be able to visit both

BTW
There are several types of Hostals: Student Hostals & Tourist Hostals. Don't be confused by their designation. The old Abbey Hostal in Ennis (now closed) called itself a Tourist Hostal, but was really a student-type thing with rooms that would accomodate 8-people (in bunk beds).

A Hotel, for a 3-star rating, must have an elevator, a full service restaurant, air conditioning, etc., etc. Hoteliers may call their Property a Hostal to avoid expensive upgrades / renovations. Kinlay House is probably like that.

Eyre Square, also known as JFK Square, is a great location!

Judging from what my daughter has told me, at the time she was there, Kinlay House was mostly 20somethings. Many of them were planning to spend a while in Galway and were staying there while looking for more permanent housing. In fact, she met people there with whom she stayed in contact throughout her time in Galway.

As I mentioned before, she had a single room. But I would definitely classify it as a hostel.

CAPH52 wrote: "But I would definitely classify it as a hostel."

Guess who agrees with you? http://www.kinlaygalway.ie/