Melissa5

Thank you all for advice and support in planning our first trip to Ireland. We're back home and I miss the steaming hot cups of tea with milk, brown bread, wild coast, trad music, friendly folks, and the musical lilt of the many Irish accents I heard.

Working on detailed trip report. We visited Bunratty, Dingle Peninsula, County Clare, County Mayo, County Antrim, County Down, and Malahide.

After almost 2 years of research I am happy to report I can recommend all of our b&bs. More details later but these places are all unique and we enjoyed them all:

Bunratty Lodge, Bunratty

Heaton's Guesthouse, Dingle

Drumcreehy House, Ballyvaughan, County Clare

The Boulevard Guesthouse, Westport, County Mayo

Craig Park guesthouse, Bushmills, County Antrim

Fortwilliam Country house, Hillsborough, County Down

Beechwood house, Malahide

rosetravels

Melissa5 - welcome home! I still miss afternoon tea time. I look forward to reading about all the details.

sweetbippity

Really looking forward to reading your detailed report, Melissa. We leave in 29 days, so are in the home stretch. All these trip reports are helping to bridge the gap!

missypie

Looking forward to reading your report. After Costa Rica this spring, we went to Italy this summer (I know your family was there a few years back.) Maybe your trip report will interest us in Ireland!

dcsam

We leave this Sunday and staying at three of the same B&Bs (Bunratty Lodge, Drumcreehy, and Heaton's. Would love to hear about those places and if you have any suggestions or recommendations for inexpensive places to eat and activities. Did you go to Aaran islands?
Welcome back
Carrie

GreenDragon

Welcome back, I knew you'd have a fab time! Can't wait to read your report

Melissa5

Thanks for all your comments.

dcsam, I would love to give you suggestions of inexpensive places to eat and things to do, as we stayed at 3 of the same places you will enjoy. Gotta go just now but I'll be back on-line tonight.

I'm posting a looooong trip report on www.IrelandYes.com in chapters and then I plan to put an edited, condensed version here on fodors. I love both web-sites. As I also love writing, I love to polish and re-polish my trip reports!

I have a bottle of Mead I bought in Ireland as a souveneir and a box of great Irish tea...Bewley's. At least, the tea is boxed in Dublin!

Melissa5

dcsam, you asked about inexpensive food and activities near Bunratty Lodge, Drumcreehy, and Heaton's. We stayed at all 3 of these places and you will enjoy them.

BUNRATTY:
Food in touristy Bunratty is expensive. So we decided to drive to nearby Newmarket-on-Fergus and eat at Hunter's Lodge. Food was decent and prices were good; we ate in the side where all the Irish families were eating.

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park were touristy but fun. It wasn't one of our highlights, but we enjoyed it. (The Ulster Folk Park and Transport Museum in Cultra, east of Belfast, is much less crowded and just as fun.)

Bunratty Lodge: charming and has a nice breakfast.

Drumcreehy House: run efficiently by a busy and friendly young couple raising a family. The cold breakfast bar is outstanding...we liked it even better than the hot food...and all that food is included in your room price! A good value. Good location for visiting Cliffs of Moher and The Burren, and for doing the Dunguaire castle medieval banquet (need reservations.)

Monk's Pub, Ballyvaughan: good lunch and it's cheaper than dinner.

Greene's Pub, Ballyvaughan: no food but good music on Wednesday nights.

Dinner at Bruach Na Haille in Doolin:
This is a good place for dinner after visiting the Cliffs of Moher. Food is good and reasonably priced. Next door to McGann's pub. Less crowded than other places in Doolin.

Heaton's, Dingle: fantastic! loved it. Memorable breakfast feast. Try the pancakes one morning.

Lunch: Stone House restaurant: great place for lunch along the Dingle Peninsula, across from Dunbeg Fort. soup and brown bread for 4 euros.

Dinner: John Benny Moriarty Pub, Dingle:
Ordinary-looking pub with good pub food for dinner at good prices. I loved the fresh Black Sole with lemon butter for 16 euros. (Average dinner entree price in Ireland is about 22 euros. Lunch is cheaper than dinner.)

Dinner: Ashe's Bar, Main St., Dingle:
No-frills bar atmosphere, good Beef Guiness Stew for 16 euros when we had dinner there. Friendly service.

If those prices are too expensive for you, have "dinner food" for lunch when it is cheaper, and then have a light dinner like soup and bread.

Enjoy! I'm starting my trip report under a separate title now.

dcsam

Melissa,
Thanks for the information. I'll write it down and take it with me. Really... food is very low on our priority list while vacationing. I much prefer to grab a fresh loaf of bread, local cheese; fruit; drive to a scenic location and make a meal. Nice accommodations, however, are worth a splurge for us.
Thanks again.
Carrie

Jayneann

Ahhh, Melissa5, welcome back!!! We were also supposed to be in Ireland the same time you were there, but one of our travel companions is sick, so we had to postpone the trip!

I guess I will live vicariously through you for awhile and hope and pray my friend makes a full recovery so we can visit Ireland soon!

maryanne1

Melissa5 I was thinking about you even before I checked Fodors's post tonight wondering if you should not be posting about your trip to Ireland. Here you are back and ready to write one of your interesting, detailed accounts.
From your introduction I know you enjoyed the trip. Will look forward to reading more.

Melissa5

I have started a trip report under the title "100 Kisses In Matt Malloys Pub..." for anybody who is interested.

Jayneann, I wish your friend a full recovery soon. Hopefully your trip will just be postponed and you will all enjoy it later.

rosetravels, thanks for your help before the trip. I brought back a box of Bewleys tea from Ireland and have been enjoying my morning tea-time, in spite of the San Diego heat wave!

sweetbippity, enjoy your upcoming trip! I have started my detailed trip report under a separate heading "100 Kisses At Matt Malloys Pub..."

missypie, Ireland was great for a family trip! People in Ireland are friendly, and there are plenty of wide-open gorgeous spaces...I loved the music in the pubs.

Greendragon, thanks for your advice before our trip. I am enjoying working on my trip reports...

Maryanne1, thanks for the compliment and I hope you enjoy my trip report, started on a separate post as I mentioned above...