Our 10th anniversary trip to Ireland & N. Ireland
Jun 14th, 2009, 05:02 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 972
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Our 10th anniversary trip to Ireland & N. Ireland
My DH and I just returned from a whirlwind week in Ireland. We now know why everyone raves about how beautiful it is, and how friendly the people are. Here is a somewhat short synopsis of our visit to the north of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Airline:
We flew US Airways out of Buffalo into Dublin. Our flight heading to Dublin was uneventful and we arrived on time. However, I am still stewing about the return flight - I will NEVER fly through Philadelphia again! US Airways cancelled our 5:45pm flight at 5:30pm because there was no crew. We ended up having to fly into Erie, PA and drive 1.5 hours home. That flight didn't take off until 8:30pm as we sat on the tarmac for over an hour waiting to take off. Anyways, on to happier things…
Dublin – June 2 & 3
Hotel: The Shelbourne, St. Stephen’s Green. Highly recommended! The location is great, and our room was very spacious and well-decorated. It had a big comfortable bed and, more importantly, heavy curtains that blocked out all light.
Sights:
Kilmainham Gaol – A must see. Built in 1796 and the unfortunate home of the leaders of various rebellions against the British. Also where "In the Name of the Father" was filmed.
Dublinia – An exhibit next to Christchurch Cathedral about how the Vikings settled Dublin. It had lots of informative and realistic exhibits.
Guinness Brewery – I hesitated about visiting the Brewery since I despise beer. But, the self-guided tour was very entertaining. We were surprised that the admission fee included a free pint at the Gravity Bar atop the Storehouse. I’m sure I was the only adult in the room drinking a Diet Coke.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral – Simply amazing inside and worth the entry fee.
We also did a lot of wandering around Grafton St and the Temple Bar area.
Restaurants:
Green Nineteen – Very good, reasonably priced food served with perfect hand cut fries.
Gruel – Their brie sandwich with walnut pesto was delicious, as was the turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce
Gourmet Burger Kitchen – Excellent burgers topped with fresh ingredients.
Lemon Crepe Co – Loved the Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and cream.
Northern Ireland – June 4 & 5
Hotel: Whitepark House, Ballintoy – A beautiful home in the perfect locale. The host, Bob, was so attentive and offered the best advice for dining and sightseeing. Our bedroom had views of the front lawn and out to the sea, and the bathroom had the longest tub I’ve ever seen. We had the full Ulster fry for breakfast and were full through lunch!
Sights:
Giant’s Causeway – I have dreamed about visiting the Giant’s Causeway since I was a teenager and was awestruck by the scenery. A few words of advice: Take the upper path along the cliffs, past the Organ, then down to sea and back up. If you are visiting during the spring/summer, go around 6pm. There were no crowds. Also, the light will be in your favor as the sun doesn’t set until 10pm.
Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge – The scenery from the little island across the bridge is amazing. We felt as if we were in Greece.
Torr Head – A fantastic drive with sweeping views of Scotland.
Dunluce Castle – We visited around 7:00pm and, again, there were no crowds. The gates were closed to the actual castle but we were free to explore the grounds.
Glenariff Forest Park – There is a lovely 3km walk past a few smaller waterfalls and one larger one.
Co. Donegal – June 6 & 7
Hotel: Coxtown Manor, Laghy just south of Donegal town – A gorgeous home with 9 rooms run by a gracious host. Our room was in the 300 year-old coach house. The rooms were newly renovated with spacious modern bathrooms. Breakfast is an array of meats, cheeses, breads and fresh fruit, along with the option of a Belgian fry (a light omelette with bacon).
Sights:
Glenveagh National Park – Very desolate and not at all like I’d imagine Ireland would look. We visited Glenveagh Castle and Gardens and were amazed. We ended up foregoing the inside of the castle because we spent so much time wandering the gardens upon gardens.
Slieve League cliffs – From everything I read, I feared the drive up from the lower car park. I was convinced we would have to walk up to the higher car park and, from there, to the cliffs. Once we arrived and saw the road did not look so scary, we decided to go for it. Honestly, it is not that bad. It is certainly narrow in spots, but there are so few cars that it was never an issue. We were glad we saved our walking legs for a hike up to the top of one of the cliffs.
The Green Blur – June 8
A marathon day of driving from Donegal to Drumcliff to Connemara National Park to Dublin. Yes, we drove over 300 miles this day. But, we figured since it was our last day in Ireland, we should go all out. DH was somewhat grouchy by the end of the day… Stops included:
Benbulben and Yeat’s grave.
The town of Castlebar for a little shopping
Connemara National Park Visitor’s Center
Kylemore Abbey (for photos only)
Finding out information about these areas was more challenging than other parts of Ireland. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. My final piece of advice - Visit the Antrim coast! N. Ireland is worth its own week-long visit.
Airline:
We flew US Airways out of Buffalo into Dublin. Our flight heading to Dublin was uneventful and we arrived on time. However, I am still stewing about the return flight - I will NEVER fly through Philadelphia again! US Airways cancelled our 5:45pm flight at 5:30pm because there was no crew. We ended up having to fly into Erie, PA and drive 1.5 hours home. That flight didn't take off until 8:30pm as we sat on the tarmac for over an hour waiting to take off. Anyways, on to happier things…
Dublin – June 2 & 3
Hotel: The Shelbourne, St. Stephen’s Green. Highly recommended! The location is great, and our room was very spacious and well-decorated. It had a big comfortable bed and, more importantly, heavy curtains that blocked out all light.
Sights:
Kilmainham Gaol – A must see. Built in 1796 and the unfortunate home of the leaders of various rebellions against the British. Also where "In the Name of the Father" was filmed.
Dublinia – An exhibit next to Christchurch Cathedral about how the Vikings settled Dublin. It had lots of informative and realistic exhibits.
Guinness Brewery – I hesitated about visiting the Brewery since I despise beer. But, the self-guided tour was very entertaining. We were surprised that the admission fee included a free pint at the Gravity Bar atop the Storehouse. I’m sure I was the only adult in the room drinking a Diet Coke.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral – Simply amazing inside and worth the entry fee.
We also did a lot of wandering around Grafton St and the Temple Bar area.
Restaurants:
Green Nineteen – Very good, reasonably priced food served with perfect hand cut fries.
Gruel – Their brie sandwich with walnut pesto was delicious, as was the turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce
Gourmet Burger Kitchen – Excellent burgers topped with fresh ingredients.
Lemon Crepe Co – Loved the Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and cream.
Northern Ireland – June 4 & 5
Hotel: Whitepark House, Ballintoy – A beautiful home in the perfect locale. The host, Bob, was so attentive and offered the best advice for dining and sightseeing. Our bedroom had views of the front lawn and out to the sea, and the bathroom had the longest tub I’ve ever seen. We had the full Ulster fry for breakfast and were full through lunch!
Sights:
Giant’s Causeway – I have dreamed about visiting the Giant’s Causeway since I was a teenager and was awestruck by the scenery. A few words of advice: Take the upper path along the cliffs, past the Organ, then down to sea and back up. If you are visiting during the spring/summer, go around 6pm. There were no crowds. Also, the light will be in your favor as the sun doesn’t set until 10pm.
Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge – The scenery from the little island across the bridge is amazing. We felt as if we were in Greece.
Torr Head – A fantastic drive with sweeping views of Scotland.
Dunluce Castle – We visited around 7:00pm and, again, there were no crowds. The gates were closed to the actual castle but we were free to explore the grounds.
Glenariff Forest Park – There is a lovely 3km walk past a few smaller waterfalls and one larger one.
Co. Donegal – June 6 & 7
Hotel: Coxtown Manor, Laghy just south of Donegal town – A gorgeous home with 9 rooms run by a gracious host. Our room was in the 300 year-old coach house. The rooms were newly renovated with spacious modern bathrooms. Breakfast is an array of meats, cheeses, breads and fresh fruit, along with the option of a Belgian fry (a light omelette with bacon).
Sights:
Glenveagh National Park – Very desolate and not at all like I’d imagine Ireland would look. We visited Glenveagh Castle and Gardens and were amazed. We ended up foregoing the inside of the castle because we spent so much time wandering the gardens upon gardens.
Slieve League cliffs – From everything I read, I feared the drive up from the lower car park. I was convinced we would have to walk up to the higher car park and, from there, to the cliffs. Once we arrived and saw the road did not look so scary, we decided to go for it. Honestly, it is not that bad. It is certainly narrow in spots, but there are so few cars that it was never an issue. We were glad we saved our walking legs for a hike up to the top of one of the cliffs.
The Green Blur – June 8
A marathon day of driving from Donegal to Drumcliff to Connemara National Park to Dublin. Yes, we drove over 300 miles this day. But, we figured since it was our last day in Ireland, we should go all out. DH was somewhat grouchy by the end of the day… Stops included:
Benbulben and Yeat’s grave.
The town of Castlebar for a little shopping
Connemara National Park Visitor’s Center
Kylemore Abbey (for photos only)
Finding out information about these areas was more challenging than other parts of Ireland. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. My final piece of advice - Visit the Antrim coast! N. Ireland is worth its own week-long visit.
Jun 16th, 2009, 06:29 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Your trip sounds wonderful. Happy Anniversary!
We are planning to go for our 40th anniversary in August. I am grateful for your tips on Northern Ireland. We have done the West Coast- Dingle, Killarney, Galway etc. so I am researching other routes. We will have 12 days, fly into Dublin and out of Shannon- so will somehow have to drive to Shannon on or about the last two days to fly home. You have given me some good ideas and more "homework". Thanks for posting such a concise trip report- I like the hotel, restaurant, and sights written up as you did them. If anyone has any other tips- I welcome them. We will not have a car in Dublin for three days- but plan to rent one for the rest of the trip in the location(to be decided)we travel first from Dublin.
We are planning to go for our 40th anniversary in August. I am grateful for your tips on Northern Ireland. We have done the West Coast- Dingle, Killarney, Galway etc. so I am researching other routes. We will have 12 days, fly into Dublin and out of Shannon- so will somehow have to drive to Shannon on or about the last two days to fly home. You have given me some good ideas and more "homework". Thanks for posting such a concise trip report- I like the hotel, restaurant, and sights written up as you did them. If anyone has any other tips- I welcome them. We will not have a car in Dublin for three days- but plan to rent one for the rest of the trip in the location(to be decided)we travel first from Dublin.
Jun 16th, 2009, 01:25 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 972
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi johnandsuz - You are wise not to rent a car in Dublin. We took AirCoach from the airport into the city, then back to the airport to pick up our rental car.
We should have flown home out of Shannon - It would have saved us an hour and a half of driving! I would look into a route similar to ours because you could certainly spend 12 days and not run out of things to see. Once we passed Belfast, we took the coastal rode to Ballycastle. There were so many stops we could have made along the way, in the 9 Glens of Antrim, but we didn't have the time. Also, when you leave the Antrim coast, you could head farther up into Donegal, such as the Inishowen Peninsula.
Finally, if you've never visited Connemara Nat'l Park, it is definitely worth a night or two. There are tons of charming towns nearby such as Castlebar and Westport.
I'm jealous that you have more time to spend than we did! Best of luck to you!
We should have flown home out of Shannon - It would have saved us an hour and a half of driving! I would look into a route similar to ours because you could certainly spend 12 days and not run out of things to see. Once we passed Belfast, we took the coastal rode to Ballycastle. There were so many stops we could have made along the way, in the 9 Glens of Antrim, but we didn't have the time. Also, when you leave the Antrim coast, you could head farther up into Donegal, such as the Inishowen Peninsula.
Finally, if you've never visited Connemara Nat'l Park, it is definitely worth a night or two. There are tons of charming towns nearby such as Castlebar and Westport.
I'm jealous that you have more time to spend than we did! Best of luck to you!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
wintkat
Europe
18
Feb 17th, 2004 12:40 PM
