Study Abroad Student with a weekend in Ireland
 

I am studying abroad in the fall, based in England. I want to take a weekend trip to Ireland the weekend of October 31st to November 3rd. I am looking for any advice on itineraries, advice, or how I should go about doing this...? I have never been overseas before.

Where in Ireland do you want to go and where are you studying? There are cheap flights on www.ryanair.com and Aer Lingus from London to Dublin and Shannon and probably other airports in both countries. That would be my first step...once you know where you are going you can get guide books for the location...

My daughter did one semester of study abroad in Dublin and one semester of study abroad in Belfast. She did a lot of weekend trips in Ireland, the UK and on the Continent. She did most of her travel outside of Ireland on Ryanair, but you should read all the fine print closely if you fly with them. The flights are cheap because they charge for EVERYTHING else. She booked her hostels, which is where all college students stay, through HostelWorld.com because they provide so much information, including reviews from people who have stayed in the various hostels. In fact, when she had to move out of her dorm at the end of the semester, she used HostelWorld.com to locate a great hostel near the Dublin Connolly DART station which had a pool!

For a weekend trip to Ireland, I would suggest going to Dublin. There is certainly enough to keep you busy there for 2- 3 days. My daughter did the HO/HO bus tour soon after she arrived in Dublin and found that it gave a great overview of the city. (Don't miss Kilmainham Gaol.)

Should you want to see something outside of the city, you could take the DART to Howth and do the cliff walk (which she enjoyed doing) or to Malahide to visit Malahide Castle and walk through the extensive park around the castle (which she also liked). If you have enough time, I'd recommend a day tour to Glendalough National Park. The scenery there is amazing and many find the ancient buildings mystical.

Ah, I just re-read the dates you are planning to go to Ireland. I remember that she and her friends did a haunted tour of Dublin by bus on October 31st, so you might see if you can find something similar (if you like that sort of thing.)

Also, with the number of days you have for this trip, I think Dublin would be an excellent destination. You have time for a couple of days of sightseeing in Dublin itself and time for at least one full-day trip. Another option of a day trip would be going to Newgrange and/or Trim Castle.

If you are looking for a bit less of a city experience, you could fly in and out or Kerry Airport and spend your time in and around Killarney.
Bob

Hostelworld.com is great for students. Dublin has so much to see. I would want to check out Trinity for sure and if you are into sports or music you might find something there to entertain you. The writers museum and the literary scene in Dublin is good also.