Traveling to Ireland Alone
 

I have decided that I would like to visit Ireland for the first time. I would like to go alone and I want to see if there are some helpful tips people have to offer as this is my first time to Europe. Im a 23 year old female.. if that changes anything.
I was planning on flying into Dublin in mid March. I have been looking at hostels and Im looking forward to meeting new people and trying new things! I'm super social so going around on my own doesn't intimidate me.
But if anyone has any tips for me, I would super grateful! I was curious if people had special places that like to visit. Do you think I need to reserve my stay at hostels or would just showing up be ok? I know very little about the country.. so if there are certain must see places, let me hear them! Should I rent a car? or would public transportation/walking be sufficient?
Thank you for your help!

Traveling solo is fine.

Driving is a great way to get around, but renting a car will be very costly since you are under 25. If you can afford the extra cost (plus the extra cost for insurance) then yes, you can rent a car. But you might prefer sticking to buses and trains.

There is also a company that does really good small group tours and they offer this 3-day trip that you could be a nice fit.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/ireland-t...rer-3-day-tour

March can still be pretty wintery.

I know it will cost more, but you will likely have much, much better weather if you can wait until May, or even June.

I don't think there's anything bad about March--the weather could be pleasant or it could be horrible. But you might run into another type of problem: Dublin and elsewhere will be booked solidly around St Patrick's Day. When we were there the last time, leaving Dublin ON St Patrick's Day, the area looked a lot like New Orleans at Mardi Gras. So I would assume the hostels would be pretty packed.

I would advise against renting a car. You would be driving on the left, and it's great to have a co-pilot for that experience! Trains are great from Dublin; the bus system works great everywhere else.

As to what you want to see, here is the standard advice we give to all:
--Think about why you decided upon Ireland. Are you interested in trad music? (that's our thing**). Are you interested in Irish history? Are you more interested in scenery or people? You get the drift.
--Buy a guidebook and using your "interest list" make another list of the top 15-20 things that appeal to you.
--Make sure you are not needlessly wasting your time and money on transit rather than in experience. Map the places you now want to see on a Google Map Planner and see what makes sense logistically, striking off those that make no practical sense. To test out transit times, I suggest using the Irish Journey Planner...
http://www.journeyplanner.transportf...T2?language=en

Happy planning!
AZ
**Although we usually cycle in Ireland, we only "did" trad music in Dublin on our last trip. Our trip report is
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-dublin.cfm

Of course, it could be pleasant or horrible, but your chances of sun and less wind and rain are about 100% better in May. Maybe I just had bad luck, but my experiences in Ireland, particularly on the North West Coast, from late October right through April seemed to be cold, rain, even a lot of ice and snow one year (don't remember which month), but that time even in Dublin and Cork.

I think it's better to wait till spring/summer too, in our case weather wasn't pleasant at all. Too windy and rainy, well really not a good one for a nice trip at all :(

There is another consideration: St Patrick's Day is in mid-March (17th). Whether you consider that an attraction for the festival and drinking, or a deterrent for the pressure on accommodation and prices, is down to your own preferences.

You don't have guaranteed bad weather in March, or guaranteed good weather in June. It's a risk that you have to factor into a trip to Ireland. The chance of good weather is greater in the period from June to September.

I think hiring a car on your own for scenic touring might be bad value. Remember that you will have to give the greater part of your attention to driving rather than looking at the scenery, and many of the most scenic routes are disappointingly short of places where you can pull off the road to feast your eyes (or your camera).