NPR Ireland

JilliansMoma · February 2012

Has anyone traveled to Ireland? If so any tips? Places that are a must see or things to avoid. Karen if you are lurking please chime in. My DH is a teacher so we would need to travel in June or July. Any info is helpful!!!

If anyone has any other great vacation destinations please share!!

BrideBuddies · February 2012

Sorry, can't help with Ireland... but it would be a wonderful trip.

As for other destinations, I'm a firm believer that we, as Americans, should fully explore our own country. I have a ton of friends who have never travelled beyond the neighboring state, and I find that sad. Charlie's not even three and he's logged something like 15 states already.

Suggestions--Yellowstone/Jackson Hole WY, the Maine coast and of course, my own Colorado!

JilliansMoma · February 2012

Thanks Bride!

I couldn't agree more about our own beautiful country. My DH and our oldest did a driving tour from California to Mt Rushmore in 2009, along the way we made stops in Salt Lake City, Yellowstone and Jackson Hole and Miles City, MT it was an amazing time.

I love road trips too. I've done Route 66 from CA east to Oklahoma City and another trip up PCH from Northern California to Seattle and Vancouver. My cousins and I did a "girls" trip from GA to Miami, FL and that is a trip we all still talk about fondly.

I used to live in MA for a semester of college and it cracked me up that their state was less than an hours drive top to bottom but they always freaked out about road trips!! (at least my friends did)

I've never been to Colorado it's for sure on my list!!

gimmietimmies · February 2012

Can I come!!! Sorry, no help. Ireland is on our list long after England, Florida and Hawaii. I would be very interested in a Guiness Brewery tour though. We're going to be doing a lot of road trips to catch DH and the kids up to my travels, 20 states, 7 provinces, and Europe (obv flying first).

Pesky · February 2012

Loved it! Traveled there some time ago though -- over 10 years ago. We landed in Shannon, which was nice because it's not as busy as Dublin, rented a car, caught the Cliffs of Moher before heading to a farmhouse B&B outside of Shannon and then drove through the Ring of Kerry, stopping when we felt like it. Definitely recommend Ring of Kerry. Warning the roads are narrow and small so a bit tricky at times. From there, went through Cork, County Clare, to Waterford and up to Dublin. Sites to see: Cliffs of Moher, Rock of Cashel, Jerpoint Abbey was amazing, Trinity College and the Book of Kells (or as the locals call it, the Pages of Kells). Places I also wish we had time to visit include the Dingle Peninsula and County Galway. We picked out some fabulous B&Bs off the beaten path that were lovely. I will say while the Blarney Castle is quite beautiful, not a necessity and my sister and I didn't make the trek up to the unhygeinic stone itself and don't feel like we missed a thing. People there were very friendly and helpful and we had a wonderful time.

Another fun place was Scotland, especially Edinburgh. Also like Italy and Spain around Gibraltar. DH thoroughly enjoyed his travels to Australia and recommends that. Have fun!

lindac1 · February 2012

We went last August. We landed in Shannon, spent a few days based out of Kenmare (small town, and such a beautiful area), then travelled to Galway and spent a few days based there, then over to Dublin for the final days of the trip and flew home from there. Absolutely beautiful place, and I so want to go back! It was a 12 day trip and I feel like there is so much we did not see.

For us, this was a whole family trip - 13 of us, including 5 kids ranging from 17 mos. to 6 1/2 yrs. old. Because of the size of our group, we rented a van/driver which was a huge help. Some of the things we saw - Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Dingle Peninsula, Adare (cool thatched cottages), Bunratty Castle, Trinity College/Book of Kells, Guiness tour, St. Patrick's Cathedral, there's just so much - our driver was great in that we had places we wanted to go and then he'd take us on side trips on the way to show us other scenic areas we wouldn't have thought of or known about.

Have a wonderful trip. I thought it was a once in a lifetime adventure. Bring comfy walking shoes. My DD said, a few months ago when we were out walking somewhere, "Mom - this is just like Ireland" I was confused, because where we were was really not like Ireland at all but then she said, "We are walking a lot!!"