From USA to Irelnad

whiteghetto

I plan on spending about 2 weeks in southern ireland in feb/march.
any pointers form the locals. I really don't want to do touristy stuff.
Looking for a fun/relaxing time. Lots of photography.

so, any pointers for places to visit. cheap travel... anything?


edit/sorry about the type in the title.

Fraggle Rocks

Probably not going to be much punk round. There might be a few gigs in Killarney maybe. Do the usual Killarney stuff - Muckross, climbing Mangerton/Torc/ Carantouhill, boating, Gap Of Dunloe etc.Great place for photography. Go drinking. Don't mention how Irish you are.

whiteghetto

LOL, I bet you get alot of tourist saying how irish they are.
It is my goal to be very untouristy (minus the constant picture taking)

we are also way into The Pogues and the like.

what do the locals do for a good time?
what are some pubs I should hitup?

Fraggle Rocks

Hmm there's not much punk/Pogues type stuff around apart from us forcing the Dj in the local nightclub to play Rancid and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones every night we're there Sometimes ther's gigs on but that requires us getting our act together which rarely happens.

Generally we go drinking and climbing, surfing, canoeing, walking etc

Coutrneys, Kelly's Corner and The Granary are usually good for a laugh.

whiteghetto

thanks, I will note them

Tazzle

What's 'southern' to you?

whiteghetto

we will land in dublin then drive down through waterford, cork, killarney, back up to limerick and back to dublin. we should be there for about a week and a half

biko

Well, as you go along down the coast just ask the locals about things to see. Most of them will be happy to point out interesting things in the area.
Also get a guidebook or just google.
Most regional forums here will have tourist friendly stickies, check them.

Some links
http://www.ireland.ie/
http://www.festivalireland.com/
http://www.waterfordtourism.org/
http://www.cork-guide.ie/

Enjoy your stay.

whiteghetto

thanks, you guys have been really helpful

I read in another thread that you wanted to see castles.
Why not stay in one?

http://www.ashford.ie/

That one is the biz,but nip down in the evening to the village of cong beside it,its where john wayne and maureen o hara filmed the quiet man.

netwhizkid

If you are flying to Ireland watch out for Continental Airlines website, talk about a heap of sh*t !! I spent about two hours on it this morning trying to book flights for US relations who took a one-way ticket home a month ago on an extended Holiday.

The job I had to book a one-way ticket back for them, billing address's kept showing up in Ireland etc. I completely failed using Internet Explorer and only succeeded with Firefox after changing the Language settings from English-UK to English-US, First off It was showing me as being in the UK and Internet Explorer only recognised me as being here (in Ireland). I am in Ireland but wanted to be "stateside" so to get the price quote in dollars and have the billing address show as in America.

I have booked with several Airlines but never Continental until now and they have the worst website I have ever knocked across, I'd actually feel safer giving my details to one of those Nigerians who email me frequently with offers of releasing dead funds etc.!!

Still it was a €400 saving over Aer Lingus, pity the Government are running them into the ground so as to push through Privatisation

FlutterinBantam

netwhizkid wrote:

Still it was a €400 saving over Aer Lingus, pity the Government are running them into the ground so as to push through Privatisation

What.... explain this theory net if you wouldn't mind

Ruu_Old

€400 savings over Aer Lingus? Which route were you flying? They are normally far cheaper than the likes of Continental who would require you stop over once or twice.

luckat

If you make a list of the counties you're going to, you can mostly find out the things you shouldn't miss by going to the county website. Also check out Bord Failte and Irish Tourist Board sites.

What you want to see depends on your taste. For instance, in Dublin you could go to the exhibition of the Iron Age bog bodies and their artefacts in the National Museum in Kildare Street; you could tour literary sites such as the James Joyce museum in Sandycove and historical sites such as the St Enda's museum (Padraic Pearse's school, where several of the 1916 leaders were teachers) and the Kilmainham Gaol museum.

If you feel like diverting northwards, you could see the Ceide Fields in Mayo. There's a museum of folk history in.... also Mayo? Not sure! - and there's a Famine museum in the midlands; remember coming across it one cold winter's day when it was closed, but the whole effect of the old workhouse where it was set was still chilling.

You might like to visit Newgrange and take a tour around Tara, traditional site of the High Kings.

You could go to the Cliffs of Moher and wave over at New York; there's a controversial interpretative centre there.

Is that a start for you?

philologos

Earthman wrote:

I read in another thread that you wanted to see castles.
Why not stay in one?

http://www.ashford.ie/

That one is the biz,but nip down in the evening to the village of cong beside it,its where john wayne and maureen o hara filmed the quiet man.

very expensive castle, but if you are willing to pay that bit extra go for it!
i've been there once for a wedding and it was v.nice

luckat

Also, if you want good music, drive over to Clare and drop in to Doolin, where you'll usually find famous musicians jamming together in local pubs. Ballyvaughan too.

And if you're in Ballyvaughan, there's a good seafood restaurant further along the coast called the Admiral - if it's still open, of course. The man who runs (ran?) it used to do good otter-spotting dawn outings too.

You might also want to try some whale-watching. A little-known fact is that Ireland is the best place in the world for whale-spotting. Take a look here:

http://www.iwdg.ie

National Museum site:

http://www.museum.ie (the National Museum site, which should lead you around a bunch of museums)

You might also consider listening to RTE Radio (Radio 1 is the best station to get a flavour of the country and its controversies) online before you come. Go to www.rte.ie and navigate your way through the Radio tab to the Listen Live section.

netwhizkid

Ruu wrote:

€400 savings over Aer Lingus? Which route were you flying? They are normally far cheaper than the likes of Continental who would require you stop over once or twice.

Shannon to New York (Newark) was $805 for next Thursday while Aer Lingus was $1,200 for An Adult and a 12 year old on two one-way tickets. It is a direct flight from Shannon and all.

Had they made the Out-bound trip with Continental they would have had to go through Dublin but my aunt and her son came a week before the rest of the family with Aer-Lingus from JFK primarily because JFK is nearer to them as they live out Long Island. The rest of the family came through Newark with Continental on a return Ticket and I managed to get them all on the same flight home anyways.

FlutterinBantam wrote:

What.... explain this theory net if you wouldn't mind

Its my opinnon...and I'm from Kerry

hoolio

netwhizkid wrote:

Its my opinnon...and I'm from Kerry

So am i. What's your point? Your confused ramblings against the goverment don't belong in this forum, so spare us.


whiteghetto - not much else i can add but echo that Torc and the Gap of Dunloe are well worth seeing if you're looking for photo opportunities, so is the Ring of Kerry if you feel like going slightly further afield, damn pretty if the weather is in a good mood.

Avoid tourist traps, and get local knowledge on what's worth seeing in an area. People are friendly and helpful once they see you aren't a complete stereotype