Would you recommend Ireland to Tourists?

mahamageehad

Just following on from the other thread about how the Canadian felt deceived by Ireland.

Ireland has many pros and cons. Ya its a beautiful country but its full of whingy AH people. (:P) Yes it's expensive but it's unique. We love to complain bout Ireland but enough people are sticking up for it in the other thread that twould warm your heart.

So would you recommend Ireland as a place to visit for tourists? Why? Or why not?

I personally love Ireland especially the west (even though i can bítch about this country with the best of em! :cool:) and would definitely recommend people to come here to visit! Even if they'll go home broke after it! I traveled the 32 counties 2 years ago and I was delighted and shocked to see how nice it actually is! Especially the west and north. So AH what do ya think??!

saywhatyousee

mahamageehad wrote: »

Just following on from the other thread about how the Canadian felt deceived by Ireland.

Ireland has many pros and cons. Ya its a beautiful country but its full of whingy AH people. (:P) Yes it's expensive but it's unique. We love to complain bout Ireland but enough people are sticking up for it in the other thread that twould warm your heart.

So would you recommend Ireland as a place to visit for tourists? Why? Or why not?

I personally love Ireland especially the west (even though i can bítch about this country with the best of em! :cool:) and would definitely recommend people to come here to visit! Even if they'll go home broke after it! I traveled the 32 counties 2 years ago and I was delighted and shocked to see how nice it actually is! Especially the west and north. So AH what do ya think??!

North-west is where its at!!!

nomh

Expensive and ****ty drugs, crap nightlife, everything is overpriced, terrible weather. If someone recommended Ireland to me as a holiday destination I'd come back and kick them in the balls.

ejmaztec

mahamageehad wrote: »

Just following on from the other thread about how the Canadian felt deceived by Ireland.

Ireland has many pros and cons. Ya its a beautiful country but its full of whingy AH people. (:P) Yes it's expensive but it's unique. We love to complain bout Ireland but enough people are sticking up for it in the other thread that twould warm your heart.

So would you recommend Ireland as a place to visit for tourists? Why? Or why not?

I personally love Ireland especially the west (even though i can bítch about this country with the best of em! :cool:) and would definitely recommend people to come here to visit! Even if they'll go home broke after it! I traveled the 32 counties 2 years ago and I was delighted and shocked to see how nice it actually is! Especially the west and north. So AH what do ya think??!

Yes, it's uniquely expensive all right.

Alter-Ego

I always tell people to spend a few nights in Dublin and then head west.

Wolfe Tone

Yes, but I would tell em to stick to the west coast.

Chris P. Bacon

Ireland is the best country in the world,why wouldn't I recommend it to someone?

Overheal

Atari Jaguar > Charlie Sheen

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

I tell them the truth - a lot of them are people I'm going to see again!

Usually, my advice is spend two or three days in Dublin, include a daytrip to Glendalough, then get out West or South. Oh, and you'll need to either drive or make friends with someone who has a car.

Run_to_da_hills

4 years ago I would have told anyone to stay well clear but now with cheap hotel deals and 3.20 pints about the city its not too bad.

This Government must also do something about extending club closing hours, its still a joke getting fcuked out at 2.30 am.

Fluorescence

Overheal wrote: »

Atari Jaguar > Charlie Sheen

Everything > Charlie Sheen :pac:

saywhatyousee

nomh wrote: »

Expensive and ****ty drugs, crap nightlife, everything is overpriced, terrible weather. If someone recommended Ireland to me as a holiday destination I'd come back and kick them in the balls.

I disagree with all four of them points
I can get good quailty drugs try a better source
Depends on what you mean by "nightlife" i can always find something to do
Bar alcohol and tobbaco find prices for most things similar around europe
Weather isnt that bad its over played by a lot of people.I like having no extremes of weather

Cosimo Salvatore

Sure we're a great bunch of lads.

biko

Summers on the west coast = magic.

pragmatic1

When the weather is good and I'm sitting in a beer garden, theres nowhere else I'd rather be.

starbelgrade

nomh wrote: »

Expensive and ****ty drugs, crap nightlife, everything is overpriced, terrible weather.

You may find this hard to believe, but some people don't actually go on holidays to take drugs & go clubbing.

nomh

starbelgrade wrote: »

You may find this hard to believe, but some people don't actually go on holidays to take drugs & go clubbing.

I'm just thinking about the type of holiday I'd like to go on and the people I know from abroad who I'd be recommending a destination to. Of course different types of holidays suit different people.

galwayrush

It's pretty green without the Greens.

whydoibother?

I'd recommend it but I'd be honest with them. I wouldn't indulge that "everybody is so friendly and you'll be having lengthy conversations with everyone you meet" crap. We're roughly the same as everyone else in the friendliness stakes.

I'd be honest about the weather and the prices. As others have said, I usually recommend Dublin and then going West or South, or if I know the person has Irish ancestry, as they will often mention, I'd ask them from which part of Ireland and try to make a few suggestions around there.

If it's a group of young people on a weekend away, I usually say Dublin, Temple Bar - very cliché but that's what they love and in fairness it's fun. If it's families or older people you have to put a bit more thought into what you say.

Saila

its only when you have travelled the world do you realise that Ireland is just as beautifull scenically right in your own back yard!

mahamageehad

ejmaztec wrote: »

Yes, it's uniquely expensive all right.

Nah its no sweden!

pragmatic1 wrote: »

When the weather is good and I'm sitting in a beer garden, theres nowhere else I'd rather be.

Ah so you like being here for 2 days a year then??

whydoibother? wrote: »

I'd recommend it but I'd be honest with them. I wouldn't indulge that "everybody is so friendly and you'll be having lengthy conversations with everyone you meet" crap. We're roughly the same as everyone else in the friendliness stakes.

I'd be honest about the weather and the prices. As others have said, I usually recommend Dublin and then going West or South, or if I know the person has Irish ancestry, as they will often mention, I'd ask them from which part of Ireland and try to make a few suggestions around there.

If it's a group of young people on a weekend away, I usually say Dublin, Temple Bar - very cliché but that's what they love and in fairness it's fun. If it's families or older people you have to put a bit more thought into what you say.

Hmm actually having started traveling a bit I've come to the conclusion that the Irish friendliness is highly exaggerated!! Especially in attitudes to foreigners!

Dudess

While I don't subscribe to the "Ireland is such a dump" stuff from people living very comfortable lives here and who have no idea what an actual dump is like to live in, I would only recommend certain parts of it to tourists - plenty of places, in the Midlands especially but also elsewhere, are not pretty and are lacking anything to do. But yeah, lots of places to recommend - with the caveat that the weather will most likely be sh1te and a lot of roads are terrible, and public transport is woeful.

whydoibother?

mahamageehad wrote: »

Hmm actually having started traveling a bit I've come to the conclusion that the Irish friendliness is highly exaggerated!! Especially in attitudes to foreigners!

Yes, I've had the same experience. I don't regard us as being extraordinarily friendly, but I wouldn't classify us as particularly cold or standoffish either.

Dudess

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

I tell them the truth - a lot of them are people I'm going to see again!

I know what ya mean - 'tis as bad as Haiti really. Actually, you know that film City Of God? I was convinced that was set in Ireland...

Perspective: have some.

dubbie82

Of course I do. I was a tourist here myself many years ago and ended up staying for good and working in the tourism industy now.

It has a lot to offer and many Irish people are not even aware of that. It's a common thing really. I think most people around the Globe are not aware what is right on the doorstep
I couldn't belived how the Irish hated the weather so much as it didn't bother me at first but after a couple of years I do appreaciate the warm and sunny days:D But the tourists don't give a toss about the rain really, they don't expect to be on a sun holiday in the first place. They (and myself) love the everchanging countryside, the coast, mountains. Every corner is so different.

Yes Ireland is not a cheap destination that's true but there are great deals available now and people get vaule for money now.

I think Ireland is still very unspoilt and original (the person who posted the other thread on AH might disagree with me) and it's more rewarding than a tourist friendly compound on the Costa del Somewhere.

No I don't think Ireland is the perfect destination for holidays but what place is?

Eve_Dublin

I remember I was travelling around South America for a year and seeing places that were equally as beautiful as some spots in Ireland albeit on a bigger scale maybe. I haven't seen enough of Ireland but enough to recommend it as a place to visit. I live in Spain and most Spanish I've met have been there and loved it (or so they tell me). Like others, I'm truthful. I tell them to rent a car because transport is a nightmare, it will definitely rain, it's pricey but you can get better deals now since the crisis, stay away from Temple Bar, only spend a few days in Dublin, go West and North as soon as you can, we drink a lot and sometimes what goes on might shock you and speak to no one about your Irish ancestery...nobody cares.

seanybiker

The only tourists I meet are already in Ireland. If I met them in their own place they wouldn't be tourists

questionmark?

Yes I would but I would advice them, to avoid Dublin in general and especially TempleBar. (Sorry Dubs but its too expensive and over hyped)

See the Beara peninsula down in cork(stunning) or the Burren in Clare or connemara or Donegal for that matter. We do have a beautiful country but I would never recommend anybody to go to places like Bunratty Castle but rather advice them to see castle's like that in Cahair in Tipperary- much more authentic and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Eve_Dublin

questionmark? wrote: »

Yes I would but I would advice them, to avoid Dublin in general and especially TempleBar. (Sorry Dubs but its too expensive and over hyped).

I don't think anyone in Dublin would disagree with you there. Me included. It's nice during the day though!

yeahimhere

I LOVE Ireland and as the OP said at times I can bitch about it to my brethren as good as most at times but seem to go by the same rule about bitching about your family. I can do it, but I'll stand up for it if someone else tries the same.

It's easy to moan about where you live since you know it so well, get bored by the same old things and can see the bad points. But that doesn't mean you don't love it.

Compare it to other countries and we live in a fabulous country overall. As another poster said, on a sunny day there's no where else I'd rather be!

Degag

fluorescence wrote: »

Everything > Charlie Sheen :pac:

Bree Olsen > Everything.

byhookorbycrook

I spend a good bit of time on TripAdvisor helping tourists. Places I def would NOT send them are Doolin,Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle ,Kinsale and my topmost pet hate "Johnny Foxes Irish nites " or similar.

old hippy

I'm always amazed on my travels when people find out I'm Irish and they enthuse about us and our country.

Still, I was dying to get away from the Vietnam vet on a bus in Honolulu who told me how he felt about the "goddam English" and their concentration camps in Ireland. :eek:

dubbie82

Oh Johny Foxe's and the likes are one of the various reasons why tourism took a nosedive recently.
As places like this may sound nice to a tourist who has never ever been to Ireland it turns sour as soon they see it in reality.
How many nights did I have to bring tour groups to that place because it was sold by the tour operator? They don't like it. Sure it might be nice on a sunny afternoon to have a paint there but the so called "Irish Night" consists of horrible food served by a uninterested rude student in a overcrowded, overheated room to be enjoyed with very loud music.

Cliffs of Moher are stunning sure but you get Slieve League for free. I am not fan of Blarney and Bunratty but at the end they do create jobs, a lot of visitors like it so be it. Personaly I would not reccommend them at all but if it makes people happy, fair enough.

yeahimhere

But isn't the tourist traps the same in every country? I don't think we're alone in that. There's many places I've gone in the world which were marketed as the thing to see and I've been let down by, but I didn't think worse of the country...I just used my own common sense that it was a touristy thing to do.

You can't hold people's hands when they visit a place, they should know themselves what's real and what's slightly marketed.

squod

This

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAeWxtAFlk0

Chris P. Bacon

seanybiker wrote: »

The only tourists I meet are already in Ireland. If I met them in their own place they wouldn't be tourists

Then if you met them in there own place you would be the tourist Sean :P

dubbie82

yeahimhere wrote: »

But isn't the tourist traps the same in every country? I don't think we're alone in that. There's many places I've gone in the world which were marketed as the thing to see and I've been let down by, but I didn't think worse of the country...I just used my own common sense that it was a touristy thing to do.

You can't hold people's hands when they visit a place, they should know themselves what's real and what's slightly marketed.

100% agree with you.

I know a place that advertised as "authentic irish restaurant". I was supposed to bring a tour group there for dinner. They booked a "traditional irish meal". The starter was salad with Olives and sun dried tomatos. The main course was a pasta dish with chicken and mediterranean vegetables. Needless to say a lady from the group asked me where we grow the olive trees as she didn't see any during the week long tour around ireland

Chris P. Bacon

I would show them this video,take a close look at 0.25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig115-o-pq8

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Dudess wrote: »

I know what ya mean - 'tis as bad as Haiti really. Actually, you know that film City Of God? I was convinced that was set in Ireland...

Perspective: have some.

Jaysus, take off the green tinted spectacles, you!

Seriosusly, this "Ikky hates Ireland" **** gets a bit thin sometimes. I said I would recommend it, but it'd do it honestly. What do you want me to do - lie to people?

fontanalis

I'd definitely recommend Ireland with a couple disclaimers.
Can anyone tell me the attraction of the Blarney Stone to overseas visitors?

Dudess

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Jaysus, take off the green tinted spectacles, you!

Seriosusly, this "Ikky hates Ireland" **** gets a bit thin sometimes. I said I would recommend it, but it'd do it honestly. What do you want me to do - lie to people?

Hey, I'm not suggesting you have to love Ireland - I don't think it's brilliant myself, I think it's just mediocre: not terrible and not great either - but it's the way you said "the truth" as if there's some shocking secret about the place...

Micky Dolenz

It depends on what a tourist is looking for. If it was old buildings such as castles etc, Ireland is hard to beat. It is amazing how many thousands of castle are in our country. Surfing is a major attraction these days too.

If they wanted to sit in the sun and check out the talent on the beach, i would send them else where.

Chris P. Bacon

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

It depends on what a tourist is looking for. If it was old buildings such as castles etc, Ireland is hard to beat. It is amazing how many thousands of castle are in our country. Surfing is a major attraction these days too.

If they wanted to sit in the sun and check out the talent on the beach, i would send them else where.

You've never been to Tramore in the summer have you

Dudess

fontanalis wrote: »

I'd definitely recommend Ireland with a couple disclaimers.
Can anyone tell me the attraction of the Blarney Stone to overseas visitors?

As someone who grew up nearby, I see Blarney Castle as far more of an attraction to local teenagers - for gatting.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Dudess wrote: »

Hey, I'm not suggesting you have to love Ireland - I don't think it's brilliant myself, I think it's just mediocre: not terrible and not great either - but it's the way you said "the truth" as if there's some shocking secret about the place...

Merely your interpretation, m'dear! My point obviously being I don't butter it up

delonglad

I tell them the truth, once you land in Dublin and rent your car get out of it and visit the real Ireland. Head South along the east coast refraining from motorways and take every little ****ty road you see as they lead you to some places of unimaginable beauty.

Take time to bask in the glory of Dunmore East, then head on toward Cork taking a stop for a pint at the Cliff House hotel (expensive but on a sunny day you cant beat the view) once you have finished your pint tip on down to the cul de sac which opens the door to the monastery where you can walk along the cliff and take in some ancient sights, WW lookout posts, the eery ghost ship (A crane ship washed in to the cliffs and rusting away as the waves caress her crumbling shell.

After this long walk get back in the car and move swiftly on to your next destination Cork. Spend a night in the city at somewhere like the Montoinotte overlooking the city for one night only having a fine meal and some wine at Scoozi's.

The next day take to the road again, this time heading back up along the west coast to do the Ring of Kerry, stopping for a few days in Killarney to take in Muckross House, the national park, the lakes, maybe the races and the many more things in the area. Also Fenit harbor and the aquarium us pretty amazing.

After a few days in Killarney head North once again exploring the beauty of Irelands Atlantic edge. Hit Galway and then Donegal before shooting across the border and exploring what the North has to offer before returning to Dublin for your flight home.

All this must be done without being roped in too the cheesy destinations given by most tour operators.

I mention some locations to people but mostly I tell them just make it an adventure. A map and a vehicle is all you need to unlock Ireland's real beauty.

This picture for me sums it up

Gunsfortoys

I would recommend it in the Summer. I would also recommend most of Galway.

miss_shadow

I think service and resources absolutely stinks in Ireland. Wouldn't recommend this place whatsoever.

Daegerty

miss_shadow wrote: »

I think service and resources absolutely stinks in Ireland. Wouldn't recommend this place whatsoever.

How do you mean? which kind of service?

miss_shadow

Daegerty wrote: »

How do you mean? which kind of service?

Services you would pay for if you were a tourist whether it be the hotel waiter/bartender or tour-guide, it all depends if their having a good or bad day!
From renting a car or prices of attractions, maybe it's because there isn't much competition?! who knows, but things are overpriced and are generally a letdown after experiencing them.