Reply With QuoteDepends on what you are after. Suggest you get out of Dublin as quickly as possible - Cork & Galway are about 2 hours from Dublin and are much nicer places to visit.
I'll be visiting Ireland for a wedding in May, flying in and out of Dublin. I have extended my stay by 3 nights and will be hiring a car to explore.
Any recommendations for places to go, things to see or do (anywhere in Ireland, North or South within three or so hours of Dublin) for a couple of days?
Thanks,
Christian.
Depends on what you are after. Suggest you get out of Dublin as quickly as possible - Cork & Galway are about 2 hours from Dublin and are much nicer places to visit.
Hey Christian. I was in Ireland with family back in October, so as it's all pretty fresh in my memory I thought i'd chip in a few ideas:Originally Posted by Christian
They love a good brewery/distillery tour in Ireland. I did the Jameson's tour in Midleton (near Cork - a bit far maybe?) and the Smithwicks tour in Kilkenny. First thing you do when get to Ireland is you order yourself a nice cold pint of Smithwicks ale, its delicious.
Unfortunately, with the All-Ireland Hurling Final having happened today you'll be pushed to get to see a Hurling game, but if you're ever back in Ireland in the later half of the year I thoroughly recommend it - fast paced and brutal, the players are proper hard bastards.
If you like history, north of Dublin there's the fascinating Stone Age monuments of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. They are Stone Age temples built to mark the equinoxes of the year - utterly mind blowing.
If you just want something scenic, you could check out the Wicklow Mountains National Park which is beautifully scenic and has lots of good signposted walks around the lakes. And again - some fascinating history to explore. We went around the Glendalough lake which had an old abandoned mining village on the edge of the lake.
I'm sure some folk on here will give you more pointers, there's probably a few Irish nationals on here that might give you some less tourist-ey options too. Have a good time!
-doebag
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To be fair, I just re-read your OP and saw you mentioned within three hours drive. I'm pretty sure you could get anywhere in Ireland from Dublin within a three hour drive haha!
Avoid Dublin. An expensive, filthy, sh*thole.
Galway is my home so I'm somewhat bias! It's a fantastic city with loads to do, good food and drink too. Heading and hour west will bring you into Connemara, a jaw droppingly beautiful part of the world. It's only about a two hour motorway drive from Dublin airport so it's very easy to get too.
If you're swinging this way and want some tips/recommendations let me know.
I have to admit a wild bias for the North as I live in Belfast. The majority of Ireland is within three hours of Dublin so a bit more information as to what you like doing would be useful. Scenery tends to be more dramatic the further you get from Dublin but there are areas which don't have a lot to offer except scenery and that can be very weather dependent.
Cork is my old stomping ground and its ok but not great, Dublin is an expensive dump.
I'd say go west , Galway and its surroundings are good.
Newgrange is fantastic - really interesting. And yes, west is great: Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Connemara, ring of Kerry, Galway. Loads to do, and a car makes sense, because the most scenic bits tend to be near the coast, and it's a fair drive east to west.
Deffo hightail it out of Dublin.
I suggest Kilkenny/Waterford/New Ross. Close, interesting, friendly, beautiful.
I live near Belfast and agree that the best thing you can do is to get out of Dublin as quickly as possible. Three hours will get you to most of Ireland where you can experience the real Ireland and not the over priced tourist nonsense that Dublin peddles. I used to holiday in Donegal (NW corner) and it is a beautiful place but so is the SW and all the other areas people have mentioned.
Is there anything you want to do e.g. fishing, mountains, beach etc as that will play a part on where you go. I would suggest that you hire a car and each day spend the morning (3-4 hours) driving to the next location and then spend the afternoon and night there. This means you get to see plenty of the country, have a pub lunch and get to explore a city or town each afternoon and night.
My only other advice would to bring a coat as we get the odd bit of rain.
I have been to that area and it is a lovely part of the world. I had a friend who lived in New Ross, and I said i want to go out for dinner somewhere typically Irish, we ended up at the local Chinese.
The locals call it Ross the original Ross only lasted as a settlement for a few years.
The mountains and coastline near Killarney are absolutely stunning, great craic and away from he Dublin hoards.
As a regular visitor to the Republic (twice a year for over twenty years) my tip is most definitely the west coast. Galway city is well eorth a trip (take the train from Dublin and leave the car to enjoy the bars to the full) and Connemara is an absolute must. Head further north towards Clifden on the coast road and find the most incredibly beautiful beaches. Totally deserted too!
Don't bother with Kerry unless out of season as you will be swallowed by the hoards of granny coaches doing the Ring.
The Cliffs of Moher are spectacular but now you have to pay dearly to park. It was all free when I first went there.
If you like wild then a run down the peninsula to loop head is a no brainer. Simply breathtaking in every sense of the world.
Mrs P_M and I seriously considered moving to the Emerald Isle and we would have done so had work issues dictated otherwise.
Enjoy your trip.
Another vote for Galway, again a bit biased, and hope for good weather.
Have a day in the city, down Quay Street, shopping, eating, drinking, music etc.
Then head for a tour of Connemara.
Despite everything being said - Dublin is not an awful expensive shithole! Avoid temple bar and it's got many beautiful historic parts.
Ha, I've been trying to not reply to those comments. They're a load of nonsense...
Hi Alec.
We are staying within that area in August some Castle with it's own car ferry, wife booked it so not to sure about the exact location ATM, see you later we are looking for some places to visit so we can have a chat.
Last edited by Fords; 19th March 2016 at 08:50.
Yup, it's not the easiest to listen to! Dublin is far from awful and can often be close to greatness! Oh well, suppose it's left for us
I am from Dublin. The Irish tourist board has a lot to do to overturn some of the images of Dublin that have been aired here.
Try Howth for a nice and relatively short cliff walk with great views of Dublin Bay, this is not too far from Dublin airport.
Head into Dublin and go some of the museums. My favorite is the animal museum. It is unchanged from 100 years ago. Get over priced food around there and enjoy.
I have just returned from a weekend in Killarney, approx 3.5-4 hours from the airport. Great spot for a tourist and we did ring of Kerry, a half day and great views.
Other than that Galway or head down the east coast through Enniskerry and Powerscourt.
When it comes to Ireland, avoid the midlands completely (with the honourable exception of Kilkenny) and you won't go too far wrong.
The comments about Dublin are made by bitter and twisted Culchies, so ignore.
For christ sake don't go to New Ross under any circumstances!
Ha ha, spoken like a true Jackeen!
Definitely head west and take your pick as all of it is well worth seeing. Flying in and out of Shannon is pretty low stress as well but sadly the flights we got the other year have been pulled.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/114162568@N06/
The first 5 photographs on my flickr stream were taken on the same day in County Clare, the next 18 or so all in Donegal. In the summer you see the most intense deep blue sky and greens you can see I think, certainly much more intense than anything I have seen here.
Massive thanks to all who took the time to give me recommendations. Will be re-reading this thread this coming week when I plan the trip. ^ Great colours in those photos!
Thanks Christian, that is the magic of Fuji Velvia and Ireland. If ever a film and a country were made for each other.
Got to say, West coast/Galway is a nice part of the world (I have family that way, so visit every so often and love it)
- A nice walk up croagh patrick, if thats your thing (and the weather is good)
- westport is nice
Otherwise head south: I like Wexford/Cork (think ring of kerry)
- If you like nice hotels and food, then I loved Dunbrody House and also Ballymaloe (it's a cookery school) serve amazing food.
I've been to Ireland about 40 times in the last 10 years with my wife and family and we always try to go somewhere new each year. Our personal favourites are County Cork around Bantry Bay and towards Baltimore and Cape Clear though it's a bit more than 3 hours away (not too much though), Sligo has loads of nice places like Inniscrone which is by a Sandy beach and yes, as quite a few people have said Galway is a great place and well worth a visit. Don't forget the North either, it can be a bit windier though it has some amazing sights like the Giants Causeway which I seem to recall is really close to the Bushmills distillery.
I think where the North scores highly is how compact/variable it is. For example White Rocks beach, Dunluce Castle, Giants Causeway, Bushmills Distillery, Ballintoy and Carrick a Rede rope bridge are literally 13 miles from each other. This means that you can spend your time enjoying the place rather than just travelling from one thing to another.
Indeed
my parish is better than yours still alive and well in ireland
The Moby Dicks pub, Youghal, Cork. Great town and people. Got slaughtered there. Went on to other pubs but cant remember their names. Had some bloody good nights out in Dublin city as well. Loads of boozers and you got to try a Hoolie.
Just thought I'd resurrect this thread as I've now completed my Ireland trip. Went to Galway, Connemara, Clifden then Dublin.
Absolutely loved Galway, Clifden and Connemara. Went up Diamond Hill which was a lovely gentle hill climb and took a detour to Dog's Bay beach near Roundstone...right up there as one of the most idyllic beaches I've ever visited. We were lucky with the weather.
Dublin....hmmm. Just thought it felt dirty and needed some serious regeneration in parts. Public transport was dreadful and people very unhelpful. It didn't have anything that stood out as particularly nice to see. Sorry Dubliners!
Wondered why, particularly over in Galway area, all the houses look very new/modern. Hardly any older looking properties - lots of new builds.
Overall, a great trip and can't wait to go back!
Last edited by Christian; 13th May 2016 at 22:12.
Whilst I was born here I spent much of my childhood growing up in Ireland in the early 80s. Going back these days it is really stunning the transformation in wealth and development the country has gone through over the past 30 years. One big thing is the country exported building/construction expertise including much of my own family, as many went back they found that with reasonably low land prices they could build a house for very little money compared to here (and now had plenty of money compared to the previous generation). As a few have said to me if you can afford to build something 3 to 4 thousand square foot you do, especially if like my Dad you were one of 13 children in a tiny 2 bed bungalow. Something many British people will struggle with is the concept of building the house yourself or at least under your own management but this is how most of my relatives homes came about.
Leitrim Town has always been my downfall. I have been there four times in my existence and four times have I have fallen into the most friendly and welcoming company imaginable. Fortunately three times my boat was moored within crawling distance and once I was staying there. Great craic, great beer, great food and great people.The Moby Dicks pub, Youghal, Cork. Great town and people. Got slaughtered there. Went on to other pubs but cant remember their names. Had some bloody good nights out in Dublin city as well. Loads of boozers and you got to try a Hoolie.
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