Ireland in the rain

hey guys, i'm going to Ireland in a couple weeks, the rainy season. it's my first time there and i've wanted to go for a long time. i plan to spend time in dublin, see the cliffs of moher, and maybe go to galway. any suggestions, restaurants, sites, things to do you recomend?

Its the rainy season yr round ha,

Def hit Galway .. wat a great drinkin/party city. And while your down there you should check out one of the most beautiful wee towns in Ireland (that i've seen) called Westport - just south of Galway, spend a few days there its so nice.

I've never made it to Cork yet (on my to do list) but i hear its cool as .. some nice music beers and of course coast!

have good one..
oj

If you're in Dublin, head out to Glendalough. Absolutely beatiful spot, and old early medieval monastic site tucked away in a valley, surrounded by forested hills. It's easily accessible by public transport (check out St. Kevin's Bus, not Bus Eireann or Dublin Bus, though).
The Connemara is beatiful as well, and so is the Burren in Co. Clare.
Ah, too many places to mention. But deffo head to Galway, don't spend too much time in Dublin. There's not that much to see and it's very expensive. If you're into a bit of recent history, check out Kilmainham Gaol, the former prison where most of the famous Irish Freedom Fighters were jailed.
As for the raining season, we didn't have as much rain this winter as usual and I am looking forward to 2 days of summer this year (hopefully).

I'd also suggest heading up to Northern Ireland. Belfast is a great city with interseting restaurants (although expect fries with everything!), the Ulster Museum, a short ride from the Mourne Mountains, and lots of interesting things to see on the outskirts. You can also head up to Giant's Causeway from there - the ride up and the Causeway itself are simply breathtaking.

Don't worry too much about rainy season. I went in June and it rained every, single day (although the sun popped out once in a while). The people there are used to it - and there's somethign beautiful about seeing the countryside covered in mist. It's that green for a reason!

And in Dublin, check out Queen of Tarts, near Temple Bar. Fantastic pastries and the best coffee I've ener had. I'm still raving about it!

Enjoy!

thanks guys! helpful info. i'm in school right now and haven't had much time to research the country's must sees. what else is there to do in galway you think is essensial

Hello,

I'm a student myself and just returned from Ireland, spent a week on Spring break there. We had a very similar route to the one it looks like you are planning on doing. We spent two nights in Dublin, two nights in Killarney, and two nights in Galway, and flew out of Shannon airport on the 7th day. First day we mostly walked around Dublin- went to the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, and in general just walked around a lot to get a feel for the city. Just be sure to go to the pubs at night, that's key.

The next day we woke up and had planned on spending the day in Dublin again, but we didn't know what to do. Someone suggested that we take a bus up to Belfast, as they depart every hour. So we did that, and were able to spend an entire afternoon in Belfast. Again, we walked around alot, but it was a Sunday, so most things were closed. It was still nice to get to Belfast though. We returned to Dublin that night.

The third day was mostly spent on the bus, as it took us about 6 hours to travel down to Killarney. Spent that night wondering around the town.

The next day we took a day tour of the Ring of Kerry. Definately worth it, some fantastic sights.

The next day we were on the bus for about 4 hours as we made our way up to Galway. Walked around the city alot, and went to a few pubs at night. I had the most fun here- Galway is a fantastic city and in my opinion the best place to visit in Ireland. Definately definately check out Taaffe's Pub when you are there.

The last full day we took a day tour out of Galway to see the Burren & Cliffs of Moher. Some fantastic scenery, and going to see the Cliffs was definately an awesome experience. The wind gusts were remarkable that we couldn't even walk straight, and it even hurt. But it was a lot of fun and definately worth it. The Burren in general was a very nice area to drive through, a lot of sights along the way.

We flew out of Shannon airport the next morning. Hope this helps... if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Have a nice trip!
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[ Edit: no personal e-mail addresses in the forums, sorry! ]

Oh yeah, things in Galway... be sure to walk down to South Park and around the waterfront. Really nice area and some great scenery.

Going West from Dublin,go and see the "Swiss Cottage", out of Cahir.
After much research, we skipped the Ring of Kerry bit and went to the Dingle Peninsula instead(Dingle was a fantastic recommendation)...superb. Don't miss the Slea Head Ring Road and the Gallorus Oratory!
Between Galway and Westport, visit Kylemore Abbey-superb house and stunning gardens-quite expensive to get in but worth it.
North(?)of Westport, do yourself a favour and visit the Irish Country Life Museum(run by the national trust I think).It was recommended by our B&B host and it was amazing.Could have spent more that the 2 hours that we did spend there.
Because we had to have the car back and catch the ferry to Stranraer fairly early, we stayed the night beforehand in Enniskillen(NI)-very very pretty area.Was a good trip on the freeway into Belfast.We spent our week out in the country rather than Dublin or Belfast.

Hy! I went to Dublin at the end of November (2 sunny days!!!!!!!!!!)
I can suggest you to taste the beer at Porterhouse Brewing (Parliament str. 16-18):it's a pub, they produce a very good beer by their own)

We also liked Meeting house square market, where you can taste almost all of the tipical local products (cheese, jams, fruits, hot apple juice with cinnamon, oysters, cakes....). It was a wonderland for me.I'm not sure if the market it's hold only on Saturdays.

Irish are really kind and sociable.They helped us many times (when we were looking for something on the map, when we asked suggestions..).

[we would like to come back and visit the countryside..but we're a little bit afraid of driving on the left hand]