traviling to Southern Ireland in April 07. Will be staying in Dublin 4 days, the rest traveling out west then south. Is this feesible for a 2 week trip? Also, will be staying in the Parkgreen St area 2 nites in Dublin ( by Phoenix Park ) is this a place to be careful traveling to city centre? Plan on doing walking in Dublin- then driving the rest in car hire. Is it necessary to make reservations during the week along the way? Anyway help or advice will be appreciated. Cheers
1st trip to Ireland
Hi you should see quite a bit of the country in that time period - just have a rough itinerary of where you want to go! If you have a car you will be fine! What do you want to see or do?
Pheonix Park is quite central and you should be fine just take the same precautions as you would in any other big city. You will be able to cover quite a bit in 2 days in Dublin just use public transport - Dart or Luas are the transport systems on top of public buses.
Really you should be able to get B&Bs without reservations or just ringing ahead - check out the irish tourist board who can send you listings of all registered B&Bs
Enjoy Ireland lm sure you will have fun!
Heather
Thanks for the insight. The one thing I look forward to doing out west is eat oysters. I love them, and am always looking for a different taste. Do you know of any good places to get them? I hear Galway and surrounding area is good. Also, we want to see the Cliffs and the Dingle area. We are doing alot of research and are trying to "get a feel" for the area(s). But don't want to restrict ourselves to a strict itinerary. Any place you (or anyone else) may suggest "off the beaten path" would be appreciated. Cheers and good health
Phoenix Park is okay during the day, no problem at all. And there is no reason to go in there during the night anyway (unless you're looking for something illegal.) I live around this area and it's fine, just take the normal precautions. It's maybe 15-20 minutes from the City Centre, a bit less to Temple Bar.
The Hop-On/Hop-Off buses are a good way to explore the City, you pay for a day ticket and can get on and off at any stop you want. And you get a bit of history pointed out to you by the guide.
Dublin is quite compact and I think 2 days will be enough to see most of the sights.
Hope that helps.
Phil.
Hiya,
I think maybe you have the name of the street just slightly off there. I dont know of any Parkgreen St. in the city but there is a Parkgate St. Parkgate St. can be a dodgy enough are at night, so just take care. During the day its fine.
As for oysters, you want to go to a little village just outside of Galway on the Limerick side. It's called Clarinbridge. They have the very famous Oyster Festival every year there, but to the best of my knowledge it's held in Sept. BUT DONT DISPAIR! 
Paddy Bourke's pub on the main street in the village will serve you up the best oysters and Guinness in the country! I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND their duck liver pate. TO DIE FOR! 
Driving distances around the country are shortish, a few hours at most. There are pretty good motorways in place between the major cities at this stage (maybe not all the way). This can mean that you bypass a lot of interesting towns and villages, but as Purdy said, if you have a rough itinerary mapped out of where you want to go, you'll know where to stop!
April isnt a particularly heavy month tourist-wise in ireland, so reservations are probably not necessary everywhere. That's something that's really up to you. Unless there's a festival or something on anywhere, you can nearly always cruise into a town in Ireland and be guaranteed of accommodation somewhere.
Have a great trip! and bring a raincoat. April can be rainy!
x
Evelyn
Hello texczech.
Yes 2 weeks will be OK, for this. Of course longer would be better. If u are walking, from the Pheonix park to city centre, just dont go along any back streets, at night. Walk along beside the river Liffey. That should be safe enough day and night. If u are driving, it is also wise to stick to driving along the river.
Tourists start to crowd into Ireland, just before St Patricks day(17th March), so it is probably a good thing, to reserve hotel, guest houses, hostels, or wherever.
Mel
Hello again taxczech
U were asking about off the beaten track. Since u are driving,what about Achil island? It is not easy to get there, by public transport.
Mel
Other places of interest if you are in the Galway area - really recommend visiting the Aaran Islands its years since l was there but it was fantastic really laid back way of life. You catch a boat from the Salthill area of Galway!
Also in Galway in (l think) Shoppe Street - main pedistrain walk way - up hill around corner from Jurys Hotel on left hand side as you walk up the hill - McDOANAGHS FISH RESTAURANT - its small and has huge queues (well in July anyway!) but it is worth the wait - fantastic sea food - l can really recommend the crab claws which are slathered in garlic butter - oh my mouth is watering just thinking of them!!
Heather
Can't say thanks enough to all the help. Yes samsara2, the street is Parkgate. We will be careful at night. I do believe there is a main bus stop right outside the hotel so that should help out. Also, thanks Mel for the thought of walking along the river. I've been studying maps and that looks like it would be the best route. I will definitely keep you guys up on our progress ( as far as plans ) to hear more feed back. I'm glad to have found this website. Purdy, the crab claws sound awsome. Me being a chef from the states, I'm really looking forward to the different cuisine Ireland has to offer. Phil, the hotel I'm refering to is the Best Western Ashton ? I believe, (I don't have the info in front of me) are you familiar with it? Thanks again all and look very much to visiting. My wife and I are planning this trip for our 10 year wedding anniversary, so you can imagine how long we've looked forward to it. Good day, Ken
FYI the Luas (Ireland's answer to a tram) passes by Parkgate Street and runs all day and up to about 11.30pm at night so you should have no problem getting back safe and sound to your hotel on Parkgate Street. I think it costs about 3.20euro for a two hour ticket. Cheaper to catch the bus but you could always catch a tram up to Connolly Station and a DART out to Dun laoghaire. Great train ride out there plus you will get to see the coast line of Dublin which is really pretty on a sunny day. Should only take less than an hour to do both.