FYI

Alan and Heather's Travel Tips for Ireland

In general, Ireland is fairly expensive – meals are simple and not cheap. Always ask for a local
referral. For lunch, if you are in a hurry your best bet is to stop at a pub that has a “carvery”
lunch this is kind of cafeteria style, you can see what you get and it is fast. The “chippers”
typically have good and reasonable food. Though some fry the fish with the skin on. If you
don’t like skin on your fish (like Heather) ask them ahead of time. Also, you never tip
bartenders and leave minimal tips for servers (5 to 10%).

Where to shop. Definitely do your shopping in Dublin. The prices are better than the
country. The department stores -- Roches, Arnotts (Henry Street) and Clearys (O’Connell
Street) are better than the touristy shops and have a pretty good selection. Roches has
20% off everything on Thursdays and Saturdays the selection is limited but you can really
save. All of the houseware and gift sections are on the lower floor. The airport also has
pretty good shops and prices.

For Dublin, we recommend the following:

- The bus tour is really good. You a great quick overview of the city. The pass is good for
24-hours and you can get on and off all day. We think City Tours (green buses) have better
guides
- The national museum is also really good and free. It takes about two-hours to view
everything.
- We would consider skipping the Book of Kells if you are pressed on time. It costs 7 euros a
person and is not all that thrilling. We would also skip Dublinia, it is pretty hoaky (unless you
have kids they may enjoy)
- A good place to eat for a "continental" style meal is Fitzers in Temple Bar.. this really hits
the spot once you’ve gotten sick of typical Irish food, the pasta and salads are really good.
- The National Botanical Gardens are also really cool and FREE! To get their from town take
the 13 bus (not the 13A). If you go make sure you see the huge lily pads they are
awesome. The pub across the street (Addison Lodge) is also nice and has a good and fast
carvery lunch.

If you are planning on going to the Cliffs of Moher, we recommend staying in Ennis. Ennis
is one of our favorites in Ireland. A great B&B is Laurel Lodge, it is on Clare road, phone –
065-6821560. It's walking distance from town and very nice. Ennis has 4 good restaurants
we typically eat at Brogans. The Diamond Bar across the street sometimes features
traditional music and typically stays open after hours. Bunratty castle is also close to Ennis
and pretty good. It has a castle that has been refurbished (with lots of stairs to climb) and a
little village that you can tour the old-fashioned houses. Warning though this is really
“touristy”.

Other things we really have enjoyed in Ireland:

Rock of Cashel – If you are into ruins this is a must. Alan's favorite place to visit in the old
country.

County Wicklow - This is a good day trip from Dublin and is very scenic. This is where
Power's Court and Glendalough reside Glendalough is the home of St. Kevin -- you know
the guy who let a bird lay an egg in his hand and waited for it to hatch. Glendalough has
existed since the 5th century.

Kilkenny – This is a great pub town. The tour of kilkenny castle is pretty good, though I’ve
heard Bantry house is really the “mansion” tour to do.

Blarney Castle – This is the ultimate touristy thing to do but it is pretty fun. Driving
through Cork can be a nightmare and driving on the WRONG side of the road is always a
challenge (just ask Alan, he's the designated driver whenever we visit Ireland).

Getting off the Beaten Track – If you have the nerve to brave the roads this is a little
fun. We took the N71 down along the coast got off at Ardmore which has one of the
largest round towers in Ireland and then went on to stay the night in Youghal. There is a
really nice B&B that is 50 meters from the beach – Bayview House, it is out of town about a
mile and quiet. You can hear the waves all night long with the window open. There are
two pubs within walking distance so it’s not bad as far as night life goes. From there you
can drive across the Cork mountains stopping at Timoleague Abbey ruins and Bantry house
on the way to Kenmare.

Kenmare – Kenmare is a great town to get a good meal, Foleys is nice. There is also an
after hours bar that is open till 2:30 across from the square. From their you can hit the Ring
of Kerry bright and early (well not too early if you were at the late night bar). The best part
of the ring is the lakes of Kilkenny if you do the Cork mountains on the way to Kenmare you
could skip the south part of the ring which is pretty much more of the same -- but with a
lot more traffic and tour buses along the way. Driving through the Cork mountains is pretty
much just you and the sheep.

Also, remember everything takes twice as long in Ireland so don't try and pack to much into
any one day.

Let us know what you find, we are always interested in finding new restaurants and things
to see!