Hi guys, I'm planning a trip to Ireland the end of October, we are planning on hitting Dublin, Killarney, and Cork. We only have a week so I am hoping to get those ones seen! Does anyone know of any places that are good to see in these cities and places to stay? We are planning on taking the train to get around, good idea or no? Aslo, I will be on my own for the last 3 days of the trip in Dublin, any advice for a woman traveller on her own here? What to do and how to be as safe as possible? thanks for your help!
Posts: 3 | Location: us | Registered: 05 June 2005
I would say that if you are going to Killarney, also try to check out the Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula, they are not too far away. There are a number of good hostels in Killarney, I've stayed at Sugan a few times which I really like. In Killarney, definitely go to the National Park and check out Muckross House although I'd say it isn't really worth going inside for a tour if you don't have a ton of money to spend.
In Dublin I've stayed at Kinlay House a few times, which is really nice and really central, fairly cheap. In Dublin you should obviously check out the Book of Kells at Trinity College, but also go see Christchurch Cathedral and St Patrick's. The Guinness tour is good if only for the free pint you get at the end, with a nice view.
You won't have any problems in Dublin by yourself, just use common sense at night as you would anywhere else.
Safe travels!
Posts: 16 | Location: Washington D.C. | Registered: 22 March 2005
Stay away from the area around Connelly Station at night, it's a bit rough. Other than that, normal rules of caution apply. The Christchurch area is the most interesting and historic, IMHO. Def stay near there if you can (Kinlay House is in that area). I've heard that the Guinness tour is a bit of a ripoff. But the Kilmainham Jail museum (quick bus ride from centre of town) is worth it (lots of history about the beginning of the Irish state, also In the Name of the Father was filmed there).
Killarney town is nice if a bit touristy. The real stars of the show are the lakes, so jump on a tour bus, hire a bike, or pull on your hiking boots (and raincoat!) for the day.
Something travellers often forget is that the sun sets pretty early at the end of October, about 5 or 6pm.
Check train times on http://www.irishrail.ie. There's a reasonably good service between Dublin, Cork and Killarney. Bring your own food (it's overpriced and sometimes unavailable on the train). Avoid rush hour around the Dublin commuter belt at all costs!
Posts: 66 | Location: Ireland | Registered: 28 July 2005
I would second the Kinlay House hostel in Dublin. It is on the end of Dame St, and is a great location. A friend of mine used to work there and the staff were fantastic.
Avoid O'Connell St at night by yourself if you can help it -it was recently announced as the street with the highest crime rate in Europe!
Dublin is a very safe city. The city centre is also quite small and very walking friendly, so if you can stay in the middle of town you will save loads of time and money on public transport costs.
Go to as many pubs as possible! Go to the Guinness Storehouse, but skip the tour and head staight up the lift to the gravity bar for a great pint of guinness. This is the highlight of the tour, so skip the rest of it. It is also an expensive tour.
The Dublin Writers tour is great fun, as is the Literary Pub crawl. They are both pub tours, but have poetry readings and lots of Irish history. Not your usual pub crawl - no silly hats and t-shirts - and is a great way to see some of the city landmarks and oldest pubs.
Posts: 13 | Location: Australia | Registered: 12 July 2005
Dublin - I would definitely suggest kilmanheim gaol, its easy enough to get to by bus, and the tour is really interesting...
Killarney - the national park is lovely, and the town itself is really cute...the ring of kerry is amazing, and a bus tour (or even better road trip if you can hire a car) is fantastic....if you do hire a car, you should definitely take the advice given to do the ring in the same direction as the buses go, since the roads are very narrow and passing buses is a nightmare!
Cork - while there are a few nice touristy things to do here, I would suggest checking out West Cork if you can, towns like Skibbereen and Bantry are really lovely fishing/harbour villages. If you go to Skibbereen try and get to Lough Hyne (a salt water lake) that is beautiful and serene.
Wherever you are definitely check out the pubs, its the culture here and there are plenty that have traditional music nights etc...often there aren't touristy, they're just irish people getting together for a 'session' so its a really good atmosphere.
Posts: 14 | Location: Hamilton, New Zealand | Registered: 17 June 2004
a cheap way to get around (muuuch cheaper than the train) is the aircoach - http://www.aircoach.ie - they are pretty much direct coaches, comfortable, and go places like cork-dublin.. not necessarily from airport to airport either! u can buy a ticket on board, or pre-buy one.. return tickets are good for about a month i think as well (u'd wanna check that!) .. i find them the best value for getting around ireland
im 21 f and i have been living in dublin since march (am an aussie) so if u want to hang out for a guiness or two pm me and we can meet up an ill show ya round dublin a bit
mandie
Posts: 4 | Location: Dublin | Registered: 15 August 2005
The dublin Marathon is run October 30th, be aware because I would expect hotels and hostels to be harder to come by this time of year, at least for the week before and after the marathon. see ya there.
Posts: 3 | Location: KY | Registered: 27 November 2005
At the Guiness Storehouse, I think you stil have to pay the price to get "in", even if you just go straight to the lifts and up to Gravity. The tour really is a rip-off, so you'd have to decide for yourself on the worth/value of what you'd pay for the pint at the top. If I could do it over again, I'd pass.
Def. do the literary- and/or musical- pub crawls. Sure, they sound touristy when you first get the info. on 'em, but you do go to some cool places, and the "guides" you'll have are awesome.
Def. do Dingle, Ring of Kerry, etc. IF you can spend some time on the West Coast and take in the Cliffs, etc., go for it.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page. ---St. Augustine
Posts: 773 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 28 April 2005
My ex and I were there in October several years ago. It could get pretty chilly (but not freezing cold) and of course you could get some rain. So just bring clothes for layering, a snuggly sweater or thick hoodie and a rain jacket and you'll be fine. Have a wonderful time!
Posts: 112 | Location: Philadelphia, PA USA | Registered: 05 October 2005
