Ireland

Ireland - Fav 5 {Travel Guide}

4/19/2019

Fav 5 Travel Guides are a short list of the best things I've found to do, see, eat, or drink in a particular location. This guide is for Ireland.

There is another Fav 5 {Travel Guide} just for the city of Dublin so you won't see anything from Ireland's Capital and it's largest city included in this guide.

Look no further for more on International Travel or Fav 5 Travel Guides within the US.

Ireland was the second and final country of my first International Trip. My husband and I went to Italy and Ireland in 2014 on our honeymoon.

Bryce and I are both part Irish and we first met in an Irish pub in Honolulu, Hawaii, so visiting Ireland was a must for us. If that weren't enough reason for us to go, Penn State, my Alma Mater, was playing (American) football there! Our whole trip revolved around that game which we ended up winning in double overtime.

We spent several days touring around the Emerald Isle before settling into Dublin for the weekend and football game. This adventure took us to several cities, towns, and landmarks and all over the roads, via the left side of the road and right side of the car (for me, the driver).

Ireland is the inspiration for the second Figs and Flights {event}. The celebration of Irish Hospitality will take place on Friday, May 17 at our favorite Irish pub in Seattle, Shawn O'Donnell's.

I need a ticket

Irelands Cliffs of Moher, make this #1 on your list of things to see

My Fav 5 things and places in Ireland are:

The Cliffs of Moher
Doolin Village
The City of Galway
The Irish pubs & music
The scenery

My LEAST favorite part about Ireland, which must be stated, was driving. We'll talk more about that along with #5, the scenery.

A very sturdy looking castle in Ireland

1. The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's most famous landmarks. With limited time in the country we decided to visit these cliffs instead of the Blarney Stone and I have no regrets!

When you arrive you'll first encounter a Visitors Center. Take a bathroom break there because once you're at the cliffs you won't want to leave! You'll set out on foot and walk toward the water. Eventually you'll need to decide to go left or right, leading you down a path to either side of the cliffs. We went right and I wish we'd had time to see both sides!

At some point you'll encounter a tower along the way that you can pay to go up. We did it, but the view is nothing in comparison to the cliffs. I recommend skipping the tower and saving your euro, time, and energy for the cliffs.

Eventually you'll arrive at the cliffs' edge. You'll know you're almost there when the paved path turns to a dirt trail and you're walking right up against the fence of a cow pasture!

You'll have seen so much beauty along the way, already, but when you arrive to the edge of the cliff you will be (metaphorically) blown away! The cliffs are giant, beautiful, and majestic.

Being American, we were shocked to see how un-touched the area at the cliffs is! There are very few warning signs, and no railings or fences protecting or stopping you from nearing the cliffs' edge. DANGER looms but the unobstructed view makes for a humbling experience and wonderful view.

Photos will never do justice for the Cliffs of Moher but take so many of them anyway. You'll cherish them, I promise.

The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, you can see the footpath and tiny humans walking along it atop the cliffs

This ain't 'Merica, folks, you can get super close to the edge of the Cliffs of Moher without warning signs or barriers!

2. Doolin Village

Doolin was our favorite little town, properly labeled a village. It's important for you to know that I am a city gal who lives in and enjoys the fast-pace and high energy of big cities. Doolin is the perfect escape from that world and Daly's House was crucial in our enjoyment of the village.

My Aunt had been to Doolin the year before we visited and she insisted that we stay at Daly's House Bed and Breakfast. The house and rooms are cozy, comfortable, and serene. The owners are wonderful hosts and make an amazing breakfast for guests each day! If that weren't enough, they drove us to the furthest of the 4 bars in Doolin and we pub crawled all the way back home!

The bright pink Sweater Shop is likely the most Instagrammed spot in Doolin. Not only is it adorable and pink it's got great clothing made of Aran wool. I bought a sweater there that I still wear often, some 4.5 years later.

Our proper adventure (not counting the pub tour!) was a visit to the Doolin Cave. I was terrified to take this tour. I'm claustrophobic and had just survived the underground tour in Naples, Italy, the week prior. At the beginning of the tour you'll learn about folks who search for caves by crawling through tiny tunnels in the ground! If they find a cave they're heroes. If they don't find a cave, they shimmy backward back out of the tunnel!!! That story was enough to make me relax a little bit about my situation… Anywho you descend underground using several flights of stairs down then walk, upright, through a tight passageway. At a certain point the guide instructs you to turn your flashlights off and take a few more steps. You notice that you're hearing echos for the first time on the journey and BAM, the lights come back on and you find yourself in a huge cave, staring at the largest stalactite in Europe! It's exciting, cool, damp, and exhilarating.

The little cafe at the cave looked like an amazing place to eat but we didn't have the appetite after our breakfast at Daly's house. Please someone eat there and report back to me!

Sunrise in Doolin from Daly's House

Daly's House Bed and Breakfast is wonderful for many reasons but if I can only chose one it's the breakfast!

Isn't this perfect?

A FULL Irish breakfast, plus cheese, baked goods, and more. *PS - I used to eat meat!

The Doolin cave and stalactite!

3. The City of Galway

Galway is just between a big city, like Dublin, and an Irish village, like Doolin.

We spent a night in the adorable town and did a whole lot of nothing, as one can only do on vacation. We ate and drank to our hearts delight, strolling up and down the pedestrian road in the center of Galway.

It's one of those surreal destinations where you roam aimlessly without ever seeing a vehicle or glimpse of real life, like a Disney park or Mykonos island, in Greece.

There is a little area in town that shows the flags of the families who founded the city. I'd love to return for more time in Galway and to learn more about the city and those Irish families!

The heart of Galway

Flags for the founding families of Galway, Ireland

4. The Irish Pubs and Music

Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Saint Patrick's Day parade is one of the biggest celebrations of the year. Did I mention I met my husband in an Irish pub?

Ok, ok, you know. Well you shouldn't be shocked to hear that one of my favorite parts of Ireland were the pubs and music!

The joke says that the pubs are Ireland's sunscreen, ha. What I was excited to find is that the locals in the pubs were so friendly to visiting Americans! This isn't always the case when traveling and it was such a welcoming way to experience Ireland. Friendly folks in pubs and so, so many drinks are waiting for you in Ireland!

When I arrived in Ireland I was hesitant to order my go-to cocktail, a vodka soda, because, HELLO IT'S IRELAND. I didn't like Guinness or whiskey, I don't know why they even allowed me to enter the country. By the time I left I was drinking Guinness with black currant liqueur faster than my husband and had fallen in love with Jameson Irish whiskey with ginger ale. (More on that when we get to Dublin next Friday!)

Ireland was filled with music, much to my delight! There were customers in pubs who were singing and playing spoons for the crowd from their barstools, as if they were hired musicians. Some bars did hire bands and dozens of people were dancing around the bar. There were also so many people playing music outside on the street. I purchased a mini tambourine in Ireland and participated in several street side jam-sessions! (The tambourine is still a staple for me on a trip and was recently THROWN AT ME in Palm Springs, more on that later!) Don't miss the photo of a man making music on a microwave.

There's no specific city or pub I'd recommend, just follow the music and enjoy the gems of Ireland.

Music is everywhere in Ireland, look at this guy playing a microwave!

I've got no good photos of a pub, sorry, I was drinking!

5. The Scenery

Lastly, the scenery in Ireland is stunning. But first we need to talk about my least favorite part - driving in Ireland.

We got to all of the previously mentioned cities and places via a rental car. My travel partner and husband is the frugal one in our relationship. I'm the one who grew up driving a stick-shift. He booked the rental car and had a win-win situation, a stick-shift was cheaper and ensured that he never had to drive! I'm not sure why I didn't just make a change to the reservation but I didn't…

For me, driving in Ireland was awful. Dreadful. The worst. It was raining when we landed and we took off immediately on a long and rainy drive across the island on the wrong side of the road. Getting into the car everyday was dreadful and I felt a great sense of relief every time we reached our destination for the day. My stress level has never been so high on a trip before, I swore that I'd never return to Ireland unless I had a private driver!

Now, in hindsight, I feel a little bit differently. I've traveled so much more since then and I think that I'd be more comfortable driving there now and would 100000% rent an automatic and share the driving responsibilities with my dear, sweet, lovely husband.

Back to the gorgeous scenery of Ireland, it is out there waiting for you! You may have to suffer through long drives, insanely narrow roads, and giant rain drops to get to it, let me warn ya'. Visiting Ireland was humbling for me, between driving and never being able to keep up any sort of appearance in rain gear and sopping wet clothing! I'm only moderately prissy and don't know what a gal with straightened hair and eyelash extensions would do in a situation where you've gone all the way to Ireland but don't want to get out of the car, in the rain, to see the sights!

Longggg story long, I did it. I drove, we lived, we're still married, and I got out of the car at every stop, most times in the rain, to enjoy all of the gorgeous sights along the way. Charming cottages, oceanfront view points, and everything GREEN. Ireland is magnificently beautiful and I'm grateful for the experience.

Needless to say, rain gear is a must for a visit to Ireland.