Castles Aren’t the Only Amazing Things To See In Ireland!
There is so much to see in Ireland! Aside from driving from the airport on the wrong side of the road, there are some additional quirks to Ireland you might want to know about before you go. First and foremost, if you are renting a car, be sure to get the extra travel insurance!
What a deal I found through TravelZoo!! It was $799 pp for 4 people. It included roundtrip airfare, a shared car and a shared 3 bedroom condo on the grounds of the Adare Manor in Adare, Ireland. These accommodations were outstanding! We had our own ‘house’ for the week while enjoying all the amenities of The Manor. Pricing is better in October as it’s considered the ‘off’ season. It’s well worth the savings since we were sightseeing, not ‘beaching’.
First night there, we checked out the town. Aunty Lena’s drew us in and was so much fun. It seems common practice for musicians in Ireland to grab their instrument and head down to the town bar in the evening. What a great impromptu show, townspeople came and joined/left the circle throughout the evening.. Incredible music and drunken sing-a-longs. These people sincerely love to party! A great place in town for dinner is The Blue Restaurant. It’s small but a nice atmosphere and the food was great!
We traveled south to Dingle. The Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park is beautiful and worth the few minute walk from the road. (You’ll need to get out of the car for a few minutes to breathe anyway.. the roads are too narrow for your car much less oncoming traffic and the sheep that seem to just walk along single file wherever you go.)
We stopped for lunch close by at a hotel/restaurant overlooking the water. It was beautiful and I wish that I could remember the name…
You might want to consider a medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle. While the food is only fair, the show and atmosphere are well worth the experience. Right outside of the castle is Dirty Nellys, built in the 1620’s, which is pretty famous. All these centuries later, I’m happy to say the food is still really good.
Heading north from Adare, we stopped in the town of Limerick. They have open farmers markets that were pretty cool. Be careful, the roads are so narrow and congested it kind of takes your breath away. (A bit of a theme here as you travel on the wrong side.. get the extra insurance, seriously.)
I would love to tell you about The Cliffs of Moher but unfortunately they were closed. (I know. Sounds ridiculous.) In all reality, it was too foggy so they closed the cliffs. We found a tiny residential road along the cliffs and parked to enjoy the view.
We decided in the end, our small town of Adare, was the most beautiful Irish town we saw!
On the to do list you have to get some skeet shooting instructions! One of the best experiences we had.
Quirks: If you haven’t heard, it rains a lot. If you use an umbrella, you are definitely a tourist. The Irish walk around, the kids play ball, life goes on as if it not raining! Driving is challenging. Most of the narrow roads should be one way but they aren’t. Perk: The people are unbelievably friendly! The castles are beautiful!
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