Ireland!

dpsmith

This is the forum for me!

I am planing to go (come) to Ireland in 6-7 months.
So far I have decided to save up about €2,177.00

roundtrip from the US to Dublin is €449.00 (price may change)

Accommodation:
Price to stay at the Lyndon Guesthouse for 22 nights
€1,100.00

I know what a guest house in the US is, but it might not be the same
in Ireland so you might want to explane, also what is a hostel? And why are Flats called flats? we call then apartments *shrugs*

I would really appreciate it if someone could perhaps call around to some places that might not be listed on the internet and ask how much it would
cost for 1 adult to stay for 22 nights. I am looking for cheap,
but not so cheap there are roaches everywhere. I am looking for a price somewhere between €20-34 a nite. don't know if there is a place like that but doesn't hurt to ask.

Transportation:
I am happy to just use the public transit, much cheaper I think
I watched on RTE Six One News about the prices going up and how most are disgruntled about it. I havn't been able to find prices online, perhaps someone knows. Perhaps I could buy a month pass? anyone know?

That leaves me with €628.00 (estimate). So what can I do with that much (or little depends how you look at it!)

If I have to I will save for a little longer. I am on a fixed income so €272
is the most I can save a month. I still have some repairs that I need to do to my house (water heater, heater, stove) so I expect to start saving either in March or April. that will let me come to Ireland in either Oct-Nov
months. And yes I love cold I am in a desert and hate it! I used to live where it was green in summer and cold and white in winter, but thats another thread.

If everyone agrees I should save more before I come I will. I have never had a vacation. So saving up to have a time of a lifetime would make me happy, doesn't mean it would be easy, after all someone said once
"When you want it so bad, it seems like it never will come" or something like that.

If you do post the cost of things, please post in euros. I'll do all the conversion my self.

Thanks for the info

David

:D:D

AckwelFoley

Good to hear you are comming. Hope you have a good time. tbh hostels are not my choice.. book a b + b or cheap hotel. Visit Temple Bar in Dublin if you like a mad nightlife, but to see real good irish culture go West.

Appartments are condos in the US.

Flats are an older term used for appartments. When we got more money we got more snobby

Monkey61

Hello.

Why did you pick the Lyndon Guest House? You could definitely find somewhere in a better location. Type cheap hotel Dublin into Google and it brings up loads of websites that have discounted rates and stuff.
It would be very difficult to find somewhere in Dublin so cheap that there are insects! Nowhere advertised online would be like that anyway. Hostels are cheap and basic accomodation usually involving shared dormitories, but often now they have private rooms as well. Traditionally they attract student/backpacker type people. the advantage of a hostel is that they have kitchens. Eating out 3 times a day for 22 days will cost a fortune!!!

22 days seems an awfully long time to spend in Dublin. Especially in October/November when its not so much cold as dull and grey. there really is not enough to do in Dublin for that long! Honestly. It is not a huge city. Also for that amount of time, you will need to save an awful amount of money! Cost of living, food, drink, entertainment etc is quite expensive. If you are travelling all this way for a holiday it would be nice to see a bit more of Ireland. Clare, Cork and Kerry are all worth a look. You can book bus tours and stuff from Dublin. Although the weather won't be the best for these either and a lot of country tourist stuff will be shut for the winter. Visiting in Oct/Nov means that lots of sitting around in parks/outside cafes/boat trips and suchlike will not be possible.

Public transport is very cheap compared to a lot of other countries. Check out the Dublin Bus website for details of prices of monthly tickets etc. If you are staying in the city centre though it may just be cheaper to pay for journeys separately.

628 euro would be very stretched over 22 days if you want to do anything except eat. Drinks and events/attractions are very expensive.

Also out of interest are you travelling alone or in a group?

If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask!

biko

Indeed, make arrangements for the first week in Dublin. Then ask around for things to see - most things would be outside the capital.
Don't come to Galway, you'll never want to leave

Bed and breakfast (you have your own room) would be around €35 in most places, city or countryside. And there is hostels everywhere http://www.hostelworld.com/countries/irelandhostels.html

Newgrange
Marblearch caves
Giants causeway
Ring of Kerry
et cetera

Lump

We don't have roaches in Ireland either

dpsmith

In reply to Monkey61,

"Why did you pick the Lyndon Guest House? "

Easy answer. The said location was the cheapest place I could
find on the internet using google.ie and selecting serch pages in Ireland

"22 days seems an awfully long time to spend in Dublin"

I don't recall anything about me staying in Dublin for 22 days..:D

"Especially in October/November when its not so much cold as dull and grey"

Well, I like cold and grey, espically if it is misty. Besides, that was just an estimate time frame.

"Also out of interest are you travelling alone or in a group?"

I am going to be solo. Don't have much of anyone that would come with me.

in Reply to Biko,

"make arrangements for the first week in Dublin"

Well I know some things I really would like to do is go to St James Gate,
Then go to Whelan's , General Post Office (to send of stuff) and a few other things.

"Then ask around for things to see - most things would be outside the capital"

Sounds great, like what kind of stuff?

"Don't come to Galway, you'll never want to leave
Bed and breakfast (you have your own room) would be around €35 in most places, city or countryside"

see now that's what I am talking about. Nice n cheap. unless you come to america then the €35 jumps to $51. But I am not going to be in america so it is cheap!

"And there is hostels everywhere"

Hmm well if a hostel is prety much a shared space count me out.
I will look at the website you sugested.

in reply to Lump,

"We don't have roaches in Ireland either "

That's great!
I could tell you horror storys of cheap hotel/motel's that where infested with roaches here in the states....

And here is another question, in Ireland, do you pasturize your milk? or is it the real stuff? I mean with the cream and everything it is illegal for me to go buy some milk off a farm so I have never had it strait always wanted to know what it tastes like.

The way I want to plan my trip is plan for an extended stay like 22 days, then if I stay for half that time I will have plenty of money, I always say better to have too much then not enough.

And I would like to see the real Ireland and stay away from the turoist traps. I used to live in a turist town, there was so much more to do.
So avoiding places like that is a big thing for me.

I would do a car hire, but I have a prepaid mastercard (basicaly a debt card) and all the places I have seen so far don't allow debt cards.

Oh and thanks kindly for the replys!

fatboypee

I would echo comments above to be honest:

1. Best time of year to visit is either end of May / Early June (seems to me to get best weather), or late August.

DEFINITELY depressingly wet and grey (little mist, mostly rain) in Oct-Nov

2. Start off in Dublin but get to Bus Aras and buy a ticket to anywhere...
Galway, Cork, Kerry, Clare, Donegal. Anywhere west-Coast will give you a chance to see some spectacular scenery.

3. Hostels
Plenty of hostels offer private rooms, I've stayed here with my kids and recommend it: http://www.irishtourist.com/details/lahinch_hostel.shtml

As said, Dublin is a great place to start, but 22 days ??, huh, 48 hours will see you do most of it....

FBP.

Monkey61

Hi.
I presumed you were staying in Dublin for 22 days because you mentioned budgeting for 22 nights in the Lyndon guesthouse!
It also will not be misty in any kind of romantic ireland sense!
Of course milk is pastuerised. It is highly dangerous to drink unpasteurised milk and you could just as easily ask an American farmer to let you drink it straight from the cow. I don't think any irish farmer is going to offer you a glass of unpasteurised milk in case it kills you. Irish milk is completely different to American milk anyway, judging by any milk I tasted in America.

Unfortunately as far as tourist traps go, most places worth seeing are such. But there probably won't be too many tourists about in october/november anyway, especially outside of Dublin! For countryside stuff, the Burren area in Clare, galway city, ring of kerry and parts of Cork are lovely. Without a car you will probably have to go on some kind of guided tour though, because most places do not have buses etc running to stuff you want to see.

Bear in mind though, that lots of ireland is dull, overdeveloped and really quite ugly, so make sure you plan well where you are going to save disappointment. The Discover ireland website seems okay and I'm sure there are more like it.

For things to do around dublin, check out the dublin bus website as well as they do bus tours - Glendalough is a must.

seamus

dpsmith wrote: »

Transportation:
I am happy to just use the public transit, much cheaper I think

http://www.cie.ie/home/
CIE are the national public transport company. They manage Irish Rail, Bus Eireann (national busses) and Dublin Bus.
Dublin also has an additional light rail system - LUAS, but it doesn't go to anywhere of note, so you'd probably not need to use it.
The rail system isn't great. It suffered for years from lack of funding, so much of the hardware is aged and there aren't even that many lines. For longer trips to the other big towns though, it would be preferable to a bus.

Lump wrote: »

We don't have roaches in Ireland either

Yeah we do. We just don't see very many of them, even in the dirtiest places

fatboypee wrote: »

1. Best time of year to visit is either end of May / Early June (seems to me to get best weather), or late August.

DEFINITELY depressingly wet and grey (little mist, mostly rain) in Oct-Nov

I'm in agreement here. Dublin/Ireland is fantastic in the summer. It's never stupidly hot, everything looks great and Grafton Street is great for some *ahem* scenery. During the above months, the schools and colleges are also finished, so there's more of a buzz in most of the cities and a better nightlife most nights of the week.
During the winter months, you'll find the nights are often just cold and wet and everywhere you go is either a deserted freezing bar, or closed.

I would recommend making some sort of a plan to do something/see something most days. All of the cities in Ireland are small by comparison and you can walk the length of the main part of most of them in a hour or two (not including the suburbs obviously).

Note for your own sanity that breakfast is late in Ireland. If you get up at 6am to go out for breakfast, you'll likely find that everywhere's closed. Most hotels do breakfast from around 7am to 11am from what I've experienced.

As others have said, €600 is definitely not a lot of cash for three weeks. The minimum you should be looking at (IMO) is €35-€50 per day, if you want to eat and go do stuff.

If your heart is set on winter time, best to come before Christmas - late Nov/Early Dec. There's a decent buzz in Ireland from the start of December and everywhere will be decked out. January is always dull and dismal, people are broke and unhappy.

Lump

I have NEVER seen a roach in Ireland - That's good enough as us not having them for me First day in my flat in London we were infested. Minging.

biko

Easiest:

Book 4 nights in Dublin somewhere.
Arrive and check in
Go for pint in small "old man pub"
Take it from there...

WindSock

I recommend you buy a B&B book for about 5 Euro. they are dead handy for travelling around Ireland with.

islander35

no roaches in ireland! stay in hostels, way cheaper use hostelworld.com, city link buses are cheap and get you round the main cities!!

FensterDJ

Perhaps if you let us know a little about what you're interested in and the type of things you like to do, we can give you better advice,

do you like

drinling, pubs nightclubs?

art, history, museums?

sport, hill walking, outdoor lifestyle?

theatre, writers, the arts?

scenery?

country or city living?

etc

there's plenty to do and see in Ireland at all times of the year, especially if you don't mind the weather being bad

although I don't think the amount of money you plan to bring will be enough for three weeks, unless you can live quite frugally, general living expensive, lunches/dinner and transport will eat up your budget in no time. also the dollar is very weak against the euro at the moment, making it even more expensive

Karlusss

Selecting "pages from Ireland" gets rid of all pages that could have .com or .net extensions, which are actually very common because they're cheaper and easier to get than .ie

Just a tip.

dpsmith

FensterDJ wrote: »

Perhaps if you let us know a little about what you're interested in and the type of things you like to do, we can give you better advice,

do you like

drinling, pubs nightclubs?

art, history, museums?

sport, hill walking, outdoor lifestyle?

theatre, writers, the arts?

scenery?

country or city living?

etc

there's plenty to do and see in Ireland at all times of the year, especially if you don't mind the weather being bad

although I don't think the amount of money you plan to bring will be enough for three weeks, unless you can live quite frugally, general living expensive, lunches/dinner and transport will eat up your budget in no time. also the dollar is very weak against the euro at the moment, making it even more expensive

Sorry been busy recording my new single.. anyway,

Personaly I have never been to a pub, so thats on the to do list, as well as the St. James gate tour.. I love Guinness... but then that's the only one from Ireland I can get.. but one has to be carefull here in america, they make some Guinness in Canada too! belive me, you can taste the differance...

Also I like plays, so thats in the arts department. I remember reading somewhere that in Roscomman(I think, it's in the midlands somewhere) there is a museum about the famine that Ireland went through, thought that would be interesting.

I am a musican so.. I like music, I listen to Phantom ALOT and would like to go to whelan's (I think thats spelled right) just because I hear a lot of gigs being advertised on phantom.

What the heck is drinling? you mean drinking? if so already said I like Guinness. *looks in pocket book to see if he has enough money to go buy a six pack as it has been about a month since he has had any*

I am single so that free's up a lot of stuff. I am NOT looking for romance.. I done gave up on that LOOOONG time ago.. thats another thread though... having said that.. if something does happine great.. but I am not going to go flying half way around the world to try and go mate seeking... there got that off my chest.. lets see....

I am also the type that likes the country.. I really don't like big citys, except every now and then. In america I am what is known as a hill billy.

Scenery? What kind of Scenery? I have never been to the ocean so thats a must as well. I do like to fish.. ALOT.. wouldn't mind camping. you know out there *points out the window away from the city* where you can smell the smells of nature..

Oh and a train ride sounds good.. never been on a train before either.
been on a horse once or twice.. was fun till it bit me.. but then.. thats what I get for teasing it with fake sugar cubes.. hey I was young.. still love horses though.

Also I saw on the come see Ireland website about a castel banqute... that sounds fun too.. strange thing is if you choose out of country you don't see it.. I hope it is not just for Irish folk.. Dinner and a show cant beat that!

Also some REAL Irish food sounds good too.. not Italian food or Spanish/Mexican food, I am 200 miles from mexico.. so we have lots of people from mexico open mexican food resturants... Ireland does have it's own type of food I am sure... like that black pooding stuff... looks um.. well.. just doesn't look editable.. but hey I wont say I don't like it till I try it!

Sooo, is that enough info about what type of person I am? I could give the whole life story if you want...

:D:D:D:D

And yes I am in a good mood tonight.

David

P.S

If you want visit my myspace page you can find it here: http://www.myspace.com/dpsmith05

As a note there is no music up yet... not even a photo.. going to go get one of those taken next month.

Honestly David Ireland is an underwhelming kip with extortinate prices.

Take that Famine Museum in Roscommon. The display is essentially a couple of mock potatoes, baskets and famine baby shoes in front of a video on loop. It has a rose garden, which they featured in a TV advert for tourism in the west. My mothers garden is more impressive.
And that pretty much sums the value you get for a tourist euro here.

I would hate for you to come here and have a miserable time and never have a holiday again.

I think you would do very to have a look at New Zealand, and come back to Ireland when your Dollar is worth more and you for a shorter period of time.

JoeSchmoe

You've never been to a pub!! I don't believe you, they are quite similar to what you call a "bar" you know. but anyway, Dublin is probably the drinking capital of the world so you'll need to do a bit more practice on that front before you get here, a six pack a month is for lightweights:)

Anyway you like music and theatre, so Dublin (and to some extend the other cities/towns) is great for that, always lots of gigs on at all times of the year, from small local acts to big international bands so there's always something to suit the budget and size of venue perference,

check www.entertainment.ie for listing

Also if you like the country there's loads of it in Ireland too although the weather doesn't always suit, all kinds of outdoor activities if you have the budget

check www.greatdaysout.ie for some ideas, but don't be put off by the prices on that site, I think they're much too high.


you might consider doing one of round Ireland tours, aimed at people on a budget, check out http://www.paddywagontours.com/ for an example of that.

Traditional Irish food is pretty rubbish, but can be nice if cooked properly, what you do need to get is a trad Irish Breakfast, lovely, set you up for the whole day.

http://kristinasepulveda.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/2005_04_24_english_breakfast_300x298.jpg

Anyway, there's lots to do here so come on over,

danielleia

how much is the tourist board paying u js???:D:D:D

IrishMike

Dpsmith if you can try and make it to Bunratty in Co Clare.
Its a restored Norman Castle with a folk park.
They have banquets there at night with folk singers and an old style feast.
Well worth a visit.
While in Clare you should also visit the burren, cliffs of moher etc.
If you have never seen the sea it will be a great experience.
Should also try to get to Dingle in Kerry, about as Irish a place as you will ever see.
Enjoy your time here and ignore the people who say its a kip, the grass is always greener etc etc

Board-in-work

Hi there,

I would say to stay in a hostel if you can. Book well in advance, some of them do have single rooms, as opposed to dorms. best thing about hostels, is you'll get to meet so many peole in the same boat as yourself. Sitting around playing music into the wee hours with a bottle of whiskey........

B&B's - yup, you'll definately get your own room no probs, for about 35 euros a night. If you're gonna be in the same B&B for a week, then negotiate a weekly rate. You'll get a discount. If not, move to one that will give you one.

Dubin - St.James's gate is ok, suppose all Guinness pilgrims have to do this. Book online for a 20% discount on the entry ticket (I think). Dublin is expensive, and very touristy - worth a couple of nights. Temple Bar for a bit of craic - but pints here will cost you at least 5 euros (10 pints in a night = expensive???). I think guest houses / B&B's on the North side of the river are the cheapest.

Get out of Dublin as soon as you can. If you like music, then Galway is the place to be. Great pubs - music.

I'd recommend Dingle, Galway (Alwee caves?), West Cork for some scenery - Over on the West, Bundorran (up from Galway) has great surfing - if you haven't seen the Ocean - a couple of days in the Surfers Bar will make you want to stay forever. Then you can do the Cliffs of Moher....


If you're heading up north, then a day walking around Belfast is a good bet - then train up to the North Antrim Coast to see the Giants Causeway (must see). The coastal train up there is probably the best in Ireland - stunning scenery. Bushmills distillery also up there - worth a visit too.


Post up a route you're thinking about, and we'll all suggest pubs and stuff to visit.

I'd also suggest just having a vague route, and then setting off. Don't plan too much. Enjoy.

jimmysull

There seems to be some value emerging in travelling to Ireland from the USA. In response to the weak dollar and a potential fall in tourism numbers, the industry appears to be reacting by making it feasible for US citizens to have an affordable break in Ireland in 2008. This seems to be led by a great offer from Aerlingus

wolf99

just to correct a much earlier comment about thee milk.

Unpasteurized milk is not lethal. In fact if anyone remembers when it came in bottles and the un-pasteurized (silver top in england) bottles, the cream always settled to the top.

Plus milk tastes oh so much better un-pasteurized.

If ya ever lived in the country you'd know that farmers often take the first milk, (richest in cream) and, un-pasteurized give it to young lambs that aren't doing so well (runts)

If your in a rural area with small dairy farms a farmer (if not to busy) loves to exchange a cup or to of this milk in exchange for a bit of conversation!

its the best stuff, gurnsey cows give the best milk for this, but are not heard of much, never mind farmed in ireland as they like sunnier climes.

Panthro

ive seen a roche in ireland,
STEPHEN ROCHE!!!!!
(ahhhhh im soo funny)
go meet stephen roche if you can
hes a god in this country.
he cures every disease in the known world.
except the common flu

IanCurtis

dpsmith wrote: »

Sorry been busy recording my new single..

I know this fella

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQyAJAIg0vg

df1985

id say do about 5 days in dublin that would include a weekend in the 5 days.that way you'll see how the irish drink on the weekends.plus all the pubs will be packed at weekends.5 days is plenty of time to get the sights done.outside dublin like everyone said head for the west coast.id say head for county mayo starting at westport.lovely town with load of pubs and irish music.great scenery too with croagh patrick mountain and clew bay.id come down along the coast into county galway to a place called clifden.clifden is a lovely town in a region called connemara. very rural area with plenty of people still speaking irish as their first language.then head for galway city.my favourite city in ireland, its so small you can walk everywhere and all the pubs are centred mainly along one street. then id head down into clare, to the burren and the cliffs of moher.the cliffs are trully spectacular.aliwee cave is also in this area.from there head for kerry.dingle and killarney are the best towns here but the scenery is the main attraction.theres a huge national park and the famous "ring of kerry" is a must.i presume you'll be flying back from dublin airport so on he way back stop in a town called cashel in county tipperary to see "the rock of cashel" as said B&Bs are the best option.you'll get a true irish welcome in them and a big fry in the morning to fill you up for the day.