We just got back last night from a week in Ireland. I plan to post the full trip report over the next few weeks, but I wanted to give my initial thoughts briefly while the trip is still fresh in our minds.

• Rent a car – If you want to see the best and hard-to-reach scenery on the west coast, you can’t really do that in a tour bus. I mean, technically, you could, but it’s definitely better to go at your own pace and stop where you want. Driving on the left is not that hard, but don’t do it when you first arrive and are jetlagged.
• Everywhere takes credit cards – Every restaurant, shop and parking place in every town, city, village and side of the road attraction in the middle of nowhere has a credit card machine. You can get some Euros just in case, but you won’t need many (or probably any).
• Plan ahead – Some things are cheaper if you buy tickets in advance. Some things sell out at various times and days, especially during busier times. Figure out roughly what you want to do on each day and determine if it makes sense to buy tickets in advance, especially if you have a larger group.
• Talk to the locals – You will get lots of good tips on driving routes, less busy times to visit places, restaurants, pubs, music, etc. if you just have a quick chat with your B&B owner or a hotel front desk worker or a pub bartender and so on. Even if you are an introvert, try and strike up a chat with locals and it will be worthwhile.

I look forward to sharing our trip in words and pictures over the next few weeks. We visited Dublin, Galway, the Cliffs, Doolin, Dingle, the Dingle Peninsula, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, the Rock of Cashel, and Kilkenny in a busy week.

If you enjoyed this post (or have questions), let me know in the comments or send me an email at emptynestermiles@gmail.com. If you are thinking about opening a new credit card, please use one of my links.