Travel to Ireland?

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divingdeep8

Galway will take about 1 hour to the city.

Try mapquest for maps. They now have parts of Europe on mapquest

I used to live just south of Boston before I moved to Ireland. If it's your first time here, I recommend taking the bus tours for we drive on opposite sides of the roads here than in the US. It will also give you some ideas to visit when you return.

If you wish to travel by car, and you wish to have a map, get the Michelin maps at a local Barnes & Noble or Borders. They cost about 6-8USD but they are worth it. The other is
http://www.mapquest.com
select outside the US&Canada. Then you can select Ireland from the drop down. For me, it's the best to get from one point to another.

Lastly, during my visits here, I've always logged onto the Irish Tourism Board's site like
http://www.ireland.ie
I'd get a book of B&Bs ordered before my travel. Then I can look for places. In addition, I believe these are now online.

If you are looking to travel to Donegal, the Aran Islands, best time to go is June through beginning of September. Getting a B&B during your travels (you can call the following day for availability usually) will allow you to book when you are tired.

One strong recommendation - book a hotel near the airport your last night. Since if I remember correctly BOS to SNN had flights arriving in SNN in the early morning (better get your rest on the plane) and about noon time in the afternoon, to be safe, it's best to book around the airport before you depart. I used to stay in Jurys Inn Limerick or a B&B in Hurler's Crossing or stay at the hotels near Bunratty Castle. They are close to the airport so you are not rushing trying to figure out how long you have to travel. Remember, on the west coast, the roads are smaller and winding than in the US.

Good Journies.

robby_anna

fly into shannon, it will be cheaper.

shannon to galway is a few hours...maybe 3? and then galway to donegal is 4-5...depending on your route i think. let me rephrase that. it was about 4 1/2 hours on a bus from galway city to bundooran, donegal...but the bus made stops and was in rush hour traffic (irish traffic is impressively heavy)

go to irelandwest.ie (or .com, can't remember)...that's the tourist website for galway...they actually are very resourceful and good with directing people...so you may not need to use an agent to plan your whole trip.

be sure to spend a night in galway- it is a beautiful old city that is a great demonstration of modern ireland, as well- a university town with great culture and beautiful sights....

and beware if you drive thru connemara- bring a good map- it would be helpful if you had one with irish wording as well as english- there are areas in connemara where the signs are written in the irish language- which is very, VERY different from english. can be confusing.

in donegal, be sure that you take in bundoran (i think i spelled it differently above, sorry)...it's a really interesting seaside town that reminds me a bit of the jersey shore...boardwalk and all...but there is amazing surfing there, which makes for an interesting mix of people.

if you are flexible about time, you could consider taking buses around (nice to watch the scenery go by and the irish bus system- bus eireann- is actually good, on time, and user-friendly)

oh! and in galway, go to thomas dillon's claddagh gold shop- it is located on the main walking street near the bay....they are the only dealer of ORIGINAL claddagh rings- and the rings are lovely and well made (my very good friends' father owns the shop) - they have great stories about celebrities visiting them!

feel free to email me if you have any more questions- i lived in galway for a year working after college and would be more than willing to give pointers...robby_anna@yahoo.com

haggesitze

Depending on traffic, it can take up to 6 1/2 hours to drive from Shannon to Donegal town, if you are lucky you can make it in 5. An interesting travel agency might be "Gaeltacht Travel" or "Gaeltacht Reisen" if they still exist. I used them a few years back for friends of mine, and they were quite happy.

Mytaxgurus.com

Try the discount airlines like Ryanair or Easyjet if available. Try http://www.tourismireland.com/ for travel advice. You can also check http://www.couponsdealspromos.com/air-travel-promo.asp for travel deals.

mlcmonkey

http://www.tripmagician.com
http://www.myspace4travel.com

The first site has tons of resources so you don't have to go all over to find stuff.

The second is a community website that has people sharing travel tips and good place to make friends.

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