Ireland

Most people who visit Ireland only allot 4 or 5 days to their total stay in the country. If you are planning such a trip, firstly I would recommend you to lengthen your stay. The chances are, of course, that you won't, so here's what I would suggest you do on a 5-day visit.

Summer is the best season as the days are long then and the weather is less likely to be lousy. You should try to arrive at night, as you may not be in the mood for more travel straight after your arrival. Rent a car at the airport. (If you choose not to drive, skip Dingle and get a train to Galway + bus from there to the Cliffs of Moher, instead). You should hit the countryside without delay as you'll want to be back in Dublin well before your flight out and will want to spend the latter part of your stay there.

Day1: Get up at the 'crack o'dawn' (early) and drive to Dingle in the South-West of Ireland. The drive takes about 5 hours. It's about 3 hours to Limerick and another 2 from there. Do the Slea head circuit. I'd recommend you stop off at Coumenole beach and the pier from where boats leave for the Blaskets. Check out Gallarus oratory. There's a new centre down the hill from the oratory. If you pass through the centre, you'll be charged and it's a long walk up the hill. You can enter for free from the narrow road, uphill from the centre and it's a short walk from this old car park. The visitors centre in Dunquin is a waste of time and money. If you have time you'd be better off taking in Brandon Point instead. It's a nice place for a short walk in the hills. If you arrive back in Dingle before 6pm, you can go to the aquarium, or do some shopping. There are some good seafood restaurants in the town. After eating you can go to a pub for some live music. Some nights the atmosphere is great. Most places start live music at 8pm and it's free.

Day2: If you're staying in a B&B breakfast will probably be served from 9am. After breakfast take the Connor Pass road to Tralee. On a fine day, the scenery is magnificent. Continue on to Tarbert and ride on the next ferry to Kilrush. You're heading for Galway via the Cliffs of Moher. It takes about 4 hours to Moher from Dingle, maybe a little more if you're taking in all the scenery. You can spend alot of time walking along the cliffs as this is the main attraction for today. Drive a few miles inland to Balincogen where you can walk on wasteland with thousands of mini-dolmens. It's actually quite spectacular. You can spend the evening in Galway, shopping or drinking or taking it easy. Galway was where the famous Cladagh ring was born.

Day3: Today's main adventure is going to the Aran Islands. Check the departure times the day before. As far as I know boats leave at 10am from Galway and 10:30am from Rossaveel. If you're driving, drive to Rossaveel about 45 mins west of Galway. Taking the boat from here means less time on the sea, where many people get sea-sick. In winter on wild days boats will only leave from here, if at all. If you're not driving, there's a boat from Galway pier. When you arrive there will be many locals offering tours unless it's winter (see picture of Mick and Misako over). If you can rent a bicycle, do, otherwise haggle with anyone who charges more than 5pounds for a ride to Dun Angus and the seven churches etc. After you get the boat back to the mainland you should be ready to head straight back to Dublin. At night take a drive up to Lamb Doyles in the Dublin mountains for a great night view of the city and follow a back road from there to Johnny Fox's Pub. This pub has live traditional Irish music every night and the atmosphere is great. You can plan to eat your meal here if you wish, but if so you should arrive at about 7:30 or so, so maybe Day4 would be better if that's your fancy. You can get a huge basket of fresh mussels for 5pounds which I think is a great bargain.

Day 4: Buy a ticket for the City Centre Sightseeing Bus. You can buy these at the tourist information centre near the top of Grafton Street, but it's better to start from O'Connell street where you can also get the tickets. You can stop off anywhere you like and the bus driver gives an excellent description of what you'll see there. The Guinness Factory and ChristChurch Cathedral are musts. I would also recommend the National History Museum where you can see many stuffed animals. There is no admission charge and it is very impressive, with an incredible amount of species of nearly every living thing! You can see many old advertisements for Guinness such as the one with Misako and the conductor and you can taste Guinness the way it's meant to be. You can easily spend the whole day in the centre of Dublin just looking around. Don't forget to take a stroll down or up Grafton street, which is a pedestrianized shopping streetwhere street musicians often gather.

Day 5: Depending on the time of your flight out you may have time to take a drive in the Wicklow mountains and visit Glendalough. If so, it's well worth the visit and the drive via the Sally Gap is very scenic. It takes about 90mins to 2 hours depending on the route. You can drive out via Eniskerry which is a very quaint town, where if you're interested, you can get delicious rhubarb crumble with cream, and drive back via the Sally Gap if you have the time. It doesn't take long to see the tower and that area so I would advise an extra excursion to the upper lake. The walk from the tourist information centre to the upper lake is quite long so it's better to drive it and walk up the hill from the lake.  You can (relatively safely) park your car 100m back from the car park rather than pay the fee at the Upper lake. I wouldn't leave any valuables in it though.!

Other places you can visit: If you find yourself in Cork you might like to try out the Japanese restaurant (Haru-Baru). That's James drinking Sake with Misako.

If on the other hand you're stuck in Dublin, you can go to the Zoo in Phoenix park pictured hover with Maeve, Aine, Brian and Anne.