I just wrapped up a swing around the south of Ireland. We flew from Boston to Dublin and then back to Boston from Shannon. We stayed two nights in Dublin, two nights in Kinsale, one night in Camp (outside Tralee), and two nights in Ennis. Areas visited along the way included Kilkenny, Cashel, the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, the Burren, and the Cliffs of Moher. We logged about 1100 km / 680 miles. Here are a few things that I wish I’d known before arriving.
Flying: Think hard about your itinerary. We were originally booked on a 8:00 pm nonstop from Boston to Dublin, but Aer Lingus cancelled that flight and put us instead on a flight that stopped in Shannon on the way. That turned out to be a big bummer. The flight to Shannon left at 7:00 pm and arrived 5 hours later, at 5:00 am GMT / midnight EDT. The combination of the relatively early departure, the shortness of the flight, and the commotions involved with meal service and in-flight announcements meant that I got only 90 minutes or so of sleep. At Shannon we had a tumultuous and confusing change of planes and gates, not helped by the lack of signage or directions from Aer Lingus staff. We had an hour-plus wait between flights as well. (The flight from Dublin to Shannon itself lasts only about 35 minutes.) When we finally landed in Dublin our internal time clocks were completely off, not only from the time change but also from the lack of sleep. It took at least 36 hours for us to adjust, and several naps were required. This is a long way of saying that you don’t really gain a day of vacation by flying overnight. Although we arrived bright and early on a Saturday morning, we lost a lot of that first day to sleep and sluggishness. Next time I fly to Europe I’ll try for a morning departure instead.
Hydrate well before you go through security. Even if you buy a drink after the first security check, you may have to consume it before you go through a second security checkpoint at the gate.
Driving: I had imagined that the hardest thing about driving in Ireland would be remembering to drive on the left. As it turns out that was the easiest part by far. There are only a handful of real highways in Ireland, and these are designated with the letter “M.” Everything else should only be described as a road, including most of the numbered routes that connect cities and towns. The “N” roads are shown in color on maps, while the “R” roads are in white. The difference between them is that on the N roads, cars passing one another in opposite directions get about six inches of clearance between side-view mirrors, whereas on the R roads you get maybe one to three inches. And that’s where you’re lucky enough to get two lanes. A lot of driving in Ireland is a state-sponsored game of chicken. It’s no wonder that the collision damage insurance that normally comes free with a credit-card-paid rental does not apply in Ireland. We paid not only the the standard insurance but also extra to lower the deductible on liability (regardless of fault) from 1500 Euros to 100. Fortunately we didn’t need it, but it felt that fortune was really responsible rather than skill or care. We also paid extra for automatic transmission and GPX and, all those extras add up. We paid about $1,000 dollars for a Toyota Corolla for a week.
You need a belt-and-suspenders approach to navigation. Get both a detailed road atlas AND a GPS. You’ll need the atlas to understand where things are in relation to each other and the GPS to figure out where you are and how to find your way back to where you actually want to be. Then you’ll need the atlas again to fix the occasional mess that the GPS creates. The GPS that came with a rental car was a Garmin Nuvi. Halfway through the trip we named her Bambi, because she was kind of a ditz. She didn’t know that the M8 had opened so she kept telling us to turn onto the N8 instead – even as we were traveling 120 km/hr with no exits in sight. She also had a bias against U-turns, so if we missed a turn she was apt to have us take a turn at the next intersection – even if that intersection was 2 km down the road. And most annoyingly (and dangerously) she didn’t seem to know about one-way streets and “no right turn” signs, so we had to make some very quick last-minute overrides of her instructions.
Speed limit signs apparently indicate the maximum velocity attainable before one flies off the roadway. It was not uncommon for us to drive 40-60 km/hr in a 100 km/hr zone. And the Irish seem to take pleasure in posting 100 km/hr signs about 5 meters before a 90-degree bend in the road. I did get a kick out of the messages painted in the road that said “SLOW … SLOW … SLOWER.” It’s as if the road knows you’re not paying sufficient attention.
Finally, if you happen to have reserved a car on line through Malone, when you get to Dublin Airport don’t bother looking for a sign that says Malone. Just go to the Dollar/Thrifty counter. Trust me.
Boating: The ferry across the River Shannon between Tarbert and Killimer runs only once an hour (on the half-hour going north). Before planning a drive from County Kerry to County Clare, check the schedule at http://shannonferries.com. And note that they don’t take credit cards (although the crew will probably take pity on you and accept dollars in a pinch).
Eating and Drinking: The food was generally better than expected. It’s not all lamb stew and braised cabbage. Just be aware that in many establishments they won’t come to your table at the end to take your money. You have to go up to the cashier or bar to settle up. I followed the guidebooks’ advice on tipping (10%). Astonishingly, most of the credit card machines that restaurants use do not allow you to add a tip, so if you want to tip, make sure you have some coins.
We had hoped to spend a few evenings at the pub taking in the local music along with the local residents. This proved harder than anticipated. At a pub near our guest house in Dublin, the patrons were local but the entertainment was “Britain’s Got Talent” on TV. At a small pub with a good Gaelic name in Kinsale, music was provided by a lone guitarist and only tourists were listening, so no one was singing along. (They might have been singing along at the place next door, but that’s because the guy over there was doing a lot of Elvis covers.) We finally found what seemed like the real thing in Ennis, but only a tiny fraction of the seats there had a good view of the musicians and the sound didn’t carry very well to the back of the house. In hindsight, I wished we’d asked our hosts for specific pub recommendations rather than relying on the guidebooks for advice.
In the warm months, don’t rely on the sun to tell you when it’s time for dinner. In late May the sun didn’t set until after 10:00 pm, and many restaurants stop serving at 9:00.
Sleeping: Do as much map-studying as possible when selecting hotels or B&Bs. Place names seem to be relative terms and a hotel and B&B that is “in” a particular city or village may be quite removed from the center of town. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you have your heart set on walking to a particular destination for dinner or drinks you’ll need to check the feasibility of such an adventure in advance.
Walking: It’s not fair to characterize an entire climate based on six days, but if I had to, I’d say that days in Ireland are either (a) cloudy and rainy or (b) sunny AND cloudy and rainy. We had a memorable 90-minute walking tour in Kinsale, during which it changed several times between pouring rain and bright sunshine and the temperature rose and fell between what felt like 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. ALWAYS bring long sleeves wherever you go, and you’ll never be sorry you brought a fleece jacket with you.
Talking: In Ireland, the English word for Gaelic is apparently “Irish.” The Irish/Gaelic word for Irish/Gaelic is “Gailige.” It’s not clear if the Irish ever think it’s proper to say “Gaelic.” Also, Gaelic is one of the most “different” languages I’ve ever encountered. After a week I still couldn’t pronounce anything I read. Irish accents, on the other hand, are not a problem (especially if you’re visiting from Boston). If you want to have some fun with an Irishman, ask him to say “That’s true, they threw the tray through the three trees.”
Golfing: If you’re going to play a links course, your 14th club should be a sickle. If you can’t still see the ball at rest following your shot, you’d better play another. The tall grass will have completely digested it by the time you walk up to take a look. And if you hit what looks like a good shot that disappears over a hill, hit another one because chances are that’s not fairway on the other side.
Working: Don’t go to Home Depot and ask them what you need to use your electronic equipment over there. They might sell you a $20 kit that includes a voltage transformer and multiple adapters for non-grounded appliances, when in fact what you need could be a simple adapter to convert a three-prong North American cable to a three-prong UK/Irish cable. (Modern American appliances like laptops and phone/camera battery chargers will work fine on the European voltage.) The part you need costs only 8 Euros, and if you don’t bring one with you, you can pick it up when you arrive.
Spending: No need to withdraw a lot of US dollars before you get there with the intention of converting them to Euros. Just find an ATM once you get there. The exchange rate and fees will be at least as favorable that way. But do plan on having some paper money with you because you’ll find some places that don’t take plastic, including restaurants, ferries, and even B&Bs. And do take advantage of ATMs when you find them. We found ourselves low on cash in the village of Kilfenora and learned that the nearest ATM was in Ennistymon, about 5 miles away (that’s 15 minutes; see “Driving” above).
Summary: Don’t let any of the above dissuade you from a vacation in Ireland. The land is beautiful, the people are friendly, and you can have a broad variety of experiences without traveling great distance. Knowing what to expect will make your trip that much better.
