Ireland
EUROPE · 6 PLACES
Green to the point of absurdity, with cliffs on the west, music in the back rooms, and a national talent for conversation.
Dublin
Georgian doors, Guinness, and the best pub talk in Europe.
Galway
Trad music, oysters and the gateway to Connemara.
Killarney
Killarney's lakes, the Ring of Kerry and Gap of Dunloe.
Cork
The English Market, Blarney Castle and Ireland's best food city.
Dingle
The Slea Head drive, trad pubs and Atlantic cliffs.
Cliffs of Moher & Doolin
Ireland's great cliffs, the Burren and Doolin's trad sessions.
One month here
Dublin · 6 nights
Trinity, the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol and the pubs that aren't on Temple Bar. Wicklow is an hour away.
Galway · 7 nights
Cross the country in three hours. The best trad music in Ireland, and Connemara and the Aran Islands on the doorstep.
Cliffs of Moher & Doolin · 4 nights
Stay in Doolin so you can be at the cliffs at dawn and in a session by nine.
Killarney & Dingle · 8 nights
The Ring of Kerry, the Gap of Dunloe and the Slea Head drive. Rent a car — the buses won't cut it here.
Cork · 5 nights
English Market, Kinsale's harbour restaurants, and Cobh where the Titanic last called.
Three months here
Month 1 · The east & Dublin
Dublin, Wicklow, Kilkenny and the Boyne valley. Ease into the weather before you commit to the west.
Month 2 · The Wild Atlantic Way
Galway, Connemara, Clare, Kerry and West Cork. This is the reason people come; give it the most time.
Month 3 · The north & the islands
Donegal, the Causeway Coast, Belfast and Derry, then out to the Aran Islands and Achill.
Festivals worth flying for
St Patrick's Day
March 17 — Dublin's five-day festival is the big one; every town has a parade.
Galway International Arts Festival
July — two weeks that take over the city, plus the Races at the end of the month.
Bloomsday · Dublin
June 16 — the city re-enacts Ulysses in Edwardian costume.
Fleadh Cheoil
August — the world's biggest traditional-music festival, in a different town each year.
Dublin Marathon
Late October — 'the friendly marathon', and it earns the name.
In an emergency
Emergency numbers
112 or 999 — both work for police (Garda), ambulance, fire and coast guard.
Health
Pharmacies ('chemists') advise freely; ERs are 'A&E' and can be slow for non-urgent cases. GP walk-in clinics charge modestly.
Before you go
EHIC/GHIC covers EU visitors; others need insurance. Driving is on the left, and rural roads are narrower than your rental looks.
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