We spent about a week in Ireland; we made a clockwise circle from Dublin -> Cork -> Killarney National Park -> Dingle -> Limerick -> Galway -> Dublin. The sun was out almost the entire time and we were even were sunburned from hiking for a few hours around the Cliffs of Moher! The scenery was fantastic, so green and lush. The people were very warm and welcoming, a very chatty bunch. Ireland was a lot of fun!
My most enjoyable experience in Ireland probably had to be the Cliffs of Moher. The pictures don’t really do it justice and it’s hard to explain. It was a gorgeous day and there weren’t many other people. We walked a few miles on the path along the cliffs. It was quiet, serene, and beautiful. It wasn’t an experience that happens often and I’m very happy that we were there to enjoy the cliffs :). The second best experience was in Galway. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed it to the max with the locals while drinking “cans” in the park.
Here’s what we learned:
- Things were generally cheaper in Ireland with the Euro compared to the pound in Scotland. Gas is about $7/gal versus almost $10/gal in Scotland. Food is cheaper and lodging is cheaper, in some cases, by a large margin (25 – 50%).
- The population density is higher in Ireland so there’s a lot more people clogging up the roads. It’s common to go about 1/2 the speed limit on single lane roads because of tractors, tourists and other cars.
- People walk / run on the roads. These are very narrow roads that have no shoulders! When I asked one of our host about it, he merely said, “don’t walk in the middle of the road if you don’t want to get hit”. Great advice.
- There are multiple Irish stouts, not just Guinness! Well, duh, most would think. However, they are just as good as Guinness! We spent time in Cork, where Beamish is made, and enjoyed a few pints. Our Cork host said that people in Cork don’t drink that Dubliner drink (Guiness) but drink a good beer, Beamish.
- Ireland is super small. After driving across the width of the country we ended up forgetting something and we had to drive back only to turn around and go back to our original destination. It’s not often I can say I drove across a country four times in one day.
- A full Irish breakfast comes with breakfast sausage and that sausage tastes terrible. It’s just like Scottish sausage. So gross. Breakfast beans are delicious.
- The car rental was crazy cheap compared to Iceland and Scotland, about 30% of the rental costs we had in Iceland and Scotland.
- It took less than two tanks of gas to make our entire drive around Ireland.
- The Renault Clio is the biggest piece of crap car I’ve ever driven.
- People still chat about the financial crisis like it was yesterday. From what I’ve gathered, Ireland’s still hurting. Some of the IMF “reforms” require Ireland residents to pay for their trash pickup and water usage (!?!?!?). It amazes me that an industrialized nation has citizen who do not pay for those items.
- Raspberries grow wild all over the place in Ireland.
Enjoy the photos!
Chris W.
