June 8, 2016: Public transportation in Ireland is good within cities and between cities. If I were staying in Dublin, then you don't really need a car. Same if you were only looking to travel between Dublin and Galway and staying in that city.
My Irish experience was that the best of Ireland was on the road and the little villages and out of the way places. If your intention is to take chartered day trips from Dublin, Galway, Killarney then you can probably do it without a car. But, you'd miss out on some good stuff.
I have no trouble with a manual, but opted to pay for the automatic upgrade. One less thing, and I'm on vacation.
The left side road right side driver is easy if you remember this. Keep the steering wheel in the middle of the road.
The M roads are easy to navigate an barren of cars compared to the US. Have some euros for the tolls and skip the autotoll system. The back roads can be very narrow, but if you drive carefully and pull over for oncoming traffic it's fine.
Rent a pocket hotspot (Mifi) and use your phone instead of a GPS.
Print an online guide to the Ring of Kerry and drive yourself starting early in the morning to beat the busses. Divert to the Ring of Skelling/Valenti Island/Portmagee. Ring of Beara is even better.
Connemara is a great place for a hike. The ride to the nearby Town of Clifden is nice. I recommend Guy's Bar and Snug for lunch or dinner. The pizza is pretty good too.
Any pub playing trad music is fun even if it's more of a touristy thing these days. Smaller the better.
Aug 26, 2018: Start your Ring of Kerry run early, 8 am early. Drive counter-clockwise to say ahead of and not drive into the bus traffic. Veer off the main run and stop at Rossbeigh Strand (beach), cross Valentia Island, and drive through Portmagee. If you want to visit Skellig Michael, you should stay overnight near Portmagee as the boats leave early in the morning. Most of the boats leave from there, won't go out in rough seas, and only a few of them actually land ashore (in very calm seas). It is the kind of thing you can't really plan and need to be ready if the weather is nice. I had a glorious day the day we had in mind to do it but I was feeling ill and didn't think I had it in to make the climb to the top. Opted for the Valentia/Portmagee/RoK instead. I still regret it as this was before Star Wars put it on the mass tourist map. Maybe after a few more movies, people will stop caring about Star Wars enough to make another attempt.
As for Killarney, it's touristy but so what, that is why you are there. Find a pub full of Americans where the Trad is playing, drink some Guinness, Jameson, and have an irish coffee. There is nothing wrong with that. Authentic Ireland is easily found elsewhere. If you have had enough of the hotel irish breakfasts, there is a place in Kilarney center called JAM, they serve sandwiches pastries and coffee. Ate there twice for breakfast. First time was to grab something for the ROK car ride (left at 7 am), second was for the trip back to Dublin.
Aug 27, 2018:
Also stayed at the Lake (Hotel in Killarney). It is not reasonably walkable to the center but parking is easy and it has a nice view of the Lake (duh) and a decent hotel bar. Rooms are European (small) but adequate. Would recommend.
Where specifically is the golf? Killarney? Kinsale? Where are you staying in Dublin? I've been 6 times, trip 7 got cancelled due to Covid, but I'm going back this fall. If Killarney and in summer/late spring, make reservations for dinner.Flying out for a guys golf trip and will be in Dublin and southwest part of Ireland. Already have the Guinness tour planned. Any recommendations for restaurants and pubs?
Thanks in advance!
We will be flying into Dublin and will be there for two days. We are playing Postmarnock while out there. Then we are heading to Killarney for 4 days and playing everyday. Our last day we will be in Kinsale.Where specifically is the golf? Killarney? Kinsale? Where are you staying in Dublin? I've been 6 times, trip 7 got cancelled due to Covid, but I'm going back this fall. If Killarney and in summer/late spring, make reservations for dinner.
Guinness tour is ok. Worth doing. I doubt you want history stuff from your post. As for pubs, there aren't as many as there used to be in Dublin but still no shortage. Do you want a quiet spot? Live Irish music? Sports on TV? There are a lot of flavors of Irish pub. Also, lots of restaurants with a wide range of cuisine. Joining the EU stripped Dublin of some Irish character, but it's a lot more diverse now with people from all over.
We will be flying into Dublin and will be there for two days. We are playing Postmarnock while out there. Then we are heading to Killarney for 4 days and playing everyday. Our last day we will be in Kinsale.
I know one of the days we will be doing King John's castle/Muckarose House/and the national park.
There is going to be 5 of us all in our late 30's and early 40's. Just looking to take as much in as we can while out there. We are open to really any bar/restaurant. I can rely on Yelp and Google reviews as well.
I like Brazen Head, Guinness Factory and The Queens Bar in Dalkey, but in all honesty, all of the pubs in Ireland are great. The people are ultra-friendly. They actually like Americans. Imagine that! Kinsale is my favorite town in Ireland. A quaint town with a great vibe. Enjoy the trip!We will be flying into Dublin and will be there for two days. We are playing Postmarnock while out there. Then we are heading to Killarney for 4 days and playing everyday. Our last day we will be in Kinsale.
I know one of the days we will be doing King John's castle/Muckarose House/and the national park.
There is going to be 5 of us all in our late 30's and early 40's. Just looking to take as much in as we can while out there. We are open to really any bar/restaurant. I can rely on Yelp and Google reviews as well.
Do you feel having a caddy is worth the money? Group is pretty split on this for some reason. I’m thinking it’s almost a necessity?Where specifically is the golf? Killarney? Kinsale? Where are you staying in Dublin? I've been 6 times, trip 7 got cancelled due to Covid, but I'm going back this fall. If Killarney and in summer/late spring, make reservations for dinner.
Guinness tour is ok. Worth doing. I doubt you want history stuff from your post. As for pubs, there aren't as many as there used to be in Dublin but still no shortage. Do you want a quiet spot? Live Irish music? Sports on TV? There are a lot of flavors of Irish pub. Also, lots of restaurants with a wide range of cuisine. Joining the EU stripped Dublin of some Irish character, but it's a lot more diverse now with people from all over.
Don't know. Actually haven't golfed over there. You have 5 so that's weird. They will probably tell you whether it's required or necessary at each course. Are you going to go to Oldhead? I've been by there. Been by Lahinch and Spanish Point several times. Lahinch is gorgeous, and Oldhead is simply astonishing.Do you feel having a caddy is worth the money? Group is pretty split on this for some reason. I’m thinking it’s almost a necessity?
Do you feel having a caddy is worth the money? Group is pretty split on this for some reason. I’m thinking it’s almost a necessity?
WowI’d recommend a caddie for a couple reasons:
1. Pace of play, they work hard and have an uncanny ability to find errant shots in rough and gorse
2. Most times believe it or not, the caddy will be a member of the club and have local knowledge on where to eat, drink, hang out and are just a lot of fun, always quick with an inappropriate sarcastic joke.
3. My back sucks, cardio isn’t much better. It helps if playing multiple days in a row.
4. And you guys are probably $3-4k into the trip if not more, what’s another 50-60 euros (or quid) per round?
Same goes for Kerry. The Ring of Kerry may be the best known drive in the country.Rent a car, drive down to and around County Cork, and have a blast! You can't go wrong no matter what you do in Cork, really.
Nice! Glad you enjoyed it. I've been by Old Head several times, but haven't been on it or played it. Killarney is cool, just can get a bit busy in peak tourist season. Did you get down to Dingle? I'm sure I'd enjoy the golf, but we just go for the history, scenery, pubs, music and people. It's an infectious place.Ireland is something else. Killarney was the clear winner for us, specifically J.M. Reidys after golf.
In order, my favorite courses I played:
Ballybunion
Waterville
Old Head (a must play due to all the views, cliffs, and etc.
Tralee (back 9 was beautiful)
Postmarnock
Killarney Golf and Fishing (emergency round)
I'd add that on a true links course, you can actually get lost. You might find yourself shooting at the wrong green or playing holes out of order. They're not like "links" courses over here.I’d recommend a caddie for a couple reasons:
1. Pace of play, they work hard and have an uncanny ability to find errant shots in rough and gorse
2. Most times believe it or not, the caddy will be a member of the club and have local knowledge on where to eat, drink, hang out and are just a lot of fun, always quick with an inappropriate sarcastic joke.
3. My back sucks, cardio isn’t much better. It helps if playing multiple days in a row.
4. And you guys are probably $3-4k into the trip if not more, what’s another 50-60 euros (or quid) per round?
Ireland is something else. Killarney was the clear winner for us, specifically J.M. Reidys after golf.
In order, my favorite courses I played:
Ballybunion
Waterville
Old Head (a must play due to all the views, cliffs, and etc.
Tralee (back 9 was beautiful)
Postmarnock
Killarney Golf and Fishing (emergency round)
Did Dingle which was awesome!Nice! Glad you enjoyed it. I've been by Old Head several times, but haven't been on it or played it. Killarney is cool, just can get a bit busy in peak tourist season. Did you get down to Dingle? I'm sure I'd enjoy the golf, but we just go for the history, scenery, pubs, music and people. It's an infectious place.
Did Dingle which was awesome!
I can see Killarney getting extremely busy but when we went, it wasn’t too crowded.
May get some bad feedback but didn’t love Dublin. Guinness tour was cool and had two amazing dinners. Just didn’t love the vibe overall.
Honestly the EU changed it from a uniquely Irish city to just another European city. Lost a lot of the charm and culture it had. More variety of food, but it’s not interesting anymore. Galway was always better and is now much better.Dublin has gone downhill in the last few years unfortunately. Lot of teenage kids causing trouble. The housing situation with the tech boom hasn't helped. Certain areas are better then others mainly the south shoreline or north shores are both beautiful, some of the inner city is rough.
I had only first visited 5 or 6 years ago but was it a lot different before that?Honestly the EU changed it from a uniquely Irish city to just another European city. Lost a lot of the charm and culture it had. More variety of food, but it’s not interesting anymore. Galway was always better and is now much better.