Travel to Ireland – Episode 145

Journeyetc

Ireland is one of the most civilized countries I ever visited.

lottie

I enjoyed this episode a lot (as I do all the episodes) but I was just slightly disappointed in the recommendations made by the guest. Although he was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guest I didn’t agree with his recommendation to focus on the big cities of Dublin and Cork. My husband and I went to Ireland in September 2006 and our favorite aspect was small town Ireland. I think Dublin is a beautiful vibrant city but I just think Ireland’s small towns are so picturesque and friendly I would suggest getting out of Dublin fairly quickly. We followed a lot of Rick Steve’s recommendations on which towns to stay in and we weren’t disappointed. I think renting a car and touring the Irish countryside will always remain one of the greatest experiences of my life and I would hate for someone to spend all their time in Dublin and Cork and miss the countryside. You really need to go there Chris, you won’t be disappointed.

Caroline

Boy, you do challenge us a bit with your Captcha’s. Took me a few minutes but I enjoyed that!! Hate those weird looking letters.

Anyway, I agree wholeheartedly with Lottie. We just returned from ireland this sumer ( the worst summer weather in Irish living memory, lucky us) and I TOTALLY do not recommend Cork in particular. It’s an old industrial town that’s lost its luster, and was the only place where we felt insecure in Ireland…
On the other hand all the countryside, from Galway to Dingle, to even Eniscourthy, offer beautiful houses and shops and of course gorgeous tranquil views of hills, sheep, cows and sea… You should do another podcast on Ireland with one of us commenters, or both, to get a different, and all in all more balanced view. I wrote a general post on Ireland at internationalparents.net.