Hoping for some advice - am going to Ireland for a last minute trip
May 4th thru May 13th. Will be traveling with my 84 year Mother, who
is recovering from hip surgery, and two sisters and will be visiting
family in Cork and Omagh. It's the fourth trip in eight years for most
of us, while one of us hasn't been back since the mid seventies. Don't
have any firm plans, other than spending 2-3 nights in Cork, with day
trips to Kinsale and Cobh perhaps, with nights out to hear trad music
and 2-3 nights in Omagh, with day trips to the Giant's Causeway and
Bangor, although we may want to stay up near the Causeway for 1 night,
depending on cost - we are booked into a very reasonable catering
townhouse outside of Omagh. Other thoughts we've had are Killarney,
Beleek, Ulster Folk Park, Connemara, Slane Castle, or Kilkenny.
Seeing a play in Dublin again would be wonderful.

We fly out of Dublin mid-morning on Sunday the 13th, so will probably
stay in or outside of Dublin Saturday night. I wouldn't mind a couple
of days in Dublin, but it seems that the weekends are the worst time
to stay in Dublin - less availability, and higher prices. HATED
driving in Dublin.

Now for the questions:

Any suggestions as traveling route/stops/deals etc? I really loved
driving the coast route to the Cliffs of Mohr, but don't plan on going
back to Galway, Athlone or Limerick, although someone wants to go to
Bunratty Folk Park. I enjoyed the driving Avoca, Blessington and
Kildare route from Dublin to Cork as well. Wonder if it would be
better to make Dublin our second stopover and head up to the North Via
Dublin and the East Coast, rather than the West Coast and stay
somewhere else the last night in Ireland.

How practical would a hostel be for our party? Are there any rooms in
hotels or b&b's that will house four adults?

Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?

Can I buy and use a sim card for my unlocked gsm phone easily, and
what would be the basic cost? I did a quick search and found something
for 30 Euros, but is that pretty accurate?

The North prices seem to be more expensive for most things - is this
true?

Thanks for reading this far, and for any suggestions!

Sheila
Vancouver BC

In article <[email protected]. com>,
[email protected] writes

>How practical would a hostel be for our party? Are there any rooms in
>hotels or b&b's that will house four adults?

Most B&Bs have double rooms that are en suite - just book two.

>The North prices seem to be more expensive for most things - is this
>true?

I've always found the south to be more expensive. Note that there are
two different currencies.

Sorry I can't help much with your other questions.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

On 22 Apr 2007 00:06:23 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>Any suggestions as traveling route/stops/deals etc? I really loved
>driving the coast route to the Cliffs of Mohr, but don't plan on going
>back to Galway, Athlone or Limerick, although someone wants to go to
>Bunratty Folk Park. I enjoyed the driving Avoca, Blessington and
>Kildare route from Dublin to Cork as well. Wonder if it would be
>better to make Dublin our second stopover and head up to the North Via
>Dublin and the East Coast, rather than the West Coast and stay
>somewhere else the last night in Ireland.

I can suggest a western route that we took on a trip to Ireland in
2004. We were going in the opposite direction, from Omagh to Galway.
We benefited greatly from advice by Padraig Breathnach, who is a
regular participant in this group, and he may have more advice for
you. After the trip, I wrote a series of trip reports, and I'll give
you links to the ones that are pertinent to your questions.

We passed through Westport, which is a pleasant town to spend the
night, and crossed County Mayo along the road from Louisburgh to
Delphi. (You would be going in the other direction.)

Here is the link to the posting that mentions the route:

http://tinyurl.com/3axr7t

The Connemara peninsula is also well worth seeing. We would have liked
to spend more time here. This link describes a bit of that area:

http://tinyurl.com/36hutn

You might also want to visit one of the Aran islands. You can take
ferries from Doolin, near the cliffs of Moher, or from Galway and
vicinity. Doolin is near Inisheer, the smallest of the islands, small
enough to get around on foot. This link describes our visit to
Inishmore, the largest of the Aran islands, as well as a bit more of
the Connemara peninsula:

http://tinyurl.com/2nwxe5

>How practical would a hostel be for our party? Are there any rooms in
>hotels or b&b's that will house four adults?

We stayed in a very nice hostel near Omagh, where several cousins of
mine live. It's not easy to find, but then nothing is easy to find in
Omagh. I've been trying to interest my brother and sisters in a family
trip to Omagh, and I've suggested that we all stay in this hostel.

Here is a link that describes the hostel, as well as all the other
lodgings we stayed in on this trip:

http://tinyurl.com/2q2t2f

This link also mentions the countryside around the hostel, as well as
our problems finding it:

http://tinyurl.com/2ycnkz


Here is a link which decribes more experiences driving in the Omagh
vicinity. The previous link also gives an idea.

http://tinyurl.com/3ck2lz

Finally, this link mentions some other things to see near Omagh, in
nearby Fermanagh:

http://tinyurl.com/ytdunc

>The North prices seem to be more expensive for most things - is this
>true?

We found dining and lodging relatively expensive all over Ireland. We
didn't see much difference between north and south. However, we found
both good food and good lodging at reasonable prices. In fact, price
was no guarantee of quality at all.

This final link is about our dining experiences on the trip:

http://tinyurl.com/2tkfrf

If you search in Google groups for "trip report Ireland 2004", you
should be able to get all of these postings, including some I left
out.



--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On 22 Apr 2007 00:06:23 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>Hoping for some advice - am going to Ireland for a last minute trip
>May 4th thru May 13th. Will be traveling with my 84 year Mother, who
>is recovering from hip surgery, and two sisters and will be visiting
>family in Cork and Omagh.

I used www.goireland.com a lot for B&B bookings as I
wandered. It worked very well. However, something you will
need to check before putting in any firm bookings will be
whether your Mother's room is up a flight of stairs. B&B's -
and quite a few hotels - have no lifts/elevators but the
rooms are upstairs. Once you've got a shortlist, try to
discover their phone numbers and ring direct for specific
details.

>It's the fourth trip in eight years for most
>of us, while one of us hasn't been back since the mid seventies. Don't
>have any firm plans, other than spending 2-3 nights in Cork, with day
>trips to Kinsale and Cobh perhaps, with nights out to hear trad music

If you are going anywhere near the Cliffs of Moher, include
an evening in the pub at Doolin in your itinerary.
http://www.doolinireland.net/
We had a magic night in O'Connor's. Get there early to make
sure of a good seat. The "amateurs" started early, about
6pm, and the "professionals" started about 9pm. To be
honest, I thought the amateurs were best:-)

We stayed in a B&B near Quilty, a little further south.
http://tinyurl.com/384dvh.

>and 2-3 nights in Omagh, with day trips to the Giant's Causeway and
>Bangor, although we may want to stay up near the Causeway for 1 night,
>depending on cost - we are booked into a very reasonable catering
>townhouse outside of Omagh. Other thoughts we've had are Killarney,

If any of the group haven't been around the Ring of Kerry -
that is a must-see. We stayed here for two nights, driving
around the ring in the day between:
http://tinyurl.com/2kvq8l
Pleasant, all ground-floor, not far from Killarney.

>Beleek, Ulster Folk Park, Connemara, Slane Castle, or Kilkenny.
>Seeing a play in Dublin again would be wonderful.
>
>We fly out of Dublin mid-morning on Sunday the 13th, so will probably
>stay in or outside of Dublin Saturday night. I wouldn't mind a couple
>of days in Dublin, but it seems that the weekends are the worst time
>to stay in Dublin - less availability, and higher prices. HATED
>driving in Dublin.
>
>Now for the questions:
>
>Any suggestions as traveling route/stops/deals etc? I really loved
>driving the coast route to the Cliffs of Mohr, but don't plan on going
>back to Galway, Athlone or Limerick, although someone wants to go to
>Bunratty Folk Park. I enjoyed the driving Avoca, Blessington and
>Kildare route from Dublin to Cork as well. Wonder if it would be
>better to make Dublin our second stopover and head up to the North Via
>Dublin and the East Coast, rather than the West Coast and stay
>somewhere else the last night in Ireland.
>
>How practical would a hostel be for our party? Are there any rooms in
>hotels or b&b's that will house four adults?
>
Some B&B's will house four - but it's not common.

>Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?
>
>Can I buy and use a sim card for my unlocked gsm phone easily, and
>what would be the basic cost? I did a quick search and found something
>for 30 Euros, but is that pretty accurate?
>
>The North prices seem to be more expensive for most things - is this
>true?
>
>Thanks for reading this far, and for any suggestions!
>
>Sheila
>Vancouver BC

Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Athens and The Adriatic
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/

[email protected] wrote:

>Hoping for some advice -
>
I'll toss in a few comments, but don't make them in a coherent way
that would draft an itinerary for you. You have got some responses
already, and may get more, and you can stitch things together for
yourself.

You don't make it clear where you arrive. I infer that it is Shannon.

>am going to Ireland for a last minute trip
>May 4th thru May 13th. Will be traveling with my 84 year Mother, who
>is recovering from hip surgery, and two sisters and will be visiting
>family in Cork and Omagh. It's the fourth trip in eight years for most
>of us, while one of us hasn't been back since the mid seventies. Don't
>have any firm plans, other than spending 2-3 nights in Cork, with day
>trips to Kinsale and Cobh perhaps, with nights out to hear trad music
>
Sounds like a good start -- not too demanding. I presume you already
know a bit about Cork, Kinsale, and Cobh. Fota House, near Cobh, might
be worth visiting, and Fota Wildlife Park is good.

>and 2-3 nights in Omagh, with day trips to the Giant's Causeway and
>Bangor, although we may want to stay up near the Causeway for 1 night,
>depending on cost - we are booked into a very reasonable catering
>townhouse outside of Omagh. Other thoughts we've had are Killarney,
>Beleek, Ulster Folk Park, Connemara, Slane Castle, or Kilkenny.
>Seeing a play in Dublin again would be wonderful.
>
The Ulster-American Folk Park near Omagh is very good and might be
compensation for missing Bunratty.

From Omagh you can do a pleasant trip to Beleek. Go via Enniskillen
and along the south shore of Lower Lough Erne (the more scenic side).
The pottery at Beleek is a good visit even if, like me, you don't
particularly like the product. Return on the north shore as far as
Kesh, then find a direct road back to Omagh. If you want to make a
full day of it, there are a couple of nice things around Enniskillen,
including a boat trip on Lough Erne to visit Devenish Island, and old
monastic site, and a fine Palladian house maintained by the National
Trust, the name of which escapes me now.

>We fly out of Dublin mid-morning on Sunday the 13th, so will probably
>stay in or outside of Dublin Saturday night. I wouldn't mind a couple
>of days in Dublin, but it seems that the weekends are the worst time
>to stay in Dublin - less availability, and higher prices. HATED
>driving in Dublin.
>
You would be a strange person if you liked driving in Dublin.

>Now for the questions:
>
>Any suggestions as traveling route/stops/deals etc? I really loved
>driving the coast route to the Cliffs of Mohr, but don't plan on going
>back to Galway, Athlone or Limerick, although someone wants to go to
>Bunratty Folk Park. I enjoyed the driving Avoca, Blessington and
>Kildare route from Dublin to Cork as well. Wonder if it would be
>better to make Dublin our second stopover and head up to the North Via
>Dublin and the East Coast, rather than the West Coast and stay
>somewhere else the last night in Ireland.
>
It is difficult to devise a scenic route from Dublin to Omagh. The
fastest route (M1 out of Dublin) takes you close to Newgrange and
Monasterboice, both worth seeing. North of Drogheda you switch to the
N2 which passes through a number of small towns of modest interest,
and countryside which might be pleasing enough to the eye but is
unspectacular. It might be a question of just getting on with it -- a
transfer rather than a scenic drive.

>How practical would a hostel be for our party?
>
No idea.

>Are there any rooms in
>hotels or b&b's that will house four adults?
>
The most usual B&B accommodation is a double room (one bed). Some
hotels offer rooms with a double and a single bed, but very few offer
a quad (and the only ones I have been in are generally at the higher
end of the price range).

>Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?
>
No idea. Plenty of internet cafes.

>Can I buy and use a sim card for my unlocked gsm phone easily, and
>what would be the basic cost? I did a quick search and found something
>for 30 Euros, but is that pretty accurate?
>
I think that is about the price level. It's useful for making calls
within Ireland, but quite expensive for overseas calls.

>The North prices seem to be more expensive for most things - is this
>true?
>
No, except for petrol and tobacco products.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED
My travel writing: http://www.iol.ie/~draoi/

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:24 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>>Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?
>>
>No idea. Plenty of internet cafes.

I forgot to mention - we used free internet access in public
libraries throughout Ireland. All it cost was a polite
enquiry as a traveler passing through, and be prepared to
wait until a computer was available.


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Athens and The Adriatic
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/

On Apr 23, 11:21 am, Alan S <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:24 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >>Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?
>
> >No idea. Plenty of internet cafes.
>
> I forgot to mention - we used free internet access in public
> libraries throughout Ireland. All it cost was a polite
> enquiry as a traveler passing through, and be prepared to
> wait until a computer was available.
>
> Cheers, Alan, Australia
> --http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
> latest: Athens and The Adriatichttp://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/

I've found free Wi-Fi fairly often in hotels/pubs but, as anywhere, I
wouldn't rely on its availability. Emphasis here on 'free' - if you
don't mind paying, you shouldn't have a problem getting online in any
city or town.

Alan S <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:24 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >>Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?
> >>
> >No idea. Plenty of internet cafes.
>
> I forgot to mention - we used free internet access in public
> libraries throughout Ireland. All it cost was a polite
> enquiry as a traveler passing through, and be prepared to
> wait until a computer was available.

Helpful responses from both of you, but it's fair to point out that for
many people (myself included) wifi is a preferable option to an internet
cafe etc. if travelling with a laptop. I never travel with my laptop
when it's on leisure (so I've needed in Ireland which I've only visited
for a holiday), but frequently do when it's on business. Some internet
cafes allow you to hook up your laptop either wirelessles or via
ethernet- but this is rare IME. If it's just for checking text email,
then most mobile phones can do that nowadays, and fairly cheaply, even
while roaming.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
(don't email yahoo address) usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

[email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Apr 23, 11:21 am, Alan S <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:24 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
> >
> > <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > >>Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?
> >
> > >No idea. Plenty of internet cafes.
> >
> > I forgot to mention - we used free internet access in public
> > libraries throughout Ireland. All it cost was a polite
> > enquiry as a traveler passing through, and be prepared to
> > wait until a computer was available.
> >
> > Cheers, Alan, Australia
> > --http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
> > latest: Athens and The Adriatichttp://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
>
> I've found free Wi-Fi fairly often in hotels/pubs but, as anywhere, I
> wouldn't rely on its availability.

In Ireland, or in general in Europe?

> Emphasis here on 'free' - if you
> don't mind paying, you shouldn't have a problem getting online in any
> city or town.

With my BT openzone subscription, I can get online almost anywhere
nowadays- and certainly at places I 'need' it the most, large train
stations, airports and so on. I'm at Lime Street station just now, where
there is both a t-mobile and openzone signal, both of which I can use on
the subscription. But free is rare, just walking around randomly. I
noticed that the apple 'open' wifi at the shop on Regent Street has been
removed. I know a couple of pubs in Manchester that have free wifi, but
I wouldn't want to go to them just for that. There are plans in cities
like Manchester to have free open wifi, but I really don't know how that
will work- i.e. it might be limited to web-access only (e.g. no other
ports.)

Checking from random points in central London will easily pick up
several dozen signals, but it's very rare for any of them to be
free.YMMV.

The college where I teach in Manchester has open wifi in the main
refectory/lounge area. I know some people who only come into the
building to use it. It's usually very fast too.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
(don't email yahoo address) usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

On Apr 23, 2:06 pm, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_ chancellor
(*)) wrote:
> [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On Apr 23, 11:21 am, Alan S <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:24 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
>
> > > <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > > >>Are there many freee WiFi spots in Ireland?
>
> > > >No idea. Plenty of internet cafes.
>
> > > I forgot to mention - we used free internet access in public
> > > libraries throughout Ireland. All it cost was a polite
> > > enquiry as a traveler passing through, and be prepared to
> > > wait until a computer was available.
>
> > > Cheers, Alan, Australia
> > > --http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
> > > latest: Athens and The Adriatichttp://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/
>
> > I've found free Wi-Fi fairly often in hotels/pubs but, as anywhere, I
> > wouldn't rely on its availability.
>
> In Ireland, or in general in Europe?

Ireland specifically.

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:24 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
<[email protected]> wrote:

> ... . If you want to make a
>full day of it, there are a couple of nice things around Enniskillen,
>including a boat trip on Lough Erne to visit Devenish Island, and old
>monastic site, and a fine Palladian house maintained by the National
>Trust, the name of which escapes me now.

I think you mean Florence Court.


--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

B Vaughan<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:24 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> ... . If you want to make a
>>full day of it, there are a couple of nice things around Enniskillen,
>>including a boat trip on Lough Erne to visit Devenish Island, and old
>>monastic site, and a fine Palladian house maintained by the National
>>Trust, the name of which escapes me now.
>
>I think you mean Florence Court.

I think I do. Thanks; it was bugging me.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED
My travel writing: http://www.iol.ie/~draoi/

Thanks for the suggestions, esp from the usual suspects that have
helped me in other trips.

Yes, we're more familiar with the Cork/West Coast area, as we have
many cousins there as well in Omagh. They will be accompanying us
during our stay down there as it's a long weekend. Don't particularly
want to go to Blarney Castle again, so will try and convince them to
go somewhere else - they really love the shopping there though, so it
may be difficult.

The West Coast it is, again.

The Ulster Folk Park will be a definite - heard you can stay up there
as well, and they do have music sessions... one sister said that she
heard there were problems with the Giant's Causeway - I have only
heard that they are/have updated the visitor centre, and that they
wanted at one point to add accomodations/restaurants, but people were
protesting.

Florence House also sounds like a good destination - do they have much
in the way of gardens that will be in bloom I wonder?

We will probably stick to Hotels as they will have a lift. Barbara, we
will be staying very close to the Hostel you stayed at near Omagh -
it's a very beautiful spot.

I realize that it's expensive to call out on your mobile, esp
overseas, but aren't all incoming calls free? I won't call Canada, but
will call locally. Is there any place at the Dublin airport where I
can buy a sim? I will have to have a laptop with me, so thought it
might be convenient to use free WiFi spots, as we do here, since they
are readily available. Probably will sign up to a short term plan then
if there's not too many free ones.

Re prices: must be just the exchange rate I was checking (other than
petrol prices - I recall that everyone that can, does drive across the
border for petrol) - IIRC, it seemed that B&B's were about 35-45
Euros and in the North were 25 to 40 GBP. Of course, Dublin is about
double that!
Thanks again,
Sheila
Vancouver BC

On 26 Apr 2007 14:34:58 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>We will probably stick to Hotels as they will have a lift. Barbara, we
>will be staying very close to the Hostel you stayed at near Omagh -
>it's a very beautiful spot.

Check when booking. We found some very odd attitudes to
lifts in Europe, including Ireland. Often you had to go up a
flight of stairs to get to reception - or even to get to the
lift lobby.


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Athens and The Adriatic
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/

[email protected] wrote:

>Yes, we're more familiar with the Cork/West Coast area, as we have
>many cousins there as well in Omagh. They will be accompanying us
>during our stay down there as it's a long weekend. Don't particularly
>want to go to Blarney Castle again, so will try and convince them to
>go somewhere else - they really love the shopping there though, so it
>may be difficult.
>
Most of what you can buy in Blarney you can buy more cheaply
elsewhere.

>Florence House also sounds like a good destination - do they have much
>in the way of gardens that will be in bloom I wonder?
>
Gardens are not a big deal there. I liked the house.

>I realize that it's expensive to call out on your mobile, esp
>overseas, but aren't all incoming calls free?
>
If you mean on a phone with an Irish SIM, then yes. Bear in mind that
NI is in a different jurisdiction, and calls between there and the
republic constitute international roaming. Tariffs are complicated. I
had a quick look at
http://www.askcomreg.ie/mobile/uk_pricing.158.LE.asp
and it's all there -- but a headache to interpret.

>I won't call Canada, but
>will call locally. Is there any place at the Dublin airport where I
>can buy a sim?
>
I think Vodafone have an outlet there.

>I will have to have a laptop with me, so thought it
>might be convenient to use free WiFi spots, as we do here, since they
>are readily available. Probably will sign up to a short term plan then
>if there's not too many free ones.
>
I said I didn't know if there were many; there might be. Many hotels
provide WiFi, but most seem to charge for it.

>Re prices: must be just the exchange rate I was checking (other than
>petrol prices - I recall that everyone that can, does drive across the
>border for petrol) -
>
One direction or the other, depending on where the advantage lies.
Currently it's cheaper in the republic about 5 euros for an imperial
gallon!

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED
My travel writing: http://www.iol.ie/~draoi/