Im flying into Dublin next week, and will be staying for awhile. I dont know how
long exactly, but ill be there till i run out of money. Realistically, around 2 months.


I plan to use the train/bus system exclusively and not rent a car. I figured id stay
mostly at b&b places along the way and use hostels as a last resort if im going
through money too quick. Having never been to Ireland, but spending alot of time
before in Italy (did pretty much the same thing there as i plan in Ireland, except i
rented a car the whole time.. damn economy.) and Spain Id appreciate any
recommendations on places i should visit or events going on.


To give you a little background on my interests:

Mid twenties and traveling alone, Im not interested in partying/clubs (i lived in
NYC, got that out of my system), i dont like man-made tourist attractions, im not
very into large touristy bus/walk tours or big cities.

I do like meeting locals and getting a feel for the local way of life (without being to
much of a typical american tourist getting in the way.. heh). Out of the ordinary
and ancient historical sites really peak my interest. Id like to experience live irish
folk music and theatre however i only travel with a backpack so im not sure if ill
be classy enough to visit the typical entertainment places. I love pubs and tend to
drink more then i should while traveling...

Im also interested in auto/motorsports however i havent found much related to
that in Ireland. A friend told me of a motorcycle race called the Northwest 200
which happends in Northern Ireland in Mid-May so ill be stopping by to check that
out. I only found one autoracing track so im assuming there isnt much in the way
of motorsports. I also like local musuems and art galleries, ill be checking out the
National Musuem in Dublin the day i fly in.

I planned to make reservations in Dun Laoghaire for my first 2 nights while i get
my bearings. I never plan things to far in advance and just go with the flow,
mostly relying on places locals tell me i should visit. Im using the Rick Steve's
2002 Ireland book exclusively as my one and only paper guide (space is tight!).


Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice you pass my way.

Cheers!

-mike

"Michael Hedlund" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Im flying into Dublin next week, and will be staying for awhile. I dont
know how
    > long exactly, but ill be there till i run out of money. Realistically,
around 2 months.
    > I plan to use the train/bus system exclusively and not rent a car.


For public transport in the Republic see:
http://www.buseireann.ie
http://www.irishrail.ie
and
http://www.dublinbus.ie
Check their 'daily' tickets - better value than paying each fare separately.
I am a particular fan of the 'Handy Pack' - currently 15 euro for five days
travel, not necessarily consecutive days.

--
Trish
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.loughman.dna.ie
Dublin City Directory of 1850

"Michael Hedlund" wrote:

    >Im flying into Dublin next week, and will be staying for awhile. I dont know how
    >long exactly, but ill be there till i run out of money. Realistically, around 2 months.
    >I plan to use the train/bus system exclusively and not rent a car. I figured id stay
    >mostly at b&b places along the way and use hostels as a last resort if im going
    >through money too quick. Having never been to Ireland, but spending alot of time
    >before in Italy (did pretty much the same thing there as i plan in Ireland, except i
    >rented a car the whole time.. damn economy.) and Spain Id appreciate any
    >recommendations on places i should visit or events going on.
Do you know what prices in Ireland are like? Single-occupancy B&B
rooms might average about 50 euros. You can skip lunch with the B&B
cholesterol bomb to fuel you; evening meals cost from about 12 euros
to whatever you can afford. Hostels are a good deal cheaper, and there
are many of them. I am told that some are very good, most are okay,
very few are really bad.

    >To give you a little background on my interests:
    >Mid twenties and traveling alone, Im not interested in partying/clubs (i lived in
    >NYC, got that out of my system), i dont like man-made tourist attractions, im not
    >very into large touristy bus/walk tours or big cities.
    >I do like meeting locals and getting a feel for the local way of life (without being to
    >much of a typical american tourist getting in the way.. heh). Out of the ordinary
    >and ancient historical sites really peak my interest.
We have plenty of them!

Some are not convenient to reach by public transport. Good
destinations not well-served by public transport include Newgrange
(which is a must) and Clonmacnoise (another must).

Other good destinations are manageable. There is a bus service from
Dublin to Glendalough (recommended); it runs from St. Stephen's Green,
and is not operated by Bus Eireann so you will not find it on Trish's
links. The Rock of Cashel is also accessible by bus -- I would tie a
visit in with moving towards Cork or Kerry from Dublin (or returning).
Consider the Aran Islands. From Galway, link bus to Rossaveal; ferry
to Inishmore; bicycle hire possible on the island, but you can walk if
you are energetic.

There is some conflict between not liking cities and not hiring a car,
but I am sure that you have already figured that out. Perhaps one or
two short-term hires might be justified. Hitchhiking is possible, but
I have been a car-owner too long to know how effective it is. I think
that I would use public transport as much as possible, and use
hitchhiking for the difficult bits (e.g, get to Drogheda by train or
bus, and hitch the 5 miles to Newgrange).

    >Id like to experience live irish
    >folk music and theatre however i only travel with a backpack so im not sure if ill
    >be classy enough to visit the typical entertainment places.
No problem. Informal works in most places.

    >I love pubs and tend to
    >drink more then i should while traveling...
Drink slowly if you want your money to last!

    >Im also interested in auto/motorsports however i havent found much related to
    >that in Ireland. A friend told me of a motorcycle race called the Northwest 200
    >which happends in Northern Ireland in Mid-May so ill be stopping by to check that
    >out. I only found one autoracing track so im assuming there isnt much in the way
    >of motorsports.
Not a great deal. I'm not into motorsport, so I can't advise you.

    >I also like local musuems and art galleries, ill be checking out the
    >National Musuem in Dublin the day i fly in.
Do; it's worth it. The National Gallery is nearby, and also worth a
visit. Free, too.

    >I planned to make reservations in Dun Laoghaire for my first 2 nights while i get
    >my bearings. I never plan things to far in advance and just go with the flow,
    >mostly relying on places locals tell me i should visit. Im using the Rick Steve's
    >2002 Ireland book exclusively as my one and only paper guide (space is tight!).
I don't know the guide, so I can't make helpful comments. All large
centres, and some smaller ones, have tourist information offices which
will help you with arranging accommodation, information on local
attractions, transport options, and so on. Use them; that's what they
are for, and most of them are good.

If you have specific questions, feel free to email me. I don't promise
to know the answers!

PB

On Sun, 20 Apr 2003 20:15:00 -0000, "Michael Hedlund"
wrote:

    >Im flying into Dublin next week, and will be staying for awhile. I dont know how
    >long exactly, but ill be there till i run out of money. Realistically, around 2 months.
    >To give you a little background on my interests:
    >Im also interested in auto/motorsports however i havent found much related to
    >that in Ireland. A friend told me of a motorcycle race called the Northwest 200
    >which happends in Northern Ireland in Mid-May so ill be stopping by to check that
    >out.
The NW200 race is on Saturday 10 May with Practice days on Tue 6 &
Thur 8 May. You should be looking for accommodation NOW as this
meeting attracts thousands. try the backpackers at Bushmills - Mill
Rest Hostel - 49 Main Street,Bushmills, BT57 8QA, Antrim, Bushmills,
Northern Ireland. Tel. 44-28-2073-1222 Fax 44-28-2073-0493
although they may well be booked out by now.

    > I only found one autoracing track so im assuming there isnt much in the way
    >of motorsports.
There is lots in the way of motorcycle racing. All on (closed for the
race meeting) public roads

have a look at www.irishroadracing.co.uk/about_us.htm - there's a
calendar of road racing events covering the time you will be there.

You might also consider the Isle of Man TT Festival racing May 25 to
June 8 and it's just a short ferry trip from Belfast. Again
accommodation may be hard to find.

Good luck and have fun.

Kind regards
Dave Milligan

Thanks for transportation links Trish!


Padraig,

Ive researched the pricing. Once i get there and get a feel for exactly how much
everything will cost im hoping to keep it to around $400-450US per week for sleeping
and food (hopefully when peak season rolls around it wont be to much more then
that). Plus beer, bus/train, and sight seeing costs. If i can get it down to around
300 a week i can stay indefinitely (or atleast until they kick me out!) so i may try
the hostels if its getting too expensive.

Thanks for the recommendations on places to see, without having my own car it
sounds like just getting to them may be an adventure unto itself.


Dave,

Thanks for that link and the pointer to Bushmills. I knew there had to be an IE
racing type events listings somewhere i just couldnt find it!



-mike

In article , Michael Hedlund
writes

    >Thanks for that link and the pointer to Bushmills. I knew there had to be an IE
    >racing type events listings somewhere i just couldnt find it!

I've been in that area during that event for several years now and there
is a lot of demand for accommodation that is often booked up the entire
year, if not months in advance (I stay with friends). There are
campsites, though these may be just as popular.

Try these links:
http://www.a1tourism.com/uk/bushmills.html
http://www.guide-to-nireland.com/antguide.htm

--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

On Sun, 20 Apr 2003 23:13:33 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
wrote:

    >"Michael Hedlund" wrote:
    >>Im flying into Dublin next week, and will be staying for awhile. I dont know how
    >>long exactly, but ill be there till i run out of money. Realistically, around 2 months.

    >>I do like meeting locals and getting a feel for the local way of life (without being to
    >>much of a typical american tourist getting in the way.. heh). Out of the ordinary
    >>and ancient historical sites really peak my interest.

The people are the best part of Ireland. One hint learn some
songs you can sing without music. Doesn't have to be Irish.

    >Some are not convenient to reach by public transport. Good
    >destinations not well-served by public transport include Newgrange
    >(which is a must) and Clonmacnoise (another must).
    >Other good destinations are manageable. There is a bus service from
    >Dublin to Glendalough (recommended); it runs from St. Stephen's Green,
    >and is not operated by Bus Eireann so you will not find it on Trish's
    >links. The Rock of Cashel is also accessible by bus -- I would tie a
    >visit in with moving towards Cork or Kerry from Dublin (or returning).
    >Consider the Aran Islands. From Galway, link bus to Rossaveal; ferry
    >to Inishmore; bicycle hire possible on the island, but you can walk if
    >you are energetic.

We really enjoyed Inishmore.
    >There is some conflict between not liking cities and not hiring a car,
    >but I am sure that you have already figured that out. Perhaps one or
    >two short-term hires might be justified. Hitchhiking is possible, but
    >I have been a car-owner too long to know how effective it is. I think
    >that I would use public transport as much as possible, and use
    >hitchhiking for the difficult bits (e.g, get to Drogheda by train or
    >bus, and hitch the 5 miles to Newgrange).
Actually you can take the bus to Newgrange, you just have to
change buses at Drogheda. I think it was 12 euro return
(round-trip).

    >>Id like to experience live irish
    >>folk music and theatre however i only travel with a backpack so im not sure if ill
    >>be classy enough to visit the typical entertainment places.
    >No problem. Informal works in most places.
    >>I love pubs and tend to
    >>drink more then i should while traveling...
    >Drink slowly if you want your money to last!

Also just go later. Music doesn't start until half 9 or even
later.

    >>I planned to make reservations in Dun Laoghaire for my first 2 nights while i get
    >>my bearings. I never plan things to far in advance and just go with the flow,
    >>mostly relying on places locals tell me i should visit. Im using the Rick Steve's
    >>2002 Ireland book exclusively as my one and only paper guide (space is tight!).
We used it, but not exclusively. He is right about Dingle, don't
miss it.

On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 19:53:32 -0000, "Michael Hedlund"
wrote:

    >Ive researched the pricing. Once i get there and get a feel for exactly how much
    >everything will cost im hoping to keep it to around $400-450US per week for sleeping
    >and food (hopefully when peak season rolls around it wont be to much more then
    >that). Plus beer, bus/train, and sight seeing costs. If i can get it down to around
    >300 a week i can stay indefinitely (or atleast until they kick me out!) so i may try
    >the hostels if its getting too expensive.
The heritage card may save you some money. It's 20 euro and gets
you into around 60 or 70 sites all over the country.

    >Thanks for the recommendations on places to see, without having my own car it
    >sounds like just getting to them may be an adventure unto itself.

Where and how does one get the heritage card? Whay does it do? I am going
this sumer with the family, and am interested in it to save a few dollars.


"Mortis" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 19:53:32 -0000, "Michael Hedlund"
    > wrote:
    > >Ive researched the pricing. Once i get there and get a feel for exactly
how much
    > >everything will cost im hoping to keep it to around $400-450US per week
for sleeping
    > >and food (hopefully when peak season rolls around it wont be to much more
then
    > >that). Plus beer, bus/train, and sight seeing costs. If i can get it down
to around
    > >300 a week i can stay indefinitely (or atleast until they kick me out!)
so i may try
    > >the hostels if its getting too expensive.
    > >
    > The heritage card may save you some money. It's 20 euro and gets
    > you into around 60 or 70 sites all over the country.
    > >Thanks for the recommendations on places to see, without having my own
car it
    > >sounds like just getting to them may be an adventure unto itself.
    > >

"Mike" wrote:

    >Where and how does one get the heritage card? Whay does it do? I am going
    >this sumer with the family, and am interested in it to save a few dollars.
Dead easy. At the first heritage site that you visit, ask for them. A
small amount of paperwork, pay the money, and the card is valid for a
year.

[In this context, read heritage site as one managed by Dúchas,
Ireland's heritage agency. They manage many sites, including
Newgrange, Clonmacnoise, Kilkenny Castle, Connemara National Park,
Dublin Castle ...]

PB