Tour Routes in Ireland

April 7, 2009 by Tony Page
Filed under Sightseeing

Where to go on your Irish trip

Map of Ireland

A Suggested Route for a Comprehensive Irish Tour

Ireland has more than enough places of interest to stand on its own as a tour destination, but it is often combined with England and/or Scotland in Europe tour itineraries. The following tour route is pretty comprehensive and would take around 21 days including a couple in Dublin, but you could do it faster (conceivably) or slower (preferably).

Note: links to the towns go to photo albums on the Travel Signposts website

Dublin – Kildare (National Stud) – Glendalough – Powerscourt – Avoca – Enniscorthy – Kilkenny – Waterford – Dungarvan – Youghal – Cobh – Blarney – Cork – Bantry – Glengarriff (Garinish Island) – Kenmare – Killarney – Ring of Kerry – Dingle Peninsula – Tralee – Adare – Limerick – Tipperary – Cashel – Bunratty – Cliffs of Moher – The Burren – Bog of Allen – Galway – Connemara – Clifden – Kylemore Abbey – Westport – Knock – Clonalis House – Logh Gill – Sligo – Drumcliff – Bundoran – Donegal – Omagh – Derry – Dunluce Castle – Giant’s Causeway – Bushmills – Ballycastle – Antrim Coast – Ballygally – Carrickfergus – Belfast – Drogheda – Knowth (Boyne Valley) – Dublin

Most shorter tours concentrate on the southern part of Ireland from Dublin to the Ring of Kerry.

One important thing to bear in mind if you’re driving in Ireland

One important thing to bear in mind if you’re driving in Ireland is that it takes longer than you might think to get anywhere. In some parts of the country you’ll be lucky to average 30 kph (about 20 mph) over the course of a day! No prizes for guessing that this low rate of progress is due to a combination of narrow roads, the legendary Irish vague, incomprehensible or non-existent road signs, unexpected beautiful places that you simply have to stop for, and pubs in small towns that you just have to stop for – probably to calm your nerves after that near miss on the narrow road…!

IRELAND TRAVEL WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Our other Ireland pages

Travel to Ireland – a Four-leaf Clover Europe tour to be sure!

When to travel to Ireland: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of Ireland

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in Ireland online

Book your hotel in Ireland online

Anyone else have feelings about this?

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Ireland Travel

April 7, 2009 by Tony Page
Filed under Featured, Sightseeing

1 Comment

Ireland Travel – a Four-leaf Clover Europe Tour to be sure!

Blarney Castle - the Blarney Stone is at the top!

Ireland travel is remarkably relaxing. Somehow, the pace of an Irish tour, no matter how crammed full of sights and activities, seems slower and more leisurely than travelling elsewhere in Europe. Ireland may have a thriving, world-class IT industry, but in the countryside and villages life still has a certain unhurried, picture-book quality; somehow I feel it would be more fitting to be travelling around in a horse and buggy than a car or luxury motor coach.

Touring Ireland is essentially a rural, even bucolic experience. To be sure, there are major cities like Dublin and Belfast, but with a total population of just 3.9 million in Eire (including 1.5 million in Dublin) and 1.6 million in Northern Ireland it’s obvious there’s plenty of room to move in the countryside. Travel Ireland by car and you’ll gain new respect for the roads and signage in your own neighbourhood, but in a way, it’s all part of the fun.

Historically, Ireland has been divided into four provinces: Munster (6 counties) in the south; Leinster (12 counties) in the east; Connacht (5 counties) in the west; and Ulster (9 counties) in the north which is still part of the United Kingdom and is called Northern Ireland.

To give you an idea of the size of the country, its greatest length is 485 km (302 miles), its greatest width 304 km (189 miles), and its coastline extends for over 5,631 km (3,500 miles).

Ireland, home of the Little People and Celtic myths, has a magical quality to it, whether you’re gazing across the Giant’s Causeway, wandering past colourfully painted cottages in a village street, or crammed into a crowded Irish pub with a pint of Guinness in your fist and the music of a traditional Irish fiddle band in your ears.