I Need Help with Ireland...Not for Golf...

[cohenfive]

I am taking my son to Scotland for a week of golf this fall, and afterwards my wife is meeting me and we are going to tour around Ireland for about 9 days. We'd like some help planning the trip, and I'm hoping you guys and gals can give me some suggestions for good, local tour companies there. We will have a car, like the outdoors, hiking, and of course, eating and drinking. Thanks!

[dmbolp]

Wife and I had an amazing trip July 2022 driving around Scotland and Ireland.  When she gets home I'll ask her for the itinerary.  The coastal drives were amazing:

 

Scotland: NC 500 (North Coast 500)

Ireland: Wild Atlantic Way

 

Edit:  Found the Scotland portion, and now remembering we added Ireland on the front end kinda last minute, when we won tickets to the JP McManus pro-am at Adare Manor in Limerick.  I'll get the Ireland portion when she get's home.

 

 

[carrera]

I've used Golf Vacations Ireland for a couple of trips...one completely non-golf, and was 100% satisfied.

 

Recommend if you visit Lahinch (cool surf town as well as home of a wonderful golf course) that you stay at the Vaughn Lodge...family owned place that has a great restaurant.

[ND2005]

Random Dublin recommendation - Literary Pub Crawl. 
 

The tour guides take you to four or five historic pubs and give you a lot of history about some of Ireland’s famous authors. 
 
The tour guides are great/fun, you get to learn a little history and literature, and have a few pints along the way. 

[ESOX ZO]

If you are headed west immediately after Dublin make a stop at Kilkenny for Smithwicks tour and eat brunch at Anair bakery best breakfast and bakery we had all trip, then follow that up with a visit to Rock of Cashel which is on the way to the west side of Ireland.

Dingle Sea Safari Tour - excellent tour, we save dolphins/seals/puffins (wife loved this) eat at the Fish Box afterwards for an awesome Fish & Chips

Killarney - Gap of Dunloe Cycle 55km - just did this and took around 5 hours with plenty of stops for pics/videos the bike ride will take you through a wide array of landscapes

Killarney - Hilliards for craft cocktails 

Galway - Diamond Hill Hike - relatively straightforward hike took around 2 - 2.5 hrs pair this with Kylemore Abbey which is 10 mins down the road great day trip from Galway

Galway - The Crane Inn for trad music our favorite bar we went too and felt more off the beaten path 

Donegal - Slieve League cliffs hike followed by the best gastro pub we had at The Rusty Mackerel

Donegal - Secret Waterfall or Assaranca Waterfall

Donegal - The Reel Inn for trad music awesome time here as well

Antrim Coast - Giants Causeway & we did a day trip at Rathlin Island hiked around the whole place saw tons of wildlife too about a 30 min ferry ride from Ballycastle

Dublin - Bread 41 best bakery in town, get the savory sausage roll too right by Trinity College

 

 

 

[cohenfive]

Thanks gang! We are going to try to do a few of these suggestions.

 

While I'm asking, we have a couple of days in Edinburgh before we go to Ireland...any suggestions (non golf) there that aren't the major tourist items which we've already done in past trips?

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 03:00 AM by cohenfive